How to Attend the Viennese Opera (as told by someone who doesn't really like Opera)

I like Opera nights. Or maybe just wine & friendship + a little bit of Opera thrown in.

I have been to the Opera once before in my life. It was freshman year of college, and I was required to go for my Honors 102 class. It was something about a guy named Figaro and it was in Italian, and all I remember is that I had a huge project due the next day for one of my design classes & was not pleased that I had to spend my Tuesday night at a 4 hour opera. Needless to say, I did not make it past intermission. I googled a transcript of the Opera (in English) and read the whole thing instead. It took me all of 10 minutes. I really just didn't understand why they had to make it so long.

Now I know that it's an art form and maybe I'm just not cultured enough to fully appreciate the beauty of Opera, so when I got to Vienna I decided to give it another go.

I ended up having a really wonderful time. Sure, not all of that was because of the Opera itself, but I had a fun night with good friends and that's really all that matters. So if, like me, at some point in your life you find yourself in Vienna & you aren't really an Opera buff, here's how to get the authentic Viennese Opera experience and not have a miserable night.

Necessary Supplies

• About 25 Euro
• A scarf
• Something to entertain yourself with, such as a book or knitting (or some friends to talk to)
• Comfortable (but fairly nice) shoes
• Friends!

Step One: Get your tickets

If you actually get good seats, tickets to the Staatsoper can be ridiculously expensive. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of Euros (depending on the show). Luckily, there is a beautiful version of nosebleed seats - called "standing room" tickets - that you can buy about an hour and a half before the show starts, and range from 3 to 5 Euro.

If it's a sold out or very popular performance, as was the Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), you want to get there about 2.5 hours before the show starts. We were lucky and we got to wait inside, but others were not so fortunate and hand to stand out in the cold for an hour or so.

Waiting in line for the tickets to go on sale.

I chose to entertain myself by knitting, but other people brought books, played games, or just talked to each other. There were a lot of IES students there because one of the student assistants organized the trip.

Tickets went on sale at about 5:45, and the line moved very quickly right away. There are 3 levels of the standing room tickets. I forget what they're all called, but I know that the regular floor is 5 Euros and those are the most coveted tickets because they have the best view and sound quality. The middle and top floors are 3 Euros and have mediocre sound or views, respectively. There were a lot of people in line, so we ended up getting tickets for the top level.

Step 2: Wait in line some more

I was very excited to go claim my spot on the top floor so we could leave to go get some food, however we found ourself in another long line because we didn't quite have access to the top floor yet. It was sad. I really wanted food.

Another line. I was very hangry at this point.

I'm probably being dramatic, because I think we were only in this line for about 10 minutes, but still -a girl needs her food.

Step 3: Claim your spot

This is where the scarf comes in. Once the big line into the standing room starts moving, people get a little feisty and you have to move quickly to claim a good spot. And it wasn't the IES students getting competitive, the old people were really moving quickly towards the spots with the best view. But they've probably done this before. We were a little unprepared.

Once you find a spot, you tie your scarf around the railing so that it is claimed. No one messes with the scarves. It's very polite.

Our extreme nosebleed seats.

Step 4: RUN TO FIND SUSTENANCE

At this point, we only had about 40 minutes before the show started and we were quite hangry. Something that surprised me about the Staatsoper was that we never had our bags searched, and you could bring in food and drink. I expected tighter security, but I also didn't mind the freedom to bring in snacks.

We went outside towards the beautiful magical Würstelstand right by the Staatsoper. This Würstelstand is one of my favorite places in the city. The food is SO. GOOD. They take a big baguette, hollow out the center, and stick some meat in there with mustard or ketchup or whatever you want. It is delicious and glorious and a fast street food option.

Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed by the Würstelstand this evening. They're usually very quick, and you'd think with the 30+ person line (mostly of IES students) that formed within minutes, they would work to feed all of their customers even faster. However, the two men working spent more time trying to flirt with the girls in line than doing their job.

As if I wasn't already annoyed enough, when it was finally my turn to get my food I asked for bratwurst with mustard in a baguette, and was trying to communicate that I wanted to make sure there was no cheese in the bratwurst (lactose intolerance). One of the men interrupted me and said: "You talk too much. I don't like women who talk too much."

