Day 5: Vienna Fun Times and Mariahilf Concert

Though our beloved U.S. Men's Soccer Team lost to Belgium the night before, we were very much excited about exploring Vienna on this day. In fact, when asked what she was most excited about, Soprano I, Allyson Phillips, replied, "The palaces. 'Cause I'm a princess!" Vienna certainly did not disappoint in this regard. A city of almost 2 million residents and 23 living districts, Vienna is a city peppered with modern buildings, classic stucco exteriors, and Greek influences. We were able to see this on our bus tour of the city center, along with various universities, the opera house, museums, and even where Freud had his coffee!

While on our bus tour, we were able to take a walking tour of the Hapsburger winter palace, where the royal family spent their time from October to May. Here they train Lippizaner horses for performances, but school was out for the summer for these stunning stallions. Following the winter palace, we visited Schonbrunn (the summer palace), where we naturally took a group picture in our Spurs gear before entering the palace for another tour.

It was here we learned about the Hapsburger family tree (which included Queen Maria Therese having SIXTEEN CHILDREN), the different rooms and how there was a room made of Brazilian Rosewood just 'cause, and various celebrity appearances, including John F. Kennedy.

After our tour of the palace, we were given the opportunity to explore the city circle or go back to the hotel. A few of us went to the shopping street and visited the department store, Steffl. Following the realization that we couldn't afford the 1,089.00 Euro Jimmy Choos, we took the metro back to the hotel, and prepared for our next concert.

This time, SACS and Conventus Musicus each performed a set at the Mariahilf Church (aka Haydnkirche), and also performed Locus Iste and May The Lord Bless You And Keep You together. Between sets, we had the opportunity to watch Conventus Musicus perform various songs in different languages, such as French, Latin, and German. We ended our set with Deep In The Heart of Texas, and even had audience members clapping along with us!  Seth played some organ pieces for Flute Clock by Haydn.

 
Listen to us sing some of our selections from this concert:  Sing to the Lord, Super flumina Babylonis, MLK.

 

Finally, we ended the night with a delicious late night dinner and numerous memories!

XOXO,
Christina