Europe 2013

In the year of 2013, I had the opportunity to take part in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Competition 2013 in Vienna. On the way to Vienna and back to Singapore, the group stopped by at Prague, Salzburg and Munich. Many thanks to the kindness and fellowship of the orchestra members. They have made the trip to Europe especially positive and memorable.

Here are the links to the posts I have written on the trip:

3 Jul 2013: Setting off for Europe
4 Jul 2013: Our first afternoon and night at Prague
5 Jul 2013: Waking up to a good morning
5 Jul 2013: Prague's Old Town Square and more
5 Jul 2013: The Prague Castle
5 Jul 2013: The Prague Loreto and the rest of the evening
6 Jul 2013: From Prague to Vienna
7 - 9 Jul 2013: Vienna 2013
10 Jul 2013: From Vienna to Salzburg
Salzburg's exploration
10 Jul 2013: Mozart's birthplace and more of the evening
At the Mercure Salzburg Hotel
11 Jul 2013: Hohensalzburg Fortress
11 Jul 2013: An evening at Munich
12 Jul 2013: Exploring Munich

12 Jul 2013: Exploring Munich

12 Jul 2013: It was free-and-easy time in the morning and early afternoon. With the guidance of a few friends, I was able to tag along to visit the city area of Munich yet again. We visited Bauer-Hieber which essentially is a place to find various sheet music. I wondered why we could find musically inspired rubber ducks there too?

Another destination was the Neue Pinakothek Museum in Munich. The museum has a post-modern architectural style. For a distance, the museum blended very well into the surrounding picturesque landscape.

Neue Pinakothek Museum. Photo courtesy of Terence Low.

In this museum, visitors would have the privilege to view Van Gogh's Sunflowers (1888) and Claude Monet's Water Lilies (1915). Van Gogh's Plain near Auvers (1890) is also a part of the museum's collection. These were the paintings that I had used to study in art-history class when I was a teenager. Somehow, I felt comforted to see the original works face-to-face. The flowers in Van Gogh's Sunflowers looked alive!

Van Gogh's Sunflowers (1888).

I was attracted to a sculpture, The Fallen (1915/16), by Wilhelm Lehmbruck. It seemed to connect with me at some level. It was also an interesting piece of art compared to a museum that was dominated by paintings.

The group of us had lunch nearby the museum. Our meeting place was at the train station at Marienplatz. On my way to the train station, I met a local who had generously showed the way about Marienplatz and the nearby areas. That was an unexpected surprise.

Then time seemed to pass so fast and soon we would on the train that took us from Marienplatz to Haar, where the hotel was located. We were on the roads again to get to Munich airport. We were on our way back to Singapore. In the meantime, a number of the orchestra members chose to extend the trip.

Bye Europe.
A memorable journey.

11 Jul 2013: An evening at Munich

Munich. Hofbrauhas. Photo courtesy of Terence Low.

11 Jul 2013: After some travelling on the coach, we reached Hotel Acom Munich-Haar. Dinner was held at Hofbrauhas. The guests at Hofbrauhas were treated to a series of performances while having our meals.

At Hofbrauhas. Munich. Photo courtesy of Terence Low.

I did not get any alcoholic drink even though Hofbrauhas was possibly best known for its beer. In fact, I learnt that Hofbrauhas is the must-visit beer hall in Munich.

After dinner, I could not resist the temptation to treat myself to ice-cream. The ice-cream is delicious and much more value-for-money than those I could get in Singapore.

There was some time to explore the streets of Munich before heading back to the hotel. One of the mesmerising sights was the new town hall at Marienplatz. This building of Gothic Revival architecture looked magnificent. By the time when I was in Munich, I was possibly having over-stimulation of new experiences and was no longer taking information on the names of the buildings in Munich very well. Nevertheless, that did not stop me from admiring the beautiful architectural styles found in Munich.

New Town Hall. Marienplatz. Photo courtesy of Terence Low.

I felt grateful to be exploring a different part of the world, learning about different cultures and different ways of life. A mesmerizing evening it was.

11 Jul 2013: Hohensalzburg Fortress

The view from the fortress.

11 Jul 2013: The day to visit the Hohensalzburg Fortress. I learnt that a few of the orchestra mates had woken up early that day to hike up the fortress and enjoy the sunrise. The easier way to reach the fortress is to travel by the funicular railway.

Visitors to the fortress could join one of the walking tours with audio guide. I highly recommend it. It will take visitors to the interior area of the fortress, as well as the observation tower. The view from the observation tower is mesmerizing. The Marionette Museum is rather interesting and introduces visitors to the Marionette entertainment culture of Salzburg. The State Rooms in the fortress appear medieval in design.

At the Marionette Museum. Photo courtesy of Terence Low.

One of the exhibits in the Marionette Museum.

The view from the observation tower.

Musical instruments from the past in one of the rooms.

After exploring the fortress, there was some time to explore the nearby streets. Reflecting, I wish I had taken myself less seriously where observing time is concerned. While I would still like to observe punctuality, I learnt that I could be a bit more relaxed on sticking to it. That would have made life much kinder for myself and my friends around me.

Anyway, to ease me to a more relaxed mode, I took out my sketch book and did one of the very few sketches that I had done during the trip. It was done in about five minutes nearby Mozart's Birthplace.

After reaching the hotel after a day of sightseeing, it was time to travel to Munich by coach. We would be taking a flight from Munich to Dubai and then to Singapore on the following day.

