7:30 a.m. Man, it was early. Up for class.
8:15 a.m. Leave my dorm, positive that I am going to be late for class.
8:45 a.m. After rushing there, I arrive 15 minutes early.
I am relieved to find out that the textbook for this class is only optional! I think maybe the teacher was required to add one for the class, but I think it almost completely unnecessary due to the way the class is taught.
Four hours of sleepy class time, I really like this class, but I did not get enough sleep the night before. We learn about learning theories and operant and classical conditioning.
1:00 p.m. Class gets out! Rita and I wait around, she for a call, me for Kim. When Kim arrives, we eat our packed lunch, and decide we all desperately need coffee. It is super-rainy outside again, but we decide to go to a restaurant called e-Wok that is right next to the nearest U-Bahn station. The three of us have a great time getting to know each other over coffee, I think a girls-night is in our future.
2:45 p.m. Kim and I part ways with Rita, and go in search of our voice lessons!
We get there easily. Too easily in fact. We end up being a half-hour early. We get into their building, and a man answers the door. We are slightly confused, also because we say hello and he gives us a quiet smile in return.
1. I LOVE this apartment.
2. I got a really good impression of Diana Jacklin, she seems like a very nurturing personality. I can't wait to have more lessons with her. She gave me lot's of "Don't be delicate." and "Don't tighten up." Which I think I have been sub-consciously waiting to hear, because I responded almost immediately to a lot of the technical things she did with me. I warmed up to a high C! and it really did not feel like a high C.
5:30 p.m. After Kim's lesson we realize we have no idea where we are going for our "dinner party." Diana helps us get the gist of where we are going, and we head off!
6:00 p.m. We have a hard time finding the right building. We may have rang some random persons buzzer. She may have said "Hallo?" and then Kim may have said something like "Spreche die Deutsch?" and the lady may have hung up on us. Then we may have run away out of embarrassment.
6:15 p.m. We call Fabian, and we meets us and walks us to his flat. We would have never made it there on our own. :)
We arrive and meet twelve other Austrians! We also find out, that this is not a "dinner party" but a "cooking dinner party." Fabian 2 is a culinary student, and really very talented. He splits us up into three groups. Each group is going to cook a course! Course one: lentil salad with pierogi-type garlic pockets. (The names and foods were all new, so I apologize for my incorrect descriptions.) Course two, the main course, was shoulder of lamb with some sort of creamy horse radish salad/soup, and polenta with eggplant. Course three was dessert, an orange puree tart, some sort of gourmet chocolate ice cream, and sweet wafer. Each course was paired with wine. Everyone had to wear an apron, and work with their team to make their part of the meal.
Kim was on dessert, I was on the main course. Everyone was extremely nice! They helped us along with the German as best they could, I had tasks like cutting onions, and grating giant wobbly horse radishes! That took a very long time. Those things are enormous! Literally the size of a child's baseball bat, but just a little droopy, so that if you hold one up, it wobbles. It is hard to explain. Basically, we had to grate two whole ones. It took a long time, but it gave me a chance to settle in, try to learn some names, although still there are some faces without names. It was all pretty overwhelming after a while though. Kim and I had not eaten much, and the dinner itself took almost three hours to prepare. It was a great learning experience being in a kitchen full of German speakers, and lots of fun! After a while, I broke off form my group in search of Kim because everyone had a task, and were chattering away in German.
Also, there was a chef's hat being passed around that everyone had to wear at one point during the night!
I met her group, and together, we prepared berries for the desert. They were very pretty orange berries, not sure what they are called, but it was our job to peel back the dry leaves, and twist them into little ornate hats for each berry. Most of them did not look as good as the example berry that Fabian 2 showed us, but it was fun.
After such a long time watching, cooking, focusing on German to try and understand, Kim and I ended up sitting down together. We were both exhausted and hungry, we just hadn't realized it until that moment (now around 9:30?) because we were having so much fun with all these new friends.
Finally dinner time arrived! We had set the table, and I think seven people sat on each side, with Fabian 2, the master chef, at the head of the table.
Three courses were served to a tee! Each team served their own plates, which were beautifully arranged and presented by Fabian 2. The conversation was varied and the mix of people was very nice! The only time the conversation died down was when the lamb was served, and everyone was too hungry to focus on eating it, and talking!
We stayed until about 2. Finishing the food and wine, having coffee with dessert, and talking with people we did not originally sit by. By 1:30 I was so tired that I was getting goofy, so i suggested that we head out. Saying goodbyes took a while, because here everyone says goodbye individually, and kisses are exchanged! It is a lovely tradition that I think we should adopt in the states. A large group left for the U-Bahn at the same time, so we did not lose our way. It was pouring outside at this point, and Kim let me share her tiny umbrella with her, so by the time we got there we were both drenched.
We stayed with two new friends until Schwedenplatz, and then bid them farewell.
3:00 a.m. We arrive at Kagraner Platz. The night bus is still 28 minutes away. We really don't want to wait so early in the morning, at the bus stop for a half hour. We try in vain to flag down a cab, until one comes to a stop at the intersection across the street from us. I am really strange, and I have never hailed a cab before like a normal person, so for some reason my first reaction is to literally jump up and down (hands still in coat pockets) to get is attention. It works!
Home safe in just a couple minutes after that, we are exhausted and crash.
Crazy night! Feeling really lucky! It seems like very day provides new adventures.
E
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Meeting Thomas Hampson
7:50 a.m. We are both up. It takes Kim a couple of tries to get me out of bed, but I get there.
8:30 a.m. We head out in search of Mr. Dunn's apartment, we are going for breakfast, and a class he offers on great performances of classical music. The other students are wives of diplomats and ambassadors.
9:30 a.m. We arrive, tired but ready, and after a cup of coffee and some breakfast pastries we settle into class.
There are only two other women who could attend today, both of whom were extremely easy to get along with, especially one from England!
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and the Shostakovich Piano Quintet in g minor. Both great pieces.
After class, we head to Dobliger, and Kim orders some music since the aria she wanted was not in stock. Then we head home because I desperately need a nap after getting up so early.
2:00 p.m. While riding the U-bahn, the train stops for probably a full fifteen minutes. and then at the next stop for another ten minutes. Of course, there is a German voice over the intercom that explains the situation, but Kim and I cannot really decipher it.
Exhausted, nap time.
5:00 p.m. Wake up! Time to find der Musikverein! We get ready, and head out the door!
6:15 p.m. It is raining outside, and Kim and I did not bring umbrellas :( . We trek most of the way there. (By the way, we don't exactly know where we are going. We have been there once though...) Our hair and clothes are soaked, and we get discouraged, we duck into a grocery store to get a break from the rain. We are both pretty distressed.
I turn to Kim, "Want to just call it quits?"
"We are almost there I think, and we have come this far..."
"Ok, let's do this."
We charge back out into the rain, the wind is strong, so it is hard to look up, but down a side street, I think I see the venue. If that's the one, and we could just go straight there, we could not have to use the circuitous route we had planned on going! We head down the side street, as we come closer we realize that it is indeed the Concert House we need!
"I'm a genius!" I cry.
"I want to kiss you on the mouth!" replies Kim.
We rush into the ticket office. Six Euro apiece. Not too shabby!
7:00 p.m. We get grouped in a blobbular line-ish formation pointed up the stairs, and wait. Kim and I joke around, as is our fashion. Definitely nothing obnoxious, but quiet jokes between the two of us. The people in line around us gave us the meanest looks! Austrians take themselves so seriously.
Side-note: (In class, most of our reading has been on the subject of how Viennese life seems so glamorous, but is really gritty and real. Honestly, while this is definitely true, and has been (especially in the past), there is a certain pride that Austrians seem to take in the fact that they suffer, and definitely an enjoyment, not necessarily of the "cafe glamour" facade itself, but, in fact, of the fact that they have a facade to up-keep. It is all very romantic.)
Anyway, we finally move to our standing area. Basically its a pen for hungry musicians. The first ones in sprint up to the bar marking the section, quickly tying scarves to their places to warn others away. Everyone else was sentenced to stand as close as possibly behind them, but we had to stay there because there is no way to mark you spot on the floor without really being weird.
I strike up a conversation with the girl next to me, and we hit it off right away! Her name is Aurelia, from Romania. She is a pianist, and a conservatory student here in Vienna! She and I talk non-stop until the performance begins, and she gives us tips on how to snag seats when people don't show, or they aren't sold. (Plans were made to come see her perform, and hopefully she can hook us up with a student recital schedule, so we can hear some singers our age!)
First on the program was Schubert's "Rosamunde" overture. Happy!
Next, was a new piece. And one that Kim and I both fell deeply in love with on first listen. Here is a link, because I highly recommend a listen. It doesn't contain the whole piece, but an interview with the composer, and some clips. It truly is a great work, like synapses firing in the brain, reminding me of events ranging from falling in love, to the destruction of worlds, and throughout there is a throbbing, rhythmic, like the beating of a heart or a drum. Just wonderful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjrEL_QBYjI
So now come the good stuff! I chicken out when Aurelia invites us to steal seats, so Kim and I remain in the standing only section. She is a very experienced concert-goer, and knows just what to do! During intermission, I meet a girl from Thailand who plays clarinet in a small music school in Vienna, but wishes to attend the larger conservatory here! She was with her mom, who was as adorable as her! They let us look at their programs. (We never get them because they cost at least 3 extra Euros, which in some cases is more than our ticket!)
The second half begins. Unexpectedly, the director walks onstage, and announces something in German. Murmurs run through the crowd. I frantically ask the woman in front of me what is going on.
"The tenor has a cold."
A cold? Ok. So, Thomas Hampson steps onstage, and sings two thirds of his half of the piece. (Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde) Everything that he does onstage is exquisite, a true master of his craft. We are slightly more confused, when he walks off stage after performing only two of the three songs assigned to the baritone. So at this point we have heard numbers 2 and 4 out of 6.
A pause, and the director comes on yet again. Another announcement in German. Another rushed explaination.
"They are waiting for the tenor to get better."
From a cold?
A long intermission is taken, many people leave. Aurelia comes and finds us and gives us the whole story. (Her English is excellent.) The tenor is having Kidney problems and is in a lot of pain, most likely a kidney stone. There are doctors on site trying to help him through it. They are waiting to see if he will be able to sing, since there is no replacement.
More waiting.
The orchestra assembles onstage, and everyone finds their seats and/or spaces. Then everyone realizes at the same time that there are tons of empty seats in the audience now! A mad dash is made for the seats, (after intermission, everything left open is pretty much fair game) Aurelia catches my eye, and waves me down. She has saved two seats near her for Kim and I.
Now in our seats, we see the director walk onstage yet again. Another announcement. Aurelia translates: There is a tenor who has been booked on this stage later in the season, singing a Beethoven piece, which they had been rehearsing already. The Mahler was in his best known repertoire, and he has come in as an emergency replacement!
This man is a hero.
He really was. Everyone on that stage pulled together, and gave an altogether inspired performance. The tenor was incredible. The energy onstage was incredible. When he had performed his half, 1, 3, and 5, the applause was riotous. Three times he was called back on the stage, the last time because, as the applause dwindled, a single clap was heard loud and strong from the back of the audience, and inspired by his excitement, the entire audience again burst into applause.
Now, after all that excitement, Thomas Hampson stepped back onto the stage. Man, that guy is huge! And the image of strength and control onstage. He performed the last part, number 6. Even though it was now way later than intended, there were invisible sparks of energy flying off that stage. The evening closed, finally, and during the thundering applause, Aurelia took us to the stage door.
We were pretty much first in line, Aurelia really knows what's up. She had to split because she is driving back to Romania tonight for Easter break with her family. That left just me and Kim. We suddenly were extremely nervous.
Of course some creepy guy comes over while we are waiting.
"gibberish"
"Sorry, we don't speak German."shortly.
"You sound so American." creepily.
"I am so American." shortly.
"Well, you look European."
Then we play the avoid-eye-contact game until the doors open. We are led, in a line, to a small room with a couch and a piano, where King Hampson shall receive his visitors.
We must have looked like such goons. We both had the biggest smiles on our faces. I opened with, "We are American music students!" He shook both our hands, we talk about Missouri, and where he is from, how Matt saw him in Athens, Georgia, how I would really like to see his American Art Song Recital. How we both were so impressed by him. He talked to us in no rush, just as if he was not a super-singer. It was very refreshing, and it definitely put us at ease, since we were both giddy to meet a famous person. He took a couple pictures with us and even made a joke about "Awll mah brothers buried dawhn in Missourah."
Kim and I were starstruck the rest of the night. Even when the coat check had shut down, with our coats still in it, and we had to go searching for another office on the other side of the building for where our coats had been stashed.
Magic happened tonight. Musicians pulled together and showed their strengths. All of the chaos made the night what it was. (Of course I really would like to hear the Mahler in order at some point, but I made my point.) It was one of those movie-moments, where 30 minutes before the number goes onstage, the lead singer falls ill, and its up to everyone else, and some brave soul to pick up the pieces because the show must go on!
Lemon out.
Goodnight!
E
8:30 a.m. We head out in search of Mr. Dunn's apartment, we are going for breakfast, and a class he offers on great performances of classical music. The other students are wives of diplomats and ambassadors.
9:30 a.m. We arrive, tired but ready, and after a cup of coffee and some breakfast pastries we settle into class.
There are only two other women who could attend today, both of whom were extremely easy to get along with, especially one from England!
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and the Shostakovich Piano Quintet in g minor. Both great pieces.
After class, we head to Dobliger, and Kim orders some music since the aria she wanted was not in stock. Then we head home because I desperately need a nap after getting up so early.
