From Rita, our 20th tour member ...

Just as an FYI for other members of the tour in case anyone is looking...At the Aldstadt Hotel (#1 on Tripadvisor), they have a Bösendorfer room...yes, you can have a beautiful
Bösendorfer grand in your room if staying in Vienna past the tour date. But there's only one such room. Still available currently.

And how much is that room with a Bosendorfer?

$199.00 EUR

Oh! I just want to mention that Vienna has the musicians corner at the Vienna central cemetary. That is where Brahms, both Strauss father and son, Beethoven, Schubert, and other muscians are laid to rest. There is a Mozart memorial there too, but he is actually buried in another cemetary in the city. I went there once, but don't really like cemetaries.

Interesting. Any idea how far it is from our hotel?
June 15 – 17 VIENNA MERCURE WIEN WESTBAHNHOF
Felberstrasse 4
A-1150 Wien

I wonder if it can be played at midnight or 6 AM!

Piano party anyone?

Not finding it. Other rooms 240-320 fri or sat nites and not available

I looked into the cemetery for the weekend...it is doable and was planning on visiting. (only visiting mind you!)

The cemetary (Zentralfriedhof) is 25 min. by public transport from the hotel.

From the train station across the street from the hotel, (westbahnhof):

Underground train U3 in the direction of simmering,
Getting off at the Landstrasse stop.

At the Landstrasse stop, going upstairs following the S signs for the Schnellbahn, and take the S7 (schnellbahn #7) in direction Flughafen Wien or Wolfstal.
Getting off at Zentralfriedhof stop.

Cost is 3.80 euro round trip. Or you can take a taxi, but probably costs some 20 euro.

A nice general website is:

http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/from-s-to-z/central-cemetery

Count me in for a visit to the Cemetary!

Does everyone from U.S. have their passport? Or have them renewed if need be? Just happened to think, if we have a government shut down, you probably couldn't get one processed.

Good point.
And even if we don't have a shut down, it takes time to get them processed. Some countries require your passport be valid at least 30 days passed your stay there.

We've also registered our trips with the Dept. of State.
Not a bad idea. Then you know where the consulates are and they have a record of who you are.

THere is a Bach museum in Liepzig- Is there enough time to take that in? It looked pretty good- I would love to see some of his original manuscripts.

I'm most happy for you all who will visit the rich cultural traditions of Europe.

If anyone happens to stray from pianos and also 'spot' a pipe organ -or a few-: take photos of prospect, console or innards, listen or record, talk with knowledgeable professionals or even test/play - I'd be glad to get this experience shared !!

Best wishes to all !

A very real possibility ROMagister.

I'm certainly fascinated by pipe organs, as is Kathy.
No doubt there are others on our tour as well.

Not much point in my playing one as my classical organ is limited to about two measures of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. After that I'm strictly an old rock and roll player.

But we will try to get some pictures and education while we're happily taking in Germany and Austria.

Still trying to digest what I am seeing here :-O

Quick question all: I have my birth certificate, drivers license and social security card... How long does it take to get a passport?

Is there time for me to go since I have never gotten a passport before? My wife needs hers renewed but she thinks that takes less time to accomplish.

On-line; via travel.state.gov, it is saying 2-3 weeks for expedited service...

My sister used the expedited service to renew hers, took about 2-1/2 weeks.

I don't know about where you are, but when I applied (I was in CT at the time) they required the "long form" birth certificate, certified with the city seal on it.

We'd love to have you join the tour, but you'll really need to get on the passport thing pronto.
You'd also need to let Elle (our travel agent) know (elle@hillstravel.com) right away so they can make arrangements for your hotel rooms/meals etc.

Please keep us posted!

I will be back in Reno on Tuesday and will get to the post office that same day. I will check with them to see what the requirements are. I think I have the birth certificate short form...

Thanks Frank and I will let Elle know as soon as I find out my status.

To tour all four "super brands" on the same trip... What a treat!

JUST ADDED TO OUR TOUR, courtesy of our own Robin Meloy Goldsby (the Piano Girl). And yes, we're going to fit it in the matter what.

