To Rome 2
It was dusk when they walked outside. That time when daylight meets the night. The trees of the garden kept them from seeing the sun as it fell close to the horizon. All they could see was a small bit of blue sky begin to change into grey.
The adults and the children held different thoughts. The children were very excited and voiced it. One said. "This is so exciting."
From another everyone heard. "I can't believe we're going to Rome."
And Liesl said. "I can't believe we're going to sing for the Pope."
The five adults in the group had much different thoughts because they knew they were never going to return. Each found a way not to let their posture or facial expressions show their sadness.
Max had gone out first. He had a reminder for the children who were next. "Don't hurry on ahead. You need to wait for your father and Fräulein Maria."
They did wait. Georg and Franz shook hands. "I wish you well, sir. I know it's the right thing for you to do."
"And Franz, I wish you the same. Maybe one day in the very distant future we may meet again. Stay safe my friend."
The former orderly from the Navy and his captain were to be separated after having been together for almost Georg's entire career in the navy. It was a bittersweet separation.
Maria acknowledged him as well. "Goodbye Franz, it's been a pleasure knowing you."
"Thank you, Fräulein."
Georg knew his children were getting antsy to continue on the path through the garden. He took Maria's hand and without looking back they caught up to the children. He had words of caution.
"Let's not be too noisy."
Just then, everyone heard the train's distant whistle. As they approached the station, they heard a louder blast as the train got closer. Then they heard the squealing of the train's brakes. That metal on metal sound which makes you shiver and want to cover your ears.
Soon the train stopped and the conductor got off. "All aboard the night train to Rome."
Max had looked around and noted there were no other passengers waiting to board. He thought. Good, no one is here to see us leave.
By this time, Georg had stepped forward to go on board first. "Children, let me assign the compartments."
Everyone followed his instructions. "This first one is for Katia, Liesl and Marta."
After they had boarded, he continued. "In the opposite compartment, I want Isabel, Louisa and Gretl to occupy it."
And then, "Kurt, you and Brigitta are in the next one. And finally, Friedrich will sit with Uncle Max. Maria and I will be in the one right behind the driver."
Friedrich asked the question all the children wanted to hear the answer to. "Father, can we talk or do we need to be quiet?"
"Of course you can talk. It looks like we will have this car all to ourselves."
And Georg knew it would probably stay that way. This train made fewer stops than a day train. He told no one he had some angst about this very first part of the trip. The train had to travel through Germany for about fifty miles.
He took his mind off of his angst and talked to Maria. "I hear the children talking about our trip. They seem to be really excited."
"I hear them too. And I don't hear any concern in their voices. We should be grateful."
"I don't either. Once it becomes too dark to see anything out the windows, the speed of the train may lull them to sleep."
"I hope so. They need some sleep."
As darkness covered the earth, the train's interior lights were dimmed. Georg heard Isabel. "Gretl, I see you are getting sleepy. You can lie on the bench. I'll cover you with a blanket."
Gretl didn't refuse her suggestion. And soon Georg and Maria both heard the same from Katia. Marta did the same. Soon all the children and the adults had found a comfortable way of sleeping.
Maria and Georg were still awake. "Maria, you need to get some sleep too. You can rest your head on my shoulder and sleep; I don't mind."
"What about you?"
"I'll nap later, for now I am on watch."
Maria used one of the blankets to cover herself and she did indeed fall asleep but was wakened when Georg's head touched hers. She tried not to move; she knew he had fallen asleep. They both slept that way until before the sun began to rise and the lights came on.
Georg woke with a startle. His head jerked upright. "What's happening?"
"They turned on the lights, Georg."
"Sorry Maria, I didn't mean to scare you. It must be around five o'clock."
Georg had been correct. The door to the adjoining car opened. The conductor entered along with attendants carrying enough food baskets for each compartment to have one.
Georg stood to speak to him. "I see your attendants brought our breakfast."
"Yes, I see heads sticking out of the compartments."
