Last Day in Vienna! :(

Today is my last day in Vienna. This trip went by so fast! Sorry I didn't up date you on the last week I was here. I just had some free time before I have to leave for the airport, so I thought I would write a little something. 

This last week was amazing! On Tuesday we had our last concert. We had a guest conductor come work with us, and she was great! The flute choir's performance was spectacular! We became a very close group on this trip. We also wrapped up our classes. In my Viennese Composers class, for a review we played Jeopardy. 

I basically spent most of my time doing things that I haven't gotten to do yet while I still had the chance. I tried to find the coffee museum with my friend Jay, and it took us about an hour to find it. It was not labeled very clearly, and it's actually inside a cafe. The hours were 4:30 pm to 2 am, and we were there around 10 am. So, I never went to that, but that's okay. 

Last night we had our fare well dinner, Austrian buffet style! Lots of German potato salad, schnitzel, and other selections. :)

We leave for the airport at noon today, and our flight leaves at 2 pm. I will have 16 hours in Paris, and I will leave for Seattle the next day. I'll get there at about 11:50 am, and return to Missoula by bus around 8 pm. I look forward to seeing you, and sharing my stories with you! Thank you all once again for your support, love, and prayers! Thank yous will be coming out soon. I would of sent post cards, but it's almost $2 a stamp to send over seas, and I had 24 to send. :) So, I will send them out back in the States. :)

Enjoy your day, and I'll think of you while I am exploring Paris!! :)

Love, 

Jenna

Review continued...

Pick up where I left off...

Wednesday, June 23

Vienna composers class started the day at 11 am. Since we talked about Schubert on the walking tour, we followed up with him in our lecture. Schubert was known for writing a lot of lieder (songs) and his famous piece, The Erlkönig. Dr. Randal played it for us during class, and we followed the text the he passed out at the beginning of the period. Google the text if you get the chance... you'll have to form your own opinion on it. 

The Flute Choir met to rehearse the pieces for the last concert of the trip, and to prepare for the guest conductor, who should be arriving in Vienna from London tomorrow morning. I have come a long way in flute choir, and in my individual playing. This ensemble has given me confidence and allowed me to grow as a musician and as an individual. The two pieces that we will be playing on Tuesday are challenging, but I have risen to the challenge with maturity and grace. I'm thrilled to play on Tuesday, and now thanks to being in Vienna, I have a completely different out look on ensemble playing that I hope to apply this fall. 

The choir director for this trip, and the guitar professor at the University gave a concert at 6pm. Little did I know that he would soon be leaving the group to return to Missoula. I always enjoy his concerts... in Vienna, or back in the recital hall in the music building. 

That concluded my day. I went back to my apartment with Bridget to relax and wind down before another busy, but fun day began. 

Thursday, Jun 24

The day of graves! This day is a little blurry in my memory... thank goodness I have pictures to look back on. :-) My Vienna Street Level and Viennese Composers class were combined for the day. We traveled to see Mahler's grave, and a Mozart monument. The grave stones in Vienna are so elaborate compared to most in the US. The first view times the class went through grave yards, I felt uncomfortable, but this time I didn't. I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing... The head stones were beautifully decorated to add to the memory of the late Austrians. 

Small groups went their own ways to finish the day. The flute choir went to a recital put on by the flute professor at IES at a Jewish museum. A small group of the ensemble came early to the concert, but were unable to enter the building. There was about 30 minutes to spare, so it was on to the music store! The music selection was incredible! I wish I could have purchased more, but I only bought one book. My one music purchase from Vienna is 6 Suites for solo flute by Boismortier... one soon to be performed at my senior recital. :-) The concert wasn't what I expected it to be. The flute professor was great, along with the pianist and the 2 violinists... but they didn't play as much as I expected them too. It was cd release concert, but what puzzled me the most is the fact that recordings were played as much as the live performance. However, when you go to a free concert... you can't complain. 

Friday, June 25th

I had class at 9 am, but I didn't go. I just wasn't functioning very well that morning, and woke up still very tired, in need of sleep. I was dragging the whole day. I don't know if waking up and staying up the first time would have made the difference. My "Get up and go got up and went" and called it a day before my actual day began. I missed watching the movie "The Third Man" and I knew I would have fallen asleep in the movie any way. I will watch it when I'm back in the US. 

