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From July 17
to 31, the Ayr-Paris Band marked
their tenth International tour
with their most ambitious,
interesting, and adventurous
trip yet. The tour was mostly
centred in formerly
Eastern-block countries. Today,
they go by the names of Czech
Republic, Slovenska, Hungary,
Poland; as well as stops in
Germany and Vienna, Austria.
 On
Saturday afternoon, the group
had a soggy start from the Ayr
News parking lot. Fourty-four
band members, their spouses,
parents, and guests, totalling
70 in all made trip down the
highlight to Pearson�s new
Terminal One. After the usual
(complicated) check-in of
instruments and baggage, it was
easy to navigate the new
terminal and find a very
comfortable hospitality zone to
toast the adventures to come. We
were surprised to be greeted
personally by our pilot as he
boarded the plane, Roger
Allison. Roger is formerly of RR
3, Ayr and the son of well-known
Paris area couple, Jack and
Pansy. Jack and Pansy have been
seasoned travelers in past years
with the Band. By the smile on
Roger�s face and his friendly
greeting, it would be suspected
that his parents had nothing but
good things to say about their
previous trips with Band
members. Roger has been flying
for Air Canada for 32 years and
gave the group and smooth ride
into the Munich airport.
First stop, Hofbrauhaus, Munich
 We
were on schedule and met our
guide Aachim Koenig and driver
Hermann (the German) who
introduced us to our home on
wheels for the next two weeks.
It was a brand-new double decker
bus complete with luggage
trailer. As we would find out
very quickly on our tour, the
double decker allowed all of us
(group and Band) to enjoy each
other�s company together;
however, there were many
logistic challenges of such a
�monster� bus. Lots of
adventures including missing
permits, missing spare tire when
there was a flat, toll charges,
low bridges, police stops, roads
missing from GPS, roads missing
altogether -- allowed for lots
of time for the group and Band
to get to know each other very
well.
We made a detour
into Munich for a visit to the
famous Hofbrauhaus. The
well-known meeting place was
bustling with tourists enjoying
vast steins of ale, sauerkraut,
and all things German, including
a notable tuba player whose
performance was amazing � both
visually and her playing
ability.
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
 A
general observation for the tour
was the effect of WWII, followed
very shortly by fourty years of
Communism on all of the formerly
Eastern-bloc countries. We were
fortunate to have tour guides
who told us of their lives both
before and after the fall, which
began in 1988.
Cesky Krumlov was
our first overnight and is an
amazing success story of
reimergence into a beautiful and
interesting town. Dating back to
medieval times, the
Unesco-designated city, is
located in the former heart of
Bohemia. The group enjoyed an
extensive morning tour which
focussed on it�s rich culture
and history down narrow
cobblestone streets, and
enveloped in beautifully
restored buildings. Their castle
and fortress is the most
priceless historical monument in
the Czech Republic.
 The
Band was very greeted
enthusiastically by an afternoon
crowd in the town�s central
square. It was a stand-up
concert, which in the brutal
heat proved too much for some
band members, but the rest were
able to soldier on and give a
performance that would make many
Canadian very proud.
Vienna, Austria
 On
Tuesday morning, suitcases and
instruments were cobbled down
the road to the monster bus and
it was off to Vienna. This was
the Band�s second visit to
Austria and as with many
European Community cities, the
flavour has changed. Many talked
of Vienna being a �romantic�
and green city. That has been
mostly replaced with vast
developments and equally vast
construction sites. Construction
was everywhere. Were we
challenged by the construction
project in front of our hotel
and well as an illness which
gripped some Band members, and a
orientation problem which
gripped another long-time Band
member. However, all�s well
that ends well, by the time we
left Vienna we found both our
health and Fred.
The historial
centre of Vienna remains
untouched and an interesting
walking tour was enjoyed on a
hot and sunny Wednesday morning.
The Band travelled outside the
city for a performance at a
Spa/Relaxation Centre run by
Cistercian Nuns. Again, heat was
a challenge, but Band members
played alternate instruments to
fill in gaps left by
ailing/lost/finding the lost
band members.
Bratislava for the Day
   Bratislava
is another beautiful and ancient
city in new country of
Slovenska. To reach the city,
the tour travelled by boat down
the Danube. Again, a walking
tour, and free time made for a
relaxing day. The city is under
heavy reconstruction, again to
rectify the effects of
negligence during the Communist
years. The cruise back to Vienna
provided time for some to relax
and others to take the
opportunity to finish of a
quantity of schnapps and beer.
Those who relaxed on the boat
enjoyed an evening of Austrian
folk entertainment with their
dinner.
Budapest, Hungary
  On
Friday, the tour was on the move
and as with each move, they
entered another country. It is
interesting to note that there
are no longer border stops, the
inspection buildings are
desserted, passports are not
required. This is a recent
change, as the tour company was
expecting guards at each border.
A smooth trip and
expected arrival time made it
possible for the group to
explore some of the city on
their own before leaving for an
evening concert at the
Millenarispark amphitheatre. The
location of the park is the
former Ganz plush toy factory.
Saturday was a
guided bus and walking tour,
again through beautiful
reconstructed streets, to their
palace on castle hill at the top
of �Buda� and other historic
sites. The palace and nearby
Church was destroyed during WWII
as the palace was the
headquarters for the German
troops. The castle district has
been designated as a Unesco
world heritage site and a
portion of the palace has been
restored as the office of the
Mayor.
