Week 1

This week I've managed to get to know most of Vienna via train, foot and bike.  I love the fact that there are so many bike paths and bike rental stations here, it makes sight-seeing much easier.  I rented a bike on Monday for several hours, and rode around "the Ring" which is a road that circles around the Inner part of the city where the opera house, Stephansdom, museums and touristy sights are.  It was so much fun but wow am I out of shape!  If you want to ride your bike, you can't just take a relaxing stroll around the city on the paths, at least not in this part of town.  The bikers here mean serious business and fly by dinging their bell to alert you.  In the parts without bike lanes, you ride on the street and you better be moving as fast as traffic, obeying traffic lights and using hand signals!  Here I am riding happily on my bike and the bike lane ends.  CRAP.  I gotta ride with traffic now.  In rush hour.  So I'm pedaling as fast as I can breathing in the dry air, struggling to keep up, as the muscles in my thighs are giving in and my butt hurting from the "cushioned" seat that feels like a rock.  Traffic started getting heavy and I was not about to try and weave in and out of traffic, but I tried for about a block and lost my flip flop, so I had to stop turn around and get it. Total mess. All I could think was "wow good thing I don't have a big American flag flying in the wind on my bike."  Then I would surely be honked and laughed at.  So I just walked with my bike the rest of the blocks until the bike path returned. I'll be taking a bike to class every morning because there isn't a train (U-bahn) or street-tram (S-bahn) that can connect me so I'll be walking or biking on the small side streets, so I'll definitely be getting my exercise since there aren't any mountains nearby to climb!  I was told that the last of the alps actually ends in Vienna which is a pretty sight but nothing grand, it looks more like Sugarloaf or smaller.

I've met some interesting people while out this week.  If the Erasmus students don't go out in the evenings, I try and at least go to a cafe/bar to get out and watch one of the World Cup games.  For some reason, I feel very comfortable sitting alone.  And at each place after about fifteen minutes, someone always comes up and starts chatting.  I guess a girl sitting alone seems to be an open invitation to come up and start a conversation.  But they've all been interesting people, all Austrian, and I get an opportunity to carry on the conversation in German and ask them about themselves and opinions of the U.S. and so on.  They're always so surprised and intrigued when I tell them I'm from the states, whether they've visited the U.S. or not.  Many people have these expected preconceived notions and comments about America and Americans:
-the typical "Americans are fat and lazy" (but they all laugh and are aware that these are only stereotypes, which stem from all the Fast Food chains and the fact that we are unable to walk to our destinations)
-that we see a lot of famous people
-U.S. spends billions of dollars on wars and "nothing" and always like to get involved in world affairs
-the debt that the U.S. has
-Americans are open-minded and friendly
-America has no culture
-why you can't drink alcohol until 21
-Americans think the world is theirs
-knowing an American who knows a second language aside from English is always surprising
-Americans don't know their geography

I could go on and on but those are just an expected few on the list that each person names.  In the end, the people I meet always have many questions to ask and are obviously interested and intrigued for a reason despite any prejudices or stereotypes they may have (I always remain neutral and never take sides.) The conversation always ends with them seeming to have a different perspective or learned something new.  I remember meeting people last summer who had radical opinions about the States until they had the chance to visit the country, which is when their minds completely changed (for the better.)  The states is definitely a whole different world away from any other place on the globe, naturally, but Austria, and Europe, is much more liberal and democratic.  All in all, the conversations are always insightful and give me a feeling of American pride and appreciation for the U.S.  I am very complimentary of Austria and refer to it as "my second home" which they enjoy and are surprised to hear.  Although I seem to have the same redundant conversation with a person every night, at least the types of people I've talked to have kept it interesting. This week I've met: a Russian bartender who worked in Ocean City, MD for several years, a Tennis sports columnist who travels back and forth to NYC, a teacher in an Austrian elementary school, and a business man who is a professional palm reader (http://www.alcazane.de)

Last night I got a $10 ticket to see the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Vienna Opera House (Wien Staatsoper.)  My seat was great, I had a box seat on the side in the third row, partially obstructed view but if I stood I had a view of almost the whole stage.  Not bad at all for the money.  The lead singer was an American who is friends with a teacher I worked with last summer (I found out on Facebook) and the coloratura soprano, Zerbinetta, reminded me so much of my voice teacher, Brooke, back home.  The color of her voice was so similar and her looks were too.  The set onstage was beautifully creative and unique, and the opera house itself was full of gold and mirrors inside with Renaissance architecture.  I'm seeing a 5.5 hour opera by Wagner on Wednesday, hopefully I'll be able to sit through it for that long.  The box seat ticket I got for that was $15 with an even better view than the last. Only in Europe can you see an opera for that cheap.

