Just like in The Sound of Music Austria managed to include all my favorite things, and throw in one of my favorite people for good measure. I arrived in Haag, the hometown of my good friend Peter late Sunday night. I was exhausted and had a miserable cold. The mysterious medicine they gave me in Czech (mysterious because I couldn’t read the label) didn’t seem to help. Sunday and Monday I managed to relax, recover, and eat some of the delicious food his mom cooked.
Tuesday we went skiing, which made me INCREDIBLY happy. Although it was raining when we got there, it cleared up in the afternoon and the snow was perfect. There was pretty much no one on the hill, except an older gentleman who, in broken English, told me I look like Lindsey Vonn. I’ll take that compliment any day.
Wednesday we drove to Vienna (aka Wein) to visit Peter’s cousin Julie. We toured the city, and climbed up to the top of Saint Stephen’s Dome. 347 steps, and we get to the top to find… A souvenir shop.
Thursday for me was (drumroll) THE BIG DAY. Let us have some background on this day: When I was about eight years old, I read a book about a boy who goes to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, home of the famous Lipizzaner horses. Despite the logistics of an eight-year-old making her way to Austria, I was determined that I would go someday. And now, over ten years later, I made it. Despite having seen the Lipizzaner’s perform several times, watching it in the place where it has always been was magical.
To me, it was like a backstage pass: watching the process of the horses go from very green to advanced levels of collection and forward pace was beautiful. The first horses they rode appeared to be their youngest, which they brought out in groups of six. The riders worked each group of horses for about a half hour, and then the grooms brought the next group out. I was nearly wetting my pants with excitement over the tempi-changes, the extended trots, and the passages. Peter, who gamely let me drag him to the training, managed to sit there for almost a full hour, which is a credit to him. It was a wonderful, wonderful day for me.
Peter and I made an appearance at other various historical sites, including the treasury (home of the Crown of Charlemagne, the first monarch in Europe, circa 1100 something AD). We also toured the Schonbrunn Palace, home of Empress Maria Teresa, Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Sisi, among others.
The weather was terrible, but then what can I expect from Europe in the winter.
I am now in Dublin, which so far has involved some interesting history and pints of Guinness. More on that later!
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