A free night in Vienna COMPLETED About This Page:

[Huntermom]

I am not fond of Lipizzaner leaps either. My DD rides competitively and has had a few non Lipizzaner horses spook and do what we always refer to as the Lipizzaner leap-with her on it's back. My experience has been the whips are not used on the horse but on the ground and is the communication aid with the horse. DD uses a whip on the ground when she free lunges her horse to get the bucks out.

I was struck by how small the arena seemed. It makes the horse performances even more outstanding. I know when my DD competes a 100"X200" ring is considered small and that one looked much narrower.

Thanks for the pictures. It seemed like a great show.

[KMB733]

Great updates!!! More amazing pictures of the city. Love the pictures from the riding school.

[lauriep]

The school itself and the horses are beautiful! I think I'd have been dizzy sitting that high up, but you did have a great view.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Huntermom

I am not fond of Lipizzaner leaps either. My DD rides competitively and has had a few non Lipizzaner horses spook and do what we always refer to as the Lipizzaner leap-with her on it's back. My experience has been the whips are not used on the horse but on the ground and is the communication aid with the horse. DD uses a whip on the ground when she free lunges her horse to get the bucks out.

Thanks so much for that info - that's good to know.

[mommapants]

Nice update Cheryl

[chezp]

Sunday 20 March – part three: the sad story of Sisi

After the show finished, we made our way slowly out around the top layer, getting lots of photos on the way.



In the end, we were amongst the last to come down from the top level. When we finally got to ground level, we were able to get a glimpse of the view from the Royal box and stopped to get photos, although we had to wait for the people in front of us. My goodness, they had no concept of being able to photograph something quickly and move on. In the end, they were trying to close the doors, to move people out and I’m afraid I just lost my patience and said “come on”. I loved the fact that they looked so surprised, as the staff had been trying to get people to move for about five minutes.



We exited into the shop and, my goodness, what a zoo it was! It was just far too small and packed far too full of people. I went to get a fridge magnet, but we couldn’t work out where the line was to pay, so we quickly gave up on that idea and escaped the madness there. They really do need to enlarge that shop, as they’re going to lose customers if they don’t.

We headed out and walked straight into the Hofburg Palace, as the entrance is just opposite the Riding School. Unbeknownst to us, we had actually seen the entrance last night, but hadn’t realised it.



We paid our €9.90 ($14)entrance fee and went in. This is actually divided into three parts – the silver collection, the Sisi Museum and the Royal State Apartments.

The first thing you see is the silver collection, but to call it that is to downgrade what you actually see. There are literally rooms and rooms and rooms of the court tableware and silverware, including some amazing displays of crockery and cutlery. Some are complete sets, depicting flowers in some cases and designs from the Far East.


The view outside

I never thought we’d see the equivalent of towel animals here! :


The centrepiece – literally! - to this display is the 33 metre long gilded centrepiece, with its candelabra, which dates from around 1800. It was just jawdroppingly beautiful and I dread to think how much it cost.



As we went round, admiring all the various pieces, we couldn’t help but thing that the opulence and extravagance we saw was just, in some respects, appalling. It’s interesting, because having seen the Schonnbrunn Palace yesterday and how down-to-earth a lot of the rooms were, I wasn’t expecting to see something like this.

I was amazed as well that there was an entire audioguide for this part of the palace tour, with about 40 different stops. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of audioguides, as I think they tell you a lot about what you’re seeing, but this just felt a bit like overkill to me. Surely there can’t be that much to say about these collections?

From there, we headed upstairs and into the Sisi Museum, which focuses on the life and tragic death of Empress Elizabeth. If you remember, she was the one who married Franz Josef, he adored her and she couldn’t stand her life with him. That was literally all I knew about her, from what I’d read yesterday, but there was so much more to her story and it was enchanting to read and hear all about it.

First, you learn about her legacy after her death. It’s an odd way to start, but I had no idea that she became something of a legend, with commemorative coins and other memorabilia about her, which led to numerous films, including Sisi.

After that, you then walk into a very different exhibition that takes you back to Elizabeth’s childhood in Munich, complete with a model of Elizabeth swinging above you. However, that childhood came to an abrupt end, when Franz Joseph fell madly in love with her and they were married, when she was just 15 years old.

You then go through her life, learning how she quickly became unhappy with her life at court, and seeing some of the amazing jewels and dresses that she wore at state functions. Of course, most women would love that attention, but not our Sisi. She withdrew more and more from court life and that was exacerbated after his only son tragically killed himself and his mistress. You learn about her tours of Europe and see a replica of her railway carriage, which was very sumptuous.

The museum ends with Elizabeth’s assassination by the Italian anarchist Luigi Luchen in Geneva. It was so sad to read that he went there with the intention of assassinating someone else. When they didn’t show up and he learnt that Sisi would be there, he decided to kill her. She was stabbed with a file, but didn’t realise what had happened, assuming someone had bumped into her. It was only when she boarded the ship she was about to get on that she collapsed and the stab wound was uncovered when her bodice was undone.

Next: enjoying Viennese cafe life

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures from the castle! How cool towel animals existed so long ago!

[lauriep]

I love the napkin creations! The rest is, as you said, a bit over-the-top. Yet another reminder that it's good to be living in the here and now. Too much glitter and gold for one family!

[KMB733]

Great pictures!!! I had to google Elisabeth to read her story for myself.

