When I die

     In the 9^th Century the first building that is now known as the Melnick Castle was built. It was at that time made of wood. Eventually the wood structure was replaced with stone. In the 16^th century the first major renovation occurred. Prior to this renovation the castle only had 2 wings. During the renovation an additional two wings were built. The castle is both a museum and the private residence of the Lobkowicz family(current owner of the castle). The furniture within the castle is Baroque. The town was a dowry town for the Queens of Bohemia.

     During the Communist Regime in 1948 the family was pushed out of their home along with many nobles and moved to Switzerland.  During this time the Communist Regime took over the castles of nobles and dispersed personal belongings to parts unknown. During this time many of the castles were used as storage units, army weaponry storehouses, and agricultural storehouses.  Many castles suffered significant and serious damage during this time. This one was damaged but not significantly. After the Velvet Revolution the nobles returned and fought to retrieve their land, homes, and belongings. The Lobkowicz family who own the Melnick castle had kept meticulous records of their belongings and were able to retrieve many of their belongings, which was not the case for many nobles at the time.

The view from the castle is phenomenal. On one side if you look out the windows you see the hills  and border into Germany. Lunch today was at the Castle Restaurant . We had a gorgeous view of the vineyards and the rivers that intersect near Melnick. During our stay there was also a folklore festival occurring. Some of us got to see the performers in native costume sing and perform in the Town Square.

      This posting is probably the hardest to write and not necessarily because of sadness due to this being our last day.  Today in addition to visiting the Melnik Castle we visited Terezin. Despite being a resident of the DMV for almost 15 years I have never been to the Holocaust Museum. It has always been a visit that I just haven’t mustered the strength or fortitude to make. This was so much harder when you think about the fact that there were actually people here who were mass murdered by gunpoint, through starvation, poor hygiene, or hanging for not other reason than their ethnic background.

     Terezin was originally built as an Austrian military fortress. Construction began in 1780 and was completed in 1784. Approximately 12000 handworkers were used in construction. Two hundred million bricks were used. Once it was completed it was realized that the fortress could not actually be used for its intended purpose. It was built with shooting garrisons. There is an 8 mile long water moat around the fortress. There are also 18 miles of underground corridors.

     The shooting range was originally built as a practice field but during Nazi occupation it became a place for executions until the regime decided that “ For a Jew its not necessary to waste a bullet”. At this juncture they decided to build  gallows and just hang people. There is no clear record of how many people died here as the Germans destroyed the written records three days before the war ended. There were no gas chambers at this location. It mainly served as a transportation camp.

In June 1940 the Nazis established a big political camp here. In November 1941 they started using the big fortress. In 1942 another camp was formed the Jewish Ghetto, which was initially for Czech Jews. Upon arrival at Terezin the first stop was the Registration office in which all belongings were taken and you were given a prison uniform. Following registration prisoners were taken to the prisoners  courtyard. To get to the gate you passed under a banner that read Arbeit Macht Frei which loosely translates as Work makes freedom. This was a false propaganda statement meant to infer that if prisoners worked hard they would eventually be released.  This phrase was on gates in almost every camp.

From 1940-1945 more than 1500 Jews were imprisoned here. Five hundred were tortured to death while many more perished after deportation. Cells in the camp were primitive with numbered three level bunk beds. The cells were originally intended to house 40 people by the end of the war there were at least 100 people in the cells. Each cell had a wash bowl but no tap leading to a lot of hygiene problems and disease.

                In Block B the isolation cells were housed. These cells had no light at all just cold damp white walls in a very small claustrophobic space. The Nazis used these cells as death cells. The only way out of this place was execution.

                Terezin was used by the Germans as a show place. For me it was reminiscent of the experience of African American slaves as happy dancing illiterates. Show homes in which the Commanders of the Camp lived were opulent multi-storied homes strategically placed near the front gates. There were rooms built to show that things weren’t so bad, such as a washroom that contained 20-30 washbasins and taps. This room was only used when tours such as the International Red Cross Committee came to check conditions. All other times this room was locked. The commander of Terezin wanted to put on a good face so the tour of the camp was very well choreographed. A soccer match was set up as well as an orchestral performance taking advantage of the skills of the people and making it appear that the people were content to be at Terezin. The purpose of this dog and pony show was to make any visitors to the camps believe that the conditions were not deplorable. Residents of the camp were well trained and coached as to what their answers should be when the questions came at the end of the visit in addition to how they should behave around these visitors. There was even a propaganda video commissioned to show the “happy” Jews.

