08/10/2021

On the morning of August 10th, 2021 at 7:35 a.m.: I got up extra early so as not to keep you in the dark any longer about the events since the chain broke. I’m sitting tired but comfortably on the couch of a long-time friend from Dresden, who welcomed us enthusiastically last night and gave us and the Tastdem warm shelter. But that’s yesterday and will be told another time. It felt like there was really no room to complete the reports, some of which I even tried to write on the back seat of the tandem while driving.

Endless press appointments

We arrived a little late at 9:50 a.m. for the first press event of the day and took photos in front of the impressive backdrop of Dresden.

At 10:20 a.m. there was a radio interview with Radio Prague.
At 11:00 a.m. we had the next press event in front of the Frauenkirche with the Sächsische Zeitung and a very friendly journalist.
At 11:30 a.m., immediately afterwards, we gave another radio interview, this time with Radio Dresden.

Fear comes with us

After a few obligatory photos in front of the Frauenkirche, we quickly ate something and at 1:00 p.m. we finally headed back down the Elbe towards Meißen. This time we were very cautious and felt a little unsure, as a connecting piece between the drawbar and the coupling had been wobbling quite a bit since this morning. As we didn’t know how bad the whole thing was, we took every hill and every bend even more carefully than before, which meant that we also made even slower progress. On the route to Meißen, which is really beautiful by the way and reminds us of parts of Italy, the car’s new wheel fork had recently started making cracking noises and seemed to be getting more and more play. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the trip and the many beautiful views.

Next destination is Meißen

At 5:00 p.m. we arrived on time for our fifth and last press event of the day. We had reached our destination of Meißen safely and unscathed. We were very happy because the best part of the day was still to come: our meeting with the singer-songwriter DRIFTWOOD Holly, who was sailing down the Elbe on a self-made house raft at the same time. We had already come into contact weeks ago through our activities and decided to definitely meet on our way and give a concert together.

It was pure romance! In the background the backdrop of the impressive old town of Meissen, in the river Holly’s lovingly designed raft and in front of it us – with our Tastdem. Somehow, I thought, he was doing it absolutely right. To travel completely without stress and without a schedule, because: slowly but surely, this longing is growing in Andreas and me, because we now realize that with our ambitious schedule, joy, spontaneity and reflection are far too short and we really miss them often. It just feels stupid to have to turn down a spontaneous concert for loved ones on the grounds that we have to stick to our schedule.

Anyway, Holly first played two songs from his boat, which we really liked and which really moved me emotionally. After one of the nicest announcements we have ever received, we started our concert in a sensitive mood. This time I even had trouble reciting the ballad of Felix Fliegenbeil because I was so moved by it that I had to fight back tears in order to finish the ballad with any degree of clarity.

We didn’t manage to get the live stream up again, which is why we feel increasingly guilty towards you, but please believe me, it was wonderful and unique. Holly gave his full concert a little later, after the audience had rewarded us with plenