Tour '76

Yesterday I thought I would make a post about trips that I've taken in my life. Much to my surprise, though, I've taken a whole lot more trips than I realized -- more than would fit in one blog post. So I guess I'll do them one at a time, in no particular order. Today's post is about the only time I've ever been to Europe.

The Harding College A Cappella Chorus took a European tour every few years, and I was fortunate to be able to go with them right after my graduation in 1976. We went to Germany, France, and Spain. Unfortunately, I did not take a camera with me on that trip. I can't even believe I did that! It didn't even cross my mind to buy a cheap disposable camera while we were there. (Remember those? You could buy one in any drugstore at that time. Take the pictures, leave the film in the camera and turn the whole thing in to get the pictures developed.) So the pictures I'm going to post here are downloaded from other sources.

PHOTO: This was our official choir portrait that year. We didn't wear robes for our performances in Europe, although we usually did for concerts on our usual domestic tours. (That's me, always front row center, right beside my best friend Becky Curtis, who was also short like me.)

PHOTO: My passport picture

 

PHOTO: Our choir director, Dr. Kenneth Davis, Jr. (Everyone called him "Uncle Bud")

He was a major influence in my life during my college years. He taught us a lot more than just music.

Here are some of the places we went on the tour:

Munich, Germany

This fountain was in the heart of the city at Marienplatz. We would stand on the plaza in front of the fountain and sing a few hymns to attract a crowd, and hand out flyers to the people to advertise the Gospel Meeting at the church where we were staying.

PHOTOS: Town hall (rathaus) in Marienplatz, Munich. It has a very famous animated clock (glockenspiel) built into the tower. Here is a great video of the glockenspiel in motion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsfxTyhCzr8

We took a day trip into Bavaria one day to see Neuschwanstein castle

After Munich we went to Lubeck, in northern Germany (on the Baltic Sea). There we stayed with host families, which was fun because -- language barrier. What I remember most was that the room I slept in had a goose down duvet on the bed, and in the morning they hung it out the window to air. I can still remember that fresh crisp sea air fragrance.

After Germany, we went through France, briefly, on our way to Spain. We only spent one night in Paris and didn't have much time for sightseeing. One of our choir directors (who had been there many times before) took us on a very quick walking tour of the main attractions: the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame cathedral.

Our destination in Spain was Barcelona, where we stayed a week in a Catholic seminary which was not in session in the summertime. (It is now a retreat center.) The building where we stayed is directly underneath the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor (temple of the sacred heart of Jesus). It is situated on Mount Tibidabo, northwest of the city. Next to the temple is an amusement park, which has been there since 1905 and is still in operation today.

To get to Tibidabo from the city, we took an aerial cable car

In the background you can see the Sagrada Familia in the center of the city. 

We were able to go to the park where it is located, but the cathedral was still under construction, so we couldn't go inside. (It was under construction from 1882 until the present, although it was opened to the public and has been in use for Sunday masses since 2010.)

While we were there, our bus was broken into and looted. We didn't have a lot of valuable stuff with us, but it was upsetting to be victimized like that. The main thing I remember that was stolen was a necklace that belonged to the wife of one of our choir directors. She had had it since she was a baby, and the tiny gold heart pendant had a dent from where she had bit it once when she was a child. She was heartbroken to lose it.

PHOTO: Cliff and Debbie Ganus

Cliff was one of our choir directors on the tour, and Debbie is the one whose necklace was stolen. This picture was taken probably very near the year we were on tour.

Here is an actual picture of our tour group rehearsing for a performance in Barcelona.

You can't see me because I was standing right in front of Uncle Bud.