2:00 p.m. While riding the U-bahn, the train stops for probably a full fifteen minutes. and then at the next stop for another ten minutes. Of course, there is a German voice over the intercom that explains the situation, but Kim and I cannot really decipher it.
Exhausted, nap time.
5:00 p.m. Wake up! Time to find der Musikverein! We get ready, and head out the door!
6:15 p.m. It is raining outside, and Kim and I did not bring umbrellas :( . We trek most of the way there. (By the way, we don't exactly know where we are going. We have been there once though...) Our hair and clothes are soaked, and we get discouraged, we duck into a grocery store to get a break from the rain. We are both pretty distressed.
I turn to Kim, "Want to just call it quits?"
"We are almost there I think, and we have come this far..."
"Ok, let's do this."
We charge back out into the rain, the wind is strong, so it is hard to look up, but down a side street, I think I see the venue. If that's the one, and we could just go straight there, we could not have to use the circuitous route we had planned on going! We head down the side street, as we come closer we realize that it is indeed the Concert House we need!
"I'm a genius!" I cry.
"I want to kiss you on the mouth!" replies Kim.
We rush into the ticket office. Six Euro apiece. Not too shabby!
7:00 p.m. We get grouped in a blobbular line-ish formation pointed up the stairs, and wait. Kim and I joke around, as is our fashion. Definitely nothing obnoxious, but quiet jokes between the two of us. The people in line around us gave us the meanest looks! Austrians take themselves so seriously.
Side-note: (In class, most of our reading has been on the subject of how Viennese life seems so glamorous, but is really gritty and real. Honestly, while this is definitely true, and has been (especially in the past), there is a certain pride that Austrians seem to take in the fact that they suffer, and definitely an enjoyment, not necessarily of the "cafe glamour" facade itself, but, in fact, of the fact that they have a facade to up-keep. It is all very romantic.)
Anyway, we finally move to our standing area. Basically its a pen for hungry musicians. The first ones in sprint up to the bar marking the section, quickly tying scarves to their places to warn others away. Everyone else was sentenced to stand as close as possibly behind them, but we had to stay there because there is no way to mark you spot on the floor without really being weird.
I strike up a conversation with the girl next to me, and we hit it off right away! Her name is Aurelia, from Romania. She is a pianist, and a conservatory student here in Vienna! She and I talk non-stop until the performance begins, and she gives us tips on how to snag seats when people don't show, or they aren't sold. (Plans were made to come see her perform, and hopefully she can hook us up with a student recital schedule, so we can hear some singers our age!)
First on the program was Schubert's "Rosamunde" overture. Happy!
Next, was a new piece. And one that Kim and I both fell deeply in love with on first listen. Here is a link, because I highly recommend a listen. It doesn't contain the whole piece, but an interview with the composer, and some clips. It truly is a great work, like synapses firing in the brain, reminding me of events ranging from falling in love, to the destruction of worlds, and throughout there is a throbbing, rhythmic, like the beating of a heart or a drum. Just wonderful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjrEL_QBYjI
So now come the good stuff! I chicken out when Aurelia invites us to steal seats, so Kim and I remain in the standing only section. She is a very experienced concert-goer, and knows just what to do! During intermission, I meet a girl from Thailand who plays clarinet in a small music school in Vienna, but wishes to attend the larger conservatory here! She was with her mom, who was as adorable as her! They let us look at their programs. (We never get them because they cost at least 3 extra Euros, which in some cases is more than our ticket!)
The second half begins. Unexpectedly, the director walks onstage, and announces something in German. Murmurs run through the crowd. I frantically ask the woman in front of me what is going on.
"The tenor has a cold."
A cold? Ok. So, Thomas Hampson steps onstage, and sings two thirds of his half of the piece. (Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde) Everything that he does onstage is exquisite, a true master of his craft. We are slightly more confused, when he walks off stage after performing only two of the three songs assigned to the baritone. So at this point we have heard numbers 2 and 4 out of 6.
A pause, and the director comes on yet again. Another announcement in German. Another rushed explaination.
"They are waiting for the tenor to get better."
From a cold?
A long intermission is taken, many people leave. Aurelia comes and finds us and gives us the whole story. (Her English is excellent.) The tenor is having Kidney problems and is in a lot of pain, most likely a kidney stone. There are doctors on site trying to help him through it. They are waiting to see if he will be able to sing, since there is no replacement.
More waiting.
The orchestra assembles onstage, and everyone finds their seats and/or spaces. Then everyone realizes at the same time that there are tons of empty seats in the audience now! A mad dash is made for the seats, (after intermission, everything left open is pretty much fair game) Aurelia catches my eye, and waves me down. She has saved two seats near her for Kim and I.
Now in our seats, we see the director walk onstage yet again. Another announcement. Aurelia translates: There is a tenor who has been booked on this stage later in the season, singing a Beethoven piece, which they had been rehearsing already. The Mahler was in his best known repertoire, and he has come in as an emergency replacement!
This man is a hero.
He really was. Everyone on that stage pulled together, and gave an altogether inspired performance. The tenor was incredible. The energy onstage was incredible. When he had performed his half, 1, 3, and 5, the applause was riotous. Three times he was called back on the stage, the last time because, as the applause dwindled, a single clap was heard loud and strong from the back of the audience, and inspired by his excitement, the entire audience again burst into applause.
Now, after all that excitement, Thomas Hampson stepped back onto the stage. Man, that guy is huge! And the image of strength and control onstage. He performed the last part, number 6. Even though it was now way later than intended, there were invisible sparks of energy flying off that stage. The evening closed, finally, and during the thundering applause, Aurelia took us to the stage door.
We were pretty much first in line, Aurelia really knows what's up. She had to split because she is driving back to Romania tonight for Easter break with her family. That left just me and Kim. We suddenly were extremely nervous.
Of course some creepy guy comes over while we are waiting.
"gibberish"
"Sorry, we don't speak German."shortly.
"You sound so American." creepily.
"I am so American." shortly.
"Well, you look European."
Then we play the avoid-eye-contact game until the doors open. We are led, in a line, to a small room with a couch and a piano, where King Hampson shall receive his visitors.
We must have looked like such goons. We both had the biggest smiles on our faces. I opened with, "We are American music students!" He shook both our hands, we talk about Missouri, and where he is from, how Matt saw him in Athens, Georgia, how I would really like to see his American Art Song Recital. How we both were so impressed by him. He talked to us in no rush, just as if he was not a super-singer. It was very refreshing, and it definitely put us at ease, since we were both giddy to meet a famous person. He took a couple pictures with us and even made a joke about "Awll mah brothers buried dawhn in Missourah."
Kim and I were starstruck the rest of the night. Even when the coat check had shut down, with our coats still in it, and we had to go searching for another office on the other side of the building for where our coats had been stashed.
Magic happened tonight. Musicians pulled together and showed their strengths. All of the chaos made the night what it was. (Of course I really would like to hear the Mahler in order at some point, but I made my point.) It was one of those movie-moments, where 30 minutes before the number goes onstage, the lead singer falls ill, and its up to everyone else, and some brave soul to pick up the pieces because the show must go on!
Lemon out.
Goodnight!
E
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Bruckner and Brahms
10:00 a.m. Kim and I were awoken not by our alarm this morning, but by our friendly cleaning lady. She's pretty noisy, but it's a really good thing, because I think we had snoozed the alarm three times already.
Once Mrs. Clean was gone, we decided to do our opera assignment in bed. We watched the second and third acts of Tosca in our jammies, eating breakfast in bed, and being thoroughly mortified by the tragedy that unfolds.
After Tosca, we showered and dressed, I started reading frantically the rest of our reading assignment for class. Made our lunch, head out!
1:30 p.m. We arrive at class! Today we listened to the finale of Die Walkure, then more of Brahms second piano concerto. I really love the first movement of that today, sometimes German heroism just gets you psyched.
After our larger class, we have our independent meeting with Mr. Dunn, we finished discussing Tosca, and then we start listening to and discussing Bruckner's seventh symphony, which Kim and I will have to present to our larger class. We also find out that we will have to write a response paper to every show we see! Suddenly our work-load is much more intimidating then we thought.
Another new twist, we get to go over to Mr. Dunn's apartment for breakfast, and a class on music! He gives the class to mostly wives of diplomats. We will be studying great performances captured on DVD. It sounds enchanting. :)
After class today, Kim and I go back to the dorms, running into Kamryn and Colin on the tram! Hopefully they will join us for a concert this weekend, Ian Fisher and Ryan will be playing on Sunday! Very excited, it will be the first time I hear them play!
The evening was filled with practice, reading, dinner of soup, and munching on junk food, but most importantly we Skyped with Katherine! So good to see my boo!
We have an early morning, so goodnight!
E
Once Mrs. Clean was gone, we decided to do our opera assignment in bed. We watched the second and third acts of Tosca in our jammies, eating breakfast in bed, and being thoroughly mortified by the tragedy that unfolds.
After Tosca, we showered and dressed, I started reading frantically the rest of our reading assignment for class. Made our lunch, head out!
1:30 p.m. We arrive at class! Today we listened to the finale of Die Walkure, then more of Brahms second piano concerto. I really love the first movement of that today, sometimes German heroism just gets you psyched.
After our larger class, we have our independent meeting with Mr. Dunn, we finished discussing Tosca, and then we start listening to and discussing Bruckner's seventh symphony, which Kim and I will have to present to our larger class. We also find out that we will have to write a response paper to every show we see! Suddenly our work-load is much more intimidating then we thought.
Another new twist, we get to go over to Mr. Dunn's apartment for breakfast, and a class on music! He gives the class to mostly wives of diplomats. We will be studying great performances captured on DVD. It sounds enchanting. :)
After class today, Kim and I go back to the dorms, running into Kamryn and Colin on the tram! Hopefully they will join us for a concert this weekend, Ian Fisher and Ryan will be playing on Sunday! Very excited, it will be the first time I hear them play!
The evening was filled with practice, reading, dinner of soup, and munching on junk food, but most importantly we Skyped with Katherine! So good to see my boo!
We have an early morning, so goodnight!
E
Ryan and Venice!
I had sweet dreams! It's going to be a good day!
Kim had class, so I got to sleep in!
11:00 a.m. I wake up, Kim is at her art class. I have a slow morning, shower, pack a lunch for both of us and head to meet her after class!
12:50 p.m. I arrive at school to meet a friend Murad, he is waiting to go into a one o'clock art class. We also run into my other friend Anar, but they both head off to class and Kim gets out of class!
We eat lunch at the university, then head to the train station!
1:30 p.m. We get to the information desk. We ask them where we can get our photo taken for our Travel Discount cards. They point us upstairs behind the escalators. We go there and find no such photo booth. We then head towards the information desk on that level. They said, two levels down and to the right. We follow their intructions carefully and end up at a bank. Kim withdraws some money while I then ask a third party (bank teller) where the photo booth is. It took him a minute to decipher the map of the mall/station, but eventually we both found it. We were on the right floor, but instead of the right side, it was on the left.
Photos taken. We walk into a shoe store. We are tempted, but we do not give in to the power of the shoes on sale.
We head back up to the ticket counter and get our discount travel cards. Then we get our tickets to Venice!!!! We will be leaving the night of Wednesday the 4th and get back Monday morning. Lodging reservations have been made, it's all coming together!
Subsequently, I will not be able to blog during my trip to Venice. We have been warned by several experienced travelers that overnight trains passengers are at risk for theft. Therefore, we will not be taking our computers, or anything else valuable. I will be journaling those days the old-fashioned way, so that when we return, I can clearly recount our adventures in Italy!
3:00 p.m. After the trains, we decide that we should hole up at Starbucks for a few hours and do our reading for our music class. We were assigned the first chapter of Wittgenstein's Vienna. It is definitely an interesting read, but quite dry, and we singers, who are not accustomed to assignments of the nature, found it difficult to read for more than half-an-hour. So at intervals there was some serious people-watching to be had. We were in a great set-up: two armchairs in a secluded corner, facing out a giant window onto the corner of the Stadtsoper.
We were there for a few hours, after our reading was done, and our coffee long-gone, we stayed because we were trying to connect with Ryan over the internet, using the free Wifi at Starbucks.
6:00 p.m. We were too hungry to wait any longer, and we decided to head home, worried that maybe Ryan wouldn't contact us.
8:30 p.m. Happily fed, we are hanging out in our room (Skyping with Kim's mom :) too ) When who do we get a call from, but Ryan!!! We are very excited to see him, and he instructs us to join him at a bar in the sixteenth district for an Indie Rock show.
10:00 p.m. We arrive and find Ryan! It was so nice to see such a good friend from the states.
The bar was called The Rihz, it was not super-crowded, but very smokey. The music venue was really a back room in the bar, the audience was standing close together, and silent in respect to the music. The door was kept closed unless you enter or exit, so that the noise from the bar doesn't spill into the music-space.
We had to turn in early, Kim and I were exhausted, and mostly we had come to see Ryan and to meet a few of his friends!
12:30 a.m. Arrive home. Try to skype with Matt, but the $&#*@ Webster Wifi isn't working :( . Hopefully tomorrow I will get to see him.
Everyday turns into something so unique. I had a great day!
E
Kim had class, so I got to sleep in!
11:00 a.m. I wake up, Kim is at her art class. I have a slow morning, shower, pack a lunch for both of us and head to meet her after class!
12:50 p.m. I arrive at school to meet a friend Murad, he is waiting to go into a one o'clock art class. We also run into my other friend Anar, but they both head off to class and Kim gets out of class!
We eat lunch at the university, then head to the train station!
1:30 p.m. We get to the information desk. We ask them where we can get our photo taken for our Travel Discount cards. They point us upstairs behind the escalators. We go there and find no such photo booth. We then head towards the information desk on that level. They said, two levels down and to the right. We follow their intructions carefully and end up at a bank. Kim withdraws some money while I then ask a third party (bank teller) where the photo booth is. It took him a minute to decipher the map of the mall/station, but eventually we both found it. We were on the right floor, but instead of the right side, it was on the left.
