Piano World Home Page Forums Fun Stuff! - Parties, Tours, Projects & More... Forum Members Parties, Tours, Cruises, & Meetings European Piano Tour - See the Pictures!

Lilylady great picture - I can "hear" the om-pa-pa band. Is that a beer-garden? I've seen pictures of them and it looks like fun.

Trying to share as I view and label the pics before I forget where I was! I was and am on overload!

PW gave us a paper travel journal to log into each day. Most of us did the day after morning journal as we were on overload each day and too tired to log each night. Thankfully, the bus trip and friends helped us to log some previous days events. Next time, I'll log into the journal book a heck of a lot more than I did this time!

There is so much to share, I hardly know where to start next.

I did post a fun Frank's new piano here:

https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubb...Room%20Takes%20on%20New.html#Post1700582

If the new listing doesn't come up - just go to the end of the pic journal

Sharing the talented Robin Goldsby, PW's PIANO GIRL below. Robin was nice enough to share her castle as well as her talents too! LOL! Robin plays at Schlosshotel Lerbach in Cologne Germany and lucky they are to have her. What a gig!

She did readings from PIANO GIRL and her latest book, WALTZ OF THE ASPARAGUS PEOPLE, a follow up. After each reading she played her own pieces to delight us.

I know that others will have more pics of Robin and even better videos as mine was just taken from the Canon 950.

I bought two books for me and two CD's as gifts.

Robin reading:



The castle:









Members touring the grounds where they found a black swan in the pond!



Let's see if a video shows up here. There are three more links below as well.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyZeF1yZCGo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdZONwQt6E8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8sOrC3Ew4M


Robin is a member of PW with a long thread on the fun of playing at weddings. Her sense of humor shows very quickly. Her books are like that too!

http://www.pianoworld.com/foru...opics/1215363/1.html

Lilylady - thanks so much for the pictures and it was good to see and hear Robin.

Thanks for posting Lilylady.

LOTS More Pictures Here!

And Here!

Plus These Posted by Bart in a Photo Gallery



Hoping other members of the tour will continue to post pictures, videos, and comments too.

Are you all still on overload? I am trying to organize and label photos but am stuck on a few and waiting for you guys to post pics with LABELS so I can do mine! I am using Irfanview (free on the internet to crop and brighten or whatever) and then group label them. Thank goodness for 2 days of rain for this gardener!

We saw so much, and sometimes too little was written in our sparkly PW notebook.

Trying to do some each morning and nite to share.

Looking forward to all the others pics taken by members that will share too. Come on you guys!

Frank, we need our tour member's email list please, as soon as you have a free moment to do so! Some pics will only be of interest to fellow members (like of themselves!)

Yes, definitely on overload. Came home to reality and dealing with my office move. Haven't even had a chance to think about pictures. Maybe next week. (Don't forget, lilylady, I have some things that belong to you!)

Added A LOT more pictures to the collection on Facebook!

There are two collections there now, with more to come.
Eventually I'll add lots more pictures to the forums as well, it's just easier to post on Facebook (don't have to re-size them).

The first of 4 piano factories (they were all gracious and welcoming!)

Hamburg Steinway





Greeted warmly, and warm it was! At 9 I think it was pushing 80.





And we took turns next to this sign. I think we have a group shot from the area too. Maybe more than one. ISn't this the place that Guenther was loaded up with 10 cameras? After that we tried to just have Jim, the photographer take a shot to share with us.

Here is Ann



Although we could not take pics inside the factory, we could in the big hall of choice. This particular day, there was a concert pianist coming to choose his artisan concert grand I think for a performance. Only a few of us got to try one out before it was time to vacate the hall.



Frank



And Eric



I did get to play one. My second Hamburg Concert Grand!

Another note of interest. We had cookies at the cafeteria with the workers. There was a table with youngsters, my guess around 14-16. In Germany they have an apprentice program instead of straight schooling. Some of those youngsters might soon be making YOUR Hamburg Steinway one day!

I am sure that others will have better pictures coming but since this was a piano tour, we must see some historical musical instruments, right? And THAT we did! A few musuem's worth! It was just amazing to see so many old pianos, clavichords, christofori's, harpsichords, virginals, organs and mechanical instruments. Phew!

Here are some from just one museum.

Now, which one was it? Musical Instruments Museum, where?

I'll have to load up a few replies.

A partial line up





There were tags for the instruments.
In German!













Frank's new toy... (Janco?)

Is it coming or going? Look closely!





For Kathy K





And an Estey Organ from Brattleboro Vt. This was a surprise!





And some even earlier...

Sorry for their bluriness - it was very dark in the hall, many were under glass, and we could not use flash.



















See the lady in the corner? She is hiding instruments in her skirt! Hope someone has better pics of her!

Lilylady thanks for all the great pictures. I'm curious, were any of the instruments playable and if so were you allonwed to give it a whirl?

Could be that because of age the answer would be no, but maybe one or two of the instruments were open to the public.

I wonder if the museums you visited gave concerts using these instruments - it would be interesting to hear them played.

MD, in some places use of the instruments was encouraged. And at the radio station 'old instrument quarters', the instruments are used for concerts and recordings!

Pics there will come later by me or somebody.

Honestly, you just cannot imagine the overload we had and hundreds (sometimes thousands for some) pics that were taken.

I am not surprised that other members with lives to live have not yet posted their pics. I, on the other hand, have had 3 days of rain. And I am a gardener!!!

There were so many highlights in all the German / Barvarian / Austrian places we visited but I had a hunch from an early enticement picture that I was going to enjoy Bayreuth (pronounced by roit) and I did. Cobblestone streets, ancient architecture, safe at night, biergartens, musuems, the Steingraeber factory, opera houses. I was in heaven!

Although we could shoot pics at the Steingraeber factory, we were asked to submit them before uploading them and well, they are shut down for summer vacation now, so those will be uploaded later. But I don't want to wait to share the town pics with you!

Before we entered the town, we stopped at the Wagner designed Opera House.

















cont....

Touring the old square.

Each town has a traditional May Pole in the Ctr with flags of the shops/artisans in town.















continued....

Off for another walk and biergarten after dinner.





















Soon (well, not really soon - it had been a l o n g day!)

The hotel room was a welcome site. For tonite anyway!

OK, Udo Steingraeber gave his permission to use the following pictures!

Steingraeber Palace seen above, along with lunch.

A warm welcome extended to PW members from Udo and to Steingraeber owners Bob and Ruth.



And a champagne celebratory start!



With views of two of the older Steingraeber grands (the Lizst piano was out for a performance) and an antique upright



with Kathy playing





My fingers itched to try it out with Chopin 97/2



Some of us got to meet Udo with his Mother





continued

The back of the building has this wonderful old sign (in two parts)





which led over to another factory building



A few snaps of the mfg and veneer

Note the unique Steingraeber straight bass bridge









The famous soundboard sand tapping



A new plate design being perfected



We had a surprise visitor join us in the factory tour. Owner/concert pianist Milus Scruggs who was ever so helpful to point out some tips on what makes the Steingraeber unique.



continued

After the tour, we had a lovely concert by Lisa Wellisch.



Followed by several members playing





Don't you just love the mirror views?





All and all, a most wonderful afternoon. A special thanks to Udo Steingraeber whose factory was actually shut down for their summer vacation, but who kept everything out for demonstration purposes..., just for us!



Now,

If I were a rich man...ya ha deedle deedle...