Welcome to My CCVA Jorunal

To read reflections on the 2008 Summer tour:

• READ ALL OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.
  
  
• Scroll down the right side of this page
  and use the section marked "Blog Archive."
  
  
• Click on the small triangle next to month of July.
  A menu of 12 entries will appear.
  
  
• Entries in a blog are shown most recent first.
  Click the bottom link first.
  
  
• "Preliminaries at Simon & Jude" is the first entry
  of the journal, but the "last" entry in the Blog Archive.
  
  
• Continue using these links
  to move to the second day etc.

To see some more great pictures that didn't make
it into the pages of the journal:

• Scroll down for the slide shows on Places and Things
  or People and Performances.
  
  
• Feel free to comment on our journey by clicking on the "comment" link in the white box at the end of each entry and filling in the form.

Thanks to all those who posted pictures on Facebook, to those who have contributed to or commented on this blog, and most especially to those who make CCVA and my participation in it possible. I hope you enjoy reading about the fruits of our labor this year.

Emily

Heading Home

The return trip was fairly uneventful. Packing the night before had been a breeze - definitely not the most organized of packing jobs, but everything fit and to our surprise, eveyone was under the airline weight limit! We stood in the usual security and passport lines, but the mood was light hearted, and we were eager to be on our way home.

Most were able to evade the dreaded "security wand." A few weren't so lucky and got an up close and personal lesson on how to say "stand like this" and "turn around" in German! All checked in, and hoping that our bags would all the way through to Newark, we entered our first terminal of the day.

The trip home required two flights - a short hop from Berlin back to Munich, then the long haul from Munich to Newark. Take off to Newark was delayed because of the maintenance crew strike. Waiting so long for take off could have been a real irritation, but we had too much fun watching our own personal tvs on the backs of the chairs in front of us.

We were lucky to have a special guest traveling companion on the plane, so before we knew it, we were in the air on the way home. I’ve never watched so many movies in one sitting! Professor Snapes was really into it too.

Eight hours certainly is a long flight! Some slept, others hardly at all. I was happy to be going home, looking forward to see my family and friends again. But I knew that I would miss Germany and the rich experiences I had there. It was a truly fantastic trip, an unforgettable experience.

It was near midnight as the bus pulled in to the Simon and Jude parking lot. Maybe there will be time for just one story and a few presents. Then again, I wonder if Mom and Dad can wait until morning?

Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

C.P. Charlie & The Dom

Day 10 brought another late start to the morning. We took a short walking tour of Berlin with Philip on the way to the Checkpoint Charlie museum. Today I brought German Mascot Mickey along for the ride. Mic got plenty of face time in pictures taken today!

Our first stop was the old Nazi Air force Center, one of the only buildings in Berlin that survived the bombing of the city. How ironic!

The huge Sony Center was next on the agenda. In Berlin's historic Potsdamer Platz, the center is a complex of buildings grouped around a central atrium. Eight individual buildings are used for offices, apartments, large cinemas and a museum of fine art. The view from inside of the artrium is incredibly impressive. Imagine living, working and playing here everyday!

The Berlin Wall divided communist East Berlin and West Berlin for nearly 30 years (1961-1989). Checkpoint Charlie was the famous border crossing point between the two cities. During that period, there were many successful and unsuccessful escape attempts - East Germans trying to achieve freedom by scaling the wall, digging under it or passing through the checkpoint in disguise. Many of these stories are chronicled in the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, which stands on the spot where the check point once did.

Once in the museum, there was much to learn about the war, the tension between the two cities and their people. The thing that interested me the most was the artwork on many of the museum walls. The collection told the story of the wall in pictures - artists motivated by the events of the war, resulting in some truly incredible perspectives.

This painting was one of my favorites despite its being pretty morbid After we spent time walking through the museum we headed back to the hotel to relax during our free time, resting up for our two events that evening.

Three hours later we were back on the bus heading toward the Berliner Dom where we would be the music ministers for the weekly evensong. The Berlin Dome is the most fantastic church I’ve ever been in, and we were all bummed we wouldn’t be doing a full concert.

We got a personal tour of the church from the organist, complete with an organ demonstration featuring the Dracula theme! It was incredible!

After a short rehearsal the evensong began. It was a beautiful service and it was cool to hear us singing the hymns in English while members of the congregation were singing in German. It was just another reminder that music transcends language. After singing some of our own songs in the church once the evensong was finished, we boarded the bus to go to our second concert at St. Matthäus Church.

The 19th century church is the only historic building restored in Berlin after the war. The italianesque brick church was originally built between 1844 and 1846 after a design by Friedrich August Stüler and Herbert Wentzel.

