Wow. So apparently I'm really bad at posting on my blog (procrastination at its finest) or I never have internet access. Most likely, a tad bit of both. Let me update you on life in Europa!
Last I left you hanging in Munich. On Monday night. That evening we were entertained by thousands of ROLLERBLADERS skating by our hostel's corner, accompanied by police patrol, hoots and hollering, glow in the dark wheels, boom-boxes, everything you could guess. Supposedly Munich has "blade-night" every Monday night. A greener version of Sioux Center's annual "Sunday-night cruising" ? You tell me. It was fairly amusing, until they kept blading past for at least 2 hours. It was a surprise to say the least.
Tuesday morning arrived and we left our hostel in search of Dachau. We again stored our big packs in a locker at the train station so that we would be free to explore, without 30 pounds dragging us down. Dachau is one of the first concentration camps opened in Germany, and the only one to remain open the entire 12 years of Nazi-rule. I hate to minimize my experience there, or the impact it had. But one must really visit a concentration camp and read the stories of survivors to get a glimpse of the horrors that occured during WWII. Terrible things were performed and carried out on human beings during those 12 years in Dachau. Things that you and I should hope would never happen again.
Somber. We left Dachau after a four-hour audioguide/self tour.
Our group arrived back at the Munich station in time to catch a train to ...AUSTRIA!!! Salzburg to be exact. The city of "The Sound of Music" if you'd like a little more detail :) We spent the majority of our day in a smooth riding train, where I slept and caught up in my journal (a necessary item if you're ever going to travel, and want to remember what you've done at the end of your journey).
Our hostel in Salzburg was decently clean, with 4 bunkbeds, a community bathroom, and of course...hundreds of kids running around. Except this time, I swear I saw kids as young as seven or eight! I guess school fieldtrips are popular at this time of year? But I still wouldn't want my 7-year old daughter wandering around a strange hostel with her other young friends.
I'll share with you what I've written in my journal:
"...After figuring out the slightly tricky city bus system, we arrived in time to get settled in our hostel and then head out to scout out town-and some supper. We walked around some of the old town squares, peeking in buildings and reading cafe menus..and prices :) before settling on the cute cafe the attnedant at the hostel recommended. It turned out to be quite the succes and we were all very satisfied-especially after eating sandwiches for the past couple of days ANd eating bread at EVERY meal in Holland! I think the best part of the night was that we got to run back from supper in the rain, cracking jokes at eachother, while the storm turned thundrous and black clouds rolled in over the city..."
Wednesday May 27.
"....It was still raining this morning so everyone pulled out their dorky ponchos and I put on my even nerdier big black garbage bag! All set with our rain gear we went in search of the path up the hill/cliff to the might white fortress that overlooks the entire city of Salzburg. ANd what a fortress it was! After climbing stairs and hiking up some of the steepest one way roads Ive ever been on, we arrived, The medieval castle fortress was built in 1077 and met my imaginations image of a castle in more ways than one. Thick walls, tall skinny windows, winding staircases, turrets, guard rooms, large gates, torture rooms, and a deep dark dungeous! Cheesy sounding? By no means...it was in everything grand. Fancy state rooms and large courtyards, PLUS a breathtaking view. We arrived while it was still wet and early (930am)......we virtually hgad the entire fortress and its museums to ourselves. We probably could've skipped the creepy puppet museum -BUT we'd already paid the all-encompassing pass. So we even looked in there. We took the funicular/tram car back down the nountain where we viewed the spring involved with the fortress' plumbing system, the oldest aquaduct system in Western Europe. From there we used our 5 euro buss passes (gotta love public transportation) to ride to Hellbrunn castle. Markus Attikus built Hellbrunn and its quirky fun water works purely for fun and entertainment. With hidden-trick fountains along walkways, walls, stairs, and statues, our tour guide got us good! Surprising us several times. We were in a group with a class of Austrian tweenagers...and we're pretty sure the guide told them in German where to stand to avoid getting wet...and didn't kindly warn us...lol. We had a lot of fun. Afterwards we found a playground on the summer palace grounds with a zipline! So of course....us college kids played :) Because we're in Salzburg, we've been singing Sound of Music songs non-stop. So when we happened upon a gazebo in the palace gardens, we thought of "16 going on 17". And guess what? It was the gazebo! From the movie! We went to a grocery store to get food ( the cheap way) for supper and ate it in the gardens of Schloss Mirabell. We continued wandering around in the old city for the remainder of the evening. We stopped at an Austrian hot dog stand where Melodie and I shared the BEST hot dog I've ever had (called a Kase Krainer), before we headed home to our hostel and called it a night.