The faculty make made us sandwiches, and provided other goodies for us. We had lunch at the Strauss monument. As we ate our food, my flute teacher shared with us the story of her parents during WWII. I had a hard time hearing it, but I have the same hand out that I will also read down the road. 

Once the lunch festivities were winding down, a small group headed out to Baden, Austria for the day. It was an hour ride by public train and under 20 euro. This is where Beethoven came to heal himself of any sickness at the warm springs. We went to the water park that had a fake beach... yes, sounds a bit tacky, but sand is still sand... and it was so nice! There were several different pools, and 2 slides. There were two high dives, a pool with really strong jets that would carry you around in circles. I spent most of my time in the hot tub. It was wonderful because it had a huge fountain in the middle where you could stand and be massaged by hot water. We ate as a group at a fancy little place by the river. I had the typical Schnitzel and German potato salad. My friend let me try a piece of the octopus he ordered... very interesting, but not very filling. It was the size of an appetizer, but cost more than my meal. Dr. Randal took us to an ice cream shop. Extremely cheap ice cream in large quantities. He went around to every one with a sample spoon to give the "Professor Test" to taste their ice cream. Dr. Randal likes hazelnut the best, and I agree with him on that one!  That concluded our wonderful day trip to Baden. Some of the group stayed after for a while, but I was way to tired to do that. I headed home and crashed. So tired! It was a good tired, and I was able to get a lot of rest. 

Saturday, June 26th.... Today! :-)

A group of friends came over for dinner... 6 people... it was great! I left early because there was another group heading over to the Belvedere Museum. I had been there previously on this trip, but only on the out side as a brief stop on our bus tour. I didn't get to see the painting that I wanted to see, but I did get to see the famous Kiss, buy Gustav Klimpt. :) Other than that, didn't really do much. :) It was nice to lounge around and to take a nap. Now I am about to conclude my day since it is almost 1 am. :) I'm going to an Opera tomorrow for my Viennese composers class. It is so hard to believe that my trip is almost over! I plan to be back in Missoula at around 8 pm on the 3rd, but I'll write more about my itinerary in the next couple of days. Take care, and see you soon!! 

Love,
Jenna

Another Week In Review

I haven't blogged since my week end excursion to Prague! 
Talk about time flies when you are having fun! 

Monday, June 21
Arrived back to Vienna at 5:30 am, and back in my apartment around 6 am. I called my parents to let them know that Bridget and I made it back safely. I called Ruth because Russ wasn't off work yet, and later talked to Rachel and Russ on Skype. I took a nap, over slept, and I thought I was going to be late for class. Schedules were not handed out yet, so I thought that I had class at 11. Turns out, I didn't have class at all that day, so I came in for nothing. But, that was okay though. I got to spend time with friends in the city, so it worth it. :) Other than that, it was a pretty relaxing day, and I was able to rest from the week end. 

Tuesday, June 22
This was the day I actually had class. We started with my Vienna Street level class. Professor Ramey took us to the Anker clock. Every hour it plays music, and there are 12 different historical figures from Vienna that go around in a circle. It was neat to watch it. There were a lot of people around taking pictures and video, and I'm assuming that during the day it's like that every hour. She took us to Stephansdom while they were having tours of the underground of the church, and of the tour. It was really crowded, and only a few people are allowed up to the tour at a time, so I didn't go on the tour. I went to a costume shop with my friend Fiona, and then to a Catholic store with beautiful rosaries, and among other things. The group met up again for Viennese Composers class. Dr. Randal taught us about Schubert and his family. He took us to the church that Schubert's parents were married in, and his birth house. It was a long walk around the city, including public transportation, and walking. There was a fountain dedicated to Schubert that we saw along the way as well. The rest of the evening was free until our concert at 6 pm. The performance went really well, it was great! It was an all around great concert. I felt so accomplished playing with the flute choir, it is just a great group of people. I am looking forward to the next concert as well! :D I went home after that and crashed... so tired... 

