A mid-summer night's dream

How on earth can I possibly explain what I just experienced? As I was trying to plan in my mind how to go about sharing this awesome night, what I had in mind originally was to completely just talk to Aaron at 50 miles an hour about this concert that I just came back from at Schloss Schönbrunn, the same place where I went for a run on Sunday and was blown away by its beauty. Talking overseas can be difficult sometimes with the cost of phone calls, and the time difference, so for this reason, I am thankful for my blog, so I can just write, and know that I'm sharing with everyone!

Today was a busy day. As soon as classes were over, my intention was to go to Schönbrunn, so that we could all have seats/standing room for tonight's concert. The concert was advertised everywhere. It was on the U-Bahn and in the U-Bahn station, it was on every pole we passed by, store windows, anywhere and everywhere, this was advertised as "Eingang Frei!" Free entrance? Wiener Philharmoniker, one of the best in the world? I think everyone in the population of Vienna, not to mention tourists and visitors, would want to go to this! So I figured that if I were there four hours in advance, I might have a chance of getting a seat.

True. I arrived at 6pm (the concert began at 9pm). Seats were filling up fast and saving seats was forbidden. My 'fam' was lucky enough to have everyone available early enough to sit right in the center of the seating area. The concert was open air, and was for sure the largest "concert hall" I had ever seen or been to. People sat on the hill behind the stage, they filled up like people in a subway train-- in the gravel areas from the castle at the bottom of the hill to the edge of the stage. The progression of attire was interesting to note--the VIPS sat in the front dressed in their finest, while those in the back, close to the castle sat on blankets, drinking beer in their flannel and dreadlocks.

The music began with John Williams' Main Title theme of Star Wars. What an opening, and so incredible to hear from an orchestra who is so accustomed to playing Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky, etc! They went on to play a fabulous concert of Strauss, Lizst, Lanner and even the Mars theme by Gustav Holst. A choir came on to sing Otto Nicolai's "The Merry Wives of Windsor." The encore was Strauss' "Wiener Blut," a famous waltz that you probably know even though you might not know the name of it. The conductor didn't even conduct this famous waltz! He moved his head around a little bit! During some of the pieces, they showed pictures of beautiful landmarks in Vienna at night. I could hardly contain myself. Not just for the music itself, but also for the sights that I am able to see in this beautiful country! I get giddy like a girl with a crush on someone!

On Sunday I was taken aback by this park in the beautiful sunshine, and now I've seen it completely transformed into the largest concert hall you can imagine! Thousands of people fell completely silent to the sound of the orchestra playing on a stage that looks like it could be a Dave Matthews concert. Could be, except for a few things-- the outlook on the hill, the flower gardens, the zoo on the right hand side, or the castle with a rich history behind it, to name a few. Everything was beautiful and the weather was perfect, and I kept thinking that either this is a really great dream, or I am a really lucky girl to be able to witness some of the most beautiful things on the earth. What a wonderful blessing. No Euros spent, but so much gained. I don't think I will ever forget tonight. Someday I'll come back, I hope.