Vienna was nice. Upon arrival I visited a restaurant with two friends, where only after we finished our meal did we learn that the place only accepted cash. Naturally, we didn’t have any, and we spent the next half-hour looking for an ATM, hastily running through the streets like the crazy Americans that we most certainly were. It was actually quite a lot of fun.
On Monday we heard the Orchestra del’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia perform. I was delighted to hear the G major piano concerto of Ravel, played by Vikingur Olafsson. Though I will say that I disagreed with many of his artistic choices (as I’ll admit that I usually do), it was undoubtedly an absolutely stunning performance. Only on one occasion have I ever attended a better presentation of any piano concerto.
While in Vienna we also heard the Vienna Symphony perform at the Musikverein. It has been a dream of mine for many years to visit the hall, and the concert brought back many sweet memories of my younger self marveling at the space through recorded concerts on YouTube. From the second-row seats we heard the violin concerto of Beethoven, which was, of course, awe-inspiring as only Beethoven can be.
When we weren’t at concerts our time was filled with various museums, tours, and adventures. Highlights, for me, include the St. Stephen’s cathedral, the Kunsthistorisches museum, and the Belvedere museum.
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