21 September 2010

We started the day with an early rehearsal before we took to the road to see the town of Speyer and the world’s largest Romantic cathedral. First Dr Eichenlaub (from the Südpfalzlerchen) played tour guide, and took us on a short tour of the town, telling us a bit about its history and taking the brave among us up the tower at the original city gate.

 It is a beautiful town and the kids were a bit disappointed that there was no time for shopping, but we enjoyed the tour of the cathedral – yes, even the emperors and kings’ tombs - and, of course, our ‘impromptu’ concert thereafter, where they kindly allowed us the use of the organ. The tourists really appreciated the concert and many remained seated throughout.

 The weather has been absolutely phenomenal and today was perfect for our picnic lunch next to the Rhine River. We decided to cancel our planned visit to the castles of Annweiler and rather spent more time relaxing in the shade next to the river and watching the boats – huge flatbacks for transporting  heavy goods and some luxury passenger liners. We wonder whether our next trip shouldn’t be planned all down the Rhine on one of those!

 From there it was on to the town of St Martin. We had no problem settling down in the bus for an afternoon nap.  Those that were awake discovered again what an excellent busdriver Markus is, as he manoeuvred the bus through some impossible narrow spots.  St Martin is a postcard town in the middle of the German Winelands. One really wants a day just to wander the streets and enjoy the beautiful houses and flower-filled window boxes. The church is up on a hill and beautiful with its leaded windows.

 The concert was a roaring success.  The welcoming audiences we’ve had since our arrival in Germany is really bringing out the best in our children and our dwindling supply of CD’s is becoming a real concern!

Have a look in our Gallery. We've loaded lots of photos and will add comments as we have time.

20 September 2010

Phew, and we thought the third term was life in the fast lane! We’ve hardly had time to breathe the past three days, but oh, what fun we’re already having!

 The flight over was not without events. We’re not sure whether the aeroplane lunch, or the duty free variety was the culprit, but no fewer than SEVEN children became ill. Aunty Henriette can now add doing washing in bathroom basins, AS WELL AS getting it dry in time for landing!

 Markus was there with his bus on our arrival and the weary travelers were most impressed by the huge 65-seater. Doctor Louis has his permanent surgery set up on the back seat and all was quiet in a jiffy. In Ulm, our friend Monika (previously from the Würzburg Cathedral Choirs) was waiting with VERY welcome German pretzels, apples, juice and water, before taking us on a tour of the spectacular (a word I will surely know how to spell after the tour) Ulm Cathedral. We stood in awe of the church spire, which is the highest church spire in the whole world! Of course no singer can pass through such a magnificent building without trying the acoustics and, despite the exhaustion, we treated other visitors to a little concert. The 8 second delay (that is how long it takes from when the sound leaves your mouth until it returns to your ears) was quite something and really made our children’s voices soar.

 We arrived in Villingen right on time and were immediately enveloped with hospitality and love and we really appreciated the opportunity of a shower and a warm and comfortable bed. Erke, the conductor of the Villinger Klosterspatzen, decided to let us sleep late on Sunday. While the children were relaxing with their hosts, the adults (who stayed in hotels) were led on a guided tour of the St Ursula Monastery’s  Mother Superior, whereafter we enjoyed a delicious lunch with the four remaining nuns and their priest.

 We did not know what to expect from the Landesgarten Show in Schwenningen, but really ejoyed being outdoors, as well as all the interesting exhibits (many of them to do with the woodcutting and forestry industries). Our concert in the  Church Pavillion at the show was very warmly received by an appreciative and enthusiastic audience – a great first concert. This was followed by our singing the Britten Mass at a local Catholic Church, with an equally warmly received concert immediately after. The church was packed for both the service and the concert and the audience refused to stop clapping. Our CD’s were in high demand too!

 This morning was a relatively early start as our hosts have to go to work and school. A very happy birthday to Lionel and Adriaan! First stop was an unscheduled stop at the world’s largest cuckoo clock, where some of our wallets went on a crash diet! How we’re going to get those clocks home in one piece still remains to be seen… We got so carried away that we had to reschedule our visit to the Vogtsbauernhof outdoor museum. We were given a guided tour of a house that was built before  Jan van Riebeeck came to Cape Town!

 The Triberg Waterfall (Germany’s Highest) was next. It is a really beautiful place in the midst of the Black Forest and some lovely old trees.  We knew we were late, but it was worth it. From here it was on to Baden-Baden and the Johannes Brahms Museum.  Here we surprised Mr Van Zyl with a card from the whole choir and the playing of some Brahms music, recorded by none other than the Eastern Cape Children’s Choir!

 As if that mouthful wasn’t enough, we were met by what seemed to be the whole of Hercheim-by-Landau this afternoon! Ous hosts, the Südpfalzlerchen, first welcomed us in song, whereafter the mayor also said a few words. Lionel and Adriaan’s birthdays were celebrated in Canon, Lionel received a glass of champagne and we each had the freshest ‘sweetiepie’ chocolate imaginable! We’ve just return from a drive through Herxheim and its surrounding farm (it is in the middle of the Rhine Rift Valley and all around are vegetable, fruit and tobacco farms – a little like our own Gamtoos Valley) in a ‘train car’. We saw a wind turbine from close by – gee, it’s big!

 Tomorrow we’re off the Speyer and the big cathedral, where we have permission for a short concert, and Prof Troskie may play the piano, but more about that after the fact!

Oh, and remember to look at the photos!

12 September 2010

We had our last rehearsal this afternoon, suitcases are in the process of being packed and we CANNOT believe that we have to go through another four days of school before the big day arrives!

2 September 2010

Phew! It took some time to sort through all the possible sight-seeing options, but we've got it together now! Below is the tour itinerary as it stands today. Take some time to Google some of the exciting places we are about to see in real life!

PRINTABLE ITINERARY

16 April 2010

Our 10th International Concert Tour will take place from 17 September to 6 October 2010. Having received a host of invitations from Germany, France and Switzerland, we will be away for a whole 20 days - our longest tour to date. While we know that we will be far too busy to miss home, we wonder how our parents would fare?

Don't despair. Our brand new website will make sure you follow us every step of the way.

Our basic itinerary has been finalised, our tickets are booked and the bus is waiting. Our hosts are busy arranging our concerts and the daily sightseeing and activity programme is taking shape. Have a look at the places we will visit. 

Although we will be seeing a wide variety of landscapes and towns, we are fortunate that the estimated driving time between the host towns and cities is relatively short, with the maximum driving time for one trip at just over 4 hours. Apart from the fact that children's bodies are not made to sit still for too long at one time, this will also allow for maximal use of time to do sight seeing and other activities.