Eckertgasse

Just as in the first apartment in Barcelona, the second apartment they moved into in Vienna wasn't plain-sailing.  They arrived at the apartment on Eckertgasse in the Favoriten district to find Tanja, the owner, a very nice Austrian woman who somehow reminded them of Susanna, with the windows wide open and apologising for the stink of cigarette smoke. 

Later that evening as Dave was "gone" lying on the bed and Kate in the bathroom, there was a knock on the door and two guys entered with Ikea bags and fresh linen ready to change all the linen in the apartment.  They had figured the cigarette smoke would have already got onto the bed and couch and had thoughtfully came to replace it.  They quickly dismantled what they needed to and before you knew it, the duvet and pillow cases were fresh again and they were gone.  Dave stood there watching still coming round from wherever he had been.

The next morning Dave noticed the stove top had only one hob working.  The kitchen was the tiniest they'd had to negotiate with yet.  A call was made to Tanja who came round and had a look.  She left pliers out for them to turn the broken knob with and promised to sort it out properly in a few days.  When they arrived back from their walk that afternoon they found a new plug-in stove top sitting in the kitchen.

A Viennese Waltzing Washing Machine

The night before Kate had received an email newsletter from Eckhart Tolle, their first night in the Eckertgasse apartment.  These words were in it:

"One day, something else wants to be done that needs doing. You might perceive it as something that you need to do. Suddenly you know what it is that you need to do. It comes from within, or it comes from without – some situation in your life. Then, “awakened doing” begins to happen. That doing is not the egoic doing, where whatever you do is a means to an end. There is deep enjoyment in the doing. There is not an excessive desire to achieve, but you achieve actually more - because there’s so much enjoyment in the doing that the end result looks after itself. A very different kind of doing arises, that is not motivated by desire. The normal way is thinking “I need to achieve this”."

"As Presence moves through you, it’s not based on desire anymore, it’s based on enjoyment. It’s not based on wanting or needing anything, because you’re coming from fullness. The action is not designed to fulfill you. It’s not designed to add something to you. The action is coming out of the fullness in which you already dwell – so there’s no neediness in it.

Obstacles arise, as they will, especially if you do things that go against the conditioning of the world – you may find obstacles. You also may find enormous power helping you.


Obstacles may come in the form of uncooperative people, or situations, but enormous power will also flow into what you do and help you in many ways. Just the right thing, just at the right moment, just the right person. When obstacles do arise, they are not regarded as enemies. The ego regards any obstacle to its course of action as an enemy.


An obstacle is accepted for what it is, and you work with it – not against it. Or you work around it, or you take its energy and turn it around. It becomes incorporated into what you have to do. You don’t see any more enemies in the form of unhelpful situations, uncooperative people. Everything is embraced for what it is, accepted for what it is, and transformed. It’s not so much that you are doing it, you become a vehicle for the doing. It happens through you. The power comes when it wants to come."

Dark Clouds The Music

Often the way of Life seems to be that when you are down and out, feeling vulnerable and confused, if you don't panic, something will eventually come to cushion you and lift you up again.  A gift appears and everything seems to come together for a time.  It is often also around this time that trouble comes knocking - "dark forces" which seem to be intent on retaining the status quo at all costs.

Those "dark forces" can take many forms, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, but Dave & Kate (and many others before them) are well aware that something seems to not want anything truly new to be born into this reality.

Their second week in Vienna, once they'd recognised now was the time for Music to come into the picture and that a new phase had begun, was fraught with challenges.  It seemed as if a dark cloud had come to rain on their parade and wouldn't budge.  It was all designed to throw them into chaos and make them doubt themselves, sucking the enthusiastic energy in the same way it was sucking money from them.

Almost every item they knew they required ended up costing more than they'd anticipated through a bizzare series of events and even when they got a break - a free tram ride from Sam the Tram Man - pretty soon they'd be stung from another direction.  The flow of the previous week had certainly been obstructed in some way now that what they had envisioned back in Berlin was becoming a reality.

There was also a familiar pattern emerging here.  Just as in their first week in Europe, back in Barcelona, they seemed to be under attack from all directions, as if something didn't want Europe - the first phase - to happen, it now felt as if that same thing was now trying to prevent the second phase - Music - happening.

