Included with my 3 night package at my hotel near the Graben, was a city tour. I decided to take the tour on the morning of May 24, 2006. With my mother, brother, and his girlfriend gone ahead to Salzburg (they find this Alpen town more appealing than I do), I had the entire day to myself.
When you travel alone that seems to
be the best way to meet other single travellers. On the English city tour bus, I ended up sitting beside this very nice Australian man from Perth who was on leave from the Navy. I told him I worked at a local television station back in Vancouver in the HR department, and he told me he worked on a frigate. We ended up chatting about Human Resources, travelling, hobbies, our families, etc. while our tour bus first drove us along the 
Ringstrasse, past the Stadtpark containing Johann Strauss's golden statue, past the Belvedere Palace (pictured at the very top), with the tourguide giving interesting facts and amusing stories along the way.We eventually ended up at the main attraction of our trip, the Schoenbrunn Palace. I had actually been here the day before, but had spent my time exploring the grounds only - the Neptune fountain, the Gloriette pavillion on the hill, the Zoo, the Palm and Desert houses, etc. But now we get to have a tour of the inside of the palace. The inside was very impressive, there was so much marble, gilding, beautiful woodwork on the floors, sparkling chandeliers, etc.
After the tour, we went for lunch at an Italian restaurant on Kaertner. Then we walked along the streets of Vienna, past the places the tour bus had gone by earlier like the Stadtpark, taking photos of buildings like the Urania, and statues until we went our separate ways. I was worried, and embarrassed, about being short on cash and still needing to do some tourist shopping that day, so I forgot to ask him if he wanted to exchange e-mails, and I have been regretting it ever since. Besides, I owe him a lunch!
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