I'm off to Budapest and Vienna for two weeks. I lived in Vienna and worked in Eastern Europe from '79-'82, but I haven't been back to these two cities since I left 25 years ago.
When you live somewhere, it seems there's never time to see the sights and take in all the cultural offerings. In preparing for this trip, I've been amazed at the incredible museums in Vienna that I didn't even know existed. And there are a half dozen high-quality concerts each evening to choose from. I think I'm going to enjoy being a tourist.
What am I looking forward most to? That'd probably have to be Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" on March 3 and Bach's "St. John Passion" on March 8, both in the fabled Musikverein. My seat's in the 3rd row for the first one, and the 1st row for the second. I can hardly wait.
But while I wait, I'll be enjoying some of Vienna's Kaffeehauskultur (that's "coffeehouse culture" for you who don't speak German). Coffee and cakes, with a heady dose of atmosphere. What could be better - except, of course, a Bach concert? And Heaven, I concede.
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