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
München
Its been awhile and for that I apologize. Choir tour sped by very quickly. John Witte our tour guide kept us very busy running from place to place. And before long...it was all over! Yesterday Kristen Brands, Kristina De Graaf, Melodie Vanden Born, Mark Sjoerdsma and I left the big group of choir kids behind at the Amsterdam Schiphol airport. We rode the inner city train to the Central Station and from there we walked through downtown to Amsterdamś equivalent of Central Park. A hour and 20 minute hike. No big deal. lol. We felt like huge tourists, lugging our backpacks around; but it felt better walking through Amsterdam with 5 people instead of a monstrous 50.
After spending Sunday (May 24) afternoon in the park, people watching of course, we walked back to the train station. We caught the night train at 8:30, to Munich Germany. Our night train cabin consisted of 6 small bunks; three on each side. We managed to pull all kinds of awkward positions before settling down to eat a supper of bread and Nutella; and then playing a couple rounds of Rook.
I fell asleep right away. And slept sooo soundly that when I woke up I was surprised to find a 6th person in our cabin. A huge strange man sleeping on the bottom bunk opposite me. Scary? A little! Especially since he spoke no English. We all woke up around 6: 45am and got out at Munich at 7:15. 11 hours on a train. Whew.
The Munich train station was a little difficult to maneuver at first. But we figured it out and were able to find a locker to fit all five of our backpacks for 5 Euros. We caught a two-hour train to Füssen and then hopped a bus to the bottom of a mountain. After hiking for 30 minutes (without our heavy packs!) we found ourselves at the doorway to the Neuschwanstein Castle. Pretty much looks like the Disneyland castle, all nice and white with pointy turrets. BUT set in the most beautiful German countryside.
I think the train ride there and back was beautiful. But I cant say too much...because I slept for the huge majority of the time. Ooops!
Right now Im sitting on a computer in the lobby of our first hostel. Its absolutely filled with dozens of German teenagers. But its pretty clean. The internet is cheap (although this German keyboard is way messed up) AND there is a shower! We walked to the grocery store around back and managed to buy ourselves 3 meals of food for about 4 Euros each. Pretty excited about that, especially after spending 7-10 a meal in the tourist traps we had to eat at while on tour.
Tomorrow we go to the concentration camp Dauchau and then catch another train. This time to Salzburg, Austria.
My time on the computer is almost up. So. I will update the highlights of choir tour later...because there are quite a few :)
After spending Sunday (May 24) afternoon in the park, people watching of course, we walked back to the train station. We caught the night train at 8:30, to Munich Germany. Our night train cabin consisted of 6 small bunks; three on each side. We managed to pull all kinds of awkward positions before settling down to eat a supper of bread and Nutella; and then playing a couple rounds of Rook.
I fell asleep right away. And slept sooo soundly that when I woke up I was surprised to find a 6th person in our cabin. A huge strange man sleeping on the bottom bunk opposite me. Scary? A little! Especially since he spoke no English. We all woke up around 6: 45am and got out at Munich at 7:15. 11 hours on a train. Whew.
The Munich train station was a little difficult to maneuver at first. But we figured it out and were able to find a locker to fit all five of our backpacks for 5 Euros. We caught a two-hour train to Füssen and then hopped a bus to the bottom of a mountain. After hiking for 30 minutes (without our heavy packs!) we found ourselves at the doorway to the Neuschwanstein Castle. Pretty much looks like the Disneyland castle, all nice and white with pointy turrets. BUT set in the most beautiful German countryside.
