Heimel & Heidlberger

Dr. Heidlberger, my major professor from UNT, spent a couple of days in Vienna this week as part of a research trip that brought him to Austria. We met for dinner and drinks last night and tonight, and caught up on all the events in Denton, the US, and Vienna. It was nice to see a familiar face and to catch up on all the changes that I have missed at UNT in this short period of time. I assured him that his Analytical Systems students were working hard on their presentations while he was gone, and that they would all be ready to present next Tuesday (blame Colin for that one!).

A City of Trains

Since my dad is a big train enthusiast, I decided to post some pictures of the trains in Vienna. There are quite a few different trains operating within the city, the U-Bahn (subway), the Strassenbahn (streetcar), and Schnellbahn (commuter train), long distance trains heading to destinations all over Europe, and commercial trains. The first picture is one of the Strassenbahn trains which runs along the Gürtel. They have both modern and older trains running these lines, and this is obviously one of the older trains. The older trains are heated, and from what I could tell when it's been cold out, the newer trains do not have heat. The next two pictures are of a trainyard in the 15th district, and they were taken from a pedestrian bridge which crosses the yard. The first is the view towards the outskirts of Vienna, and the second towards the city. The 15th district is just outside the Gürtel from my district, and I took these on an after dinner walk today. Nice weather two days in a row, I can't believe it! The train system in Vienna is probably the best out of any city I've ever been to, or at least that I have visited recently. The only time I have really missed owning a car is when I had to buy some furniture from IKEA. It seems that no matter where you are in the city, there is either a Strassenbahn or U-Bahn stop somewhere nearby, and a monthly pass is not too expensive. The last picture is taken down a side street in the 15th district, and you can see the skyscrapers in the distance which are on the outskirts of the city.

The Prater

Finally, a warm and sunny day here! I decided to go out and get some fresh air today and went down to the Prater, a huge park in Vienna's 2nd district. Part of the Prater is an amusement park, and the picture is the huge ferris wheel called the Riesenrad, built in 1897. It is roughly 200 feet tall and has 15 gondolas. It originally had 30, but it was damaged in World War II, and when it was restored they only used 15. Each gondola is huge, and you feel more like you are sitting in an actual room. I believe that actually rent them out by the hour at times and serve dinner, but I'm sure that's not on a student budget!

Es regnet!

Well, another rainy day here. I'm hoping that the weather is going to get better soon. We've had some really beautiful days, but not this week! This is kind of boring, but this is the best it's going to get today. Rain = no outside pictures for me! These pictures are taken out my bedroom window, and should give some impression as to the type of neighborhood I live in. We live on the first floor, or translated into English, the second floor. In German, when you say the first floor you are referring to what we consider the second floor. Our street is fairly small, which you can see from the photos, and it is mostly residential. There aren't too many businesses on our little section of Seidengasse. Tonight, if the weather is not too bad, I am planning on going to the opera again to hear Rossini's The Barber of Seville. It's nice having such a large variety of musical events to choose from, and it's especially nice that they are affordable! I'm trying to take in as much of the musical scene as I can while I'm here in Wien!

Freud's House in Vienna

Sorry I haven't posted anything recently, but the weather has been horrible. It's been very cold, and it even snowed in some parts of Vienna on more than one day this week. This is a picture of Sigmund Freud's house in Vienna which is about a 5-10 minute walk from where I am teaching music/English, just outside the Ringstrasse (9th district). In case that is not specific enough for anyone, you can look it up on a map. The address is Berggasse 19. Legend has it that Freud's house was raided by the Nazi's while his wife was home, and they took approximately $840. After Freud's wife told him about the money he apparently said, "Dear me, I have never taken that much for a single visit!" After finding Freud's house today, I had a little time to kill before my classes started, so I went to the Cafe Landtmann for a coffee. This is one of the more famous cafes in Vienna. I remember going there with Jennifer last summer, and if I remember correctly, it is also one of Colin's favorite cafes in the city.

Haydn's House in Vienna

While I was on my way to a local supermarket the other day, I saw a sign that said Haydn Haus which pointed left from the supermarket. I decided today to check it out and see if I could find it. To my surprise, the Haydn Haus is less than a 10 minute walk from my apartment. The house was built in 1793 and Haydn lived there until his death in 1809 (8th district). In the second picture, I am not standing crooked. That's the street! His house is hidden away on a small side street currently and appropriately named Haydngasse.

