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.

Joey and I attended a ball in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, and it was surreal.

I don't mean to give the impression that the ball in Vienna was just sprung upon me when I arrived in Austria, and I had to find a fairy godmother to whip me up a gown. I did know that we'd be attending a ball in advance to our trip; I just hadn't pictured it being as elegant as it was. 

The ball was set to be held on the final night of my husband's work conference to Vienna, a send-off in true Viennese style. I was extremely excited for this event, and bought my gown about a month in advance to our flight out from Calgary. I was actually wedding dress shopping with my sisters, cousin, and mother, but managed to slip away for a moment to search for the perfect 'princess gown'.

I had wavered a bit on how extravagant I should go: just a fancy, sparkly cocktail dress? A floor-length evening gown? Or a giant, puffy ball gown like the ones I'd envisioned as a child?

Joey and I all dressed up and ready to go!

It was a definite no on the cocktail dress. I wear those on a regular occurrence to my husband's company dinners and events. A floor-length evening gown seemed more appropriate and elegant, and easy to pack... but my heart wasn't happy with any I saw.

This was a BALL. In a PALACE. A royal palace in VIENNA. I would probably never have a similar occasion in which to wear a giant, puffy, ridiculously extravagant ball gown. So that's what I went with.

Packing it was not fun. I've made a video on that, which you can watch below. I won't go into that too much because the video really says it all. But I did manage to get the gown to Austria with minimal wrinkles and zero damage, so I was quite happy about that.

The night of the ball, my husband and I got all dressed up and went down to the lobby to await our bus, which would take us to the Hofburg Palace. (I will go into more detail about the history of the Hofburg Palace and what it is like to visit in a later post.) Immediately upon entering the bustling lobby, where many other employees from Joey's company awaited the bus, I noticed something glaring. 

I was the only one in a ball gown.

Be yourself, be happy, and enjoy your life! 

All of the other ladies were either in classy yet fun cocktail frocks, or graceful and elegant floor-length dresses. I stood out like a sore thumb (a really fancy sore thumb, but a sore thumb nonetheless). I felt quite embarrassed at first, but made the choice to own my fashion selection and just enjoy the night. 

To my luck, no one considered my dress a fashion faux-pas (or if they did, they politely kept it to themselves, so thank you!). I got several compliments on the dress which helped to elevate my confidence a bit more. That confidence got knocked back down when we went to board our bus and the driver removed me from the line-up I was in, and asked me to wait for the next bus so I could board first and sit in the front due to the size of my dress.

This dress needed its own seat on the bus!

The darn dress was so puffy that I had to sit by myself in a front row seat, while the bulk of my dress basically sat in its own seat! Joey had to sit alone across the aisle from me as we drove to the dinner palace. 

Yes, we actually attended two different palaces that evening. We first dined at a private palace before going to the Hofburg Palace for the ball. Apparently in Vienna, smaller palaces, which were homes of aristocrats and nobility during the monarchy, were called a 'palais'. The palais where we were dining was called Palais Pallavicini. This privately owned 'mini palace' is nestled in the heart of Vienna, right next to the Hofburg Palace and the Spanish Riding School. The Palais Pallavicini was built in 1784 and purchased by the Pallavicini family in 1842, and has been in their possession ever since, for over 150 years!

The Palais Pallavicini was stunning and luxurious.

We were awed by this gorgeous and resplendent palais. Crystal and gold chandeliers dripped from every ceiling, and red carpets rolled out everywhere to make you feel like a star. Precious frescoes and tapestries hung from the walls, and gold foil designs decorated the ceilings and walls.

The impressive staircase at the Palais Pallavicini.

The grand staircase had an intricate stair rail, dramatically painted black, and I felt like I was in a movie as we made our way up to the ballrooms and dining area. The people who worked at the palais loved my dress, and in every room that we entered, they offered to take a photo of us. (And then kicked Joey out of the photo and wanted to take just a photo of me. It was a little funny!)

The lady in charge of organizing our dinner at the palais insisted I have a photo alone in this room! 

Our meal was served by individual waiters, who synchronized their every movement. Each dish was placed carefully on the table all at the same time, and whisked away just as methodically. The room did get stifling hot with all of the people and their fancy clothes, but when the staff opened the windows it cooled down enough to be able to eat.

One of the dining rooms at Palais Pallavicini.

We did not linger too long at the palais - just enough to mingle and enjoy a few drinks before our meal, and after we ate, it was already time to leave for the ball. Located at Number 5 Josefsplatz, the palais was literally right across the street from the Hofburg Palace, so the entire dinner party walked across the square towards the palace as a group. I hiked up my dress, and with considerable concentration, walked the cobblestoned streets in my high heels.

