Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Day 10: A Busy First Day in Berlin!

Our first full day in Berlin was packed! We began our day at the Berliner Dom, a cathedral that stands in the center of Museum Island. With the help of Erol Danon (C,W ’16), the Glee Club was able to coordinate singing in this beautiful place of worship! The space was incredibly resonant and the opportunity to perform in such a grand and substantial cathedral was really special for the Clubbers. Immediately after singing, we sat in the pews to listen to a service given in German and English. Though the service was brief, we were able to spend more time in the Berliner Dom as we looked at an exhibit on display within the cathedral that included works of artists such as Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Our singing in the Berliner Dom did not stop there! Getting ready to move on, the group congregated on the lawn in front of the cathedral – the Lustgarten. With many people outside enjoying the sunny day, we decided to give the public an impromptu performance. The group assembled into a choral bow and spontaneously performed “Let the River Run” and “Go the Distance,” both of which drew quite the crowd!
The Glee Club sings in front of the beautiful Berliner Dom!
Max Scheiber (E,W '15) and Stephanie Garace (C '15)
take pieces of candy from one of Felix Gonzalez-Torres'
famous sculptures in the Berliner Dom.
A look inside the beautiful Berliner Dom! We
sang right in front of this altar! 

We continued our day of singing with a trip to the French Cathedral of Friedrichstadt. Though this cathedral was not quite as full as the Berliner Dom, the Clubbers felt that this outlier was a performance primarily for ourselves – an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful acoustics of this early 18th century cathedral.

After splitting up and grabbing lunch around the Gendarmenmarkt, a square surrounded by restaurants and cathedrals, we moved on to the famous Holocaust Memorial, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The 4.7-acre site is covered with 2,711 concrete slabs (“stelae”) arranged in a labyrinthine grid pattern. Words cannot accurately describe the power of this memorial. The Glee Clubbers were moved deeply by walking through the stelae, and many were moved to tears upon walking through the underground “Place of Information,” an underground site that tells individual stories of the Holocaust. The underground exhibit told the overall story of the Holocaust, but also included individual letters sent to loved ones in times of desperation as well as other artifacts from World War II.
Glee Clubbers walk through the incredibly moving Memorial to the Murdered
Jews of Europe, surrounded on either side by massive stelae.
Our last organized event for the day was a return to the Reichstag for a more thorough tour than our initial rooftop dining experience. The tour took us through the building’s rich history (some walls still have the bullet marks from World War II!) and even into the plenary chamber, in which the Bundestag (German parliament) meets to discuss German legislative government. While we were in this beautiful meeting chamber, our tour guides actually invited us to sing! Again, we sang “Go the Distance” and surprised a few other groups touring the plenary chamber! In addition to the Reichstag’s interior, the tour also took us to the dome atop the Reichstag; upon reaching the top, we had beautiful panoramic views of Berlin!
A look inside the plenary chamber! We sang on this
platform spontaneously for our tour guide as well as
other groups touring the Reichstag. 
The etches left behind by Soviet troops on the walls of the Reichstag
at the end of World War II remain there to this day. One of the etches
reads, "sons of bitches" in Russian.
Having concluded our full day of sightseeing (and singing!) around Berlin, it was time for a quick dinner and then some rest. The Glee Clubbers split up for dinner on the way back to our hostel, and then most Clubbers went to sleep immediately upon returning.
Harvey Huang (E '18) poses with alumnus McLean Baran ('14)
in front of the famous Brandenburg Gate. 

Monday, June 1, 2015

Day 9: Guten Tag Berlin!

Though we ran into a few mishaps along the way, we have made it to Berlin! Our day began with an early 9:30am call to allow us to depart for Berlin at 10. Unfortunately, however, our bus driver was an hour late to pick us up, leaving all members of the Glee Club sitting on the streets of Prague with our suitcases as we awaited our bus. Moreover, we ended up adding an additional two hours to the length of our trip due to mandatory stops along the way and spurs of traffic. After a long and hot ride, we finally arrived in Berlin at about 5:30pm, where we soon discovered that the gems contained within this stop on our tour were well worth the wait! 

