HSCHS band students return from Europe

Four young musicians from Thermopolis were recently on a once in a lifetime tour of Europe as part of the Wyoming Ambassadors of Music band and choir tour.

Kayla Gilbert, Cameron Igou and Wyatt Wright participated in the band while Korey Smith sang with the choir during the whirlwind tour that included England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Austria.

The quartet departed Denver on June 15, flying through New York before landing at London's Heathrow Airport.

England

Their first day on foreign soil was spent sightseeing with the most memorable spot being Windsor Castle.

They were fortunate enough to see the home of the Queen of England on a day when she was in residence as the flag that indicates she is at home was flying.

"It was really pretty," Gilbert said.

"It had really impressive architecture," said Igou.

It doesn't sound as though the students were thrilled with European hotels, which are quite different from what they're used to in the U.S.

Gilbert and Smith thought they were "set up weird" and there were "lots of stairs". Apparently the students didn't find the "lifts" (elevators) like the chaperones did and spent their time lugging suitcases up and down the flights of stairs.

Their first performance was at Victoria Embankment in London where the band and swing choir were featured.

Wright's grandparents rode a train three hours from their home outside of London in order to come see their grandson play with the band, something they never thought they would be able to see.

The choir performed the following day in the John Wesley Church of London, known as Wesley's Chapel. Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement and the chapel was opened in 1778.

France

Then it was off to Paris, the "City of Lights", which Gilbert thought was really pretty, yet the others found to be a bit dirty.

Unfortunately, they were not able to perform in Paris due to safety concerns for the Wyoming musicians.

The original location for their performance was unavailable and the leaders of the Wyoming Ambassadors of Music were not familiar with the alternate location and were not comfortable with the safety of the students.

So, Paris became a break in the tour to do a lot of sightseeing and feast on epicurean delights not found in their hometown.

Gilbert celebrated her 17th birthday while in Paris, visiting the Eiffel Tower and boating on the Seine.

They tasted crepes of all kinds, quiche and duck and some were even brave enough to taste escargot (snails). The jury is still out on whether they tasted like chewy pencil erasers coated in garlic or actually good to eat.

The highlight of Paris for Smith was the Louvre.

"I wish we had had more time there," she said. "There was a lot of cool stuff to see."

For Wright, his favorite part of Paris was Montmartre, the arts district, with all manner of artists doing everything from painting to sculpture.

At the top of the hill stands the Basilica Sacre-Coeur, a white marble beauty that survived 13 bombs during WWII.

Switzerland via

Lichtenstein

A quick stop in Lichtenstein for lunch added another stamp to their passport as the group headed on to Switzerland.

All four said their favorite country on the trip was Switzerland where they not only had their best performance, but the crowd went wild for the Wyoming troupe, dancing in the aisles and singing along.

There performance was in a very large, enclosed tent, and the students said it was the most fun they had with an energetic crowd that really made their whole trip.

Of course, there was an awesome view of the Matterhorn from their hotel and they even saw the Swiss version of a bull sale on their way back down the mountain.

The group spent a day just meandering along the shores of Lake Geneva and were treated to a large "going away" party featuring fondue and performances by the locals.

Austria

Then it was off to Austria where the band performed at a park in the center of Seefeld while the choir saved their performance for a church in Innsbruk, home of the Winter Olympics.

While in Austria, they took a day trip to Venice, Italy.

Even though it was just a four-hour tour, they were able to see glass blowers, take gondola rides and imbibe in plenty of pizza and pasta.

"The Italian's pizza wasn't that good," was the consensus of all four, but they agreed the pasta, and especially the Alfredo, was delicious.

Germany

The final leg of the journey took the crew to Germany where they "walked the wall", Rothenburg's Medieval, 14th century fortress wall.

"You step through this wall into a whole new world," Gilbert said. The two-mile wall surrounds historic Alstadt (Old Town) and gives a beautiful view of the town inside.

The band performed in the City Square while the choir performed in an historic church.

A somber time was spent at the Dachau concentration camp, one of the first Nazi camps opened in Germany.

"I didn't like it," Igou said. "It was really hard to do. You just had strange feelings."

They all agreed, however, that they didn't get enough time to really explore the area and see all that the camp entailed.

"There was a museum," Smith said, "but by the time we got through it we had to run to see anything else since we were almost out of time."

They were back on a plane the next morning, departing from Frankfurt, through Atlanta and into Denver on June 30.

Their thoughts on the trip were unanimous: "If you get the chance, do it. It's a global experience that will broaden your horizons."