                On March 8, 1944 the deadliest night during the war on the Jewish holiday of Purim 3792 men women and children were murdered in the gas chamber. The families unlike normal policy weren’t separated which was probably the initial clue that something was wrong and they were transported to their deaths. The hardest room for me as an educator was the room which listed the names of all the children.  To see the drawings and poems that they wrote expressing their lack of understanding of this strange, scary and dirty place was heart wrenching.

Statistics based on what records do exist

10500 children under the age of 15

         400 died in Terezin

7500 died in extermination camps

155,000 men, women and children came through Terezin

35000 died in Terezin

8300 died after deportation to extermination camps in the East and on death marches

There is one recorded successful escape from the camp. Others who tried to escape were severely punished.  After one failed escape attempt other prisoners were required to stone the attempted escapees to death. Let this be a lesson to anyone else who thinks that escape is an option.  Remind you of anything?

     Our farewell dinner was held at the The Folklore Garden . It was a rousing and fun time to watch Hungarian dancers and singers in traditional clothing. Some of us even joined the dancers during audience participation songs and actually danced. The dinner was served family style at for lack of a better description picnic tables. There were people from Britain, USA, Brazil, Denmark, Canada and at least two other countries I am drawing a blank on right now. In the process of talking to the Canadian visitors, as we didn’t all fit at one table, we were asked to sing a selection at the end of the evening. We sang Cried and I Cried and thus the curtain closes on this European excursion. We leave Europe at 10:15 tomorrow morning. Pray for our safe travel. We love you all and thank you for your prayers as we embarked on this journey.

NiYa

I Wont Go Back

 

     Today we performed our final concert with an awesome group of young people.
     We took a tour today of the gardens of the Prague Castle. The entryway to the castle complex is lined with linden trees.  Oaks were not allowed after the war because they were a symbol of the German Empire.
     The church, St. Vitus Cathedral within the complex is a working church that continues to have mass. One of the stained glass windows within the complex was completed by Alphonse Mucha. He is noted to be one of the most famous painters in Europe. Mucha was a Czech Art Noveau painter and decorative artist.  The window that he designed was initially rejected by the church elders due to his use of bright yellows, greens, and blues. The church ended up allowing the painted window only because it was sponsored by the Bank of Slavia and wouldn't cost the church money. It is the only window that is not done in traditional stained glass.  The church has survived fire, war and everything in between. The church contains the Mausoleum in which Ferdinand I and his wife Ann are entombed. The two were part of an arranged marriage that was set up by their grandfathers when they were infants. The Royal Crypt is under the church.
     After touring the church we took a walking tour to our lunch location. As part of this tour we saw the Astronomical clock. The medieval Astronomical Clock is one of the highlights of a visit to Prague. It is on the southern wall of the Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square. The clock was made by Mikulas of Kadan in 1410 in cooperation with the Charles University professor Jan Sindel. The clock chimes each hour with 12 apostles passing by the window above the dial and symbolic sculptures moving aside.
    We were also able to cross the Charles Bridge which for the shoppers among us was a neat experience as it was full of local artisans selling handcrafted jewelry, magnets, and artwork. The Charles Bridge  with its 16 pillars span over the river Vltava and is the second most popular tourist attraction. It is the oldest bridge in the city and was built between the 14^th and 15^th century. Geek tidbit alert. The foundation stone was laid on July 9, 1357 at 5:31 am. It was done this way because the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the IV desired that the chronological notation of the foundation laying be a scale going up and down. Hence it was written year-day-month-time (1 3 5 7 9 7 5 3 1). The bridge is decorated with 30 statues mainly placed on the bridge between 1706 and 1714.
     Lunch today was at Kamenny Most. We ate on the veranda of the restaurant right on the water under the towers of the Charles Bridge. The geese and ducks visited as we dined, as well as traveling gondola like boat tour.
     Today we took a tour of Charles University, the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1348 and is one of the oldest universities in Europe that has been continuously operating. It is reported to be in the upper 1.5 % of the world's best universities. From inception it admitted students from different cultural backgrounds, Czech, Polish, Bavarian and Saxon. During WWII many faculty and students were murdered in concentration camps and the university struggled as the German occupation caused the Czech section of the country to be closed. When the war ended the communist government took over and censorship, purging and repression of information became the norm. With the election in 1989 and democracy on the horizon the University became the revered and respected institution that it is today. Presently, the University is comprised of 17 faculties: 3 Theological Faculties (Catholic, Evangelical, and Hussite), Faculty of Law(out current tour guide is studying here), 3 Faculties of Medicine, and Faculties of Pharmacy (in Hradec Kralove), Arts, Science, Mathematics and Physics, Education, Social Sciences, Physical Education and Sport, and Humanities.
     This evening’s concert experience was shared with Columbella. This group of young people performed in their native tongue as well as English. Their renditions of Stormy Weather and Singing in the Rain were awesome. They are very talented. The young people sing folk songs, spirituals, and show tunes.

