GMC in Europe 2008

Related entry: Pickpockets in Prague

Remember the old Batman show with all the ker-pows, blam and ooof graphics during the fight scenes?  John and I were walking back one lovely morning to our hotel in Prague when an overgrown child gyspy, ok, maybe just some 20 something punk, walked by, reached into John’s pocket and man, he just didn’t see it coming.  Too bad the graphics were missing but I think I can say that the moves we pulled were just too fast to add graphics.  Guess it was all those Bond movies too…must tell mom that the boob tube came in handy!

John and I walked away totally unscathed, unafraid and feeling quite proud of our tag teaming that helped vanquish the potential thief.  We taught him a lesson he won’t soon forget…never underestimate the power of two guys with grey hair after a few Pilsners!  We made sure he would never bother any of you again! 

See you at the gym or the bar!  Rich

Dear GMC’ers who toured and who waited,

While vistas, music and food (and Rich’s Lime Juice) were an amazing part of our tour, I cannot help but say I will miss the people the most.  There were a few folks who stood out, like Ian and Peter, our guides from Scotland and England respectively along the way to make it a ton of fun.

But what will always make me smile are those many moments of connecting with our many wonderful chorale folks.  Truly, we learned lots about each other; it has added a dimension of opening up a lot more and seeing sides of folks that we never saw before.  Yes Colin, there is really a 20-year-old Rich inside this 50-year-old man!

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After close to seven thousand miles traveled and ten days on the road, the GMC Europe touring group returned home safely this evening.

For about half of us, the day started with a 5:30 a.m. (CEST) wake-up call. (That would be 11:30 p.m. EDT, yesterday.) We were packed, through with breakfast, and on our bus by 7 a.m., and from the hotel straight to the airport, where we boarded a 9:25 a.m. flight to Amsterdam. Of course, it was delayed by 10 minutes, which only cut into the four-hour layover time.

We departed Amsterdam at about 3:15 p.m. CEST (9:15 a.m. EDT), and touched down in Boston at 5 p.m. EDT. As I write this, having arrived home about an hour ago, I’m a little surprised to acknowledge I’ve been up for the past 24 hours. Where did the time go?

Of course, there will be much to write, and much to show you…but we did want all of you reading the blog to know we are back safe and sound.

Salzburg really is a beautiful city. And, there is plenty to see.

But, it seems to have a “complex” of some kind in relationship to Vienna. Our tour guide on Tuesday morning, a lovely Viennese native who has lived in Salzburg for years, said:

Vienna styles itself as the center of Austria; after all, it is the national capital, and it has many inhabitants. But, the citizens of Salzburg secretly think that Vienna thinks too much of itself, and that in fact Salzburg is the better city.

Well, I’m not sure if they’re correct about that. The shops were certainly competing to see who could be the best vendor of “Mozart Balls,” the strange chocolates wrapped in likenesses of W. Amadeus himself. The funicular ride to the famous Festung Hohensalzburg (the town’s imposing fortress/castle) was clean and efficient and quick (although because it was efficient, it also took a while for it to start because they insisted on filling the car to its capacity of 40 riders before starting the one-minute journey!).

Still, there was something like a chip on Salzburg’s shoulder. I don’t quite know what it was, but there is an edge to the city, like it wants to be Vienna, perhaps, and knows it never can.

No matter: the food was good, the cathedral (with its five organs!) breathtakingly beautiful, and the company of choristers and friends has been delightful!

A very short post (because our bus awaits) to let you know we all arrived safely in Prague. We had no internet access in Salzburg, but many stories queued up and waiting to share with you.

Thanks for your encouraging comments!

Tuesday, April 14

A small contingent of GMC singers rendered “Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal” on stage at the Great Festival Hall.  Unfortunately, there were no occupants in the 2177 audience seats.  We stood in front of the shimmering golden “iron” safety curtain before going backstage to see the mechanisms for staging operas & plays.  Prior to our “performance” we toured two other theatres under the same roof–the Small Festival Hall which seats 1324 and the Felsenreitschule which dates back to 1606.  Built against the side of a mountain, this theatre has arched spectator galleries–what a setting for operas–excellent acoustics & a retractable roof. 

As the group discussed our transit from Vienna to Salzburg, we realized that we would be passing through Linz, less than five miles away from the village of Mauthausen and its Nazi-era concentration camp. About 40 of us requested the opportunity to deviate from the planned program and visit the camp. (I should add that those who chose to go on to Salzburg had either visited a camp previously, or had other good reasons not to go.)

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Wow…the Greater Middletown Chorale is in Vienna.

No exclamation mark, just a fact. We’ve been grounding ourselves in the local culture for the past two days and having a blast.

Our two groups were reunited at the Hotel Ananan on Friday evening, and those of us who were on the Northwest/KLM flight were reassured to know that the Lufthansa folks had had their own “hardships” (no choice of movie on the plane; an early arrival that resulted in an unscheduled wait for two hours; a Mozart visit that was less than spectacular). By comparison, our wait due to “technical difficulties” at the Amsterdam airport (we were finally airborne at 2:30, about three hours past our scheduled departure) was almost pleasant.

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I’m in Amsterdam as I write this…in an airport that Alison described as “one giant Ikea.” Euro-style is certainly different. It’s more humane, for one thing…the terminal in which we’re laying over has a whole section devoted to “comfort chairs.” They have foot rests and can recline, and you don’t need to be a member of an elite flying club to sit in them.

Our travel is going well. We departed from First Congregational Church in Cheshire promptly at 10 a.m., on board a bus that just needs wings to be fully competitive with an airliner. We met up with the rest of the chorale in Middletown, and then we were off to Boston.

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