I think the train ride there and back was beautiful. But I cant say too much...because I slept for the huge majority of the time. Ooops!
Right now Im sitting on a computer in the lobby of our first hostel. Its absolutely filled with dozens of German teenagers. But its pretty clean. The internet is cheap (although this German keyboard is way messed up) AND there is a shower! We walked to the grocery store around back and managed to buy ourselves 3 meals of food for about 4 Euros each. Pretty excited about that, especially after spending 7-10 a meal in the tourist traps we had to eat at while on tour.
Tomorrow we go to the concentration camp Dauchau and then catch another train. This time to Salzburg, Austria.
My time on the computer is almost up. So. I will update the highlights of choir tour later...because there are quite a few :)
Monday, May 18, 2009
Zondag...17 Mei
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and todeay and forever." Hebrews 13v8
Sunday was a wonderful day. Waking up bright and early after a very long night and horribly long concert wasn't so fun, but the day, it was wondeful.
The Concert Choir drove to Franeker to participate in worship with a congregation there. They served us coffee...twice. Once before the service and then afterwards. They then served a large Sunday dinner, incluing raw salmon and herring, both of which I did NOT eat. We drove through the lovely Fryslan country side, stopping for a brief moment in Sneek, and then arriving in Joure for a late afternoon concert. Dr. Kornelis' family roots are in Joure, so this concert was especially meaningful to him. We sang in the church where his grandparents were baptized, and more than 10 distant relatives came to meet him and listen to the choir. We were served coffee again between rehearsal and performance...mmm gotta love the coffee. I was finishing my cup when John Witte, our tour guide, walked in to the room and said...Ällison, you have family here?"Again I was surprised. But after looking through the doorway I immediately knew who it was. One of my Pake's brothers was standing there. Omke Age and Tante Griet came to hear me sing, along with their son Jan. They gave me hugs and kisses, Tante Griet was so so so happy to see and meet me! She had even brought me a present. A candle holder, and along with it she said, "Every time you light this candle, you think of us." The funny thing is. Neither she nor Omke Age speak any English. So cousin Jan had to translate all their Friesian for me. While we were talking, the lady hosting the concert came up to me and said, Ällison you have more family here!" When in fact it wasn't family, but my Beppe's life long friend Wiepe and her husband...they were holding a paper. An email I had sent to my dad, who had printed it out and sent it to my Pake, who then wrote all the people in Fryslan who he thought should know his granddaughter was coming. Wow. So I had FIVE people come listen to our concert in Joure. It was special...thank you Pake and Beppe!
Pake, this note is for you....Omke Age says you failed at this one thing in particular....not teaching me how to speak Friesian! But I also pulled out the pictures of Jessica, Madeline, Adrienne, and I; and he says he sees why you are so proud of your grandchildren :)
The concert in Joure was another beautiful performance. Dr. K started crying while we were finishing with Praise to the Lord, and whenever he starts crying...it's impossible for me not to cry. So cry we did. I then had to say goodbye to Omke Age and Tante Griet, who had been playing Friesian bingo in the foyer. Apparently Amy Mensonides' Pake is the nephew of my Pake? The English/Friesian translation got kind of confusing. Anyways. Omke Age left the church to walk around outside while waiting for his wife to quit talking....such a Wesselius thing to do. AND another thing I noticed. I now understand why people are sometimes intimidated by Wesselius men. They have the sternest stare ever! I watched Omke Age and Cousin Jan during the concert (they were conviently located right behind Dr. K's head), and while Tante Griet was smiling and beaming away....Omke Age and Jan sat so grim and deadpan. It was really quite amusing.
Sunday was a wonderful day. Waking up bright and early after a very long night and horribly long concert wasn't so fun, but the day, it was wondeful.
