2019 South Dakota Ambassadors of Music Europe Tour Information:
If you have been nominated for the 2019 SD Ambassadors of Music Tour, please MARK YOUR CALENDARS to attend our informative meeting on Monday, May 7th in the PAC theatre. ALL questions regarding this trip, including price will be discussed at this meeting. You are not obligated to join by attending the meeting at all....but if you are interested, please come to the meeting. If you have questions, please contact me anytime...I would LOVE to visit with you about this great experience! In the meantime, check out our Facebook page for some videos, pictures and information about this trip or read below! If you are interested in this trip but are concerned about raising enough money, please visit the following page for ideas on how to fundraise!
FOR SIXTEEN WONDERFUL DAYS, VISIT SEVEN EXCITING COUNTRIES TO ENJOY COUNTLESS GRAND EXPERIENCES!
LET'S SPELL IT OUT:
JUST WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A VOYAGEURS AMBASSADOR OF MUSIC AND VISIT EUROPE? VAST NUMBERS OF LANGUAGES AROUND THE WORLD CAN MAKE COMMUNICATION DIFFICULT, BUT ONE LANGUAGE - MUSIC CROSSES ALL BOUNDARIES: YOU ARE ABLE TO SPEAK THAT WONDERFUL LANGUAGE WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO BECOME A PART OF ONE WORLD ON A GRAND MUSICAL TOUR, ONE THAT CROSSES EUROPE AND VISITS SEVEN COUNTRIES, DISCOVERING INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND THUS COMING TO REALIZE WE ARE ALL PART OF ONE WORLD, A WORLD THAT SHARES A COMMON APPRECIATION OF MUSICI
DOES THAT SOUND INTERESTING? THEN READ ON TO DISCOVER HOW SUCH A WONDERFUL JOURNEY UNFOLDS AND HOW YOU CAN BECOME A PART O F IT!
(Exact dates will be available soon....but the trip starts the third week of June and we come back to the US around the second week of July).
DAY ONE - Finally! After all your weeks of careful planning, preparing, and dreaming, it's time to go! With your wisely packed bag and your passport in hand - plus your personal copy of the THRESHOLDS Handbook under your arm - you join your state's Ambassadors of Music group at the designated airport ready to begin the overseas flight to Europe. Boarding passes and flight information are handed out and last-minute questions answered. Final goodbyes - and you are off! The dream is coming true....
DAY TWO - Yesterday has become tomorrow as you land at the International airport serving London. One after the other: passport control, luggage reclaim, and customs check. Your London City Coordinators appear at just the right moment to help out, and within a short time you board the comfortable coach that will take you to all the places your detailed itinerary has promised.
First: if time allows, visit unforgettable Windsor with the world's most famous castle with time to explore and discover, perhaps including historic Eton College across the River Thames. Then: on Into London for hotel check-in, dinner, orientation - plus a great London First Night Walk.
DAY THREE - Your first stop: the hotel's continental breakfast. Then enjoy a full day of guided sightseeing to discover London's famous sights: St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Piccadilly - and so much more! Your guide speaks perfect English - it will sound a bit different from American English- and helps your day be wonderfully rich! Then this evening your group carries out its ready-made plans: perhaps a popular musical, a concert, or a ride on the incredible London Eye.
DAY FOUR - We begin with a visit to historic Wesley's Chapel where the choir has the opportunity to sing. Then on to your concert-by- the-Thames at the Victoria Embankment. This afternoon is set aside for small group activities: go walking along Whitehall to photograph the Horseguards and visit #10 Downing Street....drop in the British Museum....go shopping at Harrods....and perhaps discover Covent Garden. THRESHOLDS, your personal handbook, offers a long list of wonderful and special possibilities. Then a glorious final London evening: perhaps you will want to experience Piccadilly Circus at night, or marvel at surviving portions of the ancient London Wall. Or why not both?
DAY FIVE - It's moving day: London to Paris via the eye-filling Cliffs of Dover and a ferry crossing of the historic English Channel. Buy your first euros, watch the continent appear ahead. Then reboard your coach and head south from historic Calais for a late afternoon arrival In romantic Paris. Experience a marvelous variety of sights and sounds... just exactly as you have always imagined Paris would be! There's a prearranged dinner in a Parisian restaurant, then you continue on to your hotel for check-in and orientation. This busy and exciting day comes to an end as you look forward to an equally busy and exciting tomorrow!
