Kinderchor Germany Tour 2011

The afternoon was spent touring Frederiksborg Castle which is currently Denmark’s Museum for National History. The castle is huge and was built as a residence for King Christian IV in the late 1500s and early 1600s.

This is our last day in Denmark. Tomorrow we return to Germany.

This morning our tour visited the Viking Ship Museum in Rosklide.  The children were told all about the Vikings and their ships while the grown ups took an unguided tour.  In addition to presenting information, the Museum engages in research and reconstruction projects.

It’s been a busy couple of days. We left Bielefeld, Germany for Copenhagen, Denmark on Monday. We drove up to catch the 45-minute ferry rider from Puttgarden. After arriving at the hotel that afternoon, the group split up and went their own ways to explore. We had all just barely adjusted to Euro and now we had to deal with Kroner, since Denmark is not on the Euro (although some places did take them).

Tuesday was a day on our own. Our little group took the bus to The Little Mermaid statue and walked back, taking in two smaller castles on the way and a boat ride. Many of the families met up in the evening to explore Tivoli Gardens, which is Copenhagen’s version of Great America (but much smaller).

Although Copenhagen can be quite expensive, it is worthwhile to purchase a “cOPENhagen” card which gives you unlimited access to public transportation and free admission to many of the sites.  It makes the exchange rate slightly less painful.

This afternoon, many of our tour went on the ropes course at Kletterpark.  They climbed, walked along suspended logs, swung from ropes, and all in the pouring rain!  It was challenging, but fun.  And safe.  Everyone had to wear a safety harness attached to safety lines, and even then it was still pretty scary.

This morning we went on a tour of Sparrenburg Castle, an old fortress that overlooks Bielefeld.

Tonight our Kinderchor performed at the Lutherkirche with the Bielefeld Kinderchor, our host choir.  The Bielefeld children performed two beautiful pieces and then our Kinderchor took the stage and sang several numbers from their repertoire.  The performance concluded with a joint performance by the combined choirs.  A very enjoyable performance.

Afterwards we were invited to a nice after-party at the host choir’s rehearsal space.  It was a long walk uphill, and it felt more like hiking than walking, but we all made it and enjoyed the food and the company.

Now we’re back at the hotel and hoping to get a good night’s sleep.  More tomorrow.

After a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we went on a walking tour through what is apparently the Old City.  The streets were lined with shops and there were several street musicians.  The walking tour ended at the Rathaus, or town hall, where the children met the mayor of Bielefeld, who welcomed us all to his city.

Afterwards, there was a bus tour of the city for those who went with to the Rathaus.

Our flight was pretty uneventful, but for those of us who could not sleep it seemed to take forever. Considering that we would not have much of a break once we landed in Düsseldorf, it was important to get some sleep on the plane.

Once we arrived, we split into two groups and boarded our busses, Bus A and Bus B as we refer to them. We then proceded east to Attendorn for lunch and a trip through the Atta-Höhle, a fascinating cave system. Unfortunately, the tour guide spoke only German, but I think we got the general idea.

After the tour, it was back on the busses and north to Bielefeld, where we will be spending the next few days. Our hotel is very nice and right across from the train station. There is a bicycle rental place next to that, and a curry-wurst stand right in front of our hotel.

In the evening, the families of the Bielefeld Kinderchor gave us dinner in their homes. This turned out to be very enjoyable. The family that we went with cooked a lovely dinner and provided us with some very enjoyable conversation. We cannot thank them enough for their hospitality.

Welcome to the 2011 tour blog.  You can follow our tour progress here as the kinderchor moves through Germany (and places nearby).  If you are a member of the tour and wish to be able to post, please contact the Kinderchor webmaster and you will be assigned a bloggin’ login.