Thank you for visiting my blog. I am a language enthusiast, a culture enthusiast and just love learning about people in general. Please feel free to share your story with me!
I do hope that you're doing well today! Thanks for stopping by.
This week has been fantastic as I've had the chance to experience the first of many festivals which pop up at this time of year. I was fortunate enough to go to a pumpkin festival with my cousin and her friends and it was a fantastic day to head out into the country.
Like I mentioned in my last post, the part of Germany I'm currently living in is made up of many different municipalities that are all relatively close to each other but still have plenty of space in between. The festival that we went to was about 20 minutes away in another small municipality and it was a perfect Saturday outing.
As you can see from the picture below, it was relatively small and I would estimate around a thousand people being there at any one time.
When we first entered, I was immediately drawn to a sign that advertised for pumpkin waffles. I got in line and was promptly served a hot, fresh pumpkin waffle. I took my first bite and I found myself being surprised by a quite savory flavor. I was expecting it to be on the sweeter side but flavor additives aren't so popular out here so everything that you eat is going to be in it's more organic form. Luckily, there's one thing that goes VERY well with a savory snack. You guessed it! Beeeeeeeeer!
As you can see from the photo below, I was thinking with my stomach not my camera so I didn't catch the whole waffle in all it's glory but you get the gist.
We were also told that if you're at the festival, you should 100% try the pumpkin soup. I don't have a picture of it but I'll bet you could imagine what it looked like more or less. It was SO tasty but it was also quite warm outside so a whole bowl of soup seemed like too much. I was fortunate enough to try someone else's and then I settled for a wild boar bratwurst. We found a spot in the shade and proceeded to relax in the beautiful weather.
Pumpkin ciders and pumpkin wines were also quite popular at the festival. I tried one of the wines and it was incredibly sweet. I wasn't surprised this time but after just one sip I was had surpassed my pumpkin wine quota. Mandy and co seemed to thoroughly enjoy it and they proceeded to buy a bottle to walk around with. I love Germany.
They had a really nice selection of pumpkins for purchase including your standard orange pumpkins of many shapes and sizes. They also had many white pumpkins which I've seen before in the states but then they had some crazy alien pumpkins I'd never seen before. They kind of look like a mushroom you try to consume in a Super Mario Brothers video game. They were pretty fascinating to look at though.
One other thing that was great about the festival is that there were a bunch of small vendors there that were selling a variety of things including handmade goods and plenty of different types of locally-sourced food. The most popular seemed to be the tents selling sausage and cheese as they were high in quality and low in price.
I almost bought some coffee liquor that I sampled once (maybe twice) but I figured I still have so many different types of beers to try that I could put that on hold.
Speaking of beers, I've been going to the grocery store and they have so many different brands and styles that I've just been picking 4-5 of them at random. So far I've found some styles I enjoy and some styles that I'm not the biggest fan of. I have been sticking to a pretty rigorous daily routine so it's nice to crack one open in the evening after another victorious day.
One part of my daily routine is to go for a walk or run because it's so easy to get onto a walking path in just minutes. Here's a video of me taking a quick walk and I'm about 7 minutes from the front door.
The weather has been getting cooler and a bit more dreary each day. I'm pretty sure summer is over but there's some sunshine that pops through every now and then which is refreshing. Here's a picture of what it looked like in the morning the other day.
The sun was trying to peek through but the clouds just weren't having it. Although it can be a bit gloomy, I'm feeling great about my time here thus far. One thing that's helping me get through each gloomy day is that I'm getting very excited for my first gig this Saturday and everything is ready to go! I'll be taking some pictures and videos while I'm there so I can share the experience with you.
I've been back a *couple* times to the pub where I'll be playing, you know, just to suss it out a little bit more and I'm really stoked to be gigging again. I haven't had a gig in over 3 weeks and it's driving me a little crazy! I've been practicing daily and relearning some old songs I haven't played in awhile as well as adding a couple new ones to the repertoire.
I also just got some fun news the other day while talking with my Dutch friend Folkert. I wanted to book a train to Amsterdam to visit he and his girlfriend Else and he gave me some good dates to look into. I also found out he's taking me to a proper football match (read: not American football) between a couple of Dutch teams which is one thing I've been wanting to do for a LONG time. Seeing a local match in the stadium has always seemed like it has an electric atmosphere to me so I'm greatly looking forward to experiencing it first hand.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day!
