July 7

July 7,
Good Morning from Dresden, it is Thursday and we arrived to meet another choir, Madshunchor Schloss Albrechtsberg and sang a concert with them in a castle last evening.

The reason for the delay in pictures is that since leaving Prague we have been secluded in a remote castle in Rathen. It was just what the choir needed after a fast paced two days in Prague. The air was crisp, the food fantastic and it gave the choir time to connectand play charades, make sure you ask Keely W. how to do pig on a spit!

Every day here brings more of the same. “Wow!” “I can’t believe this!” Or, the mouth open, jaw dropping but no noise coming out facial expressions of people seeing sites that they have never dreamed existing.

Prague was beautiful and wild at the same time, east meets west and the future the past!
The girls had a very somber tour of Terezan, a fort used by the Germans during WWII to house Jews and other political prisoners.

The castle in Rathen is accessable by a cable ferry that is powered by the Elbe River current, very ingenious. The village of Rathen is literally a collection 70+ hotels and Pensions that spill back up the ravine away from the Elbe. The castle we stayed in was 400+ years old but had rooms that offered modern conveniences, although German TV was not real popular! One highlight in Rathen was the hike back through the mountains to an ancient mountain fortress carved out of the cliffs, it was right out of Lord of the Rings. We also celebrated two birthdays; Alex and Allison.

After our respite in Rathen, we were off to Dresden. For those you don’t know Dresden was a city that was almost entirely destroyed in March of 1945 by American and British bombers. The amazing thing is that the city has been rebuilt, no not rebuilt, restored. It looks for the most part that it has never been touched. During the 1700-1800’s Drseden was a cultural centre and has reclaimed that status. The girl’s have toured museums, the Imperial residence, the Semperoper Opera House, and a grand summer palace.

If you notice some pictures are missing, it is because we have run out of space, still working on a solution. Check out the latest collection. Keep those comments coming, the girl’s enjoy them.