Music: The "World" Comes to Nuremberg

Main Stage at the Hauptmarkt at night

This weekend I had the pleasure of taking in one of the coolest and most enjoyable experiences to come to Nuremberg during the time I've been here. It's called Bardentreffen and it bills itself as Germany's largest free open air music festival. This year was the 37th annual edition and they estimate that 200,000 people took it in. I took a larger interest than I otherwise might have since the theme of this year's festival was "Canada in Concert". Hmm, how do you like that? The music from my homeland is World Music. I may have some thoughts on that in a future post but needless to say, as one member of a highly invisible minority I felt it was patriotic duty to take in as much of the festival as possible while paying special attention to the Canadian acts.

Looking down from the Alt Rathaus
The crowds move between stages

I can only liken the Bardentreffen to the Winnipeg Folk Festival but with a number of significant advantages. First of all there is no admission fee for any of the acts playing at any of the 8 main stages set up in the old city. Alcohol consumption is not "Allowed" or "Tolerated", it's an integral part of the experience. I saw no examples of public drunkenness, just a lot of people including families enjoying themselves. The fact that it is in the old city means that if the occasional shower happens (they did) or a torrential rain falls (it didn't), the festival ground doesn't turn into a quagmire. The whole area is easily accessed by Subway, Bus or bicycle and if like me you are lucky enough to live downtown, by foot. To walk between the two furthest venues would take me 15 minutes tops. And the crowning advantage? I could use my very own bathroom between sets! Top that Birds Hill Park.

Busking in the Street

One of the smaller stages

In between the main stages and all through the city there are buskers playing virtually any kind of music you can imagine. Many of the outdoor bars and restaurants had live musicians playing at their places as well. I'm not a music critic so I won't even try to go down that path. Just suffice to say that there is a wide variety of talent and abilities. At any given time the best music playing might have been on the street rather than on one of the main stages. You just decide what you think may sound promising and give a listen. If you like it, stick around, if not then move to the next one. Since you haven't invested any money there are no qualms about moving along if a particular band isn't floating your boat.

I never made it to the African food stand
and apparently it was my loss

I may not know who he is but I know
why he is smiling!

And then there are the food vendors. Well, this is Germany so count on at least one beer tent at every stage. Two or three at the more popular ones. Food vendors were also concentrated around the perimeter of the venues. Of course there are the ubiquitous grills with bratwurst and steak sandwiches and the usual Turkish fast foods. But there were also foods from India, Morocco, West Africa, South America, various parts of Asia and different German regional specialties as well. Cocktail bars, ice cream, crepe and candy vendors are also there in abundance so it's pretty certain everybody will find something they like to eat and/or drink. If not take your pick among any of the restaurants that also seemed to do very well during the festival. Yet another advantage to the urban setting.

I did have a few observations on the Canadian Content.



Lisa LeBlanc de
Nouveau Brunswick

Anyone from Europe or the US may have received a distorted impression of the prevalence of French in Canadian music and perhaps in Canada itself. I would say that well over half the Canadian acts were from Quebec or New Brunswick and performed in French. Having lived in Quebec for many years I think that's a good thing. Traditional French Canadian folk music really lends itself to the feel of this festival. I sometimes wondered why the performers thought that speaking broken English would be better than speaking French to a German audience. I guess English really is the unofficial second language here. They were very well received and the occasional German greeting or sentence really went a long way no matter how bad the grammar or the pronunciation. I really would have loved to have seen some traditional East Coast Music from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland or Prince Edward Island as well.

If Canada was the featured country you would not know it from the time slots they were given to perform in. Two nights in a row there were Canadian acts at 7pm at the largest stage in the Hauptmarkt (Main Market Square). There was an OK turnout for both but the really big crowds turned up for the shows around 9 pm. Most of the acts at that time were from Germany or elsewhere in Europe.

The headline Canadian act was scheduled to be Yukon Blonde from Canada's west coast. Although I know the name I'm not familiar with their music. They cancelled their appearance on relatively short notice and were replaced by Lisa Leblanc from New Brunswick. I thought she was a good performer with two excellent back up musicians. I just wasn't that knocked out by her songs.

Felix Award winning Nicolas Pellerin from Quebec

If you ever have the opportunity to see Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs or a band called Genticorum, do not miss them. They are both traditional Québécois folk trios with slightly different takes on a similar theme. They are also terrific entertainers. I promise you will not be disappointed.

I saw and did so much over the two and a half days that I could probably go on forever but I won't. I'd just say that the Bardentreffen is a wonderful festival and a great experience. I'm not sure I would fly over from Canada just to take it in but if you do happen to be in Europe at the time it's on I think it warrants a trip to Nuremberg. I think you'll like what you find.

Thanks for reading,

Tom

A Happy Canada Day From Nuremberg! (With a Little Irish Help)

Well,
Much like the rest of my year, Canada Day 2012 hasn't quite gone according to plan. I blame the weather, it really didn't lend itself to the typical activities we associate with July 1 at home.

The prognosis was looking good. Friday and Saturday were incredibly hot and sunny, to the point of being uncomfortable. As I mentioned in my previous post I was looking forward to a fun filled day on the beach. That's still on my To Do list and I really would like to post about it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Yup, I had it all planned out. I'd wake up comfortably early, get in an hour or so workout at the outdoor pool, come back for brunch then chill out in the sun. That says Canada Day doesn't it?