I'll be posting pictures soon!

Settled in Vienna

  Everything has been awesome in Vienna so far. My room mate, Nerea, is from Spain and is an Erasmus student-the European Union student-exchange program.  She introduced me to her other Erasmus friends from Holland, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and they've shown me around and taken me out with them wherever they've gone.  

 The first night I was here we went to the Danube river at sunset which was absolutely gorgeous.  The first two days I've passed by different parts of the Danube by train or wherever, and it is full of people at all hours of the day, just laying out, swimming, relaxing, playing volleyball and whatever else until it gets dark around 9:30 or so. The last two nights we've been watching some of the World Cup games.  Last night we went to a totally packed biergarten to watch Spain against Holland; there are several students from Spain and Holland here so it was definitely high-energy.  All the Erasmus students I've met so far speak at least three languages-their mother tongue, English and German, and perhaps another one.  So there's always back and forth with all different languages, I love it.  It’s been so much fun and I feel like I’ve known them for years, can’t believe I’ve only been here three days.  It’ll be sad when they leave after the semester ends in two weeks but I know when my German classes start in a week I’ll be meeting more people again.  Everyone’s so friendly, open and nice (the Erasmus students and other people that we meet at a restaurant or on the street or train or wherever.)  The city is absolutely gorgeous and there’s so many music festivals and events going on all the time.  In the center of the city there are tons of museums and a huge park, and two of my Erasmus friends (Martin and Anna) walked me through the city the first night, and we walked through: a gay pride festival party in front of the castle-like town hall, a techno concert in a tent in the center park, and open-air square inside the museum of natural history, where people go (especially at night) with their beer and lay on these S-shaped curved benches that are made for people to lay on and simply relax with their friends or significant other.  Everyone is outside at all hours, whether it's in the parks or cafes, all enjoying the gorgeous weather and the city at this time of year.

  Today we’re going to the Danube to have a picnic and everyone’s bringing something, so I’m making All-American peanut butter and jelly sandwiches since no one has ever had one!

Berlin

Brandenburg Gate:

Wall:

Berlin dome:

Frankfurt am Main

There are two large cities in Germany named "Frankfurt", but the more well-known one is "Frankfurt am Main" - a city on the Main river, about an hour south of Cologne on the west side of Germany.  It is a huge financial center and is known as being one of the few cities that chose to completely rebuild instead of restore everything after the damage of the World Wars, which is why there are lots of modern, shiny, high skyscrapers (with rich businessmen flying by in their loud Mercedes sports cars.)  But then you turn a corner and you are brought back to the old, European charm with the classic architecture and squares.

Bridge from Old Town looking over the river

Frankfurt Opera House:

Square in old town, you can see the skyscrapers across the skyline of the roofs of the old buildings:

The only thing that would make this picture look more fake is a rainbow across the sky:

Cologne (Koeln): where the German and Koelsch bier is smooth and pure

Square at main station and Dom:

The Famous "Dom" Church:

Koelsch bier (Gaffel brewery): the beer of Cologne that is served in this size and type of glass only in every restaurant and bar:

The Turkish neighborhood street outside my hostel:

Awesome cafe we went to around the corner from the hostel for Brunch and coffee:

My favorite square of restaurants and cafes:

Hochscule fuer Musik:

What I try to limit myself from eating every night in every city:

Schrebergärten

    All over Germany and Austria there are these little plots of land subdivided into gardens with a little sheds in every plot.  I've seen them throughout every town on the train rides between cities, and they almost resemble well-maintained shantytowns or communes with gardens and there's always one or two flagpoles in the center with the German flag and another flag.  I couldn't figure out what they were until today. They are called "Schrebergärten" (literal translation: Schreber garden) which are alotments of land for people to use for a small annual fee that allow them to grow fresh crops or flowers, and the little shacks are simply tool sheds.  These types of gardens are common and popular all over Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  The first originated in Leipzig during one of the World Wars as a form of food security for people, but were also known for the poor using them to grow their own food. These little Schrebergärten are so darn CUTE and they are everywhere.

