Second to Last Day in Europe

February 16th began with breakfast in the hotel restaurant--we had eggs and bacon! This was the first breakfast that we had the option of eggs and bacon the whole trip so I was very excited. After breakfast we loaded up our instruments and went to a school in downtown Salzburg. There were about 200-250 students at the concert and they were very...rambunctious. The principal of the school couldn't even get them under control. We played a somewhat abbreviated concert because they didn't seem to really enjoy the music. After the concert, we went back to the hotel to change and then we were back on the bus. 

We stopped in Berchtesgaden for lunch on the way to the Salt Mines. Brad and I tried a donner sandwich for lunch. It was delicious!! A donner is lamb meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie sliced with onions and served on a yummy bun with cabbage and a yummy Greek sauce. Sooo good. 

After lunch we got to the Salt Mines! We got in the front door and were asked to put on dark blue jumpsuits so that we wouldn't get out street clothes dirty while we were exploring the mines. We boarded a  tiny train and were taken hundreds of feet underground. We had a special two hour tour of the mine that included giant wooden slides to get you from one level to the next! It was really interesting and also really fun! After the tour we got free salt shakers and looked around their gift shop. 

(I wasn't very excited about the jumpsuit...)

(Eric on the other hand...)

(On the way underground on the little train)

(Getting on the slide!!)

(A room in the mine, mimicking salt crystals)

 

(Beautiful scenery on the way back to the hotel)

We left the salt mines around 5:30 and went back to the hotel to change for dinner. We were scheduled for the Sound of Music Dinner Show that evening at Sternbrau. It was so much fun! The dinner was turkey...AGAIN...but the music was good. It was a little cheesy but I think shows like that should be cheesy because its a tourist attraction. I don't mind it. Some other people in our group (*cough*the director*cough*) left early because of the music. Super embarrassing...Oh, well. I enjoyed it! :) 

Eric and Brad both wore purple shirts...on purpose.

Neuschwanstein Castle

On the morning of February 15th, we had a quick breakfast in Tettnang, packed up all our luggage and instruments and boarded the bus. Every time we packed up and moved to a different hotel it was a little bittersweet. I would have loved to stay a little longer in every city we visited but I'm glad I got to see so much in the short time I was there.

This morning we were heading to Austria to see the Neuschwanstein Castle, a castle that was later used as a model for the Disney Land Castle. The castle was built by King Ludwig II, the king of Bavaria in the 1840s-1880s. He was a very gentle king who had a passion for building castles rather than going to war. He wanted to build seven but only saw three completed before he died at the young age of 39. He had taken his country into bankruptcy because of his beautiful elaborate castles so he was "diagnosed" mentally ill. Soon after his diagnosis, he and his doctor were called to Munich. They were later found dead in a river and the official story was that Ludwig killed his doctor and then drowned. His death is very controversial because Ludwig was never known to be violent and was also very good swimmer.

We arrived in Fuessen, Austria around 11:00am and rode a horse and buggy up the hill to the castle. The last 600 feet is too steep for the horses so we had to walk it ourselves. This was the most beautiful day of the trip. It was still about 30 degrees outside but it was a clear, bright day and the castle was so majestic. It was like a fairytale.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside of the castle but there was a book of postcards in the gift shop with photos of the interior. Every room was dripping with beautiful art, jewels, and intricate details. The king had an infatuation with swans so one room had swans in every nook and cranny. He even had a recital hall built into his castle where concerts are put on several times a year. Ludwig unfortunately died before the hall was ever used. Ludwig's mentor was Richard Wagner, the great composer. Wagner actually lived in the castle for a few months and much of the art features scenes from his operas.

After our guided tour of the castle we walked back the hill and did a little shopping and ate lunch. Brad had a schnitzel sandwich and I had a small hamburger. While we were eating a cat wandered over for some scraps. He was so cute but he looked so cold in the snow!