EXCUSE ME, SIR?! ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?! He had just spent the last 10 minutes flirting with the girls in front of me and then when I was trying to make sure I wouldn't get sick from the food I was about to buy, he decided to be a sexist asshole (excuse my language, but it's true).

Normally, I would have had some choice words for this man. However, I chose to stay silent and I don't really know why. I was so hungry that I really just wanted my food and I was worried that if I said something nasty to him he wouldn't give it to me. Hanger is a serious issue, people. He also really just wasn't worth it. My friends were clearly as shocked as I was that he was so rude, but we just got our food and walked away and complained on our own.

I've been disappointed in the often closed-minded and sexist attitude of a lot of the men here. I'm also disappointed in myself that I didn't correct this man, but honestly food was really all I valued at this point. If I ever encounter him again, you can bet he'll get a mouthful from me.

My bratwurst + one of the back corners of the Staatsoper.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances in which I bought this meal, it was delicious, and it was only about 5 Euros. I ate it very quickly (and a bit bitterly), and then my friends and I hurried over to a chocolate shop to buy some snacks.

Chocolate is EVERYTHING. I was honestly really bummed about how this guy treated me, but walking into this chocolate store immediately lifted my spirits.

YUM! My roommates Alex & Nadine in the magical, delicious, bad-attitude-curing chocolate store.

I got chocolate covered mangoes and chocolate covered oranges. They gave me life.

Step 5: Pee and get back to your seats with 10 minutes to spare

Okay, so we only successfully completed this step with 5 minutes to spare. But that's because we stopped to talk these lovely photos.

The grand staircase leading up to the fancy seats.

A higher level view of the same staircase. Note: the woman taking a killer selfie in the bottom left.

Step 6: Watch the Opera (or at least the first act)

The Opera really was beautiful. I forgot until it started that opera singers don't use microphones, and I was absolutely amazed that even in the nosebleeds I had no problems hearing them. I also surprisingly recognized a lot of the music, but I suppose that isn't surprising. It is a Mozart Opera, and I like to listen to classical music while studying.

The show was also fun because they used some pretty awesome costumes and effects. There were things coming up from the floor and down from the ceiling, explosives, giant animal suits, and lots and lots of fun costumes.

However, something a little disturbing is that there was a man in blackface - Alex, Nadine, & I were very surprised that this was just accepted as something normal. We looked later and couldn't find any news outlets critiquing the performance for doing this, but if this happened anywhere else I would expect it to be hugely controversial. After noticing this, I also saw that there were few if any minority performers, even in the large ensemble cast. I'm certainly no Opera expert, and it was a beautiful performance, but I would've liked to see more diversity.

Also, there were guys probably our age standing behind us that were singing through the entire thing. Now, in Opera, you can hear a pin drop. You can sing along to a rock concert, but not the freaking Opera. I did not come here to hear you sing. The same group of guys also called out Nadine for her chocolate wrapper making a small sound (YET, AGAIN, THEY WERE SINGING). Ugh. The men of Austria were failing on Opera night.

Step 7: Leave after intermission and go get some wine

Yeah, I still didn't make it past intermission. It was lovely, but an hour and a half was enough for me. Alex, Nadine, & I went to an awesome bar/restaurant/thing called Burgring 1 that's just a few blocks from the Staatsoper. We got some wine and just hung out and talked for a few hours. It was wonderful.

Yeah, my wine glass was the size of my head. I wanted to take it home.

Prost!

I'm still not a fan of Opera, but I had a really fun night. Thank you to Alex and Nadine for being such wonderful roommates and friends. You guys are the best :)

Looking ahead

This is the last week of German intensive, so I have a lot of studying to do. I also register for classes tomorrow, and on Friday night I leave for Berlin! We have a 10-day break, which I will be using to explore Berlin, Brussels, and Amsterdam with a few of my good friends. I am EXTREMELY excited, and I've been Pinteresting and reading up like crazy to make sure I find all of the best places to go.

I am OBSESSED with these CITIx60 guide books. They have 60 spots to eat/sleep/explore/shop as recommended by local creatives in cities all over the world. And they come wrapped in awesome graphic maps that are now decorating my wall.

Anyone who has been to any of these places, please let me know where to go!

I'm having an incredible time, but I miss good potato chips and buffalo wings and I guess some people too. Let me know if you want a postcard! Also someone send me a postcard because that sounds fun. Happy new week, everyone! Make it a great one!