A taste of Salzburg

Somebody brought Mozartkugeln at work today. I managed to control myself and had just one. Not that I am that keen on Mozart chocolates, I mean sure it's chocolate so I love it, but it reminds me of my one and only trip to Austria and Salzburg, on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death (20 years already, I am not getting any younger!). I ate it there for the first time, been eating it very occasionally after. I loved Austria in general and Salzburg in particular, so these chocolates reminded me of the place. And of course, it reminded me of the composer. I don't want to sound like Proust (which I barely read), but in one bite I was sent back to Salzburg, my eyes full of images and my head full of music. Because of a small piece of chocolate with a marzipan center.

And since it made me think of Mozart, this is just a good excuse as any to put a duet here, the Papageno-Papagena one. I worked a bit on some of Papageno arias, but I never got a feel for German as I did with Italian (basically my German is as bad as my Italian is good). But German I feel is the proper thing to listen when one thinks of Salzburg. I think I had a look at this particular duet when I was studying opera. The Magic Flute is maybe one of the most accessible opera one can find. It is certainly popular with kids as I happily discovered myself. But anyone can appreciate its beautiful simplicity.And for some reason I always wanted to sing this duet. Never had the chance.