A Great Day out with Waggum Choir in Magdeburg.

Monika on the microphone checking that everyone has arrived before the coach left.

 

Waggum Lady's Choir consists of about 50 singers, sopranos and altos of all ages, who sing folk and gospel songs in both English and German.  I met two of the members in an English group, and they asked me if I would like to sing with them, and I said "Yes, of course, I would love to."

 

Monika above, is the choir's secretary, and arranged a really lovely visit for us all to Magdeburg, on the River Elbe in Saxony-Anhalt,   We travelled in a lovely German coach with all mod cons, and the journey from Waggum to the city took just over an hour. 

The group on arrival in Magdeburg, with the splendid German coach in the background.

We were lucky to have a really good city guide, who accompanied us on the ride around the city in the coach, and then back to the Cathedral quarter for a walk around the area.  He spoke much too quickly for me to understand all that he said, but he was amusing, and I could understand many of his jokes.

The city guide explaining the lay out of the old medieval town on a bronze model of the city.
 

 Lunch in the café in the Rathaus.

 

From the Cathedral quarter we rejoined the coach for a short ride to the Old Market Place.   Here we went into the Rathaus café for lunch and a beer.  The food was excellent, although it took rather a long time to arrive!

 

On board the boat for a view of the city from the River Elbe.

 

After lunch we drove down to the river for a trip on a boat to see the sights from water level.  Once again all the commentary was in German, and when I concentrate I can understand most of what is said, although I sometimes lose the will to live, and have to switch off for a while.  Speaking and listening to a foreign language is hard going after a while.

 

This is the time when I have to seek out another English speaker, and I was fortunate enough to meet a lady, whose son is married to an Indonesian lady, and who has to speak to her daughter in law in English.  Oh bliss, I was able to chat away with her without having to think too much.   Sometimes my head buzzes with toooo much German!

 

The link below will give you more information about the city.

Magdeburg - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg

Magdeburg is the capital city of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe.

Up on the viewing tower looking over the locks that connect the Mittelland Canal with the Elbe-Havel Canal.
 
The viewing tower was several floors up, with many steps, and I was a little puffed out when I got to the top.   Coming down was a doddle!

The link below will give all the information about the connection of these two waterways. 

Magdeburg Water Bridge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg_Water_Bridge

The Magdeburg Water Bridge is a large navigable aqueduct in central Germany, located near Magdeburg. The largest canal underbridge in Europe, it spans the river Elbe ...

Great German cakes await us at the Mühlencafe at Morsleben Mill.

 

After a short drive from the canal junction, we enjoyed tea and cake in a very interesting old mill, that had been converted into a café and a small museum.  It was possible to look around the old buildings, with a large display of old machinery and utensils involved in the milling process.

 

Singing folk songs at the Mill cafe.

After our enjoyable tea and a big piece of cake, and a tour around the mill and museum, we gathered in the shade and sang some folk songs for those still customers enjoying the snacks.  It was a lovely day out, one of the very best I have ever spent in Germany.   I think it was because I was with a group of singers, and singers around the world are always good company.    

 

My motto is:  "Join a choir, sing your socks off,  and have a really good time."