The Spanish Riding School

The one activity I wanted to do in Vienna was to go see the horses at the Spanish Riding School. Before we left California, I booked tickets for a Saturday matinee performance. Standing tickets were significantly cheaper than seats, so that's what I booked.

The Spanish Riding School (Hofreitschule), located in central Vienna, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzaner horses.The school has been active for over four hundred years and still focuses on classical dressage. Originally, performances were only presented to guests of the court. The school opened up performances to the general public at the turn of the in 1918 after the Austro-Hungarian empire fell at the end of World War I.

G and I arrived on time to the performance, but apparently, many others arrived before us, so we were forced to squish in among hundreds of people.

The show began with a performance piece with the young horses. Next, fully-trained stallions performed several pieces. The next performance piece was the Pas de Deux where two horses moved in mirror image. The horses did some jumps. Then, one of the riders led one of the horses on long reins through the routine; the rider held the reins and walked behind the horse as the horse performed. The show ended with the school quadrille. Eight riders came in on their horses in formation. The Spanish Riding School quadrille is the longest and most difficult in the world.

The horses were beautiful. Although not as action-packed as I was expecting, I enjoyed the performance immensely. The horses were impeccably dressed and groomed. After the performance, we saw the horses as they were led back to their stables across the street from the school performance arena. G and I thoroughly appreciated the performance.

Vienna

Vienna is a wonderful old city filled with the history of Mozart, St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the Hapsburgs. I've been to Vienna before, so I'm actually most excited about seeing the horses perform at the Spanish Riding School. G and I have standing room tickets for Saturday. In the meantime, we will be exploring the city by foot and by tram.

St. Anton am Arlberg, We Meet Again

We arrived in St. Anton am Arlberg late Tuesday night from Zurich. St. Anton is a small ski town in the Tirol region of Austria. Popular in the winter for skiing and in the summer for hiking and other outdoor activities, the town was completely dead at the end of September.  

St. Anton

G and I may have been the only tourists in the whole town.

We didn't see many people, but we did see horses and cows!

I first visited St. Anton in the summer of 2002 on my first trip to Europe. I remember the amazing scenery and the nice Austrian woman and the fabulous duvets at the hotel where we stayed way back when. I no longer remembered the name of the hotel, so I found an apartment to rent. When we arrived at around 9 PM, the owner of the apartment was at the train station waiting for us. He drove us to the apartment where he told us that since his larger apartment was available, he had given it to us!

Amazing room in St. Anton at Appartements Kohlereck

The apartment we stayed in was huge! The apartment had a kitchen, living room/dining room, bathroom,  bedroom, and a huge balcony. This place was amazing. Because September is off season, we got a really good deal on the room.

The apartment's balcony

We spent much of our time in St. Anton relaxing. G went on a couple of hikes, but the weather was only good for part of our time in the town. It was cold and rainy most of the time.

View from the apartment's balcony

St. Anton was a great place to relax in. We spent time reading and cooking. This was the first place we stayed at where we actually had access to a kitchen. We bought some fresh ingredients and enjoyed eating. While in France, we got so tired of the food. At some point, we just couldn't force ourselves to eat any more cheese and baguette. In Colmar, G and I broke down and purchased food from KFC. G went alone and left me at the hotel. He came back and said he had such a hard time ordering. He tried to order mashed potatoes and biscuits, but the guy behind the counter had no idea what G was even talking about. Imagine that! Kentucky Fried Chicken didn't have okra or biscuits or mashed potatoes or anything! G managed to come back with corn on the cob, a couple of pieces of chicken, and a sundae with chocolate hazelnut sauce, but I don't think we will try to go back to KFC again. I'm not sure I understand how a business could call themselves KFC if they don't even sell biscuits.

Finally, it was time to leave. At the train station, I said, "Goodbye," to St. Anton as we left for the next part of our adventure: Vienna.

St. Anton from the train station

Zurich

G had never traveled to Switzerland before, so on our way to Austria from France, we stopped in Zurich so he could experience what the country has to offer.  We only spent three or four hours in Zurich before we had to leave on the train to Austria.

Since we didn't have much time, we quickly bought our tickets onward to St. Anton am Arlberg, made sure we knew where the platform was, and then left the train station to explore the city.

