Brazil Day 1 - The journey begins

The departure day started with some excitement! Early in the morning of May 12th, our choir conductor Mr. Kammel and Mrs. Lohse, our choir mother who planned and organized the entire trip, received a message from Barth Travel Agency that our flight from Frankfurt to São Paulo had been cancelled. So it was uncertain whether we would even arrive in Rio de Janeiro, our first destination, the next day. After a few hours, the relief came - Barth Travel Agency managed to accommodate all 67 of us on a Lufthansa flight that went directly from Frankfurt to Rio. Around 10 PM, a Boeing 747 with the New Chamber Choir on board took off and landed 12 hours later, around 5 AM, in warm Rio where our tour guide Madalena was already waiting for us. Once the two buses, which were at our disposal for the entire three weeks, were loaded, we headed towards the city center around 6:30 AM. The sunrise over the sea welcomed us to Brazil. However, the sun was soon replaced by rain. Due to the early morning traffic, progress was very slow. But it was a good opportunity to take the first pictures of Rio from the bus. Above all, the favelas, of which there are about 800 in and around Rio, left a lasting impression. Half-finished houses and piles of garbage in the streets and in the river immediately made us realize that life in Brazil is very different from ours. But these gloomy thoughts instantly vanished when we caught sight of the beautiful, long beach of Copacabana. The sun accompanied us during our 1 1/2 hours of free time, during which many photos were taken, pants got soaked with seawater, and shopping bags were filled. Then we went to 'Restaurante Temperarte' for an all-you-can-eat meal. We thanked the crew for the nice service with a serenade. After dinner, we walked through the crowded city to Sugarloaf Mountain. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily, so the view from the summit was more like the view from the Matterhorn! But the atmosphere was good! Since 16:00, we have been on our way to Petrópolis, where our host families are waiting for us. Since the traffic in Rio was adventurous again, we will probably arrive there with a one-hour delay, around 8 PM.

Since we unfortunately do not always have internet access, the following updates may occur at very irregular intervals.

We hope that we could give you a good insight into our first day in Brazil! See you soon :)