After lunch we got back on the bus and drove to Steingaden, Austria to visit the Pilgrimage Church. The church was in the middle of nowhere and didn't look like much of anything from the outside. But once we went inside we realized why we were there.

The church, however beautiful, was not heated so you could see your breath. We were about to leave when we noticed that the holy water was frozen solid!

We arrived at our hotel in Salzburg around 8:30pm and ate dinner in the restaurant downstairs. This hotel actually had a bowling alley in the basement! It wasn't quite the same as American bowling but it was still fun!

Switzerland Pictures

I'm finally loading pictures from the Day 4 in Switzerland...

During our trip we usually had to be at breakfast around 7:30 or 8:00am but on the morning of February 14th we were finally able to sleep in! We didn't have anything on the itinerary until 1:45pm. So Brad, Eric, and I went to lunch in downtown Tettnang at a place called La Piazza. The boys ordered pizzas and I ordered gnocchi in a formaggio cheese sauce. Their pizzas turned out to be HUGE and delicious and my pasta was melt-in-your-mouth yummy. It was so rich I only ate about a third of it and took the rest back to my hotel balcony to leave in the snow.

After lunch, we changed into our concert blacks, loaded the bus, and headed into Ravensburg, Germany (pronounced Raw-vens-burg). We arrived at a beautiful protestant church where we were to give our concert and it was heated!! The last one we played in was so cold that it was hard to concentrate let alone stay in tune! Not only was it heated but the pastor was very thoughtful and had snacks and water prepared for us. After our rehearsal he even brought some warm pretzels from a local bakery around for us. We had a quick break before the concert was supposed to start so we explored the church a little.

The jazz combo played a set while the audience came in and got settled and then the chamber ensemble played two movements from Charles Gounod's Petite Symphony. The pastor gave a short speech followed by the mayor (or Burgermeister) of Ravensburg. After the warm welcome we gave our concert. We finished with The Stars and Stripes and they went CRAZY! We got our first standing ovation of our tour and we even played an encore. The pastor came up after the encore and presented us with candy from the area and Ravensburg "Gold Medals." They were big pretzels hanging on blue and white ribbon and everyone got them!

Traveling was really starting to wear us out so that concert was just what we needed to lift our spirits! My friend Jessie and I talked to the pastor afterwards and were able to take a picture. He was such a sweet and caring man.

We ate dinner right across the street at Nudelopen where they had all you can eat pizza, pasta, and mexican food for 7.77. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant because it was REALLY overpriced and the service was terrible but the pizza was good. :)

After dinner we went back to Tettnang and went downtown to see if anything was open. There was a HUGE party going on in town square and everyone was in their pajamas--even the statue! Lots of music and dancing...it was really fun!

Day 4...sorta

[I just got home from SFO and I finally have internet access!! I wrote this entry a few days ago in word. I will continue posting until I'm completely up to date, so you can keep checking in. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to post any pictures...SLEEPY).

I am soooo behind in posts! It’s now day six of my adventure but I still need to tell you about Switzerland.

The morning of the thirteenth we ate breakfast early and began our journey to Appenzell, Switzerland from Tettnang, Germany. It was a really beautiful drive along the shore of Lake Constance, the largest inland lake in Germany. Austria, Germany, and Swizterland are so close that they actually share the lake. We also crossed the Rhine River which flows through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland. We passed through Austria and we were never asked to show our passports or exit the bus. It’s been really interesting to see the differences in travel over here.

Once we arrived in Switzerland we had four hours to eat lunch and do some souvenir shopping before heading back to Germany. It seemed like no time at all when we left the bus but once we entered the town we realized that all but like two shops were closed for lunch. Ilse reminded us that shopkeepers in small towns close up shop at noon for two hours everyday so they can eat and take a nap before finishing out the workday. It was actually really frustrating because we only had a few shops to choose from and they were really touristy. One of them actually had a lot of costumes for sale because there was some kind of carnival/parade going on that day. When I was in line to buy a small souvenir there were three clowns in line behind me buying red noses.

