We got to See a Ballet! It was a Gem to See

On our last day in Berlin, we went and saw Jewels at the Staatsoper. There were 3 main parts to it; Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds. What I thought was interesting was that the Ballet was choreographed to fit to the music instead of having the orchestra be composed to follow the story of the ballet. I thought that the choreography for Rubies was definitely the most intriguing because it combined the styles ballet and jazz into it. Not to say it was bad at all, but it almost seemed like that one slightly weird rebellious sibling but for ballet. I think my favorite section, however, was Diamonds partially they were doing a bunch of cool moves and just seemed to have more of a story going on than the other 2. When it was ending I almost started crying because I thought they were so amazing and it made  me miss the days when I used to do both ballet and jazz. 

Heavy Heart and Heavy Mind; Berlin

So we've been in Berlin for a few days now but the first and second full day had my heart sinking to the floor.  On our first day, we took a walking tour around the city of Berlin. The first half wasn't too bad at all; we got to see all the various museums that the city had and their history. Then as we went on, the guide began to go into figures of history like Stalin and Hitler and the Nazi party. It was really cool to get to hear about this topic and see the monuments as we went. Our the end of our tour (3 hours later) was at the topography of Terror  museum. It's here that we got to see part of the Berlin wall that was still standing. One thing I found interesting was that any type of museum or monument that has anything to to with the holocaust is free of charge, by law. Being in that museum, I could see that some people were  at the point of tears because of  all the pictures and information that were put on display; others had a look of silent shock. For me, as I saw some of the pictures and read about them, I felt a sadness and heaviness take over. I couldn't process that something like this had taken place.

 This feeling was amplified when, on day 2, we went on a walking tour of the Saschausen Concentration Camp.We saw a lay out of what the whole place looked like and then saw some of the original buildings that were in it that had become museums. there was one building that had letters and paperwork from all the victims of the holocaust and honestly, it made my heart hurt. On the bottom floor, There was a large floor display of all the shoes and clothes of people that had been found and excavated. As I stood there looking at this, I just felt increasingly heartbroken and was at the edge of crying when the guide told us we were moving on. For the rest of that tour and the day, I just felt so emotionally exhausted. It was honestly a really sobering experience to see and learn about such a significant part of our history....

 

Get Lost in the Wilderness

We started out the day with a lovely tour of Salzburg. We walked through the city and learnt a lot!

After that a few of us decided to hike up to the Monetary that is one this mountain. The walk was a long windy road that felt like the stair machine in a gym. The view was great and we could see most of the city!

Earlier that day I had briefly read of a restaurant or a brewery of some sorts that was past the Monetary. I decided to walk up past and check it out, and dragged a few people along with me. We found a sign that pointed to it and decided to find it, since it was clear there was a restaurant!

What was planned to be a short walk, turned into a very long hike. The whole time, I just wanted to climb a little higher to see the Alps. Eventually we stopped to take a break but I wasn't ready to stop hiking. Honestly, I just wanted to walk up another path to get a picture above the trees. However, this small detour turned into another hike with half of the group. Many more steps later and a few random turns later. We finally found the view I was looking for! It was absolutely breathtaking! The middle of Salzburg is a giant castle that sits on a hill, but this view overtook that hill. What was once a huge castle appeared so tiny no as the Alps towered over it!

This view was worth it the super long hike! A big deal thank you to Carl and Katie for tagging along with me and being so adventurous. I hope to come back and explore the Salzburg wilderness again!

Berlin Music Scene

Wow! That's is my first reaction to the past two nights and to the performances we watched!

First we got to see the Berlin Philharmonic!! This ensemble has been on my bucket list and I have dreamt of seeing them perform. I am still in awe of the performance! The best part was our seats. I was talking to my parents on the phone and asked them to guess where I got to sit. They guessed the front row. I told them no and that we were closer. Much to their surprise, the class got to sit on the seats on stage right behind the orchestra! We were so close that we could watch the music over the brass players shoulders.

