Vienna is a jewel box. A city made of several hundred palaces (not a typo), connected via grand boulevards and narrow cobbled streets. In keeping with this opulent ambiance, and the key reason we visited Vienna, was to see the Spanish Riding School. These stunning white Lipizzaner stallions ('grey' in the horse world) were shipped all the way from Spain, the home of the Escuela Alta and the very peak of international dressage.
Why the journey? A too-long and too-complex history of Habsburgs, Holy Roman Emperors and a few Maximilians all loving their equine pals. Simply put, for centuries, lovers of horses and devotees of elbow-rubbing with the rich and powerful, have descended on the glorious Winter Palace riding arena to watch these incredible horses and riders perform their airs above ground. No photographs were allowed, so you'll have to take our word for it that, if you are an equestrian, they are well worth experiencing!
Epicurean delights abounded during our two week October stay (another reason obvious for anybody that knows us) - we ate, we drank tea and even learned how to properly temper chocolate into a glossy bar. When not planning the next meal, we enjoyed the carriage horses that filled the city centre where hoof beats were a more common sound that engines.
All in all, it's a stunning city for history, culture, architecture, horses and of course, photography.
So please enjoy! The best way to view is to click on the first image in the gallery below and tap [F11] on your keyboard (for a larger full-screen view). Then just use your arrow keys or the mouse to move forward. Enjoy!!
~ Vientiene
P.S. For anyone that uses 500px, you can see the gallery here too: https://500px.com/vientiene/galleries/vienna-austria-2018
P.P.S. For any photography enthusiasts or professionals reading: I use a Panasonic G5 (micro four-thirds), a 20mm f1.7 pancake and 42.5mm f1.7 portrait lens (that's a 40mm FF and 85mm FF field of view equivalent respectively). Previously, from 2013-2017, I mostly used the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens and a 45-200mm f4-5.6 OIS (FF equivalent 28-84mm and 90-400mm respectively). In early 2017 I replaced the kit lens with the much faster 20mm prime, and due to weight and size I abandoned the telescopic behind in 2018 when I added the oh-so-small portrait lens with its razor thin depth of field. Such a great travel camera kit - the best camera (and lens) is the one you have with you!