Yesterday, those of us that didn’t make the finals and the jury went out to Curonian Split. This is a peninsula that is between the Baltic Sea and the Kaliningrad Lagoon. We stopped at several places along the way and got to see some beautiful views. First, we stopped and walked through a forest, which was really neat. Our second stop was the beach of the Baltic Sea. This was amazing. I think this is perhaps the second time in my life I’ve been on a beach. The views were beautiful, and it was so peaceful out there. I could’ve stayed out there for hours! Then, the last stop was viewing the Kaliningrad Lagoon, which was also a beautiful view. It was a fun day to just relax. We had a very late lunch, which was traditional Russian food, so that was very nice. On the way back I had the opportunity to speak with the chair of the jury about my performance. It was a very interesting conversation, and I tried to not take things to heart that he said. I learned a lot from that conversation to say the least. Last night I went to the coffee shop next door for dessert, and then Simon and I talked for awhile there about competitions, and how subjective they all really are. Especially here, where there are 9 jury members and each one probably is expecting something different.
Today was the finals of the competition, and I decided to go and listen to them. It was a very interesting time. One finalist played the Boelmann Suite.. which.. ok, that’s a beginner organ piece. I was impressed with two of the six finalists.. otherwise, it was pretty typical playing. I spent the afternoon shopping, or maybe I should say “browsing” which was interesting. The schedule here has been pretty free, so I’ve been going to the mall and walking around if there’s free time- granted there’s 3 malls in the vicinity, so that helps!
Tonight starts the celebration of the City of Kaliningrad’s Birthday. I’ve always heard that Russians like to party… so there’s a huge party out in front of the hotel tonight. There’s a big stage with a concert going on, and the streets are packed full of people. Simon and I walked down to get dessert, and ended up coming back when the concert and fireworks were over, which meant that the streets were crazy! This must be a pretty big deal for Kaliningrad. Should be interesting to see what is going on tomorrow since we have yet another free day until the closing ceremony in the evening.
Monday afternoon we fly back to the U.S., and I’ll spend the night in Newark before returning to KS on Tuesday morning. I’ll say that I’m looking forward to getting back to Kansas. It will be nice to be able to understand, speak and read the language again, and find Dr. Pepper. Although, this trip has been something I’m not going to forget anytime soon!
I’m not sure if I will post again, but I must also say thanks to all of you for your wonderful support. From facebook posts to emails, I realized that I’m so fortunate to have such a wonderful “fan club.” Thank you all!
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