Dr. Eric Conway writes:
Day 9 - Transfer to Munich and final concert of the tour
This
morning we left our hotel at 10 AM for a two hour drive to Munich,
Germany. Although we knew that we were close to Germany, we crossed the
border in just five minutes from our hotel! This explains why although
there were many uniquely Austrian aspects to Salzburg, there was a
strong Bavarian influence to this Austrian city as well.
We
had a beautiful drive along the country side to Munich. I am sure that
you have seen how green the region is, with rich soil for crops. We
were also impressed with the number of houses that had solar panels to
generate energy, even In the rural areas of the country. Austria and
Germany are much more progressive in some respects than we are in the
United States.
Although
the city state of Berlin is the capital of Germany, Munich is the
capital city of federal state of Bavaria, Bayern in German. Historic
Salzburg is more of a Baroque-style city, however, many of the historic
buildings in Munich are more Gothic in style. We started our tour in
Vienna, the largest city in Austria with a population of 1.8 million.
Munich, the third largest city in Germany was similar in size with a
population of 1.5 million.
Unfortunately
for us, tomorrow will be a huge religious holiday in Germany - Corpus
Christi. All grocery stores, pharmacies, and banks will be closed.
That means that prior to our concert tonight, we must try to see as
much of Munich as possible! Upon arrival to the city, we dispersed for
lunch, to return within an hour for a walking tour of Munich. We were
given great information about the history of Munich including the name
which means “by the monks” due to an historic Benedictine monastery
centuries ago.
Life
was certainly slower in Salzburg than in Munich. We immediately were
met with the hustle and bustle of city life. We first met in the major
city square called Marienplatz with an enormous city-hall structure in a
typically gothic style. We just missed the marionette display at the
court house where all of the tourists stop for two minutes to see the
mechanical display of puppets in the belfry of the courthouse. We then
walked to huge outdoor market with some of the freshest foods we had
ever seen, with varieties of vegetables not normally sold in the states
like “white asparagus.” We visited the former Munich Royal residence
which had many different parts added over the centuries. We saw several
different architectural exterior styles in the same building. Part of
the building featured painted stone to give the impression of grandeur.
We witnessed painted three-dimensional columns on stone and painted
windows on stone, which from a distance looked quite genuine.
After
our tour, we had just enough time to check in at our hotel outside of
town. Hotel Schleuse, was more of a quaint bed & breakfast
establishment, rather than the more commercial buildings that we stayed
earlier on the tour. We were immediately concerned that there was no
air condition in the rooms! I am told that even in the heat of July,
that evenings are generally cool enough that air-condition is not always
a given in hotels. This hotel is quite charming and very home-like.
Unfortunately for us, Munich was a little warmer than usual, but given
that we were only going to be in the hotel for less than thirty-six
hours, prior to our trip back to the states, we could make it without
the the creature comfort of air conditioning!
We
had our final concert of the tour last night. The church was the
Nazareth Lutheran church, which was a more contemporary structure than
previous venues. This finale concert, as in past tours, was with a
local choir called: Gospel-N-Soul choir! www.gospel-n-soul.de They gave
a enthusiastic 30-minute concert prior to our presentation. This was a
group whose charter was to learn gospel and soul music from America.
They were thirty voices strong. They began their set with Michael
Jackson’s Man in the Mirror and continued with many praise and worship
songs from the Baptist church.
We
gave a very focused performance, knowing we had another choir was in
the house, and knowing they were looking to us for gospel “expertise!”
We also were a little more demonstrative with our emotions knowing that
this was our last concert of the tour and last concert for graduates to
ever sing with the choir ever again in this capacity. When arrived we
had a short workshop with the other choir, that I led, to learn two
songs for a concert finale. This concert was a great finale to a great
tour.
Both
choirs met for a reception afterwards, where we ate and drank, and
shared ideas about our respective cultures. Although only pizza was
served to everyone for the reception, many commented that the pizza was
some of the best they had ever tasted. The vegetarian options had
arugula on top - almost healthy pizza! A choir member from the other
choir came up to me at the end of the concert saying in effect: just
singing between our Morgan choir members encouraged them to perform
differently and better. The concert and exchange was a resounding
success.
See link to one of the finale songs with the other choir, as well a pics. from the day!
EC
Link to street musician in Munich:
Link to another street musician in Munich:
Link to finale performance with the local choir:
