Adventures in Wochenende

Well it has been an exciting weekend!  Yesterday we abandoned our plan to visit Schloss Schonbrunn when my boss invited us to her house in Leobendorf for dinner.  My husband had yet to be outside the city of Vienna, and has been pining for a friend of the male persuasion, so of course we said yes.  In all actuality, we had hoped to have them over to our flat, as we now have some furniture and dishes, etc.  However, because they have two small children, it was easier for everyone involved if we came to them.
So we set off in the afternoon on the OBB to Leobendorf, from whence we walked to their address.  It was a beautiful day, with perfect weather.  It was Jon's first time to see any of the country side, which is lovely.  After our jaunt on the train, we sauntered through the village of Leobendorf, where the streets are lined with flowers.  As we made our turn toward my boss's townhouse, the castle came into view, and Jonathan snapped a couple of pictures.  It was a nice afternoon at their place, sipping Irish coffees in the garden and trying our first Sturm.
Sturm is this year's wine, so it is very sweet with a relatively low alcohol content, but you gotta be careful, because it will sneak up on you!

Interestingly, we were informed that the castle at the top of the hill in Leobendorf is not original, but was rebuilt using recycled castle parts from around Europe. And evidently, a Nicholas Cage movie was filmed there...

Today we made it to Schonbrunn, Jon's first time.  We walked all the way up the hill, past Neptune's Fountain to the Gloriette.  A high school choir was sitting on the front steps of the Gloriette, singing hymns acapella. As we walked through the woods down the hill toward the entrance of the zoo, the students followed us, still singing.  As they overtook us, it gave a whole new meaning to surround sound.  

More later (including pictures!)...