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Published: August 12th 2015
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Le Tabor
Our accommodation for a few days - this retreat centre is a calm and tranquil oasis, set in the Vosges Mountains, it is a wonderful place to spend a few days. The whole orchestra seemed to be relieved to leave Mister Bed and the Ibis Budget. Unfortunately I did so without seeing any of Strasbourg. Our accommodation for the next few days was much more enjoyable - a Christian retreat centre in the Vosges Mountains: Le Tabor. The owner was a cheerful Frenchman, Etienne, who had previously been a missionary in Africa. The journey up to the centre was somewhat nerve wracking... I was impressed that the mini-bus drivers managed to drive up such steep, tight and winding lanes from the village below. The location was stunning with views down the valley to the local town of Munster which is distinctive for the storks which perch on huge nests built on the most inaccessible parts of buildings. The retreat centre itself looked inviting with vibrant purple wisteria covering the old balcony and flowers of all shapes and shades populating the grounds above the orchard.
We had a few minutes to settle in before lunch was prepared for us, straight after lunch we got back on the mini-buses to reach the venue for the evening's concert. The venue was an octagonal church in a very modern style in the town of Etupes.
Sunflower with Bee
Enjoying the beauty of Le Tabor I now had nothing to do as I didn't have a formal role with the orchestra. All of the preparations were proceeding like a well oiled machine and I didn't want to interfere. As no one had anything they needed me to do I set about entertaining myself.
I went out into the sunshine and started trying to photograph the bees. I'd only taken a couple of shots when I was joined by a man I didn't recognise. We made our introductions and it turned out he was Toby, the translator for the tour. It was possibly the first time I've ever spoken to a professor of languages and he didn't at all conform to the idea in my mind of a stuffy old man dealing with only the arcane and esoteric. We stood chatting and it was a really interesting conversation which ranged across a huge variety of topics from French WW1 literature to cosmology.
After about an hour we had to go and make ready for the concert. This was my first concert with the All Souls Orchestra and I really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed singing familiar hymns in French. The thing that really delighted
St Stephen's Cathedral, Mulhouse
A beautiful setting for a concert. me though was hearing Grieg's "Morning" with Lindsey on the flute rising above the rest of the orchestra.
I helped the stage team to pack the kit away after the concert and then we all went for dinner. There was a huge Alasacian buffet which I tucked into with great gusto. Throughout the meal we were plagued by wasps but it was amazing how entertaining it could be trapping them under glasses. The real highlight though was when someone announced that wasps eat pork and then we watched them cut little lumps of pork and fly away in a very overburdened way.
The following day was a planned day off. It started with a service in the chapel with a long, rambling and repetitive talk by a visiting French minister. Afterwards, Lindsey and I went with some of the other orchestra members into Munster to the local swimming pool. The pool had a rule that everyone had to wear swimming trunks rather than shorts. I've never seen that rule before but it didn't bother me as I already had my trunks on. The other men didn't though and had to go to a vending machine to buy some.
The French Countryside
A snapshot of the views we had from the minibus. The idea of a swimming trunk vending machine is very strange to me. Eventually everyone was ready and we all entered the pool. In the heat of the day it was a wonderful feeling to slide into the cool water. We spent a couple of hours there and then had our lunch. After lunch we went into Munster to have a look around. We had deliberately not taken our cameras so they didn't get damaged or stolen. It was a real shame because this was the only opportunity we had to go into Munster which was a pretty little town. By the time we got home it was dinner time and then we relaxed in the evening.
The next morning I awoke early and went for a wander around the grounds of Le Tabor, enjoying different types of vegetation and practicing my photography. After breakfast the orchestra came together for a service in the shade of a tree at the back of the building. I was asked to take some photos of this worship and prayer time and this led to me taking photos for the whole tour. It also posed some ethical issues as not all of the
Munster Across the Valley
The view from the front of Le Tabor, the small town of Munster, nestling in the valley. orchestra were happy to be photographed. I think photo-ethics is a subject I need to consider further.
After the service we piled onto the minibuses for the drive to the city of Mulhouse ("Mul-ooze"). We were welcomed by a Mennonite church for lunch before going into the city. The Cathedral of St Stephen in Mulhouse is a very impressive building. Building work obscured the façade but inside was majestic. I went into the upper gallery where there was a collection of stained-glass windows. The sunlight streaming through cast vibrant puddles of colour onto the floor. The rich sound of the orchestra reverberating around the the church was fantastic.
It was very hot and moving the orchestra's kit into the building was not an easy task as access was difficult. We were fortunate that the builders had left some ramps which helped us. Eventually all was unpacked and I was free to wander the city a bit. Mulhouse is a lovely place with lots of grand buildings and obviously a deep history. It was Bastille day so most of the city was closed and there weren't many people around - it was a bit disappointing.
After wandering for
Insect and Flower
Enjoying the beauty of Le Tabor. about an hour I went back to the church where the rehearsal had just finished. I met Lindsey and we waited outside the church. We were waiting for Lindsey's cousin Ian who had driven from Lörrach to see the concert and was taking us out for dinner. A couple of minutes later Ian arrived and we set about trying to find a restaurant. Our choice was very limited as French restaurants don't tend to open that early and most were closed for the public holiday. A few blocks away we found a restaurant which was pretending to be an English pub but which had an identity crisis. Inside the decor was a combination of English street signs and American baseball posters. The menu felt like an American diner but without the lighthearted cheeriness usually attached to the experience. We each ordered a meal and set about catching up. After about 5 minutes we were interrupted by a local man sitting at the table next to us. Looking at the other patrons I could see their amusement... this was obviously not an isolated occurrence. This man offended Ian by suggesting that Lindsey and I were his children. When told that Ian's
Wisteria
A beautiful Wisteria bush was draped over the balcony at the front of Le Tabor. children were 12 years old he also made some suggestive comments and hand signals about how Ian must have a young wife. It was actually quite good natured, though not at all appropriate by any normal standard. The gentleman wanted to meet up with Ian to have conversations in English and French so they could both practice. Ian politely took his email address but I can't imagine he'll use it.
Our meal was too quickly over and we had to return to the church. By this time, a great audience was filling the cathedral, lending a great atmosphere to the occasion. I spent most of the concert in the balcony trying to avoid making too much noise on the creaking floor whilst I manoeuvred to get some good photographs. After the concert we said goodbye to Ian and I stayed behind to help pack up.
The next day we had a couple of hours free in the morning and then had lunch which was a giant paella. Some people were a little squeamish about it containing rabbit but I had no qualms. We then had to leave Le Tabor which was sad as I had grown quite attached
Outdoor service
Worshiping God in the great outdoors. to this place of peace and tranquility. All that remained was to take a group photo which was quite frustrating as we couldn't find members of the group and we would get one person and then loose another. Eventually everyone was there and I took the picture then we got on the mini-buses for the long drive to Geneva.
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