   Wikipedia on Schrebergärten:  socio-cultural and economic functions of allotment gardens: "offers an improved quality of life, an enjoyable and profitable hobby, relaxation, and contact with nature. For children, gardens offer places to play and to learn about nature, while for the unemployed, they offer a feeling of doing something useful as well as low-cost food. For the elderly and disabled, gardens offer an opportunity to meet people, to share in activity with like-minded people, and to experience activities like planting and harvesting."  Ill try and get a pic of one of these as I pass by them again on the train.

The first of many No's

Whelp, I was not one of the chosen ones for Dresden, Leipzig or Cologne.  I came here knowing that there was more of a chance that I’d be rejected than accepted, and it’s only the first few “no’s” of many that I’ll hear of course.  My Leipzig audition was better than Dresden's, and I think a teacher even cracked a smile (so she probably wasn't from Germany), but it was much more difficult to understand their German dialect at the start when I walked in, so it was a rocky start but I felt better with it being my second audition. Very much get in-get out.  Unfortunately Leipzig nor Cologne gave students feedback as Dresden did.  The committee at Dresden sat the students down before and after the auditions for 1-2 minutes for convo in German, and afterwards gave some pretty blunt criticisms on what they thought about your voice, but it's definitely something to appreciate and value to a point, and the things that were pointed out were things I already am aware that I need to work on.

The audition at Cologne was like a train station at rush hour, so many people and only six practice rooms available for probably around 200 singers to warm up in, definitely one of the more typical/crazy audition settings.  I got one for ten minutes before my audition and then it was time for the next singer’s ten minutes of use.  I was much less nervous and almost care fee mind set because of the chaos and because of the rejections at the last two schools, so I felt my auditions have improved with each school which was a goal of mine.  

The only person who spoke decent German or English around me at the Cologne audition was a girl from Iceland who happened to go to Westminster Choir College of Rider University in New Jersey for her undergrad.  I attended the school's summer voice program in Florence, Italy four years ago and she and I knew the same teachers and singer friends.  Small world.  She said she randomly decided to go to Stuttgart, Germany for a month.  She auditioned for some gigs, and ended up staying in Germany longer than expected, and is involved in some concerts coming up and has been jumping around Germany depending on where her auditions and performances are.  We wished each other luck, and went on our merry ways.

In Leipzig, I had a coffee with one of the music students.  He told me that the singers who get in and graduate from the Masters Programs almost always get jobs in the local opera houses in the city which may also be a reason why these schools accept an average of 5 or less people a year. So from hearing a few of the singers here and knowing the grad students have basically a set career ahead of them after their Masters (unlike the states), it's not a surprise.  Some of the singers I've heard sounded like professionals already, and maybe less than about 10% of the people at these auditions are from non-Asian countries.  Overall, it seems that if you’re not at the start of your professional opera career, then forget auditioning for your Masters in Europe.

I have auditions left in Berlin and Frankfurt towards the end of June, then there's two schools in Austria that I can audition at in September if I decide to.  These auditions are definitely what I needed as far as real-world learning experiences, and am glad I can see and experience it now rather than later.

I've never been so excited to get a good night's sleep as I have tonight now that this first week is over.  I was staying in the a hostel in the Turkish hood in Cologne the past two nights, and got about 3 hours of sleep between the hours of 4 and 5 am and 9 to 11 am. The trend of my stays this past week has happened to be hostel-hotel-hostel-hotel, a perfect balance that makes you appreciate comfort and silence after staying in a hostel, especially when it's across the street from a cell phone shop, still open at midnight, with the owner behind the counter drinking beer, "talking" at the top of his lungs with his buddies.

Visiting Frankfurt for the next two days and then to Berlin!

Leipzig

Town Square:

Big gorgeous park/river in the city:

Leipzig Hochschule für Musik:

Leipzig Oper:

Windmills are all over the place in the countryside: