Day 4 - Travel to Vienna & a Stop in Melk

Today we traveled to Vienna, and was able to take a break in Melk. There we toured the monastery, which also serves as a high school to children from ages 11 to 18.  There are still 30 active monks that belong to this monastery. They are in charge of 23 surround parishes, and 3 of them are teachers at the high school. The grounds were beautiful!  This abbey was established by the Hapsburg Empire whom once used the grounds as a residence/ fortress.  They moved from the location to live in Vienna, and then founded the monastery. Walking up the grand staircase led to a large portrait of Marie Therese and her husband whom stayed as guests at the abbey.  There is an expansive hallway of 600 feet, with 20 rooms lining the walls - three floors of the same design make up 60 rooms created for the use of guests before the times of hotels. Now these rooms have been converted to a museum, which we were able to tour. The grounds, history, stories, libraries, dinning halls, vistas, and baroque church were all stunning.  What a great history lesson and feast for the eyes!

After our stop in Melk, it was on to Vienna - not only Austria's capitol city, but also considered the capitol of Europe in many ways.  Vienna is quite a contrast to the sleepy little town of Salzburg! Energy, excitement, beautiful & eclectic architecture (including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Neo-classic, neo-gothic, and neo-baroque) sum up some of the first impressions of the city for me.

We are now all in our respective hotels, all checked safely into bed.  It is "lights out" for the students, as well as for me!

Stay tuned for more adventures to come in beautiful and exciting Vienna!

Auf weidersehen!
Katye

Photos from Musikverein, Vienna, and Esterhazy Palace

From Katye Leonard, with Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra on their Central European Concert Tour with Napa Valley Youth Orchestra

Day 3 - Salzburg Walking Tour & Our First Performance
Today we were led around this beautiful city of Salzburg, Austria.  We were guided by a local resident wearing a yellow dress, sun hat, carrying a silk sun flower for us to follow.  We were thrilled to tour the Mozart Platz, stand in the room where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born, view his first  violin as child, and his working harpsichord. We were then guided through various city squares and points of interest.  One of the highlights of the trip was a tour of St. Peter's Abbey Church - a beautiful cathedral intricate and artistic cathedral. It was amazing.

Following our guided tour, we toured the fortress offering beautiful vistas of the city. Our performance tonight at St. Andrew's was wonderful; our hosts and audience were so gracious and appreciative of the music we performed for them.  They showed us their thanks by giving each orchestra member a Mozart chocolate - yummmm! Overall, a wonderful day.  I am sad to be leaving Salzburg in the morning, I feel I could have easily spent three more days here!

Auf wiedersehen!

From Katye Leonard, with Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra on their Central European Concert Tour with Napa Valley Youth Orchestra

Day 2 - Evening Update
Okay - I just have to add to last night's events!  We ended up walking to our dinner place through the tunnels in Salzburg.  It was about 15 minutes, and very picturesque.  Our group, the MSYO musicians and families, made great time and were the first to arrive at the dining hall - a very large room with rustic chandeliers, wooden tables & chairs, and deer antlers lining the walls.  We got a little wet from the storm, but found the hall warm, dry and comforting.  The other members of the group, led by Ming Luke were lagging behind - and what an entrance they made about 15 minutes later!!  Apparently, the storm had picked up quite a bit and let sheets of water pouring down flooding the streets.  Unfortunately (or comically), the rest of the group got caught right in the middle - they came in drenched from head to toe!  It looked as if they all took a swim in the river in their close before coming to dinner!  Ming literally rung out the bottom of his shirt to produce pools of water on the floor - it was all quite exciting, and entertaining for those of us that were lucky enough to keep dry! Dinner was great, and sleep was even better!

- Katye

From Katye Leonard, with Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra on their Central European Concert Tour with Napa Valley Youth Orchestra

Day 1/2 - TRAVEL!
We have all arrived, been accounted for and are safe and sound!  Parents, breathe a sigh of relief!  Our flight left San Francisco, and 10 hours later, we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany where we hustled through customs and another security check for our flight to Munich. From Munich, our group met three buses, bus drivers, and delightful tour managers. Our buses, named Bus Mozart, Bus Dvorak, and Bus Beethoven transported us through beautiful Germany to Salzburg, Austria.  We are all exhausted!!  We all are appreciating a brief time at our hotels to shower and change, then we will meet at about 6:40 pm to walk to dinner in a 81 degree (F) raining thunder storm.  Needless to say, after being awake for approximately more hours than I can calculate right now, we will be sleeping well tonight!

Pictures of the trip so far to come later!
Auf wiedersehen :)