Lucca, Italy

Day 26

Buon giorno! Following several days of hearty Alsatian fare, the Dins set a new culinary course a few degrees south in search of even finer cheeses, wines, and cured meats. Thinking it was a perennial house plant, Carolyn purchased a pot of basil at a farmer’s market in Strasbourg. Upon learning of the plant’s utility in a diversity of dishes, perhaps most famously the Italian “pesto” sauce, she insisted the Dins bring her to the cultural bread basket, or pasta pot as might be more appropriate here, of basil-rich cuisine. So, after scaling the mighty snow-capped Alps (in an airplane, alas), the Din & Tonics arrived at their final stop of the European leg of their World Tour: the sun-kissed hillsides of Toscano, Italia. 

Across the scorching tarmac of the Galileo Galilei airport in Pisa, the Dins were greeted at long last by an old friend of the group: Signore Vito Scuolo. Sig. Scuolo, who went by his business name, The Don, has long been the group's exclusive fashion consultant. In fact, the very hue of lime green the Dins now use for their pocket squares originates from a dyed swatch of premium Tuscan cotton created by The Don himself. Legend has it that he keeps it under lock and key in a temperature-controlled glass chamber manufactured by the same company that protects the Mona Lisa behind several inches of bullet-proof glass. This is a valuable item, to say the least. 

The Don waved to us stiffly from his black Mercedici SUV. After piling our luggage in the back, he drove us through the foothills of the Alpi Apuane. Although we thought we would be spending our few days in the boot within the walls of the medieval city of Lucca, The Don surprised us with an offer we couldn't refuse: his villa on the outskirts of the city. 

The car winded up a narrow road set amongst olive groves. Once we crested the hill, a majestic view of the Tuscan countryside opened below us: golden-tinged rolling hills of olive grove after olive grove splashed with the red paint strokes of terra cotta roof tiles. We were in The Don's country now, and we couldn't be more grateful. 

Day 27

We were gently woken up this morning by the friendly coo of doves singing outside. The Don's steward of the house, Maria Teresa, prepared a sumptuous breakfast of pastries, fresh fruit, and coffee. As we sipped on our espressos, The Don emerged from the kitchen with a plate of cannoli. Acknowledging first that this delicacy was a) more of a dessert than a breakfast and b) a pastry of Sicilia more so than Toscano, he invited us to enjoy the treats. Kieran, who in all efforts to reduce the Dins' food waste, brought a couple leftover Alsatian buns from our breakfast in Strasbourg the day before, slipped one on his plate from underneath the table. The Don immediately noticed and an inquisitive look came across his face. “Would you like to try this?” Kieran asked. “Leave the bun. Take the cannoli,” The Don smiled. 

In the evening, after the Dins performed a tailored set at the villa by inserting “The Don” into every song in their repertoire (“It's Another Day of Don,” “Sh'Don,” “When the Don Goes Marching In,” “The Lady is a Don,” “Blue Don,” “BeDon, BoDon, and BeDonDon,” etc), The Don treated the Dins to an opera performance in Lucca. Set against the walls of the fortified city, Riccardo Muti conducted a 130-piece orchestra with 6 soloists celebrating the most beautiful compositions of Lucca native and legendary composer Giacamo Puccini. At the end, Muti, who we learned is a distant cousin of The Don, reunited with his relative. We took a few photos together before The Don pulled Muti close to his chest and whispered in his ear, “A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.” Muti composed himself, shook The Don's hand, and promised to visit again whenever he returned to Italy. It was a wonderful evening. 

Day 28

We had the opportunity to explore Lucca today! The Don had business dealings to attend to, so he arranged for his bodyguard and truffle-hunter Vincenzo Della Scarpia to show us around the city. We rented bicycles and traversed around the city's wall, scaled a Romanesque-Gothic tower, sampled a few gelato places, shared some focaccia, explored the narrow and winding streets, and dined in style inside one of the town squares built upon the foundation of a Second Century Roman amphitheater. 

Upon our return, The Don and Della Scarpia treated us to a bottle of their finest Prosecco and we toasted to our final night in Europe. On these evenings, surrounded by so many great friends and good company, I had to pinch myself, as it almost didn't feel real. 

Day 29

After a brief morning photo shoot under the rising Tuscan sun, the Dins departed from Lucca for a train bound for Milan to catch their onward flight to Asia! So long, Europe. You've been so kind to us, and we cannot wait to return! Arrivederci!