 

I bless your name

We arrived in Prague today. It is a little bittersweet as this is the last leg of our journey.
    Financially this trip has been very interesting. Each city we visited had a different currency. From what I have been able to figure out politicians are fighting for a carte blanche use of the Euro but the people seem to be against it. The European Union would like a consistent currency as this would allow for businesses to operate more freely and for some level of consistency when looking at the minimum wage. Many countries within the Union have acquired exceptions for accepting Euros and some are adamantly postponing acceptance. This has meant that in each place we have had to change currencies. We had Euros in Vienna, Forints in Budapest, and the Czech Koruna in Prague.  In many city centers the Euro was accepted , although change was provided in the local currency, in all three cities.  But if you ventured too far from the City Centre you had to have the currency of that city. This was of course interesting on the bathroom break between Vienna and Budapest. It was also difficult making purchase outside of the hotels due to credit cards not always being accepted.
     We toured Prague by coach. Lunch was in the U sv Jana Nepomuckeho in the Prague Castle area. Following lunch our tour guide George took us on a tour of the castle area. We participated in an audio tour that allowed everyone to hear the tour at their own volume. It was essentially an FM system that each individual wore. George wore the microphone and we could all listen to his rendition of historical events complete with some comedy and lesser known tidbits thrown in for fun.
     The Castle is surrounded by a moat. The moat was originally intended to protect the Castle. During the Communist Era this area contained a secret subterranean shelter for the rich and political elite. It was named the Deer Moat due to the plethora of deer which the French killed off in 1742 when they occupied Prague. The moat is covered by the Powder Bridge which connects the Royal Garden(there are birds of prey in this garden now, don't ask me why) to the Castle. In the 16th Century Emperor Rudolph II kept lions, the symbol of the Bohemian Empire in the moat.
     We were able to during the tour witness the changing of the guards similar to what one would see in England. The guards according to our tour guide have been paid soldiers who serve at the gates in one hour shifts since approx. 2005. Their uniforms were a gift designed by Theodor Pištěk, an Academy Award winner for Best Costume Design for the movie Amadeus and Academy Award nominee in the same category for the film Valmont.

     The Prague Castle is considered to be the most significant Czech monument and one of the most important cultural institutions. The Castle made the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest coherent castle complex in the world with an area of close to 70000 square meters. It is also considered to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. President Vaclav Havel the first post communist president was a symbol of democracy and took the oath of office on December 28, 1989. Shortly after taking the office he was presented with and used a wooden scooter allowing him to travel around the massive structure with long corridors. There are many statues as part of the castle many with symbolism of the Czech people. The lion near the front gate is the symbol of Czech. The eagle is symbolic of the Austrian empire.  Random but fun tidbit. The Rolling Stones financed a new lighting system for four of the grand halls in the castle after having struck up a friendship with Havel when they visited in 1990. The 1990 visit was a concert performed as one of the post Communist activities. Prior to this date rock music could only be heard on foreign radio stations or bootleg copies of albums as it was against the law.
 
