There goes another week!!! EEEEEEK! This trip is flying by!
Monday, July 30 German Class/lunch as usual in the morning. In the afternoon we attended a masterclass with Christa Ludwig! She is about 86 now and she had a great career as a singer. There were five young singers in the masterclass clinic. 2 Mezzo sopranos, 2 tenors, and one Soprano all from different places in the world. For me, the masterclass was more of a "let's see how much German I can understand" experience than a "how can I improve my singing" experience. Although, I did understand when she was saying "zu laut" (too loud) and "simplice"...(Italian: simple).
After the masterclass, Bene and I walk back to the Lehrerhaus to drop off our school bags and compose ourselves before going back into town for the evening. On the way back to town, we saw this "little" guy:
He was a gigantic slug. One is cute. Just one. In town, Bene and I went to McDonald's and I got some coffee and then I walked by a window and found a special treat for my Mom! I can't afford to buy these...but pictures are priceless ;)
HI MOM!
Tonight was a live (ish... 1 hour delay) simulcast of "Die Zauberflöte" (the magic flute) by Mozart. There were more people in attendance than there were for Figaro. After what felt like an eternity, we FINALLY got some sunshine!!
It turned out to be a beautiful night for Die Zauberflöte. The production was a little strange but I enjoyed the music and the singing, and the Papageno was beautiful and was a joy to watch!
Tuesday, July 31
German/lesson/lunch/master class with Dr. Francois Germain.
After the masterclass I sprinted back to the Lehrerhaus! I showered and did my hair and glamorized as much as I could as quickly as I could. The masterclass got out at about 4:30, as it usually does, but I had tickets this evening for "Ariadne auf Naxos" so I had to get ready quickly! I got back to the Lehrerhaus at about 5 and we were getting the taxi at about 6:20 for a 7:00 show. That's not much time for me to shower, do hair, do makeup, and be ready! But I did it! And everyone who went looked gorgeous :) The show was wonderful! Really long... but great. We had seats that made seeing the show a little difficult. They were on the side so you had to turn in a little. But they were front row on the balcony so I didn't mind!
Wednesday, August 1 HAPPY AUGUST! I cannot believe it's August already. This is craziness. German/coaching/masterclass with Tom Enman
Tonight a big group of us went to see the live(ish) simulcast premier of La Boheme with Anna Netrebko:
But all these other people wanted to come with us and didn't want us to sit comfortably in chairs....
them too:
Here is a lovely picture of my, obviously, unobstructed view:
On the way back to the Lehrerhaus, when La Bohem was over, I walked ahead of the group and chose one of two tunnels. I made a great choice because as I rushed through the tunnel, who should walk by, but Jonas Kaufmann. Jonas Kaufmann. Jonas Kaufmann. The man who performed beautifully in Ariade auf Naxos merely a night before this tunnel pass. Unfortunately, it wasn't until we passed each other that I realized who he was. However, it was fun to bump shoulders with someone like him.
Thursday, August 2 Today was the performance for the winners of the recital competition. There were four wonderful voices and several great accompanists. All the girls sang beautifully and I heard so many new songs that I might have to start learning! Good music, good voices, and a beautiful recital hall:
Apparently, Mozart and his sister did performances here in the Mirabell Schloss for the arch bishop back in the day.
After this concert I got coffee and a raspberry Bretzel with Kyleigh and we went to KapitalPlatz for a little to enjoy the 2006 Salzburg recording of Gounod's "Romeo and Juliette." I had already seen this version, so when the clouds grew very dark, I didn't feel too bad about leaving.
Friday, August 3
After German class today, I spent time with everyone just waiting for lunch. I went up to the monestary again but this time with Erick and new friend Katie. I loved seeing them react to the beautiful and vast view from up there. Then we found a little church where there was a real person playing organ. It was beautiful.
After lunch we attended a masterclass by Mary Dibbern. Following that, Erick, Bene, Ben, Reinet, Mary-Claire, Dr. Astrup and I all went to the Augustina Brewery for dinner. I got some ribs that were sub par.
We sad for 2+ hours just talking about the program and school and opera and the festival. It was so fun!