It's been just a little over 4 years since I made my last blog post which makes me a little sad that I haven't kept up with it. Let me give you a quick recap of what I've been up to since then:
I quit my job as a teacher and started doing music full time
I've been doing music full time for 4 years including teaching lessons and gigging
I recently moved close to Ramstein, Germany to work on my new business
Life is good
My new business is a website where people can go to get free guitar lessons as well as buy my How-To Guitar eBooks. If you want to check it out, please do! www.guitarwithtonyg.com.
Considering my new business is entirely based online, I decided that it was time to move out into the world again and get back to my love of culture, language and people.
I've since moved in with my cousin, Mandy who flies for the Air Force and is stationed here in Germany. She and I are having a blast so far and I have to say, I really feel like I'm home. I've got a couple fun anecdotes for you this week so I hope you enjoy! As always, please feel free to leave comments or questions.
Before we jump in, I want to share what I've brought with me. As you can see from the picture below, I minimized my life into three items and it's a very good feeling.
The Plane Ride
Right when I got on the plane, I was a little anxious about getting my guitar into an overhead compartment so I quickly found one that was empty and threw it in. That left my backpack which I was going to put under the seat but it wouldn't fit!
As the line of people waiting on me grew longer, a nice gentleman told me to hand it to him and he'd put it up for me. I shook his hand and asked him his name. "Nam" he responded. He ended up having the seat right next to mine and we started chatting. He's a retired Computer Science professor from Albuquerque and he was very interesting which was quite fortuitous on this 9.5 hour flight.
We chatted about anything and everything and it turns out he moved to the states from Iran in the 70s and ended up marrying a local and staying. He has a daughter in Denver who is a musician so at the end of the flight I told him that I would love to put her in touch with my local music contacts. We parted ways and I headed for customs as he went to catch a connecting flight.
Baggage Claim Karaoke
After customs was through I went to baggage claim to grab my last remaining piece of luggage. While I waited for the carousel to start up I got Maleficent (my guitar) out of her case to make sure she was doing alright. I tuned her up and played quietly for about 30 seconds just because I missed her then I put her back in the case. The carousel fired up and spit out about 5 bags then stopped. People were getting anxious.
After a few minutes the carousel again started up and only spit out about 5 bags. I was feeling quite lackadaisical from sleep deprivation so I decided I would try to lift everyone's spirits. I got Maleficent out and strummed a few chords as I sang, "You can't always get what you waaaaaant, no you can't always get what you waaaaaaant." I was just starting to ad lib a verse but then the carousel started up again and started churning out the rest of the bags. I received a smattering applause and people went back to their business. That's fine, I never did it for the fame anyway!
Train, Train, Train, Train
Once I grabbed my bag I headed to the trains to start my journey from Frankfurt to Ramstein. I had previously purchased a ticket which included all four legs of the train journey so I was in good shape. Well, just so happens that the first leg got delayed which caused me to miss the second leg which then domino-ed into missing every other leg. Some people might get anxious or worried about this but not I! Nay I say! Not I! For those of you who know me, it's pretty hard to ruffle my feathers and this didn't bother me in the least (ask my dad about my "Florence" story).
Once I got to the next train station I asked the information desk if I could still use my ticket for other trains. Europe is fantastic with their public transportation so of course my ticket was valid for other trains that same day. I had to add in an extra transfer due to the train schedule but it was no biggie. After about 25 hours of being awake and traveling, I finally reached Mandy's place where I took a nice shower and a quick snooze.
Mandy got back to the apartment just a little later and we were ecstatic to see each other! It had been awhile since we'd been together so it was a nice reunion. She's a badass pilot for the Air Force and flies the C-130J which is a HUGE plane.
First Look at the Scenery
We jumped into her car and she drove me around to show me the layout of the town. Ramstein is essentially one of many municipalities that are all close together yet have plenty of space between. Mandy explained to me that there are zoning rules that state nothing can be built on the hills, only in the valleys which is why the towns are spaced the way they are. There is plenty of fresh air, green fields and trees which is just what the doctor ordered.
We drove into a town called Kaiserslautern or K town for short. We took a nice walk around and she showed me various restaurants and pubs. I'm definitely going to be stopping by the pubs later this week to talk to them about playing music for their patrons. Live music has a good presence out here which is really cool. I'm looking forward to meeting some other local musicians.
