FROM FACEBOOK:
Update from Friday (Salzburg to Vienna)…
We had an early start today in order to get breakfast and pack the buses so we could visit the salt mine at Hallein, Bad Dürrnberg. This was an amazing facility, which I know the students really enjoyed. We started with a train ride into the mine, then had several short videos on route, a boat ride across an underground lake, and two hilarious and somewhat adventurous underground slides with steep drops.
At one point we walked across the border from Austria into Germany and back again – but more than 200m inside the mountain! The whole setup was very clever and well presented, keeping us entertained for well over an hour.
After a few purchases at the gift shop, we were back on the bus for several hours, stopping briefly for lunch at Ybbs. Driving on the motorways (and sitting at the front of the bus) gives you quite an interesting perspective on the quality of driving in Austria. I have noticed that very few people seem to indicate when changing lanes, and the drivers tailgate terribly if another car sits in the speed lane, so not all that different to Auckland, in some ways.
Driving through the outskirts of Vienna was a little depressing – there is more graffiti than I have ever seen in a city – all over buildings, bridges, the stone walls of the riverbanks, and even delivery vehicles. However, as we drove closer to the old city centre, the buildings became more grand and clean, and the streets more narrow.
Since coaches are not allowed in the city centre, we had to hot-foot it about 6 blocks to St Stephen’s Cathedral, where the opening ceremony was held, arriving just before the 4pm start time. This lasted just under an hour, with representatives of all the competing groups introducing themselves to the rest of the festival participants. There were also some items from a local youth choir.
After the ceremony, the students and most of the staff took the coaches to the hotel, while the four directors went off to the conductor’s dinner, which was held at the lovely Restaurant Schubert, located right next to a house where Beethoven lived for eight years. Then it was a rapid taxi ride to the hotel, where Choralation had the final rehearsal before the competition tomorrow. We have enjoyed seeing more and more parents and family arrive to support us, and look forward to seeing both Ms Mexted [headmistress of the girls’ school] and Mr Ferguson at the Musikverein tomorrow!