Anyway, playing on the street is a lot of fun because not only do you earn money for doing something you love, but you get all kinds of cool people and interesting reactions. i've had my photo taken together with Asian girls, and also an Indian man, and more than a few people have filmed me or photographed me by myself. Little kids smile and stare while their parents shun away and search their pockets. People cast funny glances and their lips curve slightly upward at the edges. A crowd of Bavarians came up and played Pearl Jam and sang so i improvised and some dude came last time and wanted me to play a blues riff whilst he played harmonica. Sweet.
Here's my playlist: Green Day's 'Time of Your Life,' Tiffany Joy's 'El Ritmo Del Mundo' (which has attracted a group of Mexicans asking where i was from and how i knew Spanish!) Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here,' Dishwalla's 'Counting Blue Cars,' Dashboard Confessional's 'So Long Sweet Summer,' Fuel's 'Innocent,' Jimmy Eat World's 'Hear You Me,' Smashing Pumpkins' '1979,' Switchfoot's 'Let That Be Enough' and of course Kindred Fall's own '3Drom' and my own, 'Kirsten's Song' and 'Apokalipsis' (named just now in honor of Aro and his blog...and of course, Jesus).
There may be some more songs that i've played which do not come to mind at the moment, but i will add them later if i think of them. I am going to be learning some new material soon by downloading music off the internet including, (hopefully) the rest of Dave Mattews Band's 'Gravedigger,' Nena's version of 'Neunundneunzig Luft Balloons,' Green Day's 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams,' among others. IN FACT, if any of YOU WHO ARE READING THIS BLOG, would like to post some SUGGESTIONS, on which new songs i should learn and play, POST AWAY!
LOVE, -aaron-
28 April 2005
25 April 2005
i have an art test soon...
Hey everyone, just wanted to type up a quick-ish update since last time! Hope you all are enjoying the links and downloading Kindred Fall songs! We are on the brink of revolution...
Mostly i have been helping out my Hausfrau with her new Kasten (closet units), as she had the old ones demolished by a demo crew and new ones installed by Helmut (her handyman-type friend) and myself. Needless to say, things have been in quite a crazy disarray roundabout the house--especially since Ben's two friends who are on break from studying in Spain came and stayed two nights on an air mattress in our room and then the living room amidst the mountains of clothes and other miscellaneous items...
Mostly i have been going to classes, doing chores, and playing my guitar for money and listeners on the main footbridge. However, i got talked to by the Polizei who say i have to relocate the next time since the bridge is not one of the designated street musician areas of Salzburg (who knew?). Anyway, they were nice and helpful and also did not fine me for not having my passport and attached visa on my person (i had forgotten it at home). They radio-ed in and confirmed my residence and studenthood in Salzburg, so i didn't get in trouble. Good thing i had registered with the Police though! They also knew English which was nice, though i tried to use as much German as possible as a courtesy and also for practice.
In other news of more serious nature, we went to the Death Camp of Mauthausen near Linz, Austria last Friday with our World War II class. Probably just as sobering as any trip to a concentration camp, Mauthausen was unique for a couple of other reasons:
1. It was the only camp of mass exterminations within the borders of the former German Reich.
2. It was a major source of the stones used by the Nazi for Hitler's extravagant building plans. There was a stone quarry where prisoners were forced to work long, hard, and mercilessly until death.
3. It is very beautiful and close to the natural landscape of the region. Unlike Dachau near Munich which we visited before, Mauthausen is located on a hill, dotted with trees and flowers, and covered with green grass. One can hear birds singing and see blue skies and even see the mountains in the distance on a clear day. The quarry nowadays has three lakes and lots of growth along the rock face. It is very hard to imagine such suffering took place in such a beautiful, seemingly peaceful location.
Like i said before, i have an art test very soon, so i'd better get going. However, if you could please post a response to anything mentioned here if you feel so inclined. 'til next time...
-ac-
Mostly i have been helping out my Hausfrau with her new Kasten (closet units), as she had the old ones demolished by a demo crew and new ones installed by Helmut (her handyman-type friend) and myself. Needless to say, things have been in quite a crazy disarray roundabout the house--especially since Ben's two friends who are on break from studying in Spain came and stayed two nights on an air mattress in our room and then the living room amidst the mountains of clothes and other miscellaneous items...