DAY SIX - Begin this day with an eye-full of the famous towering symbol of Paris - the Eiffel Tower - and then several hours to explore it as you will. Experience the equal thrill of a walking visit to magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral. Later, present separate pre-planned concerts for the choir and for the instrumentalists - memorable events, as your music creates a special bridge between you and your French audience! Then the creme-de-la creme: a restaurant dinner and an evening ride on the historic River Seine aboard a famous bateaux-mouche. When it ends you will certainly agree: this has been a never to be forgotten impression filled Parisian day!
DAY SEVEN - Start the morning with guided Paris sightseeing and discovery. See places, hear about events you thought were certainly just dull footnotes to history! Climb the stairs to Montmartre - the famous artists' village. Stand awed by beautiful Sacre Coeur. Make a very memorable visit to the Louvre Museum where your THRESHOLDS Handbook will help you to see it best! Take time to sample a hot crepe from a street vendor. Visit a bakery for a fresh croissant. Plan a memorable group walk along the Champs Elysees. What a day! How could Paris be any more magical?
DAY EIGHT - An early departure from Paris, southward through France to breathtaking Switzerland. We'll travel along Lake Geneva, gather alpine views, pass bustling Lausanne and Montreux, then drive along the Rhone River. Finally our coach climbs u f i - out of the valley to a charming mountain village called Crans-Montana, your home for three nights. After hotel check-in, orientation and dinner, there will still be time left to stroll and discover - including making acquaintance with your first Swiss chocolate bar, guaranteed to become a lasting friendship!
DAY NINE - Today we have so much to see, so much to do. Scarcely enough hours! This morning there's free time to wander, to ex- plore, to be delighted, over and over again. Search out the shops, but don't stop there! Admire the views of the Alps, find the unique profile of the Matterhorn to the SW, walk through a flowered meadow, send a postcard to an unfortunate stay-at-home. And, of course, visit a bakery! This afternoon: a special trip to the historic Castle of Chillon, posed so perfectly on Lake Geneva's shore, where the romantic poet Lord Byron wrote a memorable poem about a prisoner. Tonight: it is your concert time in the village - a true Swiss highlight.
DAY TEN - An early call to breakfast, then off promptly on a wonderful special journey to The Mountain - that's the one called the Matterhorn, the world's best-designed alpine peak! Getting there is much of the fun: along the Rhone River laced with glacial silt, bottles that seem to be growing on trees, grain storage huts built atop unique circular stones to limit rodent access, a ride on a rack- railroad hugging the mountain slopes. Hard to top all that - but you will! Take the funniculare to the breathtaking mountain aerie called Sunnega where the views of the Matterhorn are simply unbelievable and unforgettable! You mayjust want to stay here forever! But it's best that we get back to our village because there's a wonderful farewell party ... and you are invited!
DAY ELEVEN-offers more unbelievable opportunities. First: a remarkably different northern Switzerland to admire. Next: cross the Rhine River to visit the "vest-pocket nation" called Liechtenstein. Here postage stamps are a leading product and you may want to buy a souvenir sample! Then on to that elegant part of western Austria, the Tyrol. This all-day astounding adventure ends in the charming and picturesque Austrian village called Seefeld. Fine small hotel, fine dinner, fine village-exploring this evening. Yes! A Fine Thing!
By DAY TWELVE - you are all-but-convinced you simply cannot be more surprised and more pleased. Wrong! The morning's sightseeing starts with a unique rococo church and then includes a visit to beautiful Innsbruck - one of Austria's most-beloved cities. See the famous Golden Roof. Walk along thetorwcA^(bridge)that crosses the River Inn. Savor goulash and a slice of strudel for lunch. Gather long-lasting memories built from the many special moments such as these! Then back to Seefeld for your afternoon instrumental and evening choir concerts. Your audience speaks German - but they understand and enjoy the universal language of Music! Tonight you are sure to drop off to sleep recalling all the splendid events of this special day you spent in Innsbruck and Seefeld!
