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

Change of Plans!

I'm sure most of you who read this, knew that I after I stayed up late, there is no way that I was getting up at 9 to go to a cafe and do home work. A nice dream, but it didn't happen. You know how much I like to sleep. I didn't wake up until 11. 

I tried to book the tickets to Prague, but to depart tomorrow (Friday) but they are getting slim. But, that is what I get for not booking early. This morning when I looked there were 4 free seats, but when I checked it again, a couple hours later, the seats were taken. But, that is okay. I might leave on Saturday morning, and arrive in Prague that afternoon. Not what I wanted originally, but better than not going at all. :)

Plan for the Day, Thursday, June 17

It is a little after 1 am here, don't ask me why I'm up so late. I took a nap when I got home from class, I slept from 6:15 to around 8, so I guess I already got around 2 hours of sleep already. Yeah... I have no idea... that's not really a good excuse. For Thursday, here is my plan...

Wake up at a comfortable time, say... oh... around 9 am, get ready for the day and take the uban all the way out to Heiligenstadt. I went there with my group for a Beethoven tour and I really liked it. I want to find a fun little cafe and have breakfast and coffee while I work on my home work for my writing class. Hopefully the cafe will have wireless internet, but if not, that is okay. I'll bring my notebook for my class, and my journal to reflect on everything that has happened here, and to just get some thoughts out. And, most importantly, my bible. I haven't read it since I left the States, and I know reading it will help. It will calm me down and bring things into perspective for me. 

I'm planning a trip to Prague with some friends, I just hope I can still get a bus ticket! :) Time has just flown by and I just haven't booked them yet. But, I am determined to get to Prague... I will not pass up the chance to see Adela :) 

Okay... time for bed now. :) I'll get caught up on the last couple days tomorrow, and soon my class blog with actually have information on it. As soon as I get that going, I will put the web address on here, so you can read what I wrote for the class. You will have a chance to see what I have learned in the class, and links to more information as well. So, you will get a music history lesson on Viennese composers too! :-) Any way... I love and miss you all, hope you are having a great day! 

I know I had a stressful day...( I know you're thinking... What? How can you be stressed when you are in VIENNA?) Let's just say somethings are conflicting with my punctuality and organization... and when that happens... I tend to get a little cranky... but, I end the day knowing that everything is okay, and no matter what... it's going to be amazing! That is why I decided to take a mini trip tomorrow to the end of an uban line to find a little cafe to refocus. To literally and figuratively wake up and smell the coffee. :) 

Thank you for your support and prayers. It has been fun writing this for you, and communicating with you via email, facebook, and for a few people skype. I wish I could have you all hear to show you around, and take you to all of the amazing places that I have been. I will be sending out posts cards soon, so be on the look out for one! If I missed you on the post card list, I'm sorry! Please send me your address so I can send you one here, or give to you eventually. :) Okay, Good Night/Early morning... or good afternoon/evening if you are in Montana. :-)

Love always, 

Jenna :-)

Plan for the Day: Monday, June 14

I don't have any classes today! So, the plan is to go to a tour at the Opera House. Bridget went on it yesterday, and she told me that they do it every day, so I thought today would be perfect for that. Then I will go on a hunt for the Konzerthaus to get my tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday's concert. I also go to the Musikverein to get my tickets for tonight's concert. Tonight's Program is:
Pieces by: Schubert, Paganini and Beethoven, performed by the Slowakische Sinfonietta. 
I have never heard of the group that is performing, but it will still be good. :-) 
It is almost 11 am here... it's so weird to think about the time time difference, when it's almost 3 am in Montana. I miss you all, have a great Monday and enjoy the summer weather... rain, sun shine, or even snow... only in Montana. :)
Love you all!!

Mozart's full name

As I was going through my notes from my Salzburg tour, I came across a bit of information that I thought would be interesting for you to know. Do you know Mozart's full name? I always thought it was just Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Well, Dr. Randal told us on our tour, I had to look it up again to remember, and to complete my notes. His full name is:

Chrysostom Wolfgangus Thephilus Amadeus Mozart 

So there you go. I don't know why it is shortened, or if that's what he decided to use instead of his long full name. If you know, or if you can find that out, let me know. :)

back track and catch up

Hello again! 
I was a lot more tired that I thought I was. This week wore me out, but it was so much fun at the same time. I didn't get out of bed today until a quarter to 2. I guess that is what being sick, but keeping busy and having a lot of fun in the process does. :) I haven't written a completed blog post since last Sunday, so it's about time I get you caught up! :-)

Monday, June 7
Monday was kind of uneventful. I don't remember when I stopped going to German classes, but I was done for the day quite early. I think this was the day I brought Hilary back to my apartment and showed her around the area. I don't remember, but I will tell you about that any way. :-) I showed her my apartment and we walked around the area. We had a lot of fun looking at shoes in random stores, checking out the Body Shop (it's similar to Bath and Body works for those of you who don't know.) which is more expensive and the same as the company in the States. We went grocery shopping and had ice cream along the way. We had a really good talk and enjoyed the amazing ice cream. She went back to the hostel the rest of the group is staying at to get ready for a concert.

