Here we are, already on our penultimate day in Europe. Although the days all feel lengthy and exhausting, the trip has gone by in a flash. Our busy itinerary has kept us up into late hours, so all of us are gradually getting more tired. This morning, we overslept again, getting down to breakfast at (gasp!) 7:30. Right before we left for morning's rehearsal, Cameron demonstrated his unique and hilarious ingenuity when he accidentally threw a euro coin out our open window. If you remember the scene from Pixar's “Up” where Russell throws his Wilderness Explorer GPS out the window, it happened exactly like that. So funny!
For our rehearsal, both my trio and the Shostakovich trio were banished to the the Hostelek (a piano shop?) because the faculty thought we didn't need another coaching (so the coaches could work with some other groups), which we took to be quite high praise. Since we didn't have a coach, our trios decided to play for each other and give some comments. It was really fun and very helpful. After our rehearsal time was over, we hung out with the other trio, waiting the the bus to show up. The bus, however, ended up being twenty minutes late, so we just played on the pianos (and a harpsichord!) for a while to pass the time. After getting picked up, we played Egyptian Rat Slap (the official card game for classical musicians) until we reached the drop-off point for lunch.
A few of us adventurous folks had a craving to try Austrian McDonald's, so we found the magical golden arches and ventured inside. The restaurant was packed with people, so Ashlyn and I run upstairs to snag a table in the kiddy section. While waiting for the food, Alec Hon (brother of Allan, and also a cellist) made a chair out of giant Lego-like blocks for himself. The food itself was actually quite good. But then again, I haven't been to an American McDonald's in a while, so I don't really have a good reference to compare it to. Regardless, the meal fulfilled its purpose and made all of us quite happy. We stopped in a few nearby shops before heading back to the bus and saw a few interesting places, such as “Red Bull World” and “Scholosserei Bieber”. In addition, we passed by a few groups of street musicians who actually were quite decent. The bus (and another epic game of Rat Slap) took us back to the hotel, where we are now. Tonight's concert is coming up fast and everyone is excited to perform. We'll be leaving for our final sound check in about half an hour.
-Philip
https://picasaweb.google.com/109511667393649244721/Austria41212
https://picasaweb.google.com/109511667393649244721/Austria41212