Last night a cold front came through. Major thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. It's continued on and off all day, in fact it's still raining as I write this. I didn't know what it would take to close the pool but with thunderstorms and a 15 minute bike ride to get there I decided to abort that phase. The beach was looking unlikely too so I went into full Plan B mode: Do my laundry right away so as not to get stuck doing it in good weather. That proved to be absolutely the right thing to do. I was in and out in just over an hour.

Welcome Respite From The Rain

Fortunately brunch is an all weather activity. My chosen spot is a local Irish pub, O'Shea's. If the trees weren't in bloom I could almost see it from my balcony. They have a nice outdoor beer garden/terrace in addition to the pub itself. Outdoors wasn't an option today but fortunately I can be flexible in matters such as this. Can anything be more Canadian than eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, beans and toast? How about if we add a Guiness or two?



What's Not To Like?

 So I got to speaking with Evan the barman who's my newest best friend in Nuremberg. Evan hails from Offaly in the centre of Ireland and has been here for ten years. He asked me where I was from so of course I had to let him know it's Canada Day. Useful information for someone working in a very well known bar I should think. As a very gracious host he offered to buy me a Canadian Club in celebration of my day. As a gracious guest I accepted, of course. Does anyone in Canada actually drink CC? It's been a long time for me but surprisingly I enjoyed it. Unfortunately Evan insisted on buying me a second one. I really don't like to refuse hospitality offered so sincerely so against my better judgement I accepted and thanked him profusely.

The good news is that I have now doubled my knowledge of the Gaelic language. Previously I was limited to the standard toast: Sláinte (Health). I can now add to my repertoire the very useful: Póg mo thóin. Look it up.



Best Country In The World

  Following the almost inevitable proceeding nap I caught most of the Tour Stage 1 on Eurosport.com (no live TV coverage in Germany!) I'm ready to engage in the patriotic activity of watching Spain meet Italy in the Euro Cup soccer final. I may head out and grab a burger first but I expect I'll pair it with a soft drink or a milkshake.

Wherever you are I wish you all a Happy Canada Day, and
Thanks for reading,
Tom

Football - Nuremberg Style

This year there's definitely a bonus in rounding out my European experience. 2012 is a year for the quadrennial UEFA European Football Championship (EM-"Europameisterschaft"). Germany is one of the favoured teams and based on what I've seen and my admittedly limited appreciation for "The Beautiful Game" I think they (We?) have an excellent chance to win it all.

So in my current situation I have a number of options when it comes to taking in the tournament which is actually taking place in Poland and Ukraine. I imagine tickets are hard to come by, transportation is likely to be expensive and I left all of my interpreters back in Canada. So I've ruled out attending any live games. I can certainly sit in my wonderful flat and watch on TV alone but that's incredibly boring (my half dozen dedicated followers may recall my "no beer at home policy" which is still in effect) and a little bit pathetic. Another option which I found very effective during the Chelsea vs. FC Bayern Champions League final is to leave the TV off and the windows open. The cheers and groans emanating from neighbouring dwellings and businesses provide excellent insight into what is happening on the field.

I could possibly ask to tag along with one of my co-workers as they go to one of the local Biergartens or bars. I'm sure they'd let me come along if I asked but the reality is they have their own lives and their own friends and I wouldn't want them to feel obliged to entertain me during what is to them a super important event. Imagine bringing your Italian only speaking colleague to watch a Stanley Cup final at Earl's with your friends when the Jets are in it and you get the general idea.

I could go to one of the bars alone but since my German is still really weak I feel a bit self conscious. Someone could ask me something controversial, I may smile and nod and POW! We've got an international incident on our hands.



Rathaus Platz

 Fortunately the Germans are an ingenious lot. There are at least two large public areas within a 3 Wood shot of my apartment with giant screens, concessions and porta-potties. Problem solved. One of the areas is the Rathaus Platz next to the old city hall.


The other is the "Kick&Groove Park" located on a big green space called Woehrder Wiese. I've watched them setting this up for over 3 weeks now, it's a bit like the Ironman Village only much, much larger and with a lot more open space.

Portugal-Czech
Hello? Hello?

Thus far I've ventured to the K&G Park twice. The first was to watch the first quarter final match. I think there were 8 Portugal fans, about 12 disappointed Czechs, a handful of disinterested Germans enjoying a pleasant evening drinking beer on the lawn and two energetic radio DJ's futilely attempting to whip us into a frenzy. They would have had a better chance with two EMTs and a crash cart.



Last night Germany played Greece. It was impossible to recognize this as the same place I had been to the previous evening. Simply getting into the park in time for the opening kick was tough. EVERYone gets a pat down on the way in. Even skinny Canadians with nowhere to hide anything. I would have asked what they were looking for but a) I'm not sure I would have understood the answer and b) it would have slowed the queue even further and there's another international incident.

A Little More Life When
The home Team Plays

The scene is familiar to sports fans everywhere. Painted faces, national jerseys with the name and number of the wearer's favorite player and a few (very few) very attractive interpretations of the German flag as an article of women's clothing. And beer.

Now let me give you a warning. When the first German goal was scored about 3 minutes in, about 3 people ahead of me a full liter of beer went straight up into the air and fell where it wanted to go. Offside, the goal was disallowed. At this point that liter of beer and many just like it do not find their way back into the glass. Moral of the story: Bring an umbrella or a towel and know the rules before you toss your libation into the air.

Germany advanced to the semi-finals which take place this Thursday against England or Italy. I won't be mentioning the war.

Right now I'm in Munich getting ready for the Stadtlauf Half Marathon Sunday morning. I hope to have something worthwhile to report on that.

Thanks for reading,

Tom

For My Hungarian Followers:
Happily Ati moved a lot more Langos on the
night Germany played!