I discovered a new favorite place in Vienna today: the Volksgarten at the Hofburg. I’ve actually been there before, but it has changed since I was there last, so I rediscovered it today. When I was there before, I took note of the huge rose bushes, but I had no idea of what I was in for when they really blossomed. They’re in full bloom now. I didn’t realize, when I was there before, that ALL of the bushes I was seeing were rose bushes. (The only thing I can kind of compare it to is the azalea gardens near where I grew up, but with roses.) The whole place is basically just a huge rose garden. It’s literally breathtaking.
There are lots of different varieites, some which I’ve never seen before . . . all different sizes, colors, shapes. I was overwhelmed with all of them. And the fragrance . . . the whole garden SMELLS like roses. When the breeze would pick up, the scent of roses would just waft over the entire park. How wonderful!
What’s really interesting to me, though, is that I feel like I discover a new “favorite place” at least once a week here. I’ve found Schwedenplatz (great gelato and people watching), St. Stephen’s, the Graben, the Hofburg, Schonbrunn, parts of the Ringstrasse, and now the Volksgarten — all of which, depending on my mood, I would probably call my favorite place. These are places I keep going back to, the places I take the boys for a stroll in the afternoon, the places I fantasize about showing to my family when they come to visit. Vienna is truly a beautiful city. I have so much left to explore, and probably, even more favorites to find.
Today, when we were at the Volksgarten, Benjamin got very excited and wanted to be sure that we showed the garden to Dan when he got home from work. So, we did — we all went back this evening before dinner for another look. And then, when it was time to leave, Benjamin cried and asked if we could come back soon . . . and we can. In fact, we can go back tomorrow. That’s how fortunate we are — not only do we have the freedom to discover all of these favorite places, but we can go back, whenever we like. Maybe that’s my favorite thing.