Georg saw Kurt wave. "That boy, sir, is probably starving."
"I was the same at his age."
The conductor motioned to his staff to distribute the baskets. One went directly to the compartment with Brigitta and Kurt. Each basket contained more than enough food, several kinds of pastries and even biscuits with cured meat. The attendants then delivered their beverages, glass bottles of juice with a straw for drinking.
As they finished eating, the chatter began and they began to take their turn in the tiny bathroom.
Georg realized the night sky had begun to lighten. "Maria, have you ever seen a sunrise?"
"Many times, they make me reflect on the creation story. Have the children?"
"I don't think so. Let me go tell everyone."
He went to each compartment. He told those sitting on the east side of the train. "You're going to have a perfect view of the sun rising; keep watching out your window."
And to those sitting on the west side, he said this. "You can move to one on the empty compartments to see the sunrise."
"Thank you, father, we've never seen a sunrise."
"I know. And you don't have long to wait."
Georg had been correct. They watched in silence as the sun peeked over the horizon, only to be hidden by some wispy clouds. But not for long, the sun emerged from the clouds and the sky became pink like a sea of cotton candy, with the light of the sun coloring the clouds above with a pinkish hue
As the sun rose higher, the sky was no longer filled with dinky crayon colors like tickle-me-pink, but colors of unexplainable magnificence that have no known name.
The couple heard the words, spectacular, brilliant, dazzling, amazing, stunning and beautiful and many more spoken by the adults and children. And then Max heard a question from Friedrich.
"How much further to Rome?"
Max spoke loud enough for all to hear. "Rome is about two hours away. The train will probably pick up some locals going into the city."
Now very excited chatter began. There were three stops on the route; none of them were for more than fifteen minutes. The man over the loudspeaker announced. "Next stop, Rome's central station and Vatican City."
All of them felt the slowing of the train. The route now took them next to city streets. Within minutes the train had pulled into the central train station.
Georg took their itinerary the Bishop had given him from his inside coat pocket. He read it to Maria.
"We need to look for a young woman holding a sign which says, Salzburg Singers. Her name is Rosa Russo. She will be with us for our stay in Rome."
"I'm so glad we have a tour guide."
"So am I. Let me go tell everyone we'll be getting off soon."
Georg was greeted by happy and excited children. In moments they had gathered their belongings and had stood ready to embark on their adventure.
Their first words after they stepped off the train were. "Look at all the children."
"Remember, you're not the only ones singing at the gathering. If you listen to them talk you will hear all the different languages. God will hear and understand each one." Maria told them.
Georg was looking for Rosa. She wasn't hard to spot; she stood with others who were also holding signs.
"Max, please stay with everyone. I'll go greet our guide."
Rosa smiled as she saw him approach her. "Signore Trapp, I'm very happy to be your guide. I must tell you I was very surprised to learn the Salzburg Singers were siblings."
"Their singing together so well was a surprise to me as well. Come meet them and the other adults."
Georg had everyone including his children introduce themselves. "We need to walk to the front of the terminal; a bus is waiting to take you to your hotel."
Max took charge and led the way; Georg and Maria brought up the rear. This bus was only for them. The children each had a window seat. Their hotel wasn't very far.
Rosa checked them into the hotel. "After you freshen up, we'll go to a big room with lots of seats where I will explain your schedule."
Everyone hurried; they were anxious to hear Rosa. She began as soon as everyone was seated.
"Today you will be able to see some of the more famous attractions in Rome. The bus you were on is your transportation. The driver and I will be your travel guides. I suspect you may need an early lunch."
She heard Kurt. "She must be a mind reader, Friedrich. I'm starved."
"My youngest son, Rosa, sometimes I think that is the only word the boy knows."
"Georg's exaggerating, Rosa, I think we're all hungry."
"I made a reservation at a small restaurant which has great food. We'll be using the private banquet room. It's only a few blocks away."
When they arrived at the restaurant, they were promptly seated. The waiter gave a few suggestions. In the end, they had each ordered a pasta dish.