10 Jul 2013: Mozart's birthplace and more of the evening

10 Jul 2013: Salzburg is a beautiful place. I love the mountains and the skies. I heard that it generally has a relatively wet weather. Thankfully, on our first day at Salzburg, the weather was generally good.

After a leisure stroll along the streets of Salzburg, my friends and I reached Mozart's Birthplace. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in the house at No. 9 Getreidegasse, Salzburg, on 27 Jan 1756. He lived there until 1773. I personally prefer the exhibits in Mozart's Birthplace to those in Mozart's Residence. As photography is not allowed in the exhibition halls, it is best to check the Mozart's Birthplace yourself to see why it is an interesting place. Please allow at least 1.5 hours for the visit.

By the way, during our visit to Mozart's Birthplace, we learnt that the SPAR Supermarket that was just adjacent to the Mozart's Birthplace sells Mirabel Chocolates at a cheaper price than those found in the souvenir shops.

Salzburg has lovely streets. The horses on the streets reminded me of a time in the history when motorised vehicles were not even invented.

St Peter's Abbey.

As my friends and I approached the St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg, we heard a choir singing, and two trumpeters accompanying the choir. Near the back of the church was a cemetery. The St Peter's Abbey is considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking area. I felt a sense of peace at St Peter's Abbey.

On our way back to the hotel for dinner, we came across a bakery. What caught my eyes were the bread that were shaped to look like musical instruments. Fascinating, aren't they?

The bakery. Photo courtesy of Terence Low.

10 Jul 2013: From Vienna to Salzburg

10 Jul 2013 (Wed):

The memories from the previous night's Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival's Farewell Reception was still vividly in my mind and soon it was already time to bid farewell to Vienna.

After breakfast at Hotel Airo Tower, the beautiful sunshine prompted me to check out the nearby park. I saw plants that looked like wheat. How beautiful they looked when the morning sunshine shone on them.

Soon enough, our coaches that would take us to Salzburg came. The sceneries along the way was beautiful. On our way to Salzburg, we took a break at a restaurant-cum-rest station called Landzeit. I have to say that the ice-cream from Landzeit was delicious. The food there looked good too.

Nearby Landzeit restaurant, there was a spot to catch beautiful views of the fields and the countryside. It's a blessing to experience the beauty of the countryside. Soon, we would be reaching Salzburg.

6 Jul 2013: From Prague to Vienna

On 6 Jul 2013, the orchestra was ready to head to Vienna for the Summa Cum Laude International Music Festival's Opening Ceremony. The coach journey took more than four hours as best as I could remember. On the coach, I was either catching up on my winks or watching the beautiful scenery from my seat. 

I was feeling thankful that the moving of instruments had been well planned. There were numerous instruments on board.

When we reached Hotel Airo Tower, our group merely left our luggage and instruments in a holding area before taking another coach to head for the St Stephen Cathedral. We were to be there for the SCL Festival Opening Ceremony.

As no coach is allowed to park near the St Stephen Cathedral, we had the pleasure to do some good walking along the streets of Vienna after the coach allowed us to alight near a tram station. Vienna has beautiful trams in my humble opinion. 

It was a pretty hot day that day. Thankfully we were wearing polo T-shirts as our attire for the Opening Ceremony. More meaningful days in Vienna were to come.

5 Jul 2013: The Prague Loreto and the rest of the evening

5 Jul 2013:
After visiting the Prague Castle, my friends suggested visiting the Prague Loreto Chapel. It is said to be a remarkable Baroque historic monument. I do not quite understand the historic significance of the place, yet it is a beautiful chapel to admire.

This chapel, I learnt, houses liturgical treasures including the famous star-shaped Sun of Prague which is studded with 6222 diamonds. I did not have a chance to see the Sun of Prague. Nevertheless, I marvelled at the beauty of the Prague Loreta Chapel against the evening skies.

When the skies were about to turn dark, we took tram service number 22 to head to a place for dinner. While waiting for the tram, we saw a red car speeding about.

Eventually, we decided upon having dinner at the Music Club located in Hotel U Zlateho Stromu, Prague. The pizzas there were reasonably priced and pretty delicious. This is a place for value-for-money pizza. I would have preferred outdoor seating. Then again, there were no available seats outdoor, so we had the indoor seats. Dinner was good.

After the dinner, we took a leisure walk about Charles Bridge. The Prague Castle that was located at a distance away looked beautiful against the evening skies.

5 Jul 2013: The Prague Castle

The Prague Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It consists of palaces and buildings of various architectural styles, from Roman-style buildings from the 10th century through Gothic modification in the 14 century.

The Prague Castle is open daily from 05:00 - 24:00 in the summer season. Be prepared to walk quite a bit. A good pair of walking shoes will be essential when visiting the Prague Castle.

The views from the Prague Castle was breathtaking. I fell in love with Prague thanks to the lovely views.

For reasons that I do not know, the St. Vitus Cathedral was closed by the time my friends and I reached at about 4.40 p.m. The best way I could get a glimpse of the interior of the cathedral was through a copy of the postcard that I have managed to get my hands on.

St Vitus Cathedral.

During my visit, I saw the guards of the Prague Castle from a relatively close distance. That was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

St Vitus Cathedral. Photo courtesy of Terence Low.

The visit to the Prague Castle felt as if it was a short one. Then again, I had left the place with the impression that it is one of the most beautiful castles that I have visited yet.

A beautiful evening that we had. Many thanks to my friends for leading the way to the castle and for their travelling companionship.