würzburg: no. 4

One of my recently discovered favorites from the trip. I like the lines and the crispness of the black-and-white. And yes, still in Würzburg. Sorry, but there will only be train station pictures. I may or may not post one last Würzburg picture, or I might move onto the next city we visited. Only time will tell...

I just finished up the first half of my semester, and the next two weeks are spring break. Thank goodness. Two weeks for spring break is exactly what I need -- a week to get some extra work done and a week to relax. I wish there was a two week break during the fall semester as well, but we just have one week at Thanksgiving. Which is better than just a couple of days, don't get me wrong, but it comes right at the end of the semester when you're behind on work, need to get ahead on final papers, and are completely exhausted from the semester. I won't miss the stress of coursework this coming fall!

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iTunes: String Quartet No. 12 in Eb major, Op. 127, by Beethoven

würzburg: no. 3

Based on the number of pictures I'm posting of the Würzburg train station, we must have had a decently long layover there on our way to the next destination. This shot has some grunge-appeal as well. I'm curious as to what all these buttons do. I resisted the urge to press any of them and just took pictures instead.

Preparing for a big presentation on Wednesday on an article on this movement of a Beethoven string quartet. I've listened to it about 40 times in the past 5 days. Thank goodness I really like late Beethoven string quartets!

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iTunes: String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127: I, Maestoso/Allegro, by Beethoven

würzburg: no. 2

I really liked the red train in Würzburg.

Today I anticipate spending a lot of time on hold. I'm hoping for half-decent elevator music. Renewing car insurance and trying to sort out a credit card mess since it was stolen last week. Ugh.

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iTunes: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

würzburg: no. 1

May as well squeeze in the little cities where we only spent a few minutes (or hours) while changing trains. Normally I find black-and-white photos with masked color sections a bit... tacky. BUT sometimes it works. I think this was one exception to that general rule. I think it's the grunge aspect of the black-and-white portion.

Anyway, back to reading Foucault. (What have I learned from reading Foucault for two weeks? I don't like Foucault, and I don't like his manner of writing. I prefer the Germans.)

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iTunes: The Turn of the Screw, by Benjamin Britten

frankfurt: no. 1

I like shots of train stations, so I thought I'd share another one. This was the main station at Frankfurt, where we changed trains on the way to our next destination. So it's one of the few Frankfurt shots I have, since we never left the station.

Today is a reading day with a couple of meetings thrown in. I was thinking about having some leftover shrimp for lunch, but I don't know that they'll reheat well in the microwave. Perhaps I'll have to dig up something else to take with me for lunch.

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iTunes: Der Glorreiche Augenblick, Op. 136, by Beethoven

amsterdam: no. 15

Well, I know I said I was done posting pictures of Amsterdam, but I suppose this train station shot is still technically Amsterdam, and not the next city we visited (or the next one we stopped in -- you have to love train-hopping!) -- so this is the last official Amsterdam post of this stretch!

I love how the trains run on time in Europe. (Okay, Italy may be excepted from this for reasons that I will share later. But At least Germany and Switzerland! That good old Northern European blood makes everything work like clockwork... Perhaps I can blame my liking of being on time on my German heritage.) When I was in Berlin last spring, I overheard some locals complain that the bus was 2 minutes late. In the US, 2 minutes late would be on time! The trains I take here are often 20-40 minutes late!

Wednesday is hump day, and my only day with two classes. Looking forward to getting through the day and coming back to whip something delicious up for dinner. Having a dinner guest this evening, which will be an excuse for making something special. Shrimp perhaps?

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iTunes: Diabelli Variations, by Beethoven

amsterdam: no. 14

Surprisingly, I'm coming to the end of the best-of-the-best Amsterdam pictures. But I thought I'd share this one last shot before moving onto the next city we visited. I do love a nice, crisp black and white shot.

Up later than usual tonight, and have an intense day of classes and meetings tomorrow. Probably should be getting some shut-eye instead of posting pictures, but I didn't want to get out of the habit again.

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iTunes: Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 111, by Beethoven

amsterdam: no. 12

Because of some unexpected travel issues, we didn't get to do much in Amsterdam or Haarlem. Seeing signs was basically the extent of our sightseeing while we were there. The next time I go to Amsterdam, I would like to actually see some of the things this sign points to -- especially the Corrie ten Boom Huis (Corrie ten Boom's House). I have always had a fascination with World War II and Holocaust history, and I remember reading books like the Diary of Anne Frank and Number the Stars as a kid. One of my favorite museums in North America is the Holocaust Museum in DC.

