Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Thursday, Vienna

Thursday in Vienna was "Mom's Day". This was the day that she never thought she'd see in her lifetime, going to the Spanish Riding School to see the Lippizan stallions. We started the morning bright and early with a ride on the U-Bahn to Michaelerplatz. And, of course it was raining. It took some studying of the map and creative interpreting (in the rain) to find the building, but we finally did. We got there a bit before the morning exercises started, so when they opened the door for choosing seating, we got a PRIME spot in the center on the rail. It was the perfect location. We stayed for the full 2 hour exercises, and were just amazed at the skill and training of horses and riders. So much grace and rhythm, it was marvelous. We had a bit of a break before coming back to shop in the gift shop and then take a behind the scenes tour of the stables and the arena. They also showed us the summer riding ring and mechanical walking track. My mother was really happy!

We did make a quick detour after the horses to sip STARBUCKS!!! Mmmm... it tasted like home. Next we made a brief stop at the Vienna Opera and the Opera Museum. Mom and Sonja humored me, but I thought it was AWESOME! It was like a pilgrimage to opera Mecca. After a trip on the train to our hotel, we walked across the street and had dinner at a restaurant on the Schloss Schonbrunn grounds, then called it a day. A very good day.

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