London and Dublin

After saying goodbye to Austria for a while, I headed into London on Tuesday 7th November. The traveling itself was longer than I really thought it would be, with a train from Laengenfeld to Munich and then the flight to London with all of the airport messing around – a very long day.

Also, I’m really not sure what I’ve ever done to Munich, but that town really hates me – trying to store luggage in the Hauptbahnhof was a near impossible task – they had the facilities but just wanted to make it difficult (and expensive) – oh and my British Airways flight to London was cancelled. Luckily they just put me on a Lufthansa flight that left a little before my original flight.

My first experience on the London tube from Heathrow was a train that stopped for 30 minutes for no apparent reason – a great introduction, but one that would prove fairly typical. Eventually I got to Fi and Pete’s place and had enough time to dump my bags and head into town to meet up with them to see Billy Elliot.

Billy Elliot is such a great story and was fantastically performed – especially the boy playing Billy Elliot. Unfortunately the music is eminently forgettable. I’m really not convinced that it needed to be a musical at all – a theatre show with lots of dance would have worked just as well. Still, it was moving and funny and everything that you want from a night at the theatre.

The next day I headed to Dublin flying with the incredibly cheap RyanAir... now that’s an experience… no assigned seating and so it’s a general bungfight to get onto the plane… kinda like Virgin Blue without what little service they provide. But the fact that my return flight was only 5 pounds makes it all worth it I guess.

Dublin itself didn’t impress me much. As a city, it’s in definite need of some more facilities and services - like taxis that actually stop to pick passengers up (especially at cab ranks), or a public transport system that’s vaguely effective, or even just some street signs. Crossing roads is terrifying as pedestrian lights really don’t seem to apply to pedestrians or drivers. And I really didn’t encounter the alleged Irish friendliness… I’m guessing that Dublin is the exception rather than the norm though.

Not that much sightseeing in Dublin (and I didn’t take any photos at all!) – I had a wander through Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells which was pretty cool. I also did a walking tour through the city from the Lonely Planet guide, but it felt like I was walking through the industrial part of Collingwood most of the time – not the most scenic walking tour I’ve ever done. Things are expensive, too – each cathedral charged 5 Euro entry fee, which I refused to pay, and the Book of Kells was 8 Euro and only really took 40 minutes…

Aside from the actual city, though, I had an awesome time catching up with my friends Paul and Anna. They took me to their choir rehearsal on our first night which was so nice to sing some real music again. Their conductor was great too – she kept apologizing for being so cranky with the choir that night (apparently it wasn’t their best rehearsal ever) and yet she had stayed so calm with them – I was very impressed – definitely no tantrums… There was obligatory drinking after choir and we also went for dinner the next night and hit the town. After 7 months away from home, just hanging out with people that know me well was amazing. Thanks so much, guys!

Back to London on Friday and off to more shows (of course!). Even though I had already seen Wicked in New York, I was really excited to see it in London again because Idina Menzel (who was in the original broadway cast, won a tony award and was also in Rent on stage and in the movie) was playing Elphaba. Except on the night I went. Apparently it was her first night off in the run… Grrr… Even though the replacement was really very good, I was in a bad mood because Idina wasn’t on, so I really didn’t enjoy it at all. I think the replacement (who takes over from Idina in January apparently) will be better than Eden Espinosa (who is playing the role on Broadway) but the other 2 leads were really bad (in my opinion). Decidedly average singing (not always in tune and nasty tone) and horrific acting (almost like watching bad amateur Gilbert and Sullivan). My worst night of theatre in a while (still deciding whether it was worse than Spamalot and the Wedding Singer – but they were both matinees, so I can say it was my worst night…)

Saturday I caught up with Richard and Sarah John and their kids Owen and Emma for lunch and dinner. This was another case of feeling so good just from hanging out with people I know well. I felt so comfortable in their house and it gave me a really happy warm feeling (sounds all a bit hippy, but it is difficult to describe). Thanks for your hospitality guys – so great to see you all!

Saturday afternoon was Evita – an awesome production with Phillip Quast and Elena Roger (the first Argentinian actress to play Eva in London). Both were fantastic in their roles, and the guy playing Che was also awesome (Matt Rawle). Brilliantly staged, with lots of really interesting dancing and a great set. Very glad I decided to see this.

Saturday night was Avenue Q and it is hilarious. Even though I had heard the soundtrack several times before seeing the show, I was laughing through the whole performance. I was a little late to the theatre (another train hold up) and 5 minutes into the show, the audience were already really into it – very impressive. The puppets are great to watch and I can’t believe how huge the roles of Princeton and Kate Monster are – those guys are singing all night as several different characters.

Sunday was another hanging out day – this time with Fi and Pete. Fi and I headed to Hampton Court Palace where we did some great tours of the palace led by court musicians who played us a few tunes on authentic court instruments as we went around the castle (look in the pic for the trumpeter up on the roof). That night, all of us went for a great curry on Sunday night. Thanks again for letting me stay with you guys and it was so great to see you both. I can’t wait for the wedding in January!

Monday was my sightseeing day. Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Modern. Exhausting, but amazing to see all of the big icons of London. The Tate Modern really is an amazing museum – I just wish I had more time to take it all in. London wasn’t my favourite city – nice to visit and take in the lifestyle, but I really don’t feel the overwhelming desire to go and live and work there for a while. I will definitely enjoy going back for more visits though.

Monday night was Mary Poppins the musical. Another Disney spectacular with lots of amazing stage effects. It makes the Lion King seem pretty straightforward. It was an enjoyable show, but wasn’t life-changing theatre – it all felt a little too cold and calculated – not much heart for some reason.

And so ends the London experience and I’m ready for my Contiki experience. I’m sure there will be lots of stories to tell from that!

Things I Learnt In Vienna

Being in the cold for those few days has revealed some amazing things about this world to me. I feel I need to share my revelations.

1. The hooks on the back of toilet doors are not there just to facilitate a quick clothing change in between setting up a gig and then performing. They really are necessary to hang your coat.
   
2. Overcoats need to have lots of pockets to put gloves, hat, scarf and any necessary maps or theatre tickets in. They are also much better with one of those little loops on the collar to hang it by. Mine has neither.
   
3. Museums and Theatre tickets cost a lot more once you factor in the coat check. The audio guide is another necessary trap. A museum offering free coat check and audio guides is a very rare thing but it makes me very happy. Also, it’s not as easy to rush into the theatre 2 minutes before the performance starts when you have to factor in checking your coat.
   
4. Snow is much easier to walk through than rain. There should be more of it. I suspect I’ll change that view when the novelty factor of walking through a snow storm in a beautiful city wears off.
   
5. Designer ripped jeans aren’t nearly as cool when they show off the thermal leggings underneath.
   

Book – Me Talk Pretty One Day
By David Sedaris

I’ve decided I’m not a big fan of books that are a series of amusing anecdotes about things that have happened to the author, without much of a linking theme. Sedaris has a witty way of relating stories and is often hilarious, but it really felt like I was reading a blog. A good blog. But still a blog. Not a novel.

After reading a few of Augusten Burroughs’ books recently as well as a beautiful series of stories called Sottopassagio by Nick Alexander I think I have invested enough time in the genre to say that I like it but don’t love it. The books are usually really amusing, but feel more like reading a magazine. They are definitely more successful when the narratives are more clearly linked to form a bigger picture or theme, like Burroughs’ Running With Scissors or Sottopassagio.

Me Talk Pretty One Day has a few great stories about struggling with learning French after moving to Paris but other stories in the collection seem a bit too random. The stories about learning French were definitely the highlight of this book, especially since they are so relatable for me and my German at the moment. As they are the middle stories in the book, the whole thing felt like a normal curve (or a brontosaurus): very thin at one end, much much bigger (and better) in the middle and then thin again at the other end.

His writing is good, his stories funny but they just didn’t leave me feeling very satisfied. I know I would enjoy reading another book by Sedaris (or similar anecdotal writers) but only if I have nothing to read on a long train ride or flight.

That said, I’ve just started Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch, a series of anecdotes about football…

Vienna Continues

The last 3 days have been all about museums - mostly art galleries, but with a few oddities on the way.

A quick summary:

Friday

Again, lots of snow during the day - but at least its much easier to walk through snow than rain.

Fri morning: Kunsthistorisches Museum - an incredible gallery of old masters - even saw some Rembrandt paintings finally!! (see previous post about Rembrandt etchings). The best thing about this gallery (OK, second best behind the pretty incredible collection of paintings) was that you could bookmark your favourite paintings and then print your own personalised catalogue of favourites at the end - very cool!

Fri early afternoon: Schatzkammer - the imperial and ecclesiastical treasure collection of the Habsburgs. Oh my God! Huge jewels, crowns etc, but my favourite stuff was in the ecclesiastical collection. Pieces of the true cross (lots of them - some quite large - and some apparently survived a fire unharmed), 2 of the nails that crucified Christ, the lance that might have pierced Christ´s side, a piece of the manger he was born in, a part of the tablecloth from the last supper, a part of Christ´s loin cloth and the cloth the Veronica wiped Christ´s face with on the way to the crucifixion. Allegedly.

Fri late afternoon: Collection of Musical Instruments. Had to rush through this before it closed unfortunately. Great collection of really interesting instruments, though. A few too many examples of the developing piano and its predecessors, but some with direct connections to Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert which is cool.

Fri night: Rebecca the musical. I was so proud of myself for understanding this new Austrian musical based on the Daphne duMaurier book (which I havent read nor have I seen the Hitchcock movie). It was all in German, of course, and I did get the gist of most of what was said and sung. It was really well staged and had some amazing singers (especially the woman playing Mrs Danvers). There´s something about German pop music and musicals that is comically bad, though - it´s like they´re stuck on the 80s bus and can´t get off (a bit like me, maybe). This show had identifiable aspects of Chess, Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard and Les Miserables, plus pointless chorus numbers purely there for comic relief (in Rebecca?!?). Most of the songs were big power ballads with lots of repeated choruses and only passing reference to the plot. I enjoyed it, though - in 20 years I´ll probably be saying they are stuck on the 2000 bus and can´t get off...

