Week Three- Dreams are Coming True

Me on a horse bred and trained by a
former Über Reiter

    The reason I switched from ballet to riding horses is because a well spent vacation in Germany. I was goofing off and riding the horses at the barn where my family was staying. There also on vacation was a man who had been trained at the Spanish Riding School. He offered to give me a lesson for free which is never heard of. Afterwards he told me that if I found a good trainer and worked hard I could become a good rider. I took his words to heart and found a Dressage Trainer in Texas. Both she and her husband had been trained by a former Über Reiter of the Spanish Riding School. My entire riding career and love for horses was shaped by the Spanish Riding School. To go and witness all the amazing work that is done there was a dream come true for me. I was awestruck the entire time watching how well and easily they were able to communicate with their stallions. For me it was also special to realize that I had been trained in a similar manner and could execute a number of movements the riders were practicing, and maybe with time be at the same level. There is a magic about being in a palace watching the dancing horses in such a wonderfully old city. I am so incredibly happy that I was able to live those few moments at the Spanish Riding School like I have dreamed of for so long.
       The City of Vienna is absolutely stunning and fascinating. The people are so friendly and there are so many different things to do and learn while in Vienna. Also the food was to die for. I loved visiting the Josephinum and the Narrenturm. I found the different wax models of diseases, ailments, and anatomy really cool. It was nice to see the things that I had read about modeled in such a lovely manner. At the Josephinum I finally understood some of what I had learned in anatomy class at TAMU. It was also interesting to learn both these structures were only possible because Emperor Josef II saw the importance of medical knowledge and practice. He was completely different from his sister Marie Antionette who did not care for her people. I also had a lot of fun in my first snowball fight outside the Fool's Tower.

In my free time I visited the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg Palace, her Imperial Apartments there, and the Schönbrun Palace and Zoo. My favorite part of the Hofburg Palace was seeing the Winterhalter portraits of  Elizabeth of Austria and her husband Emperor Franz Josef I in their original setting. I had previously seen the paintings at an exhibit in Houston with a friend. We had stared at them for so long in admiration. To see the paintings again but in their original location was unreal. It made them seem even more ornate. I really wish I had been allowed to take a picture just to be able to show my friend how great it was. This painting of Sisi was the inspiration for the character Christine in Phantom of the Opera, so naturally I had to buy a replica of one of her hairpins from the painting. The Shönbrun Palace was absolutely amazing. The grounds were so extensive and gorgeous they just added to the brillance that was the palace. I had seen images of the palace in documentaries or shows on PBS but could never believe that a place like it was real. I felt like I was in a fairytale the entire time. The fresh layer of snow on everything add to the magic of the place. The Zoo that is on the grounds was built because an empress decided she wanted a zoo. I have never seen such an amazing zoo before. All the

exhibits were well designed and made to make the animals happy. Every single animal that we saw was active and playing. My favorite was one of the Polar Bears, she was playing with a large yellow plastic disc. She was so silly and inventive I could not stop smiling while watching her. The Zoo was also designed to math the colors and architecture of the palace which was neat to see. The Schönbrun Zoo has to be one of my favorite zoos. To finish our day at the Palace we took a tour through some of the rooms. It is so foreign to me to see such ornate and decorative rooms. Every single one of them was beautiful. After the palace closed several of us stayed on the grounds to make a snowman. I have to say it is pretty cool that my first complete snowman was made in front of a Viennese Palace.

Visiting Vienna was like living in a dream. Everywhere you looked there was something of interest, and on every street corner was some historical site. I feel like it would take several life times to uncover all the secrets of Vienna to only find out she had hid some more. Just to glimpse a few of her secrets was enough to make me feel satisfied with life.