Tuesday, June 8
This was the day of our 2nd Vienna ensemble concert. We have a few ensembles in the group, and we have concerts every week, even though there isn't one this week, to perform for everyone, and anyone else who wants to watch is welcome. This week we actually had people who I think were from Vienna watch us. The flute choir performed Sonority Cannon, another piece that I can't remember the name of, I heard Maggie say that it was played at Prince Dianna's service, and we ended with Under The Sea, an arrangement done by Maggie's husband John Schuberg. It was a great arrangement, and it put a new spin on it with the bass flute included. I'm not sure, but I think all of our performances are being recorded, so hopefully you will be able to hear them down the road. Bridget and I went to a free concert by the Vienna Philharmonic at the Schonbrunn Gardens, a nice walk from our apartment. We didn't get there early enough, so we were way in the back, and we couldn't see them unless we stood on our tippy toes. Basically it was in the extreme nose bleeds. They had big screens that displayed shots of the group, but we were standing behind a lot of tall people, so even then it was still hard to see. But, I can't complain because it was free, and not very many people get to see one of the best groups in the world... for free. :) They opened with the Star Wars Imperial March. They also played Mars, from the Planets by Gustov Holst, Mozart, and ended with a great piece by Schumann. They brought in one of the greatest pianists in the world, and he played an arrangement by Liszt. It was pretty amazing. :)

 This was our view from the concert. 

A little blurry, but I think this was from the beginning of Mars, from Planets by Gustov Holst. 

Great picture of the 2 of us, but the guy in back wasn't too happy to be in the picture. :P

Wednesday, June 9
Ah, yes, this is the day I stopped going to German. I know, you're probably thinking, "Why would you not go?" Well, as much as I would love to learn a new language, and German has been interesting to learn. The thing is, we're not getting credit for the class, even though we are paying for it because it is part of our program provided by IES. If we chose to get credit for it, we have to pay an additional $234. I was also spending a lot of time on it, and little to no time on my upper division writing music class that I need to graduate. So, that is where my priorities came in. We met for my upper division writing class to go over some things. All of our writing assignments are being posted on a blog, and we are to keep a journal. We have to write 2 blog entries a week, and write 4 concert reports. I'm just hoping I can book all of my concerts in time before I leave. I'm hoping to be done with all the work, so I won't have to do it when I get back, but we'll see on that one. There was also a free concert that night, but there was a lot of public transportation involved, and we were going to get back really late, close to 11pm, and I don't like traveling on the underground trains late at night here unless I absolutely have to. So, I went to a Chinese restaurant with Hilary, Matt and Katie instead. I went back to my apartment, and that is where my day ended. :)

Thursday, June 10
Another uneventful day. I wanted to go the Essl Museum, but didn't get there in time to meet the group. They were meeting at the Mozart house, and I couldn't remember at the time where that was, so I didn't go. I could of found it because I had a little time, but I didn't. It probably would have been really neat to go to, but oh well. Can't do everything, even though you really want to. So, I went shopping with Hilary for a bit, and got a gift for my cousin Cassie, and did a little home work. I went shopping again with Hilary, Katie and Bridget at H&M and bought 2 pairs of earrings for under 5 euro :) That was pretty much it. :) I know I am here for school, but with everything we do in a day, it has been hard to get into that mind set. I'm in a country that I have never been to before, still in awe of everything, but I'm going to need to kick it into gear soon... meaning today. :)