DAY THIRTEEN - is the long-anticipated trip to Venice! It begins with a remarkable journey over the Dolomites to the edge of the Adriatic and that very remarkable canal-laced city. This is truly one of the world's most special places, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You may think you know exactly what you are about to see - but reality exceeds anticipation - by far! Travel by motor launch - a vaporetto-along the Grand Canal to be dropped at St. Mark's Square, right in the very middle of wonderful Venice. Your special guide meets you to set off on a walking tour to visit the ornate Palace of the Duomos, the tiny Bridge of Sighs, the picturesque Rialto Bridge. Also a historic visit to a glass-making factory may be included as a group choice. More - much more! - with enough time left for personal discovery. Then that delightful return to Seefeld at dusk, through the majestic eastern Alps via historic Brenner Pass, savoring your huge collection of vivid memories from this very special Venice day.
DAY FOURTEEN - You probably stayed up too late last night, so full of Venice! But today doesn't know that! There's an early departure which crosses into Germany to an important place of infinite horror known as Dachau. Here grim reality will add to your knowledge of the Holocaust - absorbing, revealing, troubling - and very important*. After a lunch stop your coach continues west to a walled city called Rothenburg where it's always "in-the-olden-days"! Walk the historic ramparts at dusk and perhaps you will meet olden spirits! Not-to-worry: ghostly, but all friendly! (* In the case of a closing at Dachau you will visit Munich instead.)
DAY FIFTEEN - It's the next-to-last-day already! Another day that is sure to stay in your memory! Your hotel is located near Rothenburg's ancient walls, which encourages easy and rewarding city-exploring on foot, and also allows for leisurely wandering into yesterday. Narrow streets lead to unexpected and rewarding destinations: quaint shops or the forecourt of a ruined castle overlooking the picturesque Tauber River below. Exploring. Dreaming. Remembering. Being very glad. There's even a delightful shop to explore that features Christmas 365 days a year - inviting purchase of a very special memory. This afternoon you will present your final memorable instrumental and choir concerts. This evening there's a very special gathering to celebrate the completion of your never- to-be-forgotten musical journey across Europe.
DAY SIXTEEN - brings an early departure to your international airport. Leave Rothenburg behind, which will doubtlessly seem dreamlike and can't- be-real, soon after it is out-of-sight! But your jetliner awaits to take you home. You - plus a huge load o f incredible memories! Memories built upon all the wonderful days of this amazing journey that was designed to let you speak music in faraway places.
The results of your journey? Increased wisdom and perception and understanding! And certainly some very worthwhile new concerns and convictions! With all these valuable personal add-ons you will begin to be aware your journey is not about to end. More likely it is just beginning!
DOES ALL THIS SOUND GOOD? DOES IT SOUND LIKE AN ADVENTURE ?
TALK TO MR. STAHLE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY!
LET'S SPELL IT OUT:
JUST WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A VOYAGEURS AMBASSADOR OF MUSIC AND VISIT EUROPE? VAST NUMBERS OF LANGUAGES AROUND THE WORLD CAN MAKE COMMUNICATION DIFFICULT, BUT ONE LANGUAGE - MUSIC CROSSES ALL BOUNDARIES: YOU ARE ABLE TO SPEAK THAT WONDERFUL LANGUAGE WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO BECOME A PART OF ONE WORLD ON A GRAND MUSICAL TOUR, ONE THAT CROSSES EUROPE AND VISITS SEVEN COUNTRIES, DISCOVERING INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND THUS COMING TO REALIZE WE ARE ALL PART OF ONE WORLD, A WORLD THAT SHARES A COMMON APPRECIATION OF MUSICI
DOES THAT SOUND INTERESTING? THEN READ ON TO DISCOVER HOW SUCH A WONDERFUL JOURNEY UNFOLDS AND HOW YOU CAN BECOME A PART O F IT!
(Exact dates will be available soon....but the trip starts the third week of June and we come back to the US around the second week of July).
DAY ONE - Finally! After all your weeks of careful planning, preparing, and dreaming, it's time to go! With your wisely packed bag and your passport in hand - plus your personal copy of the THRESHOLDS Handbook under your arm - you join your state's Ambassadors of Music group at the designated airport ready to begin the overseas flight to Europe. Boarding passes and flight information are handed out and last-minute questions answered. Final goodbyes - and you are off! The dream is coming true....
DAY TWO - Yesterday has become tomorrow as you land at the International airport serving London. One after the other: passport control, luggage reclaim, and customs check. Your London City Coordinators appear at just the right moment to help out, and within a short time you board the comfortable coach that will take you to all the places your detailed itinerary has promised.
