19b Domspatzen and Walhalla

Route: 0 kilometers, cumulative: 1,586 kilometers | Elevation gain: 0, cumulative elevation gain: 6,379 meters, distance from home: 361 kilometers (as the crow flies)

Today I wanted to have a manageable program. I took a second rest day because I am ahead of schedule, but also because Claus, my host, told me that the Domspatzen would be performing today and because I wanted to visit the Walhalla.

So I just took a short walk on the islands in the Danube, ensuring I arrived at the cathedral in time for the service.

I happened to sit next to a woman who was well-informed, as her daughter sings with the Domspatzen. She told me that for the last 4 years, girls have also been allowed to join the college and are thus automatically part of the children's groups and the Domspatzen. So it's mandatory!

The girls are dressed in red, and the boys in black and white.

During today’s service, 49 confirmands were confirmed, which of course took a lot of time.

Nonetheless, I made it onto the boat that departed downstream at 12:30 PM without any issues. I even found time to buy a sandwich at a bakery.

45 minutes later, we reached the pier below the Walhalla. It wasn't far, but it was several meters above us. This altitude difference had to be covered on foot. A large part of it was via marble stairs, which had me huffing.

The Walhalla was built to preserve and honor the busts of famous personalities in marble. Walhalla means 'Hall of the Dead.' To enter, you have to be famous and have been dead for at least 20 years. So we still have a bit of work to do to become potential candidates.

Since I didn't want to tackle the descent over those countless steps, I took the longer but more pleasant way down.

The return trip by boat on the Danube was very pleasant and relaxing. Afterwards, I was still tired and looked forward to a little nap before dinner.

As I'll be moving on again tomorrow, I still have to pack everything up and prepare the route.

***

English

Route: 0 kilometers, cumulative: 1,586 kilometers | Elevation gain: 0, cumulative elevation gain: 6,379 meters, distance from home: 361 kilometers (as the crow flies)

Today I wanted to have a manageable schedule. I took a second rest day because I am ahead of schedule, but also because Claus, my host, told me that the 'Domspatzen' (choir) would be performing today and because I wanted to visit the Walhalla.

So, I just took a short walk on the islands in the Danube to ensure I arrived at the cathedral in time for the service.

I happened to sit next to a woman who was very knowledgeable, as her daughter sings with the Domspatzen. She told me that for the past four years, girls have also been allowed to join the college and are thus automatically part of the children's groups and the Domspatzen. So, it's mandatory!

The girls are dressed in red, and the boys are in black and white.

During the service today, 49 candidates were also confirmed, which of course took a lot of time.

Nevertheless, I managed to get onto the boat that departed downstream at 12:30 PM without any problems. I even found time to buy a sandwich at a bakery.

45 minutes later, we reached the pier below the Walhalla. It wasn't far away, but it was several meters above us. This difference in altitude had to be covered on foot. A large part of it was via marble stairs, which really left me huffing and puffing.

The Walhalla was built to preserve and honour the busts of famous personalities in marble. Walhalla means 'Hall of the Dead.' To get in there at all, you have to be famous and have been dead for at least 20 years. So, we still have some work to do to become potential candidates.

Since I didn't want to subject myself to the descent over those endless steps, I took the longer but more pleasant path back down.

The return trip by boat on the Danube was very pleasant and relaxing. Afterwards, I was still tired and looked forward to a little nap before dinner.

Since I’ll be moving on again tomorrow, I still have to pack everything up and prepare the route.

***

 Español

Ruta: 0 kilómetros, acumulado: 1.586 kilómetros | Desnivel: 0, desnivel acumulado: 6.379 metros, distancia desde casa: 361 kilómetros (en línea recta)

Hoy quería seguir un programa tranquilo. Me tomé un segundo día de descanso porque voy adelantado con el horario, pero también porque Claus, mi anfitrión, me dijo que hoy actuarían los 'Domspatzen' (los Gorriones de la Catedral) y porque quería visitar el Walhalla.

Así que solo di un pequeño paseo por las islas del Danubio para llegar a tiempo a la catedral para el servicio religioso.

Por casualidad, me senté al lado de una mujer que conocía bien el tema, ya que su hija canta en los Domspatzen. Me contó que desde hace cuatro años las niñas también pueden entrar en el colegio y, por tanto, forman parte automáticamente de los grupos infantiles y de los Domspatzen. ¡Así que es obligatorio!

Las niñas visten de rojo y los niños de blanco y negro.

En la misa de hoy también se confirmaron 49 jóvenes, lo que, por supuesto, tomó mucho tiempo.

A pesar de ello, llegué sin problemas al barco que salía río abajo a las 12:30. Incluso tuve tiempo de comprar un sándwich en una panadería.

45 minutos después llegamos al embarcadero debajo del Walhalla. No estaba lejos, pero sí a varios metros de altura sobre nosotros. Hubo que subir ese desnivel a pie. Gran parte del trayecto fue por escaleras de mármol que me dejaron bastante jadeante.

El Walhalla fue construido para conservar y honrar los bustos de personalidades famosas en mármol. Walhalla significa 'Salón de los Muertos'. Para poder entrar allí, uno debe ser famoso y llevar muerto al menos 20 años. Así que todavía tenemos que trabajar un poco para convertirnos en posibles candidatos.

Como no quería enfrentarme al descenso por esos infinitos escalones, tomé el camino más largo pero más agradable para bajar.

El viaje de vuelta en barco por el Danubio fue muy agradable y relajante. Después, aun así estaba cansado y me apetecía una siestecita antes de cenar.

Como mañana sigo mi camino, todavía tengo que volver a empacar todo y preparar la ruta.