Mostly i have been going to classes, doing chores, and playing my guitar for money and listeners on the main footbridge. However, i got talked to by the Polizei who say i have to relocate the next time since the bridge is not one of the designated street musician areas of Salzburg (who knew?). Anyway, they were nice and helpful and also did not fine me for not having my passport and attached visa on my person (i had forgotten it at home). They radio-ed in and confirmed my residence and studenthood in Salzburg, so i didn't get in trouble. Good thing i had registered with the Police though! They also knew English which was nice, though i tried to use as much German as possible as a courtesy and also for practice.
In other news of more serious nature, we went to the Death Camp of Mauthausen near Linz, Austria last Friday with our World War II class. Probably just as sobering as any trip to a concentration camp, Mauthausen was unique for a couple of other reasons:
1. It was the only camp of mass exterminations within the borders of the former German Reich.
2. It was a major source of the stones used by the Nazi for Hitler's extravagant building plans. There was a stone quarry where prisoners were forced to work long, hard, and mercilessly until death.
3. It is very beautiful and close to the natural landscape of the region. Unlike Dachau near Munich which we visited before, Mauthausen is located on a hill, dotted with trees and flowers, and covered with green grass. One can hear birds singing and see blue skies and even see the mountains in the distance on a clear day. The quarry nowadays has three lakes and lots of growth along the rock face. It is very hard to imagine such suffering took place in such a beautiful, seemingly peaceful location.
Like i said before, i have an art test very soon, so i'd better get going. However, if you could please post a response to anything mentioned here if you feel so inclined. 'til next time...
-ac-
15 April 2005
Salzbergwerk - Salt Mines
So, last weekend Jenny and Jon arrived in Salzburg Thursday night, checked into their hotel and gave me a call on my cell phone (Kirsten was on the phone with her mum at the time). We said we'd meet at 7:15-7:30ish at the Stadtsbrücke, aka the main bridge for vehicle traffic in the Altstadt von Salzburg. We got there at finally met up with them (they came a bit late) and together with my roommate Ben and this girl Tamra from AIFS, we all headed over to Frau Schöttke's place zu Fuß (on foot). We enjoyed an excellent Austrian meal, exchanged some laughs and stories and listened to some traditional Austrian Music: Barry White, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong duets, etc...
Next Morning we got up and after a little bit of a mixup met up with Jenny and Jon again and went for a Spaziergang up to the Fortress of Hohen-Salzburg and the Great views from all sides of the mountains. Spring is here, and the bugs and flowers and green and sun and colors and smells and sights are OUT! We then checked Fred and Ethel out of their hotel and went to stash their bags at Kirsten's dorm and we found our friends Emily Boyd and Joy Meckes waiting for us. Joy is studying in London, England and Emily is in Sussex; they were both on a Spring Break of sorts. So the whole crew--Jenny, Jon, Joy, Emily, Kirsten and i--made our way to the train station with a short walk through the Mirabellgarten and the adjoining dwarf-statue garden. We took the train out to Hallein bound for the Salt Mines. We got there and discovered that we'd need to take a bus to get there and it would take about an hour before we could leave. We figured it out, got there and bought our tickets (with no discount for me because they wouldn't believe that i am a student and that my ID was stolen in Italy). We visited the Celtic Village there to pass the time before going into the Salt Mines. The Celts were the first ones to mine salt there and then it passed into the hands of the Archbishops, rich in power, corruption, and false religion. There is a tram ride to start off the journey into the mountain which knocks off much of the walking. Then you begin a guided tour with various exhibits and short film clips shown along the way--luckily everyone in the group was OK with English, so that was the language used. i was the only one that broke some salt off the ceiling and ate it, and it was quite good. Salty. I guess everyone else was afraid of dirt or something, who knows. Anyway, the most exciting part of the Salt Mines is that you dress up in these Spacey looking suits to slide down mine-shafts and keep you clean from the walls. You ride in a boat over a salt-saturated separation pond (more salty than the Dead Sea) and see a series of other film clips and hear some other cool info about the mine. 70% of the mine is in Bavaria, a German Province where Munich lies and the Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau actually died as a result of the battles he wages for rights to the mines. You cross the German-Austrian border underground. This same Archbishop was also responsible for most of the grand buildings that Salzburg is famous for today as he rebuilt them after a large fire (which he did nothing to stop) as an excuse to build the Schloss Mirabell, die Residenz/Residenzplatz, und Der Dom. He hired an Italian architect to build them and with revenue generated from the lucrative Salt trading business. This is, in fact, how Salzburg got its name. Salz, meaning Salt, and Burg, meaning castle; the castle was built out of salt, (though not literally, but €conomically!) The Austrian Schilling has never done too bad, even with the results of war because of it's strong connection with the old Deutsche Mark. Of course, both countries are now part of the EU and Austria is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a member.
