MUCS 70th Anniversary Tour

written by Andrew Wailes

Our Etihad flight from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi was excellent. Brilliant food, excellent service, smooth flight and very comfortable. I actually managed to sleep more than I ever have before on a long haul flight, but that was probably due to the handful of valerian tablets I dosed myself up with after dinner!

We arrived in Abu Dhabi at dawn after a 15 hour flight. Brand new airport… the Arabs don’t muck around. Everything that opens and shuts, clean and efficient, and the fastest exit I have ever experienced in an international airport.

6 of us were on the flight and we were expecting to pay for a visa to be allowed to exit the airport, but were very pleased when we were told by the border guards that we were free to enter the city as long as we returned in time for our flight… hey stamped our passports, waved us through and no charge! Excellent.

I arranged for a mini bus to collect us – brand new Mercedes complete with soft leather seats etc, and we hit the Abu Dhabi expressway… no lights, boredered by green lawns and thousands of massive Palm trees, and a totally straight road with no speed limits. We were flying along at 155 kms an hour in no time!


First thing that struck us was the sky… a glowing red/pink colour, with the Moon, stars and Sun all present at once. Quite beautiful. The second thing was how flat it all was, we were surrounded by desert sands. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of, and the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates. It lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. The entire city has been built during my own lifetime which is hard to believe… basically all the creation of Sheik Zayed who only recently died.

Our first stop was down town Abu Dhabi, and its magnificent skyscrapers, reclaimed islands, water front marinas and beaches, and vast shopping malls. We had a coffee in the Marina Mall as it as just opening and visited the top of the Marina Mall Tower, a massive tower with a revolving glass restaurant at the top with breathtaking views over the city.

We then spent some time on the beach, but were getting too hot so then headed for the Sheik Zayed Mosque, otherwise known as The Great Mosque.

The Sheik Zayed Mosque, is a stunningly beautiful building, with white marble domes which can be seen from far across Abu Dhabi, and as you enter the city from the airport. We arrived as the fire-like sun was rising above the Arabian desert in a red sky, and seeing this sensual group of massive white marble domes & towers illuminated under the soft-coloured sky was beautiful...you really felt like you were in an exotic far away place...

The Great Mosque has only been opened for about a year, having taken 13 years to complete. It is the 2nd or 3rd largest mosque in the world, covering 22,000 sq metres, and its surrounding grounds about the equivalent to 5 football grounds. Sheik Zayed (the Arab Sheik who basically created the city of Abu Dhabi the year I was born) has his grave here in a separate enclosure, strictly guarded and with musilim prayers constantly chanted over huge set of speakers, and strictly no cameras allowed. Visitors like myself are however allowed to visit the main mosque, and the outside if the building is as massive as it is beautiful. Made of pure white marble and gold, and surrounded by bright blue reflective pools, the building reminds me of a cross between the Kremlin Cathedrals and the great Taj Mahal. Inside is as stunning as the outside, vast spaces, domes, thousands of massive columns of white marble inlaid with mother of pearl and semi precious stones, extravagant overisized chandeliers, (7 in all, including the largest in the world, shipped in from Germany, adorned in 24 carot gold & covered in thousands of dazzling swarovski crystals). The main space is covered in an elaborate carpet, handwoven by 1,200 Iranian women, again the largest hand woven carpet in the world.

Abu Dhabi is a pretty amazing place. It began as sand, and in a few short decades it has become a major city. With many of the world’s tallest buildings being built there, its is fast becoming one of the great cities of the world. We were only there for a day but it was a great way to break the trip to Germany.

We departed on time but there were some delays landing at Frankfurt, due mainly to the chaos in Europe caused by the unusually cold weather and snow in Europe at the moment. It was quite strange to see Frankfurt, one of the world’s busiest and biggest airports completely covered in snow… totally white apart from lots of flashing lights! We cleared customs, jumped in the sky rail to transfer to terminal one, then got the train into the city, and the massive Hauptbahnhof (Main Rail Station) which is one of the biggest and busiest in Europe.

Heavy snow greeted us in Frankfurt, wit a lot of snow lying o the ground – unusual for Germany, but a nice atmosphere to start the tour with.

After checking in to the hotel, a group of us walked over to Romerburg, and for those visiting Frankfurt for the first time I did a bit of a brief on where things were and what they were etc, before we headed to the ‘Pauliner Hof’ behind the Church of St Bartholemeu (the ‘Dom’) for dinner. A traditional hotel / microbrewery and German restaurant was the perfect setting for our first meal in Germany.

Next morning snow had cleared and though overcast, was a pleasant 4 below zero. Gradually people descended on the old town , and our numbers grew from 6 to 40 in no time for the first walking tour at 8.30am. It was great to see all the familiar MUCS faces again, and hear of everyone’s travels, via distant lands as diverse as London, Seoul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Singapore, Paris, and even Helsinki and Moscow! Finally MUCS were in Germany, and the tour was no longer a dream but a reality.

