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  • CYOCYCh TourCYO & CYCh Tour 2018
    Day34

    Staff Blog - Corinne Malitskie

    July 26 in Austria

    Why would sane, intelligent instrumental music teachers agree to staff a cyo/cych concert tour? There is much to lose in giving up more than a week of your life to this cause, such as sleep, holiday time, good food, early nights, single rooms, free time, lie-ins, oh, and did I mention sleep? The gains? We get to spend over a week with 119 incredibly talented young musicians, some singers, some players and some that are both. They cope admirably with the gruelling journey that can only be likened to the never ending story and put up with ridiculous wc queueing experiences at 2 or 3 am. They appear for breakfast at the agreed time, assemble at the appointed hour fully equipped for departure to some far-off concert venue , all with smiles on their faces and manners that would make their parents proud! Did they ever moan, complain, object or protest? Certainly not. ( I won't mention here the request to have a few independent hours in town on the last night ) . The concerts were without exception successful. Glorious music played and sung in beautiful venues. Whilst the conductors basked in the glory, weighed down by bouquets and compliments, the rest of the staff took the opportunity to improve their stand-folding and weight- lifting skills. Musical skills? Not exactly, but necessary. Except of course, for the supremely talented, willing and very very able Mr Johnson who was able to rehearse and perform both a virtuosic Tuba concerto and a fiendish jazz keyboard part in Mass in Blue IN THE SAME CONCERT. The van crew need special thanks as they were vital to the tour success and never lost their sense of humour. I could continue this for hours but my phone battery is not going to play ball ( luckily for you). So, in conclusion I feel very fortunate to have been allowed to share the joys and hardships with our 119 amazing young people and my very special NMPAT colleagues. There were many tears shed on the final night. We will return n September to a fresh orchestra and choir but Tour 2018 will remain in our hearts forever. May all our leavers have a happy and successful future. Remember to come back and visit your old friends from time to time .
    All the best wishes from Mrs Malitskie!    Read more

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  • CYOCYCh TourCYO & CYCh Tour 2018
    Day34

    Coach 1

    July 26 in Austria

    Venue - somewhere in Austria we think?
    DVD - currently "Coco"
    Stops - 1, Burger King for lots of students...
    Scrabble Result - Mr Spinner won, Ms Kelly did not (she hid her disappointment well?!)
    Volume levels currently ok, the karaoke appears to have stopped!

    Forgot to post these photos the other day, this is the Coach 1 Gallery...

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  • CYOCYCh TourCYO & CYCh Tour 2018
    Day34

    Staff Blog - Mr Green

    July 26 in Austria

    CYO has proved throughout this very busy year why they are held in such high regards by other music hubs around the UK.
    It has been a real honour and a privilege to share the musical direction role each Saturday morning. The young people always give so much in every performance and the final concert of the 2018 tour was no different with both CYO and CYCh performing with such class. Shostakovich's 9th symphony was a fitting end to a great year of concerts which had some amazing highlights.
    It was lovely to get to spend one day of the tour with the students and my colleagues in the beautiful city of Bratislava. The atmosphere and spirit of everyone was contagious and quickly helped me get into the groove for the performance. I couldn't have asked for a more dedicated and emotionally charged concert to sign off my current time with CYO and I hope you all feel the same!!
    A big thank you must go to my colleagues who in the 24 hours I was with the party showed why the tour was such a big success. They give up so much whilst at the same time give a great deal.
    Good luck to everyone who is leaving us for university, college or placements and I'll see everyone else around the building in September.
    Mr G    Read more

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  • CYOCYCh TourCYO & CYCh Tour 2018
    Day34

    Staff Blog - Mr Draper

    July 26 in Austria

    I don’t know many of the students that well but have loved helping them prepare for 4 fantastic concerts. The students I remember from earlier times at local centres now playing at such a high level shows why our aim to nurture is so important. So many different personalities all working to a common goal. I think the tears on the last night show how close the groups get. The youth of today are something to be proud of.
    The 3 ‘vannies’ had a blast and having such a fun support crew (NMPAT staff)really helped.
    Are we home yet.....    Read more

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  • Vicky 'n' Will's Travels5 Year European Tour
    Day170

    Gallneukirchen

    December 13, 2016 in Austria

    Gallneukirchen was a free stopover on the car park of the town sports ground. It was just over a kilometre out of the centre and so nice and quiet. It rained on and off for the two days we stayed and we spent much of the time in the van with Vicky knitting and Will playing Christmas tunes on his flute. We did see a game that looked a bit like curling being played in the sports ground, although there wasn't any ice.

