Stuttgart, noch einmal!

So yep, I went to Stuttgart again last weekend and I have to say...

I HAD A BLAST!!!!!


It was very well worth the money spent, even though I have to REALLY be careful with money now. Haha!

So here's my story of Stuttgart: Zweiten Mal

First off, my friend Cari from back home was here in Stras with some of her friends she met in Aix. I showed them around Thursday, and we had decided Saturday we wanted to do a day trip in Kehl. Great, because I didn't leave for Stuttgart til about 3 in the afternoon, and I left from the Kehl train station (because SNCF charged 30 euros more to leave from Stras. LAME!). It was a BEAUTIFUL morning outside, and we got to Kehl a little before noon, so we got lunch at a little burger joint there, then started poking around the town.

There's a huge tower at the park on the Rhine (I don't remember the German name, but in French it's 'Le Jardin des Deux Rives"), and we decided to climb it and the view from there is MAGNIFICENT! The way we were facing if you looked to the left, there was Stras, and the Cathedral on the Horizon, and then to the right was Kehl, and the Black Forest on the horizon that way. It was truly fascinating!

We went to some of the churches there too. I'd never been in them, but with Friedekirche right on the town square, I see it often, and then I've hung out in the garden at St. Nepomuk's a few times. But going in was cool. Friedekirche wasn't anything unusual...cute. quaint, and very peaceful. St. Nepomuk's was SO beautiful though! It had a kind of beauty I don't know if I can describe it. It was cute and pretty, like a talented grade school artist's work, but it was also much deeper than that. It also had scenes of the Crucifixion all around the sanctuary, which reminded me of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception back in Fort Wayne.

We just kind of poked around town after that, and finally headed back to the train station. I didn't leave Kehl til a little after 3, so I just hung out at my platform, reading The Vampire Lestat that my friend Sibylle lent me (as much as I love reading, I swear it's hard to have the time to actually DO it. I've had this book for AGES).

Train ride there was painless, thankfully. Same route as before. Get to Stuttgart, get on the UBahn, get to the hostel. Same place I stayed at before, so it wasn't like before where I was running around wondering what the hell. Haha, well I KIND of did, but I'm pretty good at remembering surroundings, so I found my way easily enough.

I basically had to book it to the show right after I got my stuff put away. My hostel was in the center of town, the show was on the east side of Stuttgart, and from the looks of the map at the Ubahn stations, almost in the suburbs. Not that it was off putting or anything, but it was a way away.

I had a little mishap trying to get in. I printed the wrong thing off for my ticket, but what I printed off proved I DID pay for one, so they let me in anyway. Scared the hell out of me for about a minute. But I got in, and got a spot. I had a shit spot, compared to where I was the first time I saw them, but I could deal with it. They only did about 5 songs, as they were the openers, but oh my god they fucking ROCKED! I've seen very few performers who throw themselves into their music like that. Not saying not many do, but not many that I've seen had.

The Back says "Stell Dir Vor"

So after them it was the Alex Mack Band (aka former singer of The Calling). and since I wasn't really there to see them, I made my way to the back of the venue (which was WAY WAY WAY bigger than where I saw Acht the first time), and found the merch boothes. Bought myself a T-shirt, and wanted to buy a bit more in the way of "fun" things but decided otherwise.

I just hung out and kind of listened at that point. AMB was pretty good, but like I said, I wasn't there for them, so I didn't pay that much attention. I was waiting around to meet Acht at that point. Haha! And I did.

Now, if you know me, you know this is where the dramatic build up starts in my storytelling. If you didn't know that, well you're about to find out.

At this point, I was getting a bit overheated, and needed some air. It got cloudy and rained during the day, so it had cooled off considerably outside. So I waited, got some air, cooled off, felt better, went back in.

As soon as I walked back in you can take a wild guess just who I happened to lay eyes on. Yep, Gil Ofarim was over by the merch booths, talking and just hanging out.

Think back to 7th grade, and it's the last dance of the year, and you're finally going to ask the object of your affections to said dance. As soon as you lay eyes on them, long before they look at you, or even notice you're there, your heart starts racing, knees start shaking, and you can already feel that you're going to be falling and stumbling over your words BIG TIME (now through in being in a country where you speak the language, but only so well). That's exactly how I felt, and I had to get the guts to forget a possible language barrier, forget my nerves, forget all the stupid negatives, and do this. I waited on this for years and years, and never honestly thought I'd have the chance to see him perform, nevertheless be able to meet him. I could barely contain my excitement.

So I end up going over to him, hand him my CD, very NERVOUSLY in very SHAKY German ask if we can speak in English (haha fail) and he was totally cool and did (and I was actually impressed. I figured he spoke well anyway, but other than singing I'd only ever heard him use German). He remembered the letter I wrote him back in October about the first concert in Stuttgart, which I was completely flattered that he remembered who I was, and as soon as I said "Yeah that was me," He reached out and gave me a hug. AWWWW! (#1 haha!) We talked for a few minutes, he asked if I understood what was being said in the songs and all, and I said I did, and we talked and he signed my CD, and gave me another hug (#2). I went to get a picture with him too, using my phone as my regular camera died (it was old anyway lol), and I got one, but it wasn't that good, so he's talking to the girl who worked with them, and had her get another picture for me on her camera, which I'm waiting on that one to be sent to me. He kept his arm around me too while asking, which definitely made me smile even more. Hahaha! I'm such a fangirl. Anyway, after that, he gave me another hug (#3), and I probably thanked him a million times over and he of course does the "No, thank you," and that hug ended up being pretty awesome too. :D Like I said: fangirl! Hahahaha! But, I at least recognize that fact about myself.

