I am working with the Castleton Festival which is in the northern part of Virginia (not far from Vienna, Virginia where I started my summer season) and the beautiful landscape of the countryside makes me want to carry my camera around all the time. I can’t help but take a picture every time I see something beautiful and unlike anything I’ve seen before. Even when I am driving, I stop the car to pull over and take a picture. While it is impossible to do that on the busy highway, it is easy on the peaceful back-roads around Castleton.

When I arrived in Castleton, I heard people talking about a zonkey. I have never seen one before and I didn’t even know what a zonkey was. As soon as I did see him, I smiled – he is funny and certainly unique. I have never seen such striped legs in my life. And now I’ve seen a cross between a zebra and a donkey!

Well, I’ve learned there really isn’t that big a difference between the countryside of the States and Korea. But, never disappointed because I am always glad to find areas where nature has been less disturbed than in big cities. I am a lucky person to have these new experiences around every corner and I am glad to have my camera with me to help save these beautiful pictures and memories!

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!

Lately, I am trying to make sure I give myself time to relax and just enjoy being in a new place to restore the energy that traveling can deplete. When I was in Vienna last week I decided to give myself a day to enjoy the city. I ended up at Shönbrunn Palace with a friend and we spent the afternoon chatting and taking in nature at the beautiful gardens. It recharged my batteries, filled me with some inspiration from the natural surroundings, and helped me to slow down and keep things in perspective, and to remember to breath and keep my feet on the ground. In Europe there are so many of these old wonderful locations so I often feel like I am connecting with history on some deep level; almost as if I remember being in that place long ago. I was happy to have spent the afternoon at this imperial summer residence of many of the Hapsburg monarchs and I am continuing the resolve to truly see the cities where I am singing in the future! Next time you are in Vienna, I highly recommend an afternoon at the gardens of Schönbrunn, your soul will thank you.