Photos taken. We walk into a shoe store. We are tempted, but we do not give in to the power of the shoes on sale.
We head back up to the ticket counter and get our discount travel cards. Then we get our tickets to Venice!!!! We will be leaving the night of Wednesday the 4th and get back Monday morning. Lodging reservations have been made, it's all coming together!
Subsequently, I will not be able to blog during my trip to Venice. We have been warned by several experienced travelers that overnight trains passengers are at risk for theft. Therefore, we will not be taking our computers, or anything else valuable. I will be journaling those days the old-fashioned way, so that when we return, I can clearly recount our adventures in Italy!
3:00 p.m. After the trains, we decide that we should hole up at Starbucks for a few hours and do our reading for our music class. We were assigned the first chapter of Wittgenstein's Vienna. It is definitely an interesting read, but quite dry, and we singers, who are not accustomed to assignments of the nature, found it difficult to read for more than half-an-hour. So at intervals there was some serious people-watching to be had. We were in a great set-up: two armchairs in a secluded corner, facing out a giant window onto the corner of the Stadtsoper.
We were there for a few hours, after our reading was done, and our coffee long-gone, we stayed because we were trying to connect with Ryan over the internet, using the free Wifi at Starbucks.
6:00 p.m. We were too hungry to wait any longer, and we decided to head home, worried that maybe Ryan wouldn't contact us.
8:30 p.m. Happily fed, we are hanging out in our room (Skyping with Kim's mom :) too ) When who do we get a call from, but Ryan!!! We are very excited to see him, and he instructs us to join him at a bar in the sixteenth district for an Indie Rock show.
10:00 p.m. We arrive and find Ryan! It was so nice to see such a good friend from the states.
The bar was called The Rihz, it was not super-crowded, but very smokey. The music venue was really a back room in the bar, the audience was standing close together, and silent in respect to the music. The door was kept closed unless you enter or exit, so that the noise from the bar doesn't spill into the music-space.
We had to turn in early, Kim and I were exhausted, and mostly we had come to see Ryan and to meet a few of his friends!
12:30 a.m. Arrive home. Try to skype with Matt, but the $&#*@ Webster Wifi isn't working :( . Hopefully tomorrow I will get to see him.
Everyday turns into something so unique. I had a great day!
E
Monday, March 26, 2012
Tuesday
Well, before I begin, there are two things you should know:
First, that I neglected to share yesterday that I found my favorite dessert. We had it at dinner. It was the most delicious thing I have ever had. Its called Kaisterschmarrn. It is a little bit like bread pudding, but in small pieces, with tiny raisins, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The pieces of the dessert are dipped in a plum sauce that tops it all off. It was rather expensive, at 8 Euros for a not-huge portion. But, oh, if you could just taste it you would understand. I will definitely be having it more during my stay here.
Second, I have been having my first hard time since I have been here. Worries and insecurities about being so far away from home really got to me last night, and I woke up in the early morning terrified by vivid nightmares. Needless to say, I did not feel very rested today and although I know very well that dreams are just dreams, I still was just a little raw today from the trauma of my night.
9:30 a.m. Wake up for the second time. Kim and I have a lovely trip down to the Penny Mart to get groceries! We are getting much better at knowing what we like, and we are less timid about trying new things. We really miss mustard though...they don't sell it at the Penny Mart. Also, I am hard-pressed to find cottage cheese. I really have been craving it in the morning, with some fruit preserves, but it seems all they have are yogurts here.
We each some of our groceries for lunch, then head our for class!
1:30 p.m. Class begins, we listen to some more Piazolla, and then the third moment of the Brahms Piano Concerto no 2. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard, one of my all time favorite pieces of music.
Our Independent study is after class, and lasts until 5:30 p.m. Today we worked on Tosca, by Puccini.
6:30 p.m. We are back at home having another night in, a pizza for dinner, and hopefully an early bedtime tonight. Getting ready tonight to go to the train station and get our tickets to Venice!
11:00 p.m. Goodnight!
First, that I neglected to share yesterday that I found my favorite dessert. We had it at dinner. It was the most delicious thing I have ever had. Its called Kaisterschmarrn. It is a little bit like bread pudding, but in small pieces, with tiny raisins, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The pieces of the dessert are dipped in a plum sauce that tops it all off. It was rather expensive, at 8 Euros for a not-huge portion. But, oh, if you could just taste it you would understand. I will definitely be having it more during my stay here.
Second, I have been having my first hard time since I have been here. Worries and insecurities about being so far away from home really got to me last night, and I woke up in the early morning terrified by vivid nightmares. Needless to say, I did not feel very rested today and although I know very well that dreams are just dreams, I still was just a little raw today from the trauma of my night.
9:30 a.m. Wake up for the second time. Kim and I have a lovely trip down to the Penny Mart to get groceries! We are getting much better at knowing what we like, and we are less timid about trying new things. We really miss mustard though...they don't sell it at the Penny Mart. Also, I am hard-pressed to find cottage cheese. I really have been craving it in the morning, with some fruit preserves, but it seems all they have are yogurts here.
We each some of our groceries for lunch, then head our for class!
1:30 p.m. Class begins, we listen to some more Piazolla, and then the third moment of the Brahms Piano Concerto no 2. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard, one of my all time favorite pieces of music.
Our Independent study is after class, and lasts until 5:30 p.m. Today we worked on Tosca, by Puccini.
6:30 p.m. We are back at home having another night in, a pizza for dinner, and hopefully an early bedtime tonight. Getting ready tonight to go to the train station and get our tickets to Venice!
11:00 p.m. Goodnight!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Slow Sunday
12:00 p.m. Wake up. Kim has been up for a while, did some emailing and worked out. Get it girl!
1:00 p.m. Shower, do most of my reading for class tomorrow. We were assigned the introduction of Wittgenstein's Vienna.
3:30 p.m. We meet Isabella down-town for a trip to the park with her dog Maelle! She is an adorable truffle-searching-dog.
5:00 p.m. Dinner and coffee.
8:00 p.m. Arrive home, skype, more reading. Practice. More reading. Lots of listening. Brahms, Mahler, Wagner.
Some snacking and TV at intervals.
1:00 a.m. Bedtime. :)
1:00 p.m. Shower, do most of my reading for class tomorrow. We were assigned the introduction of Wittgenstein's Vienna.
3:30 p.m. We meet Isabella down-town for a trip to the park with her dog Maelle! She is an adorable truffle-searching-dog.
5:00 p.m. Dinner and coffee.
8:00 p.m. Arrive home, skype, more reading. Practice. More reading. Lots of listening. Brahms, Mahler, Wagner.
Some snacking and TV at intervals.
1:00 a.m. Bedtime. :)
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Anna Karenina
9:00 a.m. Snooze the alarm.
9:30 a.m. Get up!
10:00 a.m. Kim and I meet up with Colin at the front office. We are headed back to the Nachstmarkt!
10:30 a.m. We point out some good spots for gifts for his girlfriend back in the states, then we stop in a get breakfast! I am the only one who actually got food but it was delicious, and cheaper than just getting a coffee, a least value-wise. It was very relaxing, and the sun came up and the tables started to fill up around us. My breakfast came, it was a block of cheese (feta?), olives, cucumbers in oil, little tomatoes, a sunny-side-up egg with a slice of sweet red pepper in it, a glass of orange juice and a melange.
More exploration! We did not realize it but during the weekend, the Nachstmarkt gets so much bigger! It is like a giant yard sale where you can get almost anything! Huge piles of clothes line the street, where you can get an armful of clothes for 15 Euros. Kim and I both get tops for 3 Euros!
12:30 p.m. We head back, Kim gets some salad fixings at the food stands before we head back home.
1:00 p.m. I shower.
2:30 p.m. We fall back asleep.
4:15 p.m. We wake back up! We make pasta for dinner, and a sandwich. Then we get ready to go to the ballet!
Skype with Nora! :D
5:45 p.m. Already on the bus to the opera, I realize that I forgot our cell phone at home! :( Not only does that, in general, make me nervous, but that means that our plans with friends later on in the night would have to be cancelled because we could not get in contact with them until we were already back at the dorms.
7:00 p.m. We meet Celia in front of the Stadtsoper, and head inside to get our standing room tickets. Luckily we saw each other right away. I was worried that without the cell phone, we would have trouble running into each other. It is more packed than we have ever seen it! We got worried that they would run out of tickets, but we managed to get half-decent spots on the Balcony section.
Anna Karenina was beautiful! After standing for four hours through operas, a ballet seems so short! :) The lead dancer was amazing. I have not seen a ballet in many years, but they can bend in ways that just seem unnatural. It is amazing just how easy it is to follow the story, even though there are no words. In fact the plot was much more obvious that most operas.
10:00 p.m. Since we are still allowed to eat outside, we get a seat outside at Cafe Europe. Celia, Kim, and I enjoy a latte, and sit and talk for a while.
10:30 p.m. Seeing the golden arches nearby, I make Kim and Celia take me to McDonalds for a McChicken meal. So much better than in the US, but still made me feel closer to home. :)
11:30 p.m. We get back home, time to catch up on blogging. Skype with Matt (who won the concerto competition! hey!) and time for bed. We missed Isabella and Anar on our cell phone, hopefully they will forgive us! :(
Another great day! Never a dull moment! :)
E
9:30 a.m. Get up!
10:00 a.m. Kim and I meet up with Colin at the front office. We are headed back to the Nachstmarkt!
10:30 a.m. We point out some good spots for gifts for his girlfriend back in the states, then we stop in a get breakfast! I am the only one who actually got food but it was delicious, and cheaper than just getting a coffee, a least value-wise. It was very relaxing, and the sun came up and the tables started to fill up around us. My breakfast came, it was a block of cheese (feta?), olives, cucumbers in oil, little tomatoes, a sunny-side-up egg with a slice of sweet red pepper in it, a glass of orange juice and a melange.
More exploration! We did not realize it but during the weekend, the Nachstmarkt gets so much bigger! It is like a giant yard sale where you can get almost anything! Huge piles of clothes line the street, where you can get an armful of clothes for 15 Euros. Kim and I both get tops for 3 Euros!
12:30 p.m. We head back, Kim gets some salad fixings at the food stands before we head back home.
1:00 p.m. I shower.
2:30 p.m. We fall back asleep.
4:15 p.m. We wake back up! We make pasta for dinner, and a sandwich. Then we get ready to go to the ballet!
Skype with Nora! :D
5:45 p.m. Already on the bus to the opera, I realize that I forgot our cell phone at home! :( Not only does that, in general, make me nervous, but that means that our plans with friends later on in the night would have to be cancelled because we could not get in contact with them until we were already back at the dorms.
7:00 p.m. We meet Celia in front of the Stadtsoper, and head inside to get our standing room tickets. Luckily we saw each other right away. I was worried that without the cell phone, we would have trouble running into each other. It is more packed than we have ever seen it! We got worried that they would run out of tickets, but we managed to get half-decent spots on the Balcony section.
Anna Karenina was beautiful! After standing for four hours through operas, a ballet seems so short! :) The lead dancer was amazing. I have not seen a ballet in many years, but they can bend in ways that just seem unnatural. It is amazing just how easy it is to follow the story, even though there are no words. In fact the plot was much more obvious that most operas.
10:00 p.m. Since we are still allowed to eat outside, we get a seat outside at Cafe Europe. Celia, Kim, and I enjoy a latte, and sit and talk for a while.
10:30 p.m. Seeing the golden arches nearby, I make Kim and Celia take me to McDonalds for a McChicken meal. So much better than in the US, but still made me feel closer to home. :)
11:30 p.m. We get back home, time to catch up on blogging. Skype with Matt (who won the concerto competition! hey!) and time for bed. We missed Isabella and Anar on our cell phone, hopefully they will forgive us! :(
Another great day! Never a dull moment! :)
E
Psychology and Nightlife
7:00 a.m. Wake up. Time to get ready for class.
8:00 a.m. It's my first time riding the U-Bahn with out Kim. :( I get a running start! I see the tram in the distance, it had just got there, so I sprinted, and it waited for me! I arrive on the train, but I am still a little nervous because it's my first time and I made them wait for me that I almost get off a stop too early.
The rest of the ride went smoothly.
9:00 a.m. I arrive in my psychology class! There are a couple familiar faces in the crowd! J and Rita from my orientation are in the class with me.
The class was great! It was four hours long, but definitely did not feel that long. My teacher was hilarious! A real comedian. Plus he brought in candid camera videos from the fifties to watch, you could probably find them on youtube, one of them was called "Pretty Teacher"where two tween boys meet their "new teacher" who is a foxy lady. She introduces herself to the boys, then is called out of the room for an imaginary phone call. The boys reactions are caught on tape, as they bust out in nervous laughter and teenage awkwardness.
1:00 p.m. Class finally comes to an end, and a few people had introduced themselves to me during our breaks, and we all decide to go to coffee! Kim met us at school too. I introduced her to my new friends: Rita, Monica, Anar, and Marina. J also came, so we were a pretty large group! They invited us out on the weekend, and all of us swapped numbers. It is so incredible how many nice people we have been meeting! Hopefully we will see each other outside of class!
2:30 p.m. Coffee winds down, and Kim and I head out in search of the train station. It is very easily located. It reminded us of an airport mixed with a mall. We got the forms we needed to fill out in order to get our travel cards that give us discounts on train traveling! (We are planning a trip to Venice!)
After checking out the train station, we decide to grab a snack at the food court and wander around the mall part of the station for a while. Soon we decide to head home.