We walked along the Limmat River. We veered away from the river and walked through pedestrian-only streets to the Grossmunster Church. Outside, we admired the intricately-carved wooden door. Inside, we found unusual non-traditional stained glass windows.

From the church, we continued to walk along pedestrian-only streets then veered back towards the river. The sun was out, so we stopped at a bench (at the place where the river turned into a lake).

Someone was at a nearby bench feeding the ducks and swans swimming in the water. The swans were so aggressive. If a duck got a piece of bread, the swans would chase the duck and try to steal the bread. We happened to have a bit of bread with us, so G and I took our turn feeding the birds and watching them fight for the bits of soggy bread.

On the way back to the train station, G and I took a different route. This time, we walked along the other side of the river, again on pedestrian streets when we were able to. We passed businesses and shops selling marzipan animals on our way to the train station.

We arrived at the station in plenty of time to make our 6 PM train to St. Anton am Arlbeg, Austria.

Train to Zurich

Leaving France. Next stop Switzerland.

At the Mulhouse train station

G and I returned the rental car this morning in Mulhouse, and now we are taking the train from Mulhouse to Zurich. We will spend the day in Zurich, then we will take an evening train into Austria. Our first stop in Austria is St. Anton am Arlberg, a ski town I visited on my first trip to Europe in 2002.

Colmar: Between French and German

I visited the Alsace region of France on my first trip to Europe back in 2002. The Alsace, located along the German border in the Rhineland, is a special place in France that's not quite French and not quite German. The differences between this region and the rest of France are obvious. Paris and even other cities in France are so fashion forward, and G and I are so not that we never fit in while in those places.

Old Town Colmar

Old Town Colmar

However, Colmar is not a center of fashion. We fit in just fine here.  In the rest of France, women wear high heel shoes all the time, even to the weekly farmers' market. Here, socks and sandals are prevalent. Other than checking out the fashion or lack thereof, we explored Little Venice (characterized by a canal), l'Ancienne Douane (the ancient customs house), the Maison Pfister (Pfister house), and the rest of the old town area.

Pfister House

Murals painted on the Pfister House

Probably my favorite activity was eating at a restaurant with outdoor seating, Dussourd, next to the Dominican church in Place des Dominicains. Impressively, the waiter switched from English to German to French seamlessly and flawlessly. I had a pasta dish featuring a mix of tortellini and ravioli. G had a fish dish and escargot. He had never eaten snails before. I was a little disgusted, but he seemed to like them well enough. However, he had no idea how he was supposed to eat them. I am almost certain he committed a number of faux pas trying to get those things from the plate to his mouth.  I'm not in the habit of photographing my meals, but I regret not taking a photo of G's escargot.

Riquewihr

Riquewihr is another city I have previously visited. Having fond memories of the town, I scheduled a stop on this trip. G and I are suckers for a medieval city, and this one fit the bill perfectly. Riquewihr is well-preserved and looks much like it did five hundred years ago. Like Colmar, Riquewihr was not damaged in World War II. Interestingly, many of the medieval fortifications still exist including the gate and ramparts.

Eleven kilometers from Colmar, Riquewihr is popular for its architecture as well as its wine. Historically, the village was a trading hub for both Alsation and German wine. Although G and I did not try the wine there, we did wander around the medieval streets and into a couple of tourist shops including an amazing Christmas shop.

Gate to the village

A side street in Riquewihr

Main Street

Dolder Tower

Like so many other cities we've visited on this trip, Riquewihr is beautiful. I am so glad we were able to go to one of the little wine villages in the Alsace on this trip.

Mountain of the Monkeys

I went to Mountain of the Monkeys back in 2002 during my first trip to Europe. Since G had never  been, I wanted him to experience this special place too. As we were driving into the area from another city, G was behind the wheel, and I was navigating. I told him I was navigating to the hotel, but I was really leading him to the monkeys. As we got further and further from any place that looked like it would have a hotel, G became more and more skeptical. I reassured him that we were definitely going the right direction, and we'd be there soon. We kept passing signs for Mountain of the Monkeys, and I kept hoping he wouldn't realize it was all a big trick. He didn't realize it, and only when we pulled into the full parking lot did he know what was really going on. 