Saturday evening
the Band and Group enjoyed an
exchange with a local music
school. The 20 musicians who
take lessons at the Hubay Jeno
school gave an enthuasiastic
performance then joined the
Ayr-Paris Band for Instant
Concert and the Lion King. The
percussion section brought the
Lion King to life. Their
conductor was very animated and
was impressed by the number of
young people in our Band.
Krakow, Poland
Roads from one country to
another were a challenge. The
Band had been waiting for almost
20
 years
to make this trip and they knew
before now, these countries were
not in a state to welcome
tourist. Even today, they are
barely in a state to welcome a
�monster� bus. While the bus
had two state-of-the-art GPS
systems, the information
provided by the these developing
countries was not available. The
good old Michelin quite often
showed the very round-about
route that we were taking, when
our guide and driver expected
the GPS to perform.
The weather
turned cool (a real relief).
This came in handy when the
"monster" bus once again reared
its ugly head and was almost
navigated under a bridge. A
kind cab driver was trying to
help our lost bus driver. A
99-point turn and many
assistants got us turned around
� eventually.
Krakow was a
highlight for most on the tour.
Krakow has endured the darkness
of the 20th century
and is now a UNESCO protected
city. It is one of world's 12
most important cultural
monuments. Most members took the
70 km. trip to Auswitz-Birkenau
death camp and witnessed the
horror of the WWII extermination
camp. One million, three hundred
thousand were murdered. All tour
guides are direct descendants of
Auswitz prisoners. The camp was
crowded with tourists, many
waving Israeli flags. Those
remaining in Krakow took
advantage of the time to take
the "Jewish" in what had been
the Jewish quarter and Ghetto.
Some eerie statistics: 65,000
Jews lived in Krakow at
beginning of WWII, only 100
reside in there today.
Krakow is a
beautiful compact city with the
old section being very walkable
and containing a beautiful
square, outdoor cafes;
surrounded by a park, old city
wall and the prerequiste castle.
It was not especially crowded
and provided some relaxing free
time. Some took in the Pope John
Paul II sites �
home/school/cathedral, where he
was a priest prior to becoming
Pope. Others enjoyed perogies,
perogies and more perogies,
topped off with more ice cream.
Prague, Poland
  Prague
was anticipated as the longest
stretch of the journey, 550 km.
However, a superhighway and
accurate GPS delivered the group
on time! The hotel was very
modern, ideally situated beside
a huge shopping centre, and a 15
minute walk to the edge of the
old city.
One aspect of the
tour that was essential was the
presence of a different tour
guide in each of the countries,
who could both speak the
language (Czech, Hungarian,
Polish, German), act as a
concert MC, and guide the bus
driver.
  Prague
was untouched during WWII. It
was considered Hitler's "jewel".
The result is breathtaking
architecture. It has emerged as
a tourist centre drawing in
crowds of many nationalities.
There was an extensive tour,
both walking and on the bus from
the top of the city (Prague
castle), walking down to the St.
Charles Bridge and then onto
Wenceslas Square.
  Be
careful, there is a bit of a
scam if you are waiting to see
the "spectacular" horoscope
clock. One tour couple paid
$50.00 for two sandwiches and
two small beer in anticipation
of the big show. They found out
at 12 noon that the cuckoo
clocks at Rothenburg were just
as spectacular as the somewhat
dismal figures that sort moved
around on the clock.
The final concert
performances were given first at
a spa town, Podebrady; then, at
Namesti Miru square in front St.
Ludmila church. Both concerts
were very well received.
That evening was
the "last night party" (even
though it wasn't). After three
different exits and two
roundabouts the group joined an
Australian party who had been
enjoying complementary
refreshments waiting for the bus
to arrive. Czech folk music,
dance, and singing was
first-rate. Audience
participation was right up the
alley of the group and must have
had the folk troup concerned
that they might lose some
instruments to our Director.
Rothenburg, Germany
The oval route was complete with
a final night in Rothenburg,
Germany, one of the finest
medieval towns in Germany. It
remains virtually unchanged
since the sixteen century. There
are towers, fortified gates, two
and one-half miles of
battlements and the last chance
for the group to buy their
dirndls, cuckoo clocks and/or
schnapps. A frenzy of shopping,
eating and one last evening of
beer put the finishing touches
of one of the most adventurous
and interesting tours of the
Ayr-Paris Band.
Home At Last?
 Well,
not quite. A final police escort
to a near-by service centre had
many wondering if they would
indeed make it to the airport on
time. Once again, papers were
not in order. A flurry of
handwaving resulting in fines
and (probably) very colourful
German had us eventually on the
way.
Frankfurt airport
should market its check-in
technology and security devices
to Air Canada the US Customs in
Toronto. The check-in, with no
prior special arrangements, was
smooth and efficient. Flyers
beware � you need a boarding
pass to get through the gate.
This caused some tense moments
for one band member and the kind
escort.
Final Thank You
The talents of Merry Schmidt
cannot be surpassed. Language
barriers proved no difficulty
when there is a smile on the
face and good music selection.
The travel committee: Irene
Adeney, George Schmidt and
Derrick Ostner were thrilled to
see three years of preparation
and planning turn into the
adventure of a life-time!
Ayr-Paris Band, Prague, 2010
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