4:00 p.m. We get home and relax for a few hours, cook a pizza for dinner, watch a little Once Upon a Time. We get a text from Isabella asking if we are going to the Webster-sponsored party on Saturday. We replied with a "No, but do you want to check out a wine bar with us tonight?" One thing led to another, and we had plans for her to show us a bar she liked in the city center.
So begins girls-night-out bar hopping in Vienna!
Bar Onyx
It was packed when we got there! It was fancy, with a crowd of mixed ages. It is on the top floor of a hotel in Stephansplatz, and from the inside you can see the whole neighborhood laid out in front of you! Kim and I felt a little underdressed, but Isabella was so confident and fun, that we soon got over our insecurities. All the plush chairs by the windows were taken, but we managed to get a little table to ourselves. :) White wine spritzers all around!
Wein & Co
Our next stop was about two blocks away, a more casual wine bar that was also packed! Isabella informs us that this is the quintessential bar for native Austrians. White wine and girl-talk ensues. We start standing in the crowd, but eventually end up at a cozy table in the front of bar. Great nooks for talking and a really great vibe all around. The tables are tall enough so that you can stand comfortably at them, and chairs are optional.
Sky Bar
The last stop on our night out. This was definitely the trendiest of the spots we stopped at. It is half-way in between Stephansplatz and the Stadtsoper. You have to take two elevators to get there, because it is perched atop a shopping center. Again, an amazing view. Most of the night we spend at the bar, this time we try cocktails! I order a long island ice tea. I wish now I had ordered something sweeter and less strong, not because anything bad happened or that I was plastered, but it was really boozy. One of the great thing about this bar was their BAR PEANUTS. I don't know what spices they used on those peanuts, but they had to refill our bowl at least twice because we were eating so many of them. (We are champs.) After a while, a table with a great view opened up and we relocated. Right across the street from us, we discovered a man. He had an apartment across the way, almost at the same elevation as us. He was larger and, although we could only see from the waist up, I'm almost certain was wearing no clothes! He was smoking a cigarette, and leaning out of his window, watching Sky Bar watch him.
Soon the night came to an end. It was a great time, and we made plans with Isabella for the next night. Although if you read today's blog you will find out we did not get to see her :( . We hugged goodbye and trekked back home.
1:30 a.m. Home sweet home! Skype with Matt, then pass out! What a great day.
E
8:00 a.m. It's my first time riding the U-Bahn with out Kim. :( I get a running start! I see the tram in the distance, it had just got there, so I sprinted, and it waited for me! I arrive on the train, but I am still a little nervous because it's my first time and I made them wait for me that I almost get off a stop too early.
The rest of the ride went smoothly.
9:00 a.m. I arrive in my psychology class! There are a couple familiar faces in the crowd! J and Rita from my orientation are in the class with me.
The class was great! It was four hours long, but definitely did not feel that long. My teacher was hilarious! A real comedian. Plus he brought in candid camera videos from the fifties to watch, you could probably find them on youtube, one of them was called "Pretty Teacher"where two tween boys meet their "new teacher" who is a foxy lady. She introduces herself to the boys, then is called out of the room for an imaginary phone call. The boys reactions are caught on tape, as they bust out in nervous laughter and teenage awkwardness.
1:00 p.m. Class finally comes to an end, and a few people had introduced themselves to me during our breaks, and we all decide to go to coffee! Kim met us at school too. I introduced her to my new friends: Rita, Monica, Anar, and Marina. J also came, so we were a pretty large group! They invited us out on the weekend, and all of us swapped numbers. It is so incredible how many nice people we have been meeting! Hopefully we will see each other outside of class!
2:30 p.m. Coffee winds down, and Kim and I head out in search of the train station. It is very easily located. It reminded us of an airport mixed with a mall. We got the forms we needed to fill out in order to get our travel cards that give us discounts on train traveling! (We are planning a trip to Venice!)
After checking out the train station, we decide to grab a snack at the food court and wander around the mall part of the station for a while. Soon we decide to head home.
4:00 p.m. We get home and relax for a few hours, cook a pizza for dinner, watch a little Once Upon a Time. We get a text from Isabella asking if we are going to the Webster-sponsored party on Saturday. We replied with a "No, but do you want to check out a wine bar with us tonight?" One thing led to another, and we had plans for her to show us a bar she liked in the city center.
So begins girls-night-out bar hopping in Vienna!
Bar Onyx
It was packed when we got there! It was fancy, with a crowd of mixed ages. It is on the top floor of a hotel in Stephansplatz, and from the inside you can see the whole neighborhood laid out in front of you! Kim and I felt a little underdressed, but Isabella was so confident and fun, that we soon got over our insecurities. All the plush chairs by the windows were taken, but we managed to get a little table to ourselves. :) White wine spritzers all around!
Wein & Co
Our next stop was about two blocks away, a more casual wine bar that was also packed! Isabella informs us that this is the quintessential bar for native Austrians. White wine and girl-talk ensues. We start standing in the crowd, but eventually end up at a cozy table in the front of bar. Great nooks for talking and a really great vibe all around. The tables are tall enough so that you can stand comfortably at them, and chairs are optional.
Sky Bar
The last stop on our night out. This was definitely the trendiest of the spots we stopped at. It is half-way in between Stephansplatz and the Stadtsoper. You have to take two elevators to get there, because it is perched atop a shopping center. Again, an amazing view. Most of the night we spend at the bar, this time we try cocktails! I order a long island ice tea. I wish now I had ordered something sweeter and less strong, not because anything bad happened or that I was plastered, but it was really boozy. One of the great thing about this bar was their BAR PEANUTS. I don't know what spices they used on those peanuts, but they had to refill our bowl at least twice because we were eating so many of them. (We are champs.) After a while, a table with a great view opened up and we relocated. Right across the street from us, we discovered a man. He had an apartment across the way, almost at the same elevation as us. He was larger and, although we could only see from the waist up, I'm almost certain was wearing no clothes! He was smoking a cigarette, and leaning out of his window, watching Sky Bar watch him.
Soon the night came to an end. It was a great time, and we made plans with Isabella for the next night. Although if you read today's blog you will find out we did not get to see her :( . We hugged goodbye and trekked back home.
1:30 a.m. Home sweet home! Skype with Matt, then pass out! What a great day.
E
Thursday, March 22, 2012
German Lesson
8:30 a.m. Wake up, shower. We are hell-bent on seeing those Spanish riding school horses today!
9:20 a.m. We wait downstairs for Celia to join us and are suprised to see Camryn and Bridget too! They were all spiffy because they had to go to the embassy for some papers. (Or something along those lines) Soon Celia arrives and we are on our way!
10:01 a.m. We arrive at the Spanish Riding School only to find that there is a line out the door. Of third graders! Probably a hundred of them. We were relieved not to have missed our chance to get in. They point you past the ticket counter to an outdoor walkway leading to the indoor arena. It basically looks like a gigantic ballroom, complete with three enormous crystal chandeliers, statues, and unique decoration everywhere you look, except instead of a dance floor there is a riding space for the horses with a dirt floor.
Basically there are seats about fifteen feet above the riding space, where you can sit and watch the horses warm-up. (We opted for the warm-ups to music because the performances were so expensive.) The horses and their riders explore the space and practice side-stepping and trotting, and other horsely things.
The horses are beautiful, but after about an hour of watching it got a little dull, especially since it is like free time, and nothing is choreographed. So to keep our minds engaged on the horses we decided to name each one in the ring. Here was the line-up:
Lancelot: grey spots and grey feet.
Percy: white horse with a lady rider
Maxwell: white horse.
Nicholas: the feisty white horse.
Julius: white horse.
12:00 p.m. Coffee at a Cafe in Stephansplatz then we sat at the base of a nearby statue and ate our sack-lunch.
1:00 p.m. Some shopping at H&M and Dobliger, and some exploration down the side-streets.
2:30 p.m. We sadly had to bid adieu to Celia, because we were scheduled to meet Bruno for a German Lesson at the Volksgarten. Kim and I arrived fashionably early, so we took a stroll around the beautiful garden. Everything there seemed exactly perfect. There were parents with their children, young people lounging in the sun, and elderly couples walking arm-in-arm.
3:00 p.m. We walk back to the U-Bahn station to meet Bruno. As we recognize him walking towards us we realize that he has brought Fabian with him! The more the merrier! We scout out for a table at a cafe in the Museums Quarter, but, finding none, we setting in the green space in front of the natural history museum. The boys turned a bench towards the sun, and the lesson began! Mostly it was Kim and I asking a bunch of questions about the language, and how to say certain phrases, things that we have been trying figure out but had trouble saying. We talked back and forth for some time until we got restless and went in search of a place to get a coffee. Many places were full or closed, so we ended up walking around the streets of the ninth district, seeing the sights and having a walking German language and culture lesson.
5:00 p.m. We end up at a coffee shop, where the lesson basically ends and we just sit and chat. We have some trouble tipping, which has become quite the issue for Kim and I. We are just not used to discussing tip with the waiter, since in the US you usually just leave the tip on the table, and since our German skills are so shaky.
6:00 p.m. Take the trip back to the dorms, it gets a little easier every time!
7:00 p.m. Dinner of pasta and bread with cheese. We met some very non-talkative business students in the kitchen making something that smelled delicious.
8:00 p.m. Dinner and an episode of How I Met Your Mother followed by skype with Matt, then checking out the practice room downstairs!
E
9:20 a.m. We wait downstairs for Celia to join us and are suprised to see Camryn and Bridget too! They were all spiffy because they had to go to the embassy for some papers. (Or something along those lines) Soon Celia arrives and we are on our way!
10:01 a.m. We arrive at the Spanish Riding School only to find that there is a line out the door. Of third graders! Probably a hundred of them. We were relieved not to have missed our chance to get in. They point you past the ticket counter to an outdoor walkway leading to the indoor arena. It basically looks like a gigantic ballroom, complete with three enormous crystal chandeliers, statues, and unique decoration everywhere you look, except instead of a dance floor there is a riding space for the horses with a dirt floor.
Basically there are seats about fifteen feet above the riding space, where you can sit and watch the horses warm-up. (We opted for the warm-ups to music because the performances were so expensive.) The horses and their riders explore the space and practice side-stepping and trotting, and other horsely things.
The horses are beautiful, but after about an hour of watching it got a little dull, especially since it is like free time, and nothing is choreographed. So to keep our minds engaged on the horses we decided to name each one in the ring. Here was the line-up:
Lancelot: grey spots and grey feet.
Percy: white horse with a lady rider
Maxwell: white horse.
Nicholas: the feisty white horse.
Julius: white horse.
12:00 p.m. Coffee at a Cafe in Stephansplatz then we sat at the base of a nearby statue and ate our sack-lunch.
1:00 p.m. Some shopping at H&M and Dobliger, and some exploration down the side-streets.
2:30 p.m. We sadly had to bid adieu to Celia, because we were scheduled to meet Bruno for a German Lesson at the Volksgarten. Kim and I arrived fashionably early, so we took a stroll around the beautiful garden. Everything there seemed exactly perfect. There were parents with their children, young people lounging in the sun, and elderly couples walking arm-in-arm.
3:00 p.m. We walk back to the U-Bahn station to meet Bruno. As we recognize him walking towards us we realize that he has brought Fabian with him! The more the merrier! We scout out for a table at a cafe in the Museums Quarter, but, finding none, we setting in the green space in front of the natural history museum. The boys turned a bench towards the sun, and the lesson began! Mostly it was Kim and I asking a bunch of questions about the language, and how to say certain phrases, things that we have been trying figure out but had trouble saying. We talked back and forth for some time until we got restless and went in search of a place to get a coffee. Many places were full or closed, so we ended up walking around the streets of the ninth district, seeing the sights and having a walking German language and culture lesson.
5:00 p.m. We end up at a coffee shop, where the lesson basically ends and we just sit and chat. We have some trouble tipping, which has become quite the issue for Kim and I. We are just not used to discussing tip with the waiter, since in the US you usually just leave the tip on the table, and since our German skills are so shaky.
6:00 p.m. Take the trip back to the dorms, it gets a little easier every time!
7:00 p.m. Dinner of pasta and bread with cheese. We met some very non-talkative business students in the kitchen making something that smelled delicious.
8:00 p.m. Dinner and an episode of How I Met Your Mother followed by skype with Matt, then checking out the practice room downstairs!
E
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Mr. Dunn and Theodora
9:00 a.m. Wake up. Shower. Get ready. Run into the cleaning lady on our way out. We get into some kind or bilingual confrontation over who gets to be in the bathroom. I won, but I think she decided not to clean the rest of our room.
Breakfast of nutella on break and orange juice.
12:15 p.m. Arrive to Webster campus, already late for our meeting at noon. We have no idea where her office is, so we end up on the fourth floor, thoroughly confused. We go all the way back down to the front desk to ask where it is.
12:30 p.m. Arrive to our noon meeting. Jutta helps us navigate a travel site and figure out that there is a travel card that, once purchased, gives great discounts on a train travel. We find the tickets at the times we need, and she writes down all the information we need so that later we can go to the train station and get set up to go to Italy!
1:00 p.m. We eat our sack-lunch at a little seating area on the second floor. Soon we are surrounded by students who already know each other. Many of whom are on a smoke break during their class. Its very intimidating being the new kids sometimes.
As we are finishing up eating, we see Mr. Dunn walk by. We recognize him from when we met him in the states a year ago. He whisks past us up the stairs. When class time approaches, we go to our classroom, but it is locked so we wander upstairs in search of Mr. Dunn.
We go upstairs, and he is about to pass us right by when I blurt out, "Where is your class?" A bit informal, but it got the job done. "Let me guess, you are from St. Louis?" From there we made through introductions and to class.
