GMC in Europe 2008

I checked the websites of the three hotels where we will be staying, and they all have hair dryers in the rooms.  Fewer electrical doohickeys to worry about!!

For an entertaining & edifying explanation by Dr. Gregory S. Neal go to www.revneal.org/Writings/whatsan.htm

Today’s Times features Prague in Travel section

Hi GMC Tour Participants,

A couple of people have shared some hints which I will now share with you as we get ready to roll two weeks from today.

• Hint #1 from Paula, our wonderful GMC Treasurer, who says if you buy some Euros now to have with you at the beginning of our trip, you’ll maybe save some money as the value of the dollar continues to decline — that hint pleases my Scottish blood!
• Hint #2 from Margaret Tyler, our fabulous contralto, who says, scan your Passport and any important medical cards you never want to lose and e-mail them to yourself. Even if you do lose them, you can visit an Internet Cafe while we’re away and you can get copies if needed.

I’ll be updating information as soon as I get it from our contact in the UK and in reading the Casterbridge Leader’s Book, I have come across several pages of valuable information which I’ll send along to Participants as soon as I figure out how to do it!

One big travel tip is—PACK LIGHTLY! Please save me any nightmares by promising to be sure to have your airline tickets and Passports with you when we leave for Boston as I would hate to leave anyone home!

I’m down two of the twenty pounds I wanted to lose before leaving — Aargh! Jelly beans and chocolate bunnies — why do they appear every year?????

14 days and counting! Cheerio!

John, the Virgin Blogger

This (blogging) is plunging into virtually unknown territory for me.

While convalescing, I found some interesting websites to preview our tour. I’ll copy them below, and hope they reach you.

It will be a great adventure.

Joyce

• PRAGUE- Heart of Europe
• Czech dictionary
• Great photos of Prague
• Baden St. Stephens

You might be asking, “But…where are we singing?”

We now have a page for each of the three concert venues on this blog-site.

Some of the information is still preliminary, and all of the venue pages will be updated as we get closer to the tour.

The easiest way to get to the venue pages is…to look up and to the right. There is a link called “Venues” at the top of the page.

You can point your mouse at that word, and a menu will drop down showing our three tour cities. Click on one of them, and it will take you directly to that page.

Or, just click on the word “Venues” to see a directory page with all three venues listed.

The pages will be revised as we receive more information.

How do you plug anything from home into those vaguely exotic electrical outlets in Austria and the Czech Republic?

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, but I have a vested interest in making sure my camera and laptop work while we’re on tour. I’d hate to run out of battery power halfway through our stay in Salzburg and end up with no photos! So, I’ve done some basic research, and I invite those who have been there or lived there to add to it in the comments. 

For those of you bringing digital cameras, laptops, or other battery-operated devices, this may not pose much of a problem. Modern gadgets tend to have what’s called a “switching power supply,” which means that the power transformer brick can adjust to the different voltages and frequencies of European current. For reference, that’s 230 Volts at 50 Hz (or “cycles per second” for us old-timers!) for both Austria and the Czech Republic.Look in your owner’s manual, or at all that fine print on the adapter itself. You may see a statement like “120~240V, 50~60 Hz”. That’s an indicator that your adapter can handle different voltages. An even better indicator is to consult the manufacturer’s Web site for advice.

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Thanks all for taking cards last evening! I see several sign-ups already, so the ball is rolling.It might not be obvious how to post here. I’ve added a “Welcome” message at the top of the page, and will add these points:

•  A blog works well when several (even many) people contribute. I am hosting the blog, but I don’t expect to be writing all the posts.
• When you log in to this blog, you will see something called the Dashboard. This area shows general information about the blog. Clicking on the various links under the dark blue bar will take you to the screen where you can write your own posts.
• The user profile is important. If I know who you are (not always obvious from your email address), I’ll give your account writing privileges more quickly. (People who register on the blog start out with the privilege to read what’s there–essentially the same as not registering. I add writing privileges for GMC family.
• Someone asked me last evening if family and friends could also register on the blog. Of course!

Remember that you can always ask me questions if you’re having trouble with getting the blog working for yourself. Send me an email.

This is the tour Weblog (”blog”) for the Greater Middletown Chorale’s 2008 concert tour of Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague. Oh, my!

I’m your host, Matt McCaffrey. Most of you will recognize me as that quiet guy who sits in the back of the tenor section along with Steve, Rich, Colin, Jim, Margie, the two Johns, and other fine singers.

Okay, I’m not quiet. But I do like to sing, and I’m very excited about our upcoming tour.

This blog is for all of us—not just the people on tour, but the whole Chorale. As friends and fellow singers, the touring group very much wants to share the experience with the rest of us. We hope for a lot of comments and posts from both sides of the Atlantic over the life of the tour.

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