So! This was a great way to wrap up the Spring Break travels and say farewell to Jenny and Jon (though after a week of school of course). They took a train back to Munich that afternoon to catch a plane the next morning. Emily and Joy stayed at Kirsten's dorm and resumed their travels while Kirsten and i took a trip with our class to the Schleedorf Cheese Factory Käsewelt! More on that to come!
LINKS!
photos
band (Studio Photos, Performance Photos, Video, and more!)
band2 (Secret Demo Leak + More!)
'Stache Revolution...
Kirsten
Aro
Ed
your link here!
Next Morning we got up and after a little bit of a mixup met up with Jenny and Jon again and went for a Spaziergang up to the Fortress of Hohen-Salzburg and the Great views from all sides of the mountains. Spring is here, and the bugs and flowers and green and sun and colors and smells and sights are OUT! We then checked Fred and Ethel out of their hotel and went to stash their bags at Kirsten's dorm and we found our friends Emily Boyd and Joy Meckes waiting for us. Joy is studying in London, England and Emily is in Sussex; they were both on a Spring Break of sorts. So the whole crew--Jenny, Jon, Joy, Emily, Kirsten and i--made our way to the train station with a short walk through the Mirabellgarten and the adjoining dwarf-statue garden. We took the train out to Hallein bound for the Salt Mines. We got there and discovered that we'd need to take a bus to get there and it would take about an hour before we could leave. We figured it out, got there and bought our tickets (with no discount for me because they wouldn't believe that i am a student and that my ID was stolen in Italy). We visited the Celtic Village there to pass the time before going into the Salt Mines. The Celts were the first ones to mine salt there and then it passed into the hands of the Archbishops, rich in power, corruption, and false religion. There is a tram ride to start off the journey into the mountain which knocks off much of the walking. Then you begin a guided tour with various exhibits and short film clips shown along the way--luckily everyone in the group was OK with English, so that was the language used. i was the only one that broke some salt off the ceiling and ate it, and it was quite good. Salty. I guess everyone else was afraid of dirt or something, who knows. Anyway, the most exciting part of the Salt Mines is that you dress up in these Spacey looking suits to slide down mine-shafts and keep you clean from the walls. You ride in a boat over a salt-saturated separation pond (more salty than the Dead Sea) and see a series of other film clips and hear some other cool info about the mine. 70% of the mine is in Bavaria, a German Province where Munich lies and the Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau actually died as a result of the battles he wages for rights to the mines. You cross the German-Austrian border underground. This same Archbishop was also responsible for most of the grand buildings that Salzburg is famous for today as he rebuilt them after a large fire (which he did nothing to stop) as an excuse to build the Schloss Mirabell, die Residenz/Residenzplatz, und Der Dom. He hired an Italian architect to build them and with revenue generated from the lucrative Salt trading business. This is, in fact, how Salzburg got its name. Salz, meaning Salt, and Burg, meaning castle; the castle was built out of salt, (though not literally, but €conomically!) The Austrian Schilling has never done too bad, even with the results of war because of it's strong connection with the old Deutsche Mark. Of course, both countries are now part of the EU and Austria is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a member.
So! This was a great way to wrap up the Spring Break travels and say farewell to Jenny and Jon (though after a week of school of course). They took a train back to Munich that afternoon to catch a plane the next morning. Emily and Joy stayed at Kirsten's dorm and resumed their travels while Kirsten and i took a trip with our class to the Schleedorf Cheese Factory Käsewelt! More on that to come!
LINKS!
photos
band (Studio Photos, Performance Photos, Video, and more!)
band2 (Secret Demo Leak + More!)
'Stache Revolution...
Kirsten
Aro
Ed
your link here!
