Mozart and Miscommunications

First day of school!  

We had a meeting with Doc this morning before class, talking about the AAIE (the Austria American Institute of Education, where we'll be taking classes), the upcoming week, and our weekend in Prague!

After the meeting, our classes started at 9:30.  My class, Vienna's Musical Traditions, continued where we had left off: Mozart.  Dr. Reisinger (who shares the same first name as dear Mozart), had assigned each of us a presentation to give during class, which we began today.  Micah gave a nice presentation about Mozart's early life (despite questionable wifi).  Dr. Reisinger supplied the rest of the information in his way.  It's very cool to learn more about the composers themselves, in conjunction with their works; as a music major, sometimes the music overshadows the composer, and it's nice to tip the scales back a little bit.  Mozart was a true, one-of-a-kind genius, and learning more about his life has been absolutely fascinating.  

After class, my buddy Abigail and I stopped at the sausage stand on the corner by the Albertina for lunch.  The Albertina is a giant museum of art, named for Prince Albert and his wife (a few members of the Hapsburg line).  The sausage stand is legendary - you can buy a kasekreiner (big ole' sausage), which they stuff into a loaf of bread and smother in ketchup and mustard.  It's messy, greasy, and delicious.  

I spent the next few hours waiting for some contact, any contact from my family.  Visiting Austria themselves, we had planned to meet up during my first full week in Vienna.  They didn't have a working phone or wifi, so it was a very frustrating 5 1/2 hours for all of us.  

Thankfully, Doc, as you'd expect, was amazing, and waited the whole time to make sure we all got together.  *Round of applause for Doc Hemenway everyone - he's the greatest.*

I took a walk by myself while I was waiting, which was very cool.  I explored some places I had been before, and ventured further.  I walked through the park with a Mozart statue, past the Burg Theatre, and all the way to the Universität Wien (Vienna University).  I got lost coming back, but managed to find my way just as the sun finally showed itself.  

I finally met up with Mom, Dad and Karen after getting a coffee and a walk with Audrey and Allison.  We went to see Doc, who found a hotel for my family, and walked us over together before heading home.  

The four of us went to dinner at an Austrian restaurant, where we shared awful travel stories, new foods, and enjoyed each other's company.  

Mom and Dad walked me all the way to the U4 back home, then we all said good night.  

What a beautiful city to share with friends and family!