Stateside

Our final day of the tour was dedicated to getting everyone home safely. We started the day very early in Germany and traveled to the Frankfurt Airport together to catch our two flights back to the United States. After some American comfort food at our layover stops, we were all able to make it to Omaha! All travelers are going home today with connections, experiences, and perspectives that can only be gained through a trip such as this.

I hope you all enjoyed following along through the images as much as I enjoyed creating them. This trip is always such a treat every year and I am so thankful to be a part of it. Getting to know your kids and learning how awesome they all are is the best part for me every year. If you wish to thank/support me, please consider ordering a photobook or flash drive (http://www.cornhuskerphotoworks.com/store). I also hope that you will keep me in mind for senior portraits, weddings, events, etc. in the future! Thanks again!!

Many, Many Happy Memories!

Our final day In europe was spent along the Rhine River. We first stopped in Mainz for lunch in their huge market. The students got their last shot at german fresh fruit. After that we were back on the bus to drive along the river to our final stop in europe, Rudesheim! Here, we had our final performance in mass, and a paid dinner party to celebrate. The locals even had fireworks for us all night long before our journey back the the U.S.A. tomorrow!

Bouncing through the "Bergs" (Day 1)

Another great day in Germany! We started the day with a very humbling experience in Dachau, a former Nazi concentration camp. We go here every year and it always puts things in perspective for everyone. After that, we had a surprise lunch stop and impromptu performance in Regensburg at St. Peter’s Cathedral. The choir beautifully sang “Song of Triumph” from memory for our largest crowd of the trip so far! To end the day, we had lots of free time to explore the town of Nürnberg, visit the castle, and sample the famous local cuisine, the nürnberger!

A day in a big city!

The choir got a free day in Munich today. The kids and parents had the opportunity to eat fresh fruit, continue to spend money shopping, and tour the city. We all met back together to perform at St. Michael’s Church this evening. We participated in mass and sang for an appreciative audience. The mass even concluded with two rounds of applause! It felt great to come together again and sing with a purpose.

Buongiorno Italia!

After our awesome day in Lugano yesterday, we got right back in performance mode as the featured ensemble of the Sunday morning mass in the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Bergamo. This was just an absolutely breathtaking basilica! This was our first Italian stop of the trip. Following a fabulous performance, we were off to Verona for a late lunch and a visit to Juliet’s balcony from Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. The rest of the evening was dedicated to traveling and setting the stage for our day in Venice tomorrow. The directors even went out to scope out the routes in preparation for our students to take on the floating city.

A day by the lake!

Today the choir got to collectively catch it’s breath with a late breakfast and a day in the Swiss city of Lugano. Lugano is located in the south of Switzerland and is geographically influenced by Italy. Lugano is also a summer day’s paradise, and the kids got to take full advantage of the lakefront activities. They got their first experience of true Italian gelato and time for plenty of shopping. We had a blast today!

Switzerland Bound!

Today we visited two of the most beautiful places in all of Europe! We started the day by traveling to the town of Riquewihr to tour a family-owned wine cellar. This town could be straight out of “Beauty and the Beast!” Then, we said goodbye to France and crossed the border into Switzerland. Students had the opportunity to shop for Swiss watches, taste delicious fondue, and walk the famous Chapel Bridge before performing in a Catholic Mass.

Making our way across France

We are in the swing of things on tour today with our very first performance as a whole group in Metz. Then back onto the bus to enjoy travels to Strasbourg. We finished the day in Strasbourg with some Free time and a group dinner!

Americans (Reunited) in Paris

After another round of American Airlines Flight #48 , the group is all together again in the city of lights! Members enjoyed a free day in Paris in large groups. Our students were able to plan for the day and its challenges and make an excellent day of it. Off to bed early for a performance heavy day tomorrow!

Delayed

After a day and a half of travel, flight group B has been given hotel accommodations in Dallas. The kids have been troopers and have hung in there with us through everything. They have been able to bond over card games and conversation to pass the time. Air travel is either a logistical miracle or nightmare depending on the day. It’s important to remember that everything in life we get to do and we must take the good with the bad. We will see you tomorrow, Paris!

Singing our way off!

Just like that our stateside rehearsals are done! While the exciting part of the trip is going to Europe, the kids got some of the best choir education in the midwest. It is unbelievable how much progress the group has made musically in such a short period of time We enjoyed having several of our family members join us for our send off concert! Off to bed and up tomorrow for some transatlantic travel!

Starting With Smiles

MAMT 2019 has officially begun! Welcome to the first photo blog of the tour. I am excited to be able to share a few photos with you as internet allows. We started off the day by getting all travelers accounted for in record time. After that, we proceeded with informational meetings and our first rehearsals. It didn’t take long for our students to jump right into learning and making music with one another!