It's located in what is now known as the Kulturforum - a “culture forum,” which came about after World War II, when the art collections were split up between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin. East Berlin had "Museum Island" as its cultural center, and West Berlin decided to create an special area to house its cultural institutions and art collections in new buildings at the Kulturforum.

Perhaps for this reason, the interior of the church was restored in an ultra-modern, minimalist style. Although not the most aesthetically pleasing church we’ve sung in, the acoustics were impeccable. It was the perfect place to have our last concert, and I think it was the best one of the whole tour. There was this one man in particular who loved it. I kept watching him close his eyes and nod in approval as we were singing, and his booming “Bravo” was a magnificent end to our tour in Germany.

Our last dinner was filled with picture taking, memory sharing, and thanks all around. It was a great way to celebrate the friendships we had made and what we had accomplished in Germany. We closed the night by thanking Philip and all involved in the choir by creating our own surprise: singing The Lord Bless You and Keep You for them in the restaurant. Tired and slightly sad, we went back to the hotel for our final night’s sleep in Germany.

The Brandenburg Gate

A totally unique experience on a CCVA trip - sleeping in until 8:20 this morning! Fully recharged and energetic, we made our way onto the bus for our one and only bus tour of the trip!

A gigantic fan zone had just installed for the upcoming Eurocup Germany-Turkey game. This required some unplanned walking, but an excellent opportunity to walk through the Berlin holocaust memorial. The giant concrete slabs were disorienting, but after making it out, we headed over to the Bradenburg gate.

Another surreal experience. All of those high school history courses were actually coming in very handy. Till now so many of the places we were visiting had a mythological quality to them. Seeing them in real life gave me a whole new perspective on the things that I had learned and allowed me to more fully appreciate the privilege of being on such an amazing tour.

After taking tons of pictures at the gate, we got back on the bus for a drive to the largest remaining section of the Berlin wall, to which the whole choir was really looking forward. I had been anticipating something sad because of the destruction that the wall had caused, but it was surprisingly beautiful, something I hadn’t been expecting to see.

Paintings on the wall, done by artists interpreting events and feelings about the Berlin division were beautiful and thought provoking. My favorite was actually a painting of the wall with masses of faces around it, depicting the division the wall had caused.

Unfortunately, like so many monuments around the world, there was graffiti all over the wall but Philip told us that the artists are paid to come back every year and redo their paintings so they aren’t completely destroyed by nonsensical tagging. It must be an incredible to see the newly refinished wall!

After we finished the rest of our drive around the city, we were given the rest of the afternoon to shop. It was INCREDIBLE experience. It was here, with the help of my fellow shoppers, began my newest quest. After buying Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in German, Dani, Lindsay, Laura and Kate encouraged me to make it my new project - to collect the book in the language of all the foriegn countries I visit. What a a fantastic idea!

After dinner, we all headed back to our rooms to watch the Eurocup Germany-Turkey semi-final. There was lots of fun watching the game together and even more fun once Germany won! The fan zone just down the street from us went crazy and we heard sirens and screaming for the rest of the night. It’s a miracle we got any sleep! Do these two look German to you?

Buchenwald and Leipzig

This morning I woke up with a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. My excitement for the day was mixed with an ominous feeling of dread. I knew today’s visit to Buchenwald, a Nazi prison camp, might well be tough on all of us and, to be honest, I was incredibly nervous about the effect it would have on me. I was certainly thankful for the opportunity to visit it and realized its significant historical importance, but I couldn’t imagine myself being in a place so filled with manipulation, violence and death - man's inhumanity to man.

After watching a video we toured the extensive grounds of the camp, learning about the kinds of people who were imprisoned there. We continued our tour into the actual prison grounds, stopping at the guard tower where the clock has been permanently fixed at 3:15, the time the camp was finally liberated.

As we entered the grounds I was struck by the profound silence that permeated the entire place. It was truly a haunting experience and my sadness increased as we made our last stop of the tour at the crematory.

Although I knew this wasn’t an extermination camp, it was still horrifying to think about the senseless death that took place where I was standing. These ovens, to me, represented the very essence of the Nazis project: that certain people are by definition, superior and that certain people had no value, could be disposed of, like garbage, without a second thought. I began to feel sick just thinking about it, but appreciated everything I learned and everything I felt during that tour.

The bus ride to Leipzig afterwards was somber and silent, but we were soon filled with anticipation for our afternoon concert. We were to sing in St. Thomas Church.

In this church, Martin Luther preached in 1539, signaling the arrival of Protestantism in Leipzig. Bach's 12 children and the infant Richard Wagner were baptized in its the early 17th-century font, and both Mozart and Mendelssohn performed here.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels also stood before this same font as godfathers to Karl Liebknecht, who grew up to be a revolutionary as well.

