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[can you spot esther in the picture above?]

FROM THE OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

Update from Thursday in Salzburg…

In contrast to yesterday, the weather was absolutely stunning, with the temperature in the mid-high twenties. We started with a walking tour around Salzburg, this time focussing on the history of the city rather than the Sound of Music (which is really just an English-speaking world movie and not highly rated by Austrians).

The guide for our group was also a musician, and she talked a lot about the musical history of Salzburg, including Mozart, Michael Haydn and various other composers. She also explained how all students in this time would have spent several hours a week learning philosophy – something I think would be great to do today! We visited Salzburg Cathedral which has 5 organs (that would make for an interesting composition…), as well as a couple of marketplaces (where many of us bought sweet pretzels), a cemetery, and the very beautiful Mirabell Palace and gardens.

Everyone then had a couple of hours to explore the town and get some lunch, before we headed off to St Gilgen, a picturesque lake village where we had our outdoor concert. Quite a few people heard us during the soundchecks, and came along, staying for the whole concert. It was also great to have some parents turn up to offer their support.

All five groups have improved their performance standard and we are now really looking forward to Vienna tomorrow! However, I will be sad to leave Salzburg – it’s not often you find a place that rivals the beauty of New Zealand, but Salzburg and surrounds come pretty darn close!

 

All of the groups performed at St Gilgen – 30 km out of Salzburg. Stunning location. They are all in fine form and really enjoyed themselves in the glaring sunshine ( in contrast to yesterday’s incessant rain ) The groups were all warmly received and a few “bravos” and standing ovations were noted.

end of school for jane and kezia.  very busy day at work for me.

then this evening jane and i had date night at the same place we went to last week and ate exactly the same thing.  this time we didn’t order a dessert as we had to leave without it last time.  but jane did find some metal in her dinner

usual busy-ness.  school, work etc

kezia had swimming in the uncovered (but heated) outdoor pool.  it’s really cold waiting for her (currently below 10 degrees C out) so pretty cold for the kids when they get out!

we’ve not heard directly from esther since last weekend, but we assume she’s ok!  See other update post for the latest facebook update.  i couldn’t see the pictures that were mentioned on facebook, so haven’t reposted them

instead here’s some photos i took on the way to work by violently shaking my camera.  the tai-chi people looked a little concerned!

lots of exclamation marks today folks!

This has just been posted on the tour facebook page:

Update for our day from Munich to Salzburg…

The southern Bavarian scenery from Munich across the border into Austria was really beautiful – lush, green fields, lots of little forests as well as picture-postcard houses and chalets. If anything, Austria is even more stunning, as you’ll see from the photos.

We enjoyed a quick lunch and walk around Salzburg, then it was back onto the buses for a Sound of Music tour, taking in lakes, amazing mansions, churches and even the famous gazebo. It was fascinating to hear how the real Von Trapp story differs from the movie version.

Choralation managed to get an impromptu performance at St Michael’s In Mondsee, a church full of amazing paintings and artefacts.

Once back at the hostel (a step up from Munich), it was loads more yummy salad vegetables for dinner, before we headed off on foot back into the old centre of Salzburg for a Sound of Music show performed by four local singers and a hilariously talented pianist who might possibly have been a few sheets to the wind before the show started.

Several tour members were called upon to dance and a great night was had by all.

 

Hello. School and work for those of us in NZ. It is very rainy here. In the evening Kezia and Jane went to a sort of pre-options evening at her school and Dave went to the opening  night of the salon exhibition

This appeared on the tour facebook page twelve hours ago:

Quick update from our second day in Munich…
This morning the weather was more summer-ish, which made for a pleasant 45m walk (for WSO) to our rehearsal venue at St Boniface Church, a simply but beautifully designed modern building near Königsplatz. This time the bands had the morning off while the orchestras enjoyed their first rehearsals of the tour. After lunch at the hostel, it was back on the bus into town, where everyone had about 90m to explore the city, do some shopping or return to some of the more interesting sights we glimpsed on our walking tour yesterday. Then it was about a 30m drive to Garching, a small town north of Munich, where we set up for our first full concert of the tour. Outside the concert hall was a public square with several small eateries so the students could spend their dinner money before the concert, which began with a short piece by the local Blasorchester Garching – in full Bavarian attire! Then, after a warm welcome from the mayor, each of the groups performed 3 pieces for the appreciative audience. This was followed by refreshments provided by the locals and some interesting discussions about life in Germany vs NZ, before we got back on the bus to return to the hostel and pack for our trip to Salzburg tomorrow.

