Vienna

[littletune]

Yeah it's very cool! It will be soooo much fun!! I am grateful for this opportunity!

Yep!  As Wolfi mentioned, I also am grateful!  It will be fun .  He is also picking me up in Innsbruck on our way to the Festival in Italy!

Wow that is really sooooooo cool!!      I'm really happy for you Wolfi and m1469!!! I wish you all the best and really really GREAT time!!!!     

[austinarg]

I hope there will be a recording of the performance...

[m1469]

Just m1469 your way through it all; you'll be fine!

Best,

Alistair

I like this .


Thanks for the well wishes, everybody!  This is an epic(-for-me-)adventure!  I'm hoping to be able to share this adventure as I go, and have created a place from my site, here:  https://kruegertravel.blogspot.com/

I've also linked to there in my original post.  I have less than 24 hours before I go.  Still some things to do, but it's all getting really close now!  I thought I'd be fine with one main suitcase, but I've never packed for something like this before, so we'll see how it all goes!  I hope to update my online travel journal fairly often, with photos and highlights of my experiences.  Thank you so much, everybody!!

[m1469]

Well, I can't believe it's time.  It's really time.  This was the anticipated evening, and now it's here. I've got a few more things to wrap up, but I'm pretty much set to go.  One suitcase, one computery backpack, and one smart purse.  That's it!  I've even packed a little food for in Vienna ... haha, and breakfast is free.  I really had to revert to a different way of thinking and living when I realized I wouldn't be able to use my phone that much (and I was seriously a little bit feeling very lost about that, at first), but I think I got myself through that ... and I'm bringing a little German and a little Italian dictionary (travel size, which I've had for years but have never used), and I'll be peeking on the plane to learn some things.  I'll do some currency exchange in my first stop so I won't have to do that when I land in Germany.  It's really about to happen!  YIP!    I am starting to realize more clearly, too, what I am looking for ... I mean, more specifically, and I suspect this will only clarify as I go.  But, will I still be regular me the next time I post here, or different me?  We'll see .

[m1469]

The birds are starting to wake up on my first morning here.  I wasn't sure how I was feeling yesterday, between so much travel and related matters, but I've gotten some rest and as the birds and town start to awake, I feel excited about being here and focusing on why I'm here.  Plus, the breakfast might have salamis ... heehee.  I've heard two pigeons take flight now, and there are other sounds around me which might bother me under usual circumstances, since some of them are wakeful rather than sleepful (and I know I could really use more sleep), but I find I rather enjoy them simply as part of getting to know this place and how it functions, rather than being here just to get rest and sleep!

[pianowolfi]

Love that video on your blog! That bird is a European blackbird, we have lots of them, they sing so beautifully!

[j_menz]

That bird is a European blackbird, we have lots of them, they sing so beautifully!

We have lots of them in my part of Australia, too. Here they are considered a pest. And given the mess they make of my garden, they'd have to outsing Callas to make amends.

[pianowolfi]

We have lots of them in my part of Australia, too. Here they are considered a pest. And given the mess they make of my garden, they'd have to outsing Callas to make amends.

They might outsing Callas, but not m1469. 

[pts1]

Did birds sing in Amsterdam the morning Anne Frank was dragged from her house by Nazis?

Just another Jew, an "illegal"... just one of the city's "exports in trade" sent to the death camps.

But traded for what?

Today, in this "capital of culture" whores and drugs are legal enticements to which tourists flock.

Evil feeding on innocence?

[m1469]

Love that video on your blog! That bird is a European blackbird, we have lots of them, they sing so beautifully!