Okay, well, I will have to hold off on the recap until tomorrow. I had a great day, but I'm very tired. I will write more tomorrow, I just need to get some sleep for the night. Bridget and I are having people over for breakfast, and I need to be up at a decent hour to get ready for that. After breakfast, off to the Belvedere Museum. :) Until tomorrow, take care and Good Night!! 

Love, 

Jenna

Prague Pictures

Bridget and I in the city center, in front of the museum.

Jenna and Adela. First picture together in seven years. :)

A Czech Pirate Ensemble??

Enjoying Czech deserts :)

Week end up date... Prague!!

Good morning to you in the States... in the beautiful state of Montana it is currently 7:08 am as I am writing, but in the wonderful city of Vienna it is 3:08 pm. I am sitting in the kitchen of my apartment drinking coffee and eating a banana. :)

Prague!! 

Bridget and I left for Prague at 9:45 am on Saturday. The Student Agency bus system that we went through is really confusing. You would think that you would have to go some where and pick up your tickets... but no... you print them off from your email, and show your electronic ticket along with your passport to the bus guide. There also is no bus station for this company in Vienna. We waited at a bus stop instead, that was also hard to find. It was hard due to the confusion. But, the bus ride there was about five hours. I also thought that you would have to get your passport stamped when you came into the country, but we were told that there are no boundaries between Czech Republic and Austria. Any way...

The bus arrived at the station in Prague at 2:30 pm. We met a guy from Georgia who needed help calling his friends, who kind of left him hanging. Hopefully he made it okay! Before I knew it, my friend Adela and her boyfriend Marcel were there to meet us! She has been the friend that I have been writing about a lot, who I was so excited to see, and Bridget has been hearing about her for a while... hopefully she didn't get sick of it. :P It was so good to see her! Seven years later. :) Marcel owns a car, so he drove us to her apartment to drop off our stuff and the girls went site seeing around the city. I will try to make a separate post just of pictures from Prague, and other pictures from the trip. The photo up loader is being a little strange right now, so I'll see what happens. 

We saw the out side of a museum... I think it was the Natural History Museum... I don't remember, but it is in the center of town with a beautiful fountain in front of it. (Sorry, I horrible with names.) We exchanged our euros for korunas. To put in into perspective for you, I just looked it up and 1 US dollar is equal to 20.80 Czech koruna. 1 euro is equal to 25.73 Czech koruna. To make it even more confusing, 1 US dollar is equal to .81 euro. So, with the koruna being worth more for the American dollar, shopping was cheaper there than it is in Vienna. It was just weird because 200 or so koruna, isn't very much in American dollars, even though it seems like a lot. They had a market with food, toys, jewelery, pottery... any thing you could think of. It was so much fun, and a lot nicer than the market in Vienna. In Vienna, people are selling their personal items to make money, and some hand made art, but in Prague, it was mostly hand made items. Adela took us to a small cafe that served Czech deserts. She said that a famous Czech desert is Apple Strudel, much like in Austria, but it tastes a little different. I had a piece of cake was white and regular chocolate. Yum yum!!!

We walked around a lot just to take in the beauty of the city. Don't get me wrong, Vienna is beautiful, but Prague was breath taking! We walked along the river and saw ferry boats, and the sun was setting by the bridge... it was gorgeous! Art was being sold through out the city... same pictures, different people selling them, but still great paintings. I bought four different small paintings, one was 30 koruna, and the other 3 were 50 koruna a piece. You do the math. ;)

If you are a music major in the city, you can't leave with out seeing a concert. We saw a concert with Flute, Organ, and Mezzo soprano. 3 very accomplished musicians. I have never heard of any of them, but their biographies were really impressive. The Mezzo soprano's tone was haunting and beautiful. She sang Ave Maria... and in a beautiful church... I can't express to you how stunning that was. The organ was placed above the sanctuary of the church where most of the pieces were performed. The flutist's tone was beautiful as well, it couldn't have been a better combination. For those of you who came to my recital, you know I did a flute and organ duet, so having performed that recently, it was really neat to see it in Prague. After the concert was over, and most of the people cleared out, Bridget was taking pictures, and I had to take time to kneel in one of the church pews just to take it in and feel God's presence. It was so beautiful... I cried because of the beauty of the church, and the music. It was overwhelming in a good way. I still get a little teary eyed just thinking about it. Adela didn't come to the concert, so we met up with her and Marcel after ward and walked across the bridge. Once again... beautiful! Everything we saw was just amazing. I stopped so many times to get pictures, so it took a long time to get anywhere... ah to be a tourist! :) Adela and Marcel took us to a bar/restaurant and shared 2 bottles of whine. Two small glasses was a bit much for me. I slept really well when we got back to their apartment. :) 

