Let the Festival Begin!

Friday was 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 :)