We enjoyed fantastic walking tour of Frankfurt and its fascinating sights, from the impressive Dom of St Batholomaus (venue for the coronation ceremonies for ten of the Holy Roman Emperors between 1562 and 1792), even though it was not actually a Cathedral), Roman ruins dating from 72 AD to the medieval churches and houses, through to the post-war reconstructions and the modern skyscrapers that give Frankfurt Europe’s tallest skyline. After a few hours the first group headed for the wonderful museums that line the River bank – the Boticelli Exhibition at the Stadt Gallery, the Jewish Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and Natural History Museum all popular. Sights visited included the Alte Nicholai Church, Rathaus, Oldest surviving house in Frankfurt, the Roman ruins, the Alte Stucke, the Jewish Holocaust Memorial, the old Jewish Cemetery (including the memorials to Anne Frank and her sister and the Rothschilds), the ‘Stumble Stones’, and lots of beautiful churches. Meanwhile another 30 or so people had arrived and began their walking tour at 11.30am, before we all headed to Sachsenhausen to the Dauth Sneider Restaurant, in an old traditional family owned ‘Apple Wine Pub’ where we feasted on Wurst, Sauerkraut, Pork knuckles, liver soup, bread, potatos and dumplings and drank the local Apple Wine Sachsenhausen is so famous for.

After lunch 70 of us recommenced the walking tour, crossing the River Main, and visiting the Church of the Knights Templar, dating from 1150 AD, as well as other sights such as the Stock Exchange, the Old Opera, the Ziel, St Leonard’s Church, Goethe Haus, the old medieval watch tower, city wall etc.

After a quick briefing in the Romerplatz outside the Old Nicholas Church we all headed our own ways for dinner. A large group of us visited the old tavern opposite the church, the oldest original house in Frankfurt still standing, dating from about 1400, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and beer before making our way through the snow to our respective hotels.

Next day we had a free morning in Frankfurt for people to explore the city further, visit the museums and galleries, take more photos, enjoy the pubs and cafes or hit the Ziel for shopping before the tour officially began. At 2pm the entire group assembled for the first time, at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, a magnificent structure in itself, and one of the world’s busiest railway stations. There we met the last few members of our part who had flown in from various parts of the world, as well as our two full time tour guides, the very entertaining Maritza and Greta, and boarded our two luxury coaches.

Driving through Frankfurt, across the River Main, and south, we headed for the Necar Valley, and to our Hotel in Schriesheim, just a little along the river from the ancient University town of Heidelberg. We arrived at the charming Hotel Scheid in time for drinks, and enjoyed a few hours to relax and unwind in the very comfortable and charming hotel bar before our first tour meal with everyone together at last. With snow falling outside, and the hotel set amongst hills and forests, it was a perfect setting for our first formal tour meal. German dumpling soup, piles and piles of vegies, with roast port and lost of it!!!

Saturday morning we rose early and enjoyed a huge breakfast, with a feast of old meats, cheeses, breads, cereals, sweets, fresh fruit, yogurts and even Tiramisu for the sweet tooths amongst us! We then boarded the busses, and headed for Heidelberg. A short drive away, we arrived to the stunning views of Heidelberg completely blanketed in snow… a rare treat indeed, and a beautiful sight to remember. We were met by our two very entertaining local tour guides and then embarked on a bus tour of the Neckar Valley, before leaving the busses at the Nackarmunzplatz and embarking on a walking tour of the town and the castle. Given the amount of snow on the ground we rode the Funincular (a steep railway that goes through a tunnel straight up the mountain to the castle) rather than walk, and then enjoyed a three hour tour of the huge red sandstone castle ruin and grounds. The castle is one of the greatest Gothic –Renaissance castles in Germany and is dominated by the great tower with its 26 foot thick walls that were blown up by the French in the late 17th century. We enterd the castle and explored the magnificent ruins of the Palace of Friedrich IV erected in 1601, and the ancient bell tower which dates from the early 1500s. We entered the great Wine Vat building, and saw the famous ‘Great Cask’ – the largest wine cask ever built – built in 1751 and capable of holding more than 208,000 litres of wine!

Whilst visiting the Great Cask, we were asked by the castle guardians to make an impromptu performance for the retired German President and his enterage of VIPs who were present. So, quite fittingly, our first official performance in Germany was for the former President, in the grounds of Heidelberg Castle, next to the world’s biggest wine cask!!! Our impromptu performance, with no music, was very well received and we celebrated with local wine, hot coffee and butter cake!

In freezing, windy conditions we then spent the rest of the day exploring the old university town and its churches, walkways, views and inns. Some of the highlights were the recently restored Jesuit Church, the imposing Heiliggeistkirche, the Marktplatz and its charming stalls, the student prison, the magnificent bridge and Philosophers Weg ( a winding train up the mountain over the other side of the River with stunning views of the Castle and City), and some of the 300 year old pubs and bars that are still serving gret food and beer. These included the famous student pub the ‘Red Ox Inn’ which opened in 1703 and has enjoyed guests ranging from Bismark to Mark Twain. Next door the ‘Zum Sepp’l’ bar (dating from 1634) was another student pub adorned wit graffiti and carvings on the walls and furniture dating back hundreds of years.

With the strong wind creating a wind-chill factor of around -10 degrees below freezing, the warm bus trip home to our comfortable hotel was enjoyed by all, and we enjoyed another dinner at the Hotel Scheid before a short rehearsal in the restaurant which gave us all a chance to run through things before our first big performance in the morning at the Imperial Cathedral of Worms. It also gave Rod a chance to try out his new recording gear and test the remote system he is using to record our performances with.