After we all split up, Bene, Mary-Claire and I went to the Hotel Sacher and met up with Louie and Jeremy for dessert. I had a delicious truffle cake and THE BEST CAPPUCCINO I'VE HAD SINCE BEING IN AUSTRIA. It was such a Gemütlich day :)
Saturday, August 4
I bought something from Dr. Astrup and am wearing it tonight to the Thomas Hampson Lieder Abend at 8:30. What the purchase is....?????? You'll have to come to family dinner the first Sunday I get back to the U.S. to find out!
Today, we got to tour the Festspielhäuser!!!! We got backstage tours and I got to walk on the stages and see all the set pieces for all the operas I have attended/seen while here. It was so surreal and so much fun!
This is a picture of me with a set piece from La Boheme. Anna Netrebko touched that same set piece...No big deal.
After that, I went to a flea market and a craft fair that was taking place along the river.
Today, Bene and I are going to go back down into town, eat at the market, walk around, go to the Stiegel Keller for dinner (FINALLY) and then end the evening with some lovely music sung by Thomas Hampson!!!!
I'm not going to post TOO many more pictures on this blog. It is so sad that the trip is almost over but I want to save my last days of pictures to show everyone when I get home :)
See you all soon and I'll let you know how the last adventures in Salzburg go!!!
Friday was quite an adventure!!! This picture is not so clear but DAS IST PLACIDOOO! He was marvelous. You cannot see how charming a performer is by listening to a CD. He walked back and forth across the stage and sang to every audience member. He joked around with the conductor and worked very well with the soprano who sang as well. It was a joy to see him sing and to hear his voice live.
After seeing Placido Domingo sing, Bene, Erick and I went to McDonald's for dinner. We all ate small because afterwards we went to Cafe Tomaselli for cake/coffee/ice cream. It was scrumptious! They didn't press us with the bill afterwards either. Once we finished we sat for another hour people watching and talking and enjoying the sights of Salzburg. Here's the view UP from our seat:
After our dessert, we went to a pub to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. It was an Irish pub so there were a lot of people there from England and Ireland. Experiencing the Olympics with people from other countries (especially the hosting country) is really interesting. You see another side to the games and to the opinions of others. I also met some very interesting people including a hat thief, a percussionist, and some bar tenders with fun characters!
Saturday morning, Bene and I awoke for breakfast. That lucky duck had tickets to see Elina Garanca's Liederabend. From what I heard, her performance was spectacular and here outfits were stunning. So 1/3 of the students in the program had tickets for Elina Garanca and another 1/3 had tickets for the Mozart Matinee that morning. I was one of the last 1/3 that had to find something to do. While other people stayed in and slept or did homework (blech) I went for a walk around Salzburg all on my own!
First, I found Hedwig's grave (May he rest in Peace):
After that, I walked around some more in Old Salzburg. Finally, I thought I might enjoy some more adventuring on the other side of the river. I crossed the bridge and went down a creepy road that looked relatively uninhabited. Then I found stairs. I went up, up, up. Then there was a turn with more stairs so I went up, up, up. Then...... There were more stairs..... UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP
Finally, I reached the top and found a cool place in the shade of a giant tree that had a spectacular view of all of Salzburg. I found someone to take a picture of the Old City behind me (if you look closely, you can see the coffee stain on my pants hehehe)
At 1:00, I met up with all the people who went to the concerts and we walked to the Billa (Grocery Store) and got sandwiches and fruit and chips and drinks. We then sat under a shady tree by the river for about 2 and a half hours chatting and eating and enjoying the lovely weather! After the picnic, Erick kindly got ice cream for Bene and me. We went back to the Lehrerhaus and prepared ourselves for an evening of Opera!!!
On the way back down into the city, we followed to guys with man purses. On was fur. I totally captured this moment:
Starting on the 27th, every night in the Kapitelplatz, they show different videos of past and present events of the Salzburg festival. They show Operas and concerts and even a puppet show! On this evening, they were showing the 2006 production of Le Nozze di Figaro with Anna Netrebko. There were a lot of people in attendance for this free showing and then the sky grew dark. They started handing out ponchos and we knew we were in for an uncomfortable evening. The clouds opened up and it began to POURRR! But you can NOT just leave a free opera. It's free. We sat through the rain like champs!!
This is a picture of many pancho'd people before they began leaving. We were some of the few people who stayed for the whole opera. But it was such a good production and worth it!
