Serenity in Vienna

As travel season ramps up in Europe, I realized that you still can find many calm places throughout the day.

Travel Tip #1 - Get up early and head right downtown. We arrived at St. Stephan's Cathedral around 9 a.m., giving us a chance to take in the square with only a few locals in sight.
Travel Tip #2 - Parks empty out around dinner. We went to this massive park that was the summer home of the Hapsburgs - Schonbrunn Palace. We enjoyed a stately walk through the grounds and a very quiet dinner by a fountain. Often we were the only people in sight on a gorgeous summer evening.
Travel Tip #3 - Arrive at the art museums when the employees do. My family and I split up when we went to the Leopold Museum early on Saturday morning. You will have to ask them about their opinion on some of the unique pieces. I had unobstructed views of work by Klimt - and time to reflect on the changes he had made to his piece Death and Life (original version).