From the cuddling hotel we went directly to South Tyrol to the wine maker Castelfeder. They needed new photos from the persons and the family but also from the wine yards and bottles. The weather was not too good, but it was really nice to be back in Neumarkt after one year.
On our way towards the South we planned to have an overnight stay in Kastelruth. This village is famous for a band and Kastelruth was full of music. That was funny. Our journey was accompanied by traffic jam informations from the radio. We took a detour around the huge jam on the Brenner Highway by driving simply on the road next to the highway. But after that our sat nav thought it should send us into the mountains and back. We have to admit it was a nice street, though, but we arrived on the very same street, that we had left before… But we wanted to arrive at some time then. So we went further along the highway and then there was a complete block of the street. So we had to drive back the way into the mountains. If only we had known before. But finally we arrived. It was difficult to find an open restaurant because it was not the main season yet. We landed in a pizza place with very good crispy and thin pizza.
On the next day we choose the beautiful and narrow road through the mountains. We arrived quite early in Neumarkt and wanted to move into our hotel but it was in contrary to our information not at all booked for us. But soon they found a new hotel for us and we moved into our room and afterwards drove around through the vineyards. Unfortunately everything was closed. All the cafes, restaurants and wine yards… Desperate hikers and bikers were searching for a refreshment or a snack or a nice place to sit. Disappointed we went back to our hotel. At least in Neumarkt two cafes were open and they had a nice sun terrace.
The next day Achim held the photo shoot and it took him all day. Meanwhile I continued writing my book. I will write more about it soon.
After another night in Neumarkt we travelled on not without having one more ‚caffe‘. This is a nice tradition in South Tyrol. I like the art of living there.
From Neumarkt we went to Nieder-Flörsheim to another wine grower: Ralf Köth. But we again planned an overnight stay on the road. From the highway we found a cosy and small hotel in the middle of nowhere in an medieval building. In the restaurant that belonged to the hotel we ate very good asparagus. A good finding!
And then we went on to Rhine-Hesse. We have been there a couple of weeks before at the vinocamp. And now we had the nice task to hold a Facebook workshop for Ralf Köth. That was fun anyway.
In the afternoon we drove to Bonn, where we stayed with friends. Achim had a band rehearsal in the evening. The band was his old school band Phoenix. Old means that this band came together over thirty years ago and received permission to rehearse in the boiler room. There they have been discovered by a music teacher because he could hear the band through a air shaft in his music room. He declared the band to be the official school band.
The school band soon had some gigs and a choir was added. After that they did school concerts, where half of the pupils are active. At least it feels like that. Posters and entry tickets and the stage decoration are designed by arts classes. Or light and sound come from a club. Even the ambulance men during the concert are not from the red cross but from the ‚Sani‘ club.
This school band exists to the very day. With different people but with the same name. And so there was this incredible moment when the primal band played together with the actual band and the old choir sang with the young choir on the same stage. Goosbumps. And I think that we saw some handkerchiefs also.
How nice that there are still those projects in school even today. Und that these projects are good we heard from the old guys very often that night. They still enthuse about how important this band was for them up until today. And from this band arose so many bands that you could hold a whole weekend festival only with those groups.
The teacher that took the band out of the boiler room will be retire this summer and this gig with the old and first band members was a huge surprise for him. He can totally relax and enjoy his free time because the band still exists and because this evening had shown that music connects people also over some decades. When they are together on stage it feels immediately like in the boiler room. You don’t need many words. You just make music. And sing for several voices. And for the after show party you don’t need any stereo but only a guitar and it goes on. A perfect dream.
It was so phantasmagorical to experience that.
After that very emotional time we had some doctor’s appointments. And we enjoyed the funny flat share with our friends. And soon we went on to our first non touristic project.