Soundtrack To The Zion Europa Express!

Way back in late summer 2009, in their Jordan Lane flat in Edinburgh, this became the 'theme song' of what was coming - a new vision.  Dave & Kate had just moved into the flat and Music began to stir again, this time to do it right:

"its gonna take plenty of money to do it right...  its gonna take time... its gonna take patience and time to do it right...".

Brian, Agnes, Will, Georgie & Brother Mark can already testify to that!

The return of Europe & Music!  This song became very significant during the summer of 2010 when Europe was turning into reality:

"...it all makes sense to me somehow..."

"...and its not what it used to be, no, we're suddenly free to let go..."

"...these are times that come, only once in your life, or twice if you're lucky..."

Another song that found them back in the 'incubation period' of Jordan Lane and which Brother Mark reminded them of in January 2011, Berlin.

The song of Movement!  In the last few weeks before leaving Edinburgh, this became THE SONG!

"...Let me tell you if you're not wrong then everything is alright..."

"...We know where we're going, we know where we're from, we're leaving Babylon, we're going to our Fatherland..." 

"...Oh people if you're ready me say get on board now... and then you praise 'fari"

"...Here you're going in the same direction"

"...And where there's a will, there's always a way..."

Back in the 1980s, when Dave was 7 years old, he used to be fascinated by maps and was especially intrigued by the Eastern Europe area and places like Berlin.  He'd listen to the radio with his friends and they'd study the atlas...  they could name the capital cities to most countries in the world.  This song was a hit at that time and for some reason it always made Dave think of Berlin and wonder what it would be like.  To suddenly hear it come on the radio in January 2011 in Berlin was like deja vu.

Dave & Kate laughed as they began to realise they were in the army Now!  They were SoulJah's on the frontline of a 7-strong army and on the look-out for new recruits.  Jah Rastafari!!!

Many a time when Dave & Kate were feeling stuck and helpless this song would appear...

The 'theme song' to the crushing of ego and return to the Natural State...

The money song... 

First heard back in Barcelona and has been a companion to Dave & Kate ever since...

Human Hibernation

In the run-up to Christmas Dave & Kate spent even more time inside, often only popping out to Kaisers nearby for food.  They were finding they were sleeping long into the afternoon and it was as if everything was shutting down.  At other times the same energy would leave them unable to sleep all night, especially hitting Dave hard as they entered the New Year.  This would lead them into a period of napping, sleeping for 3 - 4 hours at night and then taking 20 - 30 min naps throughout the day.

On Christmas Day they took the long walk to check out the Christmas markets at Alexanderplatz and came across some wallets for a good price.  They had been considering getting new ones for some time and this was the time.  On returning to the flat, Dave switched the radio on and was stopped in his tracks by the song playing:

"Right now I feel - just like a leaf on a breeze
Who knows where it's blowin'
Who knows where it's goin'
I find myself somewhere I - I never thought I'd be 

Following a star - has led to where you are
It feels so strong now - this can't be wrong now

Nothing I have ever known - has made me feel this way
Nothing I have ever seen - has made me want to stay
Here I am - ready for you
I'm torn an', I'm fallin' - I hear my home callin'
Hey - I've never felt something so strong - oh no
It's like nothing I've ever known
It's like nothing I've ever known

Right now I feel - just like a leaf on a breeze
Who knows where it's blowin'
Who knows where I'm goin'"

It felt like arriving in Barcelona all over again - another Bryan Adams song - only this time it was for these times. 

On Monday 27th December 2010, Dave & Kate took a walk into the Kreuzberg area and passing over the River Spree, Dave realised it was the perfect place to discard of his old wallet.

Musical Chairs & Puzzling Crayons

Dave & Kate were to pick up the keys for the apartment, near Straße der Pariser Kommune and just behind Karl-Marx Allee, from a local restaurant.  Finally they had made it properly into east Berlin.  When Kate realised she had left her passport with the guy at the restaurant, they returned to the guy who with a wry smile on his face said "vie have no passports here!" before handing it over.

