The Chattanooga Girls Choir

Day 5
Tuesday, June 10, 2003

After breakfast we threw all our luggage back on the bus and said good-bye to beautiful Vienna. On the way to Linz we stopped in the town of Melk to visit a 17th-century Benedictine monastery called Stift Melk (Melk Abbey). It was like a palace built around a church, with tall turrets and open courtyards surrounding a central complex. The inside of the church building was magnificent, with a high dome, fresco paintings on the ceiling, and gold leaf shining everywhere. Everyone had the same reaction when they first walked into the church -- a sharp intake of breath at the sheer glory of the architecture. (It was actually kind of amusing to be one of the first ones in and then hear "gasp!" "gasp!" "gasp!" as each following person entered!)

We stopped one more time before Linz to get lunch at our now-favorite spot, Rosenberger -- kind of the Austrian equivalent of the Piccadilly chain of buffet restaurants. At least no one can complain that they weren't served anything they want to eat!

After a total driving time of three hours, we were at last in Linz, the third largest city in Austria. Upon our arrival at the Hotel Ibis, we were informed that all rooms had air conditioning, which brought a cheer and lots of smiles -- especially from those who did NOT have air conditioning at the last hotel -- but the smiles faded when we realized that the air conditioning system was not designed to handle the unusual heat wave that Austria is currently experiencing. We're trying to get used to having a slight sheen of sweat on us all the time.

In the early evening, the girls changed to their dance clothes and we took the bus to the rehearsal hall in the Redoutensaal for the opening ceremonies of this year's festival. This festival is a fundraiser for the Goldhaubenfrau (Golden Cap Ladies), a famous Linz historical group. These women dress up in period costumes and wear distinctively shaped gold hats, some handed down through the generations. They greeted us all warmly and thanked us for our participation, and then a local adult choir sang for us. After the welcoming speeches, we were invited to join them all for refreshments and to mix and mingle with them and the other festival choir. (As some of you know, this is an unusual all-U.S. "international" festival, since only one other choir ended up coming for the festival, a 75-member high school group from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.)

After the social time, we all walked down to the Danube River (which is green these days, not blue) and boarded a three-deck steamer ship. Some members of the other choir made a point of mingling with our choir to eat dinner (a very nice buffet with lots of Austrian fare), and after dinner, all the kids went up to the open-air top deck and enjoyed the breeze, the view, and the dance music. Eventually almost all of them were group-dancing in one corner of the top deck, having the time of their lives. The chaperones had a ball just watching them! It was especially fun each time the ship passed under a bridge and the kids would all shout at once just to hear the echo.

The ship finally returned to the dock and we herded the exhausted-but-happy girls back to the hotel. It was a really great event and a wonderful chance for the girls to blow off steam and relax after all the tightly scheduled travel.

The interior of the church in Melk Abbey was breath-taking.

At our lunch stop, a new monarch was crowned: König Johann von Toiletten!

The girls look ready for a dance party.

Morgan, Perrin, and Lauren stand next to several Gold Cap Ladies.

The tour group prepares to board the Danube steamer for dinner and dancing.

Three chaperones and their daughters wait for the buffet to begin.

The Girls Choir shared their tables with members of the other choir.

Kasey, Erica, and Whitley seem to be enjoying the Danube cruise.

We had a true Riverdance going on on the top deck of the boat!

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