Now We Travel
I have now been in Europe 68 days with 83 more to go including Christmas break. I am still loving every single minute of it. Before I dive into the wonderful world of European travel, let me update you about my music-school life in Germany. (Yes I actually go to school in between plane and train rides.)
After many hours translating notes from my lecturers and locking myself in my room to study for one week, I passed my first exam with flying colors! It felt so good to see that little green checkmark on my results. My german has improved a little bit so I can at least order food and ask for directions. The WIP (Work in Progress) concert in October may have been one of the most fun shows I’ve played. Shelly swooped in last minute play key-bass for me thus solving the issue of not having a band. We had little more than a week to practice and I was sick. It was the kind of sick that made me sit on the floor with the mic in my hand because my body refused stay standing. Just before the show, I shoved a bunch of medicine in my face, ate a banana, and focused myself. I walked onstage to see a packed house and the adrenaline kicked in. You can watch my performance here. Needless to say, it was one of the best times I’ve ever had on stage and destroyed any doubt I should be doing electronic music.
Now We Adventure
The next morning I dashed over to the Hauptbahnhof, chugged a much needed coffee, and picked up some boy fresh off the train from Paris. I was so tired and sick but that rare October sunshine and his smile got me back to my normal mountian-hiking strength. (If you don’t know who I’m referring to, you must not scroll through instagram often enough) We went to Luisenpark, wandered the NachtWandel, and looked down on all of Stuttgart from the top of a mountain palace. The rain and clouds held off until Sunday.
The following weekend I met my Parents in Munich after their Parisian excursion. (Why has everyone been to Paris but me?) From there we visited Salzburg, Austria and the two fantasy palaces of King Ludwig II. The culture and history were undoubtably incredible but the best part of the weekend for me was the mountains. The alps bring a magic to the landscape that I’ve only read about in Fairytales. They have sharp, jagged peaks topped with snow and cute alpine meadows. Thick pine forests hide wolves from the most beautiful and happy cows in the world. It’s the kind of setting that makes you want to dance around singing Disney Princess songs with your animal friends. A close second to the amazing landscape were the hot showers and german breakfasts every morning.
Weekend number three of #travelnovember saw me in the black forest on yet again another mountaintop. This one was COLD. As much as I normally love pine groves and morning mists, I was shaking in my boots as we hiked down from Merkur Berg. The sun only peaked through as we neared the bottom. There was no map, no english signs, and we got turned around a couple times, but did you really visit the black forest if you didn’t get lost in it? We all warmed up in the Caracalla Baths, a natural hot spring in Baden Baden. I had been on-edge the previous school week and these salty waterfalls completely erased all that bad ju ju from my system. When you’re swimming outdoors in 95 degree water, the smell of pine around you, staring at the paragliders jump from the mountain, it’s hard to be upset.
I’d like to end this blog post with my weekend in Ireland. I seem to always underestimate the natural beauty of Europe before I’ve been there. Ireland is simply charming to its core. The land, the people, the music, all charm you into wanting to do something crazy like visit again. That same boy from earlier whisked me into a crowded pub with my luggage still in hand. Over the next couple of days we roamed about Dublin eating fish and chips and wandering the northern coast. I can’t over exaggerate the number of sheep I saw. Every rolling hill and plane is dotted with sheep. The white stucco houses with black tile roofs even resemble sheep. Game of Thrones filmed at several locations in the north. After visiting I can understand why. This isn’t Disney Princess territory, its the stuff of Viking legend. The cliffs at Carrick-a-Rede are sudden and intimidating. It was also the first glimpse of the ocean I’ve had since landing in Europe in September. As great as the Mannheim chocolate factory is, I missed the salty air.
Extra Notes
*Irish pubs are for loud, dancy, singy, fun, drinking people who don’t get claustrophobic.
*Clubbing is really fun when the DJ is good, otherwise its just dark and awkward.
*I miss my oven
*Sleep for Dinner released our EP on November 15th. Available on all platforms. Listen Here:
