This post got wiped when Gavin did my migration but in a rare demonstration of forethought, I made a copy, so here it is again.
A relatively gentle start to the morning that allowed us to get our washing done before heading out to watch the horses.
We’d run out of breakfast food and laundry detergent so Simon had planned to take a quick trip to one of the local supermarkets. Unfortunately, as it was a Sunday, they were all closed, and for the entire day. In the end we had to grate some soap to use, although Kirsten tells me shampoo will do at a pinch.
As we walked into the old town to where the Spanish Riding School is located, we had to pass through the square where Adolf Hitler held his famous rally in March 1938. The square doesn’t look that familiar, partly because the photos you see are taken from the stage where he spoke, to show you the adoring crowds, but mostly because they were having a giant A and P show there this weekend. Our guide yesterday told us that a lot of agriculture actually happens in the city, not sure how that works? There was also some vegan protesters outside but we never saw any confrontations.
The riding exhibition took place in a gorgeous old building, I think it used to be a ballroom but it was possibly purpose built. In any event, it’s entirely enclosed and beautiful.The show consisted of the famous local horses and their riders performing along with music. The show has been running for 450 years or so, just incredible. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the horses. When I told my family this, sending them a picture of the empty arena, they scoffed at me expecting them to take my claims on trust. Then one of them did this. Who needs AI?
Our next stop was the Schoenbrau castle, the most famous castle nearby. The Uber driver was one of those terrifying men who think they’re wasted out of formula 1, zipping in and out of traffic whilst fiddling with his phone, just to save 30 seconds. I think uber driving is a terrible way to make a living, I suppose he was just trying to optimize his income. Stressful for everyone, though.
We arrived early enough to have some lunch in the garden cafe before our scheduled entrance time. It was very pleasant apart from a table of noisy Australians next to us, and lots of wasps flying around, just as we’d had in Romania. Should we be grateful for any bugs in this time of the great insect extinction? But maybe they are an invasive species, destroying the local native bee population? And what if one stings me again?
The castle was thronged with people, including many groups of Asians who were really conspicuous by their absence in Romania. Our entrance was strictly timed, and the tour begins with some technological marvel whereby you walk through some rooms with animations projected onto the walls while your audio guide is supposed to explain the history of the castle, triggered by your location somehow. Anyway, the system was far from perfect, and a number of times I walked into a room only for the audio guide to tell me straight away that it was time to move on. The history was fascinating and I will try to find out more about it at some point.
The next stage was a more traditional tour of the castle itself, walking from room to sumptuous room, keying in numbers into the audio guide and listening to explanations of what you could see around you. It was great but got quite stuffy towards the end with lots of people having their photos taken in front of things. We exited through the gift shop as usual, and I bought a couple of things. The queue demonstrated some cultural differences quite nicely. In front of me was an elderly English speaking woman, taking her time, slowly searching through her back for her purse as if she was surprised she’d have to pay for what she was buying. After she finally paid, she stayed in the front of the queue, rearranging her bag, carefully putting away her purse and her various purchases. At the same time, an elderly Asian woman was pressing right up next to me, seemingly trying to get ahead. What a bunfight. More pleasingly, my purchase was conducted entirely in German, (“I’d like to buy this please.” “Would you like a bag, only 20 cents?” “No thank you” “OK that’s 15 euros. Paying by card?” “Yes please. Here you go. Thank you. Good bye.” “Thanks. Bye”) Very satisfying. I could have dredged up more of my old German if I’d thought to do a Duolingo refresh before the trip.
A quick wander around the gardens and then another uber home. Some much needed downtime coincided with the formula 1 race in Madrid so I followed that live rather than napping as perhaps I should have. What a generational talent Kimi Antonelli is, and our own Liam Lawson acquitted himself well, also.
Dinner was at another well reviewed restaurant, Sixta which was a 25 minute walk away in a different direction to where we’ve been spending most of our time. I like Vienna and would happily spend more time here. The restaurant was OK, trendy but nowhere near as good as the place we ate the night before. It’s famous for giving you a free glass of schnapps at the end of the meal. It was allegedly apricot but it tasted of jet fuel, only slightly more palatable than the stuff we tried in Romania, that we were told was for men only. They’re welcome to it. I had a tiny sip of my schnapps but left most of it behind. It was late, dark and raining by the time we were done so we ubered home.