Ok the luggage is out side, We are waiting for Nancy to come and pick us up. Jim's Z24 died the night before, so we donated it to the Breast Cancer Research Assoc.
We finally arrived at the University at about 10:00am. There was a lot of construction on the campus, and many different events going on. Below is the dorm building we were housed in July 13 - 16th.
I found out later that the dorm building we stayed in, was to be torn down as soon as the new ones were finished being built .
So, needless to say, our accommodations were not a taste of things to come. (In Europe all the hotels and chalets we stayed in were had 4 and 5 star ratings). It had been a very long time since I had been in a college dorm room.
The schedule was very rigorous, as we had only 3 days to rehearse the music we had all prepared, and our conductors and leaders needed to turn us into a choir and band worthy of the American Music Abroad "Empire Tour 2011" name. Although all of the vocalists and instrumentalists were All County, All State and better quality (many were also college music majors or music educators) we still needed to be molded into the ensembles we were chosen for, so that we could perform as one - and not a bunch of soloists. Our leaders were up to the task, and so were we, but it was a lot of work.
We basically lived in 3 buildings at the campus, the dorm, the cafeteria and the performance hall. There was very little free time.
Take into account that it was a ten minute walk up a very steep hill from the cafeteria to the performance building where we practiced and you can see how we we had very little down time. The weather was steamy the first day, but thankfully cooled the next few days, but we still all sweated bullets as we trudged up that hill to rehearsals 3x's a day. It was great preparation for the rigorous walking tours we experienced in Europe.
On the left side is the band during a rehearsal session. Jim is on alto sax at the far right bottom of this pictureOur schedule on Thursday was:
7:30 breakfast
8:30 rehearse
9:45 break
10:15 rehearse
12:00 lunch
1:00 rehearse
3:00 break
3:30 rehearse
4:30 free time
5:00 dinner
6:30 rehearse
9:30 orientation session
11:00 in dorms with lights out at 11:15.
Ron Southerland working them hard for the perfect concert !!!

Jim is dreaming again,
Finally on Friday evening, we were (sort of) ready for our first concert!
There is Jim second row on the left side!!There I am at the end of the third row down looking to the right !
End of the night at the big Concert!~!
Saturday morning, we boarded the buses that took us to JFK airport in New York City, for our flight to Vienna, Austria that afternoon. The excitement we felt for what was about to happen.. As we were boading the Bus to the Airport Jim was dreaming about moving to Europe !!!!

GOOD BYE East Stroudsburg University

Jim is dreaming again,

GOOD BYE East Stroudsburg University

Jim is dreaming again,
Saturday morning, we boarded the buses that took us to JFK airport in New York City, for our flight to Vienna, Austria that afternoon. The excitement we felt for what was about to happen.. As we were boading the Bus to the Airport Jim was dreaming about moving to Europe !!!!
GOOD BYE East Stroudsburg University
Jim is dreaming again!!!!
No Jim we are not traveling like this!!!!
We flew on Austrian Air, and left the US at 5:40pm. Take off and landing were spectacular. Minimal turbulence here and there. I was in the center section and on the aisle -so I didn't get a chance to see out of the window. I slept on and off - for a total of about 3 hours. When we landed it was 2:15 in the morning New York time - but we were in Vienna - and it was 8:15 in the morning ... and we had an entire day of activities ahead of us.
First off was to de-board the plane - and to my surprise - there was no tunnel! We got off the runway!
Jim and I are on the top of the stairs Jim has a white hat and I have the Red Jacket and our Navy blue AMA Shirts 
We all wore the same T-shirts so that we could easily find others from our Tour group as we went thru the customs and baggage areas. What a task - keeping 100 people together thru a very busy airport! We had 2 colors to wear. Below is the back of the shirt in white. As you will see a little later, on our trip over we all wore navy blue ones. (No we did not have to wear them every day!)
We had 2 Coaches that carried us all over Europe. (They are coaches in Europe, buses here in the US - so I was told). I was on Coach two with Jim 48 other people. We each were assigned a number and we counted off every time we gathered at a meeting place, or when we boarded the bus. I was number 8 and Jim was number 9. I actually miss the count off's, LOL!
Coach 2 had a trailer attached to it. It carried the percussion equipment, including 3 timpani, as well as the larger instruments.
Once all our luggage was stored in the bowels of our buses and the trailer was loaded - we were off on our first adventure of Vienna. Below is the leader of our tour and head director of the band, Mr. Ron Sutherland. A retired music teacher and amazing conductor. What an honor and a priviledge it was to get to know him and his wife Cathy.
The area around the Vienna (Wien in the German language) airport was very flat.
There were a few open spaces but a lot of industry too. I captured the photo of the Concorde and Volvo buildings.
I think that Austria was truly my favorite place. I loved the mountains. Their majesty and grandeur was truly a reflection of our Creator. I was in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. Vienna and Salzburg held historic treasures that were thrilling to experience. To stand inside buildings so many had been in before, and as one of the girls wrote earlier, to walk the floors Mozart walked on - truly was a moment that I will treasure.
The echo’s of our voices in St. Stephen’s and The Dome – resonated in the same manner the music of the master’s had done so many years before. We too left our mark in the great spaces of those masterful buildings.
I loved Dinkelsbuhl. I could go on and on about that wonderful town – but I will leave it at that. I loved it! After our concert in the evening there, I had the opportunity to speak with an 86 year old native, who 60 years ago had learned the English language. She loved Gershwin and American music, and was thrilled with the concert. She told me she had over 300 songs memorized in her head that she would play on her piano at home, to pass the time. What a treasure it was to speak with her in her broken English and my tiny bit of German. How much history she lived thru in her country, how much she experienced and the passion and love she has for music showed on her face and in her eyes. She was so appreciative.
There is no doubt about the amazing restoration that has taken place in Dresden – WOW just doesn’t even begin to touch the spectacular beauty of what once was, that which was destroyed, and then built again – with such magnificence – it was beautiful, no doubt – but certainly a highlight for me was when we sang and played, “Let There Be Peace” in the Dreikoenigkirche.
The significance of the war touched altar looming in the room with us as an example of the horrors of war, as the audience smiled and sang with us, with tears in their eyes and ours, was a moment I will not forget. Oh that we could all live in peace with one another.
Fast forward to Prague, and again – the history of the old town, the age of the area and buildings, the beauty that surrounded us was overwhelming to me. As I searched for Smetana’s Ma Vlast on YouTube – I was in tears as I watched videos of the town and the River Vlatava as I heard the melody and relived our cruise on the river, just a few nights ago. I wish I could sit on the Charles Bridge and soak it all in again – but for now the photos will have to do.
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