Oh, man...this is one city that I have already planned a return trip to this summer. Two days was no where near enough to see the sites...of course, our main reason for the quick side trip from Budapest was to see the Christmas markets. AND, to see the Lipizzaner stallion show at the Spanish Riding school.
We sure had a rough start on the way there though. We bought our tickets and didn't realize till we were on the train that we had 3rd class seats. Meaning, NO seats. Matt had to stand for 2 hours while me and the girls sat on the floor. It was awful. Safe to say....the minute we got off the train we upgraded the return trip to first class!
Got to our hotel, they upgraded us to a nice roomy suite and set off to find dinner. The weather was cold and there was a small layer of snow on the ground. Ate at a fantastic Austrian restaurant that the hotel recommended and then sought out the Christmas markets. I wanted to see everything all lit up! We managed to make it to two different ones before the girls had enough. Indulged in the local hot wine and just really enjoyed the sites. It was so beautiful! But, then the rain started, and it was cold...and wet. We grabbed one of the horse carriages to take us back to the hotel. It was fun and I wish the weather would have been a bit better for photos.
The next morning we needed to get to the horse show. It was a Sunday...and not much was open. Of course. So, we ended up doing what most American tourists would do...we ate at McDonald's.
Found our way to the arena and settled in.
Thank god we spent the money to get reserved seats. Otherwise, it was just standing room. 80 minutes of the girls standing to watch horses. Yeah, that would have been fun.
The girls enjoyed the show for the most part...I mean it's hard for them to grasp the concept of the degree of difficulty of the moves these horses were performing...but me? Oh my, I was in second heaven. The horses were gorgeous. It was so wonderful. The arena just took my breath away. It was magical.
Afterwards we wandered around to another Christmas market. Up some of the streets and just tried to take in the sites as much as we could before we had to catch our return train.
The train ride back was awesome. Big comfy seats, wine, snacks...it was all good this time!
But, we really didn't get to see much of the city at all...and I've made it so we will return in August. Can't wait to get back. It's an amazingly beautiful city. :)
We sure had a rough start on the way there though. We bought our tickets and didn't realize till we were on the train that we had 3rd class seats. Meaning, NO seats. Matt had to stand for 2 hours while me and the girls sat on the floor. It was awful. Safe to say....the minute we got off the train we upgraded the return trip to first class!
Got to our hotel, they upgraded us to a nice roomy suite and set off to find dinner. The weather was cold and there was a small layer of snow on the ground. Ate at a fantastic Austrian restaurant that the hotel recommended and then sought out the Christmas markets. I wanted to see everything all lit up! We managed to make it to two different ones before the girls had enough. Indulged in the local hot wine and just really enjoyed the sites. It was so beautiful! But, then the rain started, and it was cold...and wet. We grabbed one of the horse carriages to take us back to the hotel. It was fun and I wish the weather would have been a bit better for photos.
The next morning we needed to get to the horse show. It was a Sunday...and not much was open. Of course. So, we ended up doing what most American tourists would do...we ate at McDonald's.
Found our way to the arena and settled in.
Thank god we spent the money to get reserved seats. Otherwise, it was just standing room. 80 minutes of the girls standing to watch horses. Yeah, that would have been fun.
The girls enjoyed the show for the most part...I mean it's hard for them to grasp the concept of the degree of difficulty of the moves these horses were performing...but me? Oh my, I was in second heaven. The horses were gorgeous. It was so wonderful. The arena just took my breath away. It was magical.
Afterwards we wandered around to another Christmas market. Up some of the streets and just tried to take in the sites as much as we could before we had to catch our return train.
The train ride back was awesome. Big comfy seats, wine, snacks...it was all good this time!
But, we really didn't get to see much of the city at all...and I've made it so we will return in August. Can't wait to get back. It's an amazingly beautiful city. :)
Spanish Riding School
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