Bach was choirmaster at this Gothic church for 27 years. The great music Bach wrote during his Leipzig years commanded little attention in his lifetime, and when he died, he was given a simple grave, without a headstone, in the city's Johannisfriedhof. It wasn't until 1894 that an effort was made to find where the great composer lay buried. Moved to the local church, it was destroyed by Allied bombs in December 1943. Bach subsequently found his final resting place in the most appropriate place: the Thomaskirche, where Bach served as choir master as well as organist. I was more than thrilled.

Of all the classical composers Bach is my favorite and I couldn’t wait to sing in the very Church he called “home.” After our quick “costume” changes in the bus we headed into the church for our 20 minute concert. The acoustics were incredible and I only wish we had longer to sing in that amazing building.

I know you want a closer look at the altarpiece.

After the concert and many group photos, we were shocked to discover that we had been singing directly in front of Bach’s grave. Speechless!

Reflecting on the talent of so many great German composers was a welcome contrast to the depressing history that we had recalled during the Buchenwald visit. After a tour of St. Thomas we continued on a city tour of Leipzig, ending at our restaurant for the evening.

We shared a wonderful meal together before getting back on the bus for our long drive to Berlin! We entered the city around 10 o’clock at night, but from what I’d seen already driving to our hotel, I had a feeling I was going to love Berlin. We checked into our incredible hotel rooms and went to bed excited for the BUS TOUR the next morning!

Visits to Eisenach & Erfurt

Despite our early bedtime, the troops woke up on Day 7 unusually tired. Fortunately, an early morning, two hour bus ride, providing a perfect opportunity for some serious nappage. Before we knew it, we had arrived at Wartburg castle in Eisenach. It took only a glance out the window to realize that we were in for another steep walk. Is every castle in Germany located at the top of a mountain?

The walk wasn’t nearly as bad as anticipated and we were all eternally grateful. The castle was different than I had expected. Because it took so long to build, its several "owners" combined contrasting architectural styles. The overall effect was confusing to my critical “art historian” eye, but it was still beautiful. We stopped for a lengthy “photo shoot” before heading into the castle for the tour.

I had no idea what other surprises the castle had in store for me. As we toured the castle, our guide told us about the King who lived here and his wife, St. Elisabeth of Thuringia.

We learned about her devotion to the poor despite the disapproval of her husband and his family. Slowly the story began to sound more and more like St. Elisabeth of Hungary, my confirmation Saint. Just as I had concluded that there was no way these “two” women could be one in the same, we entered the fresco room and I knew that I was wrong. On the wall in front of me was a painting depicting St. Elisabeth’s miracle of the roses, the inspiration for choosing her as my patron.

In the painting, St. Elisabeth is confronted by her husband as to why she is on the road alone. When she told him that her basket was full of roses and not food for the poor, he forced her to reveal the baskets contents. The bread had changed to roses and St. Elisabeth’s husband saw the miracle as a sign from God that his wife was destined to work for the poor. It was truly astonishing to realize that I was in the castle where Saint Elisabeth had lived, a truly one of a kind experience.

The Wartburg is where Martin Luther hid out as "Knight George" in 1521, where he completed his translation of the Bible, and is said to have "fought the Devil with ink."

After touring the cell where Luther translated the Bible, it was off to Erfurt.
On arrival, we had lunch, which allowed time for us to experience another of Germany’s specialties: the bratwurst- DELICIOUS!

Erfurt Cathedral, also known as Dom Mariensdom, or The Cathedral of St Martin. Most of the structure is Gothic and dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, but the lower parts of its huge towers are Romanesque and belonged to a church built on this site for Bishop Boniface in 742.

After walking around ourselves a bit it was time for our city tour. We began at the Erfurt Cathedral, where they were gearing up for an outdoor production of Martin Luther das Musical- Summer Stage 09 anyone?

Luther entered Erfurt's Augustinian monastery in 1505. Today, visitors to the monastery can view a permanent Luther exhibition and a reconstruction of Brother Martin's monastic cell. In 1507, Luther was ordained a priest in Erfurt's cathedral Mariendom. Sometime in 1511, he was transferred to the new Augustinian monastery in Wittenburg, where six years later he would spark the Protestant Reformation with his 95 Theses.

On November 10, you can join the city of Erfurt for a festive celebration of St. Martin's Festival. In Erfurt, it honors not one but two great Martins: St. Martin of Tours (the city's patron saint) and Martin Luther.

Right next door is the church of St. Severus, a site to which I was obviously looking forward. Even though it wasn’t exactly named for my favorite Severus - Severus Snape should be considered a saint, you know - it was a beautiful church. It's on the right with the three spires.

We strolled through the picturesque city, ending at the Erfurt bridge. The bridge in unique because houses are built right on top of it, similar to the Ponte Vecchio in Italy. From the inside it looks like a normal street, you can’t tell that it’s a bridge until you’re on one of the sides of it. Fortunately, for the residents, the bridge seemed pretty sturdy!