Saturday

No snow today, just lots of rain - a good excuse to stay inside more museums. A slightly later start today after a few too many beers after the show last night...

Sat morning: Leopold museum. An art gallery specialising in Austrian painters. A good collection of Schiele, Klimt and Albin Egger-Lienz, who painted a lot of his work in Laengenfeld where I´ve just finished working! I really like his paintings too! They had a fantastic exhibition of German Expressionis paintings.

Sat afternoon: MUMOK - Museum of Modern Art (Kunst, hence the K in the title). I love modern art museums. They really make me laugh and challenge me all at once. There was a large exhibition of work bw Erwin Wurm. His specialties are dust sculptures, sweater sculptures and 1 minute sculptures where people hold a pose for 1 minute with an inanimate object or two - like lots of pens stuck up their nose and ears. Great stuff!

Sat late afternoon: Schönbrunn palace. Very pretty. Not sure if I could live there though. Certainly good for entertaining. I told the real estate agent I´d consider it and then gave him the wrong phone number.

Sat night: Tosca at the Wiener Staatsoper. Oh my God. Incredible singing and Tosca´s such a good opera. Stood at the back of a box for the whole opera which was a bit tiring after a day of museum walking, but could at least see almost all of the stage this time. Did I mention how amazing the singing was? Even the replacement Scarpia. Tosca was incredible. The tenor (Cavaradossi) cracked on a top note in the first act, with an audible reaction from the audience (almost like a footy match) but was great from then, especially his big sing in the 3rd act. Very exciting.

Sunday

Raining more and really cold and windy now. Last day here before heading back to the Aqua-Dome for a gig tomorrow night.

Sun morning: Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) Early start this morning (didn´t drink last night) to go and see the graves of the great composers. Conquered the public transport system. Beethoven, Gluck, Brahms, Johann Strauss, Wolf, Schubert and a monument to Mozart. Not the most exciting thing ever but something I felt I should do in Vienna as a musician.

Sun late morning: Mass in Karlskirche featuring Mozart Mass in C minor. Another really great )and free) performance and it really worked in the liturgical setting (though it did mean quite a long mass - and in German. Not so succesful in understanding the homily...). Was refreshing, though that the congregational hymn singing was decidedly average - felt just like home.

Sun afternoon: Haus der Musik. A museum devoted to music and how its made. Lots of interactive displays plus info on all the composers. Very well set up but a bit boring. Conducted the Virtual Vienna Philharmonic. They got angry at me... apparently the Blue Danube doesn´t go that fast...

And that´s up to now... tonight I´m going to see a play in German. Reigen by Arthur Schnitzler. I have read it before and have the script with me, so it will be interesting to see how much of the language I understand. Then I pack up and get on a train first thing tomorrow morning.

A tiring few days, but an incredible city. I´ll add some pics later when I´m not dealing with net cafes to write posts.

Vienna Day 1 - but wait there´s more...

I did forget one dot point last night.

7. I ended up in a piano bar of sorts after the opera. The difference being that the pianist was playing classical music and the people getting up to sing with her (seemingly spontaneously - like the old Karaoke night at Chadstone Howl) were singing classical music - arias and choral pieces...

Will wait for Day 2 to be over to write about it, but i will give you this little teaser... I have now seen (apparently) one of the nails that held Jesus to the cross, and a part of his loincloth...

Vienna Day 1

Im not counting yesterday because I didn´t arrive here until 4.45pm and really only booked into my hotel, went to the opera (or at least the second half of it because I had bought a ticket to the wrong performance of Don Giovanni! DOH! Kinda lucky though cos it really wasn´t very good...), went out for a drink and went to bed.

So anyway, today was my first day in Vienna. It is an amazing city. So much music. No pics yet (and a very brief blog entry because of the sticky internet-cafe keyboard... 1 finger typing... Hooray!!) but a few observations.

1. I have to admire a city where it is easier to find a classical CD store than a Pop one (though it´s a little dangerous for my budget)
2. In any other city if someone comes up to you with a clipboard, you are either being asked to donate to a charity or to do a mindless advertising survey. Here they are selling tickets to a classical music concert.
3. There really is a museum for every music thing possible. Today I went to the Wiener Staatsoper museum and the Theater Museum. Tomorrow I´m going to an ancient musical instruments museum... and it was so cool to look up my friend Jocelyn (Hickey) on the computer as an artist at the Wiener Staatsoper!
4. The Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) is amazing. Saw Rigoletto tonight with some of the most incredible singing I´ve ever heard (either live or on record). Unfortunately I had a set that prevented me from seeing much on the left side of the stage - and I think the director was blind in his right eye because everything happened on the left and I couldn´t see it - lucky the singing was good
5. Is there anything cooler than going to a Mass in the main Cathedral (which is cool on its own) and having an amazing performance of Mozart´s Requiem as part of the mass?? (and it was free!!!)
6. The only thing cooler might be the fact that it snowed today for the first time this year in Vienna - cooler in both the ´wow that´s cool´sense and in the `my god it´s cold´´sense

And yes, that was all just today. There´s probably more to write but the sticky-key internet cafe is closing.

Roll on Day 2!!!