The Concert Choir drove to Franeker to participate in worship with a congregation there. They served us coffee...twice. Once before the service and then afterwards. They then served a large Sunday dinner, incluing raw salmon and herring, both of which I did NOT eat. We drove through the lovely Fryslan country side, stopping for a brief moment in Sneek, and then arriving in Joure for a late afternoon concert. Dr. Kornelis' family roots are in Joure, so this concert was especially meaningful to him. We sang in the church where his grandparents were baptized, and more than 10 distant relatives came to meet him and listen to the choir. We were served coffee again between rehearsal and performance...mmm gotta love the coffee. I was finishing my cup when John Witte, our tour guide, walked in to the room and said...Ällison, you have family here?"Again I was surprised. But after looking through the doorway I immediately knew who it was. One of my Pake's brothers was standing there. Omke Age and Tante Griet came to hear me sing, along with their son Jan. They gave me hugs and kisses, Tante Griet was so so so happy to see and meet me! She had even brought me a present. A candle holder, and along with it she said, "Every time you light this candle, you think of us." The funny thing is. Neither she nor Omke Age speak any English. So cousin Jan had to translate all their Friesian for me. While we were talking, the lady hosting the concert came up to me and said, Ällison you have more family here!" When in fact it wasn't family, but my Beppe's life long friend Wiepe and her husband...they were holding a paper. An email I had sent to my dad, who had printed it out and sent it to my Pake, who then wrote all the people in Fryslan who he thought should know his granddaughter was coming. Wow. So I had FIVE people come listen to our concert in Joure. It was special...thank you Pake and Beppe!
Pake, this note is for you....Omke Age says you failed at this one thing in particular....not teaching me how to speak Friesian! But I also pulled out the pictures of Jessica, Madeline, Adrienne, and I; and he says he sees why you are so proud of your grandchildren :)
The concert in Joure was another beautiful performance. Dr. K started crying while we were finishing with Praise to the Lord, and whenever he starts crying...it's impossible for me not to cry. So cry we did. I then had to say goodbye to Omke Age and Tante Griet, who had been playing Friesian bingo in the foyer. Apparently Amy Mensonides' Pake is the nephew of my Pake? The English/Friesian translation got kind of confusing. Anyways. Omke Age left the church to walk around outside while waiting for his wife to quit talking....such a Wesselius thing to do. AND another thing I noticed. I now understand why people are sometimes intimidated by Wesselius men. They have the sternest stare ever! I watched Omke Age and Cousin Jan during the concert (they were conviently located right behind Dr. K's head), and while Tante Griet was smiling and beaming away....Omke Age and Jan sat so grim and deadpan. It was really quite amusing.
Big and Scary.
Saturday
Friday evening Kelsi and I stayed with a lovely young couple in Katwijk aan Zee. We arrived at their home quite late, so we were told we would meet the children in the morning. We of course had to stay up awhile to talk with the host parents and have some goodies before bed. The husband was an interesting character, telling us that his wife was the quiet one...while he, he was the "bee-tchie one." Kels and I didn't really know what to say to that one!
Tim (7) and Iris (4) were up in the morning. And what a morning it was. The dad had to put Tim over his shoulder and carry him kicking and screaming to the breakfast table. Once he was let loose on his chair, he jumped up from it and ran as fast as he could, crying and screaming up the stairs..."Nay nay nay!" Apparently American girls and their strange language are very scary. His sister Iris, completely ignored us. Oh well. Maybe there's a reason Kelsi and I have never been placed in a host home with young children? Last year on tour we were stuck with old people for the entire trip...so we were excited to finally get kids. Hopefully we'll have better luck next time :)
After our morning adventure with the tantrum-throwing kids, the tour bus brough us to Haarlem. While in Haarlem we were able to visit St. Bravo's Kerk with its famous organ, played by both the young Mozart and Handel. We also walked down the road a bit to see Corrie Ten Boom's house, which was exciting for many of us...especially after reading her book "The Hiding Place" when we were young.