Friday, June 11
I got up early and packed for Salzburg! We met the group at Stephansdom at 8am. We took the uban to the train station to go to Salzburg. The train ride was about 3 hours long, or so. It went by really fast for me, it didn't seem that long. We stayed at the Salzburg Hostel with a great view of the fortress. Dr. Randal led a tour of Mozart. We went to the house where he was born, and the apartment that his family moved to later. Both of the houses are now museums with really interesting artifacts. There were original and copies of manuscripts, paintings, and locks of Mozart's hair. We saw the church where his Mass in C minor was premiered. This is also the church that he introduced his wife, Constanze was introduced to his family. She was the leading soprano in the mass and performed it for the family, and met them after the performance. What a way to be introduced to the in laws? ;) We ended it at the Gardens where part of Sound of Music was filmed. I had a lot of fun exploring that, and getting pictures with friends. 
For dinner we went to an Irish pub, and had a great time! It was me, Bridget, Jenny, Kara, Anna and Phil. Bridget is the only one from the group, so it was great being able to talk to everyone and to know them better. I've noticed that when every I go out in Vienna, or Salzburg for that matter, it is always a group of girls with one guy. I was really glad to have Phil there, a very tall saxophone player, due to the shady characters wondering the streets. We got back to the hostel and finally went to bed at around 1 am. 

Saturday, June 12
This was the free day to explore the city. I went on the Sound of Music Tour! I already explained it in yesterdays post. This tour began 15 years ago, and the tour goes to most of the places where the movie was filmed, and certain places of the Von Trap family. There actual house is in the city of Salzburg, but no one is allowed to see it unless they are invited by the family. Here is a link for those of you who are interested to learn more:

http://www.panoramatours.com/Offer.fc?DISPATCH_METHOD=LoadOfferContent&o_content=soundofmusic/index&lang=en-US

Along the tour, we stopped on a mountain, in the Lake and Mountain district, to go tobogganing! Random!! How many people can say they went tobogganing on the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg, in June? Our tour guide Barbara insisted that we try it, and she was right. I'm glad I did. :) Like I said yesterday, I was beaming almost the entire trip, and I haven't had that much fun in a long time. I went with a couple Phil and Anna, and two people who I didn't know very well, Addie, a saxophone player, and Tom a vocalist. It was so surreal to be there, where the family was, and where the movie was filmed. Learning the history of the family was so great! When I get home I'm going to have to watch the movie again. It's been a while, and I can say during the movie, "I was there... and there... and there!" Are you up for that Rachel? ;) We ended at the gardens where the Do Re Mi song was filmed. I went back to hostel to eat and rest because I wasn't feeling well. A group of us later went to the Billa, a grocery store, to get some snacks for the train ride home. The ride home was fun as well. Got to talk to the same people I spent time with on the trip and Phil shared some funny stories. It was storming on part of the way back, and the lightening was incredible. I came back to my apartment and crashed. I was soooooo tired. Hence why I woke up this afternoon! :-) Today is my lazy day and catch up day. I listened to an old sermon from Missoula Alliance Church. It was great to listen to Pastor Jeff again, and the sermon was refreshing. I hope you enjoying this post as much as I enjoyed recapping on the week. Tomorrow I am hoping to make it to a concert with pieces by Beethoven, Schubert, Pagannini and J. Strauss. I'll see if I can book a ticket. :) I don't have any classes tomorrow so hopefully today and tomorrow I can use to get caught up in my class. This week end I plan to go to Prague and spend time with my friend Adela. Phil, Anna, Bridget and Hilary are coming with me. I've been looking forward to this for months as I have mentioned several times :) I hope everyone is having a great day! I see on weatherchannel.com that it going to be sunny in Nashua, mostly sunny in Libby, and Sunny in Missoula! (Don't blame me for the weather if it's wrong, the only thing I have to go by here is the internet. ;) and if I didn't mention your town, my apologies:)) Here in Vienna it is partly cloudy, and expecting rain by tonight. I'm happy about that because it has been so hot here, having the sun a little behind the clouds and rain by night will cool things off a bit. Take care and I'll see you in about 3 weeks!!

Love, 
Jenna (or Yenna, how it pronounced in German, and in Czech:))

So, I'm a little behind in blogging....

