Vienna is a fickle, fickle lover. In my last post, I wrote about my occasional homesickness and frustration with the city – how I felt spurned by it when all I wanted was to be loved. And then we have a day like today, that is truly magical, and I find she is calling me back, making me doubt my previous frustrations as just a passing fancy. Women.
For those of you who regularly read my blog, I apologize now because I’ll be going out of order chronologically for the next couple of posts. It’s quite simple. I started a post on the Gus Gus techno-soul concert after hours at work today, and then proceeded to forget to send it to myself at home. I’m lazy and I don’t want to have to rewrite that post, but I promise that post will be up on Monday or Tuesday. But I digress…
It really is amazing to see how different Vienna is in spring/summertime compared to winter. People are more friendly (well, as friendly as the Viennese can be), and the city comes alive – and goes outside. Cafes extend out onto the large, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, and the exceedingly mild evening temperatures encourage you to stay outdoors as long as you can. And springtime also marks the beginning of a multitude of outdoor festivals, all of them free and open to all.
Last weekend we experienced Stadt Fest, or City Fest, an outdoor music and performing arts festival hosted by the city that took over the entire 1st district. In addition to the accomplished musical groups who performed (including a fantastic Argentinian quartet), we were treated to unique German covers of American songs, such as John Denver’s “Country Road.” For some reason they chose to sing the chorus in English (or Engrisch) and the rest of the song in German, so interspersed with German you’d hear “West Virginia, Mountain Mama, Take me Home, Country Road.” Guess that just doesn’t translate well into German. Stadt Fest also featured an inordinate amount of mimes (who knew Vienna had so many invisible boxes?), and an array of performance artists who could have been the inspiration for Mike Myers’ SNL skit “Sprockets.” In spite of the… avante garde performance elements, it’s a city that truly values music and the arts, and it’s refreshing. For instance, at Michaelerplatz, in front of the Hofburg Palace, easels and tables full of a variety of paints were set up, and they were handing out canvases for free, encouraging anyone who wished to pick up a paint brush and let out their inner Klimt. It was incredible to see people young and old express themselves through painting. It’s hard to imagine a city in the US that would do such a thing (for free!) for its residents.
And tonight kicked off the summer festival season in Vienna, with an immense concert (ala Central Park) in front of the Rat Haus or City Hall -- all for free. The featured performers included Bobby McFerrin, the Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra, a famous Austrian musician known for fusing traditional Austrian folk music with Arabic and French influences, and 200 ‘kinder wieners’ (no, not mini sausages, just Viennese kids) doing an interpretive dance on the planets. In typical German/Austrian fashion, the concert was well organized, clean, and thoughtfully laid out so it could be enjoyed by all, with large HD screens showing the concert to the masses and also showing what the concert looked like to the folks watching it live on TV back home. The Rat Haus and the surrounding buildings were lit up in alternating colors, making the already regal buildings look even more spectacular. Of course this is the night I left my camera at home, or else I would have pictures to show you what all of this looked like – words can’t begin to do it justice. Nor will I be able to adequately explain the concert itself. Highlights for me included seeing Bobby McFerrin perform live with the Philharmonic and this Austrian musician, doing his incredible vocal work to imitate instruments during Bach’s Symphony No. 5. It was a bit odd to see him, just because when I think of him I think of his albums from 1986, and I forget that 20 years have passed and he’s aged just like the rest of us. The 200-youth dance troupe performance (in four acts) was quite interesting, and for Todd and the 12-year old in all of us, the highlight was their interpretive dance for the planet Uranus, “The Magician.” Yes, Uranus really is magical.
Following the concert, the eight of us made the easy walk over to the Museums Quartier to grab a drink, and as we started walking it began raining very lightly. With the high humidity and warm summer evening it felt very refreshing, and even a little romantic. And as we walked past the enormous monument to Queen Maria Theresa in the deserted museum square, we saw a temporary pool and fountain set up. Right as we walked beside the fountain, it came alive (momentarily scaring the shit out of all us), and erupted into huge, dramatic waterspouts, alternating in colors and swaying to a silent beat. For those of you who have seen the water show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, this is the closest thing I can compare it to. We spoke to the technicians and found out that one of the museums was having a private corporate event the following night, and the fountain was part of the entertainment. We got treated to a beautiful dress rehearsal show, and it was even more special because for about half of the people in our group, they had never seen anything like this in their lives.
When we reached our final destination, a little beisl (or beer garden) a few minutes walk from our apartment, we relaxed and the enjoyed the company of the great group of friends we’ve made here. We’re our own mini UN -- hailing from Tanzania, Finland, Spain, Germany, Australia, Ukraine, Italy, and Austria – and I am grateful that I’ve been able to meet these people and develop such fast friendships in a city that is, for most of us, far from home. They’ll never replace the incredible friends we have at home, but they reinforce the universality of the human experience, and that no matter where you are, you can find some kindred souls.
