Saturday, January 13, 2018

That Moment When...

You get so caught up in the astounding sights and sounds of the time that you forget for make a blog post. Even though you had 4 and a half hours by train. I should stop digging this hole. In any case so much has happened over the past few days that words can hardly describe it, but here I go anyway. In Vienna, we finished the week out with Dead Composers, Beautiful Palaces, Dead Royals, and Beautiful Music. We started Wednesday by visiting the grave markers of some of the most important composers in history, and enjoying the sanctity of the grandiose aura that came from those places. The end of that evening was filled with the music of the Opera I Puritani. The set and the music were pulled off perfectly, with beautiful solos and smart stage work, like the trees of the forest being presented as massive lamps that came down from the ceiling.

The next day, we found ourselves wandering the gardens, vistas, and halls of Schönbrunn Palace, home of the later Hapsburg-Lorraine Dynasty. The architecture of these rooms were resplendent, filled with intricate and detailed frescoes and molding that shone brightly under the electric lighting of the renovated palace. After our tour of these imperial halls, some of us took a journey to the top of the hill behind Schönnbrunn climbing all the way to the Gloriette and basking in the view of Vienna, which was an almost complete view of the city. That night, we traveled to the Wiener Musikverein, where we all stood and took in the Wiener Filharmonik, conducted by Dudamel. The Symphonie Fantastique was astounding, though the quiet parts almost sent me into sleep while standing up. An amazing concert none to say the least.

On Friday, we began our journey out of Vienna towards Prague, most of us sleeping or taking in the countryside. Many a card game was played, followed by the sweet disharmony that can only come from people being stuck in confined spaces for inordinate amounts of time. When we finally arrived in Prague, the city was shrouded in a cloak of mist, giving an air of mystery to the entire city, which finally lifted as we reached our hostel that afternoon. The Mosaic House however, could hardly be described as a hostel, it is more a contemporary hotel fit for the Bourgeoise with rooms large enough to be a hostel. That evening, we traveled once more, and took in a concert with the Czech Philharmonik with Jan Mráček as soloist. The Shostokovich was my personal favorite of the evening, with the conductor pulling as much energy and bombastity from his orchestra than I thought possible.

Finally, that brings us to yesterday, Saturday. The morning was filled with the air of a string quartet, the Benda String quartet to be exact. Those four musicians played with a fervor and camaraderie that snaked its way into the music, giving it a warm and welcoming feeling in the Liechtenstein Palace, which could be described by its cold and intimidating architecture. This was followed by a guided hike to the top of the hill, to the Castle Prague, home of the President of the Czech Republic. I say guided hike because that hill was steep. In the churches and alleyways of the Castletown, we found many a beautiful and interesting historical artifact, but most awe inspiring I thought, was a church erected in 920, which meant that it dated to the times of the founding of the first Kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. To see a structure that withstood such history was amazing. Many of the other sites in Castletown were not nearly as old as the church I described of, but still held a similar aura of power. Another church we entered held the sarcophagus of St. Jan of Prague, which was made from 2 tons of Silver, which had more worth than I should ever see in my lifetime. That evening, we ended with group dinner at the Brewery U Fleku, which, let me say, was absolutely delicious, I had their goulash with Bread and Speck Dumplings, and I was so full I fell asleep in the restaurant. All told, an amazing day.

In the end, our time here so far in Europe has been nothing but adventures of a lifetime, filled with journies and sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that boggle the mind. I hope that every day will continue to be as filled with adventure as the past few ones.

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