Sunny Days

Salzburg is pretty amazing, we started out our time here with a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic. The performance was extra special because it was Mozart’s birthday and being performed in his home town. I think this philharmonic is really good but I was unimpressed when only seeing one or two female performers. It seems that the Vienna Phil has a certain reputation. 

Our Salzburg walking tour the next day was also really fun. Our guide was great and really fun to listen to. She also included information on some of the places that The Sound of Music was filmed. It was really cool to see some of these locations because I’m pretty much in love with the movie. Before our walking tour we attended mass at the Salzburg Dom. It was really interesting to attend a catholic mass in a different language, as well as hear many of Mozart’s own pieces being played. That night we saw the English Baroque Soloists perform. They were so much fun to watch because they were playing on the old instruments but also they looked as if they were just truly enjoying themselves. 

Salzburg is magical, I can’t imagine what it must be like in the summer with leaves. We got extraordinarily lucky with the weather on Monday, our second full day, as we visited the castle in the morning. The landscape views were so crazy. It was one of those realization moments when it really hits you where you are. Courtney, Claire, and I had explored the ridge line above Salzburg the day before and it was amazing but there’s no comparison when to when the sun shines across the mountains. 

On Monday night we didn’t have a concert but we had a group dinner at Zipfer. It was so good! It was a three course meal starting with potato soup, and the main course was sausage, sauerkraut, and potatoes, a classic Austrian meal. We’ve had some really good group meals but this was one of my favorites when it came to food. Another food related store that I loved in Salzburg was the Manner Wafer store. They have delicious wafer candies at an inexpensive price! Definitely one of my favorite European chocolates. 

Unfortunately, on Tuesday I came down with a pretty bad cold. So I’ve spent a lot of the past two days in bed. I also had to miss the Vienna Philharmonic performance last night but was able to attend the Wind Serenade performance yesterday morning which was really special. I’m really glad I was able to go to this and also really appreciative of all of my great classmates who have helped me feel better the past couple of days. 

I can’t believe we go home in two days but I’m so thankful for my time here in Europe. I’m on the train now, on my way to Vienna where we have one last full day to enjoy! 

Pictures will be posted soon :)