The Spanish National Choir

I went to a concert tonight at the Votivkirche to hear the Spanish National Choir perform. I was hoping to take some pictures of the interior of the building, but unfortunately it was way too dark to get anything to come out, even with the longer exposure time. Therefore, there are no pictures in this post but I though I would post the program for those of you who are keeping track of the concerts I am attending over here. Overall, the performance was very good, but I will pick at a couple things. At times, the choir seemed flat. Not just one section, the entire choir sounded flat against the organ. They also seemed to be singing with perfect equal temperment. Whenever the choir sang fortissimo, there were also a few tenors and sopranos that could not control themselves. One tenor in particular looked and sounded like he was getting goosed during the fortissimo passages! I am also not a fan of large vibratos in choirs, and during the louder passages the vibratos were a bit out of control at times. Combine this with reverberant acoustics, and the effect is multiplied. Overall, the choir was very moving and I wish that the St. Laurence Chorale and Fr. Crary could have been here to hear it. The program was put together very well and all of the selections were liturgically appropriate for the Lenten season.

Bruckner (1824-1896)
-Three Motets for Choir and Organ

• Libera me
• Tota pulchra es
• Christus factus est

Brahms (1833-1897)
-Prelude and Fugue in G Minor for Organ, WoO 10
-Ave Maria for Women's Choir and Organ, Op. 12
-Spiritual Song for Choir and Organ, Op. 30
-O Welt, ich muss dich lassen for organ, Op. 122, Nr. 11

Rheinberger (1839-1901)
-Stabat Mater in G Minor for Choir and Organ, Op. 138

Mompou (1893-1987)
-Cantar del alma for Mixed Choir, Soprano, and Organ

Vienna at Night

I was supposed to meet some students on a trip from Denton yesterday, but unfortunately our meeting place was somehow mixed up, either on my end or theirs, and we never got together. I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from home, but I guess maybe another time. This morning was a work day for me, and this afternoon it was time to earn some money tutoring English, so there aren't really any pictures from this. Normally I try to go out for a walk at night for fresh air and exercise, and I decided to get a nighttime picture that I've been meaning to take for a while. This is the Rathaus in Vienna, the city council building, but it also serves as a state governmental building as well. Like I have mentioned before, many of the buildings around the Ring were built in the late 19th century, and the Rathaus is included in this number.

Sunshine, Daydream, Walking In the Tall Trees

Let's see if anyone gets the reference in the title of this post... The weather was spectacular today and everyone in Vienna was out. When I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE! This first picture is the Beethoven monument which is somewhere between the Schoenberg Center and the city park that I went to in the 1st district this afternoon. I figured that I would stop taking pictures of monuments because they all tend to look the same, and there were a ton of them in the park. The funny thing about the Beethoven monument though was that he is staring down and to his right, and there was a massive pile of empty McDonald's bags laying on the ground where he was looking. He didn't look pleased! Everyone was enjoying the sun, sitting on the park benches, sitting in the grass, or walking around. I was surprised to see how many older people were out as well. I guess we better enjoy this warm March weather in case it gets cold again.

On my way home, I stopped by Urban Loritz Platz, a Strassenbahn station about 3-4 blocks from my apartment. There is a library there with one side which is composed basically of cascading steps. On the top there is a cafe, but everyone is free to sit on the stairs anywhere between the bottom and the top. I made it up to the top and sat down to enjoy the view before heading home. I would estimate the total height to be somewhere around 50-60 feet above the ground. In the immediate area, you can see the section of the Gürtel which divides my district (7th) and the 15th district (on right side) as well as a couple Strassenbahn cars.

Finally Figured Out the Name

A couple of weeks ago I took some random pictures, including one down a side street in my neighborhood with a church in the background. Well, I stumbled across the church today during my daily activities and went inside. By the way, it's called the Pfarre Altlerchenfeld. The first picture is of the main altar. Of course, I am always going to take a picture of the organ, and the last picture I thought came out kind of cool with the sun blazing down on one of the side altars.

Tonight I am headed to the opera again, this time to see Schoenberg's Moses und Aron. Fortunately I was able to get an actual seat for this opera, but I wasn't surprised. It's also a lot shorter, almost two hours shorter, than the Strauss, so it wouldn't have been that big of a deal. Standing for an entire opera is a quite a challenge, even if it is only for a few hours. There is no way I would attempt to stand for the entire Ring like someone I know did last year (*wink*wink).

Blues and Beer: Always a Good Combination!

