From Elisabeth Straße To Bösendorfer Straße

The first few days were spent emailing.  They would nip down to the Spar, buy their groceries and do the Work they had to do, taking turns on the PC.  Going out and about exploring Vienna wasn't on the agenda. 

Pretty soon Music began to show itself.  They had checked in on the Wednesday and on Sunday 6th February it was the birth date of Bob Marley.  Late night Saturday going into that Sunday morning Bob appeared for them in the form of an interview with The Wailers on youtube they hadn't seen before.  They watched it all the way through and it felt as if what was being spoken was happening now.

Going into the next week Dave & Kate found themselves watching something music related every night.  They didn't have to go looking, something would always appear and stir their enthusiasm for Music.  The cable TV in the apartment even had a bunch of music concerts on-demand for free.  They watched The Bee Gees and then they watched an old BBC documentary on music presented by Sir George Martin called 'Rhythm Of Life' on youtube.  Dave had this on tape from years back but watching it again brought new meaning.  Much of it was analytical mind stuff but whenever someone spoke truly of Music it would please Dave & Kate.

Their enthusiasm for Music was growing in intensity each day and then a gift was presented to them.  Will & Georgie, two of the SoulJah's, came along with a very generous offer of financial help.  Initially, Dave & Kate were just delighted and grateful that Europe wasn't coming to an end yet.  They hadn't been worried about the fact they would again be checking out of this apartment with nothing (they were so immersed in Music) but they were aware it was on the cards unless something came.  Now that it had they began to realise a further aspect was opening up for them.  For the first time since arriving in Europe they were in a position to look further than survival. 

They realised that this could bring into reality what they had spoken of back in Berlin.  In that period, it became clear to them what they needed to take things further.  All that was stopping them was money.  They had felt it was coming and then felt slightly confused when royalties never appeared.  They couldn't see another way the amount of money they needed could come to them.  Maybe they had been a little too eager and premature.  Jah delivered it a few weeks later.

The first 10 days in the apartment they had been out into the centre of Vienna ONCE.  They didn't feel they were missing anything.  They knew they'd come to Vienna for Music but had anticipated being out and about, soaking up the musical heritage of the city.  Instead they found Music was coming to them direct through their apartment via modern technology.

As Dave sat staring blankly at the map of Vienna one day, he laughed out loud as he spotted a street called Elisabeth Straße which ran into Bösendorfer Straße (named after the famous Austrian Bösendorfer piano).

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...

Dreads In Dresden

It was now past the middle of the week and nothing had shown up.  Dave & Kate carried on as usual, fully aware of their situation, but not overly phased by it.

When it came to Friday morning (they were due to check-out on Sunday) they took their clothes to a launderette down the road.  There was still no room for this Europe thing to fail.  They weren't doing anything from their own will to keep it afloat, they simply had seen enough times that something was going on.

They arrived at the internet terminal in the afternoon after a brief period of confusion and turmoil and discovered a gift had been given to them yet again.  A couple of SoulJah's, Brian & Agnes, had come to the rescue with funding to take them on to Vienna for a week or two.

Dave & Kate returned to the hotel that night not overly joyous but just extremely grateful for what had been given.  It still didn't change their situation.  As there was only effectively a day to sort out accomodation and travel to Vienna, they felt they still may be checking out the hotel on Sunday with nowhere to stay.  They knew they would not rush themselves just for the sake of it.

Look To The East!

Dave usually received royalty payments from the music around this time of year.  For the last few years they had been coming in.  Perhaps both of them were counting on it too much this time.  On Tuesday, a few days into their stay, he discovered the payment he'd received was much lower than usual and certainly not enough to get them anywhere after this week.

Straight after leaving MacBeams they stopped off at a nearby bäkerei.  Bob Marley's 'Buffalo Soldier' was playing as they entered.

It was a blow but never affected them too much.  They had been through this scenario enough times now to not be phased by it.  More than anything they were simply curious to see what would happen now.

The following day on turning up at the MacBeam internet cafe Kate received an email from Will.  Some money had come his way unexpectedly and he had passed it onto Dave & Kate.  It would keep this Europe thing alive for another week.

By now Dave & Kate were sure it was either Vienna or Dresden next.  Vienna felt more powerful, they knew they must get there soon but for some reason it seemed like they had to go to Dresden first.  They had never been before and knew little of the place.  By the end of the week they had a train ticket for Dresden and a hotel there booked for 7 nights.

Berlin had done its work on them.  On the Saturday, their last full day in Berlin, they spent some time at the internet point using up their remaining credit.  Kate felt a strong urge to start looking up and enquiring about apartments in Vienna for 1 month's stay after Dresden.  They only had enough money to see them through the week in Dresden.  As she was going downstairs to exit the internet place wondering why the hell she was looking into apartments in Vienna when they had no money this sign jumped out at her...

That night Dave and Kate felt very powerful energies working through them.  It felt as if there was an exchange of energy between them and Berlin, that these energies were being brought out and established for the future and what is to take place there.

The next morning as they left the apartment and walked down to the nearby Ostkreuz train station, Dave turned and looked straight at some graffiti.  It simply said "I love you".  While they were waiting on their train at Ostkreuz and Dave was mentioning this to Kate, she turned and saw the following message...

So the struggle from West to East was overcome.  The map below shows the journey through the city.  The letter 'A' being their starting point of Citadines, the letter 'H' being their final apartment and the letter 'I' being the Ostkreuz train station they left Berlin from.  The red line shows where The Wall once stood.

(Click image to see in detail)

11/01/11

On Tuesday 11th January 2011, the signs were abundant.