After checking out the shops we got some lunch at little café. I actually got a hot dog because I knew it would be faster and it was but it was also amazing! Instead of a bun or a round piece of bread, like we have been seeing, it was actually one oblong piece of bread that had a hot dog shaped hole through the middle of it. So my hot dog sort-of had a cocoon! It was creative AND delicious.

Brad, a few other friends, and I were strolling back to the bus when we heard a marching band. We stopped long enough to take some pictures of the crazy little parade and then we kept walking. We were almost to the bus and then a man in a scary mask (who I guess was with the parade) walked up to my friend Jessica like he was going to hug her. She thought, “Okay, I guess I’ll hug you” and instead he grabbed her, wrapped a rope around her and proceeded to walk away with her. I freaked out and ran after her and finally got her out of his grip but he had taken her a good 15 feet before he let her go. We were both really worked up about it but everyone just said it must be part of the parade. Either way, it was scary! Jessie’s boyfriend Shawn actually rented skis and went skiing on the Alps while we were there.

After our trip to Switzerland we rode the bus back to Tettnang, ate dinner, and went to bed. Our hotel in Tettnang had a restaurant in the lobby so we were able to eat there every night. It was really convenient and yummy actually.

[By the way, if anyone wants the names of the hotels I stayed in, just let me know. I also highly recommend my tour guide, Ilse, if you like group tours).

Day 3

After breakfast this morning we packed up our luggage, loaded the bus and began our journey to Tettnang, Germany. It was a four hour drive so we stopped for lunch on the way in Ulm. Ulm is famous for its HUGE cathedral in the center of town. The cathedral’s tower is actually the tallest in the world and you can see the tower from pretty much anywhere in town. We took a quick self-guided tour of the sanctuary and then had fish and chips for lunch at a street vendor. It was really yummy! I had calamari with remoulade sauce and Brad had regular fish and chips. After lunch, we window-shopped for a little while and I bought a hat and scarf at the New Yorker store. I thought it was kind-of ironic that I came all the way to Germany and shopped at a store called New Yorker… Our director stopped at DVD store on the way back to the bus and bought the movie Hancock for us to watch for the rest of the road trip.
We arrived in Tettnang (pronounced tet-naw-ng) around 3:20pm and we left on our one-hour walking tour at 4:00pm. The tour guide was really sweet and gave us a lot of information. Apparently Tettnang is known for growing hops, whereas all the other cities we have visited were known for their vineyards. It has been ruled by many countries/people and we got to visit the ruler’s palace on our tour. The palace is built in the Baroque style, meaning everything is very extravagant but with great attention to symmetry and detail. One of the rooms had walls painted in solid gold. The ceilings were covered with intricate plaster designs and sculptures. One of the rooms had flowers painted on the walls and then green glass over it so it looked like stained glass.
After our quick tour of the town, a small group of us found a rustic little restaurant for dinner. The waitress was really nice and even taught us a few words in German. I had Hungarian goulash because my Grandma used to make it, or at least talked about it and Brad had roast beef and French fries. I think it’s interesting how popular French fries are here. I thought I would see more sauerkraut on the menus.
Apparently there was a carnival here just recently so there are still flags hanging throughout town and people wearing all kinds of silly costumes. We were kind-of sad we missed it because it looked like fun! We also found out, after coming back to the hotel, that Ulm is also famous for being Albert Einstein’s birthplace.
Tomorrow we are going to Appenzell, Switzerland for the day! We have to get up really early to get there before all the shops close. We might also go sledding at some point!
I will hopefully be able to post more updates these next couple of days because our new hotel has wireless internet in the restaurant downstairs. The pictures take a while to upload and I can’t figure out the captions very well but I’m working on it!

Guten Nacht!

