Church and Museums = Best Day

Sunday morning Tina, Karla, Professor Lowe, and I went to church at St. Augustine’s Cathedral. The church was absolutely gorgeous, as was the music! There was a phenomenal organist and orchestra, which by the way, all the musicians came from the Vienna Philharmonic! How fabulous is that?! I think we should adopt that policy for all of the churches in America. 

After church we went to grab a quick bite to eat and I got my sacher torte. Of course.

Then we went by the opera house where visitors were being admitted for free as long as you had a ticket. We went up to one doorman and he said that all the tickets had already been distributed and that we were out of luck. But we weren’t going to give up just yet. We went around to another entrance and the lady guarding the door said she had four tickets that we could use! Score!  The opera house is heavenly inside. We got to sit in on the Vienna Philharmonic’s rehearsal of the Nibelungen Ring opera. Those singers were remarkable. They just filled up the space completely with sound.  

Then we went to see some dancers from the Vienna ballet rehearse Anna Karenina, which premiers June 8, 2009.  They were such a treat to watch and I could even tell that the female was wearing Bloch Serenade pointe shoes. How strange is it that I can recognize the kind of pointe shoes she was wearing when they practically all look the same.  

Then we went up onto the stage and got to pretend like the spotlight was on us.  It felt so good to be in the center of the stage and look out to an auditorium with five balconies. Oh man I miss being on stage and having that rush of adrenaline that only performing in that environment can bring. 

After the opera house Tina, Karla, and I went to the Belvedere Museum.  We spent hours in there just gawking at the magnificent artwork.

Overall, this was probably the best day I’ve had so far on this trip.  I got to do everything artsy that I like, and I didn’t have to pay for any of it except for the sacher torte! But that, of course, was well worth it. I hope I have many more days like this to come.