Fantastic start into the concert season of 2016!

Right now I should do lots of things instead of typing, but my thoughts are still filled with memories of Saturday and the annual concert of "my" band Dunkelschoen.

At about 2:30 pm I arrived at the old church in Schonungen. It's not used for church services any longer but for concerts (as it has a wonderful acoustic) and exhibitions etc. As it's my job to sell the merchandise for Dunkelschoen, I spent the next 2 hours to decorate my stuff at leisure.

 When I was happy with the display I enjoyed the practising on the stage, the music and the friendly banter while I could enjoy the view from different parts in the church.

After some food and change of clothes it was time to get ready at the door. I assisted in selling the tickets and collected plenty of hugs from regular visitors who have become friends.

During the first songs I stayed on duty, but then I went to my seat in the first row to enjoy the concert - and take some photos. Shorty before the break I went back and got ready for the customers who needed not only CDs, but also garments, jewelry and button.

 During these winter concerts in church, Dunkelschoen play far more ballads and slower pieces than usually - and the audience feels the magic and listenes closely. Even the many children are quiet and enjoy the magic feeling. On top there are some old songs which never made it onto a CD - and this year there were also 2 brand new songs that will be on the next CD. Of course there are also dance songs, but here the audience rather stays seated and claps their hands along. It's always a very special atmosphere and everyone is full of gratitude to have been there.

Here you can listen to two songs.

After the bonus songs the audience is invited to sing along a farewell song. It starts with all instruments and then the musicians come together to sing with their fans. That's the moment when I'm expected on stage as well and it's a fantastic feeling!

It was well past midnight by the time all visitors had left and all my stuff was back in it's boxes. Still, the band hardly wanted to leave but rather talked about the wonderful concert. At about 1 am I was taken back to my hotel - where I felt still far too excited to go to sleep.

Do you want to listen to the farewell song? Click here

A different start into the new year 2016

Usually we spend New Years Eve at home, meeting neighbours outside at midnight. When I went to the special Christmas Market in Dortmund with Dunkelschön I started thinking of spending New Years Eve 2015 there. As the weather was fair enough (cold but dry) it took little convincing to get my husband to agree. 

We travelled to Dortmund by train and stayed in the Youthhostel which isn't far from the main station. As I had been there 5 weeks before I knew the way by Underground and we arrived just after opening in the park. The first band, Corvus Corax, was already on stage:

Then we explored the huge market area - I had not seen everything during my stay with Dunkelschön! There were many craft stalls, different food and drinks and big tents with sofas to relax. Before we went in front of the stage again to enjoy Omnia from the Netherlands, we sat down at one of the big fires. It was like an adventure in a different world.

After the concert we got some coffee to accompany our home made traditional cakes we had brought from home.

Our daughters had taken plenty of the cakes to their parties as well!

After getting some sparking honey wine (never had that before) to drink at midnight, we marvelled at the lake which was illuminated wonderfully and as there was no wind, the lake looked like a mirror where the trees seemed to grow into the ground.

While Corvus Corax played again, we were lucky to get a seat at a fire again. The place was getting crowded and it was just more comfortable beside the flames. 

It was there we welcomed the new year while the next band started to play on stage. There were no fireworks allowed in the park, but we could see some of the fireworks over Dortmund.

The moon was looking down on us when we left the party at about 2:30 am listening to the last music on our way through the park. We even found the bus stop, where the night line collects people even in New Years Night and managed to get onto the bus. It saved us a 30 minutes walk in a strange city.

After breakfast we left the next day, travelling savely home by train. And yes, the trains were all on time!