Vienna - Hofburg (Imperial Palace)

We spent several hours at the Hofburg, home of Hasburg royalty from 1273 to 1918. I'll let my guidebook do the math - that's 630 years of Austro-Hungarian rule. Now it is public property, with at least a half dozen museums. The Vienna Hofburg started as a fortress with a moat and drawbridge in the 13th century, and then sprawled into a varied mix of buildings totally about 2,600 rooms. That includes the Michaelerkuppel, pictured above, a grand entryway through which Emperor Franz Joseph could make a suitably extravagent entry.

We bought the 3-in-1 tickets to see the silver collection, the Sisi Museum, and the Royal Apartments. The silver collection is a bit of a misnomer. The royals ate most of their meals on silver plates, but there is also a lot of porcelein, gold and copper in this collection, including a bright green porcelein service from Louis XV. You can see Steven here amidst the assorted cutlery and serving pieces every royal couple needs.

This included unique flora and fauna plates from the Minton manufactory that Empress Elisabeth gave to Emperor Franz Joseph for his hunting lodge at Offensee. It was my favorite set.

The Sisi museum is dedicated to the life of Empress Elisabeth, known as Sisi. Married to her cousin the Emperor Franz Joseph at the age of 16, she became increasingly unhappy with the constraints of royal life, but still managed to travel, write poetry and learn seven languages. She was assassinated by an Italian anarchist on September 10, 1898 when he stabbed her in the breast with a sharpened file. She was astonishly beautiful, standing 5'8" tall, weighing not much over 100 lbs. and had a tiny 20" waist. Her dark wavy hair fell to her ankles, and her hairdresser needed two hours a day to dress it. (Sisi had lessons in Greek while her hair was styled.) Nonetheless, she hated being stared at, and withdrew from most public appearances as the years advanced.

Her husband, the hardworking emperor, adored her, though it was not clear she returned that affection. He stationed a portrait of her, with her long hair loose, in front of his desk, as you can see in the photo of his office/bedroom/study above. .