Grazie mille,
Mattheus (#262)

Strasbourg, France

Day 21, part II

After a comfortable train ride with many sleeping Dins (not pictured because all of them had their mouths very wide open), we reached the beautiful city of Strasbourg. First, we met up with our long-time contact there, Viv, who had planned out a grand itinerary of fun activities for our stay. Lucky for us, we were all staying together, which was pretty rare given that most of the time, our homestays would be scattered around the city. I was sharing a room with Shannon and Ria, and Shannon immediately went for the top bunk. We couldn’t get snug, though. After setting our things down, it was time to go. We set off towards the Strasbourg Cathedral, one of the finest and most beautiful pieces of architecture I’ve ever seen. It was tall, grand, and so intricately detailed that I could hardly believe my eyes. Mouth agape, Dins were quickly falling behind (and by dins I mean me), before realizing that the crew had already set off towards a nearby museum. The museum had beautiful miniature models of the city, and our resident expert, Viv, patiently explained the historical significance and growth of the city to us. We then wandered into the Cathedral, taking in its beautiful stained glass and grand organ pipes. I’d sell an organ to play on that organ. Not long after, we took off to get a tour of the city on a boat. Each Din got a pair of headphones to connect to an audio guide, and we cruised along the water, listening to stories of the beautiful houses, bridges, and streets that we passed by. We then got dinner with our hosts, where all the dins at my table ordered a cordon bleu. Delicious. Finally, we got home, tucked our tired selves into bed, and slept soundly. 

Day 22

Today was packed with activities. We first visited the Court of Human Rights, where we stepped into the rooms where court hearings took place. We were also able to hear a very comprehensive presentation about exactly what the Court of Human Rights does, its history, the countries involved, and the process of taking on cases. Then, we visited the Council of Europe, where we sang for the Secretary General, watched part of a Parliamentary Assembly, and sang a few sets of songs for the COE employees at lunch. Viv said she wanted to introduce us to some of her friends at the nearby park, and those friends turned out to be STORKS living on the tops of trees! They were really majestic creatures, and there were so, so, so many of them. They are mute birds, so they communicate with one another by snapping their beaks, creating a really unique sound. In Strasbourg, storks are cared for and preserved. Viv had also written a book about storks, and knowing that I love birds, she gifted me one. I can’t wait to bring it home. 

After that lovely treat, we returned back to our rooms, got changed out of our tails, and held a quick rehearsal to practice “Ewan,” a song in Tagalog that we are going to sing in the Philippines, as well as a few other tunes that I decided to bring back from last year. Later that evening, we were invited to dine at the US consul general’s home, where we had a really delicious meal and some great white wine. We thanked her by singing a few songs in her backyard, and I think she particularly enjoyed the ballads (especially Time after Time). We played some scat-off songs while waiting for the bus, then went home. We finished off the night with a round of limelights, where we honoured Kavi & Sean, Kieran, and Ethan, as the MVPs of Budapest, Paris, and Strasbourg respectively. After that, we enjoyed another night of tranquil rest after a long day. 

Day 23 

In the early morning, we performed a set at the Hotel de Ville (The Town Hall) for members of the city council who had made our stay in Strasbourg possible. They were extremely sweet, and gifted us all Strasbourg tote bags! Afterwards, we went to a local school and sang a few tunes with their school choir (my favourites of their repertoire were Eye of the Tiger, Mad World, and Bella Ciao. The concert theme was “apocalypse”). After that, we performed a set of our own, where I tried my hardest to impromptu introduce the group in french (I’d be a fake Canadian if I didn’t at least know a little french). After the performance, many students wanted to interview us, so we stayed behind to answer some questions and provide autographs. Many kids asked me for a hug which I was very moved by. After that, we had dinner at Flam’s, which is Strasbourg’s signature flat pizza. There, we met some really wonderful people at dinner and had some fun conversations about their college choirs. We all went out for drinks afterwards, which was really fun! When we got home, the group got together in the lobby to surprise Ethan (though he spotted us and we had to make something up), to thank him for being with us on tour for all of our europe stops, and to say goodbye. We had really gotten used to his stabilizing and warm presence, not to mention his beautiful voice and his proficiency with all of the music. Though the tour wouldn’t be the same without him, we were grateful for his presence and for the magic that he contributed to over this month. I may have shed a tear or two. 

