On Friday evening Erika, Rachel and I ventured into town to attend a talk and round-table discussion on the U.S. presidential election. The event was moderated by Eugen Freund, a well-known Austrian news reporter and good friend of the parentals. So we arrived at the scene of the event to discover that:
1). We were a tad under-dressed.
2). Free booze.
3.) Free food.
His Excellency the American Ambassador explained the electoral college and discussed some of the issues of this election to a mixed American and Austrian audience. There were also several Austrian speakers as part of the roundtable discussion. We expected this to be in German, it was actually in English. Fine with me!
After the talk came to an end, it was back to the atrium for more food and drink: mini quiches, schnitzels, sandwiches, and mimosas.
Eugen introduced the three of us to the American Ambassador. I have to admit I was a bit starstruck for a second, as it occurred to me right at that moment that this was most likely the most "famous" person I had ever met. If you want to become the American Ambassador to Austria, you have to have been a major campaign donor. Who knew?
The three of us felt pretty swanky schmoozing around for the rest of the evening. There were a lot of Americans in attendance, one of whom, an opera singer, we made friends with and will hopefully hang out with soon. There were also some fancy photographers walking around who took pictures of our little group. So for all I know my face is plastered on some online Austrian society page. I should google.
After that it was off to Augustiner Bräu to celebrate Cecilia's birthday with everyone. Such a great evening.
On Saturday, I headed over to Rachel's and Libby's in the morning. Rachel and I made plans to go for a hike, watch some Downton Abbey, and cook dinner. The planned hike turned into a leisurely walk into the Altstadt for coffee and cake. We picked up some ingredients on the way home to make carbonara, and then went back to Rachel's where Erika, Libby, and Liz joined us for dinner.
This weekend was also Salzburg Jazz and the City, a series of performances around town. Erika had some friends from the Kopinghaus (sp?) who were going to check out some of the concerts going on. We met up with them and headed over to a small theater near Mirabellplatz. I was expecting some sort of loud standing room concert with too much noise and average music. Instead we walked into a small dark theater with seats and a piano on the stage. Perfect.
This particular performance consisted of a pianist with vocals accompanied by a trumpet. I'm sure there is a much musically correct way to describe that. **Just looked up the artists, they are Jens Thomas and Verneri Pohjola.
The music and vocals was such a great sound, rock covers with a slow, soulful jazz melody. At one point the pianist had one hand beating a drum and the other playing the piano.
I'd placed my empty glass under my seat, which I promptly knocked over with my foot. Kling klang kling klang. My glass was empty, so no there was no damage done there. The pianist started to sing "and then another glass...falls down." The audience burst out laughing and I slid into my seat as far down as I could go.
Today was a day trip to Mondsee with Rachel and Libby, and tomorrow (and Tuesday) I have off. My life here is pretty darn swell, it must be said.
1). We were a tad under-dressed.
2). Free booze.
3.) Free food.
His Excellency the American Ambassador explained the electoral college and discussed some of the issues of this election to a mixed American and Austrian audience. There were also several Austrian speakers as part of the roundtable discussion. We expected this to be in German, it was actually in English. Fine with me!
After the talk came to an end, it was back to the atrium for more food and drink: mini quiches, schnitzels, sandwiches, and mimosas.
Eugen introduced the three of us to the American Ambassador. I have to admit I was a bit starstruck for a second, as it occurred to me right at that moment that this was most likely the most "famous" person I had ever met. If you want to become the American Ambassador to Austria, you have to have been a major campaign donor. Who knew?
The three of us felt pretty swanky schmoozing around for the rest of the evening. There were a lot of Americans in attendance, one of whom, an opera singer, we made friends with and will hopefully hang out with soon. There were also some fancy photographers walking around who took pictures of our little group. So for all I know my face is plastered on some online Austrian society page. I should google.
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| Eugen Freund and I |
After that it was off to Augustiner Bräu to celebrate Cecilia's birthday with everyone. Such a great evening.
On Saturday, I headed over to Rachel's and Libby's in the morning. Rachel and I made plans to go for a hike, watch some Downton Abbey, and cook dinner. The planned hike turned into a leisurely walk into the Altstadt for coffee and cake. We picked up some ingredients on the way home to make carbonara, and then went back to Rachel's where Erika, Libby, and Liz joined us for dinner.
This weekend was also Salzburg Jazz and the City, a series of performances around town. Erika had some friends from the Kopinghaus (sp?) who were going to check out some of the concerts going on. We met up with them and headed over to a small theater near Mirabellplatz. I was expecting some sort of loud standing room concert with too much noise and average music. Instead we walked into a small dark theater with seats and a piano on the stage. Perfect.
This particular performance consisted of a pianist with vocals accompanied by a trumpet. I'm sure there is a much musically correct way to describe that. **Just looked up the artists, they are Jens Thomas and Verneri Pohjola.
The music and vocals was such a great sound, rock covers with a slow, soulful jazz melody. At one point the pianist had one hand beating a drum and the other playing the piano.
I'd placed my empty glass under my seat, which I promptly knocked over with my foot. Kling klang kling klang. My glass was empty, so no there was no damage done there. The pianist started to sing "and then another glass...falls down." The audience burst out laughing and I slid into my seat as far down as I could go.
Today was a day trip to Mondsee with Rachel and Libby, and tomorrow (and Tuesday) I have off. My life here is pretty darn swell, it must be said.
Awesome post! I am sure it was great hanging out with all the elites of Austria! And the American Ambassador! Can't wait to go for a "hike" and get coffee and cake with you :P
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