Birthday Concert

The 15th June is always an auspicious day because it heralds my first appearance on this planet back in 1945, which seems now like a distant past. And, to celebrate this anniversary of my arrival, Emily arranged for she and I to attend a performance by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra  of two of my favourite works. Both were composed by Richard Strauss, namely his Alpine Symphony - not really a symphony but rather a 21 scenario tone-poem and his four last songs.

I will not expound at length about these two works, except to observe that the Alpine Symphony always reminds me of my excursions in the Swiss Alps and in particular the day I ascended to Gornergrat which, at 3,100 m (10,170 feet), overlooks the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa the second highest peak in the Alps. I might add that unlike the trip to Rattlesnake Ridge, which I ascended on foot, the trip to Gornergrat can be made by taking a spectacular train ride from Zermatt. And I just love those four songs, which remind me of the only time I gave a public music recital. On 14 July 1989 at 7.30 pm I and a colleague at the University of New England gave a performance of part of Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été (Summer Nights). I was on the piano, accompanying an accomplished soprano who introduced me to Strauss's songs.

Alas, I cannot festoon this blog with endless photos of the orchestra in action. Here are just two taken in the huge auditorium just before the start. What I can say is that the conductor, soloist, and orchestra were brilliant and received standing ovations at the end of both works.

And there was an added bonus at the end. Dancers in traditional Bavarian dress performed in the foyer of the concert hall at the end of the concert, aided by gents on the Alpine Horn and Accordion.

Altogether, it was a wonderful night out. Thanks, Em!

AS

Rattlesnake Ledge

It was with both excitement and apprehension that Emily suggested a walk to Rattlesnake Edge, which is located in the Snoqualmie region east of Kirkland, a few days ago. See: http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/rattle-snake-ledge.

The apprehension stemmed from (a) fear of rattlesnakes, though none were encountered, (b) the prospect of a long walk uphill from Rattlesnake Lake at the bottom to the to the ledge itself - a climb of about 270 m (886 feet), and (c) concerns expressed by family members that I might get too close to a steep drop at the top. What the hell! Why not have a bit of fun, though it was hard to leave Dot at the park's lodge at the bottom.

Well the climb was well worth the exertion as we passed through lovely woodlands and saw ever more expansive views. We were surprised though at the massive number of school kids making the climb (it's close to the summer vacation here in the US), families with babies in tow, and dog owners being hauled up by their pets. There was even the hint of a traffic jam at some points. There were also several participants in my age demographic.

So here's what we saw:

And, finally, the bottom (Rattlesnake Lake) and the top (Rattlesnake Ledge) 270 m higher. It's a pity we didn't have time to do the remaining 8 miles (15 km) to Snoqualmie Point.

AS

Visit to a Stately Home

One of the last things one would expect to visit on an Alaskan cruise would be a stately home modelled on similar lines to the many I've visited in Britain or, for example, the equivalent Chateaux in France or even, as I reported last year, a trip to the castle of Bran in Romania ... home to Dracula (aka Vlad Tepes). Yet a week ago exactly as I write Dot and I were whisked away to visit Craigdarroch Castle in of all places, Victoria. V. is the capital city of British Columbia in Canada and not part of the USA, but unlike Alaska's Juneau is a substantial and prosperous city in its own right and home to over 300,000 citizens. Amazingly we simply walked off the Oosterdam, which I guess counted as US territory, flashed our plastic boarding card, and walked straight into Canada. It was the same in reverse when boarding the vessel and I wish it were so easy when moving between other countries.

Anyway, I guess you want to see the 'Castle' and find out if I've been exaggerating its status. How about I present some photos of the building and its interior and you can judge whether it ranks as a 19th century stately home! I'll just mentioned that I was highly impressed and think that the UK National Trust would lap it up. We roamed through most rooms in the house from the grand entertaining areas through to private quarters and the servants' arenas, all pretty faithfully furnished and decorated in the fashions of the day.

 

Nice, eh!? It was built by possibly the richest man in Canada, Robert Dunsmuir during the reign of Queen Victoria and he made his wealth from huge land owning in Canada's west and his exploitation of coal resources. It is one of Canada's National Historic Sites. He never got to live in the completed building, for he died before he could do so, but his family struggled on for many years before the building passed into a succession of alternative uses. Go to https://thecastle/ca/ for  more detailed account of the Castle's history.

After this fascinating ramble we boarded our coach for a tour of central Victoria, and we saw quite a bit of the city we missed when there just 5 months ago!

AS