HIKING IN GERMANY

Just Photos.

 Miltenberg.

 Umpfenbach.

 Very poor photo, hard to see what this is. It's a solar field. Like a crop field, but full of Solar Panels. Harvesting the Sun.

 Anja und Eran.

 Freak.

 Kybfelsen, Freiburg.

Lyon and Taizé

Before I come to my vacation in France, here is a snapshot from a thriller concert I had with the VAG Wind Ensemble.

We played Jesus Christ Superstar. And a piece called "Cream of Clapton" arranged for brass.

For our next concert (Sometime in June, save the date), we are playing Schlager. That's to say, folk chart toppers. It will be grand.

France:

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, while the birds were sleeping and the city rested in the moonlight, our apartment blitzed and bustled with activity, as Eran prepared for his flight to Israel, and Anja, Marina and I readied ourselves for an early departure to Lyon. After a power-hour sleep, it was off to pick up Chrissi and head into the land of French.

We arrived at thirteen o' clock and were warmly received by Marina's loving grandmother, waiting for us at the door. We were seated at the table and served a four-course meal while we shared life stories. After getting to know each other a bit, the four of us youngins hustled into the city to meet CAITLIN!

My wonderful friend and heart-healer from Madison. Caitlin has one of the most cheerful laughs I know, and one of the beautiful-est voices too. It does my mind good to hear them :).

This is a photo of: Chrissi, Anja, Caitlin, and Marina on the Garden Steps by the Notre Dame.
Caitlin and I in Lyon! Lyon has two rivers. I was very pleased with this. I miss water.

After a too short but nonetheless extremely satisfying three and a half hours with Caitlin, it was back to grandma's for dinner. Marina's Aunt joined us too! And we ate well. There's so much home when eating with a family. The family and house radiates with history, sunshine and life. Language barriers were hard to notice due to; Marina being a heroic translator, everyone possessing some minimal capacities in everyone else's language, and because laughter is very, very easily understood. That is a good thing.

Chrissi, Me, Anja, Michèle, and Marina in the family garden.

The cake (remains of) that Anja, Marina, and Chrissi baked and brought to Lyon. I beat eggs for 5 minutes, but that was my only contribution.

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Taizé!!

A full Wednesday, a great night's sleep, and Thursday we were out the door to get to Taize by ten.

What is Taizé? Taizé, in my words, is a Christian, spiritual retreat. That idea is the vague impression I had before I went. Hopefully a concrete description of daily life with help paint the picture more accurately.

8:15 is morning prayer/service. Further description to follow.

9:00 is breakfast. Lots of bread, butter, and jam. Strange powdered tea. Tasty.

10:00 is small group discussions. A small passage from the Bible is read. Break into groups of 5-12 people. Discuss.

12:20 is afternoon prayer/service.

1:00 is lunch. Lentils, or noodles. Bread. Tea. Orange. Cookie.

2:00 is choir practice.

3:00 is cleaning. Groups are assigned tasks, tasks are completed. Bathroom cleaning, hall sweeping, etc.

5:00 is tea time.

6:00 is workshops. Various themes. We went to one on Etty Hillesum, a Jewish born Hollander who was killed at Auschwitz. Terrific lecture. Here's a take-away paraphrase of Etty's that she wrote in her diary (now published); 'our one moral responsibility is to find our inner peace, and to share that peace with those around us.'

7:00 is dinner. Dinner is similar to lunch.

8:30 evening prayer/service.

We went to church three times a day. The church was great. A non-ornate hall with a candle-lit front, this church had no prominent altar and no pews. The floors were carpeted and everyone sat on them, including all the Brothers from the monastery. There was no leading figure in the service, no priest. The services consisted entirely of song and silence. There was no preaching. In fact, there was no speaking all, other than a very short reading of a Bible passage. No commentary. Simply song, and silence. It was meditative and clearing. We were in church each day for a total of 4-6 hours, but nothing felt like drudgery or impatience. We just sang, and held silence.

