Today I arrived back in the Tragic City. Never before have I been so sad to return home from a trip. I say without exaggeration that my time in Europe was better than I could have possibly imagined. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have seen many wonderful things and to have met such lovely people. As I told Martin in an e-mail, I was quite sad by the time I got to Düsseldorf. I really didn't want to leave! Because of circumstances known to almost everyone, this was a much-needed vacation for me. It turned out to be something [View Full Entry]

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Today we went to Heidelberg, which is the most popular place in all of Germany for American tourists. After stopping by the Jesuit church, we went to the castle. You'll see my picture in front of the largest wine barrel in the world. After seeing sheep on the way down from the castle, we stopped by a well-known beer garden before going to Schwetzingen to see the gorgeous gardens there. Supper tonight was at a wonderful restaurant on the "mountain" in Bruchsal. I thoroughly enjoyed my last meal with Constantin's parents. I brought my bags downstairs not long after we got [View Full Entry]

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After Mass this morning at the main parish church in Bruchsal, we went to Speyer to see the diocesan cathedral, which is the largest Romanesque church in the world. This is the burial ground of kings and emperors. Dedicated to Our Lady, the floor of the center aisle bears the four inscriptions "O clemens" (O Clement), "O pia" (O Loving), "O dulcis" (O Sweet) "Virgo Maria" (Virgin Mary). These are from the final invocations of the well-loved Marian hymn "Salve Regina." After visiting the cathedral treasury several a couple blocks away from the church itself, we had a very filling lunch [View Full Entry]

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We arrived at Constantin's parents' house late last night. I think it was around 2 when we got in. Finally, we were able to find lithium batteries for my camera this morning! The original plans were to see Strasbourg (Straßburg), but because of the large number of tourists on the weekend, we opted to go to Wissembourg (Weißenburg) instead. We had a full car today—Constantin, his parents, his grandmother, and me. They are all genuinely lovely people (myself, of course, included!). This was my fourth trip to Europe, and my fourth trip to France, but my first time in Alsace. Alsace [View Full Entry]

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After saying farewell to our hostess in Brussels, we left for Ghent. Traffic was ridiculous and we thought we'd never get out of Brussels! Ghent was not on my original itinerary, but Constantin's grandmother recommended going, since it's not far from Bruges. This was an excellent recommendation. I actually liked Ghent better than Bruges. By far, the highlight was seeing the famous altarpiece in the Cathedral of St. Bavo. This was one of a handful of times in my life when I've stood and absolutely been in awe of something I was [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Brussels around 5 last night, as I recall. We met our hostess at a pub near her apartment. She was very gracious to put up with us for two nights! She marked a map for us and gave us a full day's sightseeing itinerary. Our first stop was the massive Palace of Justice. We didn't go in, but we were able to appreciate the larger-than-life proportions of the structure from the outside. We took our pictures with the famous Manneken Pis (the Pissing Boy). Next we went to the spectacular Grand Place. After lunch, we saw the city [View Full Entry]

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Today the others (except Martin) left at 4-something in the morning to catch their flight out of Düsseldorf. I got to sleep in, relatively speaking, until almost 7. After saying goodbye to my host parents and thanking them for all their hospitality, I took the train to Geldern where my organ teacher was waiting for me. I had my first lesson today in the town of Walbeck (not to be confused with Wolbeck!) on a fascinating organ built in the French Classic (baroque) style. I wish I had taken pictures. After lunch, I had my second lesson back at the church [View Full Entry]

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Sunday morning, we sang for both Masses at St. Nikolaus, Wolbeck. I played the organ. After the first Mass, I woke everyone up with Acclamations from the Medieval Suite by Jean Langlais (1907-91). Before the second Mass, I played the Adagio from Symphony No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937). Afterward, I played the Triumphal March on “Nun danket alle Gott” by Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933). The processional for both Masses was an excerpt from the first movement of Mendelssohn's first sonata. In the evening, we presented a house concert at the home of Martin's parents. [View Full Entry]

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Most of us went to the Hafenfest last night. There was a lot of loud American music and plenty of loud drunk people. The three of us who were staying with families in the city of Telgte had a terrific barbecue dinner with one of our host families before joining the others in Münster. My host brother came home for the weekend yesterday afternoon from the university in Maastricht (Netherlands). As promised, he kept me out until after 5 a.m. This reminds me: nightfall is not until around 10:15 in Germany, and daybreak is around 5. Anyway, we went to a [View Full Entry]

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Here are a few pictures from the Church of Ss. Peter and Paul in Straelen, where I studied organ improvisation today with Otto Krämer. He had given a brilliant masterclass in Birmingham in 2006, so I figured I might as well take some lessons from him since I was so close by. I believe he said the church was built in 1490. Tonight, we visited several bars in Münster's old city. We had our first encounter with a German bachelor party. Their custom is that the unfortunate groom must do something to earn enough money to buy drinks for all his [View Full Entry]

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