I am determined that today will be a day of productivity. I had a very virtuous start to the day and got downtown to my favorite coffee shop by 7:30, only to find that it didn't open until 8:00. So I stood outside in the cold for half an hour, wishing that I'd let myself be less ambitious about getting up so early. Next time, I'll remember not to try so hard on a Saturday morning.

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iTunes: Piano Sonata, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier), by Beethoven

amsterdam: no. 11

Meetings today. Short post. But more Amsterdam. Looks much nicer than here. We got more snow last night. And I am again reminded that my snow boots are not waterproof. Also discovered that they are literally falling apart. Perhaps it's time for new boots?

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iTunes: Der Glorreiche Augenblick, by Beethoven

amsterdam: no. 10

Amsterdam returns. As does more snow and ice tonight. And I just discovered that my driveway is already a solid sheet of ice.

Can you say massive wipe-out?

Anyway, this is a view from the porch area of Carla's Café. I like the juxtaposition of old buildings with "new" technology (tram power lines). And the morning light.

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iTunes: Violin Partita, BWV 1006 by Johann Sebastian Bach

amsterdam: no. 6

I like the "architectural longevity" of European cities. With the exception of some of the advertising, this looks much like I imagine it would have several decades ago. I love that about Europe -- in the US, it seems that something is barely a decade old before it is deemed "out-dated," and it's pulled down and replaced. And everything is built to last about that long anyway. As they say, in America, 100 years is a long time, and in Europe, 100 miles is a long distance.

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iTunes: Don Carlo, by Verdi

amsterdam: no. 5

I like when cities have water and boats. And I like how open certain cities feel -- when the buildings are spaced out a bit and aren't too tall, and you can look up and see the wide-open sky. So I think I would quite like Amsterdam if I could spend more than 4 hours there. My first impressions weren't the greatest -- torrential downpours and jet lag didn't help -- but the next morning made up for it.

Courses have now started up for the semester, and today is full of meetings to discuss my choice of topics for comprehensive exams. A lot of people talk about how the process of taking qualifying exams is a horrible experience, but I am determined to look on the bright side. I think the studying process will play to my strengths, and as long as I work steadily and prepare well, I hope that the whole process could be a good, constructive experience. I've had a lot of fun brainstorming ideas for topics, and I'm curious to see which ones I end up doing. I have a meeting this afternoon about it and then a group meeting tomorrow morning, so I'm starting to narrow in on specific ideas.

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iTunes: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

amsterdam: no. 4

When we arrived back in downtown Amsterdam the morning after arriving in Europe, the weather couldn't have been better. Or more different from the evening before, which had involved buckets of rain. The bright blue sky just seemed cheerful, and we walked around for a bit to take pictures and see what the city looked like in the light of day and without lots of rain.

Pretty nice, huh?

And now... off to start the first day back. Wasting no time diving right back into classes!

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iTunes: Va tacito e nascost, by Handel

amsterdam: no. 3

This is a shot of the Haarlem train station. After the morning walk, this is where we picked up the train to head into downtown Amsterdam for the morning. What I like about this shot is seeing the textures and lines of the iron work in the old station. I also like the silhouette of the older gentleman standing about halfway down the track. We spent quite a lot of time in train stations during the trip because we had Eurail passes and used them to get from city to city. It was convenient for all the places we wanted to travel, though the next time I go back to Europe, I probably won't try to fit so many different cities into one trip.

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iTunes: Circus Band, by Charles Ives

new haven: part 2

I spent last weekend back down in Baltimore, and it was wonderful to be "home" again. I've missed the people who became family to me over the past few years, and it was really nice to see some of them. It was a whirlwind weekend, though, and sleep has not been a big part of my life for the past week or so. Last week was the big crunch to get everything done before the weekend, and when I was in Baltimore, the days were absolutely crammed with visiting people. Dinner with parents, grandparents, and my youngest brother, hair cut, opera night with Brittney, stopped by to see Rachel, breakfast with Kelley, visiting Betsy, coffee with Julie... Non stop fun! Plus doing some errands since I don't have my car with me in CT. I now have warm clothes (hooray for sweaters!) and shoes that will not make my feet blister and bleed every time I walk to class. Perhaps the best part was my voice lesson and then hanging out with the best three-year-old ever.