We then traveled to Enkhuizen, an old fishing port, where we visited the Zuiderzee Museum...an outdoor museum...sort of like a "living history" type of museum, where you can explore restored buildings, participate in old-fashioned activities, and learn what fishing ports were like in Holland "back in the day" (1880-1932).
After lunch we climbed back on the bus for our drive to Frylan. We arrived in Dokkum, Frylan at around 4:30, where we rehearsed at the Fontein Kerk for our 8:00pm concert with another choir (the Cantatrix) and a band. After supper, I went outside for a bit to review my music. As I was walking back into the church I ran into a couple, also entering the church. They looked at me in such a strange way. So, I asked them if they needed any help. And they looked at me. And then they said, "What is your name?" I was kind of taken aback, so I began saying "Allis...and they finished it for me, Ällison Wesselius!!!" It was Dad's "favorite"cousin Henny and her husband. Because of circumstances that had come up they weren't going to be able to stay in Dokkum for the concert, but they had driven 20km...just to tell me that they weren't going to be there! It was very cute. So we talked for about 10-15 minutes before they had to leave and I had to change into my "lovely"choir uniform. The concert lasted for 3.5 hours. 8-11:30pm. It was exhaustingly long. Kelsi and I met our host parents afterwards, Henk and Geertje, who brought us home to their kids 20-year old daughter Marianne and her 21-year old boyfriend Root; and 18-year old son Rico. Their son Jeroen was away at a soccer tournament.
Friday evening Kelsi and I stayed with a lovely young couple in Katwijk aan Zee. We arrived at their home quite late, so we were told we would meet the children in the morning. We of course had to stay up awhile to talk with the host parents and have some goodies before bed. The husband was an interesting character, telling us that his wife was the quiet one...while he, he was the "bee-tchie one." Kels and I didn't really know what to say to that one!
Tim (7) and Iris (4) were up in the morning. And what a morning it was. The dad had to put Tim over his shoulder and carry him kicking and screaming to the breakfast table. Once he was let loose on his chair, he jumped up from it and ran as fast as he could, crying and screaming up the stairs..."Nay nay nay!" Apparently American girls and their strange language are very scary. His sister Iris, completely ignored us. Oh well. Maybe there's a reason Kelsi and I have never been placed in a host home with young children? Last year on tour we were stuck with old people for the entire trip...so we were excited to finally get kids. Hopefully we'll have better luck next time :)
After our morning adventure with the tantrum-throwing kids, the tour bus brough us to Haarlem. While in Haarlem we were able to visit St. Bravo's Kerk with its famous organ, played by both the young Mozart and Handel. We also walked down the road a bit to see Corrie Ten Boom's house, which was exciting for many of us...especially after reading her book "The Hiding Place" when we were young.
We then traveled to Enkhuizen, an old fishing port, where we visited the Zuiderzee Museum...an outdoor museum...sort of like a "living history" type of museum, where you can explore restored buildings, participate in old-fashioned activities, and learn what fishing ports were like in Holland "back in the day" (1880-1932).
After lunch we climbed back on the bus for our drive to Frylan. We arrived in Dokkum, Frylan at around 4:30, where we rehearsed at the Fontein Kerk for our 8:00pm concert with another choir (the Cantatrix) and a band. After supper, I went outside for a bit to review my music. As I was walking back into the church I ran into a couple, also entering the church. They looked at me in such a strange way. So, I asked them if they needed any help. And they looked at me. And then they said, "What is your name?" I was kind of taken aback, so I began saying "Allis...and they finished it for me, Ällison Wesselius!!!" It was Dad's "favorite"cousin Henny and her husband. Because of circumstances that had come up they weren't going to be able to stay in Dokkum for the concert, but they had driven 20km...just to tell me that they weren't going to be there! It was very cute. So we talked for about 10-15 minutes before they had to leave and I had to change into my "lovely"choir uniform. The concert lasted for 3.5 hours. 8-11:30pm. It was exhaustingly long. Kelsi and I met our host parents afterwards, Henk and Geertje, who brought us home to their kids 20-year old daughter Marianne and her 21-year old boyfriend Root; and 18-year old son Rico. Their son Jeroen was away at a soccer tournament.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Busy Busy Busy Part II
Friday.
