a perfect sunday morning

I have not attended very many Masses, and today was the first time that I attended one in German. I am not sure that I understood anything of what transpired during the service, and if I am fortunate to attend another, I probably still wouldn’t know when to stand/sit. It was interesting that a lot of elements that I thought were characteristic of Buddhism were featured- incense, melodious speaking. But of course there were also a lot of plagal cadences. The Viennese Boys’ choir was amazing, and I am quite sure they will be the highlight of my trip to Vienna. Anna and I had quite strange seats in the wings, so we couldn’t see the priests at all, but we had a very good view (and acoustics) of the boys.



At first I didn’t understand why cameras were prohibited, but I realised when the priests and offering bags came around that it was, in every way, an actual service and not just a performance.

Likewise, photography was prohibited at the Spanish Riding School, because it distracts the Lippizaners. But the room was very nice.



I wondered why they had such an ugly carpet, but when the horses came out I realised that it’s actually hay…? Well I’m not sure if hay usually looks like that, but it was something earthy.

It was very cold and rainy in the morning, but sky lightened in the afternoon and the weather warmed up to a comfortable chill- this is taking into account the double layer of thermals that I was wearing, and so on. I am fairly certain I accidentally started skipping at one point down this path:

Finally, Christmas markets are going to dominate any evening in Vienna. This is not as exciting for me as it is for my Finnish and Greek (warm) wine-drinking friends, but the markets do sell very beautiful ornaments. Each ball is about $40 SGD (I’m out of touch with the SGD/AUD exchange rate, sorry!). I am certain the more intricate ones would cost significantly more.