Day 11 (Going Home)

Well, we knew this day would come...but it always takes one by surprise. Yesterday morning, most of us boarded our Spanish buses one final time to head to the Madrid airport. About 15 choir members are staying in Europe, with one group headed to Paris and another to London. Our flight to Chicago left almost on time and arrived just after 2 pm--about 9 hours all together. After we landed, cleared customs and gathered our luggage, we were so happy to see Bill and our Hawkeye Stages bus, ready to bring us home. Though many of us wish we had a bit more time in Spain, it is wonderful to be back home.

Thanks to all of you who left comments and communicated with me personally or through your friends/children. As I've shared with many of you, keeping this blog was a true joy for me. Ordinarily, I'd keep a travel journal to help me remember everything I'd seen and heard, and this was just a more public way to do that. I'm so glad to hear that many of you were able to follow our progress as we made our way around the Mediterranean.

Here are a few additional sound files and videos, some of which were posted earlier:

Video of singing in Avignon 1
Video of singing in Avignon 2
Video of street performers in Barcelona
Video of rehearsal in Barcelona
Video of Undeclared

Verdi, "Va, pensiero"
Scarlatti, "Exsultate Deo"
Lukaszewski, "Ave Maria"
Poulenc, "Vinea mea electa"
Paulus, "The Old Church"
Warlock, "Benedicamus Domino"
Tschesnokoff, "O Lord God"
Nordqvist, "Wonderful Peace"

Day 10, June 3 (Madrid)

It's hard to believe that this is our last full day in Europe. The time has gone quickly, and though we've seen and experienced so much, there are still so many more wonderful things to discover. Today we got to sleep in a bit, then headed out to explore Madrid around 10 am. We began with a bus tour of the central city, led by our guides Josu and Nacho. We stopped at the Temple of Debod, a Greek temple built in the 2nd century BC and given to Spain in the 1960's. We ended at the Plaza Mayor, which was filled with street performers, demonstrators, and tourists. We then had free time to explore the city on our own. Many of us spent some time at the Prado Museum, one of the world's premiere art collections. Last evening, I recommended that the students check out the Black Paintings of Francisco Goya, painted in the 1820's, and I was so happy to hear that many of them made it to the museum and saw the Goyas along with works by Rembrandt, Velazquez, Reubens, and many others. Many also decided to take a walk through the beautiful Parque del Bien Retiro, located just behind the Prado and a short walk from our hotel. Shopping and wandering around the old city quarter of Madrid were other popular afternoon activities.

At 5:00, we reconvened at the hotel and headed for dinner at our new favorite restaurant, Fres Co (this was the third group meal we've had at this chain restaurant, and it's become a running joke). We then headed to the city of Alcala, located about 45 minutes to the east of Madrid. Our destination was the beautiful Cathedral of Alcala de Henares, a gothic church which has been wonderfully restored, with a beautiful, modern organ and fresh coats of paint. In contrast to last night, the acoustic was very live, with a long decay time. Tonight, of course, was our final concert of the tour, and for many students, the final concert of their Luther careers. As such, emotions ran high. As expected, however, the group performed magnificently, with beautiful sounds and wonderful expression. As has been true of every other performance on the tour, the choir received a standing ovation, with many of the audience members remaining to visit with the students. A Luther alum from Madrid, who had been informed of the concert by Steve Schaver, made the trip to Alcala to hear the choir.

Willan, "An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts"

Our final event of the day was a reception help at a local restaurant in Madrid, just up the street from our hotel. We gave our thanks to Stacy, tour coordinator from Gateway travel, and Josu and Nacho, our Spanish guides. A few songs were offered as well. We finally closed down the joint arounde 1:30--this is a group that enjoys each other's company.

Tomorrow, many of us will board an Iberia flight at noon, bound for Chicago. Others of us are going to London and other locations. Wherever we're headed, we will all treasure the memories we've made on this trip. Truly, this was an extraordinary tour, with wonderful weather, no illnesses to speak of, terrific audiences, and absolutely stunning places to visit.

I'll make one last blog entry when we arrive back in Decorah, where I'll be able to post a few more pictures as well as links to sound clips and videos.

Day 9, June 2 (Madrid and Segovia)

Hello again! Sorry to be off-line for a couple of days--we finally got the internet to work in our hotel, so I'm able to catch up a bit. Here is the latest post, as well as an updated one from yesterday. I plan to do two more, assuming all goes smoothly!

Today was jam-packed, both with music and sight-seeing. We began with breakfast at our hotel in Madrid, and then headed to the town of Pozuelo, the same area where Steve Schaver lives outside of the city. The choir sang at the American School in Madrid, a middle and high school that serves 500 students, 1/3 of whom are American, 1/3 are Spanish, and 1/3 are from a variety of other countries. The school recently opened a new performing arts facility, so we were happy to be part of its inaugural year. The concert featured both selections from Nordic's tour program, as well as as commentary from Craig Arnold and time to ask and answer questions from the students in the audience. We were happy to see Steve and Asunta again this morning, as well as Rick and Judy and some of the teachers from the school we met last evening. All in all, this was a terrific visit, both for Nordic as well as the students in Madrid.