1:30 p.m. Class. To give you a taste, we began the class by listening to a Piazzolla tango for string quartet. Then he challenged us to move to the music, then to tap the rhythm with our hand on the desk. The class was very challenged by this, because it seemed extremely embarrassing to dance and move and beat on the desks in a classroom. We then discussed how the music made us feel, and how we would describe it. I got the ball rolling by saying that it was "passionate, agitated, with an intense reaction between two people" then later "sexual tension." I only tell it like it is. :)
3:30 p.m. Independent study begins. We are joined by a new friend named Celia, who is a voice minor and who has been studying with the teacher we are scheduled with for the past two months. Mr. Dunn takes on a whirlwind tour of several venues around the city center, loading us up with a huge pile of material, so that we are armed with every schedule for every opera house and concert hall in the city.
6:00 p.m. Kim, Celia, and I decide to grab dinner before a concert at Theater an der Wien. (I think that is what its called, will double check) I order my official first bier! and an order of spaghetti with bolognese sauce. Delicious.
6:30 p.m. Wait in line for student price tickets. Meet a fellow by the name of Floria who himself was a baritone, but wished to be tenor.
7:00 p.m. We see the concert oratorio Theodora by Handel! After the first half I was not very impressed by the singers, but perhaps it was only because my food had not yet settled. By the second half I reevaluated each of them, and really loved each voice. Heard some rep that I would like to look into, and was especially impressed with the duets between the soprano and the countertenor. Sometimes nothing is more beautiful than Baroque. Then again, after three hours of it, I was ready to go. The length of the production was highlighted by the fact that we were sitting in the front row. More specifically, I was sitting actually front and center, which meant that Maestro was blocking my view of the soloists at least 60% of the time. Plus he had a very outspoken jacket on with floral textures which were very distracting. Before beginning the opera, and at the beginning of the second half, he turned around and nodded a hello to Kim and I and the people seated next to us.
10:30 p.m. We need some coffee, so the three of us girls go to the famous Cafe Museum just down the street for coffee and deserts. We ordered some sort of kneodel desert, which is basically a large ball of warm dough sprinkled with powdered sugar and swimming in a pool of warm berry goo. It was quite good, but not as sweet as we had hoped.
12:00 p.m. Arrive home, make places once again to see the spanish riding school in the morning, this time with Celia!
1:22 p.m. Finish writing blog. Goodnight!!!!
E
Breakfast of nutella on break and orange juice.
12:15 p.m. Arrive to Webster campus, already late for our meeting at noon. We have no idea where her office is, so we end up on the fourth floor, thoroughly confused. We go all the way back down to the front desk to ask where it is.
12:30 p.m. Arrive to our noon meeting. Jutta helps us navigate a travel site and figure out that there is a travel card that, once purchased, gives great discounts on a train travel. We find the tickets at the times we need, and she writes down all the information we need so that later we can go to the train station and get set up to go to Italy!
1:00 p.m. We eat our sack-lunch at a little seating area on the second floor. Soon we are surrounded by students who already know each other. Many of whom are on a smoke break during their class. Its very intimidating being the new kids sometimes.
As we are finishing up eating, we see Mr. Dunn walk by. We recognize him from when we met him in the states a year ago. He whisks past us up the stairs. When class time approaches, we go to our classroom, but it is locked so we wander upstairs in search of Mr. Dunn.
We go upstairs, and he is about to pass us right by when I blurt out, "Where is your class?" A bit informal, but it got the job done. "Let me guess, you are from St. Louis?" From there we made through introductions and to class.
1:30 p.m. Class. To give you a taste, we began the class by listening to a Piazzolla tango for string quartet. Then he challenged us to move to the music, then to tap the rhythm with our hand on the desk. The class was very challenged by this, because it seemed extremely embarrassing to dance and move and beat on the desks in a classroom. We then discussed how the music made us feel, and how we would describe it. I got the ball rolling by saying that it was "passionate, agitated, with an intense reaction between two people" then later "sexual tension." I only tell it like it is. :)
3:30 p.m. Independent study begins. We are joined by a new friend named Celia, who is a voice minor and who has been studying with the teacher we are scheduled with for the past two months. Mr. Dunn takes on a whirlwind tour of several venues around the city center, loading us up with a huge pile of material, so that we are armed with every schedule for every opera house and concert hall in the city.
6:00 p.m. Kim, Celia, and I decide to grab dinner before a concert at Theater an der Wien. (I think that is what its called, will double check) I order my official first bier! and an order of spaghetti with bolognese sauce. Delicious.
6:30 p.m. Wait in line for student price tickets. Meet a fellow by the name of Floria who himself was a baritone, but wished to be tenor.
7:00 p.m. We see the concert oratorio Theodora by Handel! After the first half I was not very impressed by the singers, but perhaps it was only because my food had not yet settled. By the second half I reevaluated each of them, and really loved each voice. Heard some rep that I would like to look into, and was especially impressed with the duets between the soprano and the countertenor. Sometimes nothing is more beautiful than Baroque. Then again, after three hours of it, I was ready to go. The length of the production was highlighted by the fact that we were sitting in the front row. More specifically, I was sitting actually front and center, which meant that Maestro was blocking my view of the soloists at least 60% of the time. Plus he had a very outspoken jacket on with floral textures which were very distracting. Before beginning the opera, and at the beginning of the second half, he turned around and nodded a hello to Kim and I and the people seated next to us.
10:30 p.m. We need some coffee, so the three of us girls go to the famous Cafe Museum just down the street for coffee and deserts. We ordered some sort of kneodel desert, which is basically a large ball of warm dough sprinkled with powdered sugar and swimming in a pool of warm berry goo. It was quite good, but not as sweet as we had hoped.
12:00 p.m. Arrive home, make places once again to see the spanish riding school in the morning, this time with Celia!
1:22 p.m. Finish writing blog. Goodnight!!!!
E
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Nachstmarkt
8:00 a.m. We were determined to get an early start today, so we set the alarm, and actually got up early.
8:15 a.m. Kim wakes me again, I shower, we pack a lunch and head out in search of the Spanish riding school.
10:15 a.m. We were so close, but no cigar. The morning warm-ups are from 10 to 12 so we just missed the cut off. We both looked like zombies though, so we decided to get some coffee at a nearby cafe.
We find a sunny table outside, and wait for the waiter to come over. He walks by and I guess he said something, because he stood there a moment, then impatiently spat out "Hello?" One noticeable difference culturally is the way you are treated as a customer. Wait-staff are not hospitable to everyone. Usually the nicer you are dressed the better service you get. Either that or Kim and I have gotten pretty unlucky so far.
We sip our cappuccino's mit slag (thick whipped cream) and slowly wake up as the sun starts warming up Stephansplatz. After sipping our coffee and chatting for a while, we both got out our reading assignments for a class we signed up for which starts tomorrow.
11:00 a.m. We head out in search of the Nachstmarkt. We know from Derek that it is a few blocks past the Stadtsoper, so we wander around in that direction until we find it!
It is gorgeous. Not only is it visually stunning, but the smells are overwhelmingly delicious. There are voices coming from every direction, restaurants overflowing with people, and stands of exotic foods, fruits, vegetables, and spices from all over the world.
8:15 a.m. Kim wakes me again, I shower, we pack a lunch and head out in search of the Spanish riding school.
10:15 a.m. We were so close, but no cigar. The morning warm-ups are from 10 to 12 so we just missed the cut off. We both looked like zombies though, so we decided to get some coffee at a nearby cafe.
We find a sunny table outside, and wait for the waiter to come over. He walks by and I guess he said something, because he stood there a moment, then impatiently spat out "Hello?" One noticeable difference culturally is the way you are treated as a customer. Wait-staff are not hospitable to everyone. Usually the nicer you are dressed the better service you get. Either that or Kim and I have gotten pretty unlucky so far.
We sip our cappuccino's mit slag (thick whipped cream) and slowly wake up as the sun starts warming up Stephansplatz. After sipping our coffee and chatting for a while, we both got out our reading assignments for a class we signed up for which starts tomorrow.
11:00 a.m. We head out in search of the Nachstmarkt. We know from Derek that it is a few blocks past the Stadtsoper, so we wander around in that direction until we find it!
It is gorgeous. Not only is it visually stunning, but the smells are overwhelmingly delicious. There are voices coming from every direction, restaurants overflowing with people, and stands of exotic foods, fruits, vegetables, and spices from all over the world.
We find stands filled with hundreds of colorful scarves! They are only 5 euro a piece so of course we both get one.
I mentioned to Kim during our Nachstmarkt experience that it was as if I had a sign hanging around my neck that said "TALK TO ME, PLEASE!" because that is what was happening. At every stand someone was saying hello, or waving a sample at us, or flagging me down. We got some free felafel with hummus that was out of this world, and some sort of desert that was (I think) a caramel covered hazelnut. The man, who was older and quite shaggy-looking, handed Kim and I one apiece, then looked at me and said, "Hast du einen Boyfriend?"We had barely turned away when we bust out laughing. We are both over the excitement of being hit on by this point, because honestly it happens all the time here! At first it was shocking and/or flattering, but after a few days the excitement wears off.
We stopped to look at some rings, and the man was pushing to man a sale. After looking at the rings, he comes over and opens the box for us, literally pushing rings on our fingers to try on. Kim got one for cheap, he lowered the price just for her. I had been looking at some more expensive ones, they were out of my price range, but he could tell I liked them. He suggested ten euro off, and when I still did not budge, he said, name your price. At that point I lost my poker face, and told him I couldn't really afford it and walked away.
The same thing happened as we looked through the earrings, only 3 Euro for the pretty ladies! Ha!
1:00 p.m. We are starting to get hungry, and since we packed a lunch we wanted to find a nice place to sit down in the sun and eat. We decide to head back to Stadtpark for a picnic! It was the first time for us to try the chicken and cheese we had bought at the Penny Markt. I had made us sandwiches on kaiser rolls. Surprisingly good! We got out our reading again after lunch, and of course both fell asleep in the sun on and off for the next hour.
2:30 p.m. We head to the nearest U-Bahn to used the bathroom, and decided we want to check out shopping in the city center!
3:00 p.m. H&M! Two different locations within a mile of each other! Super cheap prices! Then the four-level Forever21! Then a quick stop at Mango, before (exhausted) calling it quits. I bought a long skirt and a basic t-shirt dress to go with my new scarf.
3:30 p.m. We head home, zombies from too much sun and shopping. We have school tomorrow, so we wanted to get home before dark. The trip home was quiet, both of us pooped-out.
5:00 p.m. After a quick stop at Bipa for razors, we head to our dorm to cook dinner. We decide to try something new! We had gotten a "clear" vegetable soup mix, so we cooked that and had it with some sweet rolls and black-currant juice.
The cooking, food, and comfy clothes helped us cheer up significantly! We then watched some Big Bang Theory and I got to skype with Amanda (surprise!) and Matt! :)
Hopefully some more TV is in my future, and some more reading before bed. Looking forward to meeting our professor tomorrow and going to class, finally!
E
Monday, March 19, 2012
Lazy Day
I took a benedryl last night at around midnight, then fell asleep a little less than an hour later. I slept for twelve hours.
1:00 p.m. Kim wakes me up. It takes a few tries but finally I am up.
I am having a lazy day. So i will write a lazy blog.
Basically we were feeling schmery so we went grocery shopping, went to see our advisor, went to coffee.
At coffee we ran into a girl from orientation that we like, and swapped numbers. Walked down to the danube, had a grand ol' time.
6:00 p.m. Came back home, made a pizza "Big Pizza Texas" and watched The Big Bang Theory (which I am now obsessed with) and Skyped the whole world.
Done. Lazy day! much needed.
E
1:00 p.m. Kim wakes me up. It takes a few tries but finally I am up.
I am having a lazy day. So i will write a lazy blog.
Basically we were feeling schmery so we went grocery shopping, went to see our advisor, went to coffee.
At coffee we ran into a girl from orientation that we like, and swapped numbers. Walked down to the danube, had a grand ol' time.
6:00 p.m. Came back home, made a pizza "Big Pizza Texas" and watched The Big Bang Theory (which I am now obsessed with) and Skyped the whole world.
Done. Lazy day! much needed.
E
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Wagner
So last night I did not get to sleep until 6:30 a.m. I think maybe my coffee was too strong at Cafe Sacher. Then there was some sort of animal fight outside. Then the sun came up.
So when I finally did get to sleep, I slept in.
The day finally begins...
1:00 p.m. I wake up. Kim has been up for a while, but didn't want to wake me. We missed lunch with Bridget at her friend's restaurant.
2:30 p.m. We head out, planning to get some groceries. When we arrive at the Penny Mart, its closed. Everything is closed on Sunday's here. So we decide to go towards the Stadtoper, and look for food at a restaurant.
3:00 p.m. We wander around the side streets near Stephansplatz until we find a restaurant with a table free outside. The menu is classic Austrian cuisine. Time to try some stuff out!
I order the Wienerschnitzel! with potato salad! It is the classic dish of Vienna. Basically a thin cut of veal, that is breaded and fried. It was served with lemon, that you squeeze over the Wienerschnitzel. The potato salad was tangy, and bright yellow, but delicious.
So when I finally did get to sleep, I slept in.
The day finally begins...
1:00 p.m. I wake up. Kim has been up for a while, but didn't want to wake me. We missed lunch with Bridget at her friend's restaurant.
2:30 p.m. We head out, planning to get some groceries. When we arrive at the Penny Mart, its closed. Everything is closed on Sunday's here. So we decide to go towards the Stadtoper, and look for food at a restaurant.
3:00 p.m. We wander around the side streets near Stephansplatz until we find a restaurant with a table free outside. The menu is classic Austrian cuisine. Time to try some stuff out!
