Last week saw the 74th return of one of the highlights of the ball-season on Vienna: The Vienna Philharmonic Ball! It takes place in the Musikverein, and yes, that is the famous Golden Hall in the photo, transformed into a ballroom for this special occasion. Those of you who have heard our “Living Their Dream in Vienna”-lecture on Mozart, Schubert and the Strauss family know a bit about the importance  balls had for 18th and especially 19th century social life in Vienna. Nowadays they are mainly an incredibly fun event to go to – and we certainly had fun last week!

Combine the ingredients of great friends, a table on the stage of the Brahms Saal, agreeable beverages, the opportunity to dance to anything from “real” waltzes to Swing and a very whimsical disco-selection while the kids were happily at home with the best babysitter ever, the hours just flew by – we threw in the towel at 4.30 am, and though we had to get up again two hours later for a normal school/workday, it was definitely worth it!

Good though that there was no lecture or concert on Friday, we were decidedly worse for the wear… We keep thinking that a Road Scholar ball-themed tour of Vienna might be fun…hm…we’ll keep pondering that one.