With our guide Emily we bused into the old city centre via the Ringenstrasse which takes in many beautiful buildings. It's like driving in a wedding cake, there's so much decoration around
This one above is Art Nouveau near the Naschmarkt
This is taken from a famous Viennese coffee shop (Starbucks) outside the Spanish Riding School, where we attended a performance. The stallions are off at summer camp so we saw the mares and the foals.
The young pregnant mares performed beautiful dressage in perfect unison.
The older mares and foals stormed into the arena with a flurry of manes and tails then settled down to enjoy themselves. There are 35 foals in this year's crop.
When the final whip crack came they all knew it was over and belted for the exit.
It was a great show - well worth doing - the only event we've paid extra for the whole trip with Scenic except Frappacinos etc.
Rain hit after dinner as we drove to the Palais Liechtenstein
for a classical music concert preceded by champagne and a chance to look at the Golden Carriage of Prince Joseph Wenzel.
Every time someone moved too close to the carriage an alarm went off so it was not a relaxing champagne. We walked up a wide marble staircase to the concert room mindful of our guide's adminition: "Be sure to enjoy the concert, tickets cost 200 euros each."
It was terrific in spite of the hard decorative chairs
The small orchestra played Strauss (of course), there were two singers and a pair of dancers who waltzed to The Blue Danube.
I had to take photos in between heads, which is why above has ears in it. The new blot on the landscape is the iPad photographer, iPhones to a lesser extent, who hold up their device and take away one's viewing area.
Palais Liechtenstein as we departed: the rain is over.
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