GERMANY COMES TO AN END

Today was the last day in Germany with the USM Trombone Choir. I've had a lot of fun and made some great new friends. The last day was spent taking a tour of München in the morning, then having lunch at a traditional Beer Garten. I had some good German food and a nice, cold beer. The rest of the day was free for us and was spent sight-seeing. I've got lots of pictures of old churches, the city, and the beautiful carillon at the Town Hall. We went up into the tower of the town hall and I was able to get some great panoramic views of the city with mountains as the backdrop. Just gorgeous!

The evening was spent with the German Blech Reitz ensemble. They are a brass ensemble. We were invited to their university campus to do a joint concert. Of course, I was part of the audience. After the concert, they cooked BBQ for us as well as other types of German salads and side dishes. The food was incredible! We then were treated to Jägermeister and some other type of liquor shots after we had our beers. Definitely a good time was had by all. After we were all feeling good, they invited our guys to play traditional German folk tunes with them. This went on into the very late evening/early morning. We said our good-bye's and headed back to the hotel. Everyone is now asleep because they have to be on the bus, ready to head back to the airport by 7:30 a.m.

My Germany vacation has now come to an end... It's really quite sad because we all had so much fun. In each city, there was something going on - always. The culture is so very social and out-going, they cannot stand to be in the house all day, watching television. They would much rather be out among nature, enjoying the day with friends. It's just great! A friend and I have decided that we're going back next summer and taking a Bayern (Bavaria) tour. This place is just too beautiful to travel to so many cities in such little time that we had. It was still TONS of fun though! I'm glad I was given the opportunity to come along.

Now, it's time for me to head to bed and prepare for my train ride to Vienna.

Deutschland, Ich vermisse dich jetzt schon!!! Bis zum nächsten mal, Ich komme bald wieder!