A memorable trip home from Europe

At the Frankfurt Airport we had a beginning layover as they had to take all 6 buses at the same time. We awoke at 2:45AM ate breakfast, bussed to Frankfurt 2 hours and waited. Our plane left at 11AM. At the boarding gate I heard. "Passengers Yanee and Yanll An-du-sun please report to the gate" That's me so I went. "We are overbooked and need to re seat you in business class" Of course I was dying to know why but too many questions and we may lose our great seats for our 8 hour transatlantic flight.

Yes we didn't belong and we know it. I took pictures and we enjoyed everything. The gourmet 2 meals (even menus for the 5 course meal), table cloths, cloth napkins, ice cream sundaes, hot cookies and milk, extra fruit, nice restroom, lazy boy recliners to sleep in with full pillows and a down blanket. No we didn't enjoy the wine but had orange juice instead. We waited for everyone in 1st class to deplane and pilfered their welcome gifts (the passengers that are used to first class left), to give to Janell's friends in coach as consolation prizes and I bought them a pizza at JFK. Yes we were in heaven and were quite rested.

Rothenberg Germany

executioners tour. Our own executioner. view from the wall

night watchman's tour (there were over 100 people that participated)

Our dogs must eat more roughage than German dogs.

Janell playing her flute in Rothenberg town square




On the wall we met a German family biking and camping from L-R the German sisters are #3 and 5. The kids exchanged email addresses

The wall surrounding the city was a little scary to climb up to

Janell on the wall




Janae and Janell on the wall

We spent a day and a half in Rothenberg Germany. The highlights:

Night Watchman and executioners tours, playing for the locals in the town square and shopping. Walking the wall around the town.

The town is a medieval town that was 40% destroyed at the end of WWII. Locals put out advertisements world wide and received the money to rebuild. Our hotel was 2 buildings outside the city wall.

The night watchman's tour was very well publicized and we loved it. We also noted an executioners tour which we went to, showed up a few minutes late to no one. We waited for 10 minutes and went to the information desk. They directed us to a pedicab driver. I told him it was our last night there, we had saved out 10 Euro and that was it, to go to his tour. Would he be willing to give just the two of us a tour? He said sure and took about 7 minutes to dress in his costume. He was an executioner in 1399 and was a great actor. We laughed the whole time.

Dachau Germany

We made a visit to Dachau Germany. This was the first concentration camp made in Germany, the others were modeled after this one. Janell and I got the audio tour and it was really good. I think everyone should make a visit to a concentration camp. Once is enough for me though.

Venice

notice how Janell can't go into St. Marco's until she is done with her gelato.

Shopping on Rialto Bridge

A Venice canal

Janell buying a turtle (she collects them from everywhere.. Except in Switzerland all they had were cows... "Lame" Janell said)

Gelato

Oh my goodness Gelato again

We had a half day in Venice where the choir sang in St. Mark's Cathedral. They did an excellent job on Ave Maria and another religious song. Long long bus ride but I have my trusty down travel pillow and baby blanket to sleep, sleep sleep.

Insbrook Austria

Our final night in Switzerland we had a fondue party.

These three Swiss sisters have been yodeling and performing for the Ambassadors for 12 years.

The swiss cows wear these bells when they graze in the hills and the hills are truly alive with the sounds of music

Insbrook Austria at the ski jump from the Olympics

downtown Insbrook Austria

Gelatto in Insbrook

Yummy.

This is the sign in the park announcing the concert

Seefeld Austria Concert.

We are now in Austria and staying in a winter village that hosted some of the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics. The concert was in an awards ceremony pavilion. We went to Swartski's main crystal showroom, three floors. I told Janell see what you want and we will look on ebay for it and we left. German is the official language here. When I walk into stores and look they say "German or English" to me. I guess I look local? Thought for the day. How would you like to be a six year old learning to spell things like Wohnungseigentumsgemeinschaft? You've got to feel for a little German speaker trying to learn to spell.

Voyagers is the group that organizes the Utah Ambassadors of Music that we are with. They have 14-20 High school musical groups coming each summer. they have planned advertised performances for bands (outside in band stands) and for choirs (usually inside churches). They are very organized. Each city has a local couple and an American host. They love Utah because of the high standards, friendliness and respect. The city leader said the southern states don't care about time and they are frequently late. The Hawaii group is worse and don't wear shoes! The California groups are streetwise and disrespectful so they love us. We have 75 band members, 150 choir and 100 adults/chaperons.

Zermatt Switzerland

We went to Zermatt. It was a two hour bus ride, then because Zermatt is a gas free village, we had to park and take a train in. Only a limited amount of electric cars are allowed there. We then shopped a little, took a train up the mountain,

or should I say inside the mountain) to get a better view of the Matterhorn which was fogged in. The train was shaped like the mountain on a steep incline. We ate a picnic lunch and went back down to the village to shop. You are cool in Zermatt if you are over 70 and have really expensive hiking boots and walking sticks. You know all those elastic gadgets on the back of back packs? They are for walking sticks. We are having a fondue party in the city town tent. Fondue is Swill as is milk chocolate. Hope I can get some pictures on my blog sometime. WE are off to Austria tomorrow.

Switzerland

Here I am once again stealing the Internet. I am sitting on the ground behind an apartment building a few yards away from the concert tent where they are performing tonight in Crans-Montana Switzerland. I think Park City/midway area were inspired by the resorts in Switzerland. The choir goes first and then the band for a 2 hour concert.

Today was a free morning. We got up and walked to a ski lift where we rode the tram up the mountain, figured out where we could take a 40 minute hike. I timed us and we were 55 with stops for pictures. The hike was a very narrow trail across the alps to another tram stop where we were trammed to the top, at the very top of the ski resort we played in the glacier and took two trams back to town, and walked 20 minutes to out hotel. We were the only ones to go on the whole adventure. I was the one to pick up the hiking map and ask 3 different workers... painters if we were going the right way. Janell, Nicole, Megan and I went. On the trail we met a couple coming from our destination. I asked how long... he said 2 hours. I said what?! It should be 10 minutes. He said for him it was but for Americans (He was from Zermot- tomorrow's destination)it was 2 hours, it was just around the bend. There was one spot we had to descend that had a lovely rope for us to use and it was much needed. We felt like we had the true adventure. Our group had 4 and a group of 8 followed us but their bus left earlier than ours so they had to skip the glacier.

We then went to a medieval castle along Lake Geneva where Lord Chillton wrote his famous castle dungeon poem. Truly cool to hear and see medieval traditions.... did you know that clinking glasses started in medieval times? They had metal cups and the liquid was supposed to spill into others cups so you knew the drink was safe, you wouldn't be poisoned. The fork was invented later so the fancy collars could get bigger and you could still eat. Hands are to be seen at all times in Europe while eating so your enemies can keep an eye on you and when you traveled you brought your own trunk which was your own chair so you literally sat on your jewels. Cool stuff. We then walked along Lake Geneva and had 1.5 hours to walk 40 min so Janell and I took our shoes off and sat at the lakes edge watching people swim.....We had our Switzerland concert in the evening with a fondue party. Here they invented fondue and it is just cheese and bread. Americans have made it fancy fyi.