It's really pretty .  I've just completely hit a wall, here.  I haven't slept more than about 4 or 5 hours in the past 36, and I'm feeling a little strange and between time zones.  Me flying in feels like ages ago and it's like I can barely remember which day that was (but, it was yesterday ... it's just my "yesterday" was really, super long) ... this morning I walked as much as I could after taking a tram to get to town ... but, I ended up lost, absolutely exhausted, I sat and also wandered around for a couple of hours(?) trying to figure out what in the world train to take back to my hotel, and realized I for sure better go back when I almost started to cry upon asking a taxi driver if he only worked for the hotel he was parked in front of, or if he could drive me back  (I had a moment to consider whether to go back or not because he wasn't sure he could take me and had to go in and ask).  I am going to see/hear some music tonight in the Golden Hall (I was sold a ticket at a student price, supposedly) ... I can't even think about going back there yet, but maybe a nap first will help.  

*bed seems like a magnetic force*

I did go to Saint Stephan's Cathedral, and that blew me away.  I saw a number of other things, too, but was starting to not be able to figure things out very well after a certain point  .  So, I didn't get to everything on the list.  I'll do more of that list tomorrow, and maybe some other walks.  I'm going to need to be more organized about it all, too.

Ok, bed.

[oxy60]

Did birds sing in Amsterdam the morning Anne Frank was dragged from her house by Nazis?

Just another Jew, an "illegal"... just one of the city's "exports in trade" sent to the death camps.

But traded for what?

Today, in this "capital of culture" whores and drugs are legal enticements to which tourists flock.

Evil feeding on innocence?

And 60's drug driven socialism! After 16 years in the middle of that we left. Liberation was on the 5th of May 1945, for what? This? When a BINDING referendum is offered to the people maybe we will have a first step to REAL freedom.

BTW whores and hard drugs are not legal, they are permitted by the police who won't enforce the law. And whores rent working rooms in subsidized buildings destined for the working poor.

[pts1]

BTW whores and hard drugs are not legal, they are permitted by the police who won't enforce the law. And whores rent working rooms in subsidized buildings destined for the working poor.

Perhaps not "legal" in the strict sense, but they are big draws for tourism. The "not legal" aspect probably satisfies conservatives. Similar to Las Vegas -- prostitution is not legal, but as long as it stays in check, the police look the other way.

I agree, the 60's "drop out generation" has given the US nothing but problems. Losers.
And they've just gotten stronger.

In Colorado, dope peddling (marijuana) is big business now, and with a "doctor's prescription" anyone can get it for "medical use" like having a bad hair day.

Of course drug use and prostitution don't exist in a vacuum -- its mostly the so called "culture" they attract -- thugs, drop outs, con men, the "tattoo generation", etc.

Those people are going nowhere and are a drag on society.

I think a good practical situation would be to give all the far left hippie culture their own state and we'll leave them alone, and they'll stay out of our collective face.

What's that.... we already did... its called California?  

A beautiful place, California, but bureaucrats have ruined it.

[mikeowski]

The piano gallery your friend suggested probably is the Klaviergalerie at Kaiserstraße (next to Mariahilfer Straße)

link

You can book rooms with pianos to practice (2,5€/hour is the cheapest) there if you want/need to.

[m1469]

The piano gallery your friend suggested probably is the Klaviergalerie at Kaiserstraße (next to Mariahilfer Straße)

link

You can book rooms with pianos to practice (2,5€/hour is the cheapest) there if you want/need to.

Thank you SO much   - I was pondering that this evening and wasn't sure what to do, as I took a walk in my area and there were a couple of stores, but it looked like they only had a floor, and not practice rooms, etc..  Very helpful, thank you again!

[m1469]

You know what is strange?  My mind is already speaking German now, and it doesn't want to speak English while I'm here.  It just doesn't know what it's actually talking about yet.  I can hear it and feel it in my subconsciousness, even in sentences with purpose and intent as though it's fluent, and as though I've subconsciously recorded my surroundings and am sorting it out.  I like it.