I order the Wienerschnitzel! with potato salad! It is the classic dish of Vienna. Basically a thin cut of veal, that is breaded and fried. It was served with lemon, that you squeeze over the Wienerschnitzel. The potato salad was tangy, and bright yellow, but delicious.
Kim got beef steaks with sauteed mushrooms, and crispy potato wedges. Everything was amazing. Then to top it off we ate Apfelstrudel! There wasn't enough time to take a picture before it was eaten up. It was really that good.
We asked for tap water, and the waiter/owner served us each a glass. We were still thirsty after drinking the glass, so I pulled out my water bottle, to sip from that because the waiter was inside. After a few minutes he came back out, and was surprised to see the water bottle. He told me that in a restaurant one should never do that. He seemed a little offended, so I apologized and put it away. I felt a little embarrassed, but confused. Water from the tap is free, and in America no one would think twice about something like this, especially since most restaurants diligently refill your water glass.
When the time came for the bill, we asked for it "zusammen" which means together. We had ordered two 15 Euro dishes and desert which was probably around 7 Euros. He handed me a bill for 18 Euros. "18 Euros?" I asked. "Yes," he said. I asked again, just to make sure, and he responded again with a "yes." I paid, told him to keep a tip, and he sent us off by saying, "I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Vienna!" He gave us free food! :) Perhaps he felt bad about the water bottle incident, who knows. It was a nice treat!
4:20 p.m. We stop in a Starbucks! We wanted to see how different it was here in Europe. They have SO much more selection of pastries and foods. The drinks are, ready?, more expensive. Also their idea of an american pancake is a coaster-sized cake thing. Its pretty pathetic.
4:45 p.m. We go to get our seats, this time in the balcony section. Waiting before the show we explored the upstairs of the opera house. Which is beautifully ornate, with frescos and all. Pictures to come. I got some attitude from the ushers. Probably because I was one of the stander's.
Tannhäuser was wonderful.
I enjoyed it much more than last night's opera. The singer's were so wonderful, the acting was wonderful, the concept was intriguing, and the music was so inspiring. One of my favorite parts of the opera was actually the overture.
10:00 p.m. We get out of the opera, and crave gelatto. We go searching. Everything is closed :(. We really miss American late-night food. We ended up getting some chocolates and devouring them on the way home on the U-Bahn.
11:00 p.m. Home, lots of skyping and facebooking! Then blogging.
1:00 a.m. Goodnight!
E
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Opera
2:00 p.m. We wake up. I know its late... but did you read the last blog? We earned it.
3:00 p.m. We shower and get ready to leave, our hair smelled like smoke. :( We are running very late, but we needed to do some research on the opera we were planning on seeing. It was Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten. It is a story about a mystical talisman, an empress that needs a shadow, and the magical journey in which she tries to get one. Its weird, but sounded promising!
4:30 p.m. We are running really late, we haven't eaten anything all day, but we decide to get our standing-room spots before eating. We get there around five, we get our tickets and proceed to our spots. There are bars in front of each row, and we tied scarves where we were standing to mark our spots.
5:15 p.m. We sprint to the nearest Hot Dog stand. Which is really a bratwurst stand by American standards. We chose the one filled with cheese. It is magical. At the same stand we also got some asian stir-fried noodles? Odd combination.
We went back to the front of the Stadtsoper to eat our food. We happened to sit next to a group of German medical students, in Vienna for the weekend. The one next to me started up a conversation. They have heard of "Californication" and "The Big Bang Theory." That led to us taking a group photo for them, then them insisting we take one with them, then them inviting us to some place called Loco. We will look into what that is... we decided not to join them.
6:45 p.m. We find our spots again, and the opera begins. Act One is slow, with a modern set, and very little movement on stage. The fairy-tale aspects of the story are attributed, from what I could tell, to the main character's mental instability. The worlds went back and forth from her mind to the real world, sometimes somewhere in between.
After about twenty minutes, I realized that I was extremely hot. I quietly took off my boots, they are thick fabric, and I hoped that that would cool me down a little. Five minutes later I was no cooler, and the heat was starting to keep me from focusing on the opera. Another five minutes later I am sweating, and I can barely see straight, I look around, and everyone else looks fine. I sat down.
I was so nervous that I was going to get kicked out for sitting, that I kept looking around for the usher. As soon as I felt a little better, I tried to stand up again, felt light-headed and had to sit back down for the rest of the act. Not the first time this has happened. Will look into with a doctor, its like sometimes when I get overheated, it makes me feel like I want to pass out. Maybe it was the lack of food in the morning?
At intermission, the guy in between Kim and I (he had generously offered to switch with Kim because she had a better view of the English translation in the row in front of her, I will try to post of a picture of the set up tomorrow, its a little hard to explain) helped me up, and suggested that we go outside for some fresh air. He introduces himself, his name is Bjorn, and he is a woodcutter and studied marketing in school. He now helps train people to find jobs. He lives about an hour away by U-Bahn, but he comes to see shows at the Stadtsoper sometimes three times a week. "Why?" we ask. "Because it is better than TV." Good answer!
Act Two, like act one. They do some very complicated set-work. Like projections of a movie clip, and having the entire stage look like a birds eye view of the room in which the Empress is sleeping. This means having the singer "laying" in bed, but really standing about twenty feet above the ground in a bed that looks soft but must really be supporting her whole self. Does that make any sense? During intermission we just sit down in our spots.
Act Three, much more action onstage, the singers really show their strength in huge sections that require range and stamina.
The applause lasted longer than I have ever experienced. Probably six or seven curtain calls, and the passion in the audience was unceasing. So much support. It was beautiful.
10:15 p.m. Our friend Jeoren was also at the opera, but didn't make it in time to sit with us. He met up with us and Bjorn, whom we invited to go eat Sachertorte, and the famous Hotel Sacher, right across the street from the operahaus. It was not the best desert I have ever eaten, but not bad. Coffee and desert in a beautiful, so beautiful, cafe, I could not ask for more. Bjorn had a little trouble with english, so there were a few awkward silences, but in saying goodbyes, he asked if we were coming back the next night, and indeed we had planned on it, so perhaps we will see him again.
11:15 p.m. Kim and I set out on our own, happy for the time just the two of us. We discover a pretty Italian restaurant, where everyone calls you "bellisima" of course. We ordered the white House wine (hauswein) und a pizza with thin salami slices on it. It was delicious, and we stayed long after we finished eating just to talk and sip our wine, until they kicked us out for closing. Everything closes relatively early in Vienna, especially shopping: most stores close around 6:30.
12:00 a.m. We had to stop and ask for help back to the U-Bahn, but we eventually found it, and were headed back home! We caught the trolley back to the dorm right as we get off the train, we felt very lucky.
12:30 a.m. We suddenly realize that we are in surroundings we don't remember, so we exit the trolley. We are in an U-Bahn station. We had missed our stop. We retraced the trolley tracks for a bit, very scared. It is terrifying here at night. Its like the apocalypse happened. Everything is dark and uninhabited, and the few people who are walking around are scary just because we are in a new country and terrified.
We stopped at a Ramada, and got directions from the front desk. We were indeed almost home, and were headed in the right direction, but we were so freaked out we wanted to be sure.
1:00 a.m. We arrive home safely and sprint up the stairs, excited to see our little dorm room. (Weird.)
Skyping with family and Matt and Kim's mom! and to bed.
<3
E
3:00 p.m. We shower and get ready to leave, our hair smelled like smoke. :( We are running very late, but we needed to do some research on the opera we were planning on seeing. It was Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten. It is a story about a mystical talisman, an empress that needs a shadow, and the magical journey in which she tries to get one. Its weird, but sounded promising!
4:30 p.m. We are running really late, we haven't eaten anything all day, but we decide to get our standing-room spots before eating. We get there around five, we get our tickets and proceed to our spots. There are bars in front of each row, and we tied scarves where we were standing to mark our spots.
5:15 p.m. We sprint to the nearest Hot Dog stand. Which is really a bratwurst stand by American standards. We chose the one filled with cheese. It is magical. At the same stand we also got some asian stir-fried noodles? Odd combination.
We went back to the front of the Stadtsoper to eat our food. We happened to sit next to a group of German medical students, in Vienna for the weekend. The one next to me started up a conversation. They have heard of "Californication" and "The Big Bang Theory." That led to us taking a group photo for them, then them insisting we take one with them, then them inviting us to some place called Loco. We will look into what that is... we decided not to join them.
6:45 p.m. We find our spots again, and the opera begins. Act One is slow, with a modern set, and very little movement on stage. The fairy-tale aspects of the story are attributed, from what I could tell, to the main character's mental instability. The worlds went back and forth from her mind to the real world, sometimes somewhere in between.
After about twenty minutes, I realized that I was extremely hot. I quietly took off my boots, they are thick fabric, and I hoped that that would cool me down a little. Five minutes later I was no cooler, and the heat was starting to keep me from focusing on the opera. Another five minutes later I am sweating, and I can barely see straight, I look around, and everyone else looks fine. I sat down.
I was so nervous that I was going to get kicked out for sitting, that I kept looking around for the usher. As soon as I felt a little better, I tried to stand up again, felt light-headed and had to sit back down for the rest of the act. Not the first time this has happened. Will look into with a doctor, its like sometimes when I get overheated, it makes me feel like I want to pass out. Maybe it was the lack of food in the morning?
At intermission, the guy in between Kim and I (he had generously offered to switch with Kim because she had a better view of the English translation in the row in front of her, I will try to post of a picture of the set up tomorrow, its a little hard to explain) helped me up, and suggested that we go outside for some fresh air. He introduces himself, his name is Bjorn, and he is a woodcutter and studied marketing in school. He now helps train people to find jobs. He lives about an hour away by U-Bahn, but he comes to see shows at the Stadtsoper sometimes three times a week. "Why?" we ask. "Because it is better than TV." Good answer!
Act Two, like act one. They do some very complicated set-work. Like projections of a movie clip, and having the entire stage look like a birds eye view of the room in which the Empress is sleeping. This means having the singer "laying" in bed, but really standing about twenty feet above the ground in a bed that looks soft but must really be supporting her whole self. Does that make any sense? During intermission we just sit down in our spots.
Act Three, much more action onstage, the singers really show their strength in huge sections that require range and stamina.
The applause lasted longer than I have ever experienced. Probably six or seven curtain calls, and the passion in the audience was unceasing. So much support. It was beautiful.
10:15 p.m. Our friend Jeoren was also at the opera, but didn't make it in time to sit with us. He met up with us and Bjorn, whom we invited to go eat Sachertorte, and the famous Hotel Sacher, right across the street from the operahaus. It was not the best desert I have ever eaten, but not bad. Coffee and desert in a beautiful, so beautiful, cafe, I could not ask for more. Bjorn had a little trouble with english, so there were a few awkward silences, but in saying goodbyes, he asked if we were coming back the next night, and indeed we had planned on it, so perhaps we will see him again.
11:15 p.m. Kim and I set out on our own, happy for the time just the two of us. We discover a pretty Italian restaurant, where everyone calls you "bellisima" of course. We ordered the white House wine (hauswein) und a pizza with thin salami slices on it. It was delicious, and we stayed long after we finished eating just to talk and sip our wine, until they kicked us out for closing. Everything closes relatively early in Vienna, especially shopping: most stores close around 6:30.
12:00 a.m. We had to stop and ask for help back to the U-Bahn, but we eventually found it, and were headed back home! We caught the trolley back to the dorm right as we get off the train, we felt very lucky.
12:30 a.m. We suddenly realize that we are in surroundings we don't remember, so we exit the trolley. We are in an U-Bahn station. We had missed our stop. We retraced the trolley tracks for a bit, very scared. It is terrifying here at night. Its like the apocalypse happened. Everything is dark and uninhabited, and the few people who are walking around are scary just because we are in a new country and terrified.
We stopped at a Ramada, and got directions from the front desk. We were indeed almost home, and were headed in the right direction, but we were so freaked out we wanted to be sure.
1:00 a.m. We arrive home safely and sprint up the stairs, excited to see our little dorm room. (Weird.)
Skyping with family and Matt and Kim's mom! and to bed.
<3
E
Mozart Party
Wow, it was a day. Ok here goes...
7:00 a.m. Wake up.
8:00 a.m. Meet our dorm-mates downstairs, and we travel to the right U-Bahn station together. There we meet up with our RA, who takes us to the Police station so we can register, in case of emergencies, so they know we have passports, etc.
9:00 a.m. We have lots of extra time before our city tour (sponsored by Webster) so the group decides to go to breakfast together. We go to Stephansplatz, the center of the city, and go to a cute cafe right in the middle of everything. We sit on the second floor, where we can see a birds eye view of the main street, and all the bustle. We can also see apartments above the street, where sleepy Austrians are leaning out their windows with no pants on smoking their first cigarette.
At breakfast we get to know some new friends from new countries, and start really warming up to our RA, who seems much more approachable now that we have spend more time with her.
11:00 a.m. We have arrived at the Stadtsoper early for the tour so we sit around taking pictures and chatting, but soon our but arrives and we board. It was one of those ones where you sit and drive by most of the sights in the center of the city, while you listen to a voice narrate your surroundings on headphones.
12:00 p.m. The tour inspires us to checkout the Stadtpark. So four of us, Colin, Kim, Kamryn, and I, take the U-Bahn there, stopping at a bakery to pick up a light picnic lunch on the way.
The park is gorgeous. And there are people and dogs of all ages everywhere, enjoying the weather. We pick a sunny spot on the grass and picnic. We stayed there for the next 3 hours, soaking up the sun, talking, sleeping, feeling like one of the natives.