All of us slept in the next morning. According to Bridget, when she woke up at 6 am I was snoring. :) Marcel drove us up to a restaurant for lunch in the country side of Prague. The meal was grilled chicken and pork. I know... sounds really American, but it was still really good. :)The next stop was a 14th century castle to go on a tour. We couldn't take any pictures of the inside, but I got some great shots of the out side. Some of the decor and the items in the castle were original, but most of it was redone. In a glass case, games that the castle workers played were on display. After the tour we walked down the other side of the castle and did a little shopping, and returned to the city. Marcel dropped us off by the university housing, where we walked to a rose garden, and later to a tower. The price to walk up to the top of the tower was 50 koruna, but it was worth it! A great view of the entire city. :) Adela took us to another castle, in an older part of the city. It was closed off by walls, and there were several shops and cafes along the way. When we got to the gate, the castle guards were changing shifts. They are a lot like the guards that you would see in London, but dressed a little differently. They did an entire marching sequence to change places. Their shifts are two hours long, and they had to stay absolutely still, they can only move their eyes. They are not allowed to smile either. 

It was a great day, walking around the city, taking pictures, and talking to Adela, but I was very tired at the end of the day. Adela made us dinner before we left, and took us to meet the bus at midnight. We left Prague at 12:30 am, and got back to Vienna around 5:30 am. It was a pretty nice ride. The bus had leather seats, so it was quite comfortable. I couldn't fall asleep, so I stayed up almost the entire time reading, and I watched the movie they provided. Hot drinks were served for free, so I had two small cups of hot chocolate. Bridget and I got back to our apartment, and crashed. We made a view calls on skype, and slept until we had to leave for class. We thought that we had our Viennese Composers class at 11, so alarms were set to get up in time. We both didn't wake up until 10:30, the time we should have been out the door to get on the underground train to make it in time. We didn't have schedule for the week, but when we got there, it turned out we didn't have class. I was a bit relieved because that meant I wasn't late for anything! :) 

There you go, my week end in Prague. It went by really fast, and it wasn't a lot of time, but I'm so glad I got to go! :) I hope to come back in the future. :) Adela wants to come to Missoula some time soon. I told her about everything you can do there. So, maybe some of you in the area can meet her some day. :)

My time in Vienna is running out! I only have 12 days left. 12 days!! There are a few things that I still want to do, and I hope I get to do all of them. On a free day, I plan to wonder around the city, and just take pictures. There is a really great garden with a Mozart monument and treble clefs made out of flowers. I also want to bike along the Danube River, or even take a long walk. Either way, it will be great. If it gets warmer, I would like to sit out side, and sketch different places in the city. That is my goal, along with home work, and getting my blog going for my Viennese Composers class. 

I heard the weather in Montana has been really crazy. I talked to my Dad last night, I called him to wish him a happy fathers day, and he said that it has been raining a lot at home. Tornadoes struck Billings, and a couple of the other places. It snowed in Bozeman a little while ago as well. Wow! Well, I hope you are all safe and enjoying what you can of the weather, where ever you are. Have a great day, and thanks for reading!  Oh, and Happy Fathers Day to all of you Dad's out there!!!! See you soon!!! :-)

Love always, 

Jenna

Friday, June 18th

Went on another Beethoven tour. I climbed the over the wall that was left over from when a wall surrounded the city. (I went up stairs, I didn't really climb over it, that just sounded more exciting :P) The destination of this tour was the apartment that Beethoven had lived in the longest. It was made into a very small museum and the admission was only 1 euro. I had a kebab box for lunch, which is all of the kebab makings, but with rice in a box. A flute master class was scheduled for the flute choir with the flute instructor at IES, so I didn't have a lot of time for lunch. I didn't play, but it was still really great to watch and support everyone, and listen to what she had to say. I was done for the day after that, so I did a little exploring on my own on the way back to my apartment. I found a fun shopping mall that had two different parts that were separated by a walk way over looking part of the city. I picked up an amazing loaf of bread at the Billa on the bottom floor. The bread is soooooo good here! 

