A teenage girl with earbuds on, mouthing and dancing to (I assume) some pop song in the ICE.

​Energy finally starting to wear off. A large German dude kept elbowing me with maniacal laughs. Pretty annoyed. Could be the Brenniven shot, maybe bringing out my hidden Viking DNA to annihilate. Extermninate. Conquer.

Another Airbnb booking declined. #facepalm. Do I extend my hostel stay which I was less than excited about, sharing a room with possibly 5 kids, I mean young adults? Thought I might still be young enough to pull it off, save money - incorrect. There have been a few upsides; having a beer with a columbian entrepreneur and 2 scottish girls that had no interest in talking to us, teaching drunken highschoolers not to put their hands together when bowing, and of course $25/night price tag. But I was over it. Need more space. From Kids.

Friends, though. When they come through it’s a such blessing. Maya is agreeing to tour guide me in Switzerland. After FIVE YEARS since Circlesongs. Can’t believe how long it’s been, and that she still okayed to see me. Beyond grateful. Kenny is agreeing to host me in Kassel or Rotenburg. What a guy, dealing with my ever-changing itinerary completely chill. Let’s hit Documenta early then, if anything I’ll do it in 2 separate instances. A lesson from last year, I reserved a window seat on the ICE Berlin-Eisenach. Rewarded with gorgeous views not even 10min after the departure. Reminds me of home, and those 4hr train rides I used to take from Osaka to Toyama. Maybe I just need to move to a countryside. A quiet life. Hide.

Those sandwiches are the size of that kid’s face.

Music was good;
1. Konzerthaus was all about Bolero. The piece plays itself; the conductor Daniel Barenboim proved this point by leaving the podium. A crowd pleaser and a good finale. Also the pre-show beer and a salmon sandwich. Damn you bröt, I’ll be having a lot of you this trip.
2. The organ improvisation at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche reminded me that church organ basically is a predecessor to synth, and an orchestra substitute. Would love to give the man an 808 or 909. Even better, play some beat on a phonograph.
3. Surprisingly well-stocked music store, very much like the ones you’d see in Ochanomizu. Synth-galore, kicks Perfect Circuit on their Burbank ass. A wall of headphones for you to pick and test, locked and soundproofed room for acoustic where all the guitars on the wall resonated with every chord I played.
4. Then I got really sick.

Hungover from the night at Hofbrauhaus, then having to stay on hold for over an hour with DB for my Rail Pass that didn’t come. DB Online Sales put their fellow employees in Berlin Hauptbahnhof on hold for 45 minutes. Gotta love that one badass who took care of other middle-aged housewives happened to be asian. Super competent with a golden attitude, spoke perfect English. Professionalism to inspire.

Still, I was on the verge of passing out. Couldn’t keep my eyes open. Weird sweat. I sat on a bench in the acoustic guitar room just to maintain. I needed a clean bed, washer and a room to zone out. Otherwise this could ruin the rest of the trip. Make the call, get a room. This one looks slick and it’s less than $60. It also says Adult Only. Sure, away from adolescent please. Enough of this summer break bullshit. DO IT.
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I should’ve known better.

As I approach the hotel I see the rainbow flag proudly waving at the entrance. Shirtless dudes in every picture on the wall. Perfectly professional but a bit snarky front desk looks at me like “you didn’t know, did you?” I should have known. The room was perfectly clean, see-through shower room, room service menu says “When was the last time you had breakfast brought to your bed?” with a picture of shirtless dudes feeding each other. Three tags for the door; Clean the room, Privacy please, Please disturb. Fortunately I slept peacefully with the second option hanging from the knob.
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It’s easy to laugh at a wannabe with the headphones, but at least she’s practicing more than I have in the last week. Who knows how it turns out for her?