Readying for China

Less than 1 week until we depart for China.  Lots to do!

PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING

We are now planning our LA/San Diego/Honolulu Tour in March - Itinerary coming soon!

BERLIN, GERMANY

Added some more - more to come!

OK -So today I saw the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate and I have the audacity to sometimes complain!??!!?

Boy it put it all in perspective.

As I sit in my hotel room looking at a 1930’s era train station...I realize everything around it is new, relatively....Because everything else was destroyed in WWII. The Berliner Dome Cathedral has battle scars and was apparently 50% destroyed and only recently (last 30 years) rebuilt. The Reichstag dome was blown in and replaced with a clear glass version. There are still battle scars on the buildings.....Echoes of Ronald Reagan’s speech to Mikhail Gorbachev “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” is ringing in my ears as I pass 4 kilometers of wall that remains as a memorial...a constant reminder of a time that most wish to forget. Keeping in mind that the new generation will never know the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust, or WWII, perhaps there is some optimism around here.

The Glee Club sang vespers in the Dome Cathedral last night and a great concert tonight in the KulturRaum Zwingli-Kirche. The sound was incredible.

The LONG and winding road to Copenhagen

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen........

Well.....after a long (7 hour) bus ride we travelled over the famous Oresund Bridge and under the Baltic Sea, passed by the famous Turning Torso building in Malmo and then we arrived safely in Copenhagen, Denmark. We are staying in the epitome of a commuter hotel (see pics below, yes, that is the shower head above the toilet in the ceiling of the bathroom!)...after an encounter with a viper-like front desk worker (yes, we have a meeting with her manager in the morning), dinner (where the vegetarian selection had bacon on it!) we all settled into our rooms (that make rooms at the Edison Hotel in NY look like suites). We have a rehearsal and sightseeing tomorrow as well as a concert at Vor Freslers Church. I will write tomorrow, but had to share our hotel tonight.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

WOW! Stockholm is beautiful! We started yesterday with a visit to the Stockholm City Hall...this is the location where all the Nobel prizes are given, except for the Peace Prize which is given in Oslo, Norway. The picture below is of the Gold room.

Last night the YGCsang in Adolf Fredericks Church and they sounded incre

dible. Audience was small but the sound was terrific!

Went back to the hotel after the concert and then an early trip to Stockholm for a free day...
What an incredible day!

Started off the morning with a water taxi ride around Stockholm Harbor Saw the GrandHotel, (for all you Greta Garbo fans)

the changing of the guard at the royal palace

and then an incredible day walking around Gamel Stan (Old City-Stockholm). Saw amazing architecture, wonderful shops. The weather was the most beautiful.

All in all a wonderful day.

Off to Copenhagen in the morning - 7 hour bus ride!

UPPSALA, SWEDEN

We arrived in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday and took the bus directly to Uppsala, a very old city once thecapitol of Sweden.

We checked into our Hostel and spent an uneventful quiet evening. Took a couple of trips to the bus depot to pick up Gleeclubbers who were arriving late.

Today (Sunday) we woke, had breakfast in the Hostel -

and walked to the Uppsala Cathedral for the first YGC performance at a service....I don’t think I have heard them sing in a better

place....They sang,

My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord and I think the Cathedral is still ringing....the reverberation lasted so long.

After the service we were treated to a reception where we had Smorgasto

rte...Basically a savory cake of meat, vegetables

and mayonnaise...Margi would have loved it!

After that I walked around Uppsala for a time and had a coffee and cake at a local cafe...

I walked back to the Hostel for a much needed nap (the jet lag really got me).

I am now waiting for a call from 2 YGC members who should be arriving soon so I can go to the Bus depot and get them.

So far so good....

San Francisco Bound!

The Yale Glee Club has been invited to join GLEE’S Darren Criss in a benefit concert against bullying.

On May 14, the concert will be performed at MAriner’s Memorial - 609 Sutter in San Francisco!