I can't sleep anymore .... but I can tell I really need more sleep, especially since I have another really big day planned and I know that I will probably crash mid-day if I don't get more rest.  The difference in how I felt yesterday when I left the town center and then slept for an hour and asked the hotel desk clerk a couple of questions about the trams, vs. how I felt when I returned was incredible.  It was as though days of familiarizing had gone by in those hours that I was not in town, and while in the morning everything looked very much the same as everything else to me, I started recognizing places and feeling I could know my way around in the evening ... and as though I were developing a picture in my mind of the entire town center.  I know there's WAY more for me to discover about it, and plenty I won't even touch, but I'm getting it.  

I'm really excited about trying to find more stuff out today and to visit more sites.  I think I'm going to Beethoven at some point, and I will be sure to also visit Schoenberg either today or tomorrow, too (I want to) .  I think I especially can't sleep because I am excited about breakfast ... hee hee ... that's actually slightly real.  They did have salamis, and some other meats, and some cheeses ... and even pickles (and pickled onions ... hee hee) ... I ate a delicious little pickle with my breakfast.  They also had three different cakes!  Actual cakes!   ... I'm going to take a photo of those today ...  .  And they had coffee... ah gawd, I'm so hungry.  They had other stuff, too.

I think the cost of living here is lower than my US town.  For example, yesterday I bought dinner in the center of town, just from a cart place, but it was $2,90 for a rather large container of chinese noodles.  I'm pretty sure that in my town it would be more like $6 or even $7 for that, but maybe I'm wrong.  I want to try some Austrian/German foods today.  I feel a little intimidated to sit down anywhere, but I might get over that or at least find something else that seems easy for me.  OK, I seriously might eat Wiener Schnitzel ...

[m1469]

Hey!  I just met 3 new friends at breakfast, who I'm going to have dinner with this evening!  They are all about 20-30 years my senior, but that's pretty much just right for me .  They *love* Opera, and have studied music in their lives ... I guess I'm getting a little bit to be a social butterfly  .  

OK, Beethoven, etc., you're not going to know what hit you when I arrive.  

[johnmar78]

m1469, I am so happy for you. How about showing some of your trip scenes, eg photos,,,,
 Enjoy.......

[m1469]

m1469, I am so happy for you. How about showing some of your trip scenes, eg photos,,,,
 Enjoy.......

You can view some, here:  https://kruegertravel.blogspot.it/ 

I have been keeping an online log of my experiences so far.  I will undoubtedly be logging more today, as well.  I'm not sure how long I'm going to last today, unfortunately, as I think I've had about 8-10 hours of sleep in the last ... however many hours since I left.  I can't even seem to understand that right now ... haha.  BUT, at least I know pretty clearly how to get to the town center and how to get back (even though I got lost again last night, actually in the night, on my way back from the concert because I didn't get off on the right stop (because I didn't know how to open the door  )).  Thank goodness gps was still working on my phone, and I happened to have a map pulled up on there, plus I made a point of remembering a main street name before I left ... so I figured it out  .  Oh man, I may need to sleep already instead of going out ... but Beethoven awaits!

[j_menz]

How about showing some of your trip scenes, eg photos,,,,

Umm, follow the link to her blog? It's in her signature.  

EDIT: LOL, m1469 beat me to it. m1469 - GO! Beethoven won't wait forever!

[oxy60]

Perhaps not "legal" in the strict sense, but they are big draws for tourism. The "not legal" aspect probably satisfies conservatives. Similar to Las Vegas -- prostitution is not legal, but as long as it stays in check, the police look the other way.

I agree, the 60's "drop out generation" has given the US nothing but problems. Losers.
And they've just gotten stronger.

In Colorado, dope peddling (marijuana) is big business now, and with a "doctor's prescription" anyone can get it for "medical use" like having a bad hair day.

Of course drug use and prostitution don't exist in a vacuum -- its mostly the so called "culture" they attract -- thugs, drop outs, con men, the "tattoo generation", etc.

Those people are going nowhere and are a drag on society.

I think a good practical situation would be to give all the far left hippie culture their own state and we'll leave them alone, and they'll stay out of our collective face.

What's that.... we already did... its called California?  

A beautiful place, California, but bureaucrats have ruined it.