We went to dinner at an Italian spot and then she drove us back the long way so we could see another small town called Landstuhl. Landstuhl is where I have my first gig booked a nice little place called the Red Lion Pub. It's owned by a really nice couple Kat and Jon. Kat is British and Jon is half American half German having been raised in a military family. They just recently bought the pub and they're going to do some massive renovations next week. Here's a picture of the pub.
I was exhausted so Mandy took us back and I conked out for 9-10 hours. Once I woke up, Mandy and I went for a walk to explore the little town we're living in called Steinwenden. It's super tiny and doesn't have much besides a small hotel, a bakery, coffee shop, döner restaurant and a bank. For those of you unfamiliar with döner food, I'll get to that soon. Here's a picture of the view out my window and a video of Mandy and I in the morning.
Work, Work, Work!
My plan when I got here was to start working right away so I've been very dedicated to working on my website and various content needed. It's a great feeling to be your own boss and I feel more motivated and dedicated knowing that all of the work my business partners and I put into the business has a direct correlation with our success. It's been a long endeavor and has a long road ahead of it, but the business is going well and growing at every turn. If you are looking to learn the guitar and want to achieve your dreams while supporting us, we would be honored.
My First Solo Outing
Mandy had to work the late shift on the second day in so I decided to head out that evening and explore a bit of Landstuhl. I hopped the train which dropped me off and I went in search of a restaurant to eat at. Here are a couple videos in town on the way to the train station.
Döner
I decided to stop in at a döner spot because it has been quite awhile since I've had a kepab and I was ready! Let me explain döner for those of you who aren't familiar with the cuisine.
Have you ever seen the Disney movie Ratatouille? There's a scene in it where the protagonist (voiced by Patton Oswald) is explaining the beauty of food to his brother. He takes a bite of cheese by itself then a bite of strawberry by itself but then he eats them both at the same time. During this part, fireworks shoot off in the background to show the magic going on. That my friends, is döner in a nutshell!
Döner is Turkish food and they specialized in having lamb that they shave off of a kebab and serve it on bread or a tortilla with vegetables, sauces and spice. I ordered the first thing that looked good and asked for it spicy. Here's a picture of it.
It was absolutely delicious but I wanted a little extra kick so I grabbed the shaker of spice on the table and upturned it. Well... the lid wasn't on all the way so I had a plate full of chili flakes with a little side of kebap to go with it. I did my best to not waste it but dang did it get spicy fast. I'll definitely be checking the lids on those in the near future!
The Red Lion Pub
I went to the Red Lion Pub to formally introduce myself to the owners, Kat and Jon and they are absolutely delightful! As they poured me a beer we jumped into conversation about their experience as bar owners, other musicians they want to introduce me to and other spots I should look into playing. I really hope that I can develop a minor following while I'm out here to help bring in some business. The bars here are really great and the people so friendly! Here's a terrible pic of the inside and owners.
Americans Galore
One thing I found out is that the American population in and around Ramstein is actually the biggest group of Americans outside of America numbering at 250,000. That's a LOT of Americans and although I do prefer to meet locals and learn the local ways, it's been nice to meet some great people from all over the US as well which can be cultural in itself.
Speaking of culture, as I was leaving the Red Lion to catch a train, a nice gentleman said hello to me and I responded and he said something else which I didn't understand. I stopped and asked if he spoke English. "Little English" he replied. With my pathetic amount of German I said, "Mein name ist Tony" (my name is Tony) and he responded with, "Luigi." I then switched to Italian and asked him if he spoke Italian. He did indeed speak Italian so we had a pleasant conversation and it turns out, he was just a really friendly guy. I told him I had to run to catch the train but bid him a goodnight and I was off. It was definitely the best conversation I've ever had in German/Italian/English.
What's To Come
This post is already a little long for just having been here a couple days so I'll call it here. This weekend Mandy and I are attending a pumpkin festival which I'm looking forward to and honestly have no idea what to expect - which is just the way I like it! Next week I have my first gig at the pub which I can't wait for! I'm looking forward to playing music and meeting some people.
I hope you all thoroughly enjoy your weekend and I'll definitely be with you in spirit.
Tschüss! (Means "bye" and you basically just say "juice" with a 'ch' sound at the beginning)
