Day 24 and a half: Ulm, Munich and Home!

Although it was a really early start, there’s such excitement generated when you know you’re on your way home; so it was no wonder that everyone was not only on time, but early to our buses this morning. The final farewell to our hosts was a happy one, and the usual exchange of email address, and promises to stay in touch was quite brief, as we were all eager to be on our way.

We were lucky with traffic – it seems Sunday mornings are very quiet in Germany – and thank goodness I say, as our bus driver remained true to form! Actually, the only antics on the way to the airport were the bus driver standing up, letting go of the wheel, and turning to look at the back of the bus, then to chat with Geoff in the front row of seats. His foot was still on the accelerator, but there was no traffic in the next lane, so our wandering all over the road was more reminiscent of a gentle theme park ride than anything more sinister! Check in at Munich airport was a breeze, although it was here that we bid farewell to some of our team, who are still jaunting around Europe as I write, lucky things. Slightly turbulent flying conditions didn’t seem to matter since we were on our way home, and the stopover in Singapore was smooth. Arriving in Brisbane airspace early, only to have to circle for 50 minutes was frustrating, being so close and yet so far, but our touchdown was greeted with resounding applause, and from the satisfied looks on the tired, but happy faces around me, everyone was glad to be home.

A massive thank you has to be extended to the tour staff who accompanied this tour; Ann and Victoria, Nick, Noel and Kem, Barbara, Carmel and John, and especially to Geoff who made the whole thing happen. It’s been bucket-loads of fun, and a resounding success; but it’s time to cross over to your loved ones to continue the tales of their adventures in far greater detail than I can. Thanks for your company,

Ellena – over and out!

Day 23: Ulm and Ehingen

Wow, we really are almost done! Day 23 has been another long one, with free time all morning to brunch, shop, sight-see and pre-pack; before meeting at 12:30 for the half hour ride into Ehingen and the Lindenhalle Concert Hall, the stage for our final performance of tour. Dropping off our gear, we were able to grab a quick lunch before starting rehearsal, and happened upon yet another Fest set up in the centre of the town (it is summer time and therefore party time here in Germany)!

Walking past the local concert band enthusiastically sharing their rendition of Whitney Houston’s One Moment in Time, we soon discovered all types of stalls selling anything and everything, spreading in every direction filling not only the main square, but the side streets as well. Reflecting that very little has changed over the centuries, we each set out in search of food – a number of us selecting the dining establishment near the Peruvian musicians, who treated us to renditions of The Rose, Schubert’s Ave Maria, and ABBA Knowing Me Knowing You, among other lesser-known delights. Dashing back to rehearsal, we’d worked out the new acoustics in no time, and found ourselves provided with a 4:45pm dinner, which left a lovely quiet afternoon to just ‘be’ before the performance started tonight at 8pm.

The Ulm Youth Philharmonic Wind Orchestra played the first half of the concert, and after a quick stage re-shuffle at interval, QYS took to the stage for the final time for tour. Performing the Vine and Pictures with our usual encores and ovations, I reflected just how humbling it is to be able to listen to and tour with such amazing musicians. They are so tired, many have colds, they’re missing home, as well as running out of clean clothes…and yet each and every one of them poured 100% of themselves into tonight’s performance. Seriously, you could see them giving every last ounce of their effort into making spectacular music, and I don’t think you can ask anything more of anyone than that. Of course John, who undoubtedly has the worst cold of the lot of us, is such an inspiration that he could get stones to sing in perfect harmony if he wanted to, has to be accorded living legend status for everything he has done to cajole and mould every moment of sound we’ve been treated to on this tour; and I can’t wait for you to hear the way this orchestra sounds now. Bring on Pines of Rome!

Day 22: Ulm and Stuttgart

Oh, you can tell we’re getting to the end of tour, because we’re getting tired, and we’re getting silly! Day 22 has been great fun, and the playful camaraderie and bantering amongst the crew really does reflect the one big happy family we’ve become. It was a little chilly (rude, I call it), as we gathered at 9:30am outside the Ulm Music School to meet our extremely knowledgeable guides for a quick walking tour through the New Venice and Cathedral parts of the city. Astronomical clocks dating from the 14^th century and so accurate they reflect modern day eclipses, ‘kissing’ houses, mills, the most crooked hotel in the world, and the cathedral boasting the highest tower of any Christian church in the world…these were all sights to be explored and conquered – along with a good dose of free time to track down those last minute purchases, before we gathered once again to board our buses for Stuttgart.

Our slight delay arriving forced us to put our finely honed ‘power-tourist’ skills to good use, and the one and a half hours we had to explore the city, brought out the molto prestissimo tempo in one and all. Twenty minutes from the heart of the city, sits the very impressive Zublin Haus.  A glass and steel creation of massive proportion, it’s the headquarters of Zublin Constructions, a company whose patronage of the Arts has been sensational. And sensational would be the word for tonight’s performance. Dickenson, Don Juan and Saint Saens…we’ve got these well under control, and the giant puppets and sets that formed our backdrop (set for the Academic Orchestra of the University of Stuttgart’s performance of Orff’s The Moon in the second half) added an extra dimension of some sort, I’m sure! Perhaps the loveliest part of this evening though, was seeing some of our friends from Mannheim, who travelled to listen to us once again; I hope they know just how touched we all were to see them there.

