Even though we faced another hot, muggy day, Joan Ishibashi and I toured Kew Gardens today, one of the largest botanical gardens in the world. As we had seen in Green Park near Buckingham Palace, the large grassy areas, normally lush green and verdant, were shockingly dry and brown. News of the heat wave and… Read More Kew Gardens
It was only after I had been here a couple of days that I was contacted through Facebook Messenger, completely by surprise! I did not know these people were in London at this time! Zen Kuriyama is doing research on the composer Gerald Finzi at the Royal Academy of Music. Today was actually only… Read More I didn’t know you were in London!
I am back in London, where my flight from Hamburg was uneventful except for having to endure 1-1/2 hours in the queue entering the UK Border. It is very hot and humid here, unlike my previous trips to London. I can’t ever remember it being so hot and uncomfortable like it is now! My BFF… Read More Outside on St. James’s Day
I saw a tall tree, but when organbuilder Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh saw it, he said, “I can build a 16′ Bourdon out of it!” Some people see trees, other people see organ pipes! We decided to forego seeing any organs today and instead took the train to downtown Hamburg to take a harbor cruise. Here we… Read More Some people see trees …
Today Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh and I took the train to downtown Hamburg, about a 35-minute ride away. It’s super convenient to take the train from his house—only two houses away from the station! By taking the train, we won’t have to hassle with trying to find a parking space, which is always a challenge. Our first… Read More An organ to love
I don’t want you to think that all we saw in Lübeck was just churches and organs! When you first arrive in Lübeck your first sight is a massive entry gate, which has become the symbol of the city. Apparently at one point the city wanted to tear it down because it was not being… Read More More than just organs
Today Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh and I traveled to Lübeck, about 80 km from Hamburg. Our first stop was at a music conservatory (Musikhochschule) which has a Beckerath organ in a see-through case. That is to say that there is plexiglass everywhere so you can see inside—even plexiglass swell shades! This, I assume, is for teaching purposes—what… Read More Plexiglass in the organ!
Today Hans took me on a tour of pipe organs and churches in Hamburg. We call it an “organ crawl” which can refer to our climbing through the organ chambers to more closely examine the insides of the pipe organ. Our first stop was in Blankenese, where Hans and Christiane attend at the Blankeneser Kirche… Read More Hamburg organ crawl
I made the decision to leave for the Brussels airport along with the rest of my group, even though my flight was scheduled for 6:00 pm and their flights were all in the morning. I figured I’d rather not hassle with my luggage on the train and a taxi was going to be too expensive.… Read More A new appreciation
Last night was our farewell dinner in Brussels, a last chance to visit with new friends before we took off for parts unknown. We were at La Porteuse d’Eau restaurant, decorated in an Art Deco style, spread out among five tables. It was so noisy with laughter and conversation, and got louder and louder as… Read More Hugs all around