We are staying with our very good friends, Eileen and Jim Kendall. They were our next door neighbors in Massachusetts. Jim recently accepted a position with the U.N.’s IAEA. It is wonderful to see them again and exciting to be in Austria. We will also take a short trip to Prague while here.
In the morning we take a ride up to Kahlenberg overlooking the city of Vienna. We see some farm animals and I am remembered always as calling, sheep, sheep, sheep, and having the sheep run over. According to this picture, there are some goats there as well.
Next we stop at a church in Kahlenberg dedicated to the Polish king John III Sobieski. He was the commander in the Battle of Vienna which took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna in 1683. Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire against the Ottoman Empire. The H.R.E. prevailed and a church was built in honor of Sobieski.
After lunch back at Eileen’s we go into the Vienna and visit the Hofburg palace. We take the audio tour describing the rooms. The audio talks a lot about Elizabeth, the wife of Franz Josef, who was very discontent. She had homes all over the world and spent her time traveling around. She was also an exercise fanatic.
After returning to Grinzing we have a dinner of wine and hors d’oeuvres, my favorite!!
