Lucky Me!

I've seen the pirates! Pirates of the Caribbean, that is. It won't be released in Germany until September 4, but today there was a press preview in Munich, and someone invited me along... and I loved it! Loved it so much! Johnny Depp is such a treat, and he delivers an incredible, show-stealing performance. I want to see it again and again. (Well, once it's actually released here.)

But for those of you back home, what are you waiting for? Go see it, y'all, if you haven't yet! I loved it so!

Of course, this is coming from probably the biggest Errol Flynn fan you'll ever know, so keep in mind that I love swashbuckling.

Ah, Bavaria!

Marty is off for a hike today up the Wallberg (I'll let you fill in the requisite jokes about Marky Mark). He got an early start and then called me from the car to say that when he was driving down our block he passed a pub where ten or twelve men were sitting at the outdoor tables drinking beer.

At 8:30 on a Sunday morning.

To explain further... it's probably Weissbier, which is an unfiltered wheat beer that is considered a healthy morning drink here in Munich. In fact, Weissbier and Münchner Weisswurst (boiled white sausage) is a traditional mid-morning meal.

Ain't a That Good News?

Here we are! The Harmunichs, performing this past Tuesday night at the Bürgerhaus in Haar, near Munich. The picture above was taken during "Heat Wave," near the end of the show. Marty took a bunch of pictures that night, but this is one of the clearest. I'm buried in the pile, but I'm really in there.

The concert was so much fun, and the crowd was appreciative. It was a nice long show with two sets by the Harmunichs, and performances by several different quartets. I think we got the biggest cheers for "Rock Around the Clock" and "Heat Wave" -- the songs with the most choreography. We sang loads of songs, including my favorites, "San Francisco Bay Blues" and "Darkness on the Delta." I actually love all our music, so it was just a joy to perform all those songs at once.

Not including the quartets, this was the program:

First set:
Ain't a That Good News
Darkness on the Delta
San Francisco Bay Blues
I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do
Rock Around the Clock

Second set:
That's What Friends Are For *
The Moment I Saw Your Eyes *
I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over *
Goody, Goody *
Hello, Mary Lou
Carolina in the Morning
Heat Wave
Irish Blessing

Encore:
Lollipop
Hans Bleib Da
Goodnight Sweetheart

* These four songs were sung by the "old Harmunichs" only -- the original group without the five or so new folks (of which I am one).

Finally, a faraway and slightly blurry picture of me in my dress -- I am third from left on the risers here. This is the scene that the curtain opened on at 8pm Tuesday night. A second later, we started singing "Ain't a That Good News," and the two front rows of singers filled up the risers. I was so shocked when the curtains opened and the lights were so bright. I could see nothing at all! It took me quite awhile to figure out where Marty was sitting! I finally found him -- in about the third or fourth row -- in the last verse of "I Don't Know Why." Four songs in!

Lunch Report

American lunch today. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Or, to be more specific, Jif (from OHIO! thank you, Katynka) and Lyman Orchards jostaberry jam (which came over in the move last year). I bet when Marty and I take a Brotzeit picnic to the beer garden, we'll have the only table with peanut butter on it.

It's especially good with Nutella. (I can just see all my American readers nodding, and my German readers making faces.)

Lunch yesterday was fun, and somewhat less solitary. A friend from chorus works near my apartment, so we sometimes get together for lunch at one of the many cafes in the area. It is so nice to eat outside in the summertime. She is also reading Raspberry World these days, so welcome, Sonja!

Speaking of lunches... I received a Rein's Deli postcard in the mail this week. Yes, Rein's in Vernon, CT (according to their web site, "Centrally located between N.Y., Boston & Heaven"). On the back of the card is the slogan, "The Taste of Quality is Long Remembered," and someone has underlined it and asked the question, Do YOU remember it?

I do. I certainly do.

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Papa!



Sorry I'm late! The birthday wishes are heartfelt in any case.

And an update:

Soooooo, it's been a busy month. Fun and eventful and busy. Two of my cousins were here visting from Atlanta for ten days, and we had a lot of fun. Also some adventures, including a car accident in Rothenburg ob der Tauber (thankfully, not our fault), but even that didn't put a damper on the visit. We still managed to see Rothenburg, Salzburg, and lots of sights (and daily life) in Munich.

Also, R.E.M.! They played in Munich last Saturday night and Marty and our two cousins and I went to see it. Wow, they were great! We also had some excitement earlier that day, when we happened across Mike Mills (of R.E.M.) in Marienplatz downtown. Nobody else but us seemed to recognize who he was! I couldn't help myself; I took a picture. I felt kind of papparazzi-esque, but dude! He was standing right there! (I actually did get back and zoom in, so as not to bug him.) And do you recognize that man in the shades behind him? Hee.

My chorus is gearing up for a concert next week (a week from today, actually) and this week is busy with preparations -- a section rehearsal (or two, maybe), a regular rehearsal, and then a big dress rehearsal all day Sunday. I am still trying to learn the choreography for Heatwave, and brush up on the other songs. I haven't performed in a chorus in, oh, sixteen years. Since college. And I've certainly never worn a sequinned dress to sing before. Wooo!

Munich is fun in the summertime and we are getting out a lot and seeing things and doing things. I guess that's part of the reason I haven't been updating so much recently. But I'm still around! And still taking pictures, even if it takes me forever to get them on the web.