There is a lot to celebrate today. At our special buffet dinner this evening we celebrated complete with chocolate cake at the Vendutta Room in the Clarion Congress Hotel. We bless His name for each of you and the unions that you have or are beginning to form. We pray that He will bless you for many years to come. Congratulations are in order so here goes:

• Congratulations to Vaneese & Wayne they have been married 25 years.
• Congratulations to Bill and Laura who have also been married 25 years.
• Congratulations to Christina & Matthew who got engaged during the first leg of our excursion.
• Congratulations to the one of the most talented pianists anywhere Annastasia who also recently got married and joined us immediately following her honeymoon in Cancun.
• Congratulations to Peter our guide. He has passed the exams that will allow him to study law. Although the university system here does not allow for the choosing of specializations he is interested in ultimately pursuing international business law as a career path.

Prague photos

Praise Him

We started the day with a walking tour which included a walk through the Pedestrian Shopping Area. We visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Traditionally when built the church had separate entrances and seating areas for the men and women attending service. Mass is still held there daily.  Architects at one point started including themselves within the structures that they created. Critics of the time told one such architect that the column he built wouldn’t actually support the organ. Proving that people had at that time a sense of humor even during the 16^th century M.A.P. circa 1513. In response he flippantly told them that he would carry it on his shoulders and proceeded to make a bust of himself upon which the column was mounted.  There could also be found artisans within the bases of the pulpits of the church while the founding fathers of the church were in the pulpit itself. Let me take a moment to be a geek here. The symbolism of even the railings in the church was awesome. The archways leading to the pulpit area had lizards and frogs climbing the railings symbolic of evil trying to take over. At the top of the railing was a watchdog of sorts, believe it was a bulldog keeping the evil at bay.  The curlicues in the rail were composed of either 3 or 4 curlicues each symbolic of the heavens i.e. Trinity~ Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and the Earth i.e. elements of the Universe Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. The dimensions of the building were divisible by 3, 4 or 7 for the specific purpose of connection to the Holy (3), the Earth (4) and the Completion (7). There are 343 stairs. Mozart was married, buried, and funeralized here. Some of his children were also baptized here.

The second part of our walking tour included a tour of the Opera House. The opera house contains a standing room only section. For 3 Euros 80 minutes before the show you can purchase seats in the standing room only sections of the Hall. This makes for an interesting experience when you think that an opera could potentially last for 3 to 5 hours and not being able to sit down.  We were able to see the Tea Room where the Emperor would view performances. As an educator that works specifically with deaf and hard of hearing youth the presence of real time captions available in German and English was fascinating to me. It means that a person with a mild or moderate hearing loss would still be able to enjoy the experience. Performers perform without amplification in a theater that seats thousands.

Lunch was a buffet at the Albertina Restaurant. The restaurant is within the Albertina museum, which currently boasts an affinity with rabbits. There is a gorgeous foil on the steps approaching the museum of the rabbit within a renowned art piece currently on display within the museum as well as both a pink and a green rabbit atop the roof. Across from the museum is the Monument against war and fascism. This monument upon initial glance just looks to be an odd conglomeration of random body parts cast in stone. Upon further explanation from our tour guide we came to understand that an apartment stood on that site that was bombed during the end of WWII and the monument commemorates the lives lost.

During our leisure time some of us shopped for souvenirs while Karen, Delores and I found a local yarn shop  in which we could experience what Vienna has to offer in the way of fiber. On our way to this excursion our taxi driver informed us in somewhat broken but understandable English of a demonstration that would be occurring later in the afternoon by the Nazis & Skinheads. My immediate thought was, how do we come half way around the world just to end up confronted with the hatred that so many of our fore parents have fought to eradicate at home.  He pointed out the very heavy police presence already in the streets. We passed 7 vans parked along the road with 5-6 officers in each just on one of the streets that we drove by. The LYS owner of Lauchmasche welcomed us warmly and showed off the softies that were specialties here. Needless to say there are some nice purple softies going home with me although I have no idea what I will do with them.

