Munich Adventures with families and concert -Day 7

Note: A few videos have been uploaded to youtube. Check out http://www.youtube.com/user/pctour2013

We had a nice, more leisurely morning, as we strayed a bit from our normal early morning routine of rehearsal first, and then touring around. Most of the chaperones enjoyed a long, 6 + mile walk, walking around Munich, from our hotel to the English Garden, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englischer_Garten There were surfers surfing in one of the artificial streams that runs through the English Garden, Munich's largest public park. The surf wave is located at the southern edge of the park, next to the Haus der Kunst. The wave is about 1 m high and about 12 m wide. The flow velocity is about 5 m per second. A place we all agreed Bob would have enjoyed! http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/index.php/t73618.html

We enjoyed taking in the sights, eating a huge pretzel with weisswurst, white sausage, while listening to a traditional Bavarian band. It was a very enjoyable morning walk for us! When we checked in with the kids a little later that day, we got to hear about all the fun things they did!

Bailey, Delphina, and Genevieve had so much fun with their homestays. They walked around the city, saw the river and the “love bridge” and they went to an Italian pizza restaurant for lunch.

Milo and Michael went to the Olympic Park, the park we saw from the bus the day before, and walked around a bit. Milo thought it was really nice. The architecture was really cool and it was kinda big. Michael took lots of photos. There was a huge tower thing and they think that is where the torch was during the Olympics.

Andres, Dylan, Seth and William had a fun morning. They stayed at home for a while and then they went to a lake. They got to go swimming there and they had snacks. They reported that the water was pretty cold, but they still had fun.

Orli, Rachel, Elsa, and Ariel visited the ornate Munich Residence where they enjoyed a fascinating audio tour and had a memorable time.

Apryl, Juliet, Emma, and Olivia went on a walking tour of Munchen with their homestays. They took public transportation to the Marian Platz, where they walked to the Opera House and toured the Munchen Residence as well. After that, they strolled through the English Gardens where they visited the local river surfers and the biggest bier garten in Germany, Chinesischer Turm. http://www.munichbeergardens.com/Chinesischer_Turm They wrapped up the tour with an hour long stroll along the river before enjoying a traditional Bavarian lunch.

Courtney and Faith took the underground to the “animal parks,” as their homestay called it, more commonly known as the zoo. The subway reminded Courtney of the Paris Metro; it was old and cute. The zoo was super beautiful like a really nice modern park with a lot of picnic areas and the coolest playground Courtney has ever seen. They met up with Carmen and Lucy and had a picnic lunch together. Then they went to the river where Courtney waded in the water and they took both silly and artistic pictures. They then took the bus and subway to rehearsal and were 30 minutes late. “It was worth it!”

Those were just a few of the stories that were floating around! Aside from the kid’s adventures, they also came back with some goodies from shopping. Orli bought a very cute stuffed bear that was traditionally dressed in lederhosen and played a little song, and a few other girls went clothes shopping. Looked to most of us that they didn’t quite want the fun to end!

After their adventures with their homestays, we all met at the Anton-Fingerle-Zentrum where we had a joint concert with all three choirs that were in Munich at the time. It was us, Knabenchor “Bichebi” Choir from Georgia, and the Junge Chöre München. The concert hall rang with the beautiful voices with children from around the world as they each performed their 30 minute segment. They finished the concert with a round called “Make a Little Bit Music,” which was beautifully performed with all three choirs mixed on stage, standing next to one another, a very memorable performance. We met up with Dylan’s parents that evening; and Elsa’s Aunt, Uncle, and two very cute cousins, who live in Munich, also came to hear us perform. They were all very impressed, and it was fun for the kids to see some familiar faces, other than the ones they have been with all week!

All the Piedmont kids loved meeting the Georgians and exchanged Facebook information! The world of the internet is an amazing thing, for sure!!

Following the concert, the kids went home to spend their last night in Munich, instructed to get some good rest, for they had an early morning the next day, as we are off to Graz, Austria!