The ornate Baroque church inside St. Florian Abbey was very impressive.
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Day 8
Friday, June 13, 2003
This morning was the last regular rehearsal for tomorrow's performance. It really amazes me how much better these choirs are together than they are separately.This concert should be really good!
After rehearsal the bus took us to the St. Florian Abbey, the 1200-year-old home of Augustinian monks, and we got to go inside the Baroque-style church there where the composer Anton Bruckner had played the organ. (A large engraving in the center of the foyer floor now marks the spot where Bruckner was buried.) The girls sang a brief song inside, and the echo was pretty impressive.
Our next destination was a difficult experience. We went to Mauthausen, the infamous World War II Nazi concentration camp where countless thousands of Jews and other political enemies suffered and died from starvation, from physical exhaustion from forced labor, in the gas chambers, at the hands of "doctors" performing experiments, and in other inhuman ways. Upon entering the gates to this place and seeing the real buildings where these atrocities actually occurred, as well as reading the names on plaques of many of those who died there, a lot of our girls and chaperones found themselves in tears. To those who understood what happened here (and that includes some of our younger choir members), seeing the actual bunk houses and gas chambers and ovens was a deeply emotional experience. For those who didn't understand, it made a great impression on them to see how others were affected, and the adults spent a while explaining why this place is still important. I personally felt chills and deep sense of loss when I looked at the barren land and stark faded-green buildings, while storm clouds gathered overhead and thunder rumbled in the distance. This is a memory that will linger with many of us for a long time.
After this sobering experience, we went to the old iron-mining town of Steyr, where we spent a little time looking around and maybe shopping a bit until it was time to go to our dinner reservation. This time we ate in an open-air setting on top of the mountian/hill that towers above the city of Linz. We had traditional Austrian food which pleased all but our most picky eaters. After dinner we walked up the hill to see the large castle-like church which towers over Linz and got there just in time to see the end of a mass, when the church members carry a glowing statue of Mary out of the church and down the hill while the people follow singing 'Ave Maria.' Fascinating!
When we got back to the hotel, all the girls met in a room in the hotel for Senior Awards night. This is when the seniors present amusing awards to all the other girls after having observed them all week (such as the Beautiful Dreamer award for the girl who fell asleep everywhere we went!) But first the seniors introduced a special guest: Queen David! And he looked so lovely in his Girls Choir dress! The choir had a wonderful time, but then it was time to rest up before tomorrow's performance. We get to sleep later tomorrow! Yippee!
The ornate Baroque church inside St. Florian Abbey was very impressive.
The girls had a chance to sing in these spectacular surroundings.
Some girls head back to the bus after an emotionally draining exploration of Mauthausen.
The tour group wandered up and down the side streets of Steyr.
Megan seems pleased with her award from the seniors!
Bonny Jean doesn't know what to make of her dad Queen David!
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