Departure day for our group - sad goodbyes

Sunday March 21st
After our wonderful Mozart Saturday evening in Salzburg Austria, we packed (sort of) and went to bed, to be awakend at an ungodly hour by a call organized by Christine. There was no time to have a buffet breakfast, so a quick shower, followed by getting all the baggage to the side of the bus, moved things along closer to our departure. As not all were coming on the bus, there were some tearful goodbyes.

Finally, the bus was loaded, all passengers boarded and a quick final roll call was implemented by Christine. Then we were ready for our trip to the Munich Airport.

It's only a short few kilometres over the border from Austria, and we were soon enjoying the scenery of the German countryside. The farther along we went the more mountains we saw. Along the way we had our boxed breakfast, took some photos, and chatted with the other passengers. It was hard to believe that our tour is over. A big thanks to Stuart B. and all his helpers for looking after the e-piano during the tour.
















Thank you, Anne Marie, for coming along and doing such great work as our accompanist.


























Finally we arrived at Munich Airport, and everyone got their luggage and moved as a group with Christine towards the check-in. As Elfrieda and were continuing on by car, we said our good byes to the group. Those of us renting cars moved toward that area of the airport, assisted by a colleague of Christine's.

We went to pick up our car and had to upgrade to a larger automobile to ensure that we had enough room for the e-piano and all of its accompanying equipment. We got a Volvo, and were ready to head up to the parking area to get our car, when Alex Morris asked for help with directions from the Munich Airport to the hotel they (Alex & Joyce, Ruth and Larry) had booked in Munich. We did the best we could and then went with the luggage and equipment to the car. Once there we spotted a big scratch that had not been listed on the damage sheet, so while Elfrieda went down to report this (with a picture of it on our digital camera) I loaded up the car - not an easy task. Soon Elfrieda was back and we headed off with the help of our GPS that we had bought in Brantford. It proved to be of great help.

We found that the signs along the autobahn were very clear, so we just looked for turns that would head us toward Stuttgart. Goeppingen, where my cousin Gerhard and his wife Lena live, is a short jaunt off of the Autobahn before you get to Stuttgart. We made one stop in a small town for a 'smiley break' and coffee, and carried on. We found that there was quite a bit of construction along the way so that slowed down the traffic. Once we turned off the highway the GPS proved it's worth as we followed it's twists and turns that brought us to Gerhard and Lena's home in a neighbourhood overlooking the town. The trip took about 3 hours, and we arrived a bit later than planned.

When we got there they were waiting with a sumptuous lunch ready, and we were joind by Rolf and his family. Later in the afternoon we went to Cousin Emma's house, where 20 or more relatives showed up. We shared stories as we enjoyed the grand buffet and drinks that were at the ready. After a drive back to Gerhard's place we headed for bed, and a well deserved rest at the end of a very long day.