entschuldigung

Believe it or not, I'm sitting in a Starbucks. In Vienna. Not what you expected, you say? Me either.

We are moving towards our last week here in Austria. Time has just flown by! We've seen a lot - museums, fabulous artwork, grand architecture, hundreds of coffeehouses. We've eaten most of the famous Austrian dishes, in Salzburg and here in Vienna. I've tried the coffee, the schnitzel, the frankfurter, etc. And the best part for me? All the fabulous music. I think I've seen 3 operas and 3 or 4 spectacular concerts since we've been here. There is a Mozart opera tonight at the Staatsoper that I'm not going to because my feet are extremely mad at me for what I did to them last night - the 2011 Officer's Ball at the Hofburg Palace.

Where should I start?

LCSO arrived in Munich on January 7th and drove straight to Salzburg, introducing us to the glorious Alps and the phenomenon of paying to use a public bathroom. Salzburg was my favorite, I think. Smallish town, gorgeous buildings and views, surrounded by unparalleled mountainous terrain... Absolutely beautiful. We spent two days there, getting accustomed to Austrian culture and the language, especially. Luckily I just finished my second semester of German back at Luther, so I had enough to get me around and to help out those around me. Although, they can totally tell when you're an American, even if you try to speak in German. You'll say, "Ich möchte ein Bier, bitte," and they'll respond with, "Two euro fifty, please." I met an Austrian officer last night who said that their English response was more of their way of trying to be friendly with us, but it just feels as though we are being mocked. Sometimes it works, though, and they will respond in German so quickly that I can't understand them and then I have to say, "Es tut mir leid, ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsche!" Then they will either laugh and respond in English, or scowl and respond in English. Curious people, the Austrians.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed walking around Salzburg by the river, seeing the old fortress and climbing the 2000+ stairs (don't know that for a fact, but it felt like so much more!) to the very top. We loved finding the local bars and ordering a beer just for fun - apparently I'm the only one the group to have gotten carded so far. Didn't think I looked like I was 16, but whatever. I enjoyed picking up a few groceries at the Billa near our hotel for late night snacks - Nutella and Tuc crackers. The best. We visited Mozart's birthplace, an old cemetery with Mozart's wife and father's graves, several fabulous shopping streets, and many local eateries. I have fallen in love with the kepab and frankfurter.

So after a couple days of sight seeing and general assimilation, we took a bus to Vienna. First we stopped off at the Mathausen Concentration Camp for a visit - a very sobering experience. I never thought I would get to see a concentration camp in my lifetime, and after years of learning about the Holocaust in school I was ______ (what is the right word for this?) to finally get to visit one. We arrived in Wien late that night, ate dinner at the hotel, and had a quick map orientation and introduction to the U-bahn, the underground train system that we use to go all over the city. Early rehearsals the next morning and for the rest of the day, and then I can't remember what we did on our first day, but I'm pretty sure there was an opera involved. The Staatsoper is a gorgeous opera house at the center of the city, right on the main drag, the Ringstraße. The center of Vienna is encircled by the Ringstraße, which used to be where the original limits and fortress walls of the city were. Eventually they were broken down and the city expanded past the Ring and allowed for the public use of the city center. It is now full of the most important buildings and fabulous shopping in the entire city, like the opera house, Musikverein (concert hall), Konzerthaus, Rathaus (city hall), and several large cathedrals. So! The Staatsoper! Fun experience... we ended up going three nights in a row because we loved it so much. The Vienna Phil usually plays in the pit, and the singers are phenomenal, of course. It is a beautiful place to hear equally beautiful music. Big fan of the Staatsoper.

What else, what else...

Life is not exactly what I expected it to be like in Vienna. I think I expected more of the experience I got in Salzburg - smaller town, more of a local economy, seriously historical. And not that Vienna isn't historical, because it absolutely is. The Viennese thrive on their past and it shows. It's just that I wasn't expecting the large, bustling metropolis that it seems to be. The street that our hotel is on, Mariahilferstraße, reminds me of lower Manhattan in New York City. But, there is an old, old church about a block down from our hotel entrance, right smack dab in between the Pizza/Kebap stand and some other fancy clothing store. So that's a great distinguishing feature - shoppingshoppingshoppingReallyFabulousOldChurchshoppingshopping... Haha, there is great shopping, though, and three H&M stores, all within about 3 blocks of the hotel! Not to mention the Starbucks that I'm in now, as well as the classiest McDonalds you will ever see. Some friends and I made it a nightly habit to go to the McDonalds, order fries, and use their janky wifi for an hour or two, until we discovered that one of the rooms in the hotel gets the wifi from the Cafe Ritter next door. One of our other favorite places to eat is the Lucky Noodle, just this tiny Asian noodle place on the next block over. And I have a personal favorite, the Schnitzelhaus. Not only do they have excellent schnitzel, they have fabulous Nutella crepe things. They aren't called crepes, but they look like it. They also have wifi, and I'm notorious for stopping by the outside real quick in the mornings before rehearsals to download my emails. Keeps me sane, what can I say?

Rehearsals have been going well, by the way. We had our last full rehearsal at the Haus der Begegnung on Otto-Bauergasse, about 3 blocks from the hotel, on Friday afternoon. We cleared the floor afterwards and had a dance lesson on the Viennese Waltz for the ball that evening. We were champions at it, let me tell you. :-) Anyway, our first performance is on Monday in Stockerau. I think I will enjoy this next week more than the other two weeks that we've been here. I mean, we came here to perform and that is what I want to do, darn it! I can only stand so much sight-seeing, and I'm about ready to show Austria why the hell we are here in the first place. We take our final exam for our Viennese History class on Tuesday, and then perform again on Wednesday in another city that I can't remember the name of, and then finally on Thursday in the Wien Konzerthaus. We attended a performance of the Vienna Symphony in the Konzerthaus last week, and it was amazing. They played Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 (which was less than stellar only because of the soloist) and a Brahms Symphony. I sat in the first row and had a fantastic view of the concertmaster (who was playing on a Guarneri, by the way. I was less than 10 feet away from a Guarneri violin). Learned a lot from him. Anyway, the Konzerthaus is a fabulous venue, and I know our performance and the atmosphere will make my parents cry. They are coming on Tuesday to see our Wednesday and Thursday performances, and generally make me the happiest girl in Vienna with their presence. Pumped.

Overall, it's been a great trip so far. I am used to the routine of rehearsal - lunch - rehearsal - museum/walking around - concert/opera - maybe a bar sometimes (I've only been out to experience Vienna nightlife once) - bed. I am well versed in the U-bahn and feel awesome that I know enough German to speak with the locals and order food. I think everyone else in the symphony is thoroughly enjoying themselves as well, and hopefully soon after we get back I will have a fabulous video documentary to post from all the video footage I've taken while being here!

Here's to all the fabulous coffee, culture, and craziness that is Vienna. Auf wiedersehen, meine Fruende!