Saturday May 2nd 2009:
I woke up early, ate breakfast at the hostel and headed to the tram stop that would take me to the train station. Most of the day was spent traveling from Dresden to Vienna, but it was a beautiful ride through mountains and fields. My “layover” was in a small city in the Czech Republic. It was disorienting to see Czech signs and hear a completely unfamiliar language. The train station wasn’t very exciting, so I was glad when I was able to board the train to Vienna. When I got on the train, Megan called me and asked me for details of my train station. My ticket was to “Vienna Simmering” which according to the ticket sales lady, just outside the center of town but accessible by tram. Megan told me that her family friends Gunder and Erik were not familiar with this train station; I didn’t find any other information on my ticket so I just told her I would call when I got off. I fell into a deep sleep on this train, dreaming that I was magnetically attached to the floor. I woke up just before “Vienna Simmering” and asked the passengers across the isle if this was Vienna. They told me to stay on until the next stop (the end of the line), and since Vienna Simmering sounded strange to my hosts, I thought I would heed my fellow passengers advice. It was a good thing I did, because as soon as I got off the train and started walking, I heard “Lindsay?” I turned and saw a smiling man with three kids standing to my left. Soon after Megan, Jolin and Gunder walked up. Erik began teasing me about the train station. “Vienna Simmering huh?” he said smiling.
The Sauers are friends of Megan’s parents, and whom Megan last saw during a family vacation when she was seven. They were very gracious hosts, with three adorable children. Even though the kids only spoke German, it was fun to see their interactions. The oldest (Daniel) was eight, the middle Elizabeth was 7, and the youngest Katerina was 4.
They were very sweet and picked me up some GF crackers and “lactose free” products. I felt badly when I had to explain that cow products with the added enzyme doesn’t work for me, because it still contains the protein Caesine. The rest of the night went more smoothly however, and after dinner, we looked at old photos that Gunder had kept of Megan’s family visit.
Sunday May 3rd 2009:
We rose very early Sunday morning, at breakfast and were out of the house by 7:15 am. Our plan was to go to the center of town and try to get standing room for the mass featuring the Vienna Boys Choir. Erik kindly drove and accompanied us, pointing out sites along the way. We arrived and excitedly stood in line, hoping we would be able to snag some free standing room. By 9:00 we excitedly entered the church and squeezed into the isle between the two rows of seats. Although we resembled sardines, as soon as the music started and we heard a “christus” from above. Their voices were so pure, open and right on pitch. I could immediately tell that their training was incredible, both musically and vocally. The Vienna Boys choir is one of the most famous choirs in the world, and those lucky enough to sing in it are housed near the palace and trained by world renowned directors. The choir sings on top of the tallest balcony, hidden from the view of the public. The effect is heavenly, as if the voices of angels were raining down upon us. The mass was quite long, and by the time communion rolled around, many standing room patrons headed out. We almost did the same except that Erik said he wanted to hear the last piece. We were able to sit down at this point, and as soon as we did, we saw the Vienna boys choir walk out onto the front stage of the church. They sang a beautiful hymn-like piece. Seeing them made their talent seem more unreal, they were so small, so attentive and yet so musical. 
As we exited the church, we were met by Gunder and the kids. We were kind of hungry because of our early morning and the length of the performance, so Erik suggested ice cream “It’s the best in Vienna, we’ve taste tested,” he said smiling. And it was. The choices looked so creamy and endless, and as I looked up at the menu board, I noticed that there was a “Soja” Glutenfrei und Laktosefrei” section. I couldn’t believe it! Although it came packed into a little cup, the strawberry hazelnut combination was delicious, with just as creamy of a texture as the dairy filled ice cream. We sat on the benches outside enjoying our treat and taking in the sights and sounds. After we finished, we boarded a “tourist tram” that was conveniently right behind where we were sitting. This cute little red tram circled the city showing us the major sites. It was a great way to get an overall feel and sense of the city. About 45 minutes later we ended up back at the departure point, and as we went back into the ice cream parlor to use the restroom Erik said “How about ice cream?” we laughed, thinking he was joking but as we emerged we saw him gleefully eating another ice cream cone with his kids. We laughed and Gunder roles her eyes saying, “Yes, I married him”. After a minute of pondering Jolin and I decided to follow suite, when else where we going to have the chance to eat the best ice cream in Vienna twice in one day? Also, the rarity of having a soy option was worth the indulgence. The pecan noisette combination was glorious. While enjoying our ice cream we decided to take a walk, seeing some of the sights we couldn’t quite get a picture of while riding the tram-such as city hall, the university, and the famous garden. This garden is famous for its thousands of roses, and when in bloom is supposed to be stunning (we were a bit early in the season to see the full extent of its potential beauty.) While walking through some of these sights, it struck me how green and plant filled Vienna seemed to be, and Gunder even remarked “ I like how Vienna has trees and plants, unlike many other cites.” 
