Day 33
Music is unifying, but it is often in daily life it is most useful as an icebreaker. Today we were given a tour of Vienna by a friend of my mom’s. Katharine and my mother were introduced by a mutual friend of theirs electronically. When my mom had mentioned that she was going to be in Vienna, her friend insisted that she contact Katharine. Ironically, Katharine spent a year in Vancouver last year, and even worked at the UBC school of music for a month. Yet, because of conflicting schedules, until today, we had never met. Katharine and her partner Gerda are both administrators for the Music and Fine Arts university here in Vienna. After a certain about of direction trouble, we eventually made it to the university to meet Katharine. I want to state for the record that I love my campus. UBC is stunning and I am so privileged to perform in places like the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, or the recital hall at UBC. However, while the music building has a lot of… character…. It shows its age. The brand new buildings of the vienna university are amazing. The rooms still have that “new car smell” and are fully equipped to handle the 3000+ students of music, drama, and film and over 900 professors and teachers. After a short tour of the campus we hopped on the sbahn, and went to Musikverein, the major concert hall of Vienna. Run by Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien, this large concert hall complex is home to the Wierner Philharmonic. The building houses over 900 concerts in a ten month season in 4 theatres. The most famous, the Golden Hall, is an icon of the classical music world. Some of my favourite recordings and performances have happened here, and I was sitting just a few feet away from the stage! After the concert hall we went for lunch and we were joined by Gerda. After an amazing lunch we walked to the staatsoper. Once again, a truly iconic institution. Some of the best operatic performances of all time happened on that stage. While the tour didn’t cover more than a 10th of the building, we were given the opportunity to walk through the intermission gallerias, to go on the side of the stage, to stand in the pit, and even look inside the prompters box. The stage is astoundingly big, and the lobby is beautiful. I restrained myself, and didn’t sing at any part of the tour, but damn I hope I can go back one day. We walked from the opera to a cafe in the centre of town. We got to sit outside, drink coffee and tea, eat cake, and chat about Canada, and Vienna, Music and opera, and travel plans. After our pause, we headed to the MuseumQuatier to see a museum of architecture. The museums are amazing. A large open plaza with every type of museum just steps away. After a visit of the “Best Buildings in Europe”, we went and had dinner in a Heurige. A cross between bar and restaurant, these outdoor wineries sell their own home-brewed wine, and tapas like food. The wine was great, the company unbeatable, and the food was delicious. Not a tourist in sight, other than us. We were surround by locals, always the best place to be. After we finished our meal, we walked to the town hall to check out the Film Festival. Every year outside the town hall, the city constructs a massive screen, and a city of tents. They show either a movie, ballet, concert, or an opera, every night. You come around 8, get a drink, or get dinner from one of the 30 or more food vendors, and then around 9 go and watch the movie. after strolling around the festival, we walked to the ubahn, and said goodbye to our amazing tour guides. Almost 12 hours after we started our tour, we said arrived back at the apartment, exhausted, but thrilled. We were incredibly lucky to have such wonderful tour guides today. Their enthusiasm for the city, for music, and for sharing their knowledge (and time) was incredible. It was so amazing to get to see a locals view of Vienna, a city which truly boggles my mind. The way the city funds and represents the arts is astounding, but it’s not in a obnoxious way. Universities are incredibly well funded. Tuition is free for anyone in the EU, and not expensive even for international students. This carries on to the long tradition of culture places like Vienna. Opera, dance, music, art, theatre, these things are just simply ingrained in the streets. You are not a snob for liking opera here. Tickets range from pricy to dirt cheap, and so everyone is given the opportunity to experience what the city has to offer. This by far stands out as one of my favourite days of my trip here. It has also only served to increase my love of this city. After today I can very easily see myself living, studying, or working here. The pace of the city is wonderful, and 5 euro tickets for one of the greatest orchestras in the world is pretty nice too. Tomorrow we go on a day trip to Melk, just outside of the city.