Stephen Foster, "Laura Lee"

We then boarded the buses and headed to Segovia, a city that lies north of Madrid on the other side of a mountain range. This city was one of the old capitals of Castilla, a kingdom once ruled by Queen Isabella (who commissioned Christopher Columbus in 1492). As we approached the city, we could see the Alcazar, a beautiful castle said to have partially inspired Walt Disney when he made his Magic Kingdom. Our visit to Segovia began with a wonderful lunch at a restaurant in town, where we feasted on vegetable soup, a slow-cooked roast with potatoes, and vanilla ice cream. Truly, the mood of this tour is affected by the food we get to eat, and we've had some great meals to enjoy together!

After lunch, we had a walking tour of the city. Segovia is known for three things: the Alcazar, mentioned earlier, the cathedral, and the Roman aqueduct, the most well-preserved of its kind. In fact, this structure, about 800 meters of which is visible (much of it is underground), was still used to transport water from the nearby mountains until about 50 years ago! It's amazing to see this beautiful structure, which was made without mortar--only the pressure of the adjoining stones holds it together. The cathedral, gothic in style, was built on its present site between 1525 and 1768, and features many remarkable things; among them are the remains of the patron saint of Segovia, St. Frutos, and especially interesting for musicians, four large medieval manuscripts with beautiful plainchant musical notation. We were then led inside the Alcazar, which, like so many old buildings in Europe, has served a variety of functions in its time. Built at the confluence of two ancient rivers, the Alcazar was initially constructed as a fortress to help protect the city. In Roman times, the fortress was used as army barracks. At the height of the Castillian monarchy, it became the royal residence, and it is this final iteration for which the building is known today. Perhaps most remarkable about this building is its mix of architectural and decorative styles. This region of Spain was once ruled by the Moors, an Islamic group from northern Africa. Though the Christians eventually dominated, the Moorish influence remained. In the Alcazar (Spanish names and words that begin with al- or az- often indicate a Moorish influence), we saw the remarkable craftsmanship of the Moors in the elaborate textured ceilings and geometric ornamentation on the walls. Once you're made aware of this influence, you begin to see it everywhere, especially in Segovia.

After some free time to explore on our own, we reconvened at the Church of San Justo, an 11th century Romanesque building that still contains its original frescoes, visible behind the altar. This is a small and intimate space, and though not as elaborate as the churches in Aix or Barcelona, there is a wonderful character and feeling here. The acoustic was a bit dryer than we've experienced so far, yet it suited the choir well. A large and appreciative audience enjoyed the concert this evening, and many stayed afterward to express their gratitude to the choir. Our performance was part of a fundraising event for several local charities, so our efforts were particularly well appreciated.

Gustav Schreck, "Advent Motet"

This concert proved to be another emotional moment for the choir. Our companion group, which included several parents, is leaving tomorrow, so this was their final concert with us. The seniors in the choir are beginning to count down the final hours of the trip and the fact that we have only one remaining concert. Before heading back to Madrid, we enjoyed a bit more time in Segovia, which, even at 9:30, was still warm, sunny, and lively.

Special thanks to Reid Henderson for taking most of the photos today--my camera's batteries ran out of juice. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to upload all 223 photos Reid took, but perhaps he'll be willing to share...

Day 8, June 1 (Madrid)

Today was mostly devoted to traveling to Madrid. We loaded the buses and were on the road at 8 am. As we left the city limits, the topography began to change--Barcelona is definitely in a Mediterranean climate, with lots of lush vegetation and humidity. As we traveled west, however, the vegetation changed to an arid desert, not unlike the Texas panhandle or southwestern Colorado. We had a brief stop at a rest area, and then we arrived at Zaragoza for lunch.

Zaragoza is famous for its Basilica, which was built by St. James, who brought Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. We didn't have time to stop and visit, but we could see the building from a distance. Our main task was to have a quick lunch and then get back on the road.

After another 4 hours on the bus, we arrived in Madrid. Whereas Barcelona has mountains and the sea to frame its location, Madrid is less spectacular in its geographic location. It is, nevertheless, a beautiful city with lots of ornate buildings and wide avenues. Our hotel is near the city center, and after we arrived, we had just a short time to freshen up and get back on the buses.

Our evening activity was not a concert but a special reception hosted by Luther alum Steve Schaver and his wife Asunta. They live in a beautiful home in Pozuelo, a northwestern suburb of Madrid. We were joined by Rick and Judy Torgerson and the companion tour, whose members have been terrific supporters of the choir at our other concerts in Pavia, Aix and Barcelona. It was a truly memorable evening, with wonderful food, drink and conversation. In addition to singing their traditional blessing before the food was served, the choir also sang a thank-you song to Steve and Asunta, and later in the evening, we heard some impromptu music making from several members of the choir who happen to be members of an a capella group on campus.

Video of "Undeclared"

We ended the evening with a brief driving tour of downtown Madrid, just to see the city by night and acquaint ourselves with the area a bit more. We'll have more time to explore Madrid on Wednesday.