Hello All! 
Sorry about not up dating this :S Wayne and Rachel sort of reminded me that I haven't been on here in a while. :) But I will give you a brief over view of what has been happening in the great city Vienna :) 
Last week was a little bit of a blur... so my next post will have more detail about last week, when I have my schedule to go off of. 
This week end I went to Salzburg, Austria. We visit Mozart's birth house, another house that they lived in, and many other Mozart things. My favorite part of the week end, since I just recently did it, was....
THE SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR!!!! :-)
It was such an amazing tour! I paid 33 euro for a ticket, at the last minute. I really wanted to go on a biking tour, but since I'm a bit sick right now, that would not be the best thing. But, I thought okay.... I'm probably not going to be here again, and this is a once in a life time opportunity, so I'll just buck up and take it. Well, when I come down for breakfast that was provided by the hostel we stayed at, a friend mentioned the bus tour, and that it was leaving... right now. So, I went to the desk, and the receptionist almost didn't give it to me, because they were leaving soon. She spent more time talking about how it was almost too late, instead of just giving me a ticket. But, I bought a ticket, got on the shuttle over to where the buses were and I went on the tour! :) It was so much fun! I need to watch the movie again to remember everything. :) Our tour guide's name was Barbra, and she was dressed in a traditional Austrian dress, she was so cute! We went to sights where the movie was filmed, and places where the real family were. She told us the differences between the movie and the real family. I loved it! :-) It was so much fun, I was beaming the entire tour! I know you probably want to read more, but I need to go to bed. I need to rest and recover so I can get over what ever I have. Thank the Lord it is Sunday tomorrow! Hope this settled your blog appetite for a little while. :-) I'm keeping busy, and loving every minute of it. Some times it is hard, and I want to come home, but I have to keep reminding my self this is an experience of a life time, and the little bumps on the road can't get in my way. I look forward to sharing stories with you, souvenirs, post cards, and of course, chocolate... in person. :-) Good night, and take care! Look for a very detailed and up dating post tomorrow... Monday at the latest!

Sonntag, Juni 6

I'm putting my German to use! Sonntag, Juni 6 is Sunday, June 6. :-) 
Today Bridget and I went to mass at noon at Stephonsdome.
There are masses in German and English through out churches in the city, but this one was in German. Bridget was able to help me understand what they were saying through the service. It was beautiful! I kept the bulletin and the song sheet for my scrapbook. A choir from California performed. We stopped to listen to them after the service, and we thought they were German at first. They sang one song in English, but most of them were in German. We saw them out side of the church and said hello, and found out they were from CA! They are touring around Europe, and when we talked to them they had just arrived in Vienna. They were only there for a night and on their way to Prague the next day, I think. We had lunch and checked out a cup cake/dessert shop. Bridget bought a cake that we shared when we got back to our apartment. As much as we would have loved to stay around and shop, and walk around, we needed to get back to study. We did get to watch two artists who were selling there work out side of the shops. They used metal sheets and formed pictures by using a spatula. That is what one of the guys told us, but we didn't see him do that. We watched one of them spray paint a scene. It was fun to watch. So, now we are at home doing home work. I have been studying German, and understanding it more. For a study break we went to a small take out place and ordered fried mushrooms and potato salad. Austrian potato salad is different than American potato salad. Here they use a light vinegar dressing and I can't figure out what else, but it is really good. Okay, now I have to study more German, and do the reading for my class. Take care! Thanks for reading!!!
Guten Nacht! (Good Night!)

Love, 
Jenna  

Catch up

So it has been a while, I have been really busy and haven't had time to blog, journal, up load pictures on facebook, or send out thank you post cards. I have been having a lot of fun though. It seems that when ever I get home from class or tours that I'm just so tired, I go right to bed. Since it Saturday, I'm using it as my catch up day. There was a tour of the Modern Art Museum, but I decided to stay home and rest. So I'm going to do just that, and explore my area of town. Here is what I have been doing in the last couple of days.


Wednesday, June 2nd
German from 9am to 11am. This class is getting better. I know our teacher is trying to go slow for us since most of us know little to no German, but even at that pace I still get lost. I'm trying really hard to stay caught up with her. We learned on Thursday how to order food in a restaurant. I'm getting good at ordering coffee (imagine that) and greeting people, and some what good at answering questions like, what is your name, where do you come from, what did you have from breakfast.... For our home work for Monday we have to write a dialogue between us, the guests and a waiter in a restaurant. Bridget and I are going to have a study party at our house with our classmates. So, we'll see how much German I can retain, and possibly speak to you when I get back to the States. :-)


The first official meeting of my Viennese Composers class met at 11am. This is my upper division writing class, and since we are in the new age of technology and don't really want to hand in papers while we are here, all of our writing assignments will be done on a blog. We also have to keep a journal/notebook for notes to reflect on our tours and concerts. Not a bad way to go about my upper division writing course before I graduate. :-) The class went to a Mozart monument fairly close to IES, but since I had flute choir rehearsal @ 12:30, the class wasn't going to make it back in time, so I couldn't go. :( I was a little disappointed, but I plan to see it before I leave. 

