Hello...

hey guys, I am sorry.
All the time is so full of experiences and my mind is full of thoughts... Obviously I don't even notice I write in the wrong language.
So, finally, another post in English.
There were so many days since the last English post, but I try to resume what happened.

After the wonderful concert in Speyer, I started the next morning to go to Mainz. It was a quite long stage, but a beautiful one. In the evening, I was quite lucky to arrive just before the start of the storm. And it was a real storm. We could watch the trees falling just in front of our house (I stayed at Britta's place, a friend from Detmold). The next morning, after a short practice session, I went on to Rhens, next to Koblenz. First, I had to overcome quite a lot of obstacles - the storm had destroyed a lot of trees that were laying around on the paths. But finally I could go on.

Rhine next to Mainz

Trees...

Everyone had told me before, that this stage is the most beautiful one - and it was.
All the Rhine romantism, which you can find in the works from Heine, Brentano, Schumann, Wagner... you can understand, when you are there in the "Mittelrheintal", enjoying the water between the mountains, the air, everything. I also saw the Loreley, but to be hounest, it's a rock. Simply a rock, and probably, nobody would notice it, if there were not so many poems, Lieder and paintings about it. But it seems, you have to know the legend and to have some kind of affinity to this. By the way, the legend for those who don't know: The Loreley was, according to the legend, an enchanting, seducing mermaid, sitting on a rock and singing. By her singing, she lured the seamen to death. It was kind of invented , or "etablished" by Clemens Brentano, but the most famous poem about her is from Heinrich Heine.
Here is an English translation that I found about it:

The Lorelei

I know not, what does it mean
That I am so sad.
A legend of of bygone days
That I cannot keep out of my mind.

The air is cool and night is coming.
The calm Rhine courses its way.
The peak of the mountain dazzles
With evening's final ray.

The fairest of maidens is sitting
Up there, a beautiful delight,
Her golden jewels are shining,
She's combing her golden hair.

She holds a golden comb,
Singing along as well
An enthralling
And spellbinding melody.

In his little boat, the boatman
Is seized by it with a savage woe,
He does not look upon the rocky ledge
But rather high up into the heavens.

I think that the waves will devour
The boatman and boat in the end
And this by her song's sheer power
Fair Loreley has done.

The Loreley

Later, composers as Friedrich Silcher, Franz Liszt and Fanny Mendelssohn set them to music.


However - the landscape around the Loreley ist wonderful :)

Schloss Stolzenfels

In the evening, I arrived in Rhens. Quite at the end of my tether, but happy. Aaaand there was a swimming pool at the hut where I slept. That was the highlight :-)
Next day, I went on to actually Cologne. This day was my only really horrible day of the whole tour.
It took about 10 kilometers (from 100), until I was soaked to the skin. So the first thing I did, was to go to an outdoor shop in Koblenz and to by a proper rain jacked. It lasted maybe 15 kilometers. Than I was wet again. So, I simply went on and on, freezing and not having breaks, because I knew that then I would really get frozen. After a very long and tiring day and 75 kilometers, I arrived in Bonn. After I had overcome all the temptations to enter a train, I had to take one in Bonn. I was wet, without any force and not able to do another 36 kilometers from Bonn to Cologne; furthermore, the rain emerged as a real storm.
So, I went to the train station of Bonn and took the next train to Cologne. After a rash of other obstacles, such as cancelled trains and a bursted handlebar bag, I finally was in the right train and got to Cologne. There, my wonderful brother Daniel was waiting for me and picked me up. At home, after a hot shower, life was already better :-) And in the evening, after an incredebly match between Germany and Brazil even more!

Party in Cologne

Next day, I went to Bonn, to listen to a masterclass with wonderful Tabea Zimmermann. It was amazing. After this, I managed some stuff, practiced, had rehearsals with the pianist Eva who played with me a concert in Cologne - so, quite relaxed days!
Friday, back to Mainz, where I participated in a really concert from the "Basis", a free church in Mainz. It was a benefit concert against human trafficking and it was a pleasure to play there. Really cool evening.

Saturday, again to Cologne and playing a concert in the Baptist Church there, together with the pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann and the soprano Constanze Störk. Very nice concert with music from Brahms, Hindemith, Ligeti, Eisler and Bach.
This morning, I played in the Baptist Church from Bonn and in one hour, I will play there in the park. Let's hope for no rain.... :)

Concert in Cologne

By the way, the topic of Human Trafficking got, in this last weeks, a real "affair of the heart" for me. Since I am talking with people who really work in this topic and tell me about the individual fates, it got much more personal and important. That people dare to take other people, sell them and pull everything out what they can, all their proud - disgusting.