Friday, June 29th
Heidelberg and Neustadt an der Weinstrasse

World's only travelling laundromat...
our carefully (!) handwashed tour shirts and green velvet tops
hang to dry along the railings of the bus

En route to Neustadt an der Weinstrasse,
we take the afternoon to explore (and to shop, of course!)
in Heidelberg

The Heidelberg bridge

The bridge is an opportunity for great photos featuring windswept grins

Heidelberg Castle
—carefully maintained in its "ruined" state—
(the girls opted to shop instead of climbing up to investigate)

Shopping was a success!

Our second birthday girl of the tour gets a candle and cake from the choir
—and a hug from her mom.

What a group!

Back on the bus,
to meet our friends of the Pfälzische Kurrende
in their hometown, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse
("new town on the wine street")

Saturday, June 30th
Strasbourg, Lachen, and Neustadt/Weinstrasse

A morning bus ride (in the rain, of course)
to Strasbourg, France

Notre Dame de Strasbourg cathedral—
this magnificent Cathedral was the world's tallest building from 1625 to 1874

Is that gargoyle laughing at us?

Singing inside the cathedral—what glorious reverberation!

A small admirer was entranced...

...maybe she'll appear at a PG audition one day.

Next, a guided tour of the city

View from the bridge

Sunshine favors two friends—
S poses with one of our wonderful tour leaders—
now our new friend—Pavlina!

 

Just to the left of the Cathedral, this is said to be
"the most beautiful house in Strasbourg"

Time for lunch!

The interior featured decorated walls, books, and charming pictures

and the food was delish—
macaroni and cheese, salad, and bread—
best comfort food ever!

Singing Amani (which features French and Swahili)
to thank our friendly waiters

After lunch, a little shopping, peut-être?
Oui, bien sur—comme toujours!

Strasbourg is home to many storks,
the emblem of the Alsatian region.
Alsatian custom says that when a child wanted a younger brother or sister,
he would place a piece of sugar on the window sill to attract the stork,
in hopes that it would leave the precious bundle in exchange.
(Parents, check your windowsills!)

Back in the Cathedral Square, a brass band enticed
some of our ever-energetic girls to get out and dance.

Y-M-C-A!
(Um, how do you spell that in French?)

Back on the bus to return and prepare for our Saturday night concert
in the charming wine village of Lachen, Germany

The church was celebrating its 250th anniversary
with a lively wine festival

Traditional blacksmithing was one of the presentations on view

We rehearsed that afternoon in the church sanctuary.

Our Kurrende hosts treated us to a pre-concert barbecue.

A photo op before the concert

Our friends from our host choir Pfälzische Kurrende,
with their wonderful director Carola Bischoff

The cool scarf pose...

The "Princess of Wine" offers her greeting as the concert begins.

All of those terrific scarves the girls bought
added great flashes of color to their concert attire.

The performance was spectacular, once again!

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