It was nice to have 2 weeks of stability and yet they also knew they were never really stable.  On entering the apartment and exploring the terrain like animals they knew they were in the right place when Dave opened the cabinet to find this...

Wölfgang was the owner of the apartment but he was away in Munich.  Paintings with his surname hung on the wall.  Was this guy an artist or someone in the family one?  Whatever the case, something strange began happening as they sat on the couch.

Dave found himself speaking intensely about music again.  They had hardly spoke of music since arriving in Barcelona - survival being the main priority - but now each time they sat down for a bit on the blue couch, the musical vision started to express.  Kate now also discovered a new conviction in the music, surer than ever she had to play her part in bringing this out.

Their second night in the apartment, December 8th 2010, marked the date John Lennon was murdered 30 years earlier.  German TV showed a few Lennon programmes and concerts that night as Dave & Kate watched from the blue couch.

Never had they felt more strongly than the time was coming, the pieces of the puzzle were starting to become clearer.  The seed of Music was beginning to stir within the soil of Europe.

Berlin - The Heart

Their next move was to a small, basic apartment a little further east but still in the Kurfürstendamm area.  For 2 nights they stayed there and again a Kaisers supermarket was just around the corner.

It felt good to be back in Berlin.  They could never put their finger on what it was about this city but it had a certain energy about it that felt like 'home'.  Back in Barcelona they had spoken about seeing themselves in Berlin over the winter.  It didn't make sense.  They had been increasingly growing tired of the cold, damp winters in Edinburgh and now that they were in Europe surely spending winter in the southern regions made more sense.  And yet they still saw themselves in Berlin - for 2 or 3 months.

 It was the beginning of December but that vision was still very unlikely given their financial position.  Still, this was the Heartland and they knew they must remain here for some time.

As they took a walk to Alexanderplatz for the first time they heard the familiar sounds of "Stir It Up" and "No Woman No Cry" ring out from the steel drums of a busker.  Bob was still with them.

Paris Is Calling

They felt it was the right time to commit and book a flight to Paris.  They had no reason to go there and didn't even particularly want to go, plenty of other destinations were more appealing.  Around that time Paris was hit by strikes and protests over changes to the retirement age.  There was also violence in London over student protests.

They had to cut their stay at Susanna's apartment short by 3 days as their flight to Paris was for Mon 25th Oct.  There was no reason to do any of this but all they knew was the time was right to leave Barcelona and Paris was showing itself as the next place to be.

They had a week or two to sort out accomodation and didn't anticipate it being so difficult and expensive to find an apartment in Paris.  Eventually they had little option but to book themselves into an Ibis hotel in the 19th district, just on the outer edge of Paris city centre, for 7 nights.  After that, who knows?

The intense energy of Barcelona - good in short doses - was starting to feel a bit much and remembering their previous visits to Paris, they thought it might have a cooler, more open energy that was right for them now.

Before they left Barcelona they took a walk to the Font Magica.  They had fond memories of it from their first time in Barcelona but this time arriving around 9pm and looking over the city waiting for it to begin they discovered it was broken (more water blockages?).

They found themselves walking home late that night along Carrer de Paris.

The Little Boy, The Sweet Lady & The 'Game Over' T-Shirt

Strange encounters began to happen.  One day walking through a busy street, a little boy with his mother saw Dave and headed straight for him, stopping him in his tracks with a huge smile on his face.  It was as if they were old friends.  Perhaps they were.

This would also be the start of a number of incidences where they would encounter somebody who'd leave them smiling inside.  It often seemed to happen in the middle of challenging times as if some sort of reminder to keep on.

Towards the end of their time in Barcelona as they were visiting an internet cafe each day with little luck in finding appropriate accomodation for Paris, the woman at the counter began to recognise them.  On their last visit there (she didn't know this) and feeling a bit worn out, she offered them a sweet from the packet she was eating as they paid up and left the cafe. 

The 'Game Over' t-shirt is something else.  A few weeks before they left for Barcelona, it caught Dave's attention from a tourist shop window as he and Kate were filming on the streets of Edinburgh.  It didn't seem to mean much at the time but then fast forward to Barcelona where they would continually see the same t-shirt in a variety of souvenir shops there.  What does it mean?  Maybe nothing at all?