Hi Frank,

A bit of unexpected good news.

The WDR (Westdeutsche Rundfunk) is Germany's public broadcasting network of radio and television stations, similar to the BBC, except bigger. This is where my husband works. The WDR supports a symphony orchestra, a pops orchestra, a choir, and a big band (John's band).

They have a lovely piano atelier and selection room, which house some of the finest instruments in the country, used by some of the world's most renowned concert artists.

John says they have a very valuable collection of historic "Beethoven" pianos, cembelo, harpsicord, etc... Plus the main concert Steinways and 1 concert Bechstein.

So., long story longer, the esteemed Hans Giese (head piano technician for the WDR) has offered to show your group the piano atelier (yes, you'll be able to play most of the instruments). The WDR is directly across from the Dom Cathedral, which you will be touring (according to the info I have) on June 7th. It would be very easy to just walk to the WDR from the Cathedral and check out these amazing instruments. The radio orchestra system in Germany is an amazing part of the cultural scene here, and I think your group will get a kick out of seeing their piano atelier.

Question of timing: What time are you touring the Dom? The optimal time for Herr Giese would be sometime between 2 and 4. You could spend an hour in the atelier before heading to your hotel in Bonn.

Let me know what you think and we will make arrangements. If there's no time, that's okay, but I thought this would be a marvelous opportunity for everyone.

Best,
Robin

Hi Frank,

only a few more days...! I wanted to catch up with you on our earlier posts from last year. Coming from nearby Aachen, I would love to join you on Tue Jun 7 for the Cologne evening event with Robin, maybe also for the Cathedral visit. What time do you expect these to be? And do you have an idea if you'd like to include the tour of the House Of Music in Vienna that I offered to help coordinate, with its interactive exhibit to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic?

Best,

- Jan

Hi Jan,

I wish we could visit the House of Music in Vienna, but I believe our schedules are too tight. Here is the Cologne/Bonn scheduling, followed by our Salzburg/Vienna schedule.

7 June
07:00h depart for long distance transfer to Cologne
13:45h estimate arrival time
14:00h WDR Tour (contact Hans Giese) - Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Funkhaus am Wallrafplatz, Eingang: Pilzbau
An Der Rechtschule 3, 50667 Cologne, Germany


15:30h guided visit to Cologne Cathedral (duration about 1 hour)
17:00h continue to the city of Bonn
18:00h estimate time of arrival – check in
19:00h dinner at hotel

8 June
10:00h pre-booked guided visit to Beethoven museum (duration 45 minutes)
Balance of the morning at leisure
14:30h departure from hotel to Schlosshotel Lerbach -about 50 minutes drive
Adress: Lerbacher Weg, 51465 Bergisch Gladbach,
17:30h drive back to Bonn
18:30h dinner at hotel

And here is our Salzburg / Vienna Schedule (in between we have Leipzig, Bayreuth, and Munich)

14 June
09:15h pre-booked visit behind the scenes at Munich Nationaltheater (Opera House),
duration about 1 hour.
10:30h inside visit to Cuvillies-Theater – one of the most important Rococo theaters
in Germany.
Afterwards walking tour of historic Munich city center
Time for lunch on your own
13:30h Afternoon drive to Salzburg, check-in at your hotel
16:00h Have a 2 hour walking tour with a local Salzburg guide and visit the Mozart
House, the birthplace of Mozart.
19:00h Reserved dinner at Restaurant Stieglbräu (walking distance)
Rainerstr. 14, A – 5020 Salzburg

15 June
09:00h departure for drive to Vienna, stop for lunch en route (at own expense)
-possibly stop at “Sound of music” chapel at Lake Mondsee

14.30h Meeting point for Tracy Newton: Entrance at Technisches Museum
Local Guide Wien: Renate Bauer
14.30h Meet with the local guide at the Technisches Museum for special guided
tour of the Piano Collection with audio sample.
16:00h visit to Castle Schoenbrunn, duration about 1 ½ hours
18:00h estimate arrival time at your hotel – check-in