I thought you were Dutch!

Yes, here in California it's the same with drugs and Brother Jerry is just fine with it. His legislature continues to pass laws unfriendly to the creation of jobs and housing.

Ever heard of butterfly shrimp? Hope they never inhabit your property. They have more legal rights than they could ever hope to have in nature!

[pts1]

Hitler loved opera!

In fact Hitler was actually a quite good artist, unlike the inaccurate portrayals of his abilities, and personally designed the Nazi insignia, all the flags, uniforms, symbolic ceremonies (usually at night with torches), and so forth... all very dramatic due to his love of opera.

In a dark, bizarre and ironic way -- though he is not remembered for it -- he was one of the most successful amateur artists in history, since his artistic side was celebrated by the wide dissemination of his designs into the culture of the day.

Even in his last hours in his bunker, he was relentlessly going over the architectural plans for his vision of the 1000 Year Reich's building project.

It was one of Wagner's operas that was Hitler's inspiration for world dominance.

Hitler is greeted jubilantly to his native Austria with a hero's welcome.




One of Hitler's paintings of the famous Vienna Opera House.



It was the Vienna Art Academy that rejected the young aspiring Adolf Hitler telling him that he had no talent.

Ouch!

Later, Hitler became convinced it was a Jew who rejected him.

Best to think twice before telling someone no.... yes?

[pts1]

I thought you were Dutch!

Oh heavens no.

American.

When I go out on dates I try and go Dutch!

[go12_3]

I really don't care about Hitler and his accomplishments....

[pts1]

I really don't care about Hitler and his accomplishments...

Then don't read about it.

Besides, its not so much about Hitler but Vienna and its history, art and otherwise.

A great deal of the inspiration for works of art is and was human suffering in all its forms.

Art is not just happy babbling and a big stupid smiley face.

As in Hitler's case, art co-exists with evil, and had the art side found the proper care, history may well have been different.

[m1469]

I tried (pork) Schnitzel this evening!  It was pretty good .  I also saw an *amazng* fish market that I didn't get anything at today, but I might, just might get something there tomorrow.  OK, now, it's time to prepare for sleepies! I did three new posts today, one about foods  , one about Beethoven's and Mozart's apartments which I visited, and one dedicated entirely to Stephansdom.  I have another one to do from today, as well, but that will need to wait.

https://kruegertravel.blogspot.co.at/

[m1469]

One word:  Stephansdom.  There is the world, and then there is Stephansdom, which is not the world nor in the world, but rather its very own enigmatic existence from another dimension.

[pianowolfi]

One word:  Stephansdom.  There is the world, and then there is Stephansdom, which is not the world nor in the world, but rather its very own enigmatic existence from another dimension.

This is so wonderful! I very much enjoyed reading your blog and I am very much looking forward to meeting you tomorrow in Innsbruck  

(I am just temporarily a bit sad because this strange persona "pts1" brought such a negative touch into this thread with his stupid Hitler posts. I have reported them, btw)

[m1469]

Oh yeah, I made a pseudo German poem today while I was basking in Stephansdom ... hee hee ... I hope I do not offend anybody   :

Here goes ...

To know thyself is to be free ...

Und abder, ensiegnet und die fragen - entlich instil'ipzeich freund.  
Kantar die und auften zeigenfrautz,
entlich Zauber und Keinlichen auf.

Kriesten'lich, die Zauber ist wo strichten die auben,
staben Wiess.  Dir juntz ob die Fabder.
Liebe.

[pianowolfi]

Oh yeah, I made a pseudo German poem today while I was basking in Stephansdom ... hee hee ... I hope I do not offend anybody   :

Here goes ...

To know thyself is to be free ...

Und abder, ensiegnet und die fragen - entlich instil'ipzeich freund.  
Kantar die und auften zeigenfrautz,
entlich Zauber und Keinlichen auf.

Kriesten'lich, die Zauber ist wo strichten die auben,
staben Wiess.  Dir juntz ob die Fabder.
Liebe.

