Schonbrunn Palace

Upon our arrival in Wien, our first stop was Schonbrunn Palace. A mere vacation spot for the Hapsburg family. This place was HUGE. Originally designed to trump the palace at Versailles, the Hapsburgs truly attempted their best. While strolling through room after room of exquisite marble, gold, paint, jewels, etc etc, all I could think was, "I would get so LOST". Lucky for me, I don't have to worry about remembering floor plans of my many homes throughout Austria.

The gardens of Schonbrunn were by far my favorite part of the day. The maze of leaves, the fountains, the flowers, the random statues, the birds. It was all so beautiful. And, of course, being a practical kind of gal, all I could think was, "Poor person that has to trim these hedges!"

And now for my absolute FAVORITE part of Schonbrunn: The Incident of the Nude Camera.

While strolling through Schonbrunn gardens, a few girls and myself were stopped at the large fountain taking pictures (see awkward photo of me above). We were interrupted by a sweet looking couple who asked us to take their pictures. Of course, we accepted and after a few minutes of awkward communication, they both handed their respective cameras to two of the girls I was with. The girl's camera went to Kim, who had no problem snapping a picture of the two of them in front of the fountain. Then, there was Gwen. Gwen stood looking at the camera in her hands with a horrified expression on her face, pushing random buttons on its side.

As I stood watching her, she looked over at me with big eyes and stammered, "Umm, K-K-Kelsey? Can you help me with this?"

I walked over, took the camera in my hands, and looked down to a screen stuck on playback - with a splendidly NUDE photo of the woman in front of us, splayed out on a bed. Gwen quickly walked away, trying not to laugh and I switched the camera to ready mode as quickly as I could, trying to keep my face blank. I took the picture, handed the man the camera, accepted his thank you, and turned around to walk away as quick as I possibly could - before Gwen and I dissolved into hysterics.

Needless to say, it was a very educational day.