Tuesday May 15: Rhine River and churches!

Greetings from Germany! After a night's sleep at our Neuwied host homes, we loaded up the bus again to make it for a four hour Rhine River tour. The section of the Rhine we boated along included a significant number of medieval castles built along the cliffs. The ride was relaxing with talking, hanging out, playing games or just enjoying the scenery then going outside to take pictures when a castle came up. Once we got off the boat we drove to the town of Bad Kreuznazh and had an hour and a half to walk around and shop. Next stop was the castle church in Ingelheim. This church was from medieval times but there is still an active congregation worshipping there. Once we begun rehearsing I think we all realized what a special space this would be to sing in. The reverb was 2-3 seconds. Singing there is pretty much an indescribable experience. The sound for voices singing just swallows you in such a special way. After rehearsing we walked just across to a winery for dinner. They served us bread, meat and cheese, a bit of fruit and dessert. Bread, meat and cheese is what we've had many times so far. There weren't many people at the concert but Ken told us they were very appreciative. It was defiantly a night to remember for the choir though. The concert went really well! Later, after a long drive we arrived back in Neuwied and left with our hosts to go to sleep. Long drive tomorrow! - Erin Hersey, Mechanicsburg, PA