Today we left our lovely host family in Gouda. Our mum gave us some fruit, chocolate bars, juice boxes and stroopwaffles to take on the road with us, which was very sweet :) It rained all night, and drizzled all day. Our first day in Holland with no sun. But it was filled with fun none the less. First off we went the the Kinderdijk to see dozens of old windmills. Even though it was drippy and damp outside, it was a nice walk down the goose-shit covered path to see the dozens of windmills on the dike up-close :) We're in Holland, we have to go see the windmills right? Some people may tell you that I ran straight into a sign this morning. So yes. I did. Worse things could happen. But I was still very embarassed! From the Kinderdijk we got bussed to Delft where we first toured the Delft china factory/plant/gift shop. Afterwards we went downtown to explore the old and beautiful city. Kelsi and I walked around by ourselves for about an hour before stopping for lunch in the city square. We had Dutch "skinny"pancakes...I had strawberries and powdered sugar on mine, she got salami and cheese. And we both ordered cappucino. We have been eating very very well on this trip. Sometimes I feel all we do is eat! Fridays are the day to get married in Holland, we saw four couples enter and exit the city hall in the two hours we spent in Delft. So many happy people! Our evening concert was performed tonight in Katwijk aan Zee, a city on the coast of the North Sea. A wondeful town with a lot of trees and vegetation. And of course, the sea. It was our third performance in Holland, this time in a small church. I'd say 20 buildings the size of this church, could fit in the cathedrals we sang in yesterday, easily. The people who came to hear us sing were a fantastic audience. I love singing in small churches because the performance becomes so much more personal. And not just because of the close proximity of the audience :) Their smiles were infectious tonight. And the acoustics in their small sanctuary reminded me so much of the BJ Haan that it felt like we were singing at home. Tonight's performance. Beautiful. In the morning we leave for Fryslan. Land of the tallest people on earth. And maybe the most stubborn ;) A friend told me earlier this year that the men in Holland weren't very good-looking, I don't know why I believed her. The people are beautiful here, and not just the men; the children, youth, women as well. They have rosy cheeks, wide smiles, impeccable dress. I'm glad we're only three days into tour. I definitely could stay longer (not that I don't miss people at home!)
Today we left our lovely host family in Gouda. Our mum gave us some fruit, chocolate bars, juice boxes and stroopwaffles to take on the road with us, which was very sweet :) It rained all night, and drizzled all day. Our first day in Holland with no sun. But it was filled with fun none the less. First off we went the the Kinderdijk to see dozens of old windmills. Even though it was drippy and damp outside, it was a nice walk down the goose-shit covered path to see the dozens of windmills on the dike up-close :) We're in Holland, we have to go see the windmills right? Some people may tell you that I ran straight into a sign this morning. So yes. I did. Worse things could happen. But I was still very embarassed! From the Kinderdijk we got bussed to Delft where we first toured the Delft china factory/plant/gift shop. Afterwards we went downtown to explore the old and beautiful city. Kelsi and I walked around by ourselves for about an hour before stopping for lunch in the city square. We had Dutch "skinny"pancakes...I had strawberries and powdered sugar on mine, she got salami and cheese. And we both ordered cappucino. We have been eating very very well on this trip. Sometimes I feel all we do is eat! Fridays are the day to get married in Holland, we saw four couples enter and exit the city hall in the two hours we spent in Delft. So many happy people! Our evening concert was performed tonight in Katwijk aan Zee, a city on the coast of the North Sea. A wondeful town with a lot of trees and vegetation. And of course, the sea. It was our third performance in Holland, this time in a small church. I'd say 20 buildings the size of this church, could fit in the cathedrals we sang in yesterday, easily. The people who came to hear us sing were a fantastic audience. I love singing in small churches because the performance becomes so much more personal. And not just because of the close proximity of the audience :) Their smiles were infectious tonight. And the acoustics in their small sanctuary reminded me so much of the BJ Haan that it felt like we were singing at home. Tonight's performance. Beautiful. In the morning we leave for Fryslan. Land of the tallest people on earth. And maybe the most stubborn ;) A friend told me earlier this year that the men in Holland weren't very good-looking, I don't know why I believed her. The people are beautiful here, and not just the men; the children, youth, women as well. They have rosy cheeks, wide smiles, impeccable dress. I'm glad we're only three days into tour. I definitely could stay longer (not that I don't miss people at home!)
