A Waltz, a Fall, and a Young Hare

A Waltz, a Fall, and a Young Hare

Or: How I came down very quickly at the Doctors’ Ball in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace

Prologue – An Invitation with a Touch of Glamour

Every year, we receive an invitation to the ball at Vienna’s Hofburg Palace. We’ve been there many times before — danced, laughed, and turned night into morning.

One day, when we told our daughter Tanja and her husband Sam about it, Sam’s eyes lit up. Sam is a doctor — and suddenly the plan was born: next year, the Doctors’ Ball.

So they traveled from Boston. We came from Hamburg. Meeting point: Vienna.

Some families meet in a café.

We meet in an imperial palace.

The Art of Making an Entrance

The Hofburg alone is worth the journey. But on ball nights, it becomes a stage.

Evening gowns everywhere, tails, bow ties. Dress code: White Tie. Strict. Formal. Mildly terrifying for anyone who packed the wrong suitcase.

We climb the grand staircase lined with red carpets and instantly feel more dignified. A photographer is already waiting on the first landing.

Perhaps even Sisi and Emperor Franz Joseph once walked these very steps.

And now us.

We did not walk.

We glided.

Everything Waltzes

Later, the call rang out: “Alles Walzer!” — and with that, all restraint was over.

People danced in the halls, laughed in the corridors, live music played in other rooms, and somewhere a disco was calling.

The Hofburg could be anything: opera house, ballroom, nightclub.

And we were determined to enjoy every last minute of the night.

The Descent

During a break, we were standing at the top of the staircase, ready to head downstairs.

Then it happened.

My shoe caught on a loose thread in the sisal carpet. I twisted my foot, lost my balance, slipped from Reinhold’s hand — and fell.

Not one step.
Not two.
The entire staircase.

Down I went.

Among elegantly dressed people who had probably expected many things that evening — but not me.

As I fell, I still saw Reinhold trying to save me and stumbling after me.

My only thought was:

This is going to end badly. He’ll crash into the wall any second now.

But instead, something entirely unexpected happened:

With a heroic leap, he jumped right over me — I was already lying at the bottom — and landed safely on his feet.

Doctors’ Ball – The Perfect Place to Fall

We were both unharmed.

Only my dignity had briefly lost consciousness.

Tanja and Sam stood at the top of the stairs and could hardly believe what they had just witnessed.

But then something lovely happened:

No one laughed. No one rolled their eyes. Instead, people immediately asked whether we were all right and if they could help.

So it turned out that for a dramatic tumble down a staircase, I could not have chosen a better place than a Doctors’ Ball.

Epilogue – A Line for the Family Chronicle

Later, we were sitting back at our table, replaying it all once more.

Then Sam said, in his wonderful American accent, completely deadpan:

“Reinhold, you jumped like a young hare.”

Since then, I have seen my husband with different eyes.

More reflections from the series “Life In Between” can be found 👉 here.