At one point I get up on my own to sketch some of the beautiful statues. I pick out a little water fountain with a face of a fish-man squirting water out of his mouth into a basin. After standing and sketching for a few minutes, I attract a German-speaking couple who approach me by spying behind my shoulder at my drawing. They said hello, and I laughed, and stuck around with for a little chat, then the man suggested that I sketch him in to the picture, and he held his water bottle under the stream of water! I said it was too complicated and they seemed to like that. :)
Kim and I explored more of the park on our own at one point, ponds with ducks, little nooks with great statues, and families just sitting with each other.
As we sat on the grass, suddenly, guess who we see strolling across the lawn but Jeoren from our orientation! He joined us and we made plans for later that night to meet up with him and his roommates, all native speakers!
3:00 p.m. We leave the park, and meet up with our Grad student friend, Bridget. We then split off, just us girls, and head towards Mozarthaus. This is one of the apartments where Mozart stayed during his time in Vienna. He wrote many major works while staying there, and now the apartment is turned into a museum, and much of the apartment has been restored. Even some of the frescos have been unearthed from under layers of paint.
It was a nice tour of the museum, but I was hoping that the rooms would be decorated like Mozart might have had them, which was not the case. It was mostly portraits, quotes, and framed artifacts from his day and age.
5:00 p.m. Coffee break at a nearby cafe.
6:00 p.m. Head back to the dorms, chill out Skype with Matt and Jason. :)
9:30 p.m. We decide to go out, but we are not sure where we want to go. Bridget comes over to get ready with us, and we have a hard time deciding whether we want to try out one of Vienna's nicer clubs, or join up with Jeoren and meet his roommates and their friends.
10:30 p.m. We decided for the intimate bar with J and his friends, which I think was a wonderful choice. The bar was called Tonstube. It was very small, and cozy but had a trendy vibe, well designed and just the right crowd for us. We met Fabian, one of J's roommies, and their friends. I don't remember names mostly because they weren't english, but there were journalism majors, ex-ski instructors, International relations majors, and friendly girls in the bathroom who were so sweet and interested in talking to us American girls.
We tried their favorite drink, the Radler (sp?). Which is a combination of lemonade-soda, and Bier. You wouldn't think it would be good, but its great!
12:30 a.m. The guys invite us to a local Univerisity party. When we hear that we assume that its a house-party that university students will be attending. But soon we arrive and realize that it is at the technical University. It is packed, and it is a party welcoming all of the foreign exchange students there. There were kids from everywhere, speaking every language.
There were many courageous boys from many different nationalities who talked to us, but soon we broke off from the crowds and found a seat on the main steps. It was me, Kim, Fabian and another friend named Bruno. We sipped our drinks and got to know each other, and we discovered that Bruno would be willing to help us with our German! German tutor: located.
Soon we started to get bored, and we went off in search of the friends who had left us to go eat.
2:00 a.m. We located, after some difficulty, our other two friends, J and Bridget. They were at a local Kebabhaus! We came and ate some of their lamb and rice they couldn't finish. Bruno ordered a Kebab and ayran, which is a Turkish drink, made of yogurt, salt, and cold water. Of course I had to try it. Interesting.
2:45 a.m. After some debate, we decide to go to a club that was literally, right across the street. It was very small, but not extremely crowded. It was a little in disrepair but the bar was nice and there was a dance floor, with, a man dressed as a robot! Of course we got a little dance in with the robot, then we retired to our table where Bridget offered to buy us a drink.
I made Kim and J come dance with me when "What's Love Got to Do with It" came on. Bridget and Fabian wanted to keep the night going, but Kim and I were exhausted, we decided to call it a night. J walked us to a nearby U-Bahn station. We said our good-byes, and made plans to dine together, and see an opera the next night!
4:00 a.m. Get to our Station, get on the night bus.
4:30 a.m. Home. Sleep. What a day. :)
Even though we have only been here a few days, it feels like so much longer. Everyone has welcomed us so warmly, and hopefully we will be making friendships that will last. So great.
E
7:00 a.m. Wake up.
8:00 a.m. Meet our dorm-mates downstairs, and we travel to the right U-Bahn station together. There we meet up with our RA, who takes us to the Police station so we can register, in case of emergencies, so they know we have passports, etc.
9:00 a.m. We have lots of extra time before our city tour (sponsored by Webster) so the group decides to go to breakfast together. We go to Stephansplatz, the center of the city, and go to a cute cafe right in the middle of everything. We sit on the second floor, where we can see a birds eye view of the main street, and all the bustle. We can also see apartments above the street, where sleepy Austrians are leaning out their windows with no pants on smoking their first cigarette.
At breakfast we get to know some new friends from new countries, and start really warming up to our RA, who seems much more approachable now that we have spend more time with her.
11:00 a.m. We have arrived at the Stadtsoper early for the tour so we sit around taking pictures and chatting, but soon our but arrives and we board. It was one of those ones where you sit and drive by most of the sights in the center of the city, while you listen to a voice narrate your surroundings on headphones.
12:00 p.m. The tour inspires us to checkout the Stadtpark. So four of us, Colin, Kim, Kamryn, and I, take the U-Bahn there, stopping at a bakery to pick up a light picnic lunch on the way.
The park is gorgeous. And there are people and dogs of all ages everywhere, enjoying the weather. We pick a sunny spot on the grass and picnic. We stayed there for the next 3 hours, soaking up the sun, talking, sleeping, feeling like one of the natives.
At one point I get up on my own to sketch some of the beautiful statues. I pick out a little water fountain with a face of a fish-man squirting water out of his mouth into a basin. After standing and sketching for a few minutes, I attract a German-speaking couple who approach me by spying behind my shoulder at my drawing. They said hello, and I laughed, and stuck around with for a little chat, then the man suggested that I sketch him in to the picture, and he held his water bottle under the stream of water! I said it was too complicated and they seemed to like that. :)
Kim and I explored more of the park on our own at one point, ponds with ducks, little nooks with great statues, and families just sitting with each other.
As we sat on the grass, suddenly, guess who we see strolling across the lawn but Jeoren from our orientation! He joined us and we made plans for later that night to meet up with him and his roommates, all native speakers!
3:00 p.m. We leave the park, and meet up with our Grad student friend, Bridget. We then split off, just us girls, and head towards Mozarthaus. This is one of the apartments where Mozart stayed during his time in Vienna. He wrote many major works while staying there, and now the apartment is turned into a museum, and much of the apartment has been restored. Even some of the frescos have been unearthed from under layers of paint.
It was a nice tour of the museum, but I was hoping that the rooms would be decorated like Mozart might have had them, which was not the case. It was mostly portraits, quotes, and framed artifacts from his day and age.
5:00 p.m. Coffee break at a nearby cafe.
6:00 p.m. Head back to the dorms, chill out Skype with Matt and Jason. :)
9:30 p.m. We decide to go out, but we are not sure where we want to go. Bridget comes over to get ready with us, and we have a hard time deciding whether we want to try out one of Vienna's nicer clubs, or join up with Jeoren and meet his roommates and their friends.
10:30 p.m. We decided for the intimate bar with J and his friends, which I think was a wonderful choice. The bar was called Tonstube. It was very small, and cozy but had a trendy vibe, well designed and just the right crowd for us. We met Fabian, one of J's roommies, and their friends. I don't remember names mostly because they weren't english, but there were journalism majors, ex-ski instructors, International relations majors, and friendly girls in the bathroom who were so sweet and interested in talking to us American girls.
We tried their favorite drink, the Radler (sp?). Which is a combination of lemonade-soda, and Bier. You wouldn't think it would be good, but its great!
12:30 a.m. The guys invite us to a local Univerisity party. When we hear that we assume that its a house-party that university students will be attending. But soon we arrive and realize that it is at the technical University. It is packed, and it is a party welcoming all of the foreign exchange students there. There were kids from everywhere, speaking every language.
There were many courageous boys from many different nationalities who talked to us, but soon we broke off from the crowds and found a seat on the main steps. It was me, Kim, Fabian and another friend named Bruno. We sipped our drinks and got to know each other, and we discovered that Bruno would be willing to help us with our German! German tutor: located.
Soon we started to get bored, and we went off in search of the friends who had left us to go eat.
2:00 a.m. We located, after some difficulty, our other two friends, J and Bridget. They were at a local Kebabhaus! We came and ate some of their lamb and rice they couldn't finish. Bruno ordered a Kebab and ayran, which is a Turkish drink, made of yogurt, salt, and cold water. Of course I had to try it. Interesting.
2:45 a.m. After some debate, we decide to go to a club that was literally, right across the street. It was very small, but not extremely crowded. It was a little in disrepair but the bar was nice and there was a dance floor, with, a man dressed as a robot! Of course we got a little dance in with the robot, then we retired to our table where Bridget offered to buy us a drink.
I made Kim and J come dance with me when "What's Love Got to Do with It" came on. Bridget and Fabian wanted to keep the night going, but Kim and I were exhausted, we decided to call it a night. J walked us to a nearby U-Bahn station. We said our good-byes, and made plans to dine together, and see an opera the next night!
4:00 a.m. Get to our Station, get on the night bus.
4:30 a.m. Home. Sleep. What a day. :)
Even though we have only been here a few days, it feels like so much longer. Everyone has welcomed us so warmly, and hopefully we will be making friendships that will last. So great.
E
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Vienna
6:40 a.m. I woke up with so much energy. I had slept badly, the beds not comfortable, hopefully I will get used to that. Since it was still not quite bedtime in the states, I got to Skype Matt. And subsequently all of his roommates. :)
7:00 a.m. Kim is up! We have a breakfast of bananas, brie, crackers, and potato chips. We took up until 8:45, and then met the rest of our group downstairs at the office for orientation. There were two other girls who introduced themselves, one from Seattle, Kamryn, and a grad student maybe Bridget.
Our RA meets us there, and leads us to the Tram, which takes us to the U-Bahn station. There I got passes for transportation for the rest of March, and continued to Webster.
Orientation was long. It consisted of lots of inspiring information about my trip, cultural differences, etc. I met lots of students from lots of different places. We got a free lunch and breakfast, chicken and rice mit salat. Honestly, jet lag is really pulling Kim and I down, so most of the information during the orientation was probably lost on us, but we tried our best. We did meet our advisor, whom we adore. Our advising session was much longer than anticipated because we discussed opera, and our favorite opera stars, which he had seen. He literally has seen everyone. Ever. Barbara Bonney, Elina Garanca, Joyce DiDonato, Anne Sofie von Otter, Kasarova. The works. So excited to see some opera.
4:00 p.m. Kim, Colin, Bridget and I head off on our own. We wanted to find Musikhaus Doblinger, a famous music store in the center of the city.
Kim wanted to get a new sim card for her iPhone so that we could make calls locally. The guy at the HandiCenter (Cell phone store) was quite the character. He was always trying to sell us something out of our price range. If we said thirty, he said fifty. If we said thirty again, he said forty. He was almost like a character from a movie. Like one of the vendors from the beginning of Aladdin. (Does anyone know what I am talking about?) Finally we got him to give Kim a sim card. Something was computing for her phone with the new card in it, so he called someone from the back of the store. They whisked away her phone for at least five minutes until we got nervous and insisted that he put the original card back in. We end up getting a second hand phone with a sim card for 1,000 min and 1,000 texts. Right when we left he started the whole shebang with the next customer, he asked for something 30 Euros, and he pulls out three phones that were at least 25 Euros more than that. The customer and I exchange a look and we both start laughing. I think I may be starting to get more comfortable with the fact that peoples is peoples, no matter what country you are in.
After some confusion with the maps, we get to the first district, which is the very center of the city. And suddenly I get what its all about. We get off the U-Bahn and into the plaza. It was called Stephansplatz, and it is right next to what I gather is St Stephan's Cathedral. No photograph can describe the impact of this Building, or any building in the first district really. Not only are they ornate and aesthetically perfect, but they are enormous. Every detail of each building was carefully constructed and decorated with sculpture, the architecture here has much more majesty and a feeling of permenancy that architecture in the US doesn't even come close.
Outside the Cathedral were some break dancers. They were good! but they were having some trouble getting much enthusiasm from their audience.
"Let me hear you say 'YEA!'"
"..."
"Let me hear you say 'HELL YEA!"
"..." Then a single man in the crowd "Shaddup."
We find Doblinger, and I search through the scores. I find Un Ballo in Maschera, I have to learn my music ahead of time for my first summer at Union Avenue Opera. I approach a salesclerk who is organizing and actually try to talk to him! I exchanged a few words in German, but then have to switch back to English to ask if there is a cheaper version of the score I was holding. He looks at me and says No, then gives me a look like "Whaddya Dum?" and asks me if I really want the full score. I was so excited to ask him for help, that I had taken the full score off the shelf, when I needed the vocal score. He proceeds to lead me to the vocal score section of the store, where I find exactly what I need.
6:00 p.m. Our stomachs start rumbling shortly after leaving the shop, and we step into the Cafe next door . I am courageous, and decide to order for our table, but of course I bring Kim along for moral support. (I'm not that brave) I order something called Pesto Toast and Tap Waters for everyone. I return please with myself for another valiant attempt at German conversation.
The toast was awesome. It was half a slice of bread smeared with pesto, then a slice of tomato was laid on top of that, then the tomato was covered with a thick slice of cheese, type unknown. The creation was then heated so the cheese melted. Then just for flair, another dab of pesto on top of the cheese. Maybe it was our hunger, but maybe this was the best thing ever invented.
After eating jet lag really took over. We walked around just absorbing the sights and the people for another half-an-hour or so, then headed back home.
7:30 p.m. On the U-Bahn. Couple making out every moment possible right next to us. Very strange. Tongues. Oh man. It was something else.