On Sunday morning (rain was falling...), I had tickets to the Mozart Matinee at 11. It was in the old Mozarteum right next to the Marionette Theater. The performance was marvelous. It was something like an Oratorio by Mozart. The story was about Divine Mercy, Divine Justice, and the Christian Spirit deciding how they should deal with all the men who give into the Worldly Spirit. It was an interesting show. At the end of it thought, I learned it was "The end of Part one." I guess I'll never know what happens in the second part...
The concert hall was GLORIOUS!!! See for yourself:
After the Mozart Matinee, I walked back to the Lehrerhaus to get Bene. When I was there I found new friend Megan and went with her to her host family's house with new friend Bret to celebrate new friend Mary Beth's birthday! We had delicious cake and pizza and it was very fun! ...But being in Salzburg, it started POURING once again. I had to leave too because I wanted to get dinner and go see the broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic concert that happened earlier that day. I left in the rain and got my boat shoes wet. Bene said she didn't want to go with me to the Kapitalplatz so it was me, myself, and I!
Gemütlichkeit = a German term with the connotation of enjoying the simple pleasures in life. This trip by myself definitely fell under the category of Gemütlichkeit! I got a large coffee and sat in the cool weather by myself :) ...then it started raining again. That was less gemütlich. It was actually pretty awful. But I was enjoying listening to something that wasn't Mozart so I didn't leave. My boat shoes are not dark dark brown and not drying well. But I enjoyed myself.
It was a good thing that Bene didn't come with me because she was sick all night.
Today is Monday and we have a masterclass with Krista Ludwig this afternoon! After that there is a Live simulcast of Die Zauberflöte in Kapitelplatz at 8!!! May the adventures continue and the rain cease :)
The title of this blog is in honor of the TEN EURO I found on the ground Thursday morning on the way to school! What luck!
Tuesday was the first event of many that I will be attending. Before dinner, Bene and I got ready at the Lehrerhaus and then headed down to the school to meet people. When we got there, Bene realized that she forgot her ticket. Fining a taxi was neck breaking but luckily Erick finally got one. While they went back to the Lehrerhaus, I went with Mary-Claire and Reinet to dinner. We had some spectacular pizza and Äpfelsaft :) (Applejuice).
After that we met up with everyone as the Grosses Festspielhaus to see Thomas Hampson sing with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. It was so fun and there were so many fancy looking people there. I felt like I was living in high society. The fancy people included the WestConn Crew of course!
Many people in our group were moved to tears by the beauty of "Mechaye Hametim" by Zubin Mehta. Also Thomas Hampson is a beautiful man.
Wednesday was very fun as well. After our German midterm (totally got an A!!!) we went to Hellbrunn Palace and saw the Wasserspiele (Water Games). The Palace belonged to a Prince/Archbishop and it was his weekend home.
We took personal tours of this palace with little phone systems. I saw a neat fish:
We also got to see how a contraption works that we would later see in the water games:
Then it was off to the water games!! In the water there was this gigantic fish who really wanted to be a creature of the land because he was trying so hard to get out of the water:
The table where the begging of our water games tour began was rigged with jets that shot water onto people. Some came out of the seats of the chairs, others shot out from the table. The volunteers at the table got soaked! But by the end of the tour of all the tricky little places, everyone had gotten a little wet. It was really fun!
Next we hike hike hike hike hiked up a mountain and back down to see the gazebo where they filmed the gazebo scenes in the sound of music. Along the way I saw some interesting things:
...I don't even know. I came up the stairs and this is what I saw...
Finally we made it to the Gazebo!!! 15 minute photo opp!!!
A flower box for Grandma!
When we got off the bus on the way home there was a DELUGE! It was pouring and all I had was my dinky raincoat. I got more soaked on the way back to the college than I did at the water games. But it was all good! I enjoyed a spot of tea my "with love" cookie when I got back. I bought it for myself <3 It was a good end to a great day! :D
Thursday marked the mid point of my adventures in Salzburg and was also the day of the midterm recital! DUN DUN DUNNNN!!!! In the morning I had German class followed by a great lesson. Between that and lunch I went with Reinet and Kyleigh to a chocolate store that is the closest thing to Charlie and the Chocolate factory that I'm going to get here!