Day 24 

Today was our last day, and we had one last concert – the Olympic Flame Concert. The set was outdoors, and it was a whole hour long, which was a whopping 17 song set. Despite the heat and the long duration, the set itself was really fun, and the turnout was amazing. Post-concert, everyone really enjoyed their free time in Strasbourg, wandering around the bustling streets and preparing to see the olympic torch later that evening. That night, Shannon and I got a delicious meal at Bahn Mi Saigon, and hastily packed our things. Our bus to Frankfurt the next day was scheduled for 4AM, and it was a 20-minute walk to the station, meaning that we had to get as much sleep as we could before our 3:30AM departure. That night, we brought a whole new meaning to the song “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.” Strasbourg was definitely one of my favourite stops, as we got to experience its beauty, culture, rich history, and people in such a short time. All of us were excited to rest up in Lucca Italy, our next stop! 

-Carolyn, #272

Paris, France

Day 18

After a long string of trains, the Dins finally took to the skies once more. Through the power of Air France, we landed in Paris and started to settle into our homestays. I was staying with Ethan in a prime part of Paris. Despite the distance between each other due to the sheer size of Paris, we were still able to engage in a heated debate on which arrondissement (or district) would be the most suitable for dinner (none of us knew anything about Paris). We then met in the 6th arrondissement for a crepe dinner in a moist basement filled with clown imagery. After this, we all felt invigorated to spend the night out on the town. We located a tiny jazz bar and spent the night singing tunes with the jazz band, performing some of our jazz a cappella (which is singing without instruments), and not realizing the club was cash-only until it was far too late. By this time on Day 1, it was actually the early morning of Day 2, but I won’t be writing about that.

Day 19

The next day Ethan and I got a nice breakfast before I headed off toward the Notre Dame Cathedral. I met up with two other Din’s by the names of Sean and Ben. Our plan for this free day was to walk from the Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower, purposefully passing by some other notable landmarks on the way. The day went almost completely as planned. As we walked along the Seine, we admired all the bars and restaurant boats, daydreaming of a Michelin-starred meal while floating down the river. To satiate our growing appetite, we enjoyed some crepes and beverages multiple times on our fairly short walk. We finally hit the Eiffel Tower after a few hours. But instead of going up to the top of the tower, we decided to enjoy the view from afar with more crepes and beverages. The day ended quietly, and we all got a great night of rest.

Day 20

Today was our performance day! I started off the day by getting a little more breakfast and doing some laundry. I then took a day trip to the Petit Palais, admiring the statues and paintings that resided in this beautiful mansion. Later that day, two other Dins (Mattheus and Sean) and I visited the French Army Museum. Filled to the brim with Napoleonic uniforms, early artillery, and the star of the show… Napoleon's tomb. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to experience the entirety of this massive museum because we had a very important gig coming up! We got in our tails and were welcomed into the Travelers Club. The gig went extremely well, and we even got a tour of the mansion and a short history of the building and its residents. We finished the gig, and our host invited us to go out on the town with him… Tonight was Fête de la Musique. The entire city became filled with musicians. Jamming, dancing, and spinning records in the largest mosh pit in history. I will spare you, my reader, the details.

Day 21, part I

We all woke up feeling chipper and alive! In fact, my day started with lunch at a small Ethiopian restaurant. The food was delicious but indescribable, I fear. I will attach photos to satiate your thirst for more details. We then spent the rest of the night preparing for our trip to the beautiful city of Strasbourg!
— Kavi #279

Budapest, Hungary

Day 14, part II

Our Budapest adventure began inauspiciously with the news that the sleeper car we had booked on the night train was broken, and it could not be replaced with another car with beds. Instead, we were invited to sit in a regular railcar, complete with uncomfortable chairs and fluorescent lighting which stayed on the whole night, with a few unlucky families who landed in the same spot as us. Ethan remarked that in the typology of fun (Type I for things that are fun in the moment, Type II for things which are fun after they happen if miserable while happening, and Type III for things which were never fun but end up being a good story), this was definitely a Type III adventure. We settled in as best we could and snagged a few hours of rest before pulling into the Budapest train station at 9:19 AM.

