To Symphony!

As always, December has been pretty busy. My list of things-to-do keeps growing, but at the same time I am enjoying the holiday transformation around me. Walking around Bamberg, you can see all sorts of manger scenes and at night, the white sparkling lights make me smile. Last Friday, Werner Oppelt (the old guy who organized my stay and fixes any problems) offered me a pair of tickets to the Symphony. So Enoch and I went on Sunday evening. The Bamberg Symphony is simply amazing, which is probably why I have CDs recorded by them at home. They performed a John Adams' violion concerto and then Richard Strauss' Sinfonia Domestica op. 53. I had never heard either piece before but was pleasantly surprised--especially with the Strauss. The Sinfonia had such intricate oboe and english horn soloing that passed from one to the other that I was sucked in. Ahhh. All in all it was a most delightful concert, and of course it was also free, so yay!
Yesterday I hopped on a train out to Frankfurt and am excited to say that I found my Courtney there :) Today we start on our explorations of all that Bambergia and the surrounding area have to offer. It shall be exquisite. More stories to come!