Schonbrunn Palace and Other Sights in Vienna

So, on our second to last day in Vienna, or Wien as it is spelled in German, we had a full day of sightseeing on our schedule. We had breakfast in our hostel for the first time, which was a nice breakfast for three and a half euros, but by the time we ate breakfast at 10:15 it was already over 85 degrees and our habits of drinking coffee and hot tea with no fan or air conditioning resulted in both of us leaving the breakfast table drenched before even starting our day.
From the time I saw it on the map, I knew Schonbrunn Palace was going to be one of my favorite places we visited, and I was not dissapointed. We toured the gardens first and I can't even describe the size of it all. Forests with wide walking paths, perfectly manicured gardens and giant marble fountains (yes, plural) stretched as far as the eye could see. Whitney and I mused about how the occupants probably never made it to all four corners of their estate and how their dinnertime conversation included debating which of their giant marble, classically-themed fountains was their favorite. We made it to the far end of the estate where a pillared structure (purpose unkown) stood atop a hill, facing the palace and providing a spectacular panorama of Vienna. The palace and it's "gardens" knocked me sideways, I've simply never seen anything like them. Imagine the White House being the summer house (yes, this was only a summer house for the Hapsburgs) for only one family and the parks that surround the White House being the private yard for that family. Incredible.
The inside of the palace was equally incredible but because we had just walked through the imperial apartments, we were acclimated to the opulence and extravagance that characterized the Hapsburg dynasty. The "Millions Room" was the most expensive room in the whole palace and it was amazing. The room is made of rare types of imported Rosewood from floor to cieling and collages of centuries-old oriental art are lined with gold. The large gallery was the most impressive "room" in the palace. At 40 meters long and 10 meters wide, with frescos on the ceiling and portraits on the walls, both with the standard gold border, the gallery seemed like the ultimate Baroque-era party room.
Next we went to St. Stephan's Cathedral. After Prague, Paris and London, we have been somewhat desensitized when it comes to enormous, ornately detailed churches, but St. Stephan's was still worth the visit. Because it was Sunday the tours weren't running and we didn't get much history on the place, but we did find out that you have to pay to light a prayer candle and the roof is in a fun, multi-colored, blue and yellow design.
We walked to Mozart's house and stood in the lobby because the tour was 12 dollars per person and we were short on time. We tried to take the tram around the "ring" that goes around Central Vienna, but the suggestion on the map didn't point out that the trams don't go in a continuous ring like the map itself indicated. After getting off and re-boarding in the opposite direction in North Vienna, we got to see the other side of the city (East, if anyone cares) that we would never have gotten to otherwise. We didn't stop and we didn't even get the names of the impressive buildings we saw, but it did reinforce our feeling that Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities we've seen in Europe.
We got home and watched the World Cup final, which I won't go into because I am still furious. All I want to say is that the Spanish play football in a manner that relies equally on their actual football skill and their ability to manipulate the officials. The bar was packed with Spaniards and I left immediately after it ended because of the real possibility of getting into my first fistfight.
Tomorrow we go to wine country because of the spectacular views...Why else would anyone go there?