First: if time allows, visit unforgettable Windsor with the world's most famous castle with time to explore and discover, perhaps including historic Eton College across the River Thames. Then: on Into London for hotel check-in, dinner, orientation - plus a great London First Night Walk.
DAY THREE - Your first stop: the hotel's continental breakfast. Then enjoy a full day of guided sightseeing to discover London's famous sights: St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Piccadilly - and so much more! Your guide speaks perfect English - it will sound a bit different from American English- and helps your day be wonderfully rich! Then this evening your group carries out its ready-made plans: perhaps a popular musical, a concert, or a ride on the incredible London Eye.
DAY FOUR - We begin with a visit to historic Wesley's Chapel where the choir has the opportunity to sing. Then on to your concert-by- the-Thames at the Victoria Embankment. This afternoon is set aside for small group activities: go walking along Whitehall to photograph the Horseguards and visit #10 Downing Street....drop in the British Museum....go shopping at Harrods....and perhaps discover Covent Garden. THRESHOLDS, your personal handbook, offers a long list of wonderful and special possibilities. Then a glorious final London evening: perhaps you will want to experience Piccadilly Circus at night, or marvel at surviving portions of the ancient London Wall. Or why not both?
DAY FIVE - It's moving day: London to Paris via the eye-filling Cliffs of Dover and a ferry crossing of the historic English Channel. Buy your first euros, watch the continent appear ahead. Then reboard your coach and head south from historic Calais for a late afternoon arrival In romantic Paris. Experience a marvelous variety of sights and sounds... just exactly as you have always imagined Paris would be! There's a prearranged dinner in a Parisian restaurant, then you continue on to your hotel for check-in and orientation. This busy and exciting day comes to an end as you look forward to an equally busy and exciting tomorrow!
DAY SIX - Begin this day with an eye-full of the famous towering symbol of Paris - the Eiffel Tower - and then several hours to explore it as you will. Experience the equal thrill of a walking visit to magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral. Later, present separate pre-planned concerts for the choir and for the instrumentalists - memorable events, as your music creates a special bridge between you and your French audience! Then the creme-de-la creme: a restaurant dinner and an evening ride on the historic River Seine aboard a famous bateaux-mouche. When it ends you will certainly agree: this has been a never to be forgotten impression filled Parisian day!
DAY SEVEN - Start the morning with guided Paris sightseeing and discovery. See places, hear about events you thought were certainly just dull footnotes to history! Climb the stairs to Montmartre - the famous artists' village. Stand awed by beautiful Sacre Coeur. Make a very memorable visit to the Louvre Museum where your THRESHOLDS Handbook will help you to see it best! Take time to sample a hot crepe from a street vendor. Visit a bakery for a fresh croissant. Plan a memorable group walk along the Champs Elysees. What a day! How could Paris be any more magical?
DAY EIGHT - An early departure from Paris, southward through France to breathtaking Switzerland. We'll travel along Lake Geneva, gather alpine views, pass bustling Lausanne and Montreux, then drive along the Rhone River. Finally our coach climbs u f i - out of the valley to a charming mountain village called Crans-Montana, your home for three nights. After hotel check-in, orientation and dinner, there will still be time left to stroll and discover - including making acquaintance with your first Swiss chocolate bar, guaranteed to become a lasting friendship!
DAY NINE - Today we have so much to see, so much to do. Scarcely enough hours! This morning there's free time to wander, to ex- plore, to be delighted, over and over again. Search out the shops, but don't stop there! Admire the views of the Alps, find the unique profile of the Matterhorn to the SW, walk through a flowered meadow, send a postcard to an unfortunate stay-at-home. And, of course, visit a bakery! This afternoon: a special trip to the historic Castle of Chillon, posed so perfectly on Lake Geneva's shore, where the romantic poet Lord Byron wrote a memorable poem about a prisoner. Tonight: it is your concert time in the village - a true Swiss highlight.
DAY TEN - An early call to breakfast, then off promptly on a wonderful special journey to The Mountain - that's the one called the Matterhorn, the world's best-designed alpine peak! Getting there is much of the fun: along the Rhone River laced with glacial silt, bottles that seem to be growing on trees, grain storage huts built atop unique circular stones to limit rodent access, a ride on a rack- railroad hugging the mountain slopes. Hard to top all that - but you will! Take the funniculare to the breathtaking mountain aerie called Sunnega where the views of the Matterhorn are simply unbelievable and unforgettable! You mayjust want to stay here forever! But it's best that we get back to our village because there's a wonderful farewell party ... and you are invited!
