Two Days of Celebrating!

May 16, 2018

Two Days of Celebrating!

Thing 3's 18th birthday coincided with her older sisters' arrival here in Vienna. Woo hoo! Cue the fireworks, confetti and all the bubbles! We were ready to celebrate. The day of their arrival Thing 3 and I played proper tourists. We reserved seats at the Spanish riding school's morning training session and a full tour of the grounds following. It was quite impressive. The indoor riding hall was built in the 1600's and yet it was not typical of the Baroque style of architecture. Built specifically for the horses it was painted in muted colors and with sturdy, durable materials. The faux marble ceiling being the perfect example. The Hapsburgs did not want anything to distract from their stately horses. Which brings me to the next bit of interesting facts we learned that morning. Lipizzaner horses were the same horses a majority of the statues here in Vienna are modeled after. They are considered baroque horses and their original purpose was for serving the military. Thus the stances and ground work they were taught. The horses' stature is muscular and imposing and striking all at once. By the age of five years they are fully white, well most of them are. On rare occasion and because of science I don't fully understand, there can be a stallion that is entirely black. The coat will never change. The Austrians believe that so long as there is one black horse in their herd luck will remain and the tradition of the Lipizzaners will continue. There you have it, a historical rendition of my Thursday spent at the Spanish Riding School.

Training session.

In between the morning training session and our tour we had a two hour break. The only logical choice was to have lunch at Paremi, our favorite French cafe. We dined al fresco on the cutest little tables and whicker chairs and if I closed my eyes I felt like I was in Paris. Ok, so I've never been to Paris but I imagine that is what it would be like. A fresh croissant, a teeny tiny espresso, herb filled terra cotta pots lining the sidewalk. You see it too, right? Back to the school for our grounds tour. It was here we learned more intriguing facts, saw the tack room, visited the stables and got an inside look at the riding hall. The entire experience was quite educational. We were informed that photo taking of the horses was against the rules as well as touching them, although they are rather friendly. Needless to say that was practically an invitation for Thing 3, she is the horse whisperer after all. She only walked up to the gate, bowed her head and the rest is photographic history. Instant friend. It was beautiful. We learned that all the horses can be traced back to six family lines. Any horse born in to these lines carries the father's name as their first name and the mother's name as their second. A bit unfortunate for those stately stallions. Thankfully they don't seem the wiser. That was our morning and afternoon.

Lunch.

Tack room.

My horse whisperer.

The riding hall.

The remaining part of our day was spent twiddling our thumbs and waiting for sisters to arrive. I sat on the balcony to watch for their driver just as soon as I received the text that they were on their way to me. I mean us. They came to visit all four of us. Wink, wink. I could hardly contain my excitement and when they were no less than 3k away I ran downstairs, almost locking us out of the apartment, and paced the sidewalk. Upon arrival they were met with my enthusiastic neck hug. I didn't let go all night. I walked into their rooms when they were sleeping and I just stared in love. Any of you parents do that? I mean really. Is there anything like watching your sleeping babes? I don't think so. That was night one. In the books.

Jet lag and secrets.

Thing 3 woke up to her birthday breakfast and a decorated table. Cacti and llamas, per her request and in honor of her soon to be new home state, New Mexico! No birthday breakfast is complete without cheesecake, at least according to Thing 3. So that is exactly what we ate. Then it was off to the Belvedere Museum and city walking. Lunch at a local cafe completed our outing and then home to relax. Our next eating adventure was Figlmüller, a family run, Viennese traditional restaurant since the early 1900's and Thing 3's request. We made a quick stop in Stephansdom and we all marveled at the stained glass and intricate sculptures. Dinner, laughs and a toast to the birthday girl and then home for the piñata and cactus cake, chocolate with mint frosting, and one of my favorite birthday traditions in our family, sharing what we love about the birthday boy/girl. I love listening to sweet words spoken around the table. There is something so edifying about this practice. Our night ended with a rousing game of catch phrase and a disappointing loss by our Manchester United lads. All in all, I'd like to think that Thing 3 ushered in her year of 18 with all the celebration we could muster and then some!