Saturday, February 3, 2018

Look at All Those Views

Sunday, Jan 28th
The three musketeers (Aaron, Matt, and myself) would find themselves off to a shaky start when they woke up minutes before the group’s scheduled meeting time. We hurriedly put on some clothes and ran out the door to catch up with the rest of our group on their way to mass at the Salzburg Cathedral, where we would hear part of Mozart’s missa solemnis. After the service, we had some time to go back to the hostel, get properly ready for the day, and revisit the sausage stand for some breakfast before meeting our tour guide at 12:30. She discussed the significance of the giant Mozart statue in the main square and taught us more tidbits about Salzburg, such as that it has 109 churches and that it’s the fifth most populated city in Austria (despite being a small city). Eventually she brought us across the river via the love lock bridge where countless couples have fastened locks with their names or initials. Shortly after this, Dr. Powell pointed out an alley in which the alleged best döner kebap in the city could be found, which meant Jeffery, Matt, and I now had dinner plans.

Taken from the love lock bridge, this view of the city features the cathedral and the Hohensalzburg Fortress in the background.

Unfortunately, this tour marked the beginning of Aaron’s ailment which would continue for the next few days. Afflicted by migraine and nausea, he and I walked back to the hostel to do laundry and get some rest. A few hours later, he was only feeling worse and therefore couldn't make it to the concert. I wished him the best before taking off to meet Matt and Jeffery for dinner. We found the place, Reyna Kebap, and subsequently agreed with Dr. Powell about its quality: top tier. It was so good, in fact, that Matt and I went back after the concert for second dinner and to bring Aaron a kebap.

Not to reevaluate for the third night in a row, but I would be lying if I said this night's concert was not my new favorite. The Jupiter symphony was incredible, and possibly still my favorite single performance, but this concert was my overall favorite. The English Baroque Soloists put on a show of four Mozart pieces, including his Sinfonia Concertante and the famous Haffner Symphony. The Sinfonia Concertante, essentially a double concerto for violin, viola and orchestra, is another one of my favorite pieces and it was incredible to hear live. I can comfortably say I will never forget these last two concerts.

Monday, Jan 29th
Considering we woke up on time, our morning was much more successful than the previous one. We arrived at the Hohensalzburg Fortress shortly before 11:00 and were met with some of the most spectacular views I've ever seen. The location on top of the hill lends itself to a great vantage point from which all of Salzburg can be seen. The best part is that the weather cooperated with our schedule; this day was probably the warmest and sunniest yet. Though people questioned my decision to wear shorts, it was definitely the right call considering the weather and the steep hike up to the fortress.

Hard to beat this view from the fortress.

The inside of the structure was just as impressive as the views from outside. Our tour guide gave us the “behind the scenes” tour which meant we got to see more rooms than the ordinary tourist. From the archbishop's luxurious bedroom to the dungeon which was, at one point, overflowing with garbage, we got to see both ends of the spectrum and everything in between. This was definitely another highlight of the trip in my book.

With the rest of the evening free until our group dinner, Aaron, Matt, and I headed back to the Salzburg Cathedral to check out the underground crypt which proved to be quite eerie. We then headed across the river to visit a world instrument shop that Matt had wanted to see and proceeded to spend a good 30 or 40 minutes in the tiny shop. We sampled just about every instrument in there and Matt bought himself a small samba whistle. At this point it was well-past lunchtime and our next destination was clear: Reyna Kebap.

Later that night we all met up at Zipfer for our second to last group dinner. We were seated in a normal dining room and unfortunately this meant the locals around us quickly became fed up with our loudness and our American-ness. Nevertheless we got to enjoy a fixed three-course meal consisting of potato soup, bratwurst with potatoes and sauerkraut, and apple strudel. Most of my table and I agreed that this was the best apple strudel yet (at this point we had almost become connoisseurs; apple strudel was apparently more common in Europe than drinking water).

Tuesday, Jan 30th
After a one-day break from the Mozartwoche (a week-long festival to celebrate the composer) festivities, we got back on schedule with a visit to Mozart's birth house in the city center. This museum turned out to be the most interesting to me; I spent about three hours learning all about Mozart's life, family history, and works. My favorite part of the museum was definitely the interactive exhibit on the computers. We got to hear Mozart's Piano Sonata and Fantasia in C Minor with a copy of the original manuscript to follow along. I listened to the whole thing and proceeded to read more about the work and his compositional process. I was really like a kid in a candy store in this historic house.

After the Mozart house, Matt and I went to the oldest bakery in town for some fresh bread. We took it back to the hostel, ate lunch, and set out to hike around the Hohensalzburg Fortress area. This is when I discovered that Salzburg not only has a charming city scene, but also a peaceful escape in the hills above the city. It's not an exaggeration to say I could see myself living here someday.

A panoramic view of Salzburg taken on our hike.

We finished the day with burgers for dinner and a non-traditional take on Mozart's opera, Abduction from the Seraglio. The performers took the creative liberty of setting the original opera to a modern context, complete with cameras, microphones, and added dialogue. Part of me was disappointed that I didn't get to see the original, but it was certainly entertaining and funny throughout. Some parts could have been done better, but it was a good performance overall.

Wednesday, Jan 31st
We started our last full day in Salzburg with a morning wind concert featuring works by Mozart and Salieri. The performers played Mozart's Wind Serenade in C Minor and his Serenade in B-flat, the famous Gran Partita. They were both thrilling, and it was especially cool to experience these pieces played on period instruments from the 18th century. After the concert, we headed back to the hostel for what we thought was free lunch. As I told Dr. Powell, it was free the day before! We managed to unknowingly evade the lunch fee of €10.80 for the past few days, but no such luck this time.

Jeffery, Matt, and I made one final outing before the concert, this time in search of bracelets and, of course, the best döner kebap in the city! A little Tibet shop next door to Reyna piqued my interest and almost gave me more than I bargained for. I was trying on rings, all of which were too big, when I found one that appeared to be a good fit. But looks can be deceiving and, as I found out, a ring too small is far more dangerous than a ring too big. I realized my mistake moments after sliding the ring all the way down my finger. For the next five minutes I sat casually on the floor where I had once been browsing rings, now trying desperately to remove the thing from my finger. Jeffery and Matt couldn't help but laugh at my endeavors, and this is about when I realized I wouldn't be able to do it alone. I made my way to the massage oil, asked the cashier if I could use the sample bottle to get the ring off my finger, and finally prevailed. Despite the grand struggle, I walked out of that store with a new bracelet that suits me nicely.

After our last döner kebaps in Salzburg, it was time to see the Vienna Philharmonic perform one more time. This time they played Mozart's Paris Symphony, one of his piano concertos in C major, and Bizet’s first symphony, also in C. It was another fantastic concert with front row seats, although I can't say it topped the English Baroque Soloists for me (more due to the repertoire than the performers).

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