Day 10: Munich to San Antonio

What a fantastic tour and fun group of travelers.  Auf wiedersehen Munich....San Antonio here we come!

In Munich airport, playing cards and spending our last Euros until we can begin boarding.

Day 9: Mozart Missa Solemnis, K. 337 at the Salzburger Dom, Shopping and the Market, Lake Koenigssee

Attending mass with chorus and orchestra at the cathedral.

Lots of shopping!!!!

 

Mozart chocolates!!!!

And finally the lake!!!!

"Christian, get down from there!"

Day 8: Walking Tour of Salzburg's Old Town and Rhapsody Festival Concert at St. Andreas

We met our lovely tour guide, Horst who took us to rehearsal at St. Andreas (The Sound of Music COW is pictured in front of it). 

Following our rehearsal, Horst gave us a very thorough tour of the city

including Mozart's house,

the center square of Salzburg,

"Christian, get down from there!"

St. Peter's Abbey and burial ground (the inspiration for the famous escape scene in The Sound of Music),

and finally we got to go up in the funicular to the majestic fortress Hohensalzburg which overlooks the city.  What a view and wonderful place to sit and enjoy lunch!

 

Day 7: Melk Abbey and Salzburg!

We left Vienna this morning and drove west to tour Melk Abbey in Lower Austria. The Melk area has a long history, beginning with Bronze Age settlements and surviving numerous times of war, reform, reconstruction, and changes of ownership. Today the abbey remains an active monastery with about 30 Benedictine monks who, among other things, teach about 900 local boys and girls.
 

We performed an impromptu concert while in the church!

After a tour of the abbey and a quick lunch, we were back on the bus and heading to Salzburg. Once there, we checked into our third hotel, and after a break to freshen up, we headed to dinner at a local restaurant.  There we met three other choral groups from China, Canada, and the United States visiting Austria for the Rhapsody International Music Festival! Each group was called up to introduce themselves, sing a song, and answer some trivia. While this was one of SACS’s final evenings, these groups had just arrived and were beginning their respective tours through Europe. We also met Nita and Valerie from Classical Movements, who helped to plan our whole tour.

-Megan : )

Day 6: St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Tracing Footsteps of Famous Composers, and Dinner on the Danube

We sang four songs during the noon mass at St. Stephen's Cathedal, Vienna.  Listen to us singing Blest Are the Eyes and Haydn's The Heaven's Are Telling.

 

Following the mass, we gave a half-hour concert.  Here is Seth playing some Bach on the organ at St. Stephen's!

That afternoon we visited Beethoven's House in Heiligenstadt, then had wine spritzers in the biergarten.

Lastly, the day concluded with an amazing dinner cruise on the Danube.

Day 5: Vienna Fun Times and Mariahilf Concert

Though our beloved U.S. Men's Soccer Team lost to Belgium the night before, we were very much excited about exploring Vienna on this day. In fact, when asked what she was most excited about, Soprano I, Allyson Phillips, replied, "The palaces. 'Cause I'm a princess!" Vienna certainly did not disappoint in this regard. A city of almost 2 million residents and 23 living districts, Vienna is a city peppered with modern buildings, classic stucco exteriors, and Greek influences. We were able to see this on our bus tour of the city center, along with various universities, the opera house, museums, and even where Freud had his coffee!

While on our bus tour, we were able to take a walking tour of the Hapsburger winter palace, where the royal family spent their time from October to May. Here they train Lippizaner horses for performances, but school was out for the summer for these stunning stallions. Following the winter palace, we visited Schonbrunn (the summer palace), where we naturally took a group picture in our Spurs gear before entering the palace for another tour.

It was here we learned about the Hapsburger family tree (which included Queen Maria Therese having SIXTEEN CHILDREN), the different rooms and how there was a room made of Brazilian Rosewood just 'cause, and various celebrity appearances, including John F. Kennedy.

After our tour of the palace, we were given the opportunity to explore the city circle or go back to the hotel. A few of us went to the shopping street and visited the department store, Steffl. Following the realization that we couldn't afford the 1,089.00 Euro Jimmy Choos, we took the metro back to the hotel, and prepared for our next concert.

This time, SACS and Conventus Musicus each performed a set at the Mariahilf Church (aka Haydnkirche), and also performed Locus Iste and May The Lord Bless You And Keep You together. Between sets, we had the opportunity to watch Conventus Musicus perform various songs in different languages, such as French, Latin, and German. We ended our set with Deep In The Heart of Texas, and even had audience members clapping along with us!  Seth played some organ pieces for Flute Clock by Haydn.

 
Listen to us sing some of our selections from this concert:  Sing to the Lord, Super flumina Babylonis, MLK.

 

Finally, we ended the night with a delicious late night dinner and numerous memories!

XOXO,
Christina

Day 4: St. Florian Abbey, Linz

This morning we left Munich and headed to the Abbey of St. Florian, located in Linz, Austria. Along the way, Alexandra gave us a brief overview of the life of an average German- from school to working life to retirement!  

We arrived at the abby in the early afternoon, and after lunch we were given a guided tour of the main abbey complex. St. Florian is the patron saint of both fire and water related dangers, and was martyred for his conversion to Christianity in 306 AD. The highlight of our tour was visiting the crypt of the famous composer  Anton Bruckner, who was buried there in 1896. Bruckner chose this location of his burial because it was his boyhood home, and because the church’s main organ can be heard from his resting place.

Following the tour, we performed our second concert inside the church.  We performed the first part of our concert in the choir loft, with the assistance of the beautiful organ and the masterful playing of Seth our accompanist!  

We completed our concert in front of the altar of the church.  Here is a recording of us singing Bruckner's motet Locus iste at St. Florian's.

Once our concert was over, we climbed back onto the bus and continued on to Vienna and dinner!

-Megan : )