Andrea and I love running our piano teaching business. We also love taking our summers off to travel the world. If you’re like us and you have “itchy feet”, here is a travel itinerary sure to please any piano teacher.
Destination #1 – Florence Italy
Why do we begin our journey in Florence, Italy? Because it’s the birth place of the piano of course! Bartolomeo Cristofori is credited with inventing the piano back in the 1700’s while working in the Galleria dei Lavori of the Uffizi (it’s a confusing name for what is now a museum in Florence).
As an aside, the best apple I have ever eaten was in Florence… probably because the 105 degree weather had made me severely dehydrated and craving anything juicy!
Destination #2
Where to next? Mainz, Germany. It was here that the first printed book containing music was…well…printed đŸ™‚ We figured a town that created the precursor to sheet music was worthy of this list.
To be honest, I don’t know much about Mainz, Germany. I do know, however, that a ways down the road in Rothenburg you can sample a deep-fried, chocolate covered marzipan delight called a Schnieball. Several years ago, I got quite the stomachache by downing three of these doughy monsters. Worth it.
Destination #3
Next stop… Amsterdam. It was in Amsterdam that the metronome, a constant in any piano studio, was invented by a fellow named Dietrich Winkel. While Dietrich never actually received the patent, he was the first person to recognize that a pendulum could hold a steady beat.
Despite its “seedy side” Andrea and I found Amsterdam to be quite clean and pleasant… except for the dog poop. Seriously, I stepped in 3 piles… in 1 day!
Destination #4
On to Egypt. We’ve never traveled to Egypt and I am not sure we will be doing so in the near future. But if you do ever go, know that you will be traveling to the birthplace of stickers. Piano teachers love stickers!
Yup, the first stickers were used in markets in Ancient Egypt to advertise prices for foods and other goods.
Destination #5
And finally… Cleveland, Ohio. As you may know, Cleveland is home to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame; but that’s not why it made our list. Nope, Cleveland is on our list because it is the birthplace of… Tylenol.
Happy Traveling đŸ™‚
Richard Hurley says
My two favorite music destinations were Bonn, to see the home Beethoven was born in and of course Salzburg, to see the home Mozart was born in. Vienna is fantastic as well, for just about everything musical, but it is also where I saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time.
Andrea says
Hi Richard,
We also loved Salzburg! Didn’t make it as far as Vienna…one day!!
Noreen Wensley says
When travelling in London in the summertime, it’s fabulous to see BBC Pops concerts at Royal Albert Hall for 5 pounds apiece!! You may have to line up for a couple of hours on the day of the concert, but it’s so worth it. There’s nothing like seeing Joshua Bell, Lang Lang, Benjamin Grosvenor, or a similar world-class performer from 15 or 20 feet away, for the tidy sum of only 5 pounds!