Faul McCartney and The Terminator?

Somewhere in the middle of their time in Barcelona Faul McCartney (http://digilander.libero.it/p_truth/) made an appearance...

Or was it Fave?

The Terminator was also spotted looking a bit lost at the harbour area wandering around completely naked amongst the fully clothed tourists.  Thankfully, they never heard him say to anybody "your clothes... give them to me... now!".  (Sorry, no photo)

Barcelona

Dave & Kate spent the 3 weeks there taking long walks with no particular purpose in between time at internet cafes and shopping for groceries.  When they could they'd stop off for a coffee.  Shopping for groceries usually involved trips to several stores as they could rarely get all they wanted from one.

Sometime each afternoon they often found themselves reasoning (satsang?) with coffee and Catalonian biscuits while out on the terrace or sitting inside.  These talks were spontaneous and random, whatever needing to be said voiced out loud to clear the air and keep things fresh and moving along.  This would also happen back in Edinburgh and usually always took place around coffee and cakes or biscuits.

At nights their only form of entertainment was the radio, so in-between more reasoning sessions they would listen as songs presented themselves as signs and often explained what was going on better than they could.  When in one song the singer screamed out "Paris is calling!" they knew they were definitely on to go there next.

Water Blockages Begin...

The next day the shower stopped as Dave was under it.  No hot water due to the boiler blowing a fuse.  This brought about a week of encounters with Antonio, Susanna's friend, and The Electrician (who spoke no English).  By the end of the week they had it fully operational again but this was only the beginning of water troubles.

A few days after the boiler was fixed the toilet stopped flushing.  When Susanna heard of all their troubles - stolen laptop, broken boiler and now toilet not flushing - she could only laugh and say "it must be your turn for a run of bad karma".  Maybe.

At their next destination in Paris, they would be moved hotel rooms due to water-related issues, find themselves in another hotel where the plug for the bath was jammed bringing about an amusing encounter with the hotel staff member on duty (he had to lock the doors of the hotel as he was so busy at reception to attend to their room where he appeared and then reappeared with a knife to sort the plug) and finally in Amsterdam had a luxury bathroom with two sinks, one which was leaking water and unusable.

It also didn't go unnoticed that Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam and Hamburg (the first 4 destinations on their journey) were all cities where water was prominent to the landscape.

10/10/10 - A Thunderstorm

After a week of constant sunshine, on the night of 10th October 2010, Barcelona threw up a thunderstorm.  As Dave & Kate lay in bed that night they couldn't determine whether the storm was coming from inside or outside themselves.

Each rumble of thunder was felt as a 'pop' inside their stomachs and each flash of lightning seemed to be going off simultaneously inside their brains.  The realisation that the Fatherland Europa was welcoming and integrating them into the landscape came.

The Apartment

For a minute or two some noise rose up - "shit, that's us finished, we'll have to go back", "what else was in the bag?", "what are we gonna do now?"...  as it disappeared back into nothingness very quickly they found themselves feeling unusually calm with a peaceful feeling in the background and the words "this is all good" ringing out inside them.

They didn't have much time to dwell on it anyway.  They had to be at the apartment at 6pm to meet the cleaner and check-in.  She was having trouble opening the gate to the terrace when they arrived and a phone call had to be made to Susanna to sort it out.  As Susanna told Kate the wi-fi details, Kate told her it was no longer necessary.

With no insurance and almost zero chance of getting the laptop back, they reluctantly made the trip to the police station to report it but the police were as useless as police always are.

Clearly, this Europe journey was going to take a new direction from this moment and everything from now on would have to be organised via internet cafes like the old days. 

The apartment itself was great and provided everything they needed to sink themselves into Barcelona.  As well as Susanna's certificate in accountancy on display, there were Vogue images around the flat and two little paintings of Parisian street scenes in the kitchen.  The only book Dave picked up and flicked through amongst Susanna's many travel books was a guide to Amsterdam.

Paris had already been showing itself as the most likely contender for next destination.  Just down the road from Citadines they had spotted the Paris Hotel a few times and during their time in Barcelona Paris would present itself in many forms on many different occasions.