I just spent the afternoon celebrating the 4th of July with many other Americans, at a Democrats Abroad party along the Danube river. We spent the afternoon sharing travel stories, drinking Austrian wine, and making s’mores. From there, a small group of us went to the “Badeschiff“, which is swimming pool aboard a ship in the Danube river, with live music, fantastic cocktails, and lots of Austrians (in various states of undress) crammed into a small but lively swimming pool.

After watching the sunset, we made our way over to the Rathaus, where a Lang Lang solo piano concert was being broadcast on a huge screen in between two of the most amazingly beautiful buildings, the “Rathaus” and the “Burgtheater.” Being an audience member is always a welcome change, and I plan on doing lots of that in Vienna this summer, since there are so many wonderful opera companies, theaters, and dance companies in this culturally rich city. It doesn’t get much better than Vienna in the summer, although I will admit to missing air conditioning on hot days like today. Happy Independence Day!