Day 1 & 2 - Travel Day plus First Day in Graz
37 excited singers...check
7 diligent chaperones...check
43 bags...uh oh
About to embark on this great adventure....priceless!
Wilcommen to this years Austria, Slovenia, and Italy tour blog! All of us are just as excited to share our adventures with you, just as we are sure you can't wait to see what we have been up to these next few days to come! We made it through the doors of gate 101 with ease. All singers and chaperones were able to sit in the same section of the plane, making any "necessary" friend seat changes much more manageable, and we were off. With a variety of different movies being watched, conversations about what's to come, and some sleep, we made it successfully and all in one piece to Frankfort where we then caught our next flight to Graz, Austria. Walking through the airport and seeing stands with large Bavarian pretzels was just one clear sign that we truly were in Germany!
The flight to Graz was just about an hour complete with a turkey sandwich with pickles, cabbage and creamy mustard. A few of us napped a bit, while others tried to find some comfort while sleeping vertically, not that easy, even while fighting jet lag. We arrived in Graz, hopped on the bus and drove to the HIB school to meet the singers of the HIB Singakademie where we were warmly welcomed with hugs and smiles. Maria, the conductor of the choir, had their singers sing a welcoming song. The homestays took our singers' luggage to the choir room and then we all went to the school cafeteria for a lunch of soup, schnitzel and rice. Dessert was an Angel's Head, a chocolate covered marshmallow fluffy thing, as well as a pack of Manner wafer cookies (which we remember quite fondly from our last visit to Austria two years ago). After lunch we were back on the bus, heading to do a little walking tour of Graz, which was arranged by Maria, first visiting the Styrian Armoury museum.
The armoury is the largest arsenal which has remained preserved in the world. It contained 32,000 pieces and could outfit 5,000 soldiers. The main purpose of most of these pieces was they were used to defend the border area in what is now Croatia. This four stroy museum was quite impressive and the kids all had a great time seeing all the pieces as well as learning the history.
Following our visit to the muesum, we continued with our walking tour of Graz. Unfortunately just having had arrived that morning, most everyone had a nice, comfy bed on their mind, making it difficult to enjoy all the sites, but we finished our walking tour, sang for the tour guide, and then were back on the bus, heading back to the HIB school where everyone was picked up by their homestays and taken home to a nice meal, and some time to enjoy their Austrian families, and hopefully get a good night's rest.
37 exhausted kids...check
7 tired chaperons....check
43 bags...Shauna's bag scheduled to arrive tomorrow after its journey around Germany...check
Made it to Europe? Priceless.
Click through the slideshow below to view some highlights from today:
