Spanish Riding School

Lipizzaner in regalia

One of the great tourist destinations in Vienna I wanted to take my family to was the Spanische Hofreitschule, or Spanish Riding school. Mom likes horses, and these are one-of-a-kind, pretty stinking cool horses. Tickets for a show are ridiculously expensive (on their website you can check price listings) but tickets to their morning exercises are relatively cheap by comparison. 

We did this, along with taking a tour of the stables, which are purportedly cleaner than most hotel rooms in Vienna. Since the horses are only trained and bred in Austria, they are well cared-for. 

performance ring

 The story of Lipizzaner is an interesting one. The name of the breed comes from the Slovenian town of Lipica, where the horses originated. Bred from Arabian stock, they were brought from Spain to Austria by the Habsburgs, specifically Maximilian II, in the 16th century. They were originally trained in a military capacity, but now are trained for the show.


Six original foundation stallions were bred in the 18th century, along with 20 mares, which means all the Lipizzaners in world can count one of these six stallions as an ancestor (if horses are into genealogy) and the stables make sure to include each of these stallions in the naming of the contemporary horses. It is curious to note that only stallions are allowed to be trained as Lipizzaner performers. Thing is, the presence of female horses would distract the boys too much while they're performing their exercises. In accordance, only men were traditionally allowed to become trainers and riders, but the Spanish Riding school decided to allow women to become trainers as well in 2009. There are currently three women Lipizzaner riders at the school.

performance hall

Another curiosity of the Spanish Riding School is that they prefer riders who have not had previous riding experience, since the skill set to perform with a Lipizzaner is so specific (and those training the horses may slip into old habits such as, God forbid, English standard rather than classical dressage) that preservation of the school is paramount. Those between the ages of 18 and 25 interested in a career as a rider may apply, providing adequate German language skills and minimal professional horse experience. A rider may be able to perform in five years, with little to no horse experience going in, so they can't be too old when they start.

 The performance hall was commissioned by Charles IV in 1729, and is really fit for an emperor! The floor is sand, which means the horses do not need to be shoe'd - in fact, putting shoes on them would hinder their performance, especially on the high jumps, etc. (Shoes throw off a horse's balance.) We did not get to see much at the Morning Exercises, unfortunately. But--they don't promise much, just what the horses and/or riders need to work on.

being led to stables

Another note: it may or may not be well known that all Lipizzaners are born black and slowly turn white as they grow and age. It takes about seven years for a horse to be trained (and for a rider to train them) and, although a horse may be technically proficient before--or in--seven years, he may not perform in the expensive evening show until he has turned completely white. Certain horses, due to inherent flukes in selective breeding, may never turn white. This is very rare, but tragically, a horse is not allowed to perform until he has become white.

Interesting fact: during World War II, the Spanish Riding school would have perished were it not for American General George S. Patton. (The Russians wanted to slaughter the horses for meat). He was a horse lover and petitioned to get the horses safely out of Vienna. His 60th anniversary rescue of the horses was recently celebrated by the Spanish Riding School. Not that this has sparked great love and admiration for Americans by the Viennese, but: Where there's a will, there's a way!

KUNSTHALLE: Parallelwelt Zirkus

One of the museums I went to see with my family was the KUNSTHALLE, a contemporary art museum in the Museumsquartier, very near to where I live.

Alexander Calder

The KUNSTHALLE (simply named: it translates literally as "art hall" or "art gallery") is a perennial favorite of mine, since it's so fresh and kooky - you never know what you'll get - from feminist pop art to Salvador Dali!

Not that I don't appreciate the pomp of the Kunsthistorisches Museum or the Belvedere or the Albertina; I do indeed. The Albertina is actually my favorite museum in Vienna, followed perhaps by the KUNSTHALLE. I consider myself an eclectic patron of the arts...well "patron" might be going too far...art enthusiast?

Anyway, the exhibit was about the circus, most specifically the circus as a parallel universe: the freaks and geeks and carnival sideshows, but also the animals, the acrobats and performers. The clowns, the artistry and magnificence that goes into creating "the Greatest Show on Earth."

One part of the exhibit particularly moved me: the video of an elderly gentleman exhibiting his "circus," i.e. mobiles presented as a three-ring-parade. Or, as my sister said, "Some creepy old guy playing with toys in his attic." I feel that misses the point, but she is a scientist, after all. Mom said, "Hey, I think that's Alexander Calder," and indeed it was the famous American mobile artist Alexander Calder performing his "Cirque Calder" in an attic in Paris. I found him charming. Here is a clip, courtesy of YouTube and the Whitney Museum.