 

This is Genius! QFT!

I love it!

[m1469]

QFT!

What does it mean?

[pianowolfi]

What does it mean?

Quoted for truth.

Because I like it, of course

[m1469]

Quoted for truth.

Because I like it, of course

Ah!   Sometimes it uses real words, but then sometimes it uses only words that seem *almost* real, to me ... like, they might sound sort of like real words that I don't know how to spell correctly, or maybe I made some up entirely, I don't know.

[pianowolfi]

It's a bit like a code and I feel like I can read it And it's really funny, too!

[pianowolfi]

WAHHHHHHH I have to get back to packing!!!

[m1469]

It's a bit like a code and I feel like I can read it And it's really funny, too!

 Oh, I'm happy .

Today when I went into Stephansdom, I just ... couldn't believe it.  I mean, I've been there quite a lot the past couple of days, and I walked in today and it's as though it just shocked me for nearly the first time.  There is just nothing I've seen like this before, it's just the most incredible thing to me.  I was a bit sad to leave especially it today.  I paid a little bit for a ticket to go inside of the normally roped off area.  It's wonderful that they allow people in for free at all, and I spent a bunch of time in the free parts, and people are very respectful in there.  But, going into the very sparsely populated area today was like everything else disappeared and as though I stepped into another world entirely.  Today was a really good day here and I said goodbye to the town as I rode my last tram back to my hotel, so I can get packed up and try to fully update my blog.  I did a bunch of train riding today, and I did a really good job at it!  I went to the outskirts of town this time, and I didn't get lost ever!!

Here is a photo of Stephansdom, from today (notice the mass of people on the other side of the gates ... MUAH haha ha HAAAA):

[m1469]

A couple of Faves from Vienna:
(you may view more, here:  https://kruegertravel.blogspot.com/)

[m1469]

Already started my return trip.  I feel at home in Europe, and with European ways of life.  It's strange to think about my former routines and to have some better perspective on perhaps why some of them existed.  I have a desire to break certain habits from before but will need to adjust to the US again and figure some things out.  I think I gave myself entirely to this experience, at least in whatever way I could at this point in my life.  Sometimes the differences, as I perceive them, are subtle between the US and where I've visited in Europe, but strangely that subtly can make quite an impact when extending to every facet of a person's life.  

I'll have some sorting out to be doing upon my return, but I am planning to be doing some performing (perhaps something live online, included), and will be taking the continuing steps which seem right as a result of my experiences.

Vienna I do love .  That was an extremely important time.

[pts1]

Wow!

With just 3 weeks in Europe you already feel like a European?!

Go there, immerse yourself.

Oregon has nothing to offer you any more.

Vienna -- YES -- I lived there a couple of years.

Go there... life the life while you're young.

A little 3 week sheltered vacation experience is nothing...

Go, go Europe and REALLY live the life while you can!!

You may PM me and I'll tell you about the REAL Vienna if you like!

[m1469]

Well, I have no idea what a European feels like, so I guess I can't answer that.  What I can say, though, is that I appreciated the culture and way of life and felt at home within it.  Oh, I already said exactly that  .  Just for the record, I wasn't on "vacation" ... I actually practiced very much when I wasn't in lessons or masterclasses or at/performing in concerts.  I even skipped every out trip from the Festival (except Venice) in order to practice while everybody else was gone.  I was at the Academy practicing by 8:30 every morning so my room wouldn't get taken and so that I could sign up for a room the next day before everybody else, and start practicing for the day and get the most hours I could.  Vienna, for me, wasn't a vacation either; it was a personal and musical quest which I loved.  

I have a pet kitty cat there at the Festival place ... but, s/he did bite me once  .  Now, time for some serious Zzzzz-age.  I'm aiming for 12 hours of sleep tonight !!

[pts1]

Oh, you're too modest!

Of course you have an idea of what "European" feels like if you're appreciating the culture and feel at home within that way of life.

