Sydney and I are currently in Prague, where we’ve had a week to enjoy walking the city, eating in restaurants (so far, Mexican, Neapolitan, hippie, Thai–anything but traditional Czech food), and watch other tourists (there are a lot of them). Sydney has a conference not far from here over the weekend, and I’m tagging along to enjoy the sightseeing portion of his trip before joining my parents and the kids back in Kentucky on Friday. Although it seemed like it took moving a world to get here (calling in parents from Iowa, numerous grading frenzies, and major work and home prep), I’m so glad to have this chance for something very different right in the middle of a busy time of year.
Sydney and I just got back from a concert at the Rudolfinum: the Guarneri Trio, playing in Dvorak Hall. We really enjoyed the concert, and were struck by several things:
– The concert was well-attended, by people of all ages (a few children as young as 6 or 7, and plenty of young and middle-aged professionals, as well as elderly people).
– The people all came well-dressed. Clearly, you dress up for concerts here. No exceptions.
– The concert began on time. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve attended a concert where that happened!
– The audience’s attention did not flag at any point in the concert. We’re talking two solid hours of just three instruments playing. But at a couple of points I scanned the crowd (we had front-row balcony seats) and didn’t see phones out, wandering eyes, or even bored looks. This crowd would have been a delight to play for!
Erin
Alan Schmierer