We walk the last leg back to the dorm because the train was going to take 20 minutes to get to the station. I think it really put us over the edge. So very, very tired. But excited for tomorrow! We register with the police then are given a tour of the city, sponsored by Webster U! Looking forward to meeting my professors most of all, oh, and seeing an opera.
E
7:00 a.m. Kim is up! We have a breakfast of bananas, brie, crackers, and potato chips. We took up until 8:45, and then met the rest of our group downstairs at the office for orientation. There were two other girls who introduced themselves, one from Seattle, Kamryn, and a grad student maybe Bridget.
Our RA meets us there, and leads us to the Tram, which takes us to the U-Bahn station. There I got passes for transportation for the rest of March, and continued to Webster.
Orientation was long. It consisted of lots of inspiring information about my trip, cultural differences, etc. I met lots of students from lots of different places. We got a free lunch and breakfast, chicken and rice mit salat. Honestly, jet lag is really pulling Kim and I down, so most of the information during the orientation was probably lost on us, but we tried our best. We did meet our advisor, whom we adore. Our advising session was much longer than anticipated because we discussed opera, and our favorite opera stars, which he had seen. He literally has seen everyone. Ever. Barbara Bonney, Elina Garanca, Joyce DiDonato, Anne Sofie von Otter, Kasarova. The works. So excited to see some opera.
4:00 p.m. Kim, Colin, Bridget and I head off on our own. We wanted to find Musikhaus Doblinger, a famous music store in the center of the city.
Kim wanted to get a new sim card for her iPhone so that we could make calls locally. The guy at the HandiCenter (Cell phone store) was quite the character. He was always trying to sell us something out of our price range. If we said thirty, he said fifty. If we said thirty again, he said forty. He was almost like a character from a movie. Like one of the vendors from the beginning of Aladdin. (Does anyone know what I am talking about?) Finally we got him to give Kim a sim card. Something was computing for her phone with the new card in it, so he called someone from the back of the store. They whisked away her phone for at least five minutes until we got nervous and insisted that he put the original card back in. We end up getting a second hand phone with a sim card for 1,000 min and 1,000 texts. Right when we left he started the whole shebang with the next customer, he asked for something 30 Euros, and he pulls out three phones that were at least 25 Euros more than that. The customer and I exchange a look and we both start laughing. I think I may be starting to get more comfortable with the fact that peoples is peoples, no matter what country you are in.
After some confusion with the maps, we get to the first district, which is the very center of the city. And suddenly I get what its all about. We get off the U-Bahn and into the plaza. It was called Stephansplatz, and it is right next to what I gather is St Stephan's Cathedral. No photograph can describe the impact of this Building, or any building in the first district really. Not only are they ornate and aesthetically perfect, but they are enormous. Every detail of each building was carefully constructed and decorated with sculpture, the architecture here has much more majesty and a feeling of permenancy that architecture in the US doesn't even come close.
Outside the Cathedral were some break dancers. They were good! but they were having some trouble getting much enthusiasm from their audience.
"Let me hear you say 'YEA!'"
"..."
"Let me hear you say 'HELL YEA!"
"..." Then a single man in the crowd "Shaddup."
We find Doblinger, and I search through the scores. I find Un Ballo in Maschera, I have to learn my music ahead of time for my first summer at Union Avenue Opera. I approach a salesclerk who is organizing and actually try to talk to him! I exchanged a few words in German, but then have to switch back to English to ask if there is a cheaper version of the score I was holding. He looks at me and says No, then gives me a look like "Whaddya Dum?" and asks me if I really want the full score. I was so excited to ask him for help, that I had taken the full score off the shelf, when I needed the vocal score. He proceeds to lead me to the vocal score section of the store, where I find exactly what I need.
6:00 p.m. Our stomachs start rumbling shortly after leaving the shop, and we step into the Cafe next door . I am courageous, and decide to order for our table, but of course I bring Kim along for moral support. (I'm not that brave) I order something called Pesto Toast and Tap Waters for everyone. I return please with myself for another valiant attempt at German conversation.
The toast was awesome. It was half a slice of bread smeared with pesto, then a slice of tomato was laid on top of that, then the tomato was covered with a thick slice of cheese, type unknown. The creation was then heated so the cheese melted. Then just for flair, another dab of pesto on top of the cheese. Maybe it was our hunger, but maybe this was the best thing ever invented.
After eating jet lag really took over. We walked around just absorbing the sights and the people for another half-an-hour or so, then headed back home.
7:30 p.m. On the U-Bahn. Couple making out every moment possible right next to us. Very strange. Tongues. Oh man. It was something else.
We walk the last leg back to the dorm because the train was going to take 20 minutes to get to the station. I think it really put us over the edge. So very, very tired. But excited for tomorrow! We register with the police then are given a tour of the city, sponsored by Webster U! Looking forward to meeting my professors most of all, oh, and seeing an opera.
E
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The Journey
9:00 a.m. Wake up. Breakfast with Matt at FirstWatch.
11:00 a.m. Get ready to leave, waiting for Jason
11:20 a.m. Bring stuff to curb, still waiting for Jason.
11:40 a.m. Freaking out a little because Jason is still not there...
11:45 a.m. Jason arrives! Quick drive to the airport!
12:00 p.m. Say goodbyes. :(
I drag my luggage to the curbside checkin. I hand over my bag to a man named Rufus. He is in no hurry. Little does he know that I am running. I ask him, “Do I need to locate my luggage between trips?” In response, he points at the bag. I have no idea what that means. “I have no idea what that means.” He says “Nah.” My patience was already wearing thin, but then, the boarding-pass printer poops out. After two sloppy attempts to slap the printer back into shape, he slowly moves to the printer at the next station. When that doesn’t work, he gives me the travel stubs and says, “Get it inside.” Thanks alot. Get inside, boarding passes printed, security. Boom, I’m at the gate. See someone during boarding that looks remotely familiar, but neither of us introduce ourselves.
Sleep.
2:00 p.m Chicago. I find my gate, and see the same guy from the last part of the flight. We both happily realize that we are both Webster students going to the same place. Flight buddy found: Journalism major Colin. We go off in different directions, him to smoke, me to pee and food. As I order and eat, I start to realize that everyone around me is of a different nationality! An Italian ordering a coffee, a German-speaker doing work on his laptop, an Australian couple playing cards.
5:30 The eight hour flight to Madrid begins. They do this really funny thing where they attach a video camera to the uppermost point of the tail of the plane, so you get a bird’s eye view of your plane as it takes off. Which is cool. Except when accompanied by the cheesiest classical music you have ever heard. During take off, it is triumphant orchestral swells, and right when the plane lifts off the ground, the mood shifts with a goofy galloping adventure song. It was too much to handle.
just imagine watching yourself take off while listening to this:
I introduce myself to the woman sitting next to me. Her name is Linda, from Slovakia. She was feeling under-the-weather, but couldn’t cancel her flight because she had planned to visit her family there for seven weeks, and, she confided in me, she was going to tell them in person that she is pregnant! We took care of each other during the flight, we watched a movie on my laptop, she cave me her carrot cake dessert, and we shared hand sanitizer. Her accent reminded me of my family in Poland. We talked about our families, food, and music.
Some time late at night/early in the morning: The flight was desperately long. I read most of Steve Smith’s The Naked Voice. I listened to Puccini, Mozart, and Schubert on my iPod. The trip, the new experiences, and of course the amazingly inspiring reading. Even though I expected this trip to be a vacation from performing and working technically, I think it could possibly be the exact opposite. Maybe all I needed was a change of scene. I felt more inspired then I had since my Junior Recital.
Spanish Sunrise
Madrid: We got off at the enormous airport. Huge and empty. We were like ants. Security was chaos, Americans cutting in line, then pretending not to know what was going on when security women scream at them. Pushing and shoving was happening, and mad dashes between passport stations. Time was running out, but I had no idea what time it actually was. I found a person who spoke English and showed him my boarding pass. Pointed down a gigantic corridor, and said, “Gate 69, and run.” I misunderstood him at first because of his Spanish accent. “What?” “Run!”
I made it to the gate at the very last second, with Colin and Linda arriving right behind me. We were all drenched with sweat from sprinting all of the massive airport.
9:00 a.m.Flight to Vienna. I suddenly realize I need a rest. Wake up in Vienna.
12 45 p.m. Vienna, Austria. Meet up with Kim! Make friends with Siberian cab driver Sir John, who tells us about himself, pop music, and speed limits in Austria.
We get in and there is no one here, so we call the emergency number on the phone outside. After a few minutes the RA showed up, seeming very rushed and looking like she was about to go clubbing. She got us set up, it isn’t much, but we will make it work. We asked for a broom and were met with some opposition. We signed our contracts, and got to work rearranging the room. We both unpacked and started settling in, I don’t really know how I feel about the comforter they provided for me. Several unexplained stains...
Our Dorm Room
3:30 p.m. Bipa. Got some necessities, a broom, scented candle, hand soap etc. Cashier gave us the evil eye. In fact, it seems like most of the women here give us the evil eye.
Walk around the neighborhood, found some shops, a bakery we want to breakfast at, a pizzeria, found the ATM. Visited Penny Market, got some food, got Kebaps.
Figured out internet, skyped with Matt, wrote this blog. Trying desperately to stay awake until at least nine o’clock.
We are tired and happy.
E
The Journey
9:00 a.m. Wake up. Breakfast with Matt at FirstWatch.
11:00 a.m. Get ready to leave, waiting for Jason
11:20 a.m. Bring stuff to curb, still waiting for Jason.
11:40 a.m. Freaking out a little because Jason is still not there...
11:45 a.m. Jason arrives! Quick drive to the airport!
12:00 p.m. Say goodbyes. :(
I drag my luggage to the curbside checkin. I hand over my bag to a man named Rufus. He is in no hurry. Little does he know that I am running. I ask him, “Do I need to locate my luggage between trips?” In response, he points at the bag. I have no idea what that means. “I have no idea what that means.” He says “Nah.” My patience was already wearing thin, but then, the boarding-pass printer poops out. After two sloppy attempts to slap the printer back into shape, he slowly moves to the printer at the next station. When that doesn’t work, he gives me the travel stubs and says, “Get it inside.” Thanks alot. Get inside, boarding passes printed, security. Boom, I’m at the gate. See someone during boarding that looks remotely familiar, but neither of us introduce ourselves.
Sleep.
2:00 p.m Chicago. I find my gate, and see the same guy from the last part of the flight. We both happily realize that we are both Webster students going to the same place. Flight buddy found: Journalism major Colin. We go off in different directions, him to smoke, me to pee and food. As I order and eat, I start to realize that everyone around me is of a different nationality! An Italian ordering a coffee, a German-speaker doing work on his laptop, an Australian couple playing cards.
5:30 The eight hour flight to Madrid begins. They do this really funny thing where they attach a video camera to the uppermost point of the tail of the plane, so you get a bird’s eye view of your plane as it takes off. Which is cool. Except when accompanied by the cheesiest classical music you have ever heard. During take off, it is triumphant orchestral swells, and right when the plane lifts off the ground, the mood shifts with a goofy galloping adventure song. It was too much to handle.
just imagine watching yourself take off while listening to this:
I introduce myself to the woman sitting next to me. Her name is Linda, from Slovakia. She was feeling under-the-weather, but couldn’t cancel her flight because she had planned to visit her family there for seven weeks, and, she confided in me, she was going to tell them in person that she is pregnant! We took care of each other during the flight, we watched a movie on my laptop, she cave me her carrot cake dessert, and we shared hand sanitizer. Her accent reminded me of my family in Poland. We talked about our families, food, and music.
Some time late at night/early in the morning: The flight was desperately long. I read most of Steve Smith’s The Naked Voice. I listened to Puccini, Mozart, and Schubert on my iPod. The trip, the new experiences, and of course the amazingly inspiring reading. Even though I expected this trip to be a vacation from performing and working technically, I think it could possibly be the exact opposite. Maybe all I needed was a change of scene. I felt more inspired then I had since my Junior Recital.
Spanish Sunrise Good Morning Madrid!
Madrid: We got off at the enormous airport. Huge and empty. We were like ants. Security was chaos, Americans cutting in line, then pretending not to know what was going on when security women scream at them. Pushing and shoving was happening, and mad dashes between passport stations. Time was running out, but I had no idea what time it actually was. I found a person who spoke English and showed him my boarding pass. Pointed down a gigantic corridor, and said, “Gate 69, and run.” I misunderstood him at first because of his Spanish accent. “What?” “Run!”
I made it to the gate at the very last second, with Colin and Linda arriving right behind me. We were all drenched with sweat from sprinting all of the massive airport.
9:00 a.m.Flight to Vienna. I suddenly realize I need a rest. Wake up in Vienna.
12 45 p.m. Vienna, Austria. Meet up with Kim! Make friends with Siberian cab driver Sir John, who tells us about himself, pop music, and speed limits in Austria.
We get in and there is no one here, so we call the emergency number on the phone outside. After a few minutes the RA showed up, seeming very rushed and looking like she was about to go clubbing. She got us set up, it isn’t much, but we will make it work. We asked for a broom and were met with some opposition. We signed our contracts, and got to work rearranging the room. We both unpacked and started settling in, I don’t really know how I feel about the comforter they provided for me. Several unexplained stains...
View From Our Desk Our Dorm Room
3:30 p.m. Bipa. Got some necessities, a broom, scented candle, hand soap etc. Cashier gave us the evil eye. In fact, it seems like most of the women here give us the evil eye.
Walk around the neighborhood, found some shops, a bakery we want to breakfast at, a pizzeria, found the ATM. Visited Penny Market, got some food, got Kebaps.
Figured out internet, skyped with Matt, wrote this blog. Trying desperately to stay awake until at least nine o’clock.
We are tired and happy.
E
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