Day #14 + 15: From Hochhausen with Love

Today was our last full day in Hochhausen and on tour.

Liz’s chaperone group at the farewell feast

Our morning started with a beautiful hike through the Count’s forest. It had rained all night which cooled the town perfectly and provided a wondrous raindrop symphony from the beech trees in the forest. We learned all about Germany’s forest conservation and the wildlife (boars, deer, and squirrels). 

After a picnic in the mud (those PEBCC-issued ponchos coming in clutch!), we continued to meander through the forests until we got to a river with a beaver dam!

Upon our return, the singers had a couple hours of free time before we all met back together for Closing Circle in the Malick’s barn.

What happens in Closing Circle, stays in Closing Circle. But it was a beautiful and sentimental time.

We ended our last day in Hochhausen with a Farewell Feast at Sue and John Malick’s with our homestays. The whole town contributed something to the potluck, while the Count carved meat for everyone. They even gave an “informal concert” which entailed a sing-along and exchanging of gifts!

It was the perfect ending to our tour.  

Tomorrow we have a 4:15am meeting time to make it to Frankfurt on time.

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Edit: Thank you all for our warm welcome at SFO! Our morning was early, but relatively drama-free. We might have been bleary-eyed and smelly, but we made it home in one piece. 

On a side note: Keep checking back to the drop box links below for more performances and media! Now that Jill + Kay are home, more dependable wifi will make it possible to upload the longer videos :)