The Hofburg Palace, all lit up at night. 

If we thought the palais was impressive, we weren't even prepared for what the Hofburg had to offer. The palace is lit up at night with golden light, and it looks like a magical castle from a musical. Inside, another luxurious red carpet guided us through the palace entry way and up a wide flight of marble stairs towards the ballrooms.

They made me sit on the steps for the photo, with about 60 people watching. So embarrassing!

There were 9 rooms prepared for our evening event: the Festsaal, the Wintergarten, the Zeremoniensaal, the Mamorsaal, the Antekammer, the Rittersaal, the Trabantenstube, the Hofburg Galerie, and the Hofburg Lounge. All were connected by a massive hallway called the Seitengalerie. Each room had a different theme and activity associated with it, all to keep our giant group of people flowing from one to the next and never get bored.

The main ballroom in the Hofburg Palace. Just stunning!

The Festsaal was the main room for the evening's event, the 'grand ballroom' so to speak. The room itself was stunning in its immense size, its decorations and details, and the amazing lighting from the chandeliers to the evening's atmospheric glow. This room took my breath away. It was in this room that a live classical band was playing (although, to be honest, they played just about any music) and in this room we also had the chance to see many dance routines.

Acrobatic modern dance at the Hofburg Palace.

We witnessed some beautiful waltzing by the 24 Debutantes of Elmayer Dance School, and an exotic modern dance and acrobatic routine from Nikolay Spira and Viktorya Khil. Also in the main ballroom, we learned how to waltz ourselves from the Midnight Quadrille, where I failed miserably.

Watching the waltz before we try to learn it ourselves.

In the Wintergarten, the Hofburg staff kept us content with many desserts, snacks, and beverages. This room had plush couches and chairs where people could sit, eat, relax, and mingle.

The Zeremoniensaal had a swing band called the Divertimento Viennese performing songs from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, who alternated with a second band called the Wolfsband who performed more modern songs. The mix of bands kept everyone moving and dancing. This room was stunning because of its dozens of chandeliers; when you looked at the ceiling it was like staring into a crystal kaleidoscope.

The beautiful chandelier room, as I called it. 

The Mamorsaal had gaming tables set up all around its perimeter, with Vegas style gambling games at the ready for guests. Each game focused on wine tasting, wine knowledge, and all things wine, since the theme of the room was a "Wine Casino". The ultimate goal: fill your stamp sheet up with 8 stamps and enter to win a wine basket.

Losing badly at the "Wines Around the World" game

The Antekammer had a photo 'booth' set up with a red-carpet style backdrop and more wine-tasting. The line up for the photo booth was a bit too much for me, so Joey and I opted to pass it up in favour of exploring the remaining rooms. 

The Rittersaal allowed people the opportunity to learn to waltz, and had waltzing lessons every half hour. Dance instructors were at the ready to teach people the basic moves of the waltz, which I found extremely difficult. I also wasn't quite in the frame of mind to spend half an hour taking a lesson, so that may have also factored into my difficulties learning the dance. I just wanted to see everything - no time to waste!

Joey and I danced for a few moments, but we are both AWFUL dancers!

The Trabantenstube was a "Neon Baroque" bar that was serving two specialty cocktails, each named after a former Austrian emperor. The room was packed to the brim, so we didn't even have a chance to go in. The same went for the Hofburg Lounge, yet another narrow 'bar' in the palace that was full and rather uneventful unless you just wanted to sit and drink.

The Hofburg Galerie was the room we ended up spending the most time in, especially towards the end of the evening, as it had a really fun DJ who was playing music from the 90s and today. He took requests, which we delighted in. My most epic moment from our time at the Hofburg Ball was dancing to Aqua's "Barbie Girl" in my giant ball gown with my group of girls. Too fun!

The Hofburg Galerie was where we had the most dancing fun!

We had such an amazing time at the ball. We stayed until the very last buses were due to take us back to our hotel - I was whisked away by friends onto the second last bus, as they were all terrified we'd miss our ride and I'd have to walk all the way back across Vienna in my giant ballgown. No one wanted to be escorting me if that happened! Joey missed out because he was busy being a chatterbox with everyone, and literally got the LAST bus home.

Second-to-last bus home - what an amazing, magical night!

The ball in the Hofburg Palace was easily the most magical night of my life. I cannot thank Joey's company enough for such an indescribable evening; we are so spoiled and so lucky!