How I Spent My Summer Vacation Part 4: Orlando

After leaving SLC, I headed down to Orlando for a relaxing week with friends. It’s hard to believe it’s already been over a year and a half since I lived there, but meeting up with everyone felt just like old times.

I arrived on Thursday night and stayed with Jesse and Dana for the first few days. This was actually the first time I’d seen them since they were married and it was great to have some time to catch up with everything. That first night I also had the chance to catch some of UC’s game against Oregon State that evening before heading to bed. I headed into the Relevant offices on Friday afternoon (which are actually now in a new location from where I worked when I was there) to hang out a bit and work on a few personal projects. The new digs are nice and have a good vibe. The kitchen area is actually done up with Jeremy Cowart’s photos from Hope in the Dark, a book I got to help layout when I was there.



After the work day ended, we did a little acoustic guitar sing-a-long followed by dinner with Adam and Mel (friends I knew from outside of work who have since both spent time at Relevant) and Derek (who worked there after I left but has since departed himself). So, if you’re still following this at all, after a great dinner we watched some 90s video classics on 120 Minutes before heading to a showing of The Brothers Solomon. We were one of the only groups in the theater (and one of the only groups seeing that movie anywhere, for that matter) but we thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard as I did just during the opening credits — I was literally crying. Anyway, it was a nice end to a nice day.

We all slept in on Saturday and Jesse and I went for a run (during which we saw an alligator — hooray for Florida) before a few errands in the afternoon. We reteamed with Adam and Mel and a few other friends for dinner, Starbucks, and a subsequent Nintendo and Trivial Pursuit blow-out (during which Dana schooled everyone at Dr. Mario).

Sunday brought church at Summit, lunch at Panera, and my handoff to Jeremy and Jen. Though I’d seen Jeremy’s bachelor pad, this was my first time at their current place (even though they’d had it the last time I was down there). All I can say is the man is an interior decorating whiz. Very cool place. We caught an afternoon movie and hung out the rest of the evening.


Relefriends Adam, Jesse, and Jeremy

On Monday I went into Relevant for the full day and saw a few other staffers who were out on Friday, as well at meeting some of the folks who’ve joined since I left. After work Jeremy and I stopped by to see our former creative director Josh who has been doing quite well since going independent a few years ago. He shared some of his recent work and stories of recent exploits which was quite cool.



On Wednesday I met up with Amy, my friend from UC who’s getting her masters at UCF. We headed over to Tampa to see Dave Matthews Band (which I figured I needed to do for it to feel like a real summer). Despite our failure to find a Mexican restaurant (Applebee’s ended up being a perfect stand-in), we made good time and had no problem getting to the venue. Of course, right about the time we parked the sky turned black and a torrential downpour descended upon us. Unfortunately, we had tickets for the lawn. Fortunately, the rain let up a little bit by the time DMB came on and they allowed umbrellas which meant I didn’t get soaked to the bone (just mildly damp).
The show itself was great. I really liked the setlist and it featured the one song I’ve been waiting almost a decade to finally hear live: “The Dreaming Tree” – and an excellent rendition at that. Perhaps my only caveat would be that they played a single song for the Encore, but really, it was a good time in good company.


Amy and I, having survived 3 hours of drizzle and Dave

Before we knew it, we had made it back to Orlando and after a few short hours of sleep it was off to the airport to head back to Columbus.

I feel incredibly blessed to have the friends I do, and it was really great to see everyone down in O-Town again. I really do feel like I have a family of sorts down there despite the time and distance between us.

Berlin, Germany Part 3: Walking Tour + Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds

Monday
On Monday morning Caroline, Meghan and I took a 4.5 hour English walking tour around the city. Our guide was Torben, a German-born guy who grew up on Long Island and is now a history student in Berlin. Though we saw a few things we’d already visited on our own, it was nice to get the historical context for everything. It was a great tour and he was a very informative guide.


One of the sites we took some time at was Peter Eisenman’s (architect behind DAAP) Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is an interesting project that I found affecting, though others take issue with (with good reason). Though I think the abstract nature does a good job at alluding to tombs, the feeling of being lost and isolated, and even the idea of the hidden (at the time)breadth and depth of the event, there are people who end up playing Hide and Seek and letting their kids run around on it. This obviously isn’t the most respectful thing in the world, but then again, the metaphor of life rising from death is also powerful.


Some things that are slightly dubious: the Jewish community wasn’t really part of the planning, as the memorial is more of a reminder of everyday Berliners’ compliance in the Holocaust; and there is no real signage to indicate what the memorial is (just some plaques with rules, such as no jumping from the sculptures). However, I think those are issues that Eisenman isn’t really responsible for, so whatever.


Here’s the largest remaining section of the Wall.


Checkpoint Charlie, site of the former entrance to the American-occupied area of the city.


Giftshop and Museum about the wall. Only an “r” away from being an even better photo op.


After the tour we stopped at an Einstein Cafe for an afternoon snack. I had some amazing homemade Apfelstrudel. I don’t even normally go for fruit-based desserts, but this was too good to pass up.


We decided to head to the Reichstag, one of the city’s best-known landmarks, and home to the lower house of their Parliament. Behind that building is the new governmental complex featuring some nice architecture by Stephan Braunfels.


Here’re some pics of the Reichstag, including me on the roof in front of the dome (which was closed due to cleaning).




And a look at the Victory Column in the Tiergarten which we passed at a couple points on our journey (and I passed quite often on my morning runs).


It was nearing late afternoon, so we headed back to the friary briefly before taking off for the main event:

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds at Columbiahalle

One of the main reasons for the timing of this trip was to see Dave Matthews during a rare European tour. I think this was the 9th time I’ve seen he and/or the band live, but the first at a general admission concert hall.
It was probably the closest I will ever be to Dave in my life (since the band only plays stadiums and amphitheaters and you have to be in the fan club to even have a shot at decent seats, etc.) and quite a good show.

Unfortunately, the tickets stated point-blank that no photography or video was allowed, so I left my camera at home. Of course, they only patted me down from the waist up so I could have easily taken it (and many other people had theirs). That was the only disappointment of the evening.
(Here’s a tiny pic from the website. I was much closer than this)


The setlist was a good mix of old, new and solo tunes. The last acoustic Dave & Tim (sans band) show I went to was several months before Some Devil released, so it was nice to hear some of those songs as well as “Old Dirt Hill,” one of my favorites from 2005’s Stand Up.

They played for over two and a half hours so we definitely got our money’s worth.
For anyone still reading, here is the setlist:

Bartender
Save Me
Stay Or Leave
Satellite
Crush
Old Dirt Hill
Smooth Rider
Everyday
Lie In Our Graves
Oh
So Damn Lucky
Where Are You Going
Gravedigger
Tim Solo
When The World Ends
Jimi Thing
(Still Water)
Don’t Drink the Water
#41
Crash Into Me
Dancing Nancies
__________________

Some Devil
Sister
Ants Marching
The Maker
Two Step

We returned to the friary exhausted and happy.

Tuesday
Before we departed Berlin on Tuesday afternoon, we went with Fr Hans-Georg to visit the city’s other friary in Pankow. They run an impressive soup kitchen (and free store, housing, etc.) serving 500 meals a day. It was again nice to have the opportunity to connect with other Franciscans and hear about their work as well as share a bit about ours.

It was soon time to catch our flight, so we headed to the airport, ate some Burger King (hooray!), and EasyJetted back to Geneva by late afternoon.

All in all, a wonderful—albeit tiring—trip that I’ll certainly carry with me.