Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace: Imperial Splendour

Our first morning in Vienna, Austria, my husband and I were booked by his company to tour the majestic Schönbrunn Palace. The tour promised to expose us to the "Imperial Splendour" that Austria, and Vienna in particular, is famous for.

(The day's agenda was literally titled "Imperial Splendour" so that there would be no mistaking what we were about the experience that morning!)

The incredible Schönbrunn Palace is well-worth a visit if you are ever in Vienna. It is so impressive that it has made it onto the UNESCO World Heritage Site list of attractions, and sees up to 8 million visitors a year - so don't expect to be puttering around the grounds alone! However, just because Schönbrunn Palace is busy does not mean you should skip seeing it.

Attending a Ball at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria

As a little girl growing up under the influence of Disney princesses and romantic musicals, I always pretended to be a lady of culture attending a fairytale ball. I'd put on my best dress or costume gown, slide into my mother's high heels, and waltz around the kitchen while my parents did their best not to trip over me while they made dinner.

As I aged, I realized that in our modern society, princes inviting all maidens in the land far and wide to cha-cha though his castle is not exactly a common occurrence. In fact, dances of any kind can be a bit difficult to find. In my community, there are lots of charity auctions, gala dinners, and special events, but very rarely do these occasions include a dance of any sort, let alone a ball that matched my vision as a wee girl.

"Do balls even exist anymore?" I wondered, and I truly believed the answer was NO.

But then I went to Vienna, and I attended what felt like a royal ball inside a true-blue palace, where I wore a legitimate ball gown, and for the first time in my life, I actually felt like a Disney princess come to life.