09 April 2005
Big Net
Hey all, and i'll try to keep this one a bit shorter! Sorry for wearing you out with the longest blog known to man! As you can see by the fact that a new blog has appeared, Kirsten and i actually made it back alive from Spring Break! Here's a brief synopsis of the rest of our journey:
1. We bliebed in Barcelona for a total of 4 nights because AlBerGuest was so excellent and explored the city and enjoyed excellent weather! It was hard to leave Al and his excellent hangout.
2. We took a few trains to the same stops we made on our way through France, but then took and overnight train from Toulouse to Nice...crazy. In Nice we rolled our bags down to the rocky beach which this section of the French Riviera is Famous for and enjoyed a hearty meal of McDonalds (some sort of French Delicacy i presume...) Anyway, it filled our stomachs. Actually, before i was about to enjoy my McMeal, i had to use the WC and i found one on the beach. It was one of those lame ones you 'have to pay for' and as there was no one at the counter i just went in and did my business. i came out and there was an old man expecting 35 Euro cents. crap. Having zero (count 'em zero) coins in my pocket and my wallet back on the beach blankets with Kirsten (the beach blankets were really our sleeping bags), i decided to side step the guy and just walk away. The man came busting after me so i picked up my trot a bit and (cursing in French which i of course cannot understand) proceeded to pick up the giant French Rock of Nice and chuck them at me!!! HARD!
i ran right off that beach as quick as i could.
...and this was the only WC i paid for on our whole trip; which i opted to pay 1 Euro for in exchange for no more hurling rocks and a peaceful spot on the rocky beach. i went swimming after that and it was really cold. Eventually, we got back to the train station on our way to Italy to meet Kirsten's sister Jenny and her brother-in-law Jon in Cinque Terra, but not before i went to an ATM and made a large withdrawal from my bank account to pay for the rest of our hostels and for food money upon arriving back in Austria. turned out to be a bad move.
3. Cinque Terra. ('Five Lands' or 'Five Cities'). What a beautiful place! Go there if you ever have the chance. You can hike between all five of the cities and they are all right on the ocean with the bluest, clearest water you have ever seen. That is the real Italy, not Florence or Rome, and well worth it. I cannot speak for Venice, as i still have not made it there, though Aro told a great story about it during his adventures in the Old World. At any rate, i had a bad experience there as my wallet was lost/stolen near the grocery store DeSpar in Monterosso! BOOOOOOOO!!! (i'm not entirely sure how it happened, but i lost about 280 Euro, all my IDs (except my passport thankfully) and some other stuff which undoubtedly is important, because i keep it in there. i was able to somehow communicate this to the very Italian store owners in the area and the Carabinieri (local police), but to no avail. i did file a report of loss, but who knows if i will ever see it again. We did our hike to Vernazza anyway and it was quite beautiful.
4. After a short stop in Pisa and seeing the main square and the tower and all-at, we booked it on down to Rome where Jenny and Jon already had a hotel reserved. Kirsten and i found one too after a bit of searching and a little bargaining and got a decent deal, but it was still the most expensive we paid the whole trip. Then we went to dinner. While we were eating, an Italian waiter came and turned on infoTV with the newsline: Juan Paulo II è mort. Of course meaning, The Pope had just died. Craziness at the Vatican! We went. i am really glad we hadn't been there later, after the massive wave of people that came! We probably would have been stuck for sure. It was pretty dang full of people and kind of strange. i really do not understand what all the commotion is--i mean, i know he's the leader of the Catholic Religion and all, but he's still just a man. Not God. He has no special access to God that the rest of us don't. i know that is pretty to the point, but why are so many people so riled up about the death of this old man as if he were Christ? Infallibility? I should think not. The only one infallible is God himself, and the only reason Christ is infallible is because he was fully God.
Anyway, i'm steaming out my ears with plenty of other things i should probably not write on this topic, so i will close on a positive note: it was worth it to go from a pop culture standpoint and to see all the people out and about.
So, here i am at 'Big Net' an Internet Cafe, which Kirsten and i have taken to calling 'Big Butt' which of course is both hilarious and true. Classes have started up again and lots of stuff is due soon. i also must register for Chapman classes and i found out i have a business hold which i have to clear up (party!). Also i have a German test on Tuesday! AHHHH!!! i am a bissel verrückt i think. (a little bit crazy!) I will post an update sometime this week regarding Salt Mines and Home Cooked Austrian Meals. I Don't Know Why I'm Capitalizing Everything! Tschüss!!
love, ac
1. We bliebed in Barcelona for a total of 4 nights because AlBerGuest was so excellent and explored the city and enjoyed excellent weather! It was hard to leave Al and his excellent hangout.