Well, I figured I would post a picture of Ted on here since I have mentioned him several times, but the only decent pictures I have are from last summer. This is Ted, Alexis (another Fulbright student from last year), and me outside the Life Ball. If you're wondering what that is, wait until May and you'll see!

I went with Ted last night to the Fischer Bräu for a blues concert. We were meeting a colleague of Ted's who happened to know the band. I have to say, I was very impressed with the band. They seemed to get what blues was all about, and weren't merely imitating the sound like so many foreign groups do, or even the majority of groups in the U.S. as well. They also charged no cover, and most of the other blues/jazz clubs I've seen charge a 10 Euro cover. The bar/restaurant was also quite a find. We didn't eat there last night, but I am definitely going back at some point to try the food. They also brew their own beer, something which always attracts me in Vienna. Most of the mass produced beers do not taste that good, and Austria is not really known for beer but rather for wine and Schnapps. After the show was over, we headed over to Merry Monk, another micro-brewery. They are actually owned by 1516, a much larger bar also located in the first district that I have been to several times. The lesson to be learned is that even though Austria is not known for their beer, you can find excellent beer at microbreweries. It just takes a bit of hard work and dedication!

The picture to the right is of the Votivkirche, yet another massive church in Vienna. The church is quite a distance from me in this picture, and I'm not really sure what else to say to give an accurate depiction of the immense scale of the building. The pipe organ is also pretty large and I hope to hear it at some point, but there aren't too many organ recitals going on in Lent. I didn't get a chance to stop inside to take any pictures today, but I may go to a concert there this coming Friday, and if so I'll try to get some pictures of the interior as well.

Schönberg or Schoenberg???

I am doing some work at the Arnold Schönberg Center while I'm in Vienna, and I've often wondered why they spell his name with an "ö" instead of "oe." The family asked that it be spelled with the umlaut even though Arnold Schoenberg officially changed the spelling after emigrating to the United States, and the current family members on the board at the Center spell it "oe." I guess that's not too important. Schoenberg was one of many Jews who were forced to flee Austria in the era preceding World War II. One very positive thing his family did do, from what I have been told, is to make Austria publicly apologize for the atrocities committed against Jews in Austria. This was the condition that they gave in order to have the Schönberg Center in Austria along with the materials they donated to the Center. The facility is fairly new and has an excellent collection of music reference books in general, not just those dealing with Schoenberg, and the staff are very friendly and helpful.

A Night at the Opera

I have been somewhat of a hermit the last couple days trying to get some writing done, but I needed to get out tonight. I hadn't been to an opera since I've been in Vienna, so I decided to see what was on for tonight. Oh yeah, that's the Staatsoper in the first picture in case you're wondering! Unfortunately, all the student tickets were sold out at the opera, but I was able to get a Stehplatz (standing place) for only 2 Euros. I saw Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier, and it was worth a lot more than my 2 Euros. The singing was great, the costumes were in good taste, the set looked realistic, the orchestra played well, and of course the story takes place in Vienna. This was the first professional opera production I've seen since summer 2005, and as I recall, Colin and I walked out of the last opera we attended after the first act. I won't say where or when that was! They have quite a few operas this month that I would like to try and get to, so I'll hit as many as I can.

While I was out and about checking out the ticket situation, I also stopped by the Karlskirche. The opera is just inside the ring in the 1st district, and the Karlskirche is just outside the ring (same train stop). It was built between 1716-1737 and is one of the finer Baroque buildings in Vienna. You can't really appreciate it unless you are inside, but the dome is incredibly tall for the length of the building. I took the elevator up to the bottom of the dome, and from there I took the stairs all the way up to the lantern on the top. The view around Vienna is incredible from there, but it was cloudy today and pictures were impossible. The last picture is a picture of the organ (obviously!).

The Microsoft Invasion

As I was heading over to the school where I am going to be teaching (yes, I guess I decided I'm going to do it while I'm here), I saw an amusing ad while coming out of the train station at Stephansplatz. I don't think you can translate it literally. It pretty much means that you are inclined to be impressed by the features. What an advertising slogan! The other picture I am posting is of the Danube Canal. This was taken at the border of the 1st district and the 2nd district, not to far from where I'm going to be teaching. I was a few minutes early and was trying to kill a little time, so I figured I would take a picture. Before coming to Vienna for the first time last summer, I always thought that the Danube ran through the center of Vienna. Actually, it comes nowhere near the 1st district, and not even the canal flows through the 1st district. It is also certainly not "beautiful" or "blue," it's just another river. I'll post some pictures of the actual Danube sometime soon.