Day 2 Pictures

The Nazi Forum


Seats in the Forum


Close-up of the forum where Hitler spoke


St. Elizabeth Church where we played our first concert


The old mote in Nurmberg

Day 2

After a breakfast of cereal (I had some kind of granola with chocolate in it), rolls with jam or honey, coffee (or kaffee), and orange juice, we boarded the bus and headed from our hotel in Rothenberg to the city of Nurnberg (pronounced New-run-burg). It snowed quite heavily the night before so our bus was covered in a thick white blanket of snow.
On the way to Nurnberg our tour guide, Ilse, gave us a run down of the day in the “City of Toys.” Apparently Nurnberg is very well-known for their toys (or tiny trinkets) and had just finished their toy convention at the Nurnberg Masse (or fairgrounds). It would have been really cool to see the convention but I guess in a way we came right in time because there were over 80,000 people in attendance this year.
Ilse also forewarned us about the somber mood the morning would most likely take on. Nurnberg is also known to be one of Hitler’s most favorite cities, the site of the Nazi Forum, where he spoke to hundreds of thousands of Nazis. We originally planned to walk out to the eight foot by four foot space that towers over the expansive forum, but due to the cold conditions and a restoration project we were only able to walk to the middle of the field and look up. I tried to imagine myself as a young Nazi, brainwashed and intimidated watching Adolf Hitler speak far above me on the platform. Something about the bleak weather made the forum seem all the more…oppressive. I’m very glad we were able to see this place where so much history took place. We also drove past another building designed by Hitler that was modeled after the Roman Coliseum. The building is shaped like a horseshoe with a courtyard made of bricks. The outside of this coliseum is made of giant granite blocks which were carved by concentration camp prisoners. The tour guide had us take a moment and remember all the lives were lost in order to make that wall. It was very moving to see something so tangible illustrate something that I have only really read about.
Nurnberg has a population of about 800,000 and is a much more modern city than our previous city of Rothenberg. The streets were still cobblestone but were much wider and lined with luxurious shops. We also drove past the Nurnberg courthouse where the famous Nurnberg Trials were held. The actual courtroom, number 600, is now used only for high profile cases. We ended our tour around 12:45 pm at the Market Square (or Markt Haupt). At this point we had literally been on the bus since 8:30am and everyone was dying to use the water closet (the European term for restroom), so unfortunately I did not catch much of our tour guides last few tidbits. She did mention that the local opera house performs Wagner’s Die Meistersinger quite often because it gives one of the only example of life in Bavaria in the Middle Ages. After our lunch of potato salad and Nurnberg sausage, we actually saw a statue of Hans Sachs, the main character in Die Meistersinger while we were window shopping.
At 2:45pm the bus dropped us at St. Elizabethkirsche (kirsche meaning church), where we had an hour to set-up, rehearse, and change our clothes. The church was amazing. It huge, booming acoustics and our sound traveled all the way up into the giant copula. It was a small church but had very impressive statues of all twelve disciples and St. Elizabeth. During rehearsal we left out bags and purses against the walls at the back of the church, where we thought they would be safe. Apparently while we were rehearsing, a man took a very expensive camera and the equivalent of about $450 out of a bag in the back that belonged to a member of our group. Needless to say, they were very upset once they realized what had been taken. We all learned a lesson about where to put our valuables.
There was a short mass (about 30 minutes) following our rehearsal, so Brad and I decided to stay and watch. My German diction training paid off because we sang all of the hymns in German. The singing also kept my mind off of the temperature, which was only a few degrees warmer than the 30 degrees outside. After the mass we re-set our stands and chairs and began our concert. There were about 90 people in attendance and they all seemed very enthusiastic about our performance, especially the Souza marches. Personally, it seemed very inappropriate to play Souza or just 20th century music in a beautiful Medieval Catholic church.
After our concert we were frozen solid so we packed up fast, got on the bus, and headed back to our hotel in Rothenberg. We ate a dinner of soup, turkey (which was breaded and fried), and apple streudel. The best part was definitely the streudel because it was served right of the oven, with what tasted like tapioca pudding but without the little chunks, drizzled all over it and around it. It reminded me of warm apple pie a la mode.
Tomorrow we don’t have much planned except for a walking tour in Teentag and then we move to a new hotel. The one we’ve been in, is described as a very basic hotel. It has phones, extra blankets and the tour guide actually provided soap and shampoo for us when she realized the rooms didn’t have any. Apparently the next one “will be much better.” I like this one because it is so simple, but I hope the next one will have wireless internet so I can stop writing these blog entries on word!

