Tonight was my first gig playing with the local youth band. As a musician, you've got to get used to rolling with the punches. Tonight was an excellent opportunity to do just that.
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| Pre-event and during-event. |
I'm pretty sure the event we played at would've been titled "Goodbye Eberhart." The community was thanking a district official, Eberhart, for his service and wishing him the best in his future plans. All I know is that there were several police officers, people with expensive-looking shoes, and a monk in the crowd. And the people on stage said "Danke so-and-so" somewhere north of thirty times within five minutes. We only got to play two songs, which was a bit disappointing. However, we were offered complimentary refreshments, so I'd say overall it was a positive experience.
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| The VW Project Group's authentic Bugs, circa 1960, were on display during the Schulfest. |
Before the band engagement, my host family and I were at Viktoriaschule's Schulfest. Just think back-to-school open house meets science fair. It was a chance for everyone to display their work from Project Week. For me, that meant trying to explain why 21-year-old men are in love with a TV show designed for 5-year-old girls-- all in German.
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| Who doesn't love a few good infographics? |
Pre-Schulfest I got to hangout in downtown Aachen with Grace, another CBYXer in the area. This weekend was Europamarkt in Aachen, which is a huge artisans fair that winds around the city center. As former South Saxon Kelly Davidson so once articulately tweeted, "Salem art fair: the senior citizen's coachella." Akin to the Salem Art Fair, the general clientele of Europamarkt was definitely a bit older than Grace and me.
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| Sorry, Hal. Unfortunately artisan hammocks are a bit out of my price range. |
Regardless of the fair's target market, there was some pretty impressive handmade work. We saw three separate metalworker stations where the blacksmith guys were hammering out metal designs in the middle of the street for everyone to watch. There were even artisan brooms being made at a booth by a barefoot dude with a handlebar mustache.
While downtown, we ran into two weddings. The churches in Aachen are admittedly something out of a fairy tale. They even had doves poised to be released when the wedding party came out.
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| Always ready for a wedding! |
Definitely, a full Saturday-- weddings, art fairs, Brony presentations, and a night of a million "Dankes."