They saved room for an Italian dessert. The children chose their favorite flavor of Gelato. A frozen treat made milk, heavy cream, egg yolks and sugar and added flavorings. Each bowl was served with decorative cookies.
The adults splurged on Tiramisù which is made from made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, a cheese with a buttery sweet flavor and flavored with cocoa.
Each dessert brought rave reviews. And Katia said. "I need to learn how to make Tiramisù. I'm sure it's not difficult."
The waiter had heard her and brought the recipe on a piece of paper which had it written in several languages. She spoke in Italian; using two words she had learned.
"Grazie, signore."
He replied. "You're welcome, mademoiselle." They exchanged smiles.
Then Rosa spoke up. "I see everyone is finished. Before we get on the bus, let me tell you about Rome. The city is very old; it's as old as Christianity. It became the capital of the Roman Empire sometime in the early years of the first century.
"There are many very ancient structures. We will only have time to explore a few. I will point out many as we drive through the city. This city wasn't built for car or bus traffic. Our driver will need to stay on streets which will accommodate the bus."
They exited the restaurant to take their seats on the bus. The driver assumed the role of guide. "The ruins you will see first is the Roman Coliseum. It is probably the oldest of them all. I'll drive around it slowly."
"Georg, is that the site where many early Christians were killed."
"It is Maria. It's still amazing that so much of the structure remains."
The driver continued the tour. "The next ruins you will see is the Roman Forum. It was the center of Roman life. It has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all of history. It is an enormous area; it contains many structures.
"I'm going to take you to the Pantheon where you can get out and explore it."
The children voiced their excitement. "I can't believe we will be inside something hundreds of years old."
The city had provided a parking lot for visitors. The bus driver and Rosa guided them inside. He told them. "This was built in the year 126 as a temple for all the Roman gods. The temple has served as a Roman Catholic Church since the 7th century."
As the group looked all around this massive structure, they heard the story of its unique construction. The bus driver told them.
"The dome is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. It is a perfect hemisphere. And was the inspiration for St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican."
They walked around inside with their heads tilted up to take in its magnificence. Liesl was with her father.
"Have you been to Rome before?"
"I have Liesl. I never really toured much of the city. But I have read about it. I see Rosa is walking towards the bus. We better catch up."
By this time the little girls were growing weary. Even Rosa noticed. She knew of a nearby family friendly restaurant and since it wasn't the dinner hour she knew they could seated quickly.
Rosa suggested a food they could all enjoy. "I know everyone is tired. Let me order for you."
She spoke to the waiter in Italian but explained what she had ordered. "A pizza is a large piece of dough which has been formed into a circle. It is covered with tomato sauce and then two or three types of cheese are sprinkle on top. It is baked in a very hot oven. Once everything is melted together you have a very delicious meal."
Everyone enjoyed this new food along with a sparkling beverage with a bittersweet taste produced from the juice of a citrus fruit, and other herbal extracts. And everyone only had cookies for dessert along with milk for the children and a light coffee for the adults.
They departed the restaurant and returned to the bus. The ride back to their hotel wasn't long. Before they got off, Rosa told them their schedule for tomorrow.
"You should have breakfast in the hotel. The bus will arrive at nine o'clock to drive you to the open air amphitheater where you will meet up with all the groups singing at the gathering."
"Will the Pope be there?"
"Yes Brigitta, he will. There will also be Cardinals from all the countries represented. You will be told when you arrive the time when you will be singing. I'll be on the bus when it arrives. Georg, do you have any questions?"
"No, I believe you told us everything. I'm sure my children will be ready long before the bus arrives."
"Very well, have a blessed evening."
"The same to you, Rosa and thank you for everything."
The group watched the bus drive away. Isabel and Katia went with the children into the hotel. Max followed behind.
Georg took a firm hold of Maria's hand. "I think Rosa may suspect we're a couple."
"I do too. It's been very hard pretending I'm only the children's music teacher."
They shared a quick kiss before entering the hotel.