Day 15

After pulling into the station, Ben and Mattheus went to secure some kind of compensation for the debacle of the bedless night train. We then piled into a few taxis (which in Hungary you can book and pay for entirely through the Uber app) and traveled over to the rendezvous point we’d use for our stay in Budapest, an office building where our host Andrea worked. We rejuvenated ourselves with coffee, yogurt, and pastries, and rehearsed for the first concert of our Budapest leg later that day. The gig was for the Budapest Festive Book Fair, and we broke out our semiformal attire for the first time all tour because of the hot afternoon and outdoor venue. After the concert, we met up with our hosts – all Harvard Club affiliates – and found our lodgings. Kieran and I stayed with Miklós, Agóta, and their son Mikki. Miklós and Agóta took us on a lovely tour of the main attractions of Budapest – Heroes’ Square, City Park, and a description of the differences between Buda and Pest. We went for dinner, where I had a delicious traditional duck dish. After we were all settled in, I joined a few other Dins and Laura, Andrea’s daughter, at a bar on the bank of the Danube called Pontoon. We had a few drinks, met some interesting characters (if Johnny the bassist is out there somewhere, it was nice meeting you), and called it a night afterwards.

Day 16

The morning of the 17th was open for sightseeing. Kieran went to visit Margaret Island, the lush green isle in the middle of the Danube. Most of the Dins took a trip to the baths, one of the big attractions in Budapest (and a remnant of Turkish rule in the area). I wasn’t there, but I’m told that the number of different pools and varying temperatures was really something to behold. Unfortunately, state museums in Hungary are all closed on Mondays, which scuttled my plans for the day. Instead, I made a trip to the Franz Liszt Museum, which is set up in the house where Liszt lived during his later years in life (Liszt was ethnically Hungarian but spent a lot of time overseas in his life; a big project of the house was to make the case that Liszt always maintained affection for his home country first and foremost). We then went to our gig for the day, which was at a restaurant called Aranybástya. The restaurant is at the top of a hill which overlooks the city, which was excellent for photos. After we sang, we were treated to pizza and drinks on site, where we met several of the other Harvard Club members in the area. Some of the Dins returned to Pontoon but it was an early night for most.

Day 17

We had two performances on the 18th. The first was earlier in the day – we were invited to sing at the American embassy in Budapest as a part of their Juneteenth celebration. We met the ambassador briefly and performed for the state department employees at the end of their event. It was the first time for many Dins inside an embassy. Many of us then went for lunch at a nearby restaurant where the owner kindly provided us with a liver appetizer at the top of the meal and then shots of pálinka at the end. I had their goulash, which was delicious. Afterwards, we reconvened for an afternoon performance at what I’m told is the most famous café in all of Hungary, Café Gerbaud. We sang outside for an audience of cafegoers and passers-by, and then enjoyed some pastries afterwards. That evening, the Dins and our host families met for one final dinner in Budapest, at one of the local seafood joints. Then it was off to bed in preparation for our travel to Paris the next day.

—Andrew Courtney #269

Aarau, Switzerland

Day 11, part II

After a long series of trains and buses, we were picked up in Unterlunkhofen---a small town just outside Aarau, Switzerland---by our Harvard Club contact and longstanding host, KJ. At KJ’s house, we happily reunited with Elio #267, who had been trapped inside the Eliot tunnels since Commencement. We feasted on fresh strawberries, flammkuchen, and apricot pie while rehearsing a few new pieces for tour. After dessert, we gave “limelights”---shoutouts for being especially kind or helpful on the previous stop---and Ethan #237 was named the MVP of Luxembourg! It was a relief to just set down our bags and relax for the first time in a while. By the time we went to sleep, I felt rejuvenated and ready for the next part of tour.

Day 12

The next day, we headed to Alte Kantonsschule Aarau, where we ambushed a geography class with singing. To our great surprise, we weren’t immediately kicked out and banned from Switzerland. With the class’s teacher, Michael, as our guide, we went to the top of the school’s high-rise and walked around Aarau’s old town.

Later that afternoon, we returned to the school to perform in their auditorium. The packed audience of students, parents, and staff/faculty was great, and we even sold a few posters at the door! Afterwards, we all went to Michael’s house for what may have been the best grilled sausages in Europe. There, we met our homestay hosts, who were all local students between 16 and 20 years old. Rich cultural exchange ensued: geography (convincing everyone that Texas was the #1 state), linguistics (attempting to pronounce the longest German word), and even advanced sociology (rehashing relationship drama). What surprised me most was how similar the Swiss students were to high school students in the U.S. Mostly, they were concerned with the same things we were in high school: sports, music, grades, college, friendships, dating, esoteric Internet jokes. The instant connection we were able to form warmed my heart.

Day 13

After a night spent at individual homestays, we met up again in the morning to embark on our first day trip. First, we took the train to Lake Lucerne, where we saw what was apparently the longest covered wooden bridge in the world. Then, we took a boat ride onto the lake. Although it was a little cloudy, the views of the snow-covered Alps and dense, hilly forests were still incredible.