So on to the elephant in the room. What does a group predominantly comprised of African Americans do when there are Nazis and Counter Nazis demonstrating in the city center? We Praise Him. How? We sing.

We sing about the love of our awesome God.

We sing about the Power in His hands.

 We sing Hallelujah to the King.

 We sing Praise Him.

We sing I bless Your Name.

 In the midst of hatred we must acknowledge and realize that love has to conquer all. Many people say that hate is the strongest word in the English language but I have heard many arguments that it is actually love. As believers and proclaimers of the Good News it has to be all about love. Love~

·         Never gives up.

·         Cares more for others than for self.

·         Doesn’t strut.

·         Doesn’t have a swelled head

·         Doesn’t force itself on others.

·         Isn’t always “me" first.

·         Doesn’t fly off the handle.

·         Doesn’t keep score of the sins of other

·         Doesn’t revel when others grovel

·         Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth

·         Puts up with anything

·         Trusts God always

·         Always looks for the best

·         Never looks back

·         Keeps going to the end(I Corinthians 13:4-7 MSG)

Today was the second concert of our excursion. The demonstration meant that our trip to the concert had to be completed going out of the way streets and side streets as the demonstration had closed many of the main arteries. Our concert at Votivkirche was unlike any experience we have had for a concert. The high vaulted ceilings and massive structure of the ancient but stately edifice brought about a new set of challenges. But hey we went to Swarthmore we know how to adapt and problem solve. There was a relatively small crowd for the concert compared to our previous concert but the Spirit was still clearly present. Many concert goers wandered in to see the rich history of the church realized there was a concert occurring and stayed. One of our extended family standing at the doors welcoming people in also helped. Thanks Deb. We also met more friends from home. Parents of a Swarthmore Class of ’14 alumni were at Graduation last week and saw Vaneese receive her honorary degree and are now currently here in Vienna and decided to join us for the concert. I also met a young woman who while being from China and currently in Vienna got very excited when I explained to her that we were from Swarthmore. I never determined her connection to the College as the concert was starting but she stayed for the entire performance and seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed herself. At the conclusion of the concert taking a short stroll  to the Schubert Restaurant proved difficult as many of the streets were still blocked by a very heavy police presence both human and K9. Our awesome guide Peter determined an alternative route which meant a hike up a rather steep set of steps and of course songs about stairs, Heaven and climbing. After all what else could we do we’re singers. We never actually saw the demonstrators as the demonstration ended prior to our concert closing but the feelings of tension were clearly present.

Dinner at the Mediterranean Restaurant Schubert was once again a treat finished off with an Apple Strudel type desert with ice cream.

Goodbye Vienna, hello Prague. We embark on the last leg of our journey in the morning.

My Tribute

     Today our stay in Budapest ended and our new leg commenced. Vienna here we come.
Along the route between Hungary and Austria the importance of wind as energy was very clear by the presence of wind farms along the highway. This excursion between the two cities was the source of our first you have to pay for what experience. We stopped about midway for a rest stop only to find that using the facilities required paying in the local currency which many of us did not have as we had used it in Budpest before we left. You see each of the countries that we are visiting has a different currency. While the Euro is accepted in major places like the hotel gift shops in Hungary local stores only accepted the Hungarian Forint. The rest stop had a table at the entrance to the bathrooms with an attendant collecting the 100 forints required to use the bathroom. We were all trading coins back and forth just trying to make sure that everyone could go to the bathroom as we were still 90 minutes away from our destination. Before you ask no our Coach bus is not like those in the United States, there is no restroom on the bus.

    Vienna is comprised of 23 districts is situated on the Danube. It is Austria's largest city in addition to being the capital.World famous classical composers, including Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert, and Brahms, have all lived and performed in Vienna.  Vienna is home to the world's oldest zoo. The Zoological Garden was built in 1752. Young people in Vienna can vote at the age of 16 but can't get their drivers license until 18. Vienna is also considered to be the birthplace of Psychoanalysis. Vienna is also the home to one of the worlds largest known emeralds. There is at the Viennese Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg Palace a 4.5 inch vase that was carved from a single emerald that weighed 2205 carats.