Viennese Math: 2 > 3

Toby and I went barhopping with Ted on Saturday night, but unfortunately it was another rainy weekend. We were all bundled in multiple layers of jackets and clothes. Nothing was going to stop us! Our plan was to start at the Gürtel in our district (the 7th) and work our way towards the Ring. The Gürtel is similar to the Ring that divides the 1st district with the surrounding districts, but it is further from the center of the city.

Our journey starts at the Treffpunkt zum Josef, the bar that is at the corner of Seidengasse and the Gürtel. Toby and I each ordered a .5 liter beer, and Ted joined us a little late, so he ordered a .33 liter beer. When it was time to pay, Toby and I each owed $2.80, and Ted had to pay $3! We couldn't understand how less cost more, especially when they were the same brand of beer.

We wandered down through our district hitting some more reputable looking places before meeting up with Ted's girlfriend and one of her friends. Unfortunately, it was almost 2AM and the bars were going to close. I also forgot to get a picture of everyone, but I am going to start posting more pictures of people as well. Anyway, Ted went home but Toby and I decided to check out this dance club on our way home. We ended up staying for a while, and the picture here was taken when we were leaving the club. The girl in the picture is just some random person who was standing outside the club, and her friend was taking our picture. She's really not terrified of us, even though it looks that way in the picture! For some reason she also seems to look like she has a mustache and is much older, neither or which is true, but I'm too lazy to photoshop the changes in. The night continued for a little while longer, but this story is already too long and I know my mother is reading this!

I will post more about my research when I have something interesting to write about, but for now I am mostly writing on my computer. I am also planning a trip to Berlin and a trip to Oxford at some point in the next couple of months to gather some additional materials and information. I promise, I'm doing fun stuff AND working!

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures

I'm sorry if this is too many pictures for some of you, but my mother insisted before I go that I take a lot of pictures. I also apologize if this format does not look too great, but it is very difficult in Blogger to get the pictures to line up properly with the text.

Anyway, on to the pictures now. All of these pictures were taking in the 1st district today. The first two pictures are of the Mozart statue and the Goethe statue which are on the outside of the Hofburg Burggarten.

The next three pictures are of the Augustinerkirche and the two pipe organs. I actually got to play the main organ in this church last summer. I was walking down the street with Jennifer (friend and fellow music theory student for those of you who don't know her) and heard the organ playing. Being the typical music theory and organ geek that I am, I said to her, "Hey, that's Mendelssohn's 3rd Organ Sonata. Let's go inside and see if we can get a tour of the organs." The organist had been playing the choir organ for a baptism and was playing the postlude, so when he finished we went over to talk to him. He agreed to give us a tour or the main organ later that afternoon, and I ended up playing for about an hour. They have the most active music program of any church in Vienna, and I am probably going to head down there on Sunday to see what they are performing.

The next two pictures are part of the Hofburg palace complex. It is definitely impossible to capture this huge complex in a few pictures. You really have to walk through it for yourself to take it all in. This was the winter residence for the Habsburg's, and is the official residence of the President of Austria. There are quite a few other sections of the palace in the complex, some of which serve as museums as well.

The last two pictures were taking in Michaelerplatz, just outside the main entrance to the Hofburg. In the early 1990s they unearthed the remains of a Roman building, as well as many other remnants from different historical eras. The first picture is the remains of the Roman building, and the second is NOT and aquaduct. Well, I guess it IS an aquaduct, but it is from the 19th century and was connected to the Danube canal. They really have everything labeled quite well and you can see the different layers from ancient Roman times up through the present day.

Well, you might be thinking that the pictures seem rather random. These were taken because they were all things I passed on my way from my apartment to a job interview in the 1st district. I am probably going to take a part time job which combines teaching English and music to children. I'll decide for sure next week after attending a few classes.

Keep in touch everyone! I know you have to register to leave comments, but it's great to hear from all of you!

A Note About Viewing Pictures

I'm not sure if I need to mention this, but I will anyway. The images that I post are small thumbnails, and if you click on them you can view the full-size picture. I hope that helps some of you.

To answer Amy's question, C&A is the same store they had in England, but they are apparently trying to make some changes. You can read about it HERE.

I'll update again tomorrow with some more pictures. Thanks for all the comments everyone!