[CinderAbby]

I'm just tuning into this TR and all I can say is WOW - you did so much in the course of what - just a little over 24 hours? And as usual, I'm loving all the pictures you include. More please

[chezp]

Originally Posted by CinderAbby

I'm just tuning into this TR and all I can say is WOW - you did so much in the course of what - just a little over 24 hours? And as usual, I'm loving all the pictures you include. More please

In fairness, we were there a little longer than 24 hours, although at this point, we'd probably been in Vienna itself what about 27 hours? We arrived around 10am on the Saturday and headed out to the airport probably abour 6pm on the Sunday.

[chezp]

Sunday 20 March – part four: enjoying Viennese cafe life

From there, it was into the State Apartments and Treasuries. These were primarily occupied by Elizabeth and her husband Franz Joseph and it was fascinating to learn more about their life. One thing that struck me was what a hard work the Emperor was. He’d start his day early in the morning, in fact as early as 3.30am, and would then say his prayers, before starting work. He’d work on papers for hours and hours and took affairs of the state very seriously.

In his study, he surrounded himself with photos of his family and pride of place went to the most beautiful portrait of his beloved Elizabeth, so he could always look at her. He was obviously so in love with her. So sad that it was never returned.

He would also see anyone from his empire, holding short audiences with them to listen to whatever they had to say. Sure, there was a dress code to observe, but provided you stuck to that, then anyone could meet the Emperor. I honestly can’t think of any other country or regime where everyone had that chance. It’s very unique.

They also explained the great expanse of Austria’s empire, which took up most of central Europe, before it all fell apart horribly after World War One. At that point, the last Emperor abdicated and Austria became a republic, shrinking in size in one fell swoop from a massive 50 million people to just 6.5 million people.

Elizabeth’s apartments were really something. I’ve never seen the like of it in any Royal palace. The Empress was a real fitness freak, determined to keep her slender frame and she had rings fitted to the top of the doorframe into her bedroom, with bars at one side. Apparently, it scandalised everyone in the palace and, to be honest, I’m not surprised. It’s not exactly what you expect from a member of Royalty. She even had a massage couch for after those vicious workouts!

She was also exceptionally intelligent, speaking a number of different languages and learning both ancient and modern Greek. Having seen her hair in the portrait, which was practically down to her waist, I can believe it when they said that it took three hours to style it each day. She used that time to hone her language skills or have her Greek homework checked.

You finish in the Imperial Dining Hall, and like every good tourist attraction, it’s another highlight of the tour, which was laid out as it would’ve been in Franz Joseph’s day. The Imperial family used to dine here, although obviously not all necessarily together, given Elizabeth’s fondness for spending time on her own.

When we came out, it’s fair to say that we were both pretty hungry and it didn’t help that the exit deposited us somewhere unfamiliar. Fortunately, we soon found our bearings and were heading back towards the entrance again, where we found a very nice cafe, opposite the palace and headed in to get some lunch.



I had been hoping to try out a Viennese cafe, while we were here, as they’re something of an institution here, but I wasn’t sure how doable it really was, as we’re not huge coffee drinkers. Well, you didn’t need to be here, as you could get an entire lunch. And we went for that entire lunch – all three courses of it.



We started off with the clear vegetable soup. Oh my goodness, the first mouthful we took of it, we just looked at each other – where the heck was the flavour? The stock just tasted of absolutely nothing. I went to put some salt in mine, then Mark said to me “are you sure that’s not the sugar?” Ooops.... Even with sugar and then some salt, it still tasted so much better than the original blandness...



I must admit that, at this point, I wasn’t holding out much hope for the rest of our lunch, but thankfully, things improved rapidly from this point onwards. I went for the spinach dumplings in a sweet red pepper sauce and mine was divine.



Mark went for the spicy sausage – I think, from what he said, the sausage wasn’t that spicy, but the sauce that went with it, was. Even worse, it looked like tomato ketchup, so when he first tasted it, he got a bit of a shock!



Then came the best part of the meal – the desserts. They had a display unit, with all the offerings for you to feast your eyes on – and my goodness, there was a really good selection. We both went up to have a look and decide what to get – and Mark hit upon the novel idea of photographing the cakes we wanted, so it was easier to tell our server. It was a really good idea, as the list of desserts was pretty expansive and trying to match them up to what was sitting on display was pretty tough going. As a result, I can’t tell you what we actually ordered, but I can show you!


My dessert

And Mark’s!

Relaxed after a big lunch!

It was a really enjoyable meal, and just exactly as I’d read in the guidebooks, it was a very leisurely experience and we weren’t hurried at all. We were probably there an hour and a half, and we could’ve stayed a lot longer. The whole thing only came to €32 (about $45), which was pretty reasonable, especially bearing in mind its location, just opposite the Hofburg Palace.

Next: strolling through Imperial Vienna in the daytime

[ilovedisney247]

What a lovely lunch! Your entree looks much more my speed than what Mark ended up with! I love the idea of seeing the riding school. That wasn't something my tour group did in Vienna. I also enjoyed seeing the silver museum--it reminds me of the room in the White House that showcases the different china patterns used by the First Ladies. I have to say that the plates with the beautiful flowers would be in my cabinet!

[Colexis Mom]

Those desserts look so good!

[Lumieregirl]

I love the idea of taking pics of what you want. I'll have to remember that trick for my international travels