We docked at the base of Mount Rigi and took a tram up to the top of the mountain. From here, the view was even more spectacular. We sang “Edelweiss” for a totally non-captive audience and ate lunch with our hosts!

Despite most of us being ready for a nap, we continued to the Lindt chocolate factory, where we took a guided chocolate tour and sampled way too many sweet treats. Finally, we took a short walking tour of Zurich before heading home.

Day 14, part I

On our last day in Switzerland, each of our hosts took us on individual outings depending on our shared interests. My host, Stefan, took me and Mattheus to visit his beehives, which were located on a nearby farm! We learned about the Swiss style of beekeeping, which involves accessing special frames through the side rather than front faces. This was a highlight for Mattheus, whose nicknames include “bee man,” “B Train,” and “like Jerry Seinfeld in that movie, you know, the one with the bees.” Finally, we took a short walk to a cliff overlooking the entire town of Aarau, where we pointed out everything we had seen (and grown to love) over the past four days.

That afternoon, we departed by train for Budapest… which we’ll save for another blog post. :)

DST,
Kieran #280

Luxembourg

Day 9, part II

After a series of three trains from London (Eurostar/IC/IC), in which one of the connection times was a mere 5 minutes, we pulled into Luxembourg station at 7:49pm to Luxembourg! The travel-worn Dins briefly convened to remind each other of the plans for tomorrow. Carolyn took a tram to stay with her host Deniz. Andrew/Kavi/Kieran were driven by their homestay host William. Ria/Shannon were also driven home by host Thibaut, Ben/Sean/Mattheus/Ethan were driven home to Leticia and Stefan's place, and finally I took a 30 minute train down to Belval where my host Philippe picked me up. I talked to a dude from Delhi on the train and he answered my questions about Luxembourg readily. From the train, I saw colorful houses reminiscent of Nyhavn, Denmark and many construction cranes along the way, as well as vast expanses of fields.

Philippe is a cheerful Luxembourger, well-attuned since young  to the quadruple whammy of French, German, Luxembourgish and English. He introduced me to his hometown, which is famous for steel production and for the young University of Luxembourg where he currently works as a fundraiser. The blast furnace is a symbol of Belval's still active steel industry, and his father had worked as an engineer there.

There were different tiers of housing for the directors, the engineers and the workers spread around this steel nucleus from which the city spawned. I expressed interest in exploring the city, and so Philippe brought my luggage and bag home while I walked around. I explored a kebab place, tried out Momo (chicken dumplings) and beef curry at Jay Nepal restaurant (🌶️I love spicy food, if you saw my bio in the 2022-2023 Dins introduction), and entered the Luxembourg Learning Center, where I leafed through some educational comic books about science before the library closed at 10pm.

After arriving at Philippe's house, very close by, I was awestruck by his extensive art collection that featured artists from all different backgrounds, and a missing spot on the wall where Philippe hung his very own artwork, borne from an elaborate print-making process. He used prints to capture the vivid emotions impressed upon him by different cities. We sat to talk and Philippe shared about his journey to Harvard, earning his PhD at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and subsequently working at Stanford, before returning to his hometown to help raise funds for University of Luxembourg. We had a long chat before finally calling it a night.

Day 10

My morning started with a classic breakfast of Quaker oats and warm milk, and I chatted with Philippe's housekeeper, Yolande, who has worked for Philippe's family for more than 60 years.

In preparation for the cycling trips to come, I downloaded the local bike-sharing app vel'OH and got a day pass and took bus 607 to Luxembourg's city center!

Mattheus/Ethan/Ben/Sean walked along the bridge overlooking the lower city, where they encountered some seriously steep inclines! They got some picturesque views so it's all worth it.

During this time, I was on the hunt for magnets and possibly other little gifts and so I wandered about Ville Haute and even window shopped at luxury shops like Cartier to catch a glimpse of some insane jewelry. Then I rode a vel'OH bike all the way down from the city center to the lower town , which was rather regrettable*.  While cycling, I bumped into Kavi #279 who was just standing strategically below the Luxembourg flag in front of Casemates du Bock (the caves!).

We entered the caves and explored the pitch-black spiral staircase that led to a little window at the top, giving us the prisoner's POV. There were many other cool things.