Busy Busy Busy
Thursday.
Kelsi and I woke up to a wonderful Dutch breakfast. Breads. Gouda cheese. Chocolate hagel. The best coffee ever. Hard boiled eggs. And don't forget the orange juice! We were back on the bus with everyone else by eight o'clock to Gouda. We were able to spend time in the open market in the town square before rehearsing in the magnificent St. Jan's cathedral with it's amazing and famous "Gouda windows" I haven't seen so much stained glass in my life. The church dates back to the 1600s, and it's windows survived the Protestant reformation and the World Wars. Look them up on line! The church sexton gave us a special tour, and made us laugh with his silly jokes and total randomness. After caring after the church for 30 years he was very interesting to listen to, and was very informed on all the windows and details. At noon we gave a small 45 minute concert. My host mum came to listen, so it was nice to see a "familiar" face in the crowd. Singing in an old cathedral is an awesome experience. The acoustics were incredible. The people in Gouda provided us with a wonderful sack lunch which we ate outside on the church lawn before getting back on the bus for another drive, this time to Dordrecht. ...on the way to bus, several boys yelled at us in horrible English..."Heylo we get to smoke weeeed here, eh? You want to smoke some weeeed? hey hey?" It was just a tad amusing.
When we arrived in Dordrecht our group was split in two...thank goodness, for guided tours. Walking down the streets with just 25 people is a little bit better than walking around with 50, although it still feels like a parade. An embarassing loud American parade. "Hey look at us! We're stupid tourists!" Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and is also Dordt College's "name-sake."After our tours we were greeted by a city official in the the town hall. There was a catered brunch, and we were presented with gifts. Apparently we're a pretty big deal? President Zylstra was also with us at this point, so he gave a "short"statement, and presented the city official with a gift? We had no idea that any of this was going to happen so we were a little taken aback at all the formal things going on. That evening we met up with Dordt Alumni Europe Tour for a catered supper which was very good. And at eight o'clock we gave a joint concert with a local choir and musicians in the church/cathedral at Dordrecht. There was an absolutely HUGE crowd and singing in another cathedral gave me chills. Dr. Zylstra spoke at the beginning of the program and asked the mayor of Dordrecht to come stand on the platform with him so he could present him with a gift. AND while moving out of the mayor's way, Dr. Z fell OFF. The crowd gasped. The Concert Choir laughed :S
Thursday night was another looong evening, we didn't get home until 1100, and then stayed up talking and drinking wine with our host parents until 1230. It was a busy but beautiful day.
Kelsi and I woke up to a wonderful Dutch breakfast. Breads. Gouda cheese. Chocolate hagel. The best coffee ever. Hard boiled eggs. And don't forget the orange juice! We were back on the bus with everyone else by eight o'clock to Gouda. We were able to spend time in the open market in the town square before rehearsing in the magnificent St. Jan's cathedral with it's amazing and famous "Gouda windows" I haven't seen so much stained glass in my life. The church dates back to the 1600s, and it's windows survived the Protestant reformation and the World Wars. Look them up on line! The church sexton gave us a special tour, and made us laugh with his silly jokes and total randomness. After caring after the church for 30 years he was very interesting to listen to, and was very informed on all the windows and details. At noon we gave a small 45 minute concert. My host mum came to listen, so it was nice to see a "familiar" face in the crowd. Singing in an old cathedral is an awesome experience. The acoustics were incredible. The people in Gouda provided us with a wonderful sack lunch which we ate outside on the church lawn before getting back on the bus for another drive, this time to Dordrecht. ...on the way to bus, several boys yelled at us in horrible English..."Heylo we get to smoke weeeed here, eh? You want to smoke some weeeed? hey hey?" It was just a tad amusing.
