Ein Nacht bei Oper

Last night Cory, Becca, Will and I went to the Opera to see Mozart's Die Zauberfloute! We got very cheap tickets with our student discounts, and were ready for a classy night. We all got guzzied up-- Cory in his tux, Will in his suit with a nice black sweater, Becca and I in our dresses... we were the classiest people in the joint! When one thinks 'European Opera' one probably thinks decadence. Well, the Heidelberg opera house is actually just an old warehouse which was converted into an opera house. The house is quite small (at least compared to the Kennedy Center...lol) nevertheless, it was a lovely evening! I didn't know how the production itself would be considering the opera house, but it was absolutely delightful! The voices were all great, our seats were great, the orchestra was great, we just enjoyed ourselves very much! During intermission, Becca and I decided to be classy and get a glass of wine. We each spent 4,50 euro on a glass of Sauvignon Blanc... but unfortunately, we ordered them too late in the intermission and had to end up chugging the wine in about 5 minutes. Now that's easy to do with a 2 euro bottle of wine from the grocery store...but not with this good stuff. As I said though, all in all, a lovely night!

Here are a couple pictures of us in the beautifully decorated lounge:




In other news, I am officially going to Istanbul! I found a good flight, and mom said it'll be my birthday present. I'll be flying out of Amsterdam really early on Tuesday April 5th and flying back to Frankfurt the evening of Saturday April 9th. I booked a hostel last night as well that's right in the old part of the city, so within walking distance of everything I want to see. It's basically decided that I'm going alone...but I am actually really excited about it! I've been already dissecting my guidebook... though I left the Eyewitness Turkey guidebook at home...so I'll have to buy an Istanbul guidebook in German here! And the night that I booked my flight, I couldn't even sleep! Now for all who know me...that's saying something. This trip isn't for two weeks, and I normally NEVER get excited for something until about two days beforehand. I'll be spending the first four nights of break in Amsterdam with Becca, Dan, and Matt, so I figure that Amsterdam will be my fun/party/social half of break, and Turkey will be my time to be reflective and just really do what I want to do! (This sounds like freakin' "Eat, Pray, Love" here...) I'm kind of disappointed that I haven't really gotten any positive feedback from any of my friends about my decision to go solo, but I'm incredibly excited about it :)

Also-- I hit the three week mark a few days ago, and I think it was a turning point of some kind for my abroad experience. I've been able to detach from my friends and from BC, and really focus on my here and now. The weather has been beautiful all week (it's super cold in the morning...though I am leaving my room at 8am...and then it warms up to 50s-60s during the day), I've started running regularly again, I'm getting more comfortable riding my bike in the city, and I think I've really just started appreciating how truly beautiful this city is! I ALSO FINALLY MET A ROOMMATE! It's not the one that's been avoiding me...I still haven't seen her... but this one moved back in over the weekend I think. I met him in the kitchen yesterday morning, he's from Karlsruhe, a city a little less than an hour away. And he is probably the first person I've met in my building that doesn't speak English! (I mean he obviously knows a little...but not really to have a conversation) So that's good for me, because I can practice German more...but then again, he was telling me about the way things work in the kitchen...and I only understood like half of what he said. Oops. Smile and nod...smile and nod. Works every time! Unless someone's asking you a question...then shit gets awkward.