I convened with Mattheus/Ethan/Sean/Ben/Andrew (subsequently Ria and Kavi joined) at a lunch spot called The SpoT, a sports bar boasting yummy burgers. I ordered sea bream, which surfed atop a generous portion of mashed potatoes and some veggies. Yum! After lunch, I had to go return my bike as the timer was still running. *When I zipped down to the lower town, I did not know that future me had to carry the bike all the way back up for 600 meters along the steep narrow slope, with cars whizzing past, and up winding steps to the proper bike parking spot. I got hungry and grabbed a chicken kebab from a place recommended by Ethan #237.

I saw the famous bridge and the famous palace guarded by armed soldiers! I also walked to the Golden Lady monument. Soon, we met together at Hamilius station to take a tram together to our venue for the evening!

As we left the station, it started drizzling though it remained curiously sunny. Then we saw it...

Carolyn, Ria, Mattheus and I trailed behind the rest of the group to marvel and gasp at the natural wonder of QUADRUPLE RAINBOWS that formed in the distance.. 🌈This was spotted as we walked from Paräisser Plaz-Place de Paris tram stop along Mnt de la Pretrusse. Here's a photo.

We were delighted to enter the performance venue of Ristorante Il Fragolino, a beautiful terrace surrounded by greenery and decorated with a couple of Harvard™ flags brought by the alumni from Harvard Club of Luxembourg. Some of the taller Dins had draping plants tickle their hair as they sang. We sang an amazing first set with Kavi and Mattheus delivering hilarious introductions, followed by food, drinks and socializing, then a second set to round up the night. The most serendipitous encounter might be Ethan talking to a bartender - whom he not met since 2018 World Tour - on FaceTime via our host (William)'s phone. The Italian food consisted of really delicious sliced zucchini, eggplant, stuffed mushrooms, and focaccia.

Day 11, part I

We said goodbye to Luxembourg! We took the TGV Inoui (absolutely fantabulous, 320km/h speedy train!!!!) bound for our next destination, Switzerland yayayayayayay.

In the limelight,

#275 Simon Ma

London, UK

Hello! This is Ria, signing on to report on our stay in London! While I had been to London once before, I didn't remember much due to my having been in the seventh grade. Needless to say, I was very excited to see the city with more mature eyes and to share the experience with the Dins!

Day 6, part II

After our hectic journey through the Copenhagen airport, we enjoyed the brief flight to England. From the plane the English countryside resembled a jigsaw of various emerald-colored fields. We ventured through the long customs line then took a train from Stansted Airport into the city proper. This train ride gave us another chance to marvel at the lovely fields and catch up on some much needed rest. Once we arrived at the Liverpool Tube station, we split up to get to our respective homestays. Despite our familiarity with the T, Boston transit did not prepare us for the sprawling scale of the Tube. We got a little turned around hauling our luggage everywhere, but managed to find our way.

Once everyone settled into their various lodgings, we went to grab dinner together at an Indian restaurant in the city. The food tasted exquisite — and provided a nice reprieve from the exclusively European cuisine we had so far. Afterwards a couple of us broke off to head to a pub and talk a little more while the rest went home. 

Overall, the city feels much more bustling than Copenhagen, but also a little grimier. I also felt the influence of greater diversity in the general population almost immediately. The West End posters everywhere in the Tube delighted me — and gave me an idea of how to spend my free time in the city!

Day 7

I took a relaxing morning and rested/got ready until lunchtime. Carolyn, Ben, and I grabbed lunch at an Italian restaurant that offered, much to Ben's delight,  "Pesto Nuts," an item described as peanuts and cashews coated in pesto (for reference, even being near that dish would kill Ben about three times over). Caro and I shared a very delicious lasagne and salad while Ben enjoyed his risotto sans any pesto-covered nuts.

The entire group gathered in Hyde Park to rehearse and bask in the good weather (Mattheus, our resident Jekyll and resident Hyde greatly enjoyed the location). The entire affair was very pleasant, even though several horses passed by and brayed during a song or two. 

In the afternoon we performed for the Harvard Club of London at the London Transport Museum. The museum was delightful, with adorable signage emulating that of the Tube or even pillows made of the same materials as the train seats. Our gig went well, and we even performed 'Take the "A" Train' for thematic appropriateness. We mingled afterwards and spoke with various audience members who were all very kind.

In the evening, Shannon, Andrew, and I went to go see the West End revival of "Guys and Dolls" at the Bridge Theatre! I had heard wonderful things about the production from a friend who saw it last summer, so I had a year's worth of anticipation building up. The show was absolutely incredible — undeniably one of the most technically impressive productions I had ever seen. Platforms rose from the ground to form different streets of New York while dancers lept atop and executed absolutely incredible sequences with ease. Meanwhile, neon lights float atop to create the impression of an alluring bed of corruption, shenanigans, and hijinks. The performance capped off a lovely day and left me humming "Luck be a Lady" or "I've Never Been in Love Before" (which the Dins sang last year!).  