We paid and went inside to receive our handfuls of monkey food. The place was packed with monkeys and with humans trying to feed them. Some of the monkeys had been given so much food by the tourists that they refused our offerings. This was a bit disappointing. The last time I was there, the place was empty and I had no competition for feeding the monkeys. 

Even so, we interacted with the monkeys and took some great monkey pictures. And even though the place is no longer a backdoor destination, I would go back in a second if I had the chance. I think G would too.

Beaune

I wasn't overly impressed with the city of Beaune, but once we drove just a couple of kilometers outside the city, we were surrounded by beautiful green vineyards and fields. Unsurprisingly, tourists were astride bicycles and roaming the countryside. We found out later that there are kilometers upon kilometers of bike paths and bike routes all over the country and especially in this region. 

The Memorial at Oradour-sur-Glane

A few days ago, we tried to visit Oradour-sur-Glane on the way to Beynac from Amboise. Unfortunately, we were just a few minutes too late, and the site was closed. I didn't actually know that there was a closing time. Additionally, it seems that the actual driving always takes longer than the map program says it will. We were disappointed we were unable to visit the memorial.

Oradour wasn't exactly on our route to Beaune from Amboise, but it wasn't too far out of the way, so we decided to try again today. We left in the morning under rainy skies. After that first day of nice weather in Paris, the weather has been terrible. It has been cold and rainy for days. We weren't surprised that we had to endure the rain today.

Oradour-sur-Glane is a small town southwest of Paris that has a tragic history. On June 10, 1944, over 600 men, women, and children were massacred by the Nazis. The village was left as it was that day and the survivors rebuilt the town nearby. The remains of the destroyed village have been maintained as a memorial.

The abandoned, ruined city was haunting. G and I walked along streets and peered into homes and businesses. We saw abandoned cars and sewing machines and even old signage. It wasn't difficult to imagine how the city might have looked before the event that took place all those years ago: kids riding bikes, cars putting along the narrow streets. The rusted bicycles among the rubble were a reminder of how horribly things turned out.

The most sobering sight was the village cemetery, filled with victims of the massacre.  Oradour was worth the stop, as sad and somber as the experience was.

Beynac-et-Cazenac

Beynac-et-Cazenac was our base while in the Dordogne Region. Beynac is quite small, has a relaxing atmosphere, and is beautiful. While in Beynac, we spent most of our time day tripping to the nearby towns of Les Eyzies (to see the prehistoric caves) and Sarlat.

Beynac is another of France's well-preserved medieval cities. The stone village features steep streets that still boast their Languedoc (old French) names.

Beynac

The highlight of Beynac is the castle. Château de Beynac is a wonderfully-preserved castle constructed in the Middle Ages on top of a limestone cliff on the edge of the Dordogne River. Built in the 1100s by the barons of Beynac, the location of the castle provided excellent defense opportunities.

While in Beynac, we decided to take a ride on one of the barges, locally called gabarres.

Gabarres on the River

From the gabarre, we were able to see Beynac from a different vantage point. I took photograph after photograph of the castle perched dramatically on the side of the cliff and the aged buildings of the town.

View of Beynac from the gabarre

Not only did we see Beynac Castle, we were able to see three other castles from the boat: Marqueyssac, Fayrac, and Castelnaud. Over a thousand castles like these were built in this region during the Hundred Years' War alone.

Marqueyssac

Fayrac

Castlenaud

Beynac Castle sitting dramatically on a cliff

After riding on the gabarre, we walked through town to our rented car. We drove around the back side of the town to the rear the Beynac Castle.

Greg and the castle

Beynac Castle

View of the valley from Beynac Castle

Beynac actually reminded me of Cinque Terre in Italy. The village is small and set directly on the water in a way that took me back to my memories of Manarola and Vernazza in Cinque Terre. I would recommend a stop in Beynac to anyone wanting to visit France. 

Sarlat

From Beynac, we visited Sarlat-la-Canéda. Sarlat is a medieval town that developed around a large Benedictine abbey that was established toward the end of the eighth century. The cathedral dedicated to Saint Sacerdos, the Saint-Mary church, and a number of houses were built in the 1300s. The churches and many of the houses still exist today.