He was seriously super nice though. I was honestly impressed, and it really just...made everything. You know how sometimes you have these ideals of meeting someone, and you do and it's just...not what you expected? Maybe they were dicks? Or whatever. No, that totally didn't happen. He was just so cool and so lovely and...ok honestly it had me wondering why the HELL he doesn't have a girlfriend (come on...when a guy answers a question about having a significant other, famous or not, with "Well, I have my dog" they're not dating anyone. See the above video. Even if you don't know German, you'll know the part I mean when you see it). It was so awesome FINALLY meeting him though, and it really being everything I had ever hoped.

Oh Melinda, if you read this, Brain Sex is safe and sound in my goofy little memory. You lucked out. Nerves worked in your favor. ;)

Meeting the band overall was really cool. Andy, their drummer, was just hanging out after I talked to Gil, so I got his autograph, and he just had that whole cool drummer vibe going. I even noticed it in videos and whatever, and it reminds me so much of some of the guys I used to play with. I saw Oswin (lead guitar) and Konti (bass) out there too but they were talking to people, and come on, I'm not THAT rude...geesh. ;) But after a while I managed to get Oswin's autograph too, and then Konti's...which that ended up being another cute little story. ;)

After Konti signed it, Oswin went to grab my CD, one of those out of habit actions. No big deal. I didn't say anything, I guess because I didn't want to come off as a snob or something, so Oswin looked at it for a second, realized he signed it, looked at me, looked at the CD, looked at me, and then as follows:

Him: Wer hat dass gemacht? (Who did that?)
Me: Uhhhh...ich weiss nicht? *laugh* (I don't know)

He smiled and laughed, and handed me my CD back. I thanked them all profusely, and then headed out to get back to my hostel (which was quite the ordeal in and of itself. SSB, the Stuttgart transport system actually checks if you have a ticket, where as here in Stras I think I've seen the controllers once or maybe twice).

Oh and here begins the next bit of drama.

So it switched to Daylight Savings on Sunday. Whatever. I figured my phone would reset automatically. The phones I've had in the US did, so whatever.

hahahahahaha!

I had to set it to change, and didn't know that. So um, I THINK i'm getting up at 6:30 to catch a train a little after 9. Wanted to have time to get dressed, get there, ya know, BE ON TIME. I mean I was last time, but freaking DB canceled about a million trains last second. So just in case, I went early again.

Well, first, I misread the map at the UBahn (this is before I realize I'm an hour behind mind you). Dammit. I got on the wrong train. Well, I looked at the map, and if i had gone ONE stop further, I could buy another ticket, save 50 cents, and get to the trainstation. I go to execute this plan and...

There are people watching the trains...ON SUNDAY MORNING! WTF!

So I had to buy the ticket there and figure it out.

Oh and it was raining that morning. So here I am at Charlottenplatz (fortunately I wasn't THAT lost. I had been there before the first time I saw Acht), standing there, in the rain, wondering if i can figure out the way to walk to the trainstation, or should I try and catch the UBahn since I DID buy the ticket. I decide on the UBahn, since I'd already spent the money. Thank God as soon as I got back to the station (the station at Charlottenplatz is underground) a train headed to the trainstation was getting ready to leave. So I ran for it, got on, and left.

So I make it to the trainstation...

Get a doughnut and a coffee, look for a place to sit and relax and eat it before going to wait for my train. Well the cafe I chose didn't have seats, so I was like eh it's cold but I'll go wait at my platform.

Well, my train was sitting there, waiting to go. I look at the clocks. 9:05. But my phone said 8:05! Shit....

Well my train didn't leave til 9:18 so I was ok still, just hopped on, found a seat got comfy, ate my food, drank my coffee, wrote in my journal, and started reading again after a while.

Now, my route home was a bit different. No missed trains this time, but instead of Stuttgart-Karlsruhe-Offenburg-Kehl, it was Stuttgart-Freudenstadt-Offenburg-Kehl. Now, I couldn't tell you the first thing about Freudenstadt, BUT the train ride went RIGHT through the Black Forest. And it was still early enough the sun was rising, and shining over the mountains and through the trees, and some points the mountains were misting, and there were old little fortresess and churches on the sides of the hills and...oh...it was just a BEAUTIFUL ride back home. Granted, by the time I got back to Kehl I was ready to get off the train and stretch my legs, but it was still such a pretty ride home.

I was whooped by the time I got back to Stras. I needed sleep...BADLY! haha! But that's ok. I slept plenty on Sunday...the afternoon and that night.

So this week has been coming down off of Cloud 9 and back to reality. *sighs* No fun! hahaha! But the weekend was wonderful. Expensive, but wonderful. ;) Very well worth every penny I spent on it. I got to do something I NEVER thought i'd have the chance to do, and I made some AMAZING memories this weekend.

Anyway, I'd better get going. I need to get to bed here soon.

<3Erika