A day in Salzburg

We are catching up on pictures. Here are some from Salzburg starting with the Mirabell Gardens and the river.

Here one can see the Kapuzinerberg rising behind the newer part of town, one of many mountains that frame the city.

Emma and Sam had different ideas about how to spend the day so we split into two pairs.  Sam explored the old city and visited the Mozarts' Salzburg homes which are now very nice museums about the family and upbringing of Wolfgang and Nannerl. 

 

There are also lots of impressive squares and a big Dom.

 

We then had some Apfelstudel to strengthen ourselves to climb up the steep road to the Hohensalzburg (and found our first snow of this winter on the way).  Up there we visited the castle and Sammy assumed his favorite role as tour guide. 

There is also a Marionette museum complete with the Mozart family as well as many opera sets.

The walk back down the mountain afforded sunset views.

 

Finally we reconvened all together at the famous Cafe Tomaselli to tell stories about our days.  Emma and Karola were full of stories about their adventures climbing trees and walls and the Kapuzinerberg.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas everybody!  We had a lovely Heiligabend last night upstairs with lots of music and food and fun and of course presents. :)   Our little tree was keeping us festive and we'll go and plant it in the woods sometime in the next few days.

Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Cards

 Grandma sent some beautiful cards for Christmas which (as you can see) the kids loved!
 



 But Emma also made a very nice one:



 
She references Jerry Mendelssohn who, according to our inside house lore, is the ne'er-do-well sibling of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn

(Translation: This card is the latest style!)

Weihnachtsmarkt

The kids and I spent some time at the Christmas Market in Eberstadt which is both very sweet and also always busier than you'd think.  I put together the pictures to give an impression of it though the market is more extensive than what you see here.  Anyway, the kids had fun buying presents, eating crepes and pralines, and taking in all the Christmasy atmosphere.

Concert life

Typical of the season, the kids have been  busy with concerts lately.  This past weekend they provided music for their Uncle Uli's 80th birthday celebration playing Clarinet-Cello duos and on Wednesday they both sang in a sold-out performance at the Staatstheater Darmstadt with the Staatstheater choir.  We had to run to get to call on time though because Emma played her Bach Cello Suite Prelude for the cello class that afternoon.

The concert at the Akademie für Tonkunst last night featured the Gilbermuellers extensively enough to seem more like one of our family concerts only with a large audience.  Sam and Emma both played solo pieces and they anchored the orchestra in a performance of Corelli's Christmas Concerto with Sammy as the only bass and Emma playingsolo cello.  They also got called upon to aid the beginner orchestra in their Christmas Carol performance.  I even got involved playing piano for a group of the other students which probably wasn't advisable but worked out well enough.

In any case, we wanted to share a bit of it with you all.  Sam played a beautiful, Christmas-themed Bach chorale which is really quite tricky but he makes it look easy.

The Corelli (about 10 min.) is a favorite and the kids will always associate the last movement (the famous Pastorale) with its frequent role as background music for Jacquie Lawson advent calendars!  The angle on Sam wasn't so good but you can catch him rocking out in the back of the shot.

Bach Prelude

Emma's performance from Sunday in a beautiful hall in nearby Heppenheim.

 

Advent Day 1

 Sammy and Emma are very lucky to have a Bini, an Oma and a Grandma as they are loaded up with Advent calendar fun!  Thanks to them and Happy December to everybody.