The White Horses

Have you ever heard of "The Airs Above the Ground"? Well, the Lipizzaner horses of Vienna perform them...and it is magical. I had always wanted to see them, ever since I was a little girl - and I finally did.

John and I and Max and Ken spent New Year's Eve in Vienna, and the New Year's Night Performance of the Equine Ballet was exquisite. Max and I sat together so we could gasp and be awestruck and point out everything to each other. John and Ken sat a pillar away and were bemused.

Bottom Line: it was one of the best nights of my life and I will never, ever, ever forget those horses.

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I had to start off this post with this picture of Ken in a Hofreitschüle Tricorn! Typical Ken. Wonderful weekend with terrific friends over New Year's. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Here we are...at the entrance. Two horse fanatics at OUR Mecca. We had such a good time, and the horses were worth every penny to see them.

OK. WE followed the rules. No cameras inside the performance, and not even in the practice. John snuck one in, sans flash. THIS IS THE ONLY PICTURE I HAVE of the actual Lipizzaners at work. Max and I were kicking ourselves that we didn't at LEAST get a shot of the two of us together after the performance that night.

Here I am, making nice with the cart horse..."Oh, she's a sweetie..."

And BAM! Her neighbor goes all Spider Monkey on me...check out the horse on the left. He is NOT...likin'...Moi.

Group Shot! We'd just spent about 4 hours in the Art Museum. If you find yourself in Vienna, this is definitely worth a stop.

This should serve as a lesson to anyone who thinks it's safe to leave your camera in your friends' hotel room:

Nice shot by John of the lights in Vienna on the 31st - the city was absolutely beautiful.

The Temple of the Horse at Night:

Pause. Gaze. Be Amazed.

Beautiful shot of the cathedral in Vienna mid-New Year's celebration!

Ok this pic is not of a happy moment actually. In a completely bizarre accident, a firecracker exploded on Max' FACE. It ricocheted off and burned a hole in her leather jacket and burned her chin. We all decided that it was time to head back to the hotel. Enough reveling already. But I had to include this because our hair looks FAB.

And No. We most certainly did NOT eat at the Wienerwald.

...and this last picture is a tradition. When Max and I became friends in Korea, one of our most fun moments was watching her sister get married on a cruise via WebCam! OF COURSE we had to toast her sis, so in order to show our support, we took a picture (the original is what you see me holding) with Champagne and the phone (which at the actual time several years ago, Max was using to congratulate the couple across the miles...)

Every single time we get together, we reenact the moment. Crazy traditions and inside jokes are the glue of Friendship! Love you, Max!