back in Berlin

Greetings from Berlin! It's a beautiful day here in Germany's capital, and Brenda and I took advantage of it by going for a jog through a nearby park. We jogged right by a beer garden that we visited a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't help but think that eating a pretzel and drinking a beer would be more fun than jogging. Although, I know that exercise is important. Perhaps alternating jogging days and beer/pretzel days would be a good compromise. It would be like a German paleo diet (German cavemen foraged for pretzels and beer, right?). I'll let you know how that fitness plan works out.

Brenda's jump-in last week in Düsseldorf was great. Somehow she crammed all of the staging into her head in a matter of hours, and the show went off without a hitch. After the show we went out to dinner with a friend and then back to our hotel for a few hours of sleep. Brenda had rehearsal in Berlin the next morning so we had to catch an early train out of town.

The opera house in Düsseldorf is called Deutsche Oper am Rhein.

Brenda jumped in for the role of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos.

Here she is in costume.

While Brenda rehearsed, I wandered around town and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I took this picture along the Königsallee.

On Saturday I got a message from a friend of mine from college who happened to be in Berlin. He's an opera singer (and fellow Iowan) and has been living in Europe for the past thirteen years. It was great catching up with him. Later that day Brenda and I went to the Berliner Staatsoper, the company she's currently rehearsing with, to see a performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). It's a classic production that we both really enjoyed.

We have plans to go to Frankfurt this weekend for a couple of nights to see some friends, see an opera and to check our mail. The train drivers' union that went on strike a couple of weeks ago has decided to go on strike again, which could complicate our travel plans, but we're hoping for the best.

So that's what we've been up to. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!