Cologne Was Better Than We Thought

At dinner Wednesday night, we ate at an Italian restaurant…go figure…but it was nice. The employees became so interested in the fact that the group was a choir, they requested a song. So they sang “Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal,” for the entire restaurant. Some guests even came over from their seats to listen. Everyone pretty much agreed they started out in the wrong key without the aid of a tuning fork or piano key, but it still sounded good. And everyone in the restaurant applauded.

Today, we traveled even further into Germany, to Cologne and then Alpenrod for the night.

We stopped of in Cologne, Germany—or Koln—after taking off from Bielefelds early Thursday morning.

After some shopping time, we walked, heads tilted back and mouths gaping toward the giant Cologne Cathedral where the choir was able to sing two of their pieces for a short service. The cathedral was so cold that many of the choir members said they could see their breath as they sang. We weren’t allowed to take photos during the service, but I got a couple of secret ones.




The cathedral was damaged by bombs dropped on the city during World War II, but it has since been restored. The black, gothic structure towers above the town of Cologne and the magnitude of the whole thing is really too incredible to describe.


We also happened to run into an old friend of Grand View at a shop nearby the cathedral. Dick Tremain, a former public relations professor at GV, and his family were visiting Cologne on the same day we did. Dick, his wife and daughter were able to watch the choir performance, too.


Dick also asked for me to say hello to Mrs. Kaylene Ruby. So, Ruby! Hello from Dick Tremain!


After the German service at the cathedral, we took less than an hour for lunch, while dodging the notorious gypsies known to roam the city. Seven of us ate at a little German bar where three of us, had sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes. I had my doubts, but it was so good! We boarded the bus once more and headed to Alpenrod, Germany, where we are now.




We made it to Alpenrod Church—or Evangelische Kirche Alpenrod—just before 4 p.m., Germany time. It’s an old church that dates back to the early 1600s, in an old, small German town in a hilly part of the country.

On the way here, we drove along the Rhine River and saw several old castles and tons and tons of wine vineyards on the sides of the hills. The countryside here is really beautiful.

Tonight, the group will perform a concert at the Alpenrod Church and we’ll be staying with host families. The family hosting Anna, Monica and I have four children and have opened up a little apartment below their home to us. The kids are adorable! The youngest is three-years-old and tried to bring Monica’s suitcase into the house.

This is day two of our trek across Germany. We started in Northern Germany when we came down through Denmark. Now, we’re in Western Germany, near the Rhine. Tomorrow, we’ll head straight east to see Wartburg Castle and then go a little further to the south for one full day and two nights in Lichtenfels. All that is followed by our final destination of Munich, to the far south. Rumors going around say we’ll be close to the Alps on the last night.

After today, we have three days and three nights left on the trip, including one day of travel. I think everyone is more than enjoying themselves on the trip, but, as with any trip, some tension exists between people. Some are also feeling sick with sore throats and coughs.

On the agenda for the rest of the trip:
Tomorrow, March 20:
We’ll leave early and drive to Eisenach, Germany to see the house devoted to the Bach family. Then, we’ll walk the 30 minutes it takes to get to Wartburg Castle for a tour. We’ll then drive to Lichtenfels for the night and entire next day. In all, we’ll be driving about seven hours.

Saturday, March 21
During the day, we’ll sightsee in Bayreuth, Germany. We’ll then return to Lichtenfels for rehearsal and then another concert at the church there.

Sunday, March 22
We’ll leave Lichtenfels early for Nurnberg where we will have lunch. Then, we’ll travel to Wolfratshausen to perform at a church there. We’ll be staying in a hotel in Munich this night, which is where our plane will take off from early in the morning on Monday.
Look for an overview of tonight’s concert up with tomorrow’s blog entry.