Last Hurrah at Southport

What an appropriate and fun way to bring the curtain down on a fabulous and fun weekend.!!!

Thanks to Bob and Kacey for making it all happen.  Big shout out to Annie Luepker and her "husband?" for hosting a fun time at their lovely house Saturday night. And, of course, major props to Judy for getting so OLD!

It may have been a short trip but we had a lot of fun!

Partial Police Lineup

July 29, 2015

Headed to Florida on Friday to surprise birthday party at the Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Club in honor of  my sister-in-law. I'm looking forward to seeing all my siblings and their spouses and some of their children.

LYC Pool

Next stop...Cooperstown, NY - home of Baseball Hall of Fame and the Glimmerglass Opera Festival.

I'm headed to both sites in mid-August. Stay tuned for pictures and narrative. In the meantime,
here's a picture of the Glimmerglass Opera House. I'll be seeing Mozart's last opera, The Magic Flute (click for synopsis). Glimmerglass is doing an English translation version (click here for description, cast, etc.)

While in the area I'll be staying at the Nunnery Inn & Hostel (see picture below), formerly a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph's, the same order of nuns who taught at Bishop Kenny for many decades.

Sunday, April 26...

I had set this day aside to visit the residences of my Austrian friends - Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms, and Freud. The trip got off to a disappointing start because when I arrived at Herr Beethoven's apartment I discovered that the house/museum was closed on Sundays! However, I did document my attempt to visit. By the way, Beethoven lived in what is now an especially pretty area of Vienna, in the neighborhood of the Vienna University, which is stunning.

Building from across the street

Next stop on my visit was to Haydn's apartment. This the apartment that he occupied when he returned from England in 1795 and he remained here until his death in 1809. 

HaydnHaus

There is a room in this house that is devoted to Johannes Brahms' artifacts and memorabilia (none of Brahms many Vienna apartments remain save one which has been re-purposed and is not open to the public). Below is a portrait of Brahms from the HaydnHaus Brahm's room.

Brahms Portrait in HaydenHaus

The final stop on my tour was a visit for a much-needed session with Dr. Freud. The couch in the picture below is in the waiting room, not the room where Freud actually conducted his psychoanalysis sessions - that couch is not extant.

Freud's waiting-room couch

Mail slot where patients paid their bills?

Yesterday, Saturday April 25th, I went to see the statue of Johannes Brahms in Resselpark, which is located just outside the Ringstrasse (celebrating its 150th anniversary this year).

Statue of Johannes Brahms in the Resselpark

While Brahms lived in numerous apartments during his decades in Vienna only one of them remains. And it is has been repurposed years ago so it  is not available for touring. The picture below shows the exterior:

Afterwards, I walked part of the Ringstrasse then prepared for the Vienna Philharmonik Concert at 3:30 at the Wiener Musikverein, generally considered one of the very best concert halls in the world acoustically - also, very beautiful.

Interior of hall

Entrance to Wien Musikverein

After the concert I decided to return to my apartment by walking along the banks of the Danube River. While it isn't the clear blue you expect form the Blue Danube waltz by Strauss, it is an impressive river that clearly is a hub of activity in the city.  The water was flowing quite rapidly, as one would expect at this time of year since this is peak snow melt time in the Alps. Below are some pictures:

Danube runs right through the middle of the city.

Crowds gather to watch the sunset

The "Danube Beach"

Another busy day in Wien...

One of the things I was most looking forward to was visiting the graves of some of the great composers who lived and are buried here in Vienna; so, this morning I went out to the Vienna Central Cemetery (the second largest cemetery in Europe) and saw the final resting places for Beethoven, Strauss(es), Brahms, Schubert,and a marker for Mozart (he was buried in a commoners' grave in another part of Vienna and that has ben destroyed).

Beethoven

Schubert

Johann Strauss

Johannes Brahms (my favorite composer)

I then returned to central Vienna, merely one block from St. Stephen's Cathedral, to tour Mozart's apartment. Once again, it was thrilling to realize that I was walking in the very house the where Mozart lived and composed. They do not allow photography inside but here I am outside the entrance.

I'm the tall, thin, young man in the middle of the picture.

Went to the Vienna State Opera last night to see Madama Butterfly.