Since we were running approximately four hours behind schedule, our walking tour of Berlin initially planned for 3pm was moved and shortened to allow us to get to our dinner planned at the Reichstag by 8:00pm. Though brief, our tour gave us a thorough exposure to the incredible history of the city that presents itself in every step you take. The Club was amazed by beautifully grand structures that we visited such as the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin Cathedral ("Berliner Dom," which we will be singing at tomorrow!), as well as more nuanced sites such as golden memorial plates for Holocaust survivors laid in stone around the city and a memorial to the book burning in Berlin. 
Our first look at the Berliner Dom!
We are so excited to sing here tomorrow!
Following our abridged tour of Berlin, we arrived at the Reichstag for dinner. We had to show our passports to security and go through several security checks just to enter! After taking an elevator to the top floor, we exited onto the roof of the Reichstag. The Club was overwhelmed by the view of Berlin from this height, and even more overwhelmed by the delicious food that awaited us! We were fortunate enough to enjoy a three-course meal on the roof of the Reichstag, giving us a view that overlooked the entire city. This meal was one of our best on the entire tour! With full stomachs and smiles on our faces, the Glee Club returned to our hostel and immediately passed out, some due to carb comas and others as a result of exhaustion from a long day of travel.  
Our view atop the Reichstag, where we were fortunate to enjoy
a delicious three-course dinner! 
A few Glee Clubbers pose atop the Reichstag, with a beautiful
view of Berlin just behind them!

Day 8: Recruiting Future Glee Clubbers at ISP

Our day began similarly to our day at the Ambassador's residence. With our performance at the International School of Prague (ISP) scheduled for 7:00pm, we had a fairly relaxing afternoon. Again, Clubbers split up and decided to explore various parts of the city. Some members returned to the Jewish Quarter to explore the region and visit the Old New Synagogue, while others walked on Charles Bridge, visited museums, returned to Old Town Square, and went shopping around the city. With this free time, the Penn Pipers busked around the city and made over 1,000 Koruna! One group of Glee Clubbers actually stumbled onto the set of a Czech soap opera and even met the cast! 
Zach Costa (E '15) sings with the Penn Pipers as they
busk in Prague! 
 
Erol Danon (C,W '16), Charlie McClelland (C '15), and
Vanessa Lam (W '15) pose with the cast of a Czech soap opera!
At 4:30, it was finally time to travel to ISP. After a 45-minute ride, we arrived at the school and entered the auditorium. We were thrilled to discover that the school had a great tech system and welcomed our tech staff to cue our performance! With the band accompanying us and the tech staff live-cuing our show, the Glee Club was incredibly excited to showcase the talent of all of our members for this performance! After warming up and setting the stage, the Glee Club rehearsed our collaboration performance with ISP's youth choir, a performance of "Omnia Sol." At 7:00, it was time for our concert to begin. We performed for a house full of Penn alumni, ISP students and families, and other guests. Our performance was very well received (especially by our younger audience!), and after an hour of singing and dancing it was time to say goodbye to the International School of Prague. The Glee Club was very thankful that was had the opportunity to add female voices to our blend in our collaboration with the ISP youth choir - we even had some female members of our tech staff join us in the collab! 
The Glee Club sings "Parting Glass" in our performance
at the International School of Prague!
Having wrapped up our performance at ISP, we returned to our hostel at about 10pm to spend our final night in Prague. Many Clubbers stayed in the hostel's common area to play board games, while some went straight to bed to prepare for the long trip that followed in the morning and others went out once again to explore Prague's nightlife. It's safe to say that our time in Prague was a success! In just under four days, we saw A LOT of this fantastic city and got a taste of its rich and diverse culture.