Saxophone and Electric Bus Adventure!

With a free morning, a few of us went with Dr. Powell to an instrument shop with brass instruments and a few woodwinds.  Austin and I, being such prepared saxophone players, brought our mouthpieces and reeds on the trip with intent on keeping our chops up a little bit so the transition back to full speed music major after 26 days off could go as smooth as possible (and we came running at the confirmation that the shop had saxophones that we could try!)  While Dr. Powell, Kristi, and Claire checked out the rotary trumpets, we scoped out the saxophone cabinet, eying the Selmers.  We both tried out the same two saxophones, the Selmer Series III (which is the saxophone that our instructor plays), and a Silver Adolph Sax Limited edition saxophone (price tag of 6,000 Euro).The series III was great, but the more expensive horn played superbly!  We have been missing playing our horns quite a bit on this trip, and this was a nice reprieve.

After spending so long with the same group of roommates, we have become accustomed to the different alarms in the morning.  Our Favorite is Alan's groovy alarm, and we established in Salzburg that we would try to quote the intro to the tune in our improve solos.  We took this opportunity to practice our new "lick" while testing out the horns!  Austin and I tried to convince Dr. Powell (unsuccessfully, unfortunately) to buy the saxophone for PLU. 

After grabbing some lunch, we went on a quest to find a fountain pen for Austin, and on the way, I found a 2016 calendar with dogs on it! (Das Hund).  I had seen a few electric city busses driving around the city center for the first few days in Wien, and after getting the fountain pen, we waited at a bus stop to ride the electric bus.  One stark difference in the bus schedules here vs. in Seattle or Tacoma is that the buses come very frequently.  There were two buses that serviced our stop, and the 1A came every 6 minutes, and the 2A every 10.  After a few minutes, the cute little electric bus pulled up, and we hopped on.  One more awesome perk to the transit system is that one pass allows unlimited rides on all of the city transit (the underground system, the street cars, and busses).   This also means that time is not wasted paying a fare at each bus or train or having to tap an electronic card.  Just for some context, our week long pass cost 16.50 euro, and we rode about 5 trains or more per day.

We rode the bus just a stop, but made sure to document our travel, both inside and out!  There was standing room and 13 seats on the bus, and it was extremely quite.  I am a big fan of public transit, as well as electric power, and I cant wait for America to hurry up and make mass transit a reality.  Today was another spectacular day in a wonderful city!  Sara Martin was right when she talked up Vienna!

Side note: At the SeaTac Airport, I made the goal to find something that represents the metric system on our trip, and I found it the other day!  It was quite the search that took us on a adventure all over town, but finally, Claire spotted the perfect one.  It was a wooden ruler (not plastic!) with only centimeters on it (no inches!).  The metric system makes so much sense, and I was very excited to find this artifact as a personal souvenir!

I would upload pictures, but the hostel computer is not allowing me to. 

Auf Wiedersehn!

3 countries, 5 cites and 18 concerts in 26 days. But beyond the numbers, memories to last a lifetime. Millions of them. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience Europe for the first time with some of my best friends. And boy did we experience Europe. We saw world-class orchestras, operas, ballet and choirs. We ate amazing food, we climbed towers, visited the graves, workplaces and coffee shops of so many legendary composers, and we walked through towns and museums with history  spanning so far beyond our lifetimes and hometowns. 

Looking back, it's hard to believe it was only 3 1/2 weeks because this experience has been so life changing. Leaving Europe is a little bittersweet, but I feel so energized and motivated to pursue my studies of music and German after this trip. Seeing these phenomenal performances and immersing in a new language and culture I have studied makes everything feel more real and purposeful. Next time I play Beethoven's Eroica I can saw I've laid eye on the original copy in Prague. Next time I hear an aria from the magic flute I will think back to the seeing an amazing production in the state opera house in Vienna. The list goes on and on. This experience has simultaneously increased my love and curiosity for travel and my passion for music and study. Truly the best of both worlds, because I know I am taking so much more home than bars of chocolate and some Prague scarves. This experience has changed how I see things, as cliche as it is, travel opens your mind. I could not agree more. I have had a small glimpse of some beautiful music capitals of Europe, and now I cannot wait to see and experience more. 

So for now, auf Wiedersehn, Europe. But not a goodbye for good, just for now. Thanks for all the miraculous experiences, I really will never forget this trip. 

Photo: Eisenstadt, Austria 

-Lyndi  

Vienna Adventures!

The last stop: Vienna. What better way to end this adventure than in such a fantastic and exciting city. 

This music capital that I have dreamed about for so many years has not dissapointed. The culture, the food, and the music have made this one of the hardest cities to leave. So, to zoom in: the music. The first night we saw the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. This was a great experience. The program was Mendelssohn and Brahms, it was destined to be great. My favorite part of the Mendelssohn was seeing the communication between the soloists (one of them being the conductor!). I had a view of the other soloist just through the crook or a violinist's arm and it was so phenomenal to watch her, this was the only way I could tell who was playing! They played so fluidly and in sync that you had to watch their fingers to know who was playing. The conductor alternated between playing and conducting, which was a sign of his immense musicality. He seamlessly transitioned from performing to conducting. The second part of this program was Brahms serenade No. 1 in Es-Dur. This orchestra sold it. One thing I really love about Brahms is its openness to different interpretations. The clarinetist played as soft as any I've ever heard. It was beautiful. 

