Mozart Week

Being in Salzburg has been absolutely amazing. I loved the Prague architecture and buildings, but I just love the atmosphere and the mountains in Salzburg, it feels more like home with the mountains. 

Today we had a walking tour and it was great. I learned so much about the city and we saw Mozart's birth house, the apartment his widow lived in when he had died, the church where he was baptized, and the coffee shop he frequented. Megan and I were also very excited about all the Sound of Music hot spots. We saw the square the Nazis ran through in the movie, the fountain where Maria sings I have confidence, and the gardens where they sing do re mi. 

After the tour we got some lunch and the went souvenir shopping. We got some of the real Mozart chocolates and Claire and I tried ours back at the hostel... They are so good! And tonight we went to a Mozart dinner with a string quintet playing and two opera singers singing pieces from different Mozart operas. The musicians were very good and I loved how they got some members from the audience involved, including Megan! One of the opera singers sang to her for a bit and it was pretty great. It was so cool to see him up close and seeing how expressive and articulate he has to be while singing. This was a really fun way to enjoy dinner and music. 

The next day we got to see Mozart's birth house. That was so cool to see and walk around the same rooms Mozart had walked through. They had original manuscripts and other objects that had belonged to Mozart and his family. 

After the Mozart house, a few of us went to the catacombs in the cliff. That was really cool because it was in a cliff, not under ground. In the cemetery at the base of the cliff we found Haydn and Mozart's sister. We also went to this monastery that is close to the castle and we got some really fantastic views of the hills and mountains of Austria. 

That night we went to see the Camerata Salzburg and it was fantastic! They played Mendelssohn's Elias. We had seats in the first and second rows. I was in the second row and we could hear the soloists so well! They were all amazing, but the baritone was really incredible. The only thing I would want to do differently is to be a bit farther back in the audience so I could hear more of the orchestra in the correct balance. It's really difficult to hear the full balance when you're so close. The orchestra was phenomenal though, even when I couldn't hear the full balance.