The church was never locked. Anyone could go in whenever they wanted. If there were people in the church, there was song in the church. The services had no end point; they ended when everyone left. For one evening service, we stayed until 11:15, almost three hours. As we left, there were about thirty people still in the church, and the singing kept up strong. One night we went on a walk. We passed by the church a little after 2 am, and there were people inside singing. How lovely! A community full of song and silence.

There is a lot that I took away from my three and a half days in Taizé. The one thing I'll mention is something I realized while I was there and continue to realize now that I'm back in Freiburg. My head was so incredibly clear in Taizé. Clear and content, not empty. I didn't have a single worry or thought about what I had to do in the upcoming days or weeks. There was no weight to my mind, no volatility. Simply a clearness. I would love to go back someday, and hope I can find this ultimate clearness more often in the multi-directional spin of my life here in Freiburg.

Photos from Taizé:

Anja and Chrissi in Hall 10. Dinner time!
Me and Marina, also in Hall 10, also dinner time. Tea in Bowls. Mmm Powdered Tea in Bowls. :)
Entrance to Taizé.
Beautiful France. Countryside surrounding Taizé.
Sheep make funny noises.
The Girls.
:) Happy Happy! and Peaceful.
Walking around Taizé after watching the sun go down.

Now I'm back in Freiburg, but still enjoying vacation. Trying not to rush :). I'm planning a trip back to Boston, May 23-June 10th. I'll post more when I've solidified the trip.

Enjoy the weekend! and Happy Easter!

:)

Ben.

Level Up

Hello!

Scatter-brained and sloppy, here is an update on my life:

My life is wonderful, not scatter-brained, and not sloppy. I have a path, a direction. I have focus. That is very nice. I do not just have piles of undeveloped passions, like papers on the desk of an author who never finishes anything, I have a coherent collection of devotions and thoughts that are all weaving together in one life-long project.

Here are the latest musical developments (that's to say...the update on my life):

Months ago, I posted fliers around the city/music schools in search of a practice space. I didn't get a response for a while. In mid December, I received a call from a trombonist with an enticing offer; he knew of a room I could use, 24/7, but in order to gain access to it, I had to play in this Wind Ensemble that uses the room to rehearse. Gosh. What a morbid trade. Having to play in a band to gain full access to a studio. I obviously turned that down immediately. I wouldn't do that unless it were also free, and the band was sponsored by the Freiburg Metro System, giving all members free passes for unlimited use of Freiburg Public Transportation.

Turns out that is exactly the case. I now play in a Wind Ensemble (with one other trumpet player who is insanely good and one trumpet/flugel player who is sanely good), have an incredibly awesome studio room (large, full of instruments of every kind, with small kitchen, heated, always accessible, have my own key, don't pay a penny), and have a year-long card to use all public transportation in Freiburg.

We play Michael Jackson covers.

After my second rehearsal with the VAG Musikverein (Freiburger Public Transporation Music Ensemble), our percussionist came up to me and very enthusiastically starting giving me advice about my trumpet playing. Who is he to do such a thing? He is a Tuba player in his final semester of his Masters program for Tuba Performance at the Conservatory here in Freiburg. He is good (not insanely good, not sanely good, but-oh my- italicized good). He is one of the most passionately musical people with whom I've ever had practical contact. You go to the BSO or see Dave Brubeck in concert, you're witnessing some serious musical passion. But this guy is taking me under his wing. We've been practicing together 2-3 times a week, and I am learning so much. I've been able to up my daily practice endurance because of Bora, this tuba dude. It's a great feeling.

Also. Gary Barone, my trumpet teacher at the Jazz and Rock College, has officially invited my to play in the elementary Big Band (which he conducts) at the Jazz and Rock College this upcoming semester. Very cool.

All of that kind of makes it sound like I'm serious about trumpet. That is one hundred percent correct. I am serious about trumpet. It may also make it sound like I'm good. That is not correct. What is however true, is that I'm getting better. Futhermore, I will continue to get better because I practice- attentively, meticulously, and correctly- everyday. That is a fact.

