portishead choral in vienna

PORTISHEAD CHORAL SOCIETY ADVENT SINGING IN VIENNA 2005 (Click on the pictures to open a larger version)
	Thursday 8th December 2005. Off we go! Embarking on theTurner's coach outside the United Reformed Church at about 11.30 in the morning. Donia checked us all off on the infamous clip-board. Variations on "I counted them all out and I counted them all back" occurred throughout the trip - and we didn't lose anyone. We departed on time and had a rapid trip to Heathrow for our flight to Vienna.
	We arrived in Vienna quite late in the evening and were taken directly to a Wienerwald Restaurant for a meal, before going on to the rather splendid Hilton Vienna Danube Hotel, where our rooms all had spendid views of the famous river - and yes! as you can see, it was sometimes blue!
	Friday 9th December 2005. During the morning we were free to travel into the centre of Vienna for some sight-seeing etc. In the afternoon we travelled to the Pensionistenwohnhaus Wienerburg, a very smart old peoples' home, where we were given tea and doughnuts, before singing a short concert of folksongs and carols to the residents
	In the evening we were taken to spend an evening outside Vienna at the Bruckberger tavern in the wine village of Gumpoldskirchen where we were served a hearty meal and entertained by gypsy musicians. Everyone had a great time as you can see!
	On the morning of Saturday 10th December we were taken on a guided tour of the City which included the gardens of the Schönbrunn Palace (left) and the Upper Belvedere Palace where there was a Christmas Market.
	The city tour was followed by an official lunch at the Rathauskeller in the centre of Vienna, where we met the event organisers for the first time. We also met some of the other participating choirs, including a very friendly group from Ireland. The afternoon was free for more sight-seeing or shopping.
	Sunday 11th December was our big day. It started early with a trip across the Danube to sing Mass in the Pfarrekirche in Donaufeld a beautiful, modern church but bitterly cold. It also had the most incredible acoustics - with an echo of about 8 seconds! We sang parts of Jonathan's own Neretva Mass and an anthem by Parry.
	Afterwards we were invited across to the Church Hall to join the congregation for a very splendid spread of sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee (the locals had bottles of rum - for warming!). Everyone said how much they had enjoyed our singing. There was also time to take a group photo in front of the church porch. Don't be fooled by the sunshine - just look at all our warm coats!
After returning to the hotel for lunch we set off for the highlight of our tour - the Concert in the Festival Hall of the Rathaus. We were the 3rd of seven choirs to sing (each for 30mins) The other choirs were from Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Chechnya and Slovenia. We were all a bit nervous beforehand but we felt that we sang very well and were all quite elated afterwards. There was then time to listen to some of the other choirs and then to visit the largest of Vienna's Christmas Markets while the Hall was being prepared for the Closing Ceremony
	The Closing Ceremony was held in the Festival Hall with members about 24 choirs present. It included those who had sung on the 9th and 10th as well as those in our own group. As you can see it was quite a crowd and a very splendid setting
	Each Choir was presented with a Certificate to mark the occasion. On the left you can see Jonathan accepting our certificate and, on the right, proudly displaying it to the members of the choir
	Finally here we are at the end of the evening, posing for a last group photograph on a balcony at one end of the Festival Hall
Monday 12th December. The morning was free and most of us had a lie-in before leaving the hotel at 11 o'clock for the flight back to Heathrow. The coach was waiting for us when we arrived and we were back in Portishead by six o'clock in the evening. We had a marvellous trip, got to know one another better and are looking forward to another foreign trip some time in the not too distant future