Your guileless reporting fairly bubbles with your new "European-ness" -- such enthusiasm, such wonderment. It is prose inspired by rainbows, lollipops and unicorns!

And of course you worked hard during your.... trip... your deeply edifying soulful journey, where your soul was surely teeming with the new growth, tender shoots sprouting into your consciousness...you undoubtedly know you're on the path now!

All that practice should become self evident in your future performances here on pianostreet which we all eagerly await. 

Not all are so lucky during their sojourns with muses ... just look at what happened to those who worked hard -- just as hard as you, got up early, tried their best at the Tony Robbins grand retreat! 

[thalbergmad]

I actually practiced very much when I wasn't in lessons or masterclasses or at/performing in concerts.

I believe you Foxy, but sooooo many of the photos I have seen include pizzas and beer.

Thal

[m1469]

haha, I literally had one meal that was pizza, outside of the "cafeteria" food that I ate at most other meals - and that is precisely why photos were taken; it was a special occasion but no matter what, we had to eat anyway.  Dinner was served at 7-8pm and I was almost always ready to stop practicing for the day by then, and there was almost always a 9pm concert, most of which I attended and would sometimes go out afterwards (some of which I didn't and either practiced or enjoyed the company of friends instead).  But no matter what time I went to sleep, I woke up like clockwork and went practicing early the next morning, and I didn't take a single photo of practicing itself (perhaps just the view from the practice room instead), as one might imagine I wouldn't  .

But, I do invite people to my future performances, especially should I give a live one online.  

[m1469]

...you undoubtedly know you're on the path now!

I did experience some nice clarity while I was there and I hope to build upon that in the months to come.  I had clarity there because my entire focus was able to be on music and getting the most out of my time there in that way that I could.  Sometimes others would remark about being on vacation or not being able to find a practice room (because they would wake up later and miss the opportunity), and I would just silently go about my own way.  There were numerous days on which friends would have liked for me to have taken off and joined them on whatever journey they were planning for that day, aside from the out trips which the Festival itself had planned, which I actually never once did.  I took two days off of practicing the entire time I was there; one was Venice, one was the day after my piano performance.  That was all perfectly a part of the good experience for me, which I did make a point to balance out with enjoying the company of others in the evenings.

I do look forward to sharing musical experiences in the future with those of whom are interested, either here or elsewhere!

[pianowolfi]

I can confirm that m1469 was always practicing, every time I entered the academy building I heard a "come scoglio", Abegg variations or Appassionata from somewhere. Once I couldn't localize where the sound came from so I asked her on facebook which room she was in, lol. And it took at least five people to get her out of her practice room in the evening, but we had to do it, otherwise she would have died of hunger  

[oxy60]

I can confirm that m1469 was always practicing, every time I entered the academy building I heard a "come scoglio", Abegg variations or Appassionata from somewhere. Once I couldn't localize where the sound came from so I asked her on facebook which room she was in, lol. And it took at least five people to get her out of her practice room in the evening, but we had to do it, otherwise she would have died of hunger  

Well Europh(f)iles, it looks like she's got the bug. And we all hope all her future experiences will be positive. She has the right attitude. Without the right attitude it will be unbearable.

I love every aspect and every minute of life in Europe and try to be there as much as possible but I still need to make my money in the US.

 

[m1469]

Yeah, I would like an apartment in Vienna .  But, maybe in some dream land far away, I'd like an apartment in several cities throughout the world!  I'm back home, safe and sound.  I was traveling for about 24 hours (or more) and had a difficult time staying awake in the last airport I was in, and even fell asleep on the last plane the very moment I sat down!  I slept a fairly normal night's sleep at home last night, though I awoke a couple of times just long and sharp enough to have realizations about my life  .

