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During our walking tour of Salzburg we hear about Mozart's life, and also learn about the Von Trap family and the making of the Sound of Music movie.

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Our tour ends in Salzburg. Friendships have been made, experiences shared, and every performance better than the previous one. A successful Eurpean tour.

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A nice start to our tour of Salzburg on a hot, sunny day.

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This is where he lived. We also toured his birthplace.

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On our tour of the historic centre of Salzburg, we saw the smallest residence, which looks like it also serves as a business.

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Sing Cheer To tunes the orchestra, as he has throughout the tour

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Another late night dinner following a concert

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Rendezvous at the fountain in old town Bratislava.

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Sound check at the Slovak Radio Hall.

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Thankful for those who serve all of us our meals.

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It's not a painted backdrop. It's a real castle and sky behind those musical kids from Seattle.

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The kids had a little down time and a few snacks while waiting for the last concert.

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We took a tour again today and saw this castle, which dates back to 907 and has undergone major renovations each century.

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Our bus driver, Steffen, is required to take breaks after several hours of driving. Here we are about 20 minutes West of Slovakia at a rest stop which happens to be adjacent to a sunflower field. Photo Credit: Rick Sorensen

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How often do you get to take a break in a sunflower field? Photo Credit: Rick Sorensen

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Delicious late night dinner in old town Prague.

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We dine in style on this tour!

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Congratulations!

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Closer view of the other half of the orchestra

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Closer view of half the orchestra

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Our soloist performing Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty

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Our venue in Prague.

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Waiting for our concert clothes and intruments to arrive for our Prague rehearsal.

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Here is our invaluable and incomparable courier, Eva Gordon-Smith, on the doorstep of her primary school in Prague. She went on to earn a degree from Cambridge so we are truly fortunate for her knowledge and thankful for her guidance and leadership during our tour of Europe.

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Czech lunch for some in old town Prague.

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The start of our Prague walking tour.

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A "stolperstein" or "stumbling stone" which marks the life and death of a victim of the Nazis, usually placed on the sidewalk just outside what was once their home.  These stones originated from an art project designed by artist Gunter Demnig in 1992.  As of January 2017, over 56,000 stumbling stones have been installed in 22 European countries. They are meant to remind us of the individuality of the victims and bring awareness of their loss to our daily lives. Credit: Kelly Lippman

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There were buskers of all shapes, sizes and genres throughout our trip.

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We started the tour up at the castle and toured one of the largest castle complexes in Europe, taking in a mixture of buildings from a variety of periods. The tour included St. Vitus's Cathedral, the Royal Gardens, and the Archbishop's Palace. Here we head toward the old town square.

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Our tour guide shares with us the history of the Presidential Palace. The cage in the middle of the square was not used for birds or people, as feared, but to protect the well.

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Times are harsh for Mr. Marsh

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Why wouldn't there be snakes?

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Gelato break after visiting Hradcany Castle,

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Here is the poster for tomorrow's concert.

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Traveling in our comfortable coach as we cross into the Czech Republic.

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One stop on the way to Prague that left me with chills.

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A lovely sight to greet us after the concert

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Selected as one of the ugliest buildings in the world, the performance hall was much different and a terrific venue.

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Even in another country, the power of the flag still stands beside us throughout our journey. Happy 4th everyone!

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This concert fell on the 4th of July so following the performance we received a pleasant surprise when our hosts played a special song for us.

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Our venue in Herrnhut was a church with beautiful tall windows.

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Waiting on the stairs during intermission.

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Chaperone Tami Lentz, who has learned quite a bit of German while here, invites us to enjoy the view while in the town of Herrnhuter.

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Many decided to visit the Zwinger during our free time on July 4 and saw the fine art at Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister.

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The wall of the Versailles-like royal Saxon palace in Dresden, which miraculously stands intact after the city was bombed February 13-14, 1945. The wall displays the many kings who have ruled the Saxon Kingdom since the times of the Holy Roman Empire and contains a hidden code: a nobleman depicted riding a horse with three hooves on the ground indicates his death outside of Saxony, whereas two hooves depict that he passed away inside of the region.

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Our musicians take in the beautiful courtyard and fountains. We heard the Dresden Porcelain Bells toll 2:15.

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Professor Marsh at the palace in Dresden.

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This church was leveled during WWII but was revised after architects and constructors collected the remaining blocks and adding new ones. Breathtaking!

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Of the millions of stones left in rubble, about 40% were able to be reused when rebuilding this church.

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Dana plays her solo in Bad Schmiedeberg Kurhaus

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Outside tonight's performance venue. The area is a spa destination and very beautiful. Photo Credit: Tami Lentz

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This is the market square.
Photo Credit: Carol Rhodes

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The performance in the Festsaal, Bad Schmiedeberg Kurhaus received a standing ovation from the reported 220 in attendance. We had a late dinner at 9:30 in the Parkhotel in nearby Pretzch, which dates back about 1000 years.
http://www.popula.de/veranstaltung/19509059_cascade-cyso-sommerkonzert-in-bad-schmiedeberg-kurhaus-bad-schmiedeberg-bad-schmiedeberg

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What a pleasant gift after such a long day.

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Lunch in Wittenberg where the Reformation took place. Photo Credit: Rick Sorensen

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In October 2017, it will be 500 years since Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Today we saw the church and toured the town.

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Here is our second group of musicians who took city tours together yesterday and today.

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To ensure everyone can hear our tour guides, we break into 2 groups of about 20. See anyone you know here?! Pic taken outside Thomaskirche.

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There was so much history and architecture to enjoy here

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After leaving Ilmenau this morning, we traveled by coach to Leipzig, a city of 585,000. We had a guided sightseeing tour, which included entrance to Thomaskirche and many stops on a musical tour.

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Farewell for nowIlmenau, Germany. You treated us well.

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3 of our chaperones take a walk while the musicians rehearse.

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The Bach Museum included a room to hang out and listen to a variety on Bach compositions in these pods.

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We enjoyed a tour of the Bach Museum (Bach's house shown here).

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Dana Wenzel makes her European debut playing her solo at the Festhalle, Naumannstrasse 22

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The city of Ilmenau has done an amazing job of advertising our CYSO appearance. 180 people enjoyed last night's performance!

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What a fascinating little town this was!

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We were treated to a first class buffet at a castle on our first evening in Germany. Castle Schloss in Elgersburg dates back to around 1250. Student musicians were able to eat a lot and hang out with friends in a beautiful setting.

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Paul Covert, CYSO Librarian, tunes up.

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After many hours on airplanes and a bus, it was time to get out, stretch and play before heading to dinner.