Tour Day 6: Rüdesheim, Oberwesel, Wiesbaden

One of the most meaningful components of our cultural & musical exchange with the Musikschule is the opportunity to develop friendships. These friendships often extend long past the initial exchange week, with the Musikschule and D99 students continuing to communicate and - in some cases - arranging private return visits to one another's homes.

Kristen and I count the Schiffer Family as some of our closest friends anywhere in the world, and it's always wonderful to reconnect with them.

Our free-day included visits to Rüdesheim, Oberwesel, and Wiesbaden where Mr. and Mrs. Schiffer's son, Bastian, works as a Graphic Artist/Designer. We first met Bastian when he was a percussionist in the JBO (the Musikschule Band). At the time his father, Mr. Schiffer, was the Conductor of the JBO. Now Mr. Schiffer serves as the Director (Head Administrator) of the Musikschule.

Bastian currently works in Wiesbaden, which coincidentally, is where Mr. Schiffer played trombone professionally in the Opera Orchestra for several years before becoming a conductor at the Bietigheim-Bissingen Musikschule. It was a lot of fun to visit Bastian again today, and to see the theatre where Mr. Schiffer worked as a professional trombonist early in his career. We were greeted in Wiesbaden with an unbelievable double-rainbow right over the theatre.