This is my space. It is big. It is removed from residential areas; I can play at midnight and not a single person will hear me.

Hmmm how can I shake this post up a bit? I'm reading a fantasy book about demons that come out of the ground at night and devour humans. It's pretty good. Work is great. German words are really cool. Here are some really cool German words:

-Begriffsstutzig: Begriff=concept. Stutzig=puzzled, perplexed. "Concept-puzzled." English translation: dense, thick-headed.

-Nachzügler: Nach=after. Zug=train. "After-train." English translation: straggler.

-Prügelknabe: Prügel=beat-up. Knabe=boy. "Beat-up-boy." English translation: scapegoat.

Have a great Friday!

-Ben.

:D

A Leap and a Skip

Hello! I'm almost two months off pace. I'm skipping lots and putting up pictures because they are easy and fun. :)

Back in Strassbourg! With Caitlin and Ike, coming to Freiburg for the Holiday's. The Astronomer's Clock.

Best part of Strassbourg tour this time around. This was extremely exciting. This is an Organ on which Mozart played during his stay in Strassbourg from the 10th of October to the 3rd of November, 1778. He wrote in a letter, also on display, that he was unhappy with how few people went to his concerts but was happy with the Organ.
Cardboard Mozart and I are best buds.

Chirstmas Day in my apartment with Caitlin Nick and Ike!

Presents! Everyone enjoying new reading material.

Christmas Dinner at Jade's Palace. :)
View from Schlossberg, a nice hike and observatory in the middle of Freiburg.
Freiburg Littenweiler; soccor stadium, Pedagogy, and the Black Forest in the background.
Freiburg, Cathedral.
Schauinsland. Accessible by 16 minute, 2.5 mile Gondola ride. View of Freiburg in the Valley.
Observatory at the top of Schauinsland.
Schauinsland Village.
:)


Skiing on Feldberg! Highest point in the Black Forest. Conditions were surprisingly incredible. A wonderful day.

Happy New Year!!

:) -Ben.

Other Things

All I really want to talk about is trumpet.

But this post is just stories from the week.

Just know that in all these stories and behind all these words, all I'm really thinking is... trumpet trumpet trumpet trumpet.

Monday: Monday wasn't really anything special.

Tuesday: Tuesday I had work (very nice, very nice), and then Uli and I, Uli being the director of my former academic program, went to a speech given by Joachim Gauk. Joachim Gauk is a well-respected politician in Germany with a long history. He was born and raised in the DDR and has served as an educator of the DDR's life and methods. He was the first appointed commissioner for the Stasi Records in 1990. Last year, he was a presidential candidate for both the SPD (Social Democratic Party) and the Green parties. What's most interesting is that almost all the parties here in Germany would have accepted him as their candidate. In fact, the CDU (Christian Democratic Union), one of three parties who officially backed a different candidate, and a party that is far away from the SPD on a conservative/liberal spectrum, also gave support to Gauk. Can you imagine a candidate on a Democratic ticket in the US also recieving backing from the Republican party? Or vice versa? I don't think their are many American politicians who are saying yes, he would also do a wonderful job, of other-party candidates. But I don't know much about politics.

Anyway the speech was fantastic. He talked for an hour and didn't use a single note card. He told stories of the DDR with incredible engagement. Two take away points that I can easily sum up:

1.) Don't cultivate fear.

2.) 'Either/Or' mentalities are no good.

Both points I can look at from an American perspective, which is, granted, an entirely different perspective than from where he got those words. USA is not East Germany.

A couple nights before I went to this speech, I had a conversation with a German girl named Sara who had spent a year studying abroad in Tanzania. The only news program they had there was CNN. She expressed to me how appalled she was at its content and presentation. She said when she watched the program, every minute felt like a life-or-death scenario.

I agree with her. CNN is awful, and it is, unfortunately, representative of many news broadcasts in the US. In a large number of American news outlets, things often seem to have to fit extremes. Either, Or. Things are superlative. We must be attentive and wary to very frightful situations. There's more drama to news than there is humanity.

