Sunday, January 27, 2008

Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens

Do you ever wish you could turn back the time and do something all over again? Most of us probably do. Usually we think of things we would do differently if only we had the chance. This is one instance of that for me.



About seventeen years ago, my husband and I went to Vienna, Austria on his company's annual trip. This was his first year with the company and neither one of us had ever been out of the country before, (well, I had been on the Canada side of Niagara Falls when I was fifteen).



Anyway, this trip to Vienna was before I had an interest in gardening or photography. I've wondered several times recently, how different it would be were I to go there now, with my current interests in gardening and photography and the camera I currently own, instead of that little red Canon Snappy I was using at the time. I know I would certainly love to see this garden again through my older more experienced eyes. It was beautiful to me then, but to see it now, I know I would appreciate its beauty so much more. How I would love to explore the magnificent gardens and grounds of the Schonbrunn Palace and capture it through my camera lens now, I'm quite sure I'd have more to show for this lovely garden than these few paltry images.


These really are the only pictures I took of this incredible garden, can you believe that?How utterly sad and disappointing.




Oh well, there is no use crying over missed pictures. I loved Vienna, and remember my time there fondly. It was a beautiful place with lovely fountains, magnificent old buildings and architecture and vast, elegant gardens.


In this picture, you can barely see that on the building behind the fountain, are window boxes. So many of the buildings had these lovely window boxes. It really added to the beauty of the city. Of course, I don't have good pictures of that either.
If only....

10 comments:

Diana said...

What lovely photos! Thanks for sharing. The gardens in Europe truly are amazing -- and so formal and intricate. I grew up spending 10 years all over there and have family there. Nothing like that here in Texas, but then I also love the natural, wildflower and perennial landscapes here with their free-flowing form. Stay warm!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Your pictures are lovely. No doubt you would have enjoyed the gardens more with todays experience and with digital photos you can take zillions of pictures. Even though I have a digital and take hundreds of pictures when traveling. I still get home and wish I would have taken just a few more shots of this or that. Are we ever satisfied? No. Does the vacation have to end?? Sadly so.

Frances, said...

How wonderful that you got to spend time in such a beautiful city. Maybe you will get another chance to visit, this time with the digital camera in tow.

Frances at Faire Garden

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

At least you have the memory of seeing all those flowers in person. My only trip to Vienna was in March, when there were no flowers blooming & all the fountains were covered with boards. It was still a lovely city & the Palace was amazing. I promised myself that someday I'd return when the gardens were full of flowers. That was 14 years ago.

Lynn Coulter said...

Oh, it's a little sad that you didn't bring home more pictures, but then again..sometimes I've visited places and spent so much staring through the lens, or fussing with my camera, that i missed the real joy of what was right in front of me. so here's hoping you got to experience all that beauty up-close and personal, and know that it will always be in your heart. <3
Lynn

Bek said...

Yeah!! Pictures from home:) When I was living there I wasn't interested in gardens either yet, so I don't have any pictures of the gardens at all. Schoenbrunn is so big with all its different areas. It's really a great place to visit, no matter what time of the year. Thanks for the post.

kate said...

The memories that you took away with you from the Vienna trip are what truly matters. Sometime you might go back. What also is important are the pictures of you with your husband. These are priceless - snapshots in time and the memories they bring back to you.

Carol Michel said...

A few pictures are better than none at all, and you have your memories of the trip. So, you have flown and lived to tell about!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Mary said...

Looks like a beautiful place, Robin. I would also like to go back 17 or 20 years, live differently, and have more appreciation for photography and everything beautiful right in front of me. Then, I didn't slow down to notice. Now, I do. So, that's a good thing.

Kylee Baumle said...

I've been to Schoenbrunn Palace and Gardens, too, Robin and it was so long ago (1974), I don't remember the gardens! I've been to other places, too, where I wish I'd paid more attention to the flowers (Ecuador), but I wasn't into gardening then.