{"id":342,"date":"2017-01-11T05:10:34","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T05:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=342"},"modified":"2017-01-11T05:12:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T05:12:12","slug":"blog-dec-2016-jan-9-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/?p=342","title":{"rendered":"blog Dec 2016 – Jan 1 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fri Dec 9<\/p>\n

After several busy days tidying & cleaning my unit, sorting out my affairs, packing 2 suitcases & last minute medical appointments, I flew to SD on Wed 7. The flight was the new revamped United Business Class called Polaris. Amongst improvements were slippers & PJ’s – see pic below.<\/p>\n

Lots of things to do when I arrived & today I got a US cell phone #. Tomorrow I go to New Orleans for 3 days to see my great mate, Robert Dale, who moved there in July.<\/p>\n

\"revamped<\/p>\n

Wed 14<\/p>\n

I am now back in SD after a nice weekend in New Orleans. Sunday started with Latin High Mass in St Patrick’s, followed by brunch with Robert, jazz concert in St Louis cathedral, & hamburgers in iconic Bourbon St diner. Tomorrow I fly to London & will have 4 days there, after which I fly to Munich for Weihnachten in Deutschland \ud83d\ude42
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Wed 21st
\nMy 5 days in London were nice & the weather was kind. Sunday I went to Mass at St Gabriel’s, Pimlico, & enjoyed catching up with the assistant, Fr Lee, & his lovely wife. In the a\/noon I visited an old friend from Fitzroy who has lived in London 15 years. Yesterday I flew to Munich – but my visit to Germany has been overshadowed by the terrorist attack in Berlin. I know where it happened, of course – & trust it will not deter the Germans. It certainly won’t deter me! Less tourists & less crowded Christmas markets will certainly suit me. I have 2 nights in Munich, go to Frankfurt tomorrow & to Berlin on Friday.<\/p>\n

Today, after doing my washing at the laundromat, I visited the nearby Christmas market. Naturally I had a mug of Gluhwein! I then walked to Marienplatz to experience the market there. Wandering into the Frauenkirche at 3 pm I was surprised & delighted to find that Pontifical High Mass was about to be celebrated by the Archbishop. It was a special Mass to commemorate the Berlin terrorist attack. The church was full & the choir provided excellent music. It was a fitting way to conclude my time here in Munich.<\/p>\n

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Christmas Day<\/p>\n

After a nice overnight stay in Frankfurt I caught the train to Berlin on Friday, arriving at 4 pm. It was already dark, so after settling into my hotel I went for a walk along Unter den Linden to see the Christmas lights on all the trees. The weather has been cold, but bearable. On Christmas Eve I attended a 3 pm Krippenfeier Service at St Hedwig’s cathedral. I thought this was a Crib service, but it turned out to be a lovely Carol Service. The cathedral youth choir sang carols & anthems by such composers as Faure’, Rutter, Britten & Willcocks. I was able to join in singing carols with my basic German. Some were familiar (O Come all ye Faithful, Silent Night) & there was one unknown to me that I soon picked up. Sung enthusiastically (which is saying something for Germans!) it had a wonderful tune & is traditionally sung at the end of Midnight Mass. “O du frohlicher” (O how joyfully) has featured at the end of each Service I have attended!<\/p>\n

I arrived 15 mins early for for the Carol Service & it was packed with over 400 people. So for Midnight Mass I set out 30 mins early for the 9.30 pm carols beforehand & managed to grab one of the last seats. I was thrilled that the 1st carol was “Once in Royal David’s City”, sung in English, & enthusiastically joined in. By the time Mass started at 10 pm there were people standing all around the Cathedral, incl in front of the Crib.<\/p>\n

The Mass was celebrated by the Archbishop & was lovely. The cathedral choir was accompanied by a small orchestra & I was able to join in all of the singing. A nice touch was everyone singing “O come let us adore Him” (in German) after the Eucharistic Prayer. Mass lasted just 1 hour (an object lesson for all clergy!) & I was in bed by midnight.<\/p>\n

I returned to St Hedwig’s this morning for the 10 am Pontifical High Mass. This was a musical extravaganza – the cathedral choir were joined by the Berlin Chamber Orchestra & performed Mozart’s “Spaur-Messe”. Once again we concluded with a joyful “O du frohlicher”. I was impressed that the choir & orchestra remained for the organ postlude. On the way out I greeted the Assistant Bishop in German, explaining I was from Australia. He replied in English, wishing me a Merry Christmas & asking where I was from.<\/p>\n

For lunch I enjoyed various things I had been given from the various hotels I have stayed in – chocolate santa, German cookies – enjoying them quietly in the exec lounge. Now I am about to return to the cathedral for Vespers. I seem to have attended as many Services as when I was Rector of All SS – tho without any of the work entailed nor organising the same!<\/p>\n

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New Year’s Eve<\/p>\n

After a succession of wonderful Christmas Services in Berlin, Cologne turned out to be the icing on the cake. I arrived by train on Tues Dec 27. The next day I went for a walk & finished up at Great St Martin’s. I was fascinated to discover that this is now the home to a modern community of men & women. I stayed for the midday office……their singing in 4 part harmony (rather than gregorian chant) was pure delight. Afterwards I chatted with a Canadian nun of the community.<\/p>\n

Wed was the Feast of the Holy Innocents & I attended the 6.30 pm Mass in the magnificent Dom. To my surprise & delight, this was celebrated at the High Altar. It is rarely used – on Sundays Mass is celebrated at the central altar & during the week in the Lady Chapel. This was a special Solemn Mass celebrated by the Archbishop, assisted by other bishops & 8 servers. There were about 100 people in attendance & I managed to get a seat in the choir stalls. The altar looked magnificent & the organist was in fine form. To make the Mass complete it finished with my favourite German carol, O du frohlicher.<\/p>\n

On Thurs I caught the train to Munich. Chocolates were waiting for me in my room at the Hilton & I enjoyed my last night in Germany. On Friday my flight to London was delayed 3 hours by fog there. Having finally arrived at Heathrow I discovered that the Tube District Line was closed. So I got off at Earls Court & walked to the Hilton Olympia – a brisk 15 min walk in the fog. Upon checking into my room I was delighted to find waiting for me a bottle of pink bubbly & lovely nibbles. There must be a competition between the Hiltons in welcoming me!<\/p>\n

A quiet walk around Kensington this morning concluded with my attending Mass at the local church, St Matthew’s. At 1 pm I watched the NYE fireworks from Sydney, as I opened the bubbly & had a glass. I am now having a quiet evening, concluding with watching the fireworks here on TV. Tomorrow I am going to Mass at St Mary’s, Rotherhithe – was last there 20 years ago. So 2016 concludes.<\/p>\n

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Fri Dec 9 After several busy days tidying & cleaning my unit, sorting out my affairs, packing 2 suitcases & last minute medical appointments, I flew to SD on Wed 7. The flight was the new revamped United Business Class called Polaris. Amongst improvements were slippers & PJ’s – see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}