… and on 1 May, a lovely sunny spring day, the Chor International Potsdam (CIP) set off on its traditional bike ride with great anticipation …
Our tour started at the historic steam engine house on the Neustadt Havel bay. Cycling along the banks of the Havel wasn’t easy that day, as there were lots of other groups out and about too.
Our first stop was at the bandstand on Lake Templin. We took over this beautiful stage, which is listed, and sang songs to celebrate spring with great enthusiasm. Passers-by stopped to listen and thanked us for our singing with applause and some were even humming along. This is a wonderfully unique corner of Potsdam! We all agreed: we’d love to give a concert here for an audience listening from the garden of the Regatta House opposite. So now we dream of a future concert at this very spot …
Our cycle tour continued along the water’s edge to Lake Petzin and straight to the garden of one of our choir members. It was good to stop, to relax and recharge, soaking up the sun while singing and enjoying cool water, fruit, and lovely coffee. “Wie schön blüht uns die Maien …” (How beautifully May blooms …), we sang, accompanied by a guitar.
The next leg of our tour was a challenging stretch via Baumgartenbrück, Petzow and Beelitz-Heilstätten to Borkheide. Cycling the so-called Glindow Alps is no walk in the park, but we cheered each other on, and our communal effort gave us the strength to reach our destination …
… arriving at the next beautiful garden … The songs we are currently rehearsing for our next concert are on the theme of nature, and they were a perfect fit for this green oasis. We were accompanied by birdsong and the sounds of nature all around us – the garden was the ideal backdrop.
But before bursting into song, we enjoyed the traditional CIP picnic in all its glory. The table was beautifully decorated with a ‘King Lily of the Valley’ floral arrangement, inspired by the Swedish song of the same name, ‘Kung Liljakonvalje’. You can hear our rendition of it at our NATURE Concerts on 31 May, 13 June, and 27 and 28 June.
Some of us took the train home from Borkheide in the early evening – exhausted by the 35-kilometre bike ride there – whilst others braved cycling all the way back home again.
We’re looking forward to our upcoming Nature Concerts – there will surely be many moments during the concerts when we will be reminded of our lovely 1 May bike ride … of the bumblebees, birds and wildflowers we saw, of the sounds and scents of spring, the sunshine, cotton ball clouds, the shady forest… and how important it is to protect the many treasures of nature.