That evening we performed a concert in a very small church, St. Marien's in Bad Berka, but as our tour contact there said, "it’s not about the size of the building, it’s about the faith of the people in it." The concert went very well, as always.

Our departure was delayed by members of the audience who wanted to take our picture! Satisfied with a job well done, we headed back to Weimar for dinner and some shut-eye.

Bayreuth, Then Weimar

Our wakeup call on Day 6 summoned us to yet another bus ride on our fabulous tour of Germany. Today’s destination: Weimar, after a brief stop in Wagner's City, Bayreuth and the Margravial Opera House, the haunting home of Wagner and Bach. After sleeping during the entire two hour ride, I found myself parked in front of our first stop. It is like no other. I was more than a little excited.

The interior was one of the most luxurious things I had ever seen and I was shocked when Philip told us it was all carved of wood, not gold as it appeared to be.

After a light show on the history of the Opera House, which Philip translated for us, and some free time to get lunch, it was back on the bus to continue our journey to Weimar.

It was on this bus ride that Dani and I suffered a devastating loss to Tim and Pat in a game of Eucher. Nothing hurts more than loosing after a seven to one lead!

Soon we were in Weimar, the home of the Enlightennment, and gearing up for another walking city tour. We visited the poet Goethe’s home and explored the city extensively.

The highlight of the tour was the music school that features such impressive alumni as Bach and Liszt. We were in composer heaven!

After dinner we checked into an incredible 5-star hotel. It was absolutely magnificent. Our rooms even had their own doorbells - which unfortunately were too convenient during late night room checks. With a little free time at the hotel, we busied ourselves with rounds of Psychiatrist, a new favorite game of our group, and went to bed early. Imagine that!

Not too shabby!

Rothenburg & Nurenberg

On Day 5, perhaps to allow continued recovery from the DFH, Mrs. Campbell and Philip gave us the whole morning and most of the afternoon to discover Rothenburg on our own. Much shopping resulted. My purchases were mostly for my favorite parental units.

We stumbled upon a fascinating armory that had been turned into shops. I bought an awesome Swiss Army Knife for my dad. Its design included a sketch of Rothenburg drawn by the shopkeeper’s father-in-law. There are only 999 of these knives in the world! It’s a pretty cool story to tell and I was assured that I bought my dad something distinctly German.

We also had time to stop at a local bakery and try their AMAZING pastry balls. From what I understand, the balls made of strips of pastry that have been soaked in plum brandy and then coated with various sugars and icings. Mine was covered in lemon icing - FABULOUS! Definitely one of the highlights of the day.

By now it was ten o’clock and time to meet Philip for a tour of the local church. St. Jakob's,This magnificent Gothic place of worship is Rothenburg’s main church. Built in the 14th century as a Catholic church, it was once a stop on medieval pilgrimages. However, it became Lutheran in 1544.


In front is a beautiful altar with the 12 apostles. Behind it is a large painting of Rothenburg’s Market Square in the 15th century.

Stairs in the back of the church lead to an exquisite work of art - a wood carving, Altar of the Holy Blood. It was commissioned around 1500 to hold a relic - a capsule of rock crystal which supposedly held three drops of Christ’s blood. The scene is of the Last Supper as Jesus gives Judas a piece of bread which houses a famous altar piece, containing a relic of Christ’s blood. It was spectacular.


After exploring the rest of the church, we headed off to the Rothenburg Christmas store. The minute I stepped through the door I was thankful my mom decided not to go on the trip; she would have, in fact, bought the entire store. Needless to say I bought her gift there. Before we knew it our free time was over and it was time to head for Nuremburg.

Unfortunately the court house the trials were held was closed for tours, but we got to walk around and see some cool churches. After a quick stop at the Nuremburg fortress, we made time to for some ice cream. Remember that Saturday Night Skit we were talking about a while back in Salzburg? Well, sure enough the whole topic came up again as we explored the flavors of ice cream available in Germany. A poor villager, rattled by the conversation, obviously had no clue to what we were actually referring, but we learned to our surprise and my relief that there actually is an ice cream based on the amazing chocolates we had earlier - and it was a truly excellent flavor. Ice cream in hand, we headed off to the church where we would attend Mass before giving a concert.

Mass at St. Elisabeth Church was entirely in German and required serous concentration on the movement of the liturgy to get meaning from the experience. It was difficult not to let the amazing architectural detail of the church become a distraction.

Our concert, which followed, went very well. One woman in particular was effusive in her praise for our performance. I think she would have listened all night! On this high note, our day ended, with the group thankful for what we had seen and for the fun we had shared.