    Upon arrival in Vienna we stopped for lunch at Himmelpforte. We were served a weiner schnitzel meal at Himmelpforte. This was also the source of today's second you paid for what story. There was bread on the table so one of our members asked for butter. We were politely informed by the waitress that it cost extra. Yes we had to pay 90 Euros for a plate of butter. Granted it was about half a stick of butter when it arrived but yes we had to pay for butter. It was here that we met our tour guide for this leg of the journey Gertrude.
   
    Following lunch we took a bus tour of the important buildings in the city  and a walking tour to the Votivkirche and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Josefstadt. The Church of the Holy Trinity was the location for Beethoven's funeral service. The building is a classic example of early baroque architecture. The interior of the church with its longitudinal side chapels is in the shape of a cross.

   Dinner was served at the Mediterranean Restaurant Schubert. The perfectly cooked salmon and potato dinner was absolutely delicious. The restaurant had a rustic homey charm that was immediately charming and great for fellowshipping.

     How can you come to a place like Vienna and not take in the rich musical history? You can't so we organized a last minute excursion to the Kursalon Wein to hear an orchestra perform music from Strauss & Mozart. The Strauss & Mozart Konzerte included not only instrumental performances but also two operatic performers and two dancers. The musicians among our group were in seventh heaven taking in this moving experience.  We met another new set of friends from home. As a contingent of us visited the Strauss and Mozart Concert this evening we met a couple from home yet again. This time they were from the DMV not too far from yours truly. We naturally invited them to the concert we will be giving tomorrow at the Votivkirche.

Photos from this leg of the trip
Good night and God Bless,
NiYa

He Has the Power

Today we visited the Liszt Academy Zeneaedemia for a lecture on music education in Hungary. One of the most important points of emphasis in this lecture was the importance of children and intergenerational cultural sharing.Compulsory education starts at age three. Prior to age three there is nursery school but mothers are given three years of paid maternity leave in which they can stay with their toddler and participate in activities such as Mommy and me music classes that encourage the sharing and socialization of infants and toddlers through the use of folk music. And doing as only we do we were able to rehearse in the awesome Music Hall .

Those of us not familiar with Hungarian composers were also introduced to Hungarian composer, pedagogist, educator, Zoltan Kodaly. When he was asked about the exposure and time at which children should be introduced to music he is said to have responded nine months before birth. Koldolay’s pedagogy believed that the following was important in developing music education:

                Teaching vocal skills

                Teaching relative somatization

                Teaching music reading and writing

                Sharing and passing down folk music

The Swarthmore connection knows no boundaries and He has the power to make the appropriate connections and links in His time and way. While here we met a former Swarthmore professor and alumni at our concert who had invited one of our choir members to speak while here in Budapest.

John Van Til ‘61 former Swarthmore Sociology  Professor is here as part of a Fulbright Fellowship Program. The program with which he is working is designed to help students from 7 different countries workshop and discuss issues of diversity. Sam Brackeen ’68 met with the students to discuss how the Swarthmore College Gospel Choir started. He shared how the choir was initially started in part due to students feeling a longing for a part of home that did not exist at that time at the college. Sam also discussed gospel music and its historical perspective as well as the importance of spirituals globally in gospel music and more central to our goal as an important part of the continued repertoire and history of the Alumni Gospel Choir.

Lunch was at the Magdelena Merlo  followed by a visit to the Kodaly Museum.

Traveling the streets of Budapest by coach we saw the Szechenyi Baths, along with a return pass by Heroes Square. Services at the bath include steam baths, hot tubs, saunas and massages. Open all year round this is one of the biggest and hottest spas in Europe. Budapest was termed the “Spa city” by the international spa congress in 1937 due to the natural endowment of medicinal waters. Artesian springs were explored in 1877 supplying the pools along with mineral waters from later explorations which gushes from depths of 1000 to 1300 meters. The water when reaching the surface is 70-80. The water is said to have many curative properties and to be a treatment for arthritis.

The lack of boundaries was also shown when a couple of visitors to Budapest saw the Swarthmore College Choir sign on our tour bus while walking near the hotel and decided to immediately purchase tickets for the concert this evening. After the concert ended they approached us and informed us that they were from Wallingford, PA. It is amazing but clearly not coincidental that we had to come thousands of miles away to meet someone from home.