The chocolate store had all these interesting flavors. When you walk in there is a fountain of chocolate in a case with a pump next to a cup of spoons. I helped myself naturally. Then they had conveyor belts that had all these different samples on them! I was punished for being a glutton however because when I took two off of one of the sample trays, it was chocolate with essence of trout. BLECH. I had to take several more samples to get that one out of my mouth. IT WAS GROSSSS.
We all walked over to a church near the Salzburg Cathedral for the midterm concert recital. I sang Ständchen by Schubert. I'm also fairly certain it was the best I have sung that song so that was perfect timing! I can already tell how much I'm learning and what great results I'm seeing from participating in this program. I can't wait to see how far I progress in the final half!!!
It was a very warm day and my hair started to frizz...but somehow I pulled this beauty of a hairstyle out of no where. I might try to replicate it one day. It worked very well!
After the recital the WestConn crew hopped on a bus and went to Dr. Astrup's house for dinner. She served us some fried peppers, salad, and chicken. We seem to be deprived of meat here so getting to chew something was such a blessing!
After dinner and some quality conversation, we all split a taxi and went to the movies to see BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. It was so good. I'm going to go see it again. In fact, I think I'll have a movie day where I watch the first 2 Batman movies and then I'll go see this one again at night. That sounds like a plan! Who's joining me? ;)
The real adventure of the day started at 11:20 PM when the movie got out. Bene and I had to find our way back to the Lehrerhaus. The amount of money we spent on transportation that day deterred us from getting in a taxi however, I was not sure where we were going. We walked for a very long time down a less than populated road. I asked someone in German where we were going and understood how she responded to me! That was fun! Eventually we got into familiar territory, but it was still dark, late, and unpopulated.
Once we got over the river we really relaxed. The area became populated again and Bene and I compared stories of how on the walk over the river we were thinking of different ways we could fight people off. I'm sure if anything had happened to us we would have been ready because we were so paranoid. I had my keys wedged between my knuckles ready to punch if I needed to, and Bene had her grip tightly on her heavy bag. We were very aware of everyone around us.
Finally we made it back to the Lehrerhaus at about 12:30 AM and went to bed. It was such an exciting, exhausting, and thrilling day :)
Friday (today), is our free day to explore!!! ....We accidentally slept in late and missed breakfast. When we got up and ready to go we went into the city, got a croissant and went to the college to have free coffee with our pastries. We brought our bags (which we had left at the school the night before) back to the Lehrerhaus. What a hike that was. Not to mention it's VERY HOT today.
At 5 o'clock we have tickets to see Plácido Domingo sing with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra! We're very excited to see that!
Hopefully tomorrow I'll got to the Marionette theater and then on Sunday I have tickets to see the Mozart Matinee in the morning. I'm not sure what that entails, but I'm excited none-the-less.
Sunday was the first day in about a week that the sun came out and really shined for a long time! In the morning Bene and I went to the Salzburg Cathedral to hear the beautiful music that Mozart composed specifically for that cathedral. It was a beautiful day and the music sounded glorious!
Unfortunately, my computer is not functioning and chose not to upload my pictures and videos for you. Perhaps you will all just have to come to Salzburg and hear the music for yourself! :)
The rest of Sunday was lovely. After church, Bene and I got some breakfast/lunch at a cafe and did some people watching. We then walked back to the dorm and studied German. Mary-Claire came to the room a little later and we all ordered pizza.
Dr. Astrup invited the Western CT State University crew to her castle for dessert... While her family was visiting, they stayed in the castle where they filmed the lake scene for The Sound of Music. It was gorgeous. Inside there was a very old library. It had a second level and it was like something out of a very old movie. Dr. Astrup said that it was a replica of an early Medieval style library in Switzerland. The whole building had a feeling of "things I shouldn't touch." The cool part was that you COULD touch things! If you ever go to a historic society in a town or to something similar to the Mark Twain house, they have many rooms you cannot go in and there are chairs and tables all over that you are not allowed to touch. But here, I got to sit in chairs and touch tables and look at the books and really appreciate the beauty and culture that the castle had to offer!
After that Bene and I returned to the Lehrerhaus and went promptly to bed.
Monday (TODAY!) Remember how I said we went promptly to bed? ...that did not happen. Erick stayed in the Lehrerhaus for a while and other people came into our room to visit as well. By the time everyone left it was about 12:30. Having not gotten much sleep the night before, it was difficult for me to stay alert on Monday.