The Berlin Philharmonic is one of the top ensembles, if not the top, in the world. I definitely can hear why. Their time was so clear and precise. Even when playing soft, everyone's sound would carry throughout the whole performance venue. Since we were sitting so close, we definitely heard a lot of brass sound. In some of the louder sections, it felt like sitting behind a brass army.

The next night we got to see the ballet Jewels. This was a performance that I continuously forgot we had tickets for. However, now the ballet  is my favorite concert on this trip! Right when the curtains opened and the dancers walked out with their beautiful and shiny costumes, I felt like a little kid drawn to watching all the jewels dance. I have always been a visual learner, even in music. While playing or listening, I like to have an image in my head to help convey the mood of the piece. Usually, that image is a dancer since I grew up doing dance along with band. So for me to watch professional dancers perform with an amazing orchestra quickly became my favorite concert. After this concert, I hope to see another ballet!

Berlin was a glorious city with an incredible music scene. I hope to visit Berlin again in the future and be able to attend more concerts!

Sick in Salzburg

I thought I made it.

It is the last week of the trip. 

“I’m in the clear” I thought.

So naive. 

Salzburg is a tiny (“tiny”… it is still pretty large, 150,000  inhabitants) city in Austria, birthplace of Mozart, second to last stop on our trip. We arrived here on Mozart’s birthday (Saturday) after a very long day of travel by train. Two night prior a group of us went to a Swing Dance in Berlin, and my voice was gone the next day. I thought it was just because it was loud at the dance and I wasn’t speaking from my stomach. 

Oh no.

View of Salzburg from the Hohensalzburg Castle

We arrived at the hotel in Salzburg and I started to get a headache. “No big deal, it will go away after a ton of water” I thought. 

Spoiler: I was so wrong. 

Over the course of the rest of the day, we found a food stand, checked out some shops, walked around Salzburg for an orientation, and lastly ended at the concert hall to hear Elgar’s Violin Concerto and Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, two pieces I am not 100% familiar with but throughly enjoy. 

The concert hall was beautiful and as our second live hearing of the Vienna Philharmonic, I was blown away. We had front row seats and everything to the orchestra. 

Ya Boy Mozart 

Now, I don’t have the best immune system, but I figured I could make it through the concert. I couldn’t have been that sick, it was just a cough. 

Oh boy. 

Being sick and listening to a violin concerto is a wild ride. I was super dizzy, my eyes burned, I started getting a fever and I couldn’t keep my head up. This all is happening as the soloist is going wild on the violin and what an interesting experience. I definitely don’t remember most of the performance because I was too worried about being sick, but I do remember being a total nerd when the second movement was being performed because it sounded like another piece of Elgar’s (Nimrod from the Enigma Variations). 

Then all of a sudden the first half was over. 

I stood up to go outside to try and cool down and I started actually tripping over my feet, so it was time to go home. Luckily, Rachel is a lovely human and went home with me. 

I have gotten better now, but it has been hard getting over this whatever sickness I have. 

Also on the last week of this adventure, I am homesick. As much fun as I have had this past month exploring Europe, enjoying the culture, the food, and my study away peers, I am ready to go home and see my family again. This month has had ups and downs, difficult situations and amazing performances from even more amazing artists. I am glad I am here but I can’t wait to show my family what I saw and what I learned. 

Climb Every Mountain!

Yesterday we had a tour then we climbed up to a monestary. We saw an awesome view of the city. Then we went to dinner, I had an allergic reaction to something either in the woods or in the salt shop we went into so I was asleep the rest of the evening.
Today we went up to the castle/fortress. There was a beautiful view of the alps and the city. We got a tour of the castle. We got to see parts of the castle most people don’t get to see. After the castle we went into the grave yard and went into the catacombs there. Then Erika, Katie, Paige, Rachel and I put a plu lock with our names on the lock bridge in town.