For those of you who regularly read my blog, I apologize now because I’ll be going out of order chronologically for the next couple of posts. It’s quite simple. I started a post on the Gus Gus techno-soul concert after hours at work today, and then proceeded to forget to send it to myself at home. I’m lazy and I don’t want to have to rewrite that post, but I promise that post will be up on Monday or Tuesday. But I digress…
It really is amazing to see how different Vienna is in spring/summertime compared to winter. People are more friendly (well, as friendly as the Viennese can be), and the city comes alive – and goes outside. Cafes extend out onto the large, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, and the exceedingly mild evening temperatures encourage you to stay outdoors as long as you can. And springtime also marks the beginning of a multitude of outdoor festivals, all of them free and open to all.
Last weekend we experienced Stadt Fest, or City Fest, an outdoor music and performing arts festival hosted by the city that took over the entire 1st district. In addition to the accomplished musical groups who performed (including a fantastic Argentinian quartet), we were treated to unique German covers of American songs, such as John Denver’s “Country Road.” For some reason they chose to sing the chorus in English (or Engrisch) and the rest of the song in German, so interspersed with German you’d hear “West Virginia, Mountain Mama, Take me Home, Country Road.” Guess that just doesn’t translate well into German. Stadt Fest also featured an inordinate amount of mimes (who knew Vienna had so many invisible boxes?), and an array of performance artists who could have been the inspiration for Mike Myers’ SNL skit “Sprockets.” In spite of the… avante garde performance elements, it’s a city that truly values music and the arts, and it’s refreshing. For instance, at Michaelerplatz, in front of the Hofburg Palace, easels and tables full of a variety of paints were set up, and they were handing out canvases for free, encouraging anyone who wished to pick up a paint brush and let out their inner Klimt. It was incredible to see people young and old express themselves through painting. It’s hard to imagine a city in the US that would do such a thing (for free!) for its residents.
And tonight kicked off the summer festival season in Vienna, with an immense concert (ala Central Park) in front of the Rat Haus or City Hall -- all for free. The featured performers included Bobby McFerrin, the Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra, a famous Austrian musician known for fusing traditional Austrian folk music with Arabic and French influences, and 200 ‘kinder wieners’ (no, not mini sausages, just Viennese kids) doing an interpretive dance on the planets. In typical German/Austrian fashion, the concert was well organized, clean, and thoughtfully laid out so it could be enjoyed by all, with large HD screens showing the concert to the masses and also showing what the concert looked like to the folks watching it live on TV back home. The Rat Haus and the surrounding buildings were lit up in alternating colors, making the already regal buildings look even more spectacular. Of course this is the night I left my camera at home, or else I would have pictures to show you what all of this looked like – words can’t begin to do it justice. Nor will I be able to adequately explain the concert itself. Highlights for me included seeing Bobby McFerrin perform live with the Philharmonic and this Austrian musician, doing his incredible vocal work to imitate instruments during Bach’s Symphony No. 5. It was a bit odd to see him, just because when I think of him I think of his albums from 1986, and I forget that 20 years have passed and he’s aged just like the rest of us. The 200-youth dance troupe performance (in four acts) was quite interesting, and for Todd and the 12-year old in all of us, the highlight was their interpretive dance for the planet Uranus, “The Magician.” Yes, Uranus really is magical.
Following the concert, the eight of us made the easy walk over to the Museums Quartier to grab a drink, and as we started walking it began raining very lightly. With the high humidity and warm summer evening it felt very refreshing, and even a little romantic. And as we walked past the enormous monument to Queen Maria Theresa in the deserted museum square, we saw a temporary pool and fountain set up. Right as we walked beside the fountain, it came alive (momentarily scaring the shit out of all us), and erupted into huge, dramatic waterspouts, alternating in colors and swaying to a silent beat. For those of you who have seen the water show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, this is the closest thing I can compare it to. We spoke to the technicians and found out that one of the museums was having a private corporate event the following night, and the fountain was part of the entertainment. We got treated to a beautiful dress rehearsal show, and it was even more special because for about half of the people in our group, they had never seen anything like this in their lives.
When we reached our final destination, a little beisl (or beer garden) a few minutes walk from our apartment, we relaxed and the enjoyed the company of the great group of friends we’ve made here. We’re our own mini UN -- hailing from Tanzania, Finland, Spain, Germany, Australia, Ukraine, Italy, and Austria – and I am grateful that I’ve been able to meet these people and develop such fast friendships in a city that is, for most of us, far from home. They’ll never replace the incredible friends we have at home, but they reinforce the universality of the human experience, and that no matter where you are, you can find some kindred souls.
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