Pictures from Day 1

Our plane at the gate in SFO

Cots in the Frankfurt Airport

This is what we saw when left the airport...

Overlooking the River outside of Wurzburg

A Walkway in Rothenberg

An Entrance Gate to the City of Rothenberg

Below Left: Beer Steins and little wooden trinkets in a shop window

Street in Rothenberg

Day 1

We left the CSUS Music Department parking lot around 6:45am and aside from stopping in Ripon because someone forgot their wallet and light traffic after we got onto the San Mateo Bridge, we made good time to the SF Airport. We got all of our luggage and equipment into the terminal, stood in line and got our boarding passes and then breezed through security. By the time we got to the gate it was only a little after 11:00 am so we had a lot of time to kill. I decided to get Mexican food for lunch, since it was probably the last time I would have it for ten days. We finally boarded the plane around 2:45pm (our original departure was 2:20) and we were off!
The flight was about 10.5 hours, with dinner and breakfast included. We landed Frankfurt around 10:45am and we went straight to baggage claim. On the way through the terminal we passed through a make-shift “shelter” for passengers that weren’t able to fly out due to bad weather conditions. Brad and I thought it looked like about 1,000 cots lined up right next to each other, sort-of like a homeless shelter or a hostel.
Once we got to baggage claim and got our luggage we headed for the currency exchange booth and then out to the bus. Our bus is a small charter bus and one less seat than our group’s total number so our director, Dr. McMahan and the tour guide have been taking turns standing. I think McMahan is on the mic way more than the guide anyway…but that’s another story! We got all settled on the bus and the tour guide told us that there had been a change in the itinerary. Our original plan was to drive from the airport to downtown Frankfurt and have lunch but the German government has recently made some changes to the bus regulations in regards to emissions. Buses are no longer allowed to drive in the city of Frankfurt and some other major cities in Germany due to pollution problems. Apparently, the law went into affect three days before we arrived.
I was a little bummed about not being able to go into Frankfurt but the tour guide went on to say that instead we were going to visit the town of Wurzburg (pronounced Verts-burg), one of the oldest Medieval cities in Germany, so my disappointment didn’t last too long. On the way we learned that Germany consists of 23 states and we were going to spend the majority of our time in the state of Bavaria. It was a very scenic drive through countryside and small, snow-covered Bavarian towns. Our tour guide, Ilse, told us that Germans have very strict rules about the style of their neighborhoods; you don’t see any Spanish style homes or tract style homes because people aren’t allowed to build them.
We got to Wurzburg and parked our bus, which also pulled a trailer for our suitcases and instruments, and walked across the “mote” to the old city of Wurzburg. It was about 30 degrees and snowing outside at this point so we bundled up and made our way across the bridge. We wandered around town until we found a bakery, based on advice from the tour guide, and tried our best to order something for lunch. Brad and some of the guys stayed on the sidewalk and order through the take-out window. They had sandwiches displayed to the out side so you just had to walk up and point. My new friend Jessica and I took the more adventurous route and went inside. After inspecting the delicious pastries and breads, I decided on Apfel Kuchen (which looked similar to Apple Streudel). I got the girl’s attention and pointed to the pastry that I wanted. She smiled and told us in very broken English and hand signals that we should sit down and someone would come take our order. So Jessie and I did as we were told and sat down at a tall café table against the wall. When the waitress came I ordered my Kuchen with a latte and ended my order with a very enthusiastic “Danke!” (the only German word I know, meaning “Thank You”). The waitress chuckled a little and nodded. The Kuchen was delicious and it didn’t matter what the latte tasted like as long as it was warm! While we ate our lunch in the warm bakery the snow began to fall in big fluffy flakes.