New Haven is starting to feel like home, too. Getting back to my apartment after a busy weekend was really nice, and I was glad that I had a home-made frozen pizza ready to pop in the oven before retiring to my wonderful mattress (which I missed when I was in Baltimore). Although it was "a dark and stormy night" by the time I arrived on this corner, this is "my corner." Thought it would be a nice shot to share.

Fall has officially arrived, and it's in the low 50's today. I'm curious to see how quickly it gets really cold and if it will be noticeably different than what I'm used to...

And now, back to the grind...
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My iTunes: Cara Sposa, Amante Cara from Handel's Rinaldo

new haven: part 1

I know it's long overdue, but I finally got to walk around my new town a bit and take pictures. Three weeks into the semester, my brain finally told me I needed a break. Instead of the short breaks I've been taking each day, I decided to give myself the whole day off from any sort of brain work. Well, a whole day split between two -- I took off Friday evening until Saturday evening.

After getting back from my last class on Friday, I make some comfort food, played a little (okay, a lot of) piano, then curled up and watched about six episodes of Bones, then hit the sack. Saturday I slept in, watched more Bones, played more piano, then went on my photo adventure. (Yes, I think I am now addicted to the show...) This was one of my favorite spots to photograph -- they're the stairs to the University Chapel, and I love how the steps are bowed with age. Convenient that the chapel is free for Yale students to use for weddings. Now all I have to do is locate a groom, right?

Well, since I was lazy for most of the weekend thus far, it's back to the grind for me. Finished Ives reading earlier, almost done with Schenker, still have to pull together a presentation for tomorrow, then start on Nazis. Time for more coffee...
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My iTunes: Welche wonne, welche lust from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail

annapolis: take 1

Today I went to downtown Annapolis with a few friends, and it turned out to be a great day for taking pictures.  It was a bit overcast, so the light was nice and diffused, but eventually the clouds broke a bit to allow for some blue.  I wanted a shot down one of the brick roads, so I waited a while for a break in traffic (which was quite a feat).

This week I am on "break."  I intended to hole up and write all week, but somehow my schedule filled up.  I'll try to keep posting this week, but no promises...

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My iTunes: Venite Pur Avanti from Mozart's Don Giovanni

8122

8122
September 2008

My iTunes: Péché d'envie by Carla Bruni

Sadly it seems that I missed the last day of Robert's "Show Me..." Project, which would have meant I could have shown a feet pictures! Perhaps I'll put up a delayed post later this week. But today I thought I'd do this shot.

The beginning of my week always seems busier than the rest of it. Today I have class straight from 11:00-4:00, and tomorrow off-and-on from 11:00-9:00. Thank goodness I love all my classes. I'm especially looking forward to my voice lesson this afternoon because I tried some different things as I practiced this past week and I think I made some good progress. We'll see what my teacher says.

I went back to the gym this morning for the first time since my stairs accident last Tuesday. I did a lighter work out than usual to get back into the routine. I'm still black and blue, but thankfully the swelling is gone. Several of you have commented and asked about how I'm doing -- thanks for your concern!

Tomorrow there might be a pink-themed picture, so stay tuned...

bench in the sun

Bench in the Sun
September 2008

My iTunes: L'amoureuse by Carla Bruni

I'm finally getting to join in Robert's Show Me... Project. This is for today's "show me something that relaxes you." It's the invitation to just be, to go to a place where time feels like it's standing still and take a deep breath. No demands, just a few moments of solitude.

I've discovered a new singer -- Carla Bruni. I absolutely love French songs and jazz-inspired songs, so her music is right up my alley (although her personal life, perhaps not...). It's very relaxing and mellow. This is one of my favorite songs on her latest album, Comme si de rien n'etait.

space pops

Space Pops
September 2008

My iTunes: Kyrie, a Gregorian Chant

This is a shot I grabbed at a coffee shop in Old Ellicott City earlier this week. The sign for "space pops" just made me laugh.

Short post tonight -- I'm going to hit the sack early because I'm sore from the day's mishap: it was a rainy day and I attempted to go down a set of marble stairs, but it ended badly. Thankfully, I didn't land on my tailbone (which would have been very bad, post-back surgery), but I really did a number on my right side. I'm now bruised and swollen :(