Mastersingers USA in Central Europe – 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Concert in Český Krumlov
After a 4-hour drive from Brno, we arrived at the town of Český Krumlov, near the Austrian border. This old, quaint, mountain village, with its winding cobblestone streets, dominating castle, and beautiful gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The product of concerted renovation since the Velvet Revolution of 1989, some consider this the most beautiful town in the Czech Republic.
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| Overview of Český Krumlov showing Vltava River (source: Lubor Mrázek) | Castle and St. Vitus Church at Český Krumlov (source: Norbert Aepli) |
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| Town Square - Center white and tan buildings are The Old Inn, where many of us stayed (source: www.ckrumlov.cz/uk) | |
After a noon arrival and lunch and a very little bit of free time, we prepared for concert #6 (our only all-secular concert), which was to be given in the open courtyard of the Hotel Ruze at 4:30 p.m. Not only was there very limited space for audience in this courtyard, but the good weather that had followed us throughout our tour began to fail us.
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Some of us tried to woo an audience by handing out fliers on the street. Whether it was this tactic or the limited advance publicity we received, the result was that the tight space in the courtyard was packed with listeners, many standing, as we started to sing. We stood in the open part of the courtyard and for the 45 minutes of our "concert," we experienced many cycles of bright sun, clouds, and light mist in 65-degree weather. As usual, we were well received, though many of us wished we might have sung in a larger venue, even the main square. This town was packed with thousands upon thousands of tourists, and even with minimal advance notice, we felt we could win many of them over with our music. |
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After the concert and animated conversations with members of our audience surprised at their good luck at having caught our performance, we all scattered for different dinner adventures (and subsequent libations), made easy by the fact that this tourist-oriented town featured 80 different restaurants.
We had only the following morning to explore Český Krumlov in the daylight, and there was an earnestness to our explorations, as we tried to see in a few hours the highlights of a tourist destination that deserved at least several days.
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