Sorry, but I've hit a major glitch. My computer has officially died on me. Unfortunately, all of the photos that I have downloaded from my camera are on the computer. And therefore, I no longer have access to them. Oh darn!

I'm back!!! My laptop's battery died, not the laptop. So, back to the opera...

I saw Madama Butterfly at the Vienna Opera House. Opera was terrific but the house itself realy is the star.  An extraordinary building with an unparalleled history. Built in 1869. My seat was in the 2nd row.  So, after carrying my opera glasses almost 4,000 miles I didn't need them.

Taken from my seat

Looking at the rear of the hall

There is a young boy who plays the 3 year-old child in the opera who stayed up waaaaaay past his bedtime since it's 3+ hrs.long. But he probably slept in this morning, but not me...

I was out on the tourist trail early. I couldn't wait to climb the 343 stone steps up to the top of the South Tower of the St. Stephan's church (by the way, it's exactly the same number of steps down -those Renaisaance designers really knew their stuff!)

After a much-needed breather, I headed off to see the Lippenzaners at the Spanish Riding School. 

 

Bid farewell to Salzburg this morning after a nice breakfast with my host family - delicious pate. Maybe that explains why I didn't see Mr. & Mrs. Duck this morning? 

Train ride from Salzburg to Vienna really wasn't memorable nor very picturesque but only took 2+ hrs.  When I arrived at the Vienna AirBnb apartment I was horrified to read that my apartment was on the 5th floor. After pate and wiener schnitzel I was concerned about my cardiac fitness and wondering if I had enough time to lug my bag up 5 flights of stairs beofre the opera tonight at 8:00 - to my relief, there is an elevator, so no dietary restrictions required.

No pictures of Vienna yet but I will post some from the opera tonight. Let me know if any of you want me to tweet live from the opera.  

This is a panoramic view of what our tour guide yesterday described as the "best view in all of Austria". I don't know if that's true or not, but it certainly impressed me.

Last night I had dinner with 3 Stonehill students studying abroad here in Salzburg. Loneliness can be expensive!

This morning I was awakened by a clatter outside my window. Here's what I found when I investigated - Mom & Dad were squabbling.

Later, I went to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which dominates the landscape. It was built by the archbishops of Salzburg over a 600 year span. Apparently, it was a good thing to be an archbishop in Salzburg during that period. In any event, see the video above for the view from the top.

Then, onto the Dom zu  Salzburg, the central cathedral consecrated in 774 by an Irish Abbot, Bishop Virgil. Pretty impressive dome over the main altar.

Next, I went to what I expected to be the highlight of my time in Salzburg - a pilgrimage to Mozart's birthplace.  When I arrived I was greeted by a tour guide telling me that the house was closed for three days while they repaired/updated some wiring in the building! So, all I have are a few photos of the exterior.

Yesterday was devoted to "All Things Musical".  I took a four-hour "Sound of Music" Tour in the morning.  Do you recognize any of these scenes?

The Gazebo - although it has been relocated and is actually much smaller than the one used for the interior scenes.

From the back of the von Trapp house where the boating scene in which Julie Andrews and the children fell into the water. But, it actually is a different estate used only for the scenes shot looking away from the house. Still, pretty spectacular.

This is the church where the interior shots of the wedding scene occurred. The church is actually located outside of Salzburg in the Lakes Region.

I spent the afternoon visiting the house where Mozart was reared and was treated to an unexpected live performance of 5 of his piano compositions - ON A FORTEPIANO THAT MOZART ACTUALLY USED, BOTH FOR PRACTICE AND IN PERFORMANCES!  This alone made the trip worthwhile.

Arrived in Salzburg this morning. Amazing views of the Alps and the area surrounding Salzburg. Look carefully at the picture below and you can just barely make out Julie Andrews singing and dancing in the hills at the upper left.

Approaching Salzburg

The Hohensalzburg Fortress, a dominant feature of the town's landscape, is directly outside the entrance to the house I'm staying at.

View directly outside house

Shortly after I arrived at the house, a town-wide festival (I assume in my honor) began immediately beyond the back yard of the house - traditional costumes, music, and food.  Great fun!

So excited to be leaving this behind...as I head off in search of "The Great and Wonderful" Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. 

As I prepare to leave to meet the  "Great and Powerful" Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, this is what I'm leaving behind:

Preparing for my trip to Austria.