A lot of people have weird obsessions with the circus. Not just Austrians. I think it has to do with the conglomeration of the fringe elements of society gathered under one big tent. Not just the exotic animals (banned, actually, in Austria) but the exotic people. Acrobats and jugglers who train their whole lives to excel at a sport most would not ever claim is really all that difficult or amazing. But, to those who make such a claim: have you ever tried it?

A former student of mine is incredibly fond of juggling. I think he might even want to do such a thing as a profession. I wonder what his parents would say? And that's just the point.

As a kid, I wanted to run away and join the circus. Maybe become a clown. It was probably at the impetus of a favorite children's book, Rotten Ralph. In it, a very mean red cat named Ralph runs away and joins the circus. He hates it there because he's made to perform as a clown and everyone is mean to him; in other words, he gets a taste of his own medicine.

Although I've since given up ambitions to be a circus performer, there is still a draw of the theatrics for me. To the circus? At the least, I can live vicariously through such things as art exhibitions.

Famous Austrians XIV: Erwin Schrödinger

Erwin Schrödinger is generally considered the father of quantum mechanics, and the man behind the famous "Schrödinger's cat" theory in quantum physics.

Born in Vienna in 1887, Schrödinger was a gifted mathematics student and devoured the works of Schopnehauer. He earned his doctorate in 1914 (receiving the highest honors possible) and later that year worked as a commissioned officer in World War I. After the war, he had several professorships at leading European universities before winding up at the University of Zurich.

In 1935, he worked on his Schrödinger's cat experiment with Einstein, and won the Nobel prize. Due to an unorthodox lifestyle (living with his wife and mistress and expecting the university to fund what no doubt had been labeled as - at the least - licentious), he found it easy to find - yet difficult to keep - a professorial position. He accepted visiting positions, from Berlin to Graz to Oxford.

Because of his known anti-Nazi position, after the Anschluss in 1939, he could no longer life and work in Germany (Austria) and found himself in Dublin at the Institute for Advanced Studies.

For those of you unfamiliar with the quantum theory of physics, it is fascinating, though a little freaky. Basically, everything you know about physics can be thrown out the window when applying quantum theory because there are more than the three dimensions we know exists. Scientists are unsure of the number of dimensions that do exist, but current estimates are up to eleven - ELEVEN! That's so awesome, it's almost hard to believe!

Because of Schrödinger, much of the current research done in the quantum realm is in Vienna, though there is also plenty of research being done throughout the rest of the world, including in Paris and many parts of the United States. For more information, PBS has a good explanation - plus, the related (but different) string theory.

MAK it Yourself

In my quest to get the most out of Vienna, a couple of weeks ago, Jake and I decided to brave the Museum für angewandete Kunst, or, the Museum of Applied Arts. It's free on Saturdays, 90% of its appeal. Not that I don't like furniture. It's a necessary part of life! I am not too keen on calling it art, though.

The Viennese seem to be perpetually atwitter about applied arts, however: just think of the hundreds of antiques stores that dot the city! And don't get me wrong, there were plenty of cool things in the museum.

Here are some pictures: 

Do-up of Rococo room

Persian rugs and imperial family:

Habsburgs

 

Porcelain figurines: 

Coffee pot:

Stained glass windows: 

Blown glass and cut glass dishware: 

Do-up of industrial kitchen:

Batik wallpaper: 

Furnace or samovar (What are these called?):

Ingenious recycling plan that uses dead people as pigeon feed and fertilizer (ultimately doing away with cemeteries and landfills, but keeping the distinctly loveable Wiener Schmäh):

Cake decorator, like used at Aida and other Viennese bakeries:

...and right behind the cake display is the dead-body-recycling display:

yum?

A "wool" coat made out of human hair: 

and shoes!!

Gustav Kilmt museum exhibit #3092 in Vienna -- his other mural sketches:

And finally, a view of the building:

 Like 85% of the public buildings in Vienna (including university buildings, public toilets, spas, museums, theaters, and pre-war carnival pavilions), the MAK is an extraordinarily beautiful building. I guess it goes to show, time and again, that Vienna is a city that was built for an emperor! No skimping on the marbled columns, hand-painted ceilings, or mosaic glass windows. After all, what emperor in his right mind would have a budget?