Although a prosperous city from the eleventh through thirteenth centuries, Sarlat was no longer popular in the fourteenth century; the city was too far from the river. The town has only recently come back to life when a road was built to pass through. In the 1960s, the French government granted the town funds to restore the building facades and other prized architecture. Today, you can walk through the town and get a glimpse of what the city must have looked like hundreds of years ago.

G and I wandered around Sarlat. We saw the unusually-shaped lanterne des morts (lantern of the dead), the statue of three geese that is the town's symbol, and La cathédrale Saint-Sacerdos.  We also ate outside at a little café in Place de la Liberté. We people watched while we sat and ate.  When we got tired, we drove back to Beynac to spend the night. Beynac is a short distance from Sarlat, but the drive takes some time because the road is windy with elevation changes.

Lanterne des Morts

Old Town Sarlat

La cathédrale Saint-Sacerdos

 

Place Jacques Boissarie

Greg posing with the geese

 I know that some people use Sarlat as their base while they are in the Dordogne Region, but I prefer Beynac. The Beynac Castle is picturesque, the town is on a river, and there is less hustle and bustle. Sarlat is a beautiful medieval city, but I'm glad we decided to visit Sarlat just for the afternoon.

Font de Gaume and Combarelles: Prehistoric Caves

The Dordogne region of France is quite literally filled with prehistoric caves. The Lascaux cave is the most famous of these. We did not visit the Lascaux cave (the original cave can no longer be visited and tourists are instead led through a very good copy of the original). We decided that no matter how good the copy, we preferred to visit actual prehistoric caves.


G and I woke up early this morning to ensure that we would be able to visit both Font de Gaume and Combarelles in Les Eyzies, France. Tickets to visit these caves cannot be reserved in advance; you must line up in front of the ticket office at least a half hour before opening (more in the high season). Only 80 people are allowed to visit Font de Gaume each day, and fewer are allowed to see Combarelles.

Combarelles

We arrived before the ticket office opened, but we still stood in the rain behind thirty or forty other tourists. Fortunately, we were able to purchase tickets for tours in both caves. We visited the Combarelles cave first. The tour was given in French; the English tours for the day had already sold old. We made do with our limited French and the guide's limited English. Combarelles features engravings only. Engravings refer to when the images were carved into the stone rather than painted.

Château de Commarque

Having a couple of hours between our two cave tours, G and I decided to visit Château de Commarque. I had read good reviews of the castle online and wanted to see it.

The castle was built starting around the 12th century on top of a prehistoric cave. Originally consisting of a wooden tower meant to keep the Beynac family at bay, the Beynace family replaced the castle with a stone keep after the it gained control. The keep was gradually added to through the 1700s. The castle changed hands a couple of times and was finally abandoned. After a number of decades of inattention, the castle was rediscovered in 1962 by Hubert Commarque. He has allowed archeological excavations on the site and has worked to restore the castle.

G and I were both impressed with this castle. I'm not sure about G, but out of all the chateaux we visited on this trip, Commarque was my favorite. How often are you able to see a prehistoric cave and a castle in one place?

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Font de Gaume

Font de Gaume, like Lascaux, is a polychromatic cave. Red and black paints were used in addition to the engravings. (The images were engraved or carved into the stone walls and painted in with red and black). 

The animal figures at Font de Gaume were very purposefully placed. The prehistoric artists used the natural slopes and lines of the cave walls to help define their figures. We were shown a line of four bison that must have been planned out in advance as the humps in the rocks fit perfectly with the humps in their backs.  We were even shown scenes including one deer licking another. Furthermore, the artists used shadowing and perspective accurately and effectively.  The end results, as I can attest, are lifelike animal figures.

The tour guide pointed out that there are no known rough drafts of these images or figures. Obviously, only the people who had the ability to create did so.  Additionally, these people had very strong desires to create these images of mammoths, deer, and bison. There were parts of the cave that were only accessible by crawling on one's stomach, and the walls of these passages were covered with images. Add that the caves were dark and the only light came from fire (which doesn't stay still) and that the artists were working completely from memory.

We left the cave completely amazed. Never before had I considered that these cave paintings were purposeful or planned nor had I considered the difficulties in creating cave paintings.