We’re settling in here in Germany. We’ve got a house, some of our belongings and our car. Now we’re just waiting for the rest of our stuff to get here.
In the meantime, we’ve yet to arrange for cable or internet. It’s actually quite nice. I’ve managed to read a few books that I’ve been carrying around for years, relax and spend lots of quality time with Goddess. The downside is that since we don’t have internet or TV at the house, we do feel a bit isolated and out of touch. Although that’s not that bad, now is it?
Luckily I have access at work so I can catch up on news.
As far as a house goes, we’ve got native. We picked a town that isn’t too far from work, nor is it too close. It’s about 20km, which is a nice cycling commute. Within a five minute walk we’ve got three beer gardens, a butcher, a baker (nope, no candlestick maker) and several other stores. If we expand our walk out to ten minutes, the number of beer gardens skyrockets. As far as neighbors, there aren’t any other Americans that we’re aware of.
Just 15 minutes away on foot is the Hockenheim Ring. A neat place with events going on constantly. The neighbors tell us that when the Formula 1 is in town, a few hundred thousand folks show up and it gets quite loud. We’re looking forward to it.
Speaking of loud, Goddess and I spent the 4th of July with a lot of noise and some fireworks. At the ring was a festival called Sonisphere, where some 40,000 showed up to see this lineup:
20:45 – 22:45 METALLICA
18:35 – 20:05 DIE TOTEN HOSEN
16:55 – 18:05 THE PRODIGY
15:40 – 16:35 IN EXTREMO
14:30 – 15:15 DOWN
13:30 – 14:10 LAMB OF GOD
12:30 – 13:10 MASTODON
11:45 – 12:15 ANTHRAX
11:00 – 11:30 FIVE AND THE RED ONE
As you can see, that was 12 hours of standing on asphalt in the hot sun. But overall the show was quite good. It was my first time seeing Anthrax, who I’ve listened to for 20+ years. This was the second time for Lamb of God, who does alright. The second time for both Goddess and I to see The Prodigy – the last time was in Tokyo. And this makes Metallica show number five for me. They always do well and never disappoint.
The biggest surprises for us were In Extremo and Die Toten Hosen. What Great Bands!!!! I cannot recommend either highly enough. It was great to see all 40,000 fans (well, minus us two Americans) singing along to each and every song that Die Toten Hosen played. Go buy some now.
But now a word for Phil Anselmo, singer for the band Down. Even though you’ve were the frontman for a great band (Pantera), the fans owe you and the other members of your group nothing.
Not a damn thing.
By the time you guys took the stage after 3pm, many of us had been standing out in the hot sun for hours. Most hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for hours either for fear of losing their spot in front of the stage. All that any of the folks in audience wanted was a good show.
You didn’t bring it.
At best, you and your band were lackluster, offering nothing more or better than any other generic American band that throws a few heavy riffs together behind a growling singer. Meh. The reason the crowd wasn’t responding to you was because you guys didn’t entertain.
Instead, you stood on stage and whined, even telling the paying crowd at one point that we sucked. Classy move, telling paying customers and potential fans that they suck. But it wasn’t the fans. It was you.
So next time, stay home and pout, leaving that 45 minutes available to a band that really matters.
Like Anthrax.
Who played a woefully short 30-minute set.
Anyway, Goddess and I continue our adventure, sampling as much food, beer and wine as Germany can offer.



