Related story: I was at a party a couple of nights ago and this american guy named Jeff introduced himself to me. Jeff was drunk. I was not drunk, and I was happy. I did not want to talk with him, and for I while, I was able to not do so. In fact, after being ignorant to his presence for long enough, he went away. However. Later on in the evening, someone else revealed to him that I was also American, which he had not gathered before. He quickly found his way back to me, this time with much greater speaking abilities, as he knew he could switch to English.

Jeff is a pupil of extreme-hood. Everything was Either Or. He immediately identified me as an elitist asshole when he discovered I come from Boston. Of course I am. He immediately knew that I was in Germany for the same reason he was; because America is a shithole. When I didn't answer his question, why do you think Freiburg is better than the US, he volunteered to answer it himself. He said he likes Freiburg because for the first time in his life, he doesn't need to own a car. Now, I will generalize a bit here. Yes, it is much easier to live without a car here than it is in the US. In fact, there are many places in the US where you can not live without a car. But. There are also places like that in Germany. And this isn't the point. This is the point:

Jeff then proceeded to state that no U.S. city of 200,000 (roughly the population in Freiburg) is livable without a car (he even mentioned three cities that he had been too). He asked me to name one, and I did: Madison, WI, a city of roughly 200,000 where I, and many others I know, lived for three years without a car. He responded with; No. He told me that it snows there and in the winter, everyone needs a car.

That is what was ultimately upsetting; the fact that I represent living experience of auto-free live in Madison, WI USA, but my story was not accepted because it's not extreme enough. It's not, "yes, Madison and the US are such shitholes because you can't live anywhere without a car." That statement is not true. But maybe it's more exciting than "some places in the US require a car and some don't. It depends. Some aspects of America are bad and some are good. And some are okay. You know. It depends. And all of that goes for Germany too."

You can't learn things if facts for you are two-dimensional, and you can't talk with people either.

Wednesday: Wednesday I went to a Freiburg/Madison hosted party celebrating AYF's (my former academic program) 50th birthday. I saw some old teachers and that was a blast.

I also had my first lesson with my new trumpet teacher. It was great. All I will say for now is; I am so excited to practice.

Thursday: Every thursday night there is a jazz session at a bar called Cafe Ruef. Nick and I went. I've gotten a lot of exposure lately to many different levels of experience and jazz musicianship. I like hearing what other people are working on, perfecting, and struggling with.

Friday: We cooked pumpkin soup and couscous. Then we went to a party. I met this guy named Jeff.

Saturday: Kind of like Monday.

Today: Today Nick and I went to a concert of a jazz trio called The Tingvall Trio. It was rockin'.

I love notes:

Whole-tone fun!!
Mozart I'm copying youuuu.
Chet Baker.
ARBAN'S 'First Studies.' ('First Studies', and you're writing F's? That's like putting a "My First Book" sticker on the cover of an Immanuel Kant text.)

A gray day outside my window. But not inside!

I love long-tones.

Happy Sunday,

Ben.

Weeks of Snow

After moving in, two of my new roommates, Anja and Marina, and myself went for a hike on Feldberg, the tallest point in the Black Forest. I'd been skiing there two years ago and was excited to see what it looked like in the Fall. It looked incredibly similar to Winter.

This was an exceptional mid/late October day, covered in snow. Today, two weeks later, there is no snow on Feldberg. Nonetheless, I'm encouraged. There is good skiing ahead.

The strange seasonal mix made for Narnia-like collages of snow covered summers.

Myself and Anja at the beginning of the Feldberg Trail. The snow was perfect for snowballs.
These berries are very confused.

Autumn trees, summer fields, wintry mountains.
Anja and I.

A spectacular scene. I thought the whole time to myself, while following a river through green forest blanketed with snow and falling flurries, Brothers Grimm would have had endless inspiration in these woods.
Two of my cool new roommates, Marina and Anja :).

Tootles.