Final thoughts on Vienna

I ended my final evening in Vienna attending the luau, I mean Strauss & Mozart performance. It definitely was luau-ish. I think only tourists were in attendance. The musicians were very good and you could tell that this was kind of a joke to them. One of the violinists, who looked creepily like the guy from Raiders who's face melts, was very goofy when he played his violin. It definitely seemed like the only way he could get through playing the same songs every night was by adding his own flair to the performance. Unfortunately, I couldn't take my eyes off him. In addition to the music, they had singers and dancers perform. The first performance by the dancers was a bit unfortunate. I would guess that the dancers were retired professionals, especially the girl. I have a feeling the guy was the only guy they could find with some semblance of rhythm who was willing to do these performances for a small pittance.
The singers however were good and seemed to have some fun doing it.
The next morning I was off to catch the train and head to Prague. My host, Barbara, helped me carry my coffin-size suitcase to the tram and waited with me until it arrived. I have to say that if I was given the choice to pay to stay in a shared house with someone, I would look for somewhere else to stay. However, being that this was a surprise, it turned out to be a pleasant one. I really enjoyed talking with Barbara. We talked about almost everything. I think she was very curious about me and asked me all sorts of questions. I was equally curious about her. She is Austrian but lived in Rome for about 20 years working for Alitalia. She's now switching careers and going to school to get a degree in special education so that she can do something a little more fulfilling. I am also about 90% sure that she is Buddhist. On my first morning in the house I heard what sounded like chanting coming from her room. Now, I've seen "What's Love Got to Do With It" and I remember clearly the scene where Tina Turner turns to Buddhism to escape Ike Turner beating the crap out of her. It sounded a lot like this including a clanging of a bell. I never got the chance to ask her about it though. Rats.
All in all a really good time in Vienna. I definitely didn't see it all and would recommend to anyone a visit there.