One of my favorite shows we saw was the magic flute a few days later. The whole show: the orchestra, the singers, the acting and the stage were an amazing combination. Especially after learning and walking in the historical footsteps of Mozart in both Salzburg and Vienna, it was very cool to see one of his famous works. Aside from the wonderful music itself, the slight messages and implications of the deeper meaning of the opera were interesting to see. However, the best part of the whole opera was the Queen of the Night. This is one of the hardest arias ever written and she completely killed it. Phenomenal. The athleticism of her voice was unparalleled to anything else I have ever seen. I have so much respect for this singer and actress. 

Photo: the musikverein, home of the Vienna Phil. 

Photo: shoutout to these amazing girls! They made my experience lovely, and even sharing small hostel rooms fun.

Photo: on top of a tower, overlooking Vienna. 

Overall, Vienna was a great city. I know there is so much I didn't even see and I cannot wait to return someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later. 

Budapest

Side excursion to Budapest!  The weather and temperature was great for this short trip.  Everyone though I should have stayed home because of my bronchitis, but I was intent on not missing out. Worth it!

Wien

First impressions of Wien (Vienna) have been positive for the most part. The city center where Saint Stephens Cathedral is located is a truly beautiful area. Even though Wien is a very old city, the streets in the downtown area are massive! Cars are also not allowed on the strip so as a pedestrian you feel very safe. A weird thing that a few of us noticed is even though there are crazy amounts of people everywhere, it's almost dead silent. I'm not lying when I say that you could hear a pen drop and this is in the middle of downtown. The people are quite soft spoken and the streets do a very good job of absorbing sound. For a New York styled city, the atmosphere here is definitely more inviting.

A group of us decided to venture into the Catacombs of Saint Stephens. This is the first catacombs I had ever been in so I didn't quite know what to expect. When we reached the unrenevated sections, it was creepier than I imagined. The walls and floor were made out of bones that were thankfully painted over so you couldn't really tell, but was still unsettling. Then there was a cut out in the floor that was filled with 2,000 plague victims. There were chambers filled with the tombs of old priests and another room called the bone house where the bones were stacked like Lincoln Logs. Apparently when the Catacombs were running out of space, prisoners were forced to go and clean every individual bone, and stack them efficiently to create more space. Needless to say it was incredibly creepy. No photos were able to be taken so I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it.

Vienna Chamber Orchestra

Most of us knew about the Golden Hall  where the Vienna Philharmonic performs but few of us knew about the Konzerthaus where the Vienna Chamber Orchestra performs. The hall itself was covered in golden accents from head to toe. There were approximately 30 chandeliers that individually looked like they were the price of PLU tuition. The gigantic organ was hidden behind golden panels, and the stage was one of the biggest that we have seen on this entire trip. Luxurious is an understatement when talking about the Konzerthaus.

Now the actual orchestra themselves. Well...that's an even crazier story. The conductor used to be the old piano instructor at the Vienna Conservatory and then took on a career as a conductor. The first piece they played was the Mendelssohn Concerto for 2 Two Pianos and so as you can guess, one of the soloists was the conductor himself. When he wasn't shredding on the piano, he would be conducting the orchestra  beautifully. There was actually a moment where was conducted, switch to a fast run on the piano with his left hand, used his right hand to take off his glasses and wipe the sweat off of his forehead and then put his glasses back on without missing a beat with his left hand.

The second pianist was his old student at the conservatory who had recently taken over his old position as piano instructor at the conservatory. It was so obvious that she was his student because they played everything with the same style and character. Being in the presence of this performance was kind of creepy in a way because the level of musicianship was unheard of. I would say that this and Swan Lake have been the two most impressive performances thus far on the trip.

Prague Instrument Museum

(Due to some technical difficulties, I couldn't get this blog posted until today).  

 

On Saturday, our group headed over to the Czech instrument museum only a few blocks from our hostel.  Hopeful for an exhibit on saxophones, we began the progression of the museum on the first floor, which was only artifacts that were not instruments. (some highlights were a life like dog statue, and some rag time jazz at one of the listening stations.  With doubts that I would ever see a saxophone besides the brief solo at the Gavanthaus, we continued upstairs.  I have taken both music history 1 and 2, and have seen pictures of most of the instruments used in the development of western music and the evolution of modern instruments, but have seen very few in person.  

 

This museum was spectacular.  Not only were there large displays of the instruments, but there were also listening stations in almost every room where you could hear the instruments being played.  It was satisfying to see many instruments that I recognized, but also humbling to see those that were unfamiliar.  One of the greatest things about music is that you will never achieve mastery or knowledge of all of the styles, genres, or instruments, and there is always more to be learned at every moment.  Although my string lab course last semester was wonderful, I still have so much to learn about the history and evolution of string instruments.  

 

Some of the highlights were the pyramid piano, the hurdygurdy, and yes, the saxophone!  There was also a cabinet full of lutes (the instrument), and we snapped a few good photos for the PLU study away photo contest.  The collection was extensive, and the brass player were particularly impressed with the multiple cabinets full of oddly shaped (to us anyway) brass instruments.  This was one of the best museums on the trip.  Seeing the instruments in person, as well as listening to recordings of the instruments in the museum was better than any text book at school!  (maybe PLU can work a trip to this museum into the music curriculum?)  What a day this was!