    At night we turned on our battery operated Christmas lights and a large house beside us would turn on the lights that adorned their 30 foot conifer. Unlike many other towns, Gallneukirchen hadn't gone in for Christmas in a big way, it seemed quite a practical town and we managed to find a few bits and bobs for the van that we'd been looking for for a while.    Read more

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  • Vicky 'n' Will's Travels5 Year European Tour
    Day165

    Schlosser Advent at Gmunden

    December 8, 2016 in Austria

    Having reached the north western Austrian border, we set off eastwards, through the Austrian lake district and towards Vienna, where we plan to spend Christmas. The going was flat on the motorway and as we moved in and out of valleys and you could tell which ones had industrial chimneys even before you saw them, due to the light smog hanging in the air. As well as this artificially produced haze, there were valleys filled with morning mist and at one point it hid a lake (Mondsee) which appeared only when we were nearly at its shore. It was a serene sight, with features fading the further they were from us.

    Arriving at the large Gmunden car park we couldn't see any designated van parking but there was a fluorescent clad official who told us to park up. We were very lucky to have arrived when we did because in another 15 minutes the car park was full. There dozens of people heading to and from the far end and so intrigued, we followed them, to find a hut selling entry tickets. We didn't know what we were buying entry to but we thought we'd go for it based on the number of people who'd travelled to be there.

    The big attraction turned out to be a Christmas craft market called Schlosser Advent due to the fact it was held inside two lakeside castles and their grounds. The first castle was called Landschloss. We entered its central square through an archway to find huts arranged around an old central tree under which was a quartet of traditionally dressed men playing seasonal tunes brass instruments. The second castle (Seeschloss) was reached by a wooden bridge over the lake Traunsee. There were floating palates supporting lit Christmas trees, a nativity scene and angel to name but a few things. The Landsee market was inside the castles first floor rooms which were impressive in themselves.

    We enjoyed looking at the stalls here more than in Salzburg because there was a far greater range of original handmade products, often with the craftspeople behind the stall creating new items for us to see how they did it. There were some fascinating processes, such as the hand weaving of angels using threads on wooden spools that were plaited around an array of individually placed pins. A chainsaw and angle grinder was used to carve faces in a tree trunk, candles were dipped and wire twisted into jewellery... we could go on but it would take a lot of time to list all the different crafts on exhibit!

    It was exceptionally busy for a Thursday so we searched the date on the internet and found out it was a public holiday to celebrate the immaculate conception!    Read more

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  • Vicky 'n' Will's Travels5 Year European Tour
    Day170

    Ardagger Markt (aka Mistletoe Town!)

    December 13, 2016 in Austria

    Carrying on in our journey towards Vienna, we encountered the River Danube once again (we'd stayed near it at a stopover in Germany where we were lucky enough to see an otter!)

    Ardagger Markt wasn't a big village but the 5-space stopover was next to a skate / bike park; part of a larger area that provided great outdoor leisure facilities such as an all weather pitch and adventure playground. Before long, a local family arrived with a little bike, trike and sit on car and the children (aged about 5, 4 and 3), began racing up and down the ramps. We were saying how great this was and musing that both Germany and Austria seem a lot better provisioned than the UK in terms of open access leisure facilities, when Will received a text to say Dudley Council are going to close the Leisure Centre. Point made!

    On the approach to Ardagger we'd seen hundreds of clusters of mistletoe growing high up in bare branched tree canopies. Although it had been on sale at markets and flower shops we'd not yet got any, so set out to try and find some. We found a large field with lots of smaller trees, most of them supporting balls of healthy looking mistletoe that was just out of reach. As is so often the case, persistence is the name of the game and before long we came across a recently pruned tree, whose branches were still on the grass... along with plenty of mistletoe! There was too much for a space as small as the van, so we left most of it, but Will couldn't resist a kiss under a huge clump. Unfortunately for Will, Vicky wasn't keen on how long he'd let his beard grow!

    Back at the van, we were settling in for the evening when a car pulled up and the driver knocked on our door. It was a local who was involved in setting up the stopover, he was very friendly and said that although the water tap was turned off, we could use the drinking water fountain just a few hundred meters away to fill up!

