Bel Canto, Belle Gente

Just a few pictures of my fellow songers.

More to come (hint, hint, guys, send me your pictures, please!)

Jillian and I shared many a vegetarian-themed adventure.

We found the leckerest soup at the Victuals Market - they garnish their soups with flower petals!

(The following pictures are courtesy of Jillian)

Avec Pauline en route à Salzbourg :)

(It is vital to travel with proper provisions, in this case, radishes)

 Most of the gang atop the Salzburg fortress

(l-r Jillian, Jinmyeong, Stephanie, Sophie, Ben, Jeremy, Ben, Tristan, Krista, Jamie, me, Pauline)

Enjoying a good old-fashioned "German" dönner/falafel in Neuschwanstein

I love this set of pictures for Ben's outrageous expression/hair

 

We were relegated to the baggage car on the way back from Neuschwanstein.

Amira and Pauline were clearly thrilled. Jeremy did not share in their enthusiasm.

 Bel Canto "family dinner" on one of our last evenings

(clockwise from l: Jeremy, Jamie's boyfriend, Jamie, me, Krista, Stephanie, Amira, Danielle, Rita, Pauline, Ben, Ben, Elizabeth, Laura, Ercan and Annette our acting coaches, Elena, Sophie, Michaela, Caroline)

 Jamie and I were the only mezzos on the program!

We certainly had our work cut out for us - we were the only 2 Haensels vs. 7 Gretels!

Saying [temporary] goodbyes!

(l-r Danielle, Pauline, Stephanie, Rita, me)

 

With the young Americans...and Australians :)

(l-r Jeremy, Michaella, Laura, me, Elizabeth, Sophie, Tristan, and Caroline)

Accompanying people to the train station...

 (l-r Krista, Stephanie, Pauline, and enthusiastic kiosk worker in the background)

 

Roomies!

 

That's all for now!

Schloss Neuschwanstein!

One overcast day, we traveled to Neuschwanstein for a taste of King Ludwig's madness

The Misty Mountains 

Jillian and I went in search of vegetarian-friendly food (no small feat in Bavaria!)

We were rewarded with about 4-potatoes'-worth of soup, a tasty date-garnished salad and more steamed vegetables than we could handle. 

Triumphant with her date!

But for the castle and mountains, I could have been back in Wisconsin

A view from our climb to the top!

I spy a castle in the distance!

A view from the castle. No wonder Ludwig liked it here.

Schloss Neuschwanstein in all of its glory

 Looking down into the gorge

 

 I really admire these trees.

 We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle, so here's another view of the outside 

On a frightening note, when I looked at a picture of Neuschwanstein on a post card, the Disney theme tune popped into my head! 

Now that is what I call effective marketing.

The hills were indeed alive with the sound of music...

We took a day trip to Salzburg, which should really be called Mozartburg because everything is named after him! True to form, we sang various songs from "The Sound of Music" on the train ride down.

These are the Mirabell Palace and Gardens where there was an army band playing appropriately Straussian tunes.

In this case, M is for McDonald's, not Mozart.

We were shocked and amazed at the design.

These are actually trash bins, but aren't they cute?

Another one

Pauline and I pause for a Nikon moment.

Apparently this is the Holy Trinity Church.

I could not tell you who this is - Fierce Forester Protector of Salzburg?

The fountain at the Residenz, can you spot the snails, lizards, and turtles?

   

A group of us went up the mountain to the castle, here is the view from the top!

(It was quite hazy in the distance)

Looking down at Salzburg

We imagined that the small cottage is where the witch from Haensel and Gretel lives

Lovely mountains

Another view from the castle

This is the actual mecca for Mozartkugeln. 

They claim to be the first producers of the tasty chocolate wonders and I must say that the chocolate is much higher quality than the red label kugeln.

We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Mozart's residence museum, but I enjoyed these illustrations by Jakob and Nico, both aged 9.

(l - "Was Mozart an alien?"

r - "Naturally, Mozart could fly")

Can you spot the heinous error on this t-shirt?

The castle from afar

 

Saying farewell to the Austrian Alps

 

Teutonic Travels

An assortment of pictures from Munich

 Lovely countryside on the outskirts of Munich

Before the program started, some fellow participants and I wandered to the Tollwood Festival,
where we saw this act.
Nobody sneeze!!!

And back down again!
Whew!

After a rousing night of songs by Ted Ganger, we headed to "Hans im Glück," the local [posh] burger joint.
The restaurant is based on a German fable and the decor makes you feel as if you are eating in a forest.

(l-r Jillian, Rita, Stephanie, Amira)

The other merry side of the table

(l-r Danielle, Pauline, me)

These pictures are of the Bayerische Staatsoper. It was destroyed and re-built quite a few times, but nobody ever thought to install air conditioning. The Bavarians are sticklers for tradition.

They do like their chandeliers

Zubin Mehta gets around

The inside of the opera house, this picture does not do it justice.

Ludwig II used to fill the opera house with his entire army in order to achieve the same acoustics of having a full opera house. 

I would gladly enlist in his army!

 

This is in fact a double rainbow, but my camera was overcome and could not capture it well.

We didn't find any leprechauns, I guess they don't come to Germany.