Salzburger Festspiele

We've been so "busy" relaxing here we haven't had a chance to really sit down and write a proper update. Henni has a new computer and new broadband internet connection which Michael is VERY excited about--he's basically taken over the computer. So...what have we been up to?

08-28-04
Saturday morning we took the train to Salzburg with Omi. It was a beautiful day for a trip through the area and we got some nice shots of typical Austrian farmhouses along the way. (Omi also especially enjoyed the "Safterl" that we brought with us.)

After checking into Hotel Neutor and enjoying a complimentary glass of champagne, we headed out for a pre-opera dinner at Hotel Blaue Gans (The Blue Goose). This was the hotel where Megan and her mom stayed 18 years ago during a short trip to Salzburg, and is also right next door to the Goldener Hirsch, where Sanna and David celebrated their wedding.

The Salzburger Festspiele (Salzburg Festival) takes place every summer from the end of July to the end of August, and is a really big deal here in Austria. Megan had been once before in 1992 to see the famous 'Jedermann' play with Omi, Opi, Alexa and Roland. This time we saw Richard Strauss' Opera 'Der Rosenkavalier'. It was a beautiful performance and it was great to be able to follow along with the supertitles in both German and English. It was also a lot of fun to see all of the Salzburg high society dressed in their finest. Of course mixed in with all the women in fancy ballgowns there was also the American lady who sat down next to us dressed in her Myrtle Beach sweatshirt. She and her son arrived two hours late and missed the entire first act because she thought 18:00 meant eight o'clock.

08-29-04
The next morning, after a delicious breakfast in the hotel, Omi treated us to a carriage ride around the city. It was a great way to see the sights and learn a bit more about them. (Although I did keep waiting--to no avail--for the driver to point out the oldest bakery in Salzburg, or was it Austria? Remember Mama?) Michael's trying to upload a short video clip that we took from the carriage.

We then rode the Festungsbahn up to the fortress for a nice view of the city and a yummy lunch of Griessnockerl Suppe (dumpling soup) and Salzburger Nockerl (a regional specialty that's a bit soufflé-like, see photo). We made it back down in time for the concert in the Felsenreitschule. The Attersee Institute Orchestra played pieces from Mendelssohn, Hummel, and de Falla. It was another beautiful performance. One of the violinists got so into the music that she lost her grip on the bow and it went flying out into the audience. A guy in the first row had to pick it up and hand it back to her.

As we mentioned in the photo, the Felsenreitschule is the setting for one of the scenes in Sound of Music. For those of you who haven't seen the movie at least 50 times like Alexa and Megan have, it's the part where the whole family sings in the concert and then sneaks away so that the father doesn't have to go fight for the Nazis.

After the concert, we stopped by the Blaue Gans one more time for a little snack, and then headed to the train station for the ride back to Linz (this time in the rain). It really was a beautiful weekend. Thank you Omi! And thank you Henni for organizing it all!

This evening we're heading into town for a wine festival that's going on, and then tomorrow morning we're driving with Henni and Junior (the dog) to Hinterglemm for a weekend of hiking. Stayed tuned for more updates and pictures from our night out on the town with Roland and his friends.

Love,
Megan and Michael