2. We took a few trains to the same stops we made on our way through France, but then took and overnight train from Toulouse to Nice...crazy. In Nice we rolled our bags down to the rocky beach which this section of the French Riviera is Famous for and enjoyed a hearty meal of McDonalds (some sort of French Delicacy i presume...) Anyway, it filled our stomachs. Actually, before i was about to enjoy my McMeal, i had to use the WC and i found one on the beach. It was one of those lame ones you 'have to pay for' and as there was no one at the counter i just went in and did my business. i came out and there was an old man expecting 35 Euro cents. crap. Having zero (count 'em zero) coins in my pocket and my wallet back on the beach blankets with Kirsten (the beach blankets were really our sleeping bags), i decided to side step the guy and just walk away. The man came busting after me so i picked up my trot a bit and (cursing in French which i of course cannot understand) proceeded to pick up the giant French Rock of Nice and chuck them at me!!! HARD!
i ran right off that beach as quick as i could.
...and this was the only WC i paid for on our whole trip; which i opted to pay 1 Euro for in exchange for no more hurling rocks and a peaceful spot on the rocky beach. i went swimming after that and it was really cold. Eventually, we got back to the train station on our way to Italy to meet Kirsten's sister Jenny and her brother-in-law Jon in Cinque Terra, but not before i went to an ATM and made a large withdrawal from my bank account to pay for the rest of our hostels and for food money upon arriving back in Austria. turned out to be a bad move.
3. Cinque Terra. ('Five Lands' or 'Five Cities'). What a beautiful place! Go there if you ever have the chance. You can hike between all five of the cities and they are all right on the ocean with the bluest, clearest water you have ever seen. That is the real Italy, not Florence or Rome, and well worth it. I cannot speak for Venice, as i still have not made it there, though Aro told a great story about it during his adventures in the Old World. At any rate, i had a bad experience there as my wallet was lost/stolen near the grocery store DeSpar in Monterosso! BOOOOOOOO!!! (i'm not entirely sure how it happened, but i lost about 280 Euro, all my IDs (except my passport thankfully) and some other stuff which undoubtedly is important, because i keep it in there. i was able to somehow communicate this to the very Italian store owners in the area and the Carabinieri (local police), but to no avail. i did file a report of loss, but who knows if i will ever see it again. We did our hike to Vernazza anyway and it was quite beautiful.
4. After a short stop in Pisa and seeing the main square and the tower and all-at, we booked it on down to Rome where Jenny and Jon already had a hotel reserved. Kirsten and i found one too after a bit of searching and a little bargaining and got a decent deal, but it was still the most expensive we paid the whole trip. Then we went to dinner. While we were eating, an Italian waiter came and turned on infoTV with the newsline: Juan Paulo II è mort. Of course meaning, The Pope had just died. Craziness at the Vatican! We went. i am really glad we hadn't been there later, after the massive wave of people that came! We probably would have been stuck for sure. It was pretty dang full of people and kind of strange. i really do not understand what all the commotion is--i mean, i know he's the leader of the Catholic Religion and all, but he's still just a man. Not God. He has no special access to God that the rest of us don't. i know that is pretty to the point, but why are so many people so riled up about the death of this old man as if he were Christ? Infallibility? I should think not. The only one infallible is God himself, and the only reason Christ is infallible is because he was fully God.
Anyway, i'm steaming out my ears with plenty of other things i should probably not write on this topic, so i will close on a positive note: it was worth it to go from a pop culture standpoint and to see all the people out and about.
So, here i am at 'Big Net' an Internet Cafe, which Kirsten and i have taken to calling 'Big Butt' which of course is both hilarious and true. Classes have started up again and lots of stuff is due soon. i also must register for Chapman classes and i found out i have a business hold which i have to clear up (party!). Also i have a German test on Tuesday! AHHHH!!! i am a bissel verrückt i think. (a little bit crazy!) I will post an update sometime this week regarding Salt Mines and Home Cooked Austrian Meals. I Don't Know Why I'm Capitalizing Everything! Tschüss!!
love, ac
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)