October 20, 2014

This week absolutely flew by! It began with a day off in Stuttgart, Germany. What did we do? We slept in and rested all day long. It was marvelous. Our hosts had just had a baby, and it was so nice to be part of this family for a day.

The week was filled with great concerts. We played in Münster at a bar located within a college dorm. The evening was set up to support all of the new students who were naturally feeling a bit homesick. It was such a pleasure to be there for them and bring them a bit of levity. Sadly, we were in town for less than a day, because it really has a cool vibe! We look forward to staying longer next time.

We then headed back down near Stuttgart to a town called Ludwigsburg, where we played a show at a church for a youth group. Really lovely people! And it’s nice to know we can still reach the young'ns.

On Thursday, we headed to a town called Erlangen. We took the old “Romantic Road” and stopped at a quintessentially German town to check out what it means to be a good German. We discovered some beautiful architecture and some delicious Bavarian food! The day ended marvelously with a really awesome house concert. The hosts were doing it for the first time and they did a wonderful job. It was nicely appointed, the vibe was great, the house was packed and everyone really loved the experience. I think we got about a dozen more house concerts out of it!

Sadly, our show on Friday was cancelled because our host went to the hospital. We don’t know what happened but hope he’s ok. With the day off, we made our way slowly to our next show in Sarreguemines, France. We stayed overnight at a little farm, and enjoyed more R&R.

Sarreguemines was a delightful experience as well. It’s incredible to find these places - little gems in small towns. The place we played was a top notch venue with delicious food and drink, and incredible hospitality. The crowd was attentive and enthusiastic. It was very heartwarming to have a mother and her small boy come up to us afterward to tell us: “Things can be so difficult in this world. There are wars and other worries. Tonight you opened our hearts and showed us that everything will be ok.” Wow. And her son, probably about 6 or 7 years old, and a budding cellist, shyly asked us for a poster. Very sweet.

The next day (yesterday) we were to go to the Swiss alps with my dear friend Barbara. She was sick and the trains were on strike so we opted to return to Cologne instead, to spend some time with her and enjoy more of this great city, which is becoming like our home away from home in Germany! Today, I have been blessedly domestic. I’ve done laundry, puttered around, and am now enjoying the aroma of chicken soup and apple crisp, both of which are cooking in this warm, cozy kitchen. A very very good day!