Yesterday I went to the giant music store near Bamberg called Thomann and purchased a battery powered rechargeable amp, a microphone, mic stand, tablet holder (for lyric), and various other musical odds and ends. Along with Anna Maria’s old guitar from when she took lessons as a teenager, I now have everything I need to set up and play music literally anywhere I see an opportunity to do so, no plug needed! This morning I set everything up in Klaus and Inge’s living room and gave it a test run and it all works and sounds great. I got a great deal on the amp because it was an unboxed test model, so I saved about $300 bucks on it, which I was quite pleased about!

In the evening, I got to meet up with another old pal from the 2005-06 era, Christian Schwartz, in downtown Bamberg. Schwartz also went to high school with Anna Maria, and we have sure had some good times in years past. He is a true character, a very ornery guy, and he always has me laughing with his jokes and hilarious facial expressions. Tonight was no exception. I was glad to get a few drinks with him, catch up, and meet his girlfriend Katrin.

Before going home, I just had to get a döner kebap for old times sake. Döner is a type of sandwich that was invented in Germany by Turkish people, many of whom moved here after WW2 for work opportunities that existed when the country was being rebuilt from the destruction of the war. Döner is probably the most famous late night food in Germany and almost everybody loves it here.

That’s all I have for today. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be headed to Slovenia to begin the Eastern Europe portion of the trip. I will be driving about halfway and staying tomorrow night near the city of Rosenheim, Germany. I will arrive in Ljubljana on Saturday and will pick Anna Maria up on Sunday morning to begin our week together in Slovenia. I am looking forward to seeing her!

Talk you guys again soon!