A long weekend in Karlsruhe.

I have put off writing this because there is almost too much to write about in my mind’s view. One side of the story could be a record of a very pleasant four days spent on holiday in Karlsruhe, a beautiful if currently upside down city in Germany. Another, and certainly more important view would be the changes it has brought about in my life, zum Beispiel, thoughts of a new life, and thoughts of doing a lot more with my language skills.

So, I decided to go to Germany again to see my friends there and to enjoy a performance of the Jakobus theatre’s production of a farce called Boeing Boeing. Previous readers of this blog will recognise that I went with the Lace Market Theatre as part of a theatre exchange in May this year. I flew this time from Stanstead airport, on a Boeing, as it happens.

I stayed with a family I have known since my first ever exchange in 2002 and have remained in touch with them ever since. Andrea and Peter Voos were my hosts and made my stay very relaxed, convivial and interesting. We ate some nice food together al fresco; maultaschen, Black Forest cured ham, home grown tomatoes, radishes and a variety of breads. We chatted in English and German about various things; we discussed the Olympics, life and theatre, people in Nottingham and had a few beers on the porch on the balmy evenings. Our conversations made me think about my levels of fitness and gave me food for thought about looking after myself better.

I hadn’t slept well on the previous night (far too excited) and so I had a brief afternoon kip before I went into town on the tram to meet up firstly with my friend Thorsten at three pm in front of the Chateau and then to the Jakobus theatre to see my friends there for a pre-show meal and drink at Café Bleu opposite the theatre. I had already met Carsten who had kindly picked me up from the airport earlier in the day. I was looking forward to meeting my other friends, Marcus, Lisa, Lena and Hannah and especially looking forward to the show itself. Previous to this I spent some quality time with Thorsten and we had a few beers and gradually I recognised others from the Die Käuze theatre as they gathered to do a sound check for the evening showcase of the Operetta ‘ Schwarzwald Mädel’  to promote the show happening later in the year. As well as Larissa Kaufmann and her mum I surprised a few other German friends like Volker and Henrik simply by being in Karlsruhe so soon after the official visit in May. They all seemed pleased to see me.

Around six o’clock I made my way down the Kaiser Alleé via the various  ‘baustelle’ – road works – to the Jakobus theatre. I was delighted to see my old friends at a table outside Café Bleu and I stayed awhile chatting theatre with their director Andreas Rüdenauer and everyone else. I felt very welcomed by their group and amused them with my German language and comical Badisch expressions learnt on my previous visit while I ate my Currywurst and frites and drank another ice cold Pils. 

Marcus and me

Later on I went into the theatre and watched their warm up and took a few photos. Gerd and Herrlich Lehrmann came by to say ‘hello’ and I chatted in the interval with other people I’ve got to know, like Lea Voos, Anna Brünner and Jutta and Peter.  They all seemed very impressed that I had made the trip to Karlsruhe to see this show and I felt very included in their society. The possibly of me performing a one man show called “Der Kontrabass’ was talked about too but I had considered this previously and realised the impractical nature of working with a double bass on stage in England and Germany as well as the transportation of such a thing.

The youthful and energetic production of Boeing Boeing was superb. I had read the script in English before the trip so I had a rough idea what was being said and happening and the performances were top notch. It was the first time I had seen my good friend Marcus Künstler in a big role and he was very funny as the male foil. Every actor, male and female, worked very hard to make the show work, including some songs (not in the original) like ‘Come Fly With Me’ and ‘Fly Me To the Moon’, all sung in English. A farce is all about timing and quick reactions and they did very well despite the sweaty heat of the theatre itself plus the balmy warmth of the weather outside. They fully deserved the rapturous applause they received at the end. The theatre is hoping to bring the production to the Lace Market Theatre in 2014 as part of the theatre exchange we run between the two cities. Ich hoffe das das möglich ist und ich freue mich sehr darauf.

After the show I helped them clear away the props (this was the last night) and joined them all for some food (Spätzle) and drinks and chat at a long table at Café Bleu. Again I felt very included and was treated like an honoured guest. I remarked that this experience of having some nice company, food and drinks sat outside might be quite different in Nottingham on a Friday night. The whole atmosphere was pleasant and no stupid gangs of drunken people around, making a pleasant evening uncomfortable, like back home.  Ali Voβ and Marcus kindly gave me lift back to the Voos house. I think that I may have struggled to find it otherwise, especially after a few drinks and in the dark. I managed to lose my way the following day in the daylight. I’d have no chance in the dark.

Interior wall at Cafe Bleu

The following day (Sunday) I went to the Cornelli’s (my hosts last time) for a very nice afternoon at their house with their daughter Meike, son Marius and mum and dad Martina and Michael. I took along a Nottingham newspaper showing the Queen and some of the royal family in Nottingham during the Jubilee celebrations as this German family like the British Royal Family and they were thrilled to see this. The Cornellis had gone out of their way to put together some lovely rolls and cakes for me to enjoy courtesy of Richard Nussbaumer the baker and konditorei in Waldstadt and we all had a super time talking in English and German over some wine and beer and swatting wasps that had taken a liking to the luscious cakes. Seven wasps met their end that afternoon.

