IT'S SNOWING! 😣😣😣

I woke up this morning to it snowing outside. It doesn't snow here very often, but the last few days have been uncharacteristically cold so there were rumours that it might snow a bit. And clearly the rumours were true. 😞❄️

I've never been a big fan of snow. Actually, let me rephrase that: I've never been a big fan of the COLD. I'm at my grumpiest when I'm cold (just ask my husband). I think snow is pretty and I do get excited when the first snowfall of the year happens, but aside from that I'd rather it been warm and sunny! Every January for the past few years my husband and I have gone somewhere tropical to escape the dreary weather here, but this year we just got too busy and completely forgot to book something.

That got me reminiscing about past trips and warm weather and I stumbled across our trip to Austria a couple of summers ago. We had been traveling for 9 months already and were now on the European leg of the trip. Austria had never really been on my short list of places I wanted to see, but my sister had chosen it as the place she wanted to go to for her birthday so Austria it was! Don't get me wrong, I was super excited to go! I just didn't know a lot about what to see while in Austria. As a wine professional, I definitely knew about their wine industry, but other than that I was clueless.

Source: alamy.com

It didn't take me long to realize just how amazing Austria is! The architecture, the culture, the history! I was wishing immediately that we had more time there. We spent most of our time in Vienna but ventured out of the city a few times - see my post about our visit to Grinzing!

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https://steemit.com/wine/@travelingsomm/grinzing-wine-district-in-vienna-austria

One place that I completely fell in love with was Schönbrunn Palace. Back in the 16th century it was mainly used by royalty as a hunting lodge, and today it has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Austria! The size of this property is insane! They even have a train that will shuttle you around the property (WORTH IT).

Source: whichmuseum.com

Palm Pavillion - one of the oldest greenhouses in the country

The architecture here was seriously amazing! I could've spent 2 whole days here just exploring!

The palace, with Vienna in the background

The grounds are also home to the Schönbrunn Zoo (Tiergarten Schönbrunn). Built in 1752, it is the oldest continuously running zoo in the world!

Source: tropki.com

I hope you guys get a chance to visit this place one day! I would go back again in a heartbeat! Will let you know when I do. 😎✈️

Thanks for reading!

Jen🍷