When we arrived in Dordrecht our group was split in two...thank goodness, for guided tours. Walking down the streets with just 25 people is a little bit better than walking around with 50, although it still feels like a parade. An embarassing loud American parade. "Hey look at us! We're stupid tourists!" Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and is also Dordt College's "name-sake."After our tours we were greeted by a city official in the the town hall. There was a catered brunch, and we were presented with gifts. Apparently we're a pretty big deal? President Zylstra was also with us at this point, so he gave a "short"statement, and presented the city official with a gift? We had no idea that any of this was going to happen so we were a little taken aback at all the formal things going on. That evening we met up with Dordt Alumni Europe Tour for a catered supper which was very good. And at eight o'clock we gave a joint concert with a local choir and musicians in the church/cathedral at Dordrecht. There was an absolutely HUGE crowd and singing in another cathedral gave me chills. Dr. Zylstra spoke at the beginning of the program and asked the mayor of Dordrecht to come stand on the platform with him so he could present him with a gift. AND while moving out of the mayor's way, Dr. Z fell OFF. The crowd gasped. The Concert Choir laughed :S
Thursday night was another looong evening, we didn't get home until 1100, and then stayed up talking and drinking wine with our host parents until 1230. It was a busy but beautiful day.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Alleen Allison
Hello from Holland! Today has been the longest day of my life. Or so it seems. The past few days have become smushed together in a massive blur. Concert Choir left the Minneapolis airport at 330 in the afternoon on Tuesday and arrived in Amsterdam at 615am this morning(1115pm Central Time). After going through customs as quickly as possible (with 50 people), we met up with our tour guide and were squeezed into our tour bus. At 730am we were at the world's largest flower auction house. The variety of flowers was incredible and the smell was overwhelming. We then moved on to downtown Amsterdam where we took a canal boat tour of the city. Lunch was on our own, so a couple of us stopped in a sandwich shop/bakery on a corner to grab something for our starving stomachs. The weather today was beautiful, warm and sunny with a little wind. Amsterdam was a whirlwind of pedestrians, streetcars, small cars, and BICYCLES everywhere. The bicycles are more dangerous than the vehicles, I swear, if you get in their way beware! After lunch we were able to view some fine works of art in the Rijks museum, including some original Rembrandts, which I was pretty thrilled about. We then had a short walking tour of more of downtown, before leaving the city at 330. I slept on the bus all the way to Gouda, where we are staying the next two nights. My roommate Kelsi Kamper and I are staying with an English teacher and his wife: William and Gerta. A very sweet couple, his English is impeccable, hers is non-existent. I was excited when she let me use her wash machine tonight. My full bottle of hairspray exploded in flight, made several things very sticky, and caused some brightly colored clothes to bleed into my khaki pants. We'll see if those stains come out :S After only sleeping a rough total of 3 hours in the last 36, I'm exhausted. But Kelsi and I are going to go on a walk soon and explore some of the town before bed :)
Friday, May 8, 2009
Soon.
Another year of school has passed and summer is here and so is Concert Choir tour plus extended journey. 3 days. 3 days until I'm on a plane. 3 days and I'll be flying across the ocean. Leaving Sioux County for an entire month. This trip has seemed so distant for so long. And now it's here, so soon. Because I will be singing, backpacking, sleeping in stranger's beds, catching trains, and hopefully going on an exotic adventure or two; I thought I would share stories, location updates, pictures, etc. via blog. So check up on me once and awhile and I'll do my best to post frequently. Because I'll be going and gone. Soon.
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