I want to travel ... a lot.  But, something I realized last night is that I appreciate having somewhere that I call home - it would be strange not to.  I also realized that I like my life and the things that I do and the people that are in it, in the one condition that it doesn't ultimately trap me or become my entire circumference in life, and that I can travel and explore and learn new things (so, a certain unhappiness has not been about those things and people at all, truly, but rather about me).  Not that traveling as much as I'd like is necessarily going to happen right away, I am just more clearly realizing what kind of life that I like and I think that's important.  Another thing that I realized is that, while I loved Europe, I would probably get just as antsy there if that's all I ever knew about life.  It's not just the place(s) where I live (and where I live is amazing), it's who I am and what my inner self is all about.  I could permanently live in the most beautiful place on earth, I could probably have the best job at the same place for all of my life, but my inner self wants to be traveling and seeing the world, and that would be true no matter where I am.

PS - yesterday I flew over Greenland and over the tundra land in Canada ... I was thrilled to be able to see it so clearly and beautifully ... people pay to have flying tours over those types of regions, and I realized I was doing pretty much just that (though I was 32,000 feet in the air in this case).  It was really amazing to see the glacial regions in Greenland and gigantic cloud formations (a degree to which I've never seen before) on the tundra regions in Canada.  Very cool

[m1469]

No doubt, it will change you permanently.

Reading your posts over the last few years, you strike me as someone that is in the "wilderness" as we say in England. This trip of yours is not just something that you want to do, but something you simply have to do and you are going to be as restless as a bot fly until it is done. But when it is done, your path will be more clear, but it is a one way street with no way back.

This is it me old Foxy, this is the big one.

Thal

I think that in many ways you were/are exactly right!  This is my first real morning back home and I am adjusting as I go, digesting my experiences in Europe.  I've read just a tiny bit of this thread and I feel like I am reading about a different person (especially as it was the first page that I skimmed in order to find this post from you that I've quoted).  I am in the process of updating my blog, which I began in order to record these experiences that I had.  It's going to take me a while to fully digest my experiences and the lessons that I learned (and what it all means to my life), but at the same time I am able to immediately glean very much from these experiences.  Overall it was extremely positive (including my performing experiences - which were all extremely positive for me (especially with piano)) and I am filled with gratitude to those who helped to make it possible, who were so supportive in various ways, and to my teachers who helped to prepare me for it.

Today I will be teaching again and practicing at home again ... almost time to make some noise (still a little cleaning to be done first!).  Cheers .

[m1469]

Wow, I just very surfacely perused this thread.  I'm still trying to mentally/emotionally/spiritually find my way through my experiences in Europe, it's a learning experience just to digest it all.  In some ways it's as though my subconscious is replaying the whole trip from the beginning, and I'm still packing and just getting ready to leave my hometown .  I woke in the middle of the night last night and became aware between sleeping and waking that my subconscious was digesting my experiences; not just dreaming, but digesting, similarly to PPI, in fact.  

I think that right now my mind is aiming to separate my Vienna experience from my Festival/Italy experience, and there are those two categories.  Overall the experiences are related, of course, but it seems my mind needs to separate them to help me understand them.  So, Vienna ... there are not really enough words.  It was *so* fun, amazing, and a tremendous growing experience to have that time to myself, to land in Munich after 16-something hours of flying (and the flying itself was a bit of a "thing" for me), to not speak German at all, to get my luggage and figure my way to the underground train station, and then to be down there trying to figure out what to do next.   Ok, that's what my mind can handle remembering at the moment.  I actually came here to post photos ... haha.  Not ready  .  

I  LOVED Vienna.

[m1469]

How I love thee, Vienna   - This was my last evening there, the evening of profound ravioli ... and I just could hardly bring myself to leave the town center for the last time (of my first voyage there  ) and stayed there until I was as ready as I could be to leave.  I was just completely engrossed in watching people, listening to the life there, and soaking in as much as I possibly could.  I'm quite glad I took some short videos .

[oxy60]

Thank you m1469 for the video. We see a ton of things in your shots. All positive. When you visit other cities you will also see pedestrian zones like this one. Wonderful moments outside on a balmy evening.