Day 8

Today was a (relatively) free day! After sleeping in, we rehearsed with Carolyn until about 1pm then were all dismissed to explore the city. Sean was particularly excited to enlighten Shannon and me about the wonders of Jollibee (a Filipino fast food chain) so we grabbed lunch from a nearby Jollibee. I will admit that my chicken sandwich was very good. 

Most of the other Dins went on a walking tour of London and saw the major landmarks of the city, but I had a very specific goal. As a History of Art and Architecture concentrator, I felt that not seeing a museum in one of the most museum-saturated cities in the world would be a crime. Given that I had seen the British Museum before, Andrew and I went to the Tate Modern. The museum was absolutely incredible. The building itself wowed me with its size, but their collection was absolutely incredible. Additionally, the layout of galleries was really seamless. Getting to see DuChamp's iconic "Fountain" in person made me extremely excited (a sentence that can be uncharitably translated to "Ria got very excited to look at a urinal"). I could have stayed there for another several hours, but the museum did have to close eventually. 

After grabbing some Pizza, we all returned to our homes and got to bed early in preparation for our morning gig the next day!

Day 9, part I

We gathered at 6:45AM to head towards our gig at St. Paul's School! We rode the tube in our tails, which got fewer looks than I anticipated (perhaps Londoners are more used to the fashion?). We arrived at the school and did a brief soundcheck in the auditorium before a stream of extremely well-behaved little boys arrived in spiffy uniforms. The boys particularly enjoyed our silly songs like "Cat Duet" and "McDonald's Girl," and made no secret of laughing very loudly when they liked something. Hearing their laughter made us smile even wider. Safe to say, the performance was a success.

After the gig we sped off to take the first of three trains to Luxembourg!

Dincerely,

RCK 276

Copenhagen, Denmark

Day 1

Welcome to the Dins’ 2024 World Tour blog! We’ll keep this website posted with our travels; for each stop, one Din will write about their experiences in that location.

Our 2024 World Tour began with a long line for Logan Airport pizza and an evening flight to Reyjkavík, Iceland. Personally, when I tried to sleep on the flight, I was met with the unfortunate (but very cool) reality that the sun never fully set––it went straight from sunset back to sunrise. We landed in Reykjavík at 4:45 AM, where we had a short layover to buy hot dogs in the Keflavík Airport before boarding our next flight to Copenhagen. When we finally arrived in Copenhagen, we were met by Karen Marie, one of our hosts, who gave us a wonderful welcome and showed us how to navigate the public transit system en route to our homestays. The homestays were in scattered locations, but Birgit, our primary host, is located in the peaceful suburb of Lyngby. We knew we needed to stay awake to fight jet lag, so we headed back downtown for a packed day of sightseeing including the Rosenborg Slot and Nyhavn. From here we split off, with many Dins going to have dinner with their homestay hosts. I ordered some sausages from a stand on the street, then rented a bike for several hours to explore the downtown area more. We eventually made it to CopenHill, an artificial-grass ski slope on top of a trash burning heap. Unfortunately, the limited skiing hours meant we couldn’t go up, but it was pretty amazing just to look at. We finally regrouped at a cafe for some dinner, then returned to Lyngby to get some sleep!

Day 2

After a lot of travel, we were all pretty exhausted, so the next morning was slow. We convened at Birgit’s house for a delicious homemade lunch that she and fellow schoolteacher Dorthe prepared for us. We also rehearsed to prepare for our first performance of tour. We spent the afternoon exploring Lyngby, a nice and pretty lively town, where Kavi and I managed to score a free day pass for PureGym to have a great push day. We changed and got together for our first gig at Ordrup Church, where we enjoyed a good audience turnout and an overall extremely successful introduction to Denmark. The sun doesn't set until around 10:00 PM at this time of year, so we wanted to get food, but everything was closed. Finally, an Italian chef called us from across the street to come to his empty and closed-up pizza place. We were still dressed in tails and he referred to us exclusively as “penguins.” He let us have a bottle of wine for the table and some bruschetta, although the kitchen was closed. We eventually convinced him to bring us a pizza to cap off a bizarre and fun interaction before turning in for the night.

