Breakfast was excellent, all you could possible wish for including my favourite smoked salmon and cream cheese. Excellent blueberry muffins too, just right for sneaking out for our elevenses.
Back on the metro and into town we reached the Hofburg just after 0900 and already there was a small queue (only about 8 people) waiting for the ticket office to open at 0915. Our plan had been to fill the hour before the morning exercise started with a visit to the State Library but that too didn't open until 1000 and the queue had already built up significantly so we decided to stay at the front of it and ensure ourselves good seats.
In front of us in the queue was Mr Know It All but luckily he struck up conversation with someone else and talked them to death. At one point I came back from the loo and found Ian standing there with his fingers in his ears.
A small criticism of the Spanish Riding School, when the doors opened they also opened a second door so people far back in the queue then rushed in front of us to the prime seats. One couple (Scottish) even attempted to reserve seats for their friends and refused to move when asked to by several people, pretending they didn't understand. I had a brief but loud word with them - they moved and we took our place in the front row!!
Again photography was not permitted and the camera police were really hot - so I soon got told off!
The 18th century winter riding school is a beautiful building, very light and airy and the horses are worked 4 or 5 at a time. There didn't appear to be any set pattern for the exercises and each rider/ horse did their own thing, in various gaits whilst glorious music played out. I really thought Ian would be bored but we watched 3 different sessions, each about 20 mins long and we got to see half passes, flying changes, pirouettes and various other moves I knew but couldn't name. One of the horses in the last set had his tail tied up and I thought this might mean we were in for something special (although it is clearly stated that the airs aren't regularly practised during the morning exercise, apparently there are quite a few disgruntled visitors who expect to see more than they do). But we were lucky and this one little beauty "popped out" several caprioles for us.
We then went round the corner to the State Hall of the National Library - what a wonderful building! (as you can tell I've given up trying to take decent photos and wait for people to get out of the way).
From there we went to the Albertina, where incidentally our couple from the plane were going to for the opening of some exhibition (he was an artist, but we didn't enquire further).
Apparently this gallery houses some of the world's greatest works of art including many by Albrecht Durer (not Durex as I thought was on the steps)
We started at the top and worked our way down, loads of impressionists and post modernists and once again I found myself enjoying the experience.
