TRA[life]VELS

This morning we all woke up to SNOW!...that may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but for the California kids it definitely was. What started as a light snowfall ended up as snowballs being chucked at us from the sky. I'm not even kidding. The snow is significant because we had to walk in it, probably 20-30 minutes to the church from the Regensburg Youth Hostel and back. This morning we visited a Catholic church to see the Regensburg boys' choir. That choir is supposed to be second only to the Vienna Boys' Choir. Both are world famous. The thing about seeing the boys' choir was that they performed at Mass. This was my first experience with a Mass. The inside of the church (kirche) was no different in temperature than outside. Even with our warmest clothes on, the cold penetrated so much that after awhile it was actually painful. Apparently, being able to tolerate the cold is equated with piety. The church was very ornate, like most Catholic churches. Bavaria is prominently Catholic, and this church wasn't destroyed in the war, so it dates back very far. The inside was decorated in gold plated saints and stained glass windows...it was beautiful, but I couldn't help thinking about what paid for those elaborate decorations. So we stood, then we sat, then we stood again, and sat again...you get it. The service was entirely in German and Latin so I caught about every 10th word. Mass finally ended and we walked back out onto the snow covered cobblestone. If my fingers hadn't been so frozen I would have taken some pictures, but I haven't taken any yet. Thankfully, I have 88 more days left!