Today was our first performance as part of our European Performance Tour. Our audience was standing room only.  We performed at the Benczur Haz. We were on the program with Jazz and More. Jazz and More is an ensemble that sings a wide repertoire of music from showtunes to spirituals and everything in between in both English and Hungarian. Their energy, professionalism and true love for what they did was obvious from the moment we met. They graciously supported us and welcomed us into “their space” and shared in an awe inspiring experience.

The two groups came together to sing the finale song   “Joyful, Joyful”. The stirring rendition merging two choirs from two countries who spoke two different languages was an opportunity and experience unparalleled. The crowd was stirred and the choirs were moved proving that perhaps music really is a universal language. Despite the clear language barrier in many cases the feelings and Presence shared and shown transcended those boundaries and further proved the power of music.

Our day ended with a night cruise down the Danube River on the Sirona. Seeing some of the sights that we had seen over the last two days through the illumination of the night sky was awesome and awe inspiring. To be able to stand at the stern of the boat and know that we were surrounded by Buda on one side and Pest on the other was an experience to behold. It was also interesting to see the renewal and renovation of structures that were virtually destroyed during World War II. The seven bridges that connect the two parts of the country Buda and Pest were all completely destroyed and to be able to ride under them and know that this piece of history was virtually non existent for years following the war. We traveled under the Chain Bridge, a symbol of the city, built in 1839 which took 10 years to construct. It was blown up by the retreating German army in 1945 and was rebuilt four years later. We were also able to see Parliament and the Hungarian Statue of Liberty.

Til next time,

NiYa

                 

Joyful Joyful

 The Swarthmore College Alumni Gospel Choir has once again embarked on an adventure of a lifetime with the Brockman Institute on May 31, 2014. A contingent of us are on a journey to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature". Mark 16:15. Although most of us are here in Budapest our choir director Vaneese Thomas did not travel with the group for an absolutely awesome joyous reason. She is receiving an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree at the Swarthmore College Commencement Ceremony. She will join us shortly for our first concert tmrw evening prior to our dinner cruise down the Danube.

After spending entirely toooooo much time on planes we disembarked to go on a tour through the  Buda & Pest. Just learned today that there was a distinction. Buda, somewhat hilly is the former capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and the western most part of the current capital on the west bank of the Danube. Pest is the mostly flat part compromising about two thirds of the city's territory. We got to travel on one of the only ten bridges that connect the two areas that was completely destroyed by the Germans during WWII.

 
 We also had another reason to celebrate once we actually arrived in Budapest as one of our choir members got engaged during our first tourist stop. We stopped at the Millennium Monument for the tourist photo ops and witnessed a proposal under the cenotaph. The Monument is dedicated "to the memory of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of our people and our national independence." The large stone column is topped with a statue depicting the archangel Gabriel. In each hand Gabriel holds a symbol of Hungary, the right holds the Holy Crown of St. Stephen, the first King of Hungary and in his left he holds a tow barred apostolic cross a symbol awarded to St. Stephen in recognition of his efforts to convert Hungary to Christianity. This "Hero's " Square also contains much like our own Washington DC a tomb dedicated to the unknown soldier. The one in Hungary is symbolic in nature as no one is buried there but the stone stands to commemorate the heroes. The stop was also marked by a rather hilarious occurrence that seems to be not just an American thing. A dancing flash mob. It was actually kind of cool.

On the more silly side of things we have realized that Budapest speaks the language of Starbucks, McDonald's, TGIFridays, ING, Burger King, Subway, and KFC. For those of you that traveled to China you may remember our hilarious interactions with locating the equivalents of our favorite fast food chains in a foreign country. The sight of them in  Budapest was no less amusing.

Follow us here to see photos of our journey along the way.

God is truly in the blessing business and our tour has barely just begun so everyone sing with me
 Joyful, joyful Lord we adore thee.
God of mercy lord of Love
Hearts unfold like flowers before thee Hail these as the sun above 

Congratulations to Vaneese, Christina, and Matthew. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us on this awesome journey.
Til Next time, NiYa