Day 3

We took another slow morning, walking around the town of Lyngby until Birgit once again prepared us all a delicious homemade meal. We had two gigs on this day––the first was at Gentofte Hovedbibliotek, a stunning modern library designed by the same person who did the Sydney Opera House. We were fed some snacks afterwards, then moved on to our second gig at Lyngby Church, an incredibly beautiful and historic church in the suburbs that we managed to completely fill with people for the performance. The audience loved it, and we had the pleasure of sharing wine and conversation with them in the church afterwards. After finally finding some late night food in Lyngby, we ran into a group of Danish guys around our age who were very curious about the tails. They turned out to be very nice, so a few of us went out to have drinks with them and learned a lot about the cultural differences between our respective countries. It was late by the time this finished, and you could even see the sky starting to faintly brighten in the distance in preparation for the incredibly early 4:00 AM sunrise. This was most definitely a signal to go to bed.

Day 4

We all handled our next morning separately––I had planning work to do for the coming tour stops, so I went to a local coffee shop to catch up on all the emails I had missed during the hectic start of the trip. Birgit generously prepared lunch for the group yet again, and we said our farewells to her, as she was traveling to another part of the country that evening. Our first performance of the day was at the Rigshospitalet, where Karen-Lise, our other primary coordinator, works. We sang a performance in the lobby, and it was a very meaningful way to give back, as various people in the hospital tuned in to listen. We also had the honor to perform privately for one of Karen-Lise’s patients who couldn’t make the performance physically––we went to his room in the hospital to sing a song for him. We then split up to explore; I stayed with a small group to walk around the Nørrebro area of Copenhagen. As Karen-Lise said, it’s the college town of the city, a lively area with lots of shopping where young people hang out. We regrouped for a delicious dinner with the entire group, over the course of which we one-by-one changed back into our tails in the restaurant bathroom. Our evening performance was at a cafe and bar called Tjili Pop, where we sang as part of a program with a Danish singer-songwriter, the tech director of the bar, and an open mic night. It was clear from the amusement of the crowd that this was a great novelty––unsurprisingly, they don’t often have Harvard a cappella groups performing. I’m happy to report that they loved it, and we really enjoyed getting to share the stage with some local performers. All in all, it was an incredibly fun and successful evening, and the entire group stuck around afterwards to socialize and watch the open mic night.

Day 5

Determined to make the most of our final day in Copenhagen, Mattheus and I biked north to see the beach. Unlike most of the locals, we jumped in the freezing cold water, though we could only bear it for a few minutes before heading back out. We went back downtown to buy some souvenirs, get pastries, and see Amalienborg Palace, home to the King and Queen of Denmark. The palace was pretty stunning, and it felt like an important thing to see before leaving the country. We wanted to try to ski CopenHill once again today, but due to the limited skiing hours, it didn’t work out. We noted it as a to-do for the 2026 tour. After regrouping for rehearsal, the Dins headed to perform at a private party for Asbjørn, Kristoffer, and Magnus Eriknauer, three brothers who are former students of Birgit’s. They hosted a friends and family event with about 50 people in attendance in a courtyard and offered the Dins generous food and drinks. They emphasized how excited they were to have us, and we were amazed to see how much that sentiment was true of the entire crowd. As we finished the set, they called us back enthusiastically for an encore, and we then were able to hang around the party and enjoy socializing with everyone there. All of us had a ton of fun singing and talking with everyone, and it was a fantastic closing night to our time in Denmark. A few of us went for a second dinner at a modern restaurant in Copenhagen that blew us away with delicacies like smoked grapes (this proved divisive at the table). We headed back to Lyngby so we could split off to our homestays and pack for our next stop.

Day 6, part I

Mattheus and I woke up early in the morning and absconded to Sweden. We took transit from our homestay in Lyngby into Copenhagen Central Station, where we then hopped on a train to Malmö. The train ride was beautiful, going across a long bridge over the water between the two countries. We arrived in Sweden, bought souvenirs and Swedish soda, took some photos, and hopped back on the return train to Copenhagen. We essentially spent 2 hours on trains to get 30 minutes in Sweden, but it was worth it to see a new country, if only briefly. We then regrouped with the rest of the Dins in Lyngby where we headed to Copenhagen Airport for our flight to London. Copenhagen was an amazing city, and all of the Dins thoroughly enjoyed our time in Denmark. The performances were fun, our hosts were incredibly kind, dedicated, and enthusiastic about our visit, and all in all, Copenhagen was a fantastic way to kick off the 2024 World Tour that will be hard to top. We hope to come back again next time!

Signing off,

Ben #278