After our lunch we walked through the small city and looked in shop windows. It was actually a very modern, bustling city despite its small size. There was a Subway and a Pizza Hut as well as an H&M clothing store. In among these modern stores were ancient old buildings and churches with cobble stone streets and sidewalks. Every street was curvy and a different width so it was a little confusing. I’m glad Brad has a good sense of direction!
We headed back to the bus around 3:30pm and we headed to our next destination, Rothenberg (pronounced Row-tin-burg, with the first “r” rolled, of course). Ilse referred to this city as another one of the oldest cities in Germany. I enjoyed Rothenberg a great deal more than Wurzberg because we had a guided walking tour with a very interesting old man. We started at the entrance of what used to be the Hospital Gate. Every street was uneven and cobblestone. Most of the structures were built before 1400 and anything else is referred to as modern even though it blends in with the Medieval style so well that you wouldn’t know the difference. He had a strange sense of humor and told us many stories about how wives kept their husbands in line when they came home late and how children were punished when they didn’t do their homework.
One of the buildings we passed was the Kriminalmuseum where they house all of the old torturing instruments. The building was closed by that time of day but we could see one instrument sitting in the garden: the Dunking Cage. He said that people were put into the cage and then dunked in the fountain in the middle of town-even in winter when the water was below freezing! There are only four churches in town; three Lutheran and one Catholic. He also showed us what used to be the prison, a beautiful ivy-covered building which faces an amazing view of the Tauber Valley. He joked that the prisoners got the best view in town.
Most every little store in town was closed but they all kept their front windows lit and full of pretty things to look at as we walked by. There were lots of dolls and toys, which reminded me of the movie Pinnocchio for some reason, and most windows had a flower box on it. I can’t wait to go back tomorrow in the daytime. It was a very picturesque town, especially in the snow.
It started to get unbearably cold after the sun went down so we finished our tour and headed straight for the bus. We left so fast the almost left a member of the group in town! After a little panicking and a short search, we found him and headed a little ways out of town to our hotel. After dropping our luggage in our room and a quick potty break, we walked a block down the road to the restaurant. We prepaid six dinners in our tour price and tonight included one of them. It was a four course meal consisting of soup, a salad, noodles and pork with gravy, and ice cream. The soup was really just a broth with little bread balls floating in it and some chives. The best part was the meat and noodles because the noodles were homemade and tasted just like my Grandma H’s recipe. (Which I guess isn’t too surprising, considering she was German). Yum!
I’m off to get a good night’s sleep because we have an even busier day tomorrow, including our first concert!

Jinx

A semi-packed suitcase on the bed always gets me excited... I have always wanted to go to Europe and the day has finally come! Yay!

I can't wait to get there but I'm really going to miss my cat, Jinx.* I hope he doesn't forget me. :( Maybe I'll try to bring him a special German kitty toy...hmmm...

*Thanks to Ashley for the awesome glamor shot :)

Packing and Pondering

Drinking a hot cup of green tea in front of the fireplace on a Saturday night would usually be a relaxing evening. Instead, I sit here drinking tea while a worry, "Do I have everything I need? Is $300 enough for ten days in Europe? How many pairs of socks should I bring? Will I really need Nyquil? Should I have learned more German phrases?"

If you were leaving at 3PM this Tuesday for Frankfurt, wouldn't you be a little anxious too??

As of this minute, I have only Ritz cheese and crackers and Cereal bars in my suitcase. I will add the all important socks and thermals before I go to bed (soon) but the rest will have to wait. I have to do laundry first!

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned for more updates...hopefully with more exciting topics than socks and laundry!