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<blockquote data-quote="BillB" data-source="post: 2463442" data-attributes="member: 9985"><p>Our first excursion in Vienna was similar to one we had done before, called Panoramic Vienna, but there are always differences and this one turned out to have quite a number of differences. We took a different route to start so we experienced walking past palaces and churches that we hadn’t even known existed. We also learned a lot about the wife of Emperor Franz Josef I, Queen Elizabeth, known as Sisi.</p><p></p><p>It seems she was very popular among her subjects as she introduced a number of reforms which improved their lives and they repaid her with devotion. Palaces where she had resided at various stages of her life were plentiful, but time and Covid restrictions meant that entrance was restricted at the time.</p><p></p><p>Sisi, sadly, was assassinated in Geneva by an Italian anarchist who stabbed her in the chest with a file. She died of internal bleeding shortly afterwards.</p><p></p><p>We strolled along, coming to the Spanish Riding School, knowing we were among a small group who would be going for a tour behind the scenes at this renowned home of Austrian equestrian skills.</p><p></p><p>We had some free time at the end of the tour so Jackie and I adjourned for a coffee, seeing as how our legs are no longer what they were. We had to show our vaccination certificate which we had made sure were in order and relaxed for a while.</p><p></p><p>After lunch the tour behind the scenes of the Spanish Riding School was limited to a small group, assisted by the fact that there were only 33 passengers on the cruise when normally there are around 190.If I remember correctly there were no more than a dozen people on the tour.</p><p></p><p>Our introduction was first to the performance arena where riders take their horses through their routines in front of an audience. It’s also the site of training and rehearsals. The arena itself is a thing of beauty, with crystal chandeliers, two galleries of boxes for the audience, with pillars supporting the upper gallery, two pillars to each box, where honoured guests sit. We were conducted behind the arena where saddles, bridles, bits, blankets, reins, etc., are hung. Each piece of equipment belongs to a specific horse - there’s no mixing, and each rider is responsible for his horse’s saddlery being stored under the horse’s name.</p><p></p><p>After touring the storage areas we were led into the courtyard where the horse boxes are to be found around the walls. Once again each horse has his own box exclusive to himself. The upper half of the doors were open and at each one a beautiful, pure white Lippizaner watched us curiously.</p><p></p><p>Lippizaners are bred in Lippiza, Croatia, and each colt is born black, turning pure white over the early years. A few years back, when our boys were small, we took a holiday in Croatia and visited the stud farm where the horses are bred. We learnt that one in a thousand colts is born black and stays black and one in a thousand is born white and stays white.</p><p></p><p>The horses were in a large pasture, most of them pregnant mares who grazed gently on the grass and eyed us visitors who walked among them in a benign manner. Our youngest son, who was 3 years old at the time, was totally unafraid, and would gently stroke them. I still have a film of him, small enough to walk under the horses without disturbing his hair, reaching up and stroking their distended bellies almost with reverence.</p><p></p><p>Following the visit to the horses stalls in the yard we went into the interior where we discovered that the stalls were much larger than we imagined from the outside. These horses are not kept in cramped quarters - each stall gave the horse plenty of space to move around to reach their food, to see what the other horses are doing or to turn and poke their heads out to watch the activity in the yard. They are very well cared for, their diet is plentiful, they are groomed and exercised daily. In fact they have a life I wouldn’t mind having myself.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillB, post: 2463442, member: 9985"] Our first excursion in Vienna was similar to one we had done before, called Panoramic Vienna, but there are always differences and this one turned out to have quite a number of differences. We took a different route to start so we experienced walking past palaces and churches that we hadn’t even known existed. We also learned a lot about the wife of Emperor Franz Josef I, Queen Elizabeth, known as Sisi. It seems she was very popular among her subjects as she introduced a number of reforms which improved their lives and they repaid her with devotion. Palaces where she had resided at various stages of her life were plentiful, but time and Covid restrictions meant that entrance was restricted at the time. Sisi, sadly, was assassinated in Geneva by an Italian anarchist who stabbed her in the chest with a file. She died of internal bleeding shortly afterwards. We strolled along, coming to the Spanish Riding School, knowing we were among a small group who would be going for a tour behind the scenes at this renowned home of Austrian equestrian skills. We had some free time at the end of the tour so Jackie and I adjourned for a coffee, seeing as how our legs are no longer what they were. We had to show our vaccination certificate which we had made sure were in order and relaxed for a while. After lunch the tour behind the scenes of the Spanish Riding School was limited to a small group, assisted by the fact that there were only 33 passengers on the cruise when normally there are around 190.If I remember correctly there were no more than a dozen people on the tour. Our introduction was first to the performance arena where riders take their horses through their routines in front of an audience. It’s also the site of training and rehearsals. The arena itself is a thing of beauty, with crystal chandeliers, two galleries of boxes for the audience, with pillars supporting the upper gallery, two pillars to each box, where honoured guests sit. We were conducted behind the arena where saddles, bridles, bits, blankets, reins, etc., are hung. Each piece of equipment belongs to a specific horse - there’s no mixing, and each rider is responsible for his horse’s saddlery being stored under the horse’s name. After touring the storage areas we were led into the courtyard where the horse boxes are to be found around the walls. Once again each horse has his own box exclusive to himself. The upper half of the doors were open and at each one a beautiful, pure white Lippizaner watched us curiously. Lippizaners are bred in Lippiza, Croatia, and each colt is born black, turning pure white over the early years. A few years back, when our boys were small, we took a holiday in Croatia and visited the stud farm where the horses are bred. We learnt that one in a thousand colts is born black and stays black and one in a thousand is born white and stays white. The horses were in a large pasture, most of them pregnant mares who grazed gently on the grass and eyed us visitors who walked among them in a benign manner. Our youngest son, who was 3 years old at the time, was totally unafraid, and would gently stroke them. I still have a film of him, small enough to walk under the horses without disturbing his hair, reaching up and stroking their distended bellies almost with reverence. Following the visit to the horses stalls in the yard we went into the interior where we discovered that the stalls were much larger than we imagined from the outside. These horses are not kept in cramped quarters - each stall gave the horse plenty of space to move around to reach their food, to see what the other horses are doing or to turn and poke their heads out to watch the activity in the yard. They are very well cared for, their diet is plentiful, they are groomed and exercised daily. In fact they have a life I wouldn’t mind having myself. [/QUOTE]
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