Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while...I’m just a little overwhelmed right now! I’m having so much fun here, there’s so much to do, so much to take in... It’s amazing. I sometimes feel like I’m doing a bad job of documenting ...I have to remind myself to just enjoy it and take it all in.
So, recap of the past few days:
Sunday we sang in St Stephen’s in Vienna, which is super famous and incredibly beautiful and HUGE! We sang the mass that morning, which was a really cool experience.
Then we had the afternoon to spend in Vienna, which was pretty much a bust--no stores are open on Sundays. But the cafés are, so we had a nice lunch and walked around for a while, went to Starbucks (I know, right? I’m such an American it’s ridiculous. Most expensive latte of my life, lemme tell ya. 4.90 Euro for a soy mocha? Seriously? But so worth it)... Then we hopped on the bus back to Eisenstadt, where Chorale had a concert to perform. It was amazing. Really fabulous singing, if I may say so (I think I can, right? It’s not like I sang alone...). It was pretty bittersweet, though, because it was our last time singing together as a group--about half of our group has now graduated or are leaving...I’m not good with goodbyes. That part was not a pleasure.{sigh} I’m going to miss them.
Monday we had the morning off for napping and generally relaxing, which was very nice. We had a concert in Jennersdorf, which is an adorable town about two hours from Eisenstadt. During intermission of the concert we all were standing in the courtyard of this church, and there were bats EVERYWHERE! I have never been so petrified in my life. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was freaky. They were flying and swooping right over our heads... I did not like it. I wish I had a picture of that.
Naturally, I got no pictures of the church, just the flowers. They were quite pretty:
Yesterday was our day off. I couldn’t decide what to do, part of me just wanted to sleep all day... but I forced myself to go out, and I’m so glad I did. We took a little afternoon trip to a cute town called Rust. There’s a lake there where we sat at a cafe for a while, then rented some paddle boats. I had a wonderful time...despite the sunburn (...take that, Julie). Afterwards, we went and had a beer while some friends waited for the bus, then went to a little Heurige for dinner and some wine. It was a wonderful day, although, I will admit that I’m a tad jealous of Kaitlin’s trip to Vienna to see Diana Damrau in Die Zauberflöte...
Now I’m sitting in my room, eating my favorite candy (I swear, I’m coming back to the states 5 lbs. heavier, and it’s all gummy bear weight)
gazing at the disaster in front of me, watching the Olympics and thinking about how much I don’t want to pack.
So, yes, that’s about it for now. Today we have a rehearsal for our big gala concert in the Schloss tomorrow, and we have the night free. I can’t believe I’m going home in a few short days! I’m ready, though. I miss you people.
And Qdoba. I REALLY miss Qdoba.
Special thanks go out to Lydia, who is a champ at focusing (ah, beloved 50mm 1.8...so lovely except for the fact that it won't autofocus on my d40...). Lord knows that Owen and Shelley could not do half as well. I reciprocated by taking a few fun pics of Anna and Lydia for facebook and such...
Funny girls. Anyway, I'm now home for Christmas, sitting here on the family computer, watching my gimpy baby sister hobble around the kitchen making Chips and Cheese. Poor baby, she dislocated her knee this week. But, still looking good for the Christmas Card pic-- you'd never even know!
Oh, and for the record, for those of you lucky enough to be on the Christmas card list, I'm not posting the official shot... that would ruin the surprise, sillies! You'll just have to wait a few more days for the precious card to come to you via the US postal service, like in olden days.