That, however, did not prevent me from having a fantastic voice coaching with Dr. Francois Germain! It was fulfilling to start the week very well vocally.
After lunch Bene, Mary-Claire, Esteban, Louie and I went out for some Gelato! I got a cookie dough flavor and the one scoop I got was PERRRRFECTO! Then it was off to the masterclass we went.
Masterclass was TOUGH. I am always interested and alert in masterclass, but today I was so tired that I had to do everything I could to stay focused! I did stay alert enough to learn a lot and take a lot of notes. I think masterclasses are so helpful even if you aren't singing in them because many people struggle with the same main issues in singing: breath support, placement, phrasing, etc. It's helpful to hear many different masterclass clinicians come in and describe the same thing in many different ways and offer techniques and exercises to help build musical skills.
I'm calling it early today though. I have officially been awake for 12 hours and I'm ready to go back to bed! There are many wonderful and fun events and adventures coming up this week though!
These fun adventures and events include but are not limited to: -Visiting the Marionette Theater -Going to see Overture Spirituelle: Mechaye -Going to Dr. Astrup's place for dinner -MIDTERMS AND - Seeing the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra play with singer: Plácido Domingo
not a big deal.
........ I'M SO EXCITED!
Let the adventures continue!!! ~~~Rachel~~~
P.S. As soon as pictures and videos are uploading again you will see and hear much more from my adventures :)
Fridaywas full of mini adventures! German class happened as usual and lunch was fish sticks (I skipped it).
After that I went to a Cupcake and Coffee Cafe with Bene, Ben and new friends Dani and Esteban! We all got something different but every treat was delicious. I got a rhubarb pie mit Schlag (a tart cream). It was scrumptious and completely made up for the fishy lunch!
The next adventure of the night was to the traditional torch dance (Fackeltanz) at the Residenzplatz (outside the Salzburg Cathedral). This event signified the opening of the Salzburg Festival. I imagine I was about as excited as I would be if I were to go to the opening ceremony of the olympics. It was so rich in culture and music and dance. I loved it! Here's a peek at what I saw (sorry the lighting is not so good):
After that we spent the night on the town and got back to the Lehrerhaus for some wonderful sleep!
Saturday was filled with even more events and adventure!
Instead of sleeping in, Bene and I decided we should get breakfast and wake-up and seize the day! However, that did not stop us from taking a post breakfast nap. ...Once we were out, Bene got a cinnamon Bretzel (Pretzel) that I finished without complaint. We then went to the Cafe Tomaselli (Viennese style cafe; oldest in Salzburg) with new friend Mary-Claire. I got an omelet that was delicious and filling. Too filling. But, following my online guides to Austrian culture, I ate all of it :)
Following lunch, a group of kids from the program met up and ventured up to the fortress. I walked up the GIGANTICALLY STEEP mountainside/hill with Bene and new friends Jeremy, Louie, and Quinn. However once we reached the top, I decided to go back down and walk around Salzburg alone for a while.
Once I reached the bottom of the mountain, I heard something beautiful to my ears! A FREE CONCERT :) Anything free is fine with me. The concert was a youth orchestra and they played some beautiful music including a medley from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Guess this tune:
As I continued on my way through the streets of Salzburg, I heard more free music!!!
Let's just take a moment to check out this picture:
After I left the main shopping area, I went into a few dress boutiques and just looked around. Fun Fact: If a store clerk asks if they can help you and you are just looking, you say: Nur umschauben. :)
I walked back up to the Lehrerhaus and relaxed and prepared my self for the festivities that would continue on LATE into the evening and early morning.
For dinner, Bene and I went with Mary-Claire, Dani and Esteban to Spaghetti and company. The minestrone soup was a little salty but it was just enough to sustain me :) After that we headed over to the Grosses Festspielhaus (Big Festival House) to see the annual production of the play "Jedermann."