I know it’s been a while since we’ve mentioned them, but travelling home by bus tonight was an adventure! Those of us on bus two were treated to a twenty-five minute late night tour of the back streets of Ulm, as we searched for the pre-arranged meeting point with our hosts. We thought we knew where we were (the Ikea superstore is a fairly reliable landmark) however our new bus driver disagreed. Passing businesses advertising ‘Birds of Paradise’ and ‘Cabaret’ in neon flashing lights suggested to many that we may have wandered from our course, and eventually, a ‘please help’ telephone call was placed.  Most gallantly, bus driver number one came to our rescue, although what some likened to a medieval joust just seemed like a game of chicken to me, as both buses ended up hurtling towards each other, narrowly avoiding a collision under a bridge. Accompanied by honking horns, screeching windscreen wipers, the repetitive beeping of the indicators and the sirens of passing police cars, an exchange of directions and a three point turn has us reunited with our ever-patient hosts in no time. What fun, we all agreed!

Day 21: Bamberg, Rothenburg and Ulm

It’s been a funny day in terms of the weather, as we hit day 21 and the no-way-to-turn-back-the-hands-of-the-clock part of the tour. Perhaps reflecting our sadness at leaving behind our wonderful hosts in Bamberg, or recognising that we’re all getting a little tired, the rain seemed set in as we departed that wonderfully untouched city of Bamberg. Local legend claims the patron saints of the city created a mist in 1942, foiling the Allies attempts to bomb Bamberg, and allowing it to survive in its present condition. Maybe they were sad to be farewelling us today.

We are Queenslanders however, and quite a few people have noticed we seem to bring the sunshine wherever we go, so it should be no surprise that half an hour after alighting in Rothenburg – our sightseeing destination for today – that the sun was shining, the birds were singing; and the world was a jovial place once more, even if it was a little on the gusty side. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a fantastic place to visit, as it’s Medieval city is preserved within the original walls that have guarded it through the centuries;  and to my eyes, is the closest place we’ve visited that captures all the romance of knights, charging horses, and tall towers with banners flapping in the breeze etc. I’m dating myself, but I expected to see Errol Flynn jump out from around each turn I took! Naturally, everyone headed off in one hundred different directions to explore; and reports of favourite sights include the Townhouse, St George’s Fountain, the German Christmas Museum, St Jacob’s Church, various gates and bridges, but in particular the Gallows Gate and the White Tower, the Little Castle and the Castle Gardens, the Nag’s Mill, the Dungeons, and the Medieval Crime Museum. Yet more new purchases made their way back on to the buses at the conclusion of our visit; although serious discussions are taking place as advice is sought on what to leave behind in Germany, so the 16kgs rule I keep harping on about is starting to make its way back into everyone’s minds.

An hour’s drive through rain – most considerately setting the scene for a little sleep after the exertions of the day – found us disembarking in Ulm, and once again, in full sunshine, to meet our final hosts for the tour. By all appearances these hosts are highly organised, and look like they’re going to be far too much fun, which I think will be perfect for the countdown to the end of tour. I can’t complain – the view from my window is of the Danube reflecting that iridescent blue of the European twilight. Perfect!

Day 20: Bamberg

Day twenty: could this be the high point of the tour? It’s a tough call, but it’s got to be up there as, ultimately, one of the best days we’ve had. Meeting at 9am for our guided walking tour through the heart of Bamberg, the tales continued about the warm hospitality everyone’s received here, and of the generous folk who’ve welcomed us as their own.  The wonderful thing about the towns we’ve visited is that everything’s so close, and walking – or cycling – is really the best way to get around. I guess it doesn’t hurt that the exercise helps balance out all our little diet indulgences either! Following the tour, everyone was able to spend some free time wandering or shopping (for souvenirs – I’m told they don’t count towards our 16kg weight limit) before rehearsal at 2pm.  

Rehearsal was in some ways, a hard slog today. The acoustic in the Bamberg Concert Hall is amazing, and far less forgiving than our recent performance venues, so there were a lot of adjustments to be made, both individually and as an ensemble.  I’m not convinced that by the end of rehearsal everyone was satisfied, and I’m sure many a musician headed home for dinner and a little quiet time to focus before tonight’s performance.

But oh my, did it work! If pressed, I’d say tonight was our finest performance. The final Beethoven, which Jayson seems to perform so effortlessly, sparkled. The rollicking fun of the Dickenson was yet again, met by cheers of appreciation from the crowd. And there were moments in Pictures that were truly spectacular – there’s no other word for it. We’re getting used to standing ovations, but when it’s a crowd of 1000 roaring for more, there’s nothing for it but to add a little Strauss and Radetzky into the mix as well. As John commented during his speech at the reception after the concert – hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Germany by the way, who’d driven from Berlin to attend the performance – the German audiences have been overwhelming in their support. ‘We think the people in Worms are still clapping!’ But truly, in the words of a Bamberg town councillor, tonight’s performance was ‘an absolute dream’. 

The only sad part of our dream, has been saying goodbye to the amazing Jayson Gillham, who leaves us at this point in the tour. Yet, we know there’s sure to be more collaborations ahead, so in the mean time we’ll have to content ourselves with following his career from afar, and thank him for sharing his talents and his music so generously with us all. See you soon Jayson!