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Prague! The bus leaves at 9:45 am, and I will get there at about 2:30 in the afternoon. Now I have to back, and go to bed. Good night folks!  

The week in review

Monday, June 13

I used Monday to relax and take it easy. I did go to a concert at 7:30 that night and watched the Slowakische Sinfonietta. I don't have my program with me to look of off, but I'll tell you what I remembered. I payed 17 euro for a balcony seat. When I sat back, the only thing I could see was a column and the people sitting in front of me. I could see about a quarter of the ensemble if I sat up at the edge of my seat. Once the concert started I saw a free seat and moved there. It was on the side, and I had to lean forward, but it was still much better than my last seat. This concert was very anger evoking for me in the way that it helped me process a lot of things that I have been dealing with. The music that was played dug up feelings from the past, and stirred up some issues that I had forgotten about. But, the second half came around to the Beethoven piece, and I felt a lot better. God used this concert to show me that when you let things go from your past, you won't be weighted down any more, and you go in so many unimaginable directions. I felt like he was showing me, if you do this, this is what will happen. (This supports the reason why I am going to teach music.) I will never forget that. 

Tuesday, June 15th

Beethoven tour! We took the uban to Heiligenstadt and took a bus to the top of a small mountain in the Vienna woods. We had lunch at a cafe and I got more post cards to sent to people. Dr. Randal gave a brief lecture, and we went on our way. We walked down the mountain and into the town where Beethoven spent a lot of his time composing to get away from the city. There is a street called Beethovengang, so we had to get our picture next to the street sign, pretending to be gangsters. Yeah, I know.... silly tourists. We saw one of the apartments where he lived... one of the many... he lived in about 50 to 60 different places. He was a slob, and a rebel in his time. I took an early bus back to the train station to get back to the IES center. I stopped in on a master class, but I really didn't get anything out of it. It was for the composers who are on this trip. They got a lot of good advice about what to change about their pieces. I stayed for about 15 minutes and went back to my appartment. I went to another concert, this time it was the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. There was an amazing violin concerto, and the instrumentation of the orchestra was the most interesting I have seen so far. The first half was all strings, and just two horns and two oboes. The second half instrumentation consisted of all strings, one flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two clarinets, and two french horns. The seats where better, I sat up on the 3rd floor balcony and had a great view of the stage, just depending on who was sitting in front of me. I sat next to a very nice woman, who asked me about my first time in Austria, and how I liked it. I didn't have any money to buy a program, but she gave me hers as a souvenir. 

Wednesday, Jun 16
I started the day with my Vienna Composers class at 11 am. We reviewed our Beethoven tour. We learned about his Eroica Symphony, and listened to apart of it. Flute choir rehearsal followed Vienna Composers. It was a great rehearsal, and such an amazing group of flutists. All of our rehearsals have been amazing. We're getting ready to play for a guest conductor who is coming from London. I know her mom from Missoula, so it's going to be fun to meet her. :) I was done after that and headed home for the day. I had a little freak out moment about my lay over in Paris and called my mom in tears. I thought that would change when I would get home, but it was part of the plan all along, it just wasn't specified in the email from our program director. I also called Russell in tears, and Wayne later that night... all of those people having to listen to me rant... Thanks for putting up with it! :)

So, for today, the goal is to book a bus ticket to Prague, and get some home work done, which I am extremely lacking in. Yay for playing catch up right? Tonight I have ticket to see the Vienna Symphony in Concert! I am so excited!!!! :) So many great concerts.... so little time left in the amazing city of Vienna! :) They will be playing pieces by Beethoven, Korngold and..... and..... and.....
GRIEG!!!!!!! 

:)

Now that I have you caught up.... home work time... 
Until my next blog post....
Take care!!!

Love, 

Jenna