The show was entirely in German and had no subtitles BUT I did decipher two key sentences which helped me understand what was going on. The beginning of the show is hazy to my memory because I had no idea what was going on. Finally I heard, "ich verlesse dich hier." Which means, I leave you here. That was (whom I believed to be...) Jedermann's girlfriend's response when he asked her if she would go with him to death. Ouch. Then I heard the guys dressed up as Satan say, "Glaubst du in Jesus Christ?"...Note: Jesus Christ sounds like YAY-SU KREE-ST. Then I realized the show was about religion and life and death. It was funny and well done. Here is a picture from curtain call (some of the costumes were interesting...):
After this I went with new friend Mary-Beth to the Yellow Lounge. What is the yellow lounge you may ask? And why does it sound so cool??? Well that's because it is cool! First of all, it was free. Cool points = 97
The first half of the night consisted of a famous opera singer (Michael Schadne) singing several Lieder songs, a jazz group and a wonderful Mandolin player. After that they had two or three DJs beefing up some classical music and classical pop music with an electronic spin. The dancing was fierce and I was with a group of champions! We danced for hours and had a fantastic time! I won't say what the time was when we left, but know this: We danced the night away. So did this cool guy wearing all white.... This is a short clip of him dancing at his most tame level:
New friend Emma was making silly faces because his dancing was so funky fresh... as was his body odor...
Sunday's adventures shall be posted once Sunday is over. Today has been just grand so far :)
I must first mention that I got the hairdryer to work :) It does not work well, but it does work! And we still have five outlets left! ...50% Today was so good. SOOOO GOOOD! It began with our German class going on an excursion to die Schranne market. We had a few tasks we needed to complete in our groups. I was working with (new friend, first person we met at the airport) Hannah Hancock.
We had to write down: 1. The day the market takes place: Donnerstag (Thursday) 2. From when to when the market takes place: 6:00-13:00 (I'm not sure if we got this right). 3. What you can buy at the market: Flowers, meat, bread, wallets, herbs, honey, toys, pastries, leather, jam, produce, and woven baskets. 4. What vegetables were present: We had a list of 12 (zwölf) 5. What fruits were present: We had a list of 13 (dreizehn)
Somehow we won! We had the most items on the sheet and the prize was a bunch of fresh raspberries! We shared our earnings of course. I also got a cheese danish and I spoke German with five different people! It was such a great time and an enriching learning experience. The only real way to learn a language and learn it well must be to speak it and have it corrected immediately. I'm picking up so much more here than in class at school because I am surrounded by opportunity to use the language. I'm rambling about German but I really love learning this language!
I wore white pants today. Unfortunately, I missed the memo that it was spill the coffee out of the sink and onto your pants day as well. I was VERY upset by this. VERY upset indeed. Luckily, Bene had a Tide-to-go stick and I was able to get most of the stain out (sorry Mom...). After this I had an AMAZING lesson! It felt so refreshing to have a good lesson after two sub-par lessons.
Next I went to lunch and had some scrumptious tortellini. Unfortunately, it sat heavily in my stomach and cheesy-coated my throat. I did end the meal with a fresh and juicy nectarine which helped settle my stomach a little.
The reason I needed a settled stomach is because I sang in masterclass today! The clinician was Sylvia Greenberg. Not a huge deal or anything...
Just kidding. She's a big deal. It was so exciting to work with her! I sang "Bester Jüngling" from Mozart's "The Impressario" accompanied by a pianist in the program named Jeremy Chan. It went really well and I was very happy with the performance. Afterward I sang, she gave me some advice and techniques to try that worked like magic!
Now, I feel great about singing, I feel great about German, and I feel great about Austria!!!
Tomorrow night is the opening ceremony for the Salzburg festival! I'm very excited to see what kind of festivities ensue :)
Saturday, July 14 Today I had the recital audition. I started by singing Apres un Reve by Faure and after the first phrase the song went very well. Unfortunately, I lost my breath at the beginning. Oh well. After that they had me sing Mein glaubiges Herze by Bach. I thought I sang this song very well. It felt right singing an oratorio aria in an oratory! Finally they chose Du bist die Ruh by Schubert. I did not win the competition but I had a great experience! After, when I returned to the Studentinheim (Lehrerhaus), there was a BEAUTIFUL rainbow (der Regenboden)!!! It seemed that the person in control of rainbows thought I did a very good job singing today! ;)
Sunday, July 15 Salzkammergut and the Lake Region This trip started by an impressive navigational journey through Salzburg to the bus stop which was just past the Mirabell gardens. It was quite exciting when Bene, Mary-Claire (another new friend), and I were able to find our way in Salzburg. First we stopped in Mondsee where we saw the church where they filmed the wedding scene in the sound of music....
