contents
Mozart's Korean Diary
2010 Tour of Korea (#1)
Day 1: Seoul, 13/01
We meet at Vienna Airport, looking forward to Korea, all excited and happy. The flight however is delayed by two hours, and we are somehwat deflated. It means we have half an hour to catch our next plane in Frankfurt. Help!
Frankfurt, as anyone knows, is one of Europe's tinier airports. We make a run for it (in an elegant and orderly fashion of course) and find ourselves on the right plane. The ten-hour-flight passes quickly: the inflight entertainment is excellent, and the stewardesses are very nice.
Credia, our Korean management, wait for us in Seoul. It is freezing various body parts of brass monkeys. We hole up in our cosy hotel, but not for long: We are hungry. After dinner (or is it lunch?), we go for a walk in the city centre.
Day 2: Seoul, 14/01
The breakfast buffet leaves nothing to be desired. With that under our belts, we drive to the Seoul Museum of Art, to take in the Andy-Warhol-exhibition. We sing a few songs as well, right in front of a large self-portrait. You can watch us on You Tube.
After lunch we rehearse: the first concert is tomorrow. We want to make the best possible impression. For dinner, we have Italian food, and there are doughnuts for dessert. To quote Mr Homer J. Simpson, "Mmmh. Doughnuts!"
Day 3: Seoul - Goyang, 15/01
A lift takes us up N Seoul Tower. It is 236 metres high, and we have an hour to get a bird's eye view of Seoul, one of the largest cities in the world. The view is breathtaking. Afterwards, we pay the souvenir shop a visit, and watch a show in traditional Korean costume.
We eat a Japanese lunch. Most of us have gotten quite fond of Japanese food during last year's tour, and Masaya and Shintaro teach our seven new boys how to properly eat with chopsticks.
We return to the hotel and relax; finally it is time to drive to Goyang, 45 minutes' drive from Seoul. En route, we witness a rare phenomenon: an annular solar eclipse. The moon blocks the view of the sun except for a burning ring of fire. You can only see this in parts of Asia and Africa, and we feel privileged.
The concert, we think, is a success. There is noisy applause at the end, and we return to the hotel in high spirits.
Day 4: Seoul, 16/01
We rehearse, as you do, then we make our way to Lotte World. It takes a while, as we get caught in Seoul's rush hour. But that is quite interesting, too. We eat burgers, as you do, then we split into groups to better explore all of Lotte World.
There are indoor theme parks, magic islands, shopping malls, and an outdoor area. The roller coasters are outside, the ice rink (happily) in inside. After four hours of exploring and hard work we need to eat.We choose Korean food, as you do when in Korea. We have bulgagi, which is fried shredded beef with vegetables, sweet potatoes, and corn. It is nice!
When we return to the hotel, we telephone our families with the latest reports. Parents like to be informed.
Day 5: Seoul - Seongnam, 17/01
We want to learn something about Korean history, so we visit Gyeongbokgung, the first of the old royal palaces in the North of Seoul. It is actually an entire area with artifical lakes and islands. The buildings all have curving roofs with terracotta tiles. The palace was built in 1395 for King Taejo (Yi Seonggye), the founder of the Joseon dynasty. We hear they fought a lot. Wonder what life was like back then?
The weather is quite good. We go for a walk in the grounds and take numerous pictures.
We have Chinese food today, and some of us have quite a battle with the chopsticks on their hands; in particular trying to eat soup. Shintaro's a dab hand at this. (He's had masses of training.)
In the evening, we are driven to our second concert in Korea. It takes place in Seongnam, where an enthusiastic audience awaits us: The Koreans can really shout, and the reception makes us feel quite special.
In the evening, we are driven to our second concert in Korea. It takes place in Seongnam, where an enthusiastic audience awaits us: The Koreans can really shout, and the reception makes us feel quite special.
Day 6: Seoul, 18/01
We participate in a TV show. It is colourful, loud, and obviously hip and trendy. The older boys field the interview questions; and they acquit themselves quite well.
Being in a TV studio is fun, but it makes you thirsty and hungry. As you'd expect, we have the perfect remedy. Eat spare ribs and drink something fizzy, by way of celebration. Perhaps this is not exactly the most elegant kind of meal, but it is delicious.
As culturally minded people, we spend the evening at a Green Day concert. Green Day happen to be in Korea, too. They play - at the end - their very own version of Mozart's Kleine Nachtmusik. Wolfgang would have liked it, for sure.