Day 10 (4JUL!!) - Happy Birthday USA!

(photos to follow tomorrow)

Another gorgeous day in Hungary! We had a healthy and filling breakfast at the hotel – the Novatel Centrum – and boarded the bus for a trip to Holloko. Whoops – we’re missing Janette and Rachelle Hug. They had locked their room and come down for breakfast, and when they went back up, they could not get their door open. A maid was in the hall and her key would not open it, either. Rachelle ran downstairs and got the manager, and . . . guess what? His key would not open it either! They made the decision to stay in Budapest and solve the “mysteriously locked door” problem as the rest of us departed for the little Hungarian village that is much the same as it was 200 years ago. We discovered much later that the batteries in the door lock had died; therefore, no door lock opening! Bummer!

We had two new additions to our group yesterday – Todd Kessel, husband of Marcie and father of Jack and Owen arrived from Portland, and David Leslie, husband of Lisa Actor and father of Mari Leslie arrived from England. They had dinner with us last night, and followed the bus today to Holloko . . . well, not exactly, since they turned down the road marked “Holloko” and arrived there 20 or 30 minutes ahead of the busz (that’s Hungarian afor “bus”). When we reached the Holloko road, it was blocked off with a “no entry” sign, so we went on trying to find an alternative route. We did, but first we drove in a complete circle . . . as we passed a country cemetery for the second time, Elise Harrell piped up, “I’ve been here before. I remember this!” And she was right – we had passed the same spot twenty minutes or so earlier.

We finally made our way into the village, and about half of the group walked uphill to the ancient castle while the other half walked downhill to some cute little shops. There were marvelous views from the castle and we heard the story of the beautiful Holloko maiden who was held prisoner there until she was rescued and cared for by a large black raven. There is a huge sculpture of that raven as you turn down the road to the village.

We were back in Budapest by 4:00 and left for St. Anna’s Church at 4:30 so we could warm up at 5:00 p.m. The church was breath-takingly beautiful, as all the churches in which we have sung have been. We warmed up, got acquainted with the acoustics in the building, and then moved into the choir loft where we sang the “Kyrie,” “Sanctus,” “Benedictus,” and “Agnus Dei” of the mass during the service. There were at least 50 people standing through the whole service; the church was packed.

Immediately following the mass, the choir moved from the choir loft to the sanctuary and processed in singing “Alleluia.” We could only sing a 30-minute concert, and we’re not sure why . . . we thought there was another performance following ours, but the church was closed up as soon as we finished. We were very well received and the singers received many compliments during our “meet and greet” period following the concert. Most of the singers have no trouble now introducing themselves to at least three people they don’t know; often they will speak with ten or twelve strangers and thank them for attending the concert.

We boarded the bus and drove into downtown Budapest and had dinner at a restaurant that featured Hungarian folk performers. We had such an exciting evening – they drew us into their performance and made it so much fun. Ray McKean, Todd Kessel, Michael Millane, Madison Barton, Avery Dauphanais and Emily Art were plucked from the
audience and encouraged to dance with the performers. It was so much fun to watch!

We’re back at our hotel now, packing our suitcases in preparation for departure for home tomorrow morning. It’s very sad to know that this wonderful experience has come to an end, and yet we are so excited to fly to the U.S. and meet our families and go home and relax for the rest of the summer.

We have lots of new ideas and plans for our 18th season coming up. How could we not be excited after twelve days of travel and performance and exhilaration as we worked together to achieve excellence in so many areas.

It’s hard to say “good-bye” this one last time. Maybe there will be another addition to the blog as we travel tomorrow. We’ll see.

Good-night!
Sandy Miller