Earlier this month I attended a wonderful horse show titled “Cavalluna – Grand Moments”. Cavalluna is a traveling horse show that is based in Germany though puts on performances in other European countries too, especially Switzerland and Austria. I had a busy yet entertaining day.
Why
After living as somewhat of a Vagabond in Austria for about six months, I finally found and moved into a good apartment to live in for over a year. Nearby and to the west of the apartment is a large indoor event venue named Stadthalle. Events ranging from concerts to magic shows have been hosted there. I often see posters advertising the events while I am out walking my dog Peanut. I had decided that I would go to an event at Stadthalle at some point. One day in April while walking my dog, I noticed a neat poster with a white horse on it and a purple background. It was advertising a show named Cavalluna – Grand Moments, and it was to be shown at Statdthalle in May. I decided this would be a great chance to check out Statdhalle, as horses interest me. I bought a ticket online a little under two weeks in advance. By then, to my surprise, the vast majority of the tickets were already sold out. The Saturday afternoon show, which I selected, had only single tickets left. I was going by myself, so this wasn’t an issue. The seats are arranged in somewhat of a C shape in the arena. I selected a seat that was somewhat in the middle of the C, though on the outer edge and close to the bottom of the C. I printed out two tickets to make sure I would get to go. I continued on with life as usual in Graz for the next 10 or so days.
Going for a Walk and the Flea Market
It was now the day of the show. The weather was nice, and as usual I went for several dog walks that day. One was a long walk during the late morning and until about noon. While walking by the local Catholic parish on the way back, I noticed a flea market for kids to sell things was set up there. I had been collecting a few children’s books to learn German with. I wasn’t quite ready for them yet, because I don’t know the preterite (past) tense yet, but I will be soon. This flea market is not a regular event. For all I know it is only once a year. Seeing it as a unique opportunity to get some good children’s books, I decided that I should go. I finished up the walk, and checking the time, believed I had enough time to go to the flea market for a little bit, come home and eat lunch, and then head out in time to be a few minutes early for the show. I grabbed a 10 euro bill, and went out the door. I decided to ride my bike there to save a few minutes, even though I was close by.
I showed up to the flea market. I don’t remember the exact number, but I think there were about eight different tables set up, with a kid or two plus maybe a parent at each one. Most of the merchandise was either toys or books. I went around to different tables and looked at books. Typically I would ask the kid or adult “Was kostet das?”, which semantically means “What does this cost?”. The first book I bought was 2 euros. I paid with the 10 euro bill, and got change in euro coins. I went to other tables, and at all but one of those I bought a book. The books were all either 1 or 2 euros. In total I bought five books. I got a good mix. Three of them are picture books for little kids, one is a chapter book, and the fifth book is a nonfiction book about the earth. The chapter book is titled Die drei??? Das Geheimnis der Geisterinset. I had not heard of it before, but as a flipped through it a bit I noticed that a movie was made based on the story, the book is not too long, and it appears to be written for kids, so I figured it would be a good next step when I am done reading books for kindergarteners. I’ve included a picture of the five books. They are titled: Die drei??? Das Geheimnis der Geisterinset, Tiere aus Afrika, Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu: Coole Ninja-Abenteuer, Der Kleine Drache Kokosnuss kommt in den Kindergarten, and Kinder entdecken … Unsere Erde. I then went home.
Getting to the Show and Seat Drama
I arrived home and looked at my watch. I was gone at least 10 minutes longer than I expected, and now only had about 20 or 30 minutes to make and eat lunch. I fed Peanut some dog food. I think I ate a typical lunch for me, which was fruit (maybe a pear), nuts, cheese, and a sandwich, with water to drink. I also think I saved some of my sandwich in order to save time. I was rushed. I don’t like to rush when I eat, but this was a special occasion. Another thing I had to do that I don’t like was leave before I finished cleaning up, but whatever. I would finish cleaning up shortly after getting back. I made sure I had my two copies of my one ticket, my phone, the case of which is also my wallet, apartment keys, and ran out the door. I live maybe a half a mile away from Stadthalle, and the distance might actually be slightly less. I jogged over there, walking as I got close to the entrance. The show was scheduled for 2 o’clock, and I got in there at about 1:56, give or take a minute.
I quickly found my seat, and the show had not started yet at 2 sharp. However, there was a woman in my seat who was there with her husband and daughter. I tried to talk to them in some broken German, though the conversation soon switched to English, which the husband spoke fluently. I had the ticket for seat 70 in the back row, and he had the ticket for 73, but there was no 73, so he and his family each shifted down one place. There was no one in seat 69 or the next few seats, so I sat in it.
However, a woman and a group of girls, maybe her daughters or daughter and some friends, showed up like two minutes later. Me and the man told them the situation. I kept sitting in the seat, and one of the young girls sat on a step. The show hadn’t started yet. I told the adults near me that I would go look for an employee to talk to. I explained to an usher the situation, and offered to move seats if one is available, by typing a long sentence or two into Google Translate, showing her both the English and German versions of what I was trying to say. The usher followed me and I pointed out the seats. She talked to the man that had a ticket for a nonexistent seat. He then told me that the usher said I can take an open seat, and that there was one. I think he said the open seat was at the other very end of the row, seat 1. So, I went looking for it while the show was starting up. When I got there, that seat was occupied, but I noticed something better. I saw several rows in front of me was a group of three unoccupied seats. I asked a young woman sitting next to the three seats if they were free by pointing at a seat and saying “Ist dieser Platz frei?” and she said that they were, so I sat in the middle one. I now had quite a bit of space in an otherwise crowded venue. No one ever showed up and claimed those seats, so I was fine. I looked around a bit. While I think the typical audience members were parents and their daughters, there was quite a bit of age and gender diversity there. Cavalluna – Grand Moments was now going on.
The Show Itself
The Cavalluna show itself was neat. I think there was a story, but it was narrated in German and I hardly understood a word of it. This wasn’t an issue, as there was not much narration at all, and I was mainly there to see horses. The show included various horses and their very skilled riders, plus acrobats, dancers, music, and some sort of clown like main character, who looked like a mime in regards to face paint. There was music, which at times was pre recorded music played through the speakers, and at other times was live piano music. The lighting was pretty cool. There were colored lights which often shown blue, purple, or red, and there was a giant projection screen at the back which was on sometimes, often showing scening views. Other times it was off and so all of the focus was on the performers. The horsemen and horsewomen would do tricks such as riding while standing up, or while standing sideways. A couple of the dancers were men who can do flips. A cute bit of comedy was added to the show by the inclusion of some small creatures that I believe were ponies. Overall, the show was great. Whether you are a kid or an adult, male or female, I think you would find Cavalluna to be an entertaining show
Conclusion
Although I had to hustle to avoid being late, I had a very entertaining day. I got some good books and not only did I get to see the inside of Stadthalle, I got to see a great show.