Thursday 25 September 2014

Mostly Mozart

A very good time is being had by all, as far as I can tell. The tour group is now in Salzburg, after our several days in Prague, and a couple in Cesky Krumlov. It has been music, music, music, with excellent lectures by our tour leader,.

I loved Prague, apart from the inevitable press of the flesh from the innumerable tourists. It was so crowded. And I failed to get my tongue around a sincle Czech word. I won't do a travelogue, as thousands of others would do it far better. Although I think the food in this part of the world is really stodgy. We are used to a widely varied choice of food styles and cuisines. Cesky Krumlov was pretty, extremely crowded, but the hotel was very very ordinary, with a TV from the 1950s, cupboard doors falling off and associated inconveniences.  And the plumbing is not the best. The people in this part of the world must be very spry, to clamber into baths and use showers of varying degrees of complexity and inconvenience, and as most of us are getting on a bit,  we would rather have a shower you can walk into and out of, without risking your neck, legs or arms.

Tonight we saw of Mozart's The MagicFlute, a marionette performance using an old tecording conucted by Ferenc Fricsay, with Rita Streich songing the Queen of the Night. It was quaint but strange, albeit expertly done. This morning we went to a Mozart museum. When we visited the Mozart family home the other day, it was full of pele and difficult to see and move. This one, on the less touristy side of the river, allowed a leisurely visit and it was not so crowded.

1 comment:

Elephant's Child said...

I do hope you are including yourself in the list of those who are having a good time.