Guten Tag Sweet Friends!

Yesterday was my one-week-in-Cologne date, Cinco de Mayo and Boys Day (in Hawaii) all in one! The weather was outstanding, warm and sunny and 70+ degrees!! I was invited to lunch with a new friend who lives just up the street in the same apartment complex. Everyone I’ve met so far, except for a couple of locals, is part of the FedEx pilot family, and so I’ve joined the “spouses program” so to speak. I met Nancy at a local Austrian restaurant just down the street and after lunch she walked with me to a neighborhood just down the street where there are several bio/natura stores. Once people find out that I’m vegan, they are gracious enough to show me the local grocery stores that sell vegan/bio (organic) products. It was a very lovely, quiet hood with several stores that I had not been to. I purchased two large bags full of items, almost too much to carry, and we stopped for coffee on the way back. So nice to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather with a new friend.

My companion, Doc, had made me aware of a house concert near by at the Salon de Jazz. I forwarded the info to Sue and Brent and invited them to go with me to the concert. It was a new adventure for the three of us and a great way to celebrate my one week in Cologne, Cinco de Mayo and Boys Day! The salon is owned by a musician named Clemons and he uses it as a recording studio, concert hall and residence. He hosts donation-only house concerts about once a week featuring mostly jazz music from both local and out of town artists. It’s a quirky little venue with a grand piano, recording equipment, mics and a room full of small stools for patrons. We got there early and were fortunate enough to grab chairs with backs and cushions, meet the host and grab drinks well before the concert started.

Now, I’m not a huge jazz fan and I admittedly know very little about jazz music other than Ella Fitzgerald and other classic artists. I’m a huge fan of “standards” but the jazz music I hear in a lot of clubs is that frenetic, chaotic, discorded style that sounds like Mexican jumping beans to me. Everyone is playing something different and it sounds disastrous, at least to my ears. Again, I’m not a jazz aficionado by any means, but I know what I like and what I don’t. I’m also not a huge rap fan. I don’t understand what the rapper is saying half the time and when I do I’m not impressed. I know, I’m showing my age; whateva, I’m not a fan. So, of course, the featured group was a musical fusion of rap, hip hop and frenetic jazz! Of. Course.

The group included a saxophonist (band leader), bass player, drummer, pianist, violinist, and two rappers – one from Spain and one from England. I think the guy from England was a guest artist and not part of the group, best I could tell anyway. They blended well together though, the two rappers that is, and traded off during the songs. The music was eclectic and frenetic and the rap completely unrecognizable, and yet it all blended and wasn’t too bad. I quite enjoyed several songs, but it was the people watching that amused me.

There were about 30 people in the small room so it was quite full. I love watching people listen to music because they all have very different ways of absorbing and enjoying the sounds. There are those that tap along with their feet and hands, some sway and nod their heads, some close their eyes and smile with a look of total contentment, and some put on their rock band face, head down and bobbing rapidly to the music. In this room, there was some of everything. One woman was doing her own personal interpretive dance in her chair. She reminded me of Jodie Foster in the movie Nell using here hands to express herself. Another man had his jazz face on, eyes squinted shut, head down, bobbing enthusiastically to the music, never looking up or opening his eyes the entire night looking as if he was in his own personal nirvana. Still others played their own air drum or air guitar and looked around the room to see if anyone was watching them. I sat there, grateful for a real chair with a cushion and a back, and enjoyed watching the good people around me.

Though everything was in German and Spanish (except for the English rapper that might as well have been speaking German) it was a great night! I felt very local, like I was blending in. Not many people even know about this venue you see, so I felt very in-the-know and part of the scene. NOT. I’m none of the above of course; I’m just willing to take a chance and do something, anything that is new and different. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a huge fan of blending in; it’s highly overrated in my opinion. But I do very much enjoy absorbing a new culture, new people, and a new way of life. I love blending my past experiences, tastes and values into my new life and creating my own fusion. More of a re-mix rather than blending.

I look forward to many new experiences here and sharing them with you. Auf Wiedersehen!