    The overcast, foggy and sometimes rainy weather wasn't very inviting the following day but we wanted to make use of what daylight there was, so took a stroll along the riverside. The Danube was a lot wider here than in Germany, but the flow wasn't too fast and we were considering a canoe trip. We found a few possible launch sites and although the fog gave the scenery a lovely autumnal feel, the cold and rain decided us against a paddle and we returned to the nice warm van for scrambled eggs, a hot cuppa and stollen.

    Later on Will set himself the task of baking traditional Austrian Christmas cookies; a task Vicky was very happy to have him occupied with for more than one reason!    Read more

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  • Vicky 'n' Will's Travels5 Year European Tour
    Day166

    Scharnstein

    December 9, 2016 in Austria

    It was a short 20km hop to our next stop at Scharnstein. The Bord Atlas book we are using to find these stopovers stated the cost as €10 with extra people being charged €3. The check in process at the cafe wasn't the most efficient; we were told to find a pitch and come back and after we'd done this and filled in the form, we were told we needed our passport numbers, so made yet another trip back to the van. After all this, we were told the cost would be €20.90! Our German wasn't good enough to argue so we just paid up. This would definitely be a one night only stop!

    The site itself was in a good setting, nestled amongst the mountains with grass dividing the gravel pitches. Apart from regular trains sounding their horns as they passed, it was a peaceful place with a good electricity supply included in the price. Upon exploring the facilities Will found an iron and board which came in handy for a project Vicky was working on. There was also one of the best showers we've had!

    In terms of facilities, upkeep and position the site was great, but the attitude of a site manager brings so much to bear on your experience at a place and we were keen to get going in the morning.    Read more

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  • Vicky 'n' Will's Travels5 Year European Tour
    Day168

    Gasthaus Ufermann, Marchtrenk

    December 11, 2016 in Austria

    Gasthaus Ufermann was a pub that encouraged vans to park overnight in their back car park. We instantly got a good feel for the place when we went in to let them know we were there and were welcomed with a smile from the landlady. The locals turned to look at us as they often do, but we didn't hold their attention too long and they soon went back to chatting amongst themselves. When asked about the €7 overnight charge, the landlady checked with her partner then waved her hand and said we could sort it out later.

    The car park had piles of gravel, tree trunks and tiles, but the trees helped block it from the small road that ran alongside and there was a nice big garden for Poppy to get out in. Vicky spent the afternoon working on a Christmas project while Will went exploring the nearby fishing pond and little village that constained just 2 shops, both of which were closed as it was a Saturday afternoon.

    Evening fell and the place lit up with falling lines of Christmas lights. The photo doesn't do it justice! We treated ourselves to an evening meal and ordered a couple of dishes from the weekly specials menu; catfish and chicken. We were told to help ourselves to the salad bar (which included some very tasty sauerkraut) and after a while were presented with two large breaded platefulls. It wasn't anything posh or pretentious and we loved it! The good vibe we'd got earlier along with the good homely food made for a very enjoyable night, that was topped off with the pub's homemade apple strudel and strokes with Cindy, the landlady's ancient Alsation. We never were asked to pay for the overnight stay!

    Despite both Germans and Austrians speaking German, we've noticed a real difference in the accent and a little in the dialect. We find it more difficult to understand Austrian German and Austrians seem to find it more difficult to understand us. We guess it is similar to a foreign language speaker spending 3months in England, then heading up to Scotland.

    The following morning began with a glorious sunrise and later we really enjoyed a walk into the village bakery. We felt very grateful to have the time to combine a walk with buying our bread. After speaking just a few words to the assistant, she said 'ah! English!' She then proceded to explain what all the different types of bread were in a mixture of English and German, admonishing the other assistant for not speaking good English! We tried to say that, being in Austria, we were the ones that should be speaking their language, but she looked as if she was enjoying using her foreign language skills!    Read more

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  • Beverley SmithCanada Europe 2017
    Day63

    Mondsee - Austria

    August 8, 2017 in Austria

    Drove to Český Krumlov via Mondsee. Mondsee is a beautiful lake-side town which, apart from being a very charming town and great Summer holiday spot, is where the church, St. Michael's, is situated. This is the church used for the wedding scene in the Sound of Music film. The town was vibrant and busy with markets leading to the church, while those not shopping atvthe markets were heading to the lake for a swim or sail. On to Český Krumlov...Read more

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You might also know this place by the following names:

Oberösterreich, Oberoesterreich, Upper Austria, Alta Àustria, Alta Austria, Haute-Autriche, Opper-Oostenrijk, Верхняя Австрия

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