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.

And did those feeeet in ancient times.....

A sampling of pictures from my sister's and my capers in Tel Aviv and England...

Chilling at the seaside

The dynamic duo, post-recital

With most of my audience members :)

(l-r Marina, Karen, Adriana, me, Franziska, Cecile, Debbie, Zoya)

With my sisters

The lovely Elsa and me

Goofing off at Port Said

(l-r Franziska, Adriana, Zoya, Shani, Karen, me)

Slightly overwhelmed by our luggage

This trip sponsored by Tyrell's English Chips

(other less-tasty chips are available from your local grocer)

The last rose of England

On to the wedding!!! With our newly married friend, Rachel

 Two blushing brides for the price of one!
Rachel and Emily, joyously married since 28 June 2014

Flower Girls

And now, our plant impressions...

This trip heavily sponsored by Sainsbury's

(other massive grocery chains are available at a city near you)

The first of many Pimm's!

(sadly, not available at your local grocer)

A sample of the amazing graffiti at Camden Market

We also enjoyed these store fronts...

Getting ready to see Monty Python!

This trip also sponsored by Evian

(other non-Alps-sourced water is available from your sink)

And thus began a surreal and fantastic evening...

They still like to dress up in women's clothes

Eric Idle trying desperately not to laugh during John Cleese's 5-minute-long throat clearing

 

Everyone expected them...

 

...but nobody expected him!

And with that, my life is now more complete.

The wandering Jewess is back!

Shalom rav l'kulam!

Well, where to begin? It has been a packed summer so far - Rolling Stones' concert in Tel Aviv, 1 recital, 1 wedding (not my own), Monty Python Live, opera overload, balagan in the Motherland, 1 Bavarian castle, and 4 countries in less than 2 months!

At the end of June, my sister came for a much-anticipated trip to Israel - she hadn't been back since our Birthright trip 4 years ago. We spent our time stuffing our faces with watermelon (not an exaggeration) and rehearsing for a joint recital. After only 2 rehearsals, we gave a small recital at my teacher's house of arias and art song (Youtube link coming soon!). June also saw the end of my improvisation workshop and we gave a short "performance" along with the members of the other workshops (directing and musical theater). We had a massive "Golden Bird" moment where we had all agreed to play one game but somebody had never played it before and suddenly switched to a different game! But we just kept breathing and carried on like pros. Improvisation has really changed my perspective on collaboration and life in general. It is so much easier to "yes, and..." everything than to resist! I am really looking forward to the next workshop.

After the recital, Adriana and I headed to Oxford for our friend Rachel's wedding. It was truly an international affair - one bride from America, one from England, guests from both sides of the ocean, and mostly German musicians playing Irish folk music during the reception! I had my first experience with Irish dancing, which involves a lot of stomping, clapping, and whopping. I am going to have to wear better stomping shoes next time...the floor was way too slippery for heels! Adriana and I also scandalized some of the guests by some free-style choreography on the dance floor, including a literal dance version of Blink 182's "All the Small Things" (heavily influenced by the music video). England will never be the same.

After Oxford, we invaded London for Monty Python's live show at the O2. We had been secretly nervous that the online tickets weren't actually valid, but we got in without any problems! It was surreal to be in the same room as the Pythons (and Stephen Fry!!!). The guys kept cracking up and the more they did, the more the audience loved it. I have never felt such energy in a place, it was almost overwhelming how much palpable love was in the air.

Next on the itinerary was Munich for my long-awaited opera program. Adriana returned to the States to resume her fantastic free-lance life and I braced myself for a month of opera and living with singers again (not for the faint of heart!). I will write more about the program in its own post, since there is much to write!

In the meantime, know that I am safe and well in Munich. I have decided to stay here for another month to give the Middle East some time to sort itself out. I am currently waiting in a hostel lobby until I can check into my next accommodation. Ah, the life of the gypsy singer...

I hope that you're all having lovely summers!

Mozartkugeln und Johannesbeeren,

Daniella