HAMBURG

I am now in Hamburg, and I have internet connection at the hotel. Unfortunately, it's for a fee, but it's a Wi-Fi connection nonetheless.

All in all, I have had an amazing time in Germany. We arrived in Frankfurt on Tuesday and were met by our awesome tour guide, Kerstin! She's really nice, and VERY knowledgeable about Germany. As soon as we arrived, we went on a city tour, and the trombone choir played in the Römerberg Square. One of the guys who gives scenic boat rides heard the choir and asked them to play on his boat for one of the trips. We got a free scenic

boat ride out of it!!!

Later at night, on Wednesday night, I went out to see the laser light show in downtown Frankfurt. The light show was dedicated to the athletes who were in the city for a convention at the same time. I'll have some videos on facebook after I get back home and have a chance to convert them. I'll put pictures tonight on my Picasa account (link to your right), if I have time.

The trombone choir gave a concert at the Drei Königs Kirche in Frankfurt on Wednesday evening, and it was a great success. I'll have a video of that when I get back.

Thursday morning, we got up, ate breakfast (which was delicious), and headed to the Frankfurt Airport to board our Lufthansa flight to Hamburg. We arrived in Hamburg in the early afternoon, and i

mmediately began our walking/bus tour of the city. Then, we went to check in at the hotel and headed to dinner at an ethnic restaurant. The meal was quite expensive, but we had no choice in the menu items. It was all pre-planned, only we had to pay...

After dinner, the group headed to the concert hall

to hear the German Brass in concert. They were quite amazing!!! The performers even recognized our visit during their performance and dedicated a piece to us. It was a Dixieland/New Orleans-type tune.

After the concert, we were invited by members of the German Brass to hang out and have beer and dinner at a local pub. I had my share of beer, as did the rest of the group. We had a great time hanging out with the musicians, and we got the chance to ask them a lot of questions.

Tomorrow (Friday), we're headed out again to another city to perform. For the rest of the time, we're taking a bus instead of flying.

All in all, I've had a great time. I've gotten to speak a lot of German, and I have realized just how much I have forgotten. It's really sad, but I will work on keeping up with it more from now on. I have also had a great time helping all my American friends on the trip with their German. A lot of them really seem to be wanting to at least try to speak the language, and they're doing an awesome job!

That's all I can post now. I'll work on getting some pictures up directly after I finish this post.

Hope everyone at home is doing well!

Tschüß!