The students seem to have settled into the new time zone, and the concert set-up, while not yet perfectly streamlined, is becoming more so. My guess is that the 3-4 students who forgot all or part of their uniform tonight will not do so again on tour! We are looking forward to each group developing as a unit as the tour progresses.

beans for sale at the equivalent of one pound ninety five a tin.

all had work/school

jane and i went to esther’s parents evening in her absence.  the teachers seem very pleased with her, so that was nice.

kezia had swimming.

and the computer that the funkypancake domain (including our emails) has broken so you won’t see this for a while.

ESTHER UPDATE

Not heard from esther for a while, but this is the update that appeared on the school facebook page early this morning (NZ time) from one of the teachers:

Quick update for parents and families! We are in Munich! After a testing yet ultimately effective passage through the airport with all 1,100kg of larger instruments, we met up with our bus driver Werner (who drove Choralation around the UK in 2010, and Key Cygnetures around Europe in 2006) and his colleagues, with the whole tour group on 3 beautiful coaches and the gear on a truck.

We found the temperature quite different to Singapore (only 11 degrees when we arrived), and today has featured sunshine, rain and hail – rather like the unpredictability of Auckland, I guess! Our walking tour of the old city of Munich included a visit to Marienplatz, a walk through the Frauenkirche, and even a visit to the largest beer hall in town (no samples, though!).

This afternoon has been a busy one for the two bands, which have had their first rehearsals of the tour. The other students enjoyed exploring a supermarket and marvelling at the fact that beer is often cheaper than Coke! It will soon be dinner time here at the hostel. Our aim tonight is to get them to stay up as long as possible so that they get used to the European time zone. Will keep you posted!

P.S. As I write this, I can hear the sounds of the city and conversations of various hostel guests through my bedroom window… and the lovely melody of Lilburn’s ‘Overture: Aotearoa’ being played on a solo violin.

i had a volunteer day today which is where work lets you have a paid day doing some kind of community service.

i used my day to help put up the photo exhibition at the Mairangi Bay Arts Centre.  i have two physical photos on display and two digital ones which will be on TVs

after that was finished i went back in to the office and then went to a leaving do for the guy who is leaving the job that I applied for (but didn’t get).  i thought i should go otherwise it would look like i was sulking.

jane had a busy day at school.  kezia had school and swimming

esther has now arrived in Munich.  can’t tell you anything else i’m afraid!

can you spot me in this picture?

the pictures above sort of flow on to each other.

we all had church this morning

i was on sound this morning so it was an early start and late finish.  jane was doing one of the kids groups.  and kezia had a friend

this afternoon we went to fairy falls for a two hours slippery walk to see the falls with pearl

there were lots of streams to cross

we saw a very nice looking rat

meanwhile, in Singapore (pictures from facebook again) …

we have some contact from Esther and can tell you the toilets are normal, a bus driver threw everyone off the bus because it was he had to eat his lunch and esther found a secret staircase in the hotel.

this is them in a shopping mall waiting for their choir colleagues to do a performance surrounded by stores such as Prada, Versace, Gucci, Burberry etc.

today is their last day in Singapore and they have a day at Universal Studies Singapore which is a theme park i think.  then they fly to Munich this evening.

kezia had a swimming competition this morning which jane kindly took her to.  it was relays.  Kez’s team came fifth.

meanwhile i finished off some bits from our NZ tax and did our UK tax (total refund for jane and me of one pound and ten pounds respectively, with a cost of 21 pounds (VAT free at least) for the software that enabled us to submit our response)

there was then various bits of house sorting before kezia’s chums Jessica and Jessica arrived to do some homework and have a sleepover

jane then kindly let me go photoing and most excellently Buzz was free so we met up at Muriwai in anticipation of a sunset

the sunset didn’t turn up as some clouds moved in at the wrong moment but we generally avoided rain showers

esther arrived successfully in Singapore and messaged jane to say they’d arrived at the hotel.

i think today was a site seeing day for esther with a choir concert this afternoon which she would be attending rather than singing at

there were some people getting their wedding photos at muriwai so we grabbed a few shots

here’s an obligatory impressionist view of muriwai

and here’s buzz shortly before we were hit with a rain storm