We ended our walk right in front of the opera house, just in time for a tour. Jolin, Megan, Erik and I took a fascinating English tour of one of the most famous opera houses in the world. This opera house was incredibly ornate, and quite diverse-each intermission room having its own theme and different style. There was a statue of Gustav Mahler, who had been a director there for a while and another bust of the man who traditionalized the performance of opera in its original language. Apparently opera used to be performed in the vernacular, but when singers started traveling and performing outside of their own country, it became necessary. As our tour guide said “We had our chorus singing in German and the soloists singing in Italian, which didn’t work so well.” Although this opera house had been partially destroyed in WWII, it was rebuilt and continues to be a central part of Viennese life. What I found most impressive and inspiring about this opera house is that they are the only opera house in the world that has a changing program every night. Since they have hundreds of operas and 11 ballets each year, changing the sets, costumes and cast is quite time and economically costly. However there are many opera fans that go to almost all he performances each week, and the signature changing program keeps drawing them in. In fact, the house is always full and has an AVERAGE of 98% occupancy rate. My mind immediately went back to my two summers as the box office assistant of the PMF, and how stunningly low the occupancy is with a seemingly full audience. I wondered, how can it be full occupancy here, while other venues are significantly less filled? From my anthropological perspective, I think that it is due to a number of factors. For one, it is known to be one of, if not the best cities for music in the world. The history is rich with musicians and composers like Mozart and Mahler who graced Vienna with their presence. They market to traditionalists and younger audiences alike, with the diverse programming and the 3-250 Euro range in ticket prices, music can be affordable to all. Plus, due to the cost intensive day-to-day program change, the ticket prices only cover 45% of the operating costs. 55% of the cost is funded by the state; even the state supports the arts!
After our tour of the opera house, we wandered down the street to have a quick “lunch”. After a tasty salad Jolin, Megan and I decided to start waiting in line for the 3 Euro standing room opera/Ballet tickets. These student priced tickets are hot commodities and people wait in line for a while so that they can be there as soon as the box office opens. We were fortunately able to snag the tickets for Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet”, the ballet that was being shown that evening. We then quickly grabbed some coffee to boost our energy to stand through the ballet.
The standing room scene was both lovely and slightly frustrating. Since it is an old opera house, there are some poles, which can obstruct your view if you’re not careful. People cram into the center or the sides, trying to get the best view they can. As soon as the lights went off and the ballet started, the ushers would close the doors and exit. As soon as the door swung shut people started sneaking out into the walkway to sit on the steps to sneakily watch in peace, however the usher then would open the door and “usher” everyone back into the allotted standing room. After the first time, most people stayed put, but there were a few people who kept rebelliously venturing out and the usher would continue to pop in, give dirty looks and ushering them back into place. Besides the fact that we had to stand, it was still a wonderful and fun experience. The music was fantastic, and seemed to perfectly fit the story. The dancers were magnificent and not only danced beautifully, but really embodied the characters, like true artists. 
Monday May 4th 2009:
The next day we woke slowly, had a leisurely breakfast and then headed out to the open aired market. Gunder kindly took the day off of work to walk and experience more of Vienna with us. At the market, we walked along many venders selling all kinds of fresh produce and other non-edible items like soap and jewelry. We ran into two different “biologique” stores and for the first time, I was able to purchase a GF/DF cookie out of a glass case! In addition, they had “carobella” which was a GF/DF version of the famous “Nutella”. I could now be a true European!
After the market we went to probably one of my favorite museums I have ever been to. “Haus der Musik” was a three story, interactive museum about—music! The first floor was about the history and music of the Vienna philharmonic, including a mini movie theatre of their 2009 New Years Eve concert and even a dice rolling composing center. The second floor was very modern in style, but as you walked through the rooms they told the story of the auditory pathway and musical perception via interactive computers, games and large models. We learned all about the dopler effect, the Shepard scale, and the resonant frequencies. This floor I found quite fascinating and extensive, and made me excited for the research that I would be doing this summer. The third floor was a walk through history and lives of the most famous Viennese composers. We were issued an audio guide and each room was filled with the relics and history starting with Haydn, then Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, and a final room of the Second Viennese school (Schoenberg, Berg and Webern.) Each room was different atmospherically (they played the music of the specific composer) fascinating, and filled with information. I was quite content and left pondering the different aspects of music as we walked out of the museum. 
Next stop was the famous Viennese Ferris wheel. We road in an old style car and saw a beautiful view of Vienna while enjoying a small picnic. After the Ferris Wheel we took the metro across town to see Schonberg Palace, the home of the Cici and Franz Joseph. The gardens were beautiful, large and quite “royal”. It started to rain so we took a tour of the palace and see how the Viennese royalty lived. We saw the rooms and learned of the fascinating history from the Hapsburgs to Franz Joseph and Cici. Maria Theresea (mother of the famous Marie Antoinette) Hapsburg was quite politically astute and was left in charge of many affairs. She was the first to hear Mozart as a young child and it was fun to walk through the parlor where he first played for her at age 10. Emperor Franz Joseph was an incredibly hard worker, spending much time at his desk and receiving hundreds of people expressing their civic concerns each week. It is said that he never forgot a name or a face. His wife Cici was not particularly fond of him and spent most of her time away and traveling.
After the Palace we went to drop of Jolin at the bus station. Before she left we gave Gunder a gift we had picked up during the day. The entire weekend they not only provided us with a place to stay but also gave us food, showed us around and wouldn’t let us pay for anything saying, “You’ve won the Vienna Scholarship, there is nothing to be done.” Despite her kindness and our eagerness to thank her, she was still reluctant to accept the gift. After Jolin departed Megan, Gunder and I headed back to the house. After dinner, Erik kindly took me to the train station. As Gunder said “He should take you, you two bonded over the Vienna Simmering train station mishap.”