Thursday, June 3rd. 
Vienna is a very Catholic town. Thursday was Corpus Cristi day, so almost everything was closed. They had parades and celebrations for the holiday, but I didn't go to any of them. (I would like to do it all, but I just can't! :)) We still had German at 8:45, but we got out early in observance to Corpus Cristi day. The faculty fed everyone lunch by the Strauss monument. This is a gold statue of Strauss playing the violin. It was so beautiful, and there was a huge line of other tourists waiting to get their picture taken by it. 

This is Bridget and I by the Strauss monument. :) A tour of the Leopold Museum followed lunch. The art in this museum was also really great. I mostly saw Gustav Klimt's work. He is one of the most famous artists known to Austria. We also saw the Beethoven Frieze by Klimt at the Secession. The art work here was more mixed media and incorporating objects and sculptures. Here is one example, and one of my favorite pieces that I saw:

This is light bulbs with two snakes in the middle. This was a view from the bottom... I was trying to be artistic. :P


Friday, June 4th
EISENSTADT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was the most amazing day trip ever! I could have spent a week there, but it was still, so amazing!! We met the bus at 7:45, and we left around 8:15 or so. This trip was provided by IES, so the lunches and the tickets were provided, we just had to bring money for dinner and souvenirs. The first stop was the Esterhazy home, where Haydn was employed. Oh, and this was the Haydn day, everything that day was Haydn. It was great! There were many churches that we saw that were absolutely amazing. We saw the house where Haydn lived, where he performed, it was great! After that we went to Rust (pronounced Roost) and got to wonder around. We went to the lake that had sail boats, paddle boats and restaurants. I walked around with Katie, Matt and Bridget, we found a pottery shop. The owner makes everything her self by hand. She had so many beautiful pieces. It was her pottery studio and business. This brought me back to the days in high school when I went to places like that In Portland and Minneapolis with Nashua's art club. My art teacher, Mrs. Hanson would have loved it!! Dinner was at a neat little restaurant by a vineyard (I think) and we were served out side. The food was delicious, as I'm sure you find hard to imagine :P and we were full, happy and ready to go back to the bus. On the bus ride back, people were singing, laughing, talking... just having a good time. Great day, but very tired when we got home. I talked to Russell on skype, had some Fanta and chocolate, and went to bed. I tried to get up for the art tour, but I couldn't. I told Bridget that I'm staying home to sleep. Probably should have gone, but it was nice to rest. Okay, good, now I am caught up. :) 


My plan for today will be to finish my laundry, get ready, and go exploring around the area. When I wanted to do that last time it was raining, and today it is sunny! Perfect day to explore. :)Thanks for reading, I hope you are having a good day. :) 


Love,
Jenna


 

June already!!

The 1st day of June was great! My upper division writing class started today, and that was a lot of fun. As usual we started the day with 2 hours of German. Bridget and I were a little late, so because all of the seats were taken in the classroom that I was in yesterday, I got switched to a different class. It worked out great though. I really liked the teacher, and I'm starting to understand it fairly quickly. But, thankfully I'm not being graded on it, it's just a part of the program. 

After German we went to the Der Wiener Zentralfriedhof, a very big cemetery where many famous composers are buried. 

... Well, there are some that they are unsure of, but for Mozart for example, there is a beautiful monument.

I learned a lot of interesting things about the art of grave stone

or the memorial, and what certain things mean. 

It is an indescribable feeling to be standing at the final resting

place of so many famous composers. 

We visited a funeral museum. That was interesting, but I got a weird feeling from it. The Viennese celebrate death, and they have bigger funeral processions that we do, I think, but still. I took 2 pictures, but I couldn't handle it any more. We had some time to get dinner afterward before we performed, and had some free time. Since the 3 friends that I was with had class I didn't, I stayed behind and got some post cards and some amazing chocolate. I'm accumulating quite the collection of chocolate here, because it is so good and so cheap. I'm not eating very much of it, I'm saving most of it to share when I get back. **Wayne if you are reading this, I did get you your chocolate you requested, and searched all over town for it ;)** Our 1st performance was tonight. Dr. Millan and Maggie started it off with a flute and guitar duet, followed by a clarinet solo, and a small ensemble. Student composers had there pieces premiered by an ensemble. The Flute choir played, and we were awesome. It ended with the choir, conducted by Dr. Millan. It was interesting because I have never seen him conduct a choir, because he is the conductor of the orchestra at UM. 

Now I am back at the apartment, relaxing with a glass of cranberry juice. I am going to read 

the information that Dr. Randal gave us for his class, and maybe

go over some German. Having it for

2 hours a day is a little intense, but I had a lot of fun today. 

Thanks for reading. Love and miss you all....

..... Can't wait to share with you in person my experience, 

and of course, chocolate :)