DAY ELEVEN-offers more unbelievable opportunities. First: a remarkably different northern Switzerland to admire. Next: cross the Rhine River to visit the "vest-pocket nation" called Liechtenstein. Here postage stamps are a leading product and you may want to buy a souvenir sample! Then on to that elegant part of western Austria, the Tyrol. This all-day astounding adventure ends in the charming and picturesque Austrian village called Seefeld. Fine small hotel, fine dinner, fine village-exploring this evening. Yes! A Fine Thing!
By DAY TWELVE - you are all-but-convinced you simply cannot be more surprised and more pleased. Wrong! The morning's sightseeing starts with a unique rococo church and then includes a visit to beautiful Innsbruck - one of Austria's most-beloved cities. See the famous Golden Roof. Walk along thetorwcA^(bridge)that crosses the River Inn. Savor goulash and a slice of strudel for lunch. Gather long-lasting memories built from the many special moments such as these! Then back to Seefeld for your afternoon instrumental and evening choir concerts. Your audience speaks German - but they understand and enjoy the universal language of Music! Tonight you are sure to drop off to sleep recalling all the splendid events of this special day you spent in Innsbruck and Seefeld!
DAY THIRTEEN - is the long-anticipated trip to Venice! It begins with a remarkable journey over the Dolomites to the edge of the Adriatic and that very remarkable canal-laced city. This is truly one of the world's most special places, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You may think you know exactly what you are about to see - but reality exceeds anticipation - by far! Travel by motor launch - a vaporetto-along the Grand Canal to be dropped at St. Mark's Square, right in the very middle of wonderful Venice. Your special guide meets you to set off on a walking tour to visit the ornate Palace of the Duomos, the tiny Bridge of Sighs, the picturesque Rialto Bridge. Also a historic visit to a glass-making factory may be included as a group choice. More - much more! - with enough time left for personal discovery. Then that delightful return to Seefeld at dusk, through the majestic eastern Alps via historic Brenner Pass, savoring your huge collection of vivid memories from this very special Venice day.
DAY FOURTEEN - You probably stayed up too late last night, so full of Venice! But today doesn't know that! There's an early departure which crosses into Germany to an important place of infinite horror known as Dachau. Here grim reality will add to your knowledge of the Holocaust - absorbing, revealing, troubling - and very important*. After a lunch stop your coach continues west to a walled city called Rothenburg where it's always "in-the-olden-days"! Walk the historic ramparts at dusk and perhaps you will meet olden spirits! Not-to-worry: ghostly, but all friendly! (* In the case of a closing at Dachau you will visit Munich instead.)
DAY FIFTEEN - It's the next-to-last-day already! Another day that is sure to stay in your memory! Your hotel is located near Rothenburg's ancient walls, which encourages easy and rewarding city-exploring on foot, and also allows for leisurely wandering into yesterday. Narrow streets lead to unexpected and rewarding destinations: quaint shops or the forecourt of a ruined castle overlooking the picturesque Tauber River below. Exploring. Dreaming. Remembering. Being very glad. There's even a delightful shop to explore that features Christmas 365 days a year - inviting purchase of a very special memory. This afternoon you will present your final memorable instrumental and choir concerts. This evening there's a very special gathering to celebrate the completion of your never- to-be-forgotten musical journey across Europe.
DAY SIXTEEN - brings an early departure to your international airport. Leave Rothenburg behind, which will doubtlessly seem dreamlike and can't- be-real, soon after it is out-of-sight! But your jetliner awaits to take you home. You - plus a huge load o f incredible memories! Memories built upon all the wonderful days of this amazing journey that was designed to let you speak music in faraway places.
The results of your journey? Increased wisdom and perception and understanding! And certainly some very worthwhile new concerns and convictions! With all these valuable personal add-ons you will begin to be aware your journey is not about to end. More likely it is just beginning!
DOES ALL THIS SOUND GOOD? DOES IT SOUND LIKE AN ADVENTURE ?
TALK TO MR. STAHLE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY!