On Monday  I returned to the Cornelli’s with the intention of posting a few brochures into their letterbox and going on my way. As it happened I bumped into their daughter and went back to their house along with her granny and on Meike’s insistence, entered the house unannounced. Mrs Cornelli shrieked and exclaimed her surprise at seeing me once again. We all laughed, I had a quick glass of water and went on my way into Karlsruhe centre via the tram.

I had arranged to meet up with Thorsten again at the Oxford Pub opposite the University where he works and we spent an hour over a simple lunch together mainly talking about the success of the showcase on Saturday evening.

I used the tram system a lot whilst I was there and enjoyed gliding around the city to various places and as the Monday evening sun went down I took a fair few photos in this special light and then made my way back to my temporary home for my last night in Karlsruhe. During the day I had a chance to do a little shopping and visit some old haunts. I began to realise that special places from previous visits aren’t always the same when it is a different time of day and there is a lack of friends to enjoy the place with. I also started to think that if I ever chose to live abroad/in Germany/ friends would be the most important part of that existence as well as having work. Otherwise I think that I would be very lonely. Having a good command of the language would be hugely beneficial too.

On Monday evening I spent my time with my hosts Peter and Andrea and we watched the Olympics (mainly the women’s pole vaulting) and had some food outdoors. Andrea also showed me a collection of photos that her brother Micheal had taken of the 40th celebrations at the Jakobus Theatre.

Early Tuesday morning Andrea was kind enough to take me back to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airport and having left their house at 7.30am I was actually back home by 2.50pm. This was mainly due to enquiring if I could use my rail tickets earlier than planned. I could and I took the Birmingham train from Stanstead via Cambridge and changed at Leicester for the direct train to Nottingham. Andrea had suggested I take a filled roll and a croissant with me to eat en route as well as a couple of bananas which I did and didn’t really feel hungry when I got home. A cup of tea went down very well though.

Since my trip I have been sharing my photos with German and English friends on Facebook and have recently framed the poster I asked for of Boeing Boeing. I have begun my own journey of improving my German language skills and we’ll see where it takes me.

A great social time with our German friends from Karlsruhe

This last week, apart from one morning where I had to attend a family funeral, was a wonderful time working with the local theatre that I belong to hosting thirty Germans on a cultural exchange with Nottingham's twin city, Karlsruhe. The two groups, the Die Käuze theatre and the Jakobus theatre, brought two plays to perform at our theatre. One was called Die Hochmütigen and the other, Komödie im Dunkeln. Both were very professional offerings in their own right. I am planning to write more in depth in my other blog at http://philloweactor.blogspot.com/ about these experiences.

What I want to write about here is the social aspect and how, despite the weather being horrible outside, a shared love of the theatre and warm friendships and great food can make a potentially miserable week weatherwise, a very happy one.

The inside of our theatre bar space

I was drafted in to help organise the catering side of things which all went very well. We had a light lunch provided for the Die Käuze  group's arrival on Sunday lunch as well as a welcome tea or coffee. On Monday the other group arrived late in the morning and we all enjoyed some delicious shared food around one o'clock. On both arrival evenings each member of their casts would have been given a nice meal at their English hosts' house and made to feel very welcomed.

Throughout the week we enjoyed a chilli con carne and a lamb tagine with peppers and couscous and a wonderful chorizo and tender beef stew as well as the meals that the Germans went out for in the city of Nottingham. On the last night I saved the day by getting a table for twenty plus at  Nottingham's premier South Indian Kerali restuarant on Broad Street late on night after the last performance of Komödie im Dunkeln. It was only half past nine and everywhere else seemed to be shutting. My friend Alison told me that the Karlsruhe group told her that they really liked our Indian restuarants as they haven't got much like it at home.

On the Friday of the visit it is traditional that we all go in a coach for a visit to somewhere nice. This time we went to Woolsthorpe Manor, the birthplace of Issac Newton, near Grantham. This was a National Trust property and actually really interesting to look around and learn about the scientist and his discoveries. I particularly liked the house and the kitchens and had thoughts about finding out whether there was such a thing as a history of food and drink museum.

Straight after this we had a tea break at the NT venue and went into Stamford on the coach and enjoyed a light lunch together. There were about fifty people for this occasion and our theatre had organised a pleasant meal at a hotel where the options were a chicken based dish or red mullet plus a dessert of sticky chocolate pudding or a slice of lemon cake.

red mullet dish

Sticky toffee pudding with chocolate sauce.

Throughout the week there was plenty of drinking done at the theatre bar and also at the Trip to Jerusalem amongst others and despite the almost constant cold and rain we all enjoyed a good laugh with our German friends and we even invented a new language called Denglish, a combination of German (Deutsch) and English which made everyone giggle. Sorry, that's 'everyone zu lachen gemacht'.

sharing a joke about the wet weather

On the Friday night we had a farewell party with presentations and lovely food. It was all very convivial and on the Saturday morning we saw both groups off back home to Germany. I confess to getting a bit weepy as I always love these occasions and never want them to end.