After we disrupted the church service that was happening (oopsie), Bene, Dr. Astrup and I visited a cafe for some coffee and a Hazelnut Stollen which looked like a caterpillar and was a little too sweet but mostly delicious. After that we caught a boat to "St. Wolfgang Strobl."...or Stroble might be boat... I'm not sure!
However before we boarded the boat we saw this little guy playing with and oom-pa-pa band :)
After traveling on the boat for a half hour we got off and took a long walk to the location for lunch. Along the way, I could not help but think of my Grandma's as I saw all the flower boxes!
Die Sonnenblumen :)
Lunch was "so-la-la" (ok). We had cold cuts and cheese. It was delicious, but it was not the most filling meal I've eaten in Austria.
...and then, of course, I dropped the cheese in my water...
I should not forget to mention that the wall decorations really helped to boost my appetite!
After this, we went back on the bus and went to the next destination where we saw St. Wolfgang's church. Supposedly, he said he would build a church wherever he threw his ax. However, the location where he threw said ax is two miles away from the church. But it is still and interesting story :) The last stop on this journey was to Hallstadt. On the edge of the main road of this town is a GORGEOUS lake. The water looks so clear and clean and the mountains that shoot up around it are awe-some. Have a look...
Then we saw a church where there are families buried in a most interesting way:
They use just the skulls to preserve space. So Austrian of them. The designs on the skulls have the name of the family, the years of that person's life, as well as a symbol. The roses represent love, the ivy represents life, laurel is victory, and oak leaves represent glory. Next, we walked to a waterfall. It was small and disappointing...
Which got more beautiful the further I hiked up the mountain.
Plus the view from the upper level of the waterfall (but not the uppermost level: I didn't have time to hike up that far) was spectacular:
The bus ride back involved a very good nap and a conversation about dementors (harry potter reference). Then I got a very good picture of a view I get to see everyday on the hike from the Lehrerhaus to Salzburg College.
Monday, July 16 Today began with another wonderful German lesson. Then it took a more interesting turn. I met up with Kieth Hodgson, a conductor on the American Music Abroad tour that I went on in high school. We went to lunch with all the AMA faculty at the Stiegel Keller. Jean-Claude works with the tour as a tour guide on the bus and a translator and an event planner. He and I had a tri-lingual conversation (french, german, and english). It was very enriching. Then I went back to Salzburg College for the first masterclass of the week. Bene sang a beautiful aria called "The Trees on the Mountain" from the opera "Susannah" by Carlisle Floyd. From the masterclass I learned a lot about taking songs apart and building a character in hopes of being more successful expressing the emotions of the song.
Tuesday, July 17 German class: FANTASTIC as always. Unfortunately, I had a nicht so gut lesson after a wonderful class. I was so upset that I had to get away from people. To do so I went on a walk alone. I crossed over the river and went down a road I had not been on before. After passing a few dress boutiques, I looked up and there, in front of me, was the Mozarteum. The Mozarteum is a conservatory in Salzburg. I took coincidentally finding this place as a sign that today was just a bad day of singing for me and that I should keep singing and pursue it further! It was a very hopeful moment and just what I was searching for on my walk. It acted as a little bit of inspiration. Lunch was pizza. Yum. I got cheese and Hawaiian pizza. MMMMM. The day ended with a masterclass by Ellen Rissinger. She was brilliant and full of energy. She got great singing out of the singers preforming for her.
Wednesday, July 18 German class. Enough said. Next, I had a wonderful coaching. Lunch was goulasch soup and a strawberry shortcake tasting pastry. SCRUMPTIOUS. The masterclass clinician today was David Aronson. He had a lot to offer the group as a whole because he works in the Vienna opera house as a coach. The last girl who sang in the masterclass was Bethany. She is a recent graduate from the New England Conservatory. Until today, I had not heard more than her speaking voice but in her singing it was apparent that she was just a step further on her path to a singing career than the rest of us. Her voice was so well controlled and had such a warm tone and great resonance. I'd buy her CD and listen to it all the time!
I will post about today, Thursday, July 19th in a separate post because today was THE BEST DAY SO FAR! :)