19:30h dine with local wine and music in a wine village
Reserved dinner at Weingut Reinprecht
Cobenzlgasse 22, A – 1190 Wien

16 June
08:30h Meet in hotel lobby, bus drive to Wiener Neustadt (driving about 55 minutes)
09:30h Morning technical visit at Bösendorfer factory
Adress: L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH
Gymelsdorfergasse 42, A – 2700 Wiener Neustadt
Transfer back to your hotel / or city center

15.00h Meet with your local guide in Vienna for afternoon city tour of Vienna.
Meeting point: Schwedenplatz
Combined driving/ walking tour through city center “Musical Vienna”

18:00h end of city tour
19:00h Dinner at your hotel

Most of us are departing on the 17th.
In fact Kathy and I will be catching a 6:30 a.m. flight out.

I hope some will have a little extra time to spend in Vienna before leaving. There is so so much more to do for those that do. There is an impossibly long list of museums:

http://www.wien.gv.at/ma53/museen/museen.htm

Also music venues, parks, and lots of possible excursions less than an hour away easily by public transport.

By the way, there is a Mozart haus in Vienna too, where he lived during his financially better times. It is in the city center near to the Stephans cathedral.

Here's a link to the technical museum:

http://www.tmw.at/

And for Schoenbrunn palace:

http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/home.html

Arrghh, so much to see, so little time.

Kathy and I have to start our adventure on 30 May, which means by the time we return to Florida in the U.S. we will have been away almost three weeks.

I have a business to run, and Kathy has a job.
Otherwise I can assure you we would love to be able to spend more time in Germany and Austria (Italy and Greece are definitely on our bucket list too).

Thanks for the the links and info tnew, I believe a few people are in fact staying extra days.

And I've no doubt we will be back, when finances allow.

Hi Frank,

thanks for the travel details! I won't make it to Vienna, but I will meet up with you all in Cologne on the 7th at 2pm at the WDR tour entrance you mention then. I would love to join you folks on Tue and Wed in Cologne/Bonn, including Robin's concert of course. (I'm already on her asparagus book and will make sure to bring both books along for signing!)

As a local (and without jetlag) ;), I hope I can make myself useful. And of course I'll be perfectly happy to pay my share towards any expenses.

One slight catch: I just wanted to book those two nights at the Rheinhotel Dreesen in Bonn where you are staying, but they said they're sold out. Looks like there's a climate summit going on. Do you still have any room contingencies at the hotel? I'd just need a single room for the same two nights as you guys.

Have a safe trip, and looking forward to meeting everybody!

- Jan

Hi Jan,

Best bet would be to contact our travel agency rep, Elle. elle@hillstravel.com

Kathy and I are already starting our adventure, which means I'll have limited Internet access for a while.

I wish everyone a great time on this trip!

Be sure to bring a rain jacket because there can be some passing thunderstorms with high winds, though it has been pretty dry for this time of year so far. And the temperatures are varying quite a bit at the moment, anywhere from the 80s F to 60s F.

Re the e-coli infection in Germany - Probably others more familiar with the situation than I, but I am currently in England staying with my daughter's family which includes my German son-in-law. He follows it closely because his parents still live there.

Basically you should not eat any raw vegetables until the source of the infection is confirmed. Thought to be cucumbers from Spain but not certain. Also has not shown up elsewhere (with rare exception) reason unkniown. I'm sure we'll hear more, but if you are arriving early be cautious. A SERIOUS STRAIN WHICH HAS CAUSED NUMEROUS DEATHS!

BON VOYAGE to all PW travelers. Hope you have great weather, I know you will enjoy the tour.

Let us know all about your trip when you get back - wish I could be with you, I'll be with you in spirit.

Hi Frank,

thanks - I already contacted Elle, paid my share via bank transfer, and will see you Tue at 2pm at the WDR entrance. I'll be there early, just call or SMS me if there's any change of plans. My cell is . I really hope joining you in Lerbach works out too - looking forward to meeting Robin!

Enjoy Hamburg!

- Jan