Musik machen und gitarre spielen

This past Saturday morning I learned of a bluegrass festival that was happening in nearby Greven, so we packed up and biked the 20 km.  Danny, Bea, Brad and myself cooked in the hot sun for the day and later decided we would return on Sunday and catch the entire weekend of bluegrass.  On Sunday I packed my tent and sleeping bag hoping to camp and after the show finished we thought we would check on the camping situation.  They told us it was 27 euros to camp for the event but we convinced them to let us camp for free.

Just like any other bluegrass festival, you would expect to find different groups of people around a campsite playing guitars, mandolins, fiddles etc. and this would be no exception.  As a left handed guitar player, I went out in search of a group with a left handed guitar and sure enough, at the first campfire we checked we would find a lefty strummin' away.  We spent a couple late hours with this group and had a great time.

The next morning as I returned from breakfast, I found Brad talking to an older German couple.  Rolf and Sigrid are big bluegrass fans and they spend much of there summertime traveling around Europe going to festivals. We ended up spending the whole day with them and they were among the nicest and most interesting people I have ever met.  We talked about music and travel and even had a couple jam sessions throughout the day. It was a great weekend.

R.I.P. MCA

A great musician, Adam Yauch (MCA of the Beastie Boys) died yesterday after a long battle with cancer.  I can remember listening to them at probably six years old and it blowing my mind.  It was a completely different feel and sound and it makes me wonder what younger generations will have for music that can affect them like the Beastie Boys did for me.  I was lucky enough to see them many years ago at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado and I absolutely loved it.  Thanks for all the great music MCA.

It's another month down at the BWZ.

This month was different from the previous two in that we would be teaching English grammar instead of 'Customs English'.  In January and February we were teaching students a summarized version of being a German/ European Union Customs officer, but in English.  The following months would/will be teaching English grammar.

This month would also be different in that I would end up teaching five different classes over the course of the month (50 students).  It was challenging at points, but really cool to meet so many people throughout the month.

This class was my Thursday/Friday group and they were great.  Pictured from left is:  Franziska, Steffi, Maik, Jonas, Juliane, Me, Ronja, Mathias, Sven, Marcel, and Anne.

Best of luck to the 16th Signal Regiment!!!

Last week a fellow teacher asked if I was interested in helping him set up a going away party for the British 16th Signal Regiment which is headed off to Afghanistan. I had the day off of work, so I agreed. So yesterday, it was off to the RAF Brüggen Base on the Dutch/German border.

There we would set a PA for music and some carnival type rides for the kids, etc. Once the rides were set up and the families started to arrive, I would operate some of the different rides. I spent much of the afternoon putting soldiers on there back sides' while operating the mechanical bull.


After a few hours of carnival rides outside, the soldiers and their families would come into an old airplane hangar and eat, drink and enjoy live music. All the while I would be running around helping out where I could.

The 16th Signal Regiment is roughly 600 soldiers who will shortly be leaving for Afghanistan. It was a really fun experience to share with all of them and I wish them all the best. Thanks to Ash for the opportunity.

Back to work.

After six weeks off of work, it's back to teaching English at the BWZ. Since finishing my February month of teaching I was able to meet my mother and sister in Lisbon, Portugal and travel with them for 12 days. I flew to Barcelona on March 22, spent two days there, then flew to Lisbon and had two days there before meeting them at the airport on the 26th.

We spent three days in Lisbon and traveled to nearby Sintra before renting a car and heading to Spain. While in Spain we visited Seville, Cadiz, Benalmádena and Málaga. When returning to Portugal we spent a day in Faro and back to Lisbon before flying to the island of Madeira.



Madeira is a small Portuguese island around 500 miles directly west of Morocco in North Africa. We stayed three days in Funchal and traveled throughout the island with another rented car. We enjoyed great weather, had great food and wine and drove through some very picturesque landscapes.

It was a great trip and it was made that much better by sharing this trip with family. We covered a lot of ground and saw a lot in 12 days, and we shared an experience none of us will soon forget. Thanks mom and Jennifer for such a great time!!

Spring Holiday

Madeira Island

Madeira Island

Madeira Island

Seville, Spain