The song 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' came on the radio 3 times in the space of 2 or 3 hours, on two different radio stations.  Dave & Kate had been listening to the radio on and off in the space of that time and it seemed each time they turned it on or changed stations, the song would be there.

Later on, another old friend in the form of song made an appearance - 'I Need A Dollar' - followed by 'Lean On Me'.

Shortly after that, Kate found a small orange butterfly sticker in the bottom of her toiletry bag (with no idea where it came from).  When she came through to the living room to show Dave, he had a huge grin on his face as Bob Marley's 'Is This Love' was playing on the radio.

They had just enough money left after this apartment to secure one more apartment in Berlin for a week or two.  They were sure after this there time in Berlin had come to its natural end for now.  With little effort, the right apartment appeared on the following day, 12th January, with just under a week to go and again, it was slightly further east.  The title of it had the word 'Kunst' in it - German for art.  They got it for 7 nights.

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.

Winter Wonderland

Arriving in Hamburg on Monday 22nd Nov 2010, Dave & Kate certainly didn't expect the Winter Wonderland scenes they were confronted by.  The Christmas markets were all up and running and after checking into their hotel near the train station, they went out for some food and passed a busker singing Bob Marley's "Roots Rock Reggae" song.

They weren't going to have much trouble getting meals here.  How did two people who don't even bother with Christmas end up in a Winter Wonderland, eating sausages for tea, drinking gluhwein and watching the Weihnachtsmann gliding above them on wires?  Only Jah knows.

They didn't mind staying in hotels but the only issue was food.  It meant being out most of the day and having to eat out and in places like Paris that became difficult to do cheaply.  Now they were in Germany at Christmas time there was plenty of reasonably priced food available.

Coffee was also more suited to them here.  In Paris they found mostly pompous over-priced table service cafes - not their scene.  In Germany they could get their own and just sit without all the fuss to keep out of the cold for an hour or so.  Their particular cafe of choice was called World Cafe and in it was a Rasta turtle painted on the walls.

Hash Adam & Jesus (complete with poseable arms and gliding action)

Midway through their time in Amsterdam, they received a package from Edinburgh with winter clothes which they were very chuffed with.  It had been getting considerably colder all the time and they still only had summer clothes and jackets.

On their way back from buying train tickets for Hamburg (their next destination), they collected the package from the agency, and then in a gift shop nearby Anne Frank's house, they found a friend in Jesus.  He ended up leaving with them and so that day they arrived for a coffee and smoke at La Terturia with their winter clothes and Jesus alongside them.

There was a young guy just leaving at the table next to them but he spent a few moments staring at them before he got up and left.

The next day they returned there - this time without Jesus and clothes - but the young guy was there.  He soon introduced himself as Hash Adam, a young Dutch/English outlaw, his weapon of choice being a camera.  He was a freelance photographer apparently.  He didn't appear to recognise them from the day before although they recognised him.  Instead after asking to borrow the Bob lighter, he got straight down to the benefits of hash, which he was smoking, and spent the first 20 mins telling Dave & Kate in great detail all about hash and how to make it. 

He offered them a toke of his joint and was determined to find out if they enjoyed it as much as he did.  They were neither this way or that about it.  It was nice, but so was the weed they were smoking.  They continued chatting, mainly about the system, and when Dave & Kate explained their situation and what they were doing, and how much money they had left.  He looked on in wonder.  Then a long pause....

His face suddenly creased up and he burst out laughing with the phrase "have you guys ever thought about getting jobs?!"  They all cracked up at this but as he left it looked like a guy who had contemplated some of what was spoken.

Meanwhile, Jesus remained with them.  He was supposed to depart and head to Edinburgh from Amsterdam but the bastard wouldn't leave and ended up following them on to Hamburg.

Got To Have Kaya Now

The whole 11 nights spent in Amsterdam was a very relaxing and rejuvenating time.  They hadn't known what to expect and this was a very different Amsterdam experience from their last one.  A lazy, hazy atmosphere pervaded each day and so Dave & Kate went with it.  They didn't really need to go out much, had no reason to, and so found other than supermarket trips they'd find themselves heading to Yo-Yo's or La Terturia, having a smoke, and then wandering wherever or heading back to the apartment. 

After the manic time in Paris this was exactly what they needed.  Amsterdam also seemed the perfect place for Dave to dispose of his rasta trainers (in a park bin) which had been falling apart for some time.

From Atlantis To Yo-Yo's

On the 4th night Dave & Kate felt the time was right to revisit an old friend, Kaya.  It was pouring down and as they walked the streets in the area not too far from their apartment they spotted a coffeeshop called Atlantis.  It seemed apt that they try and find Kaya in there.  They did and left, heading back to the apartment for a pleasant night.

Amsterdam with all its canals was also continuing this strange water-related theme that seemed to be significant.  Pretty soon they discovered their luxury bathroom with its two sinks only had one in working order - the other was leaking water at the base.  Chris and his Dutch friend Ron arrived but couldn't fix it so one sink it was.

As Dave & Kate walked into Atlantis the girl at the counter misheard Dave and thought he was asking for "Jamaican", a strain of their friend Kaya.  Bob was certainly around.  The next day in a headshop for papers and any old lighter, the middle-aged lady specifically pulled one with Bob Marley on it from the shelf for them.  They would find him looking down on them from above in La Terturia, the only coffeeshop they sat in at other than Yo-Yo's.

They had heard Yo-Yo's produce was organically grown and since it was out of the city centre, was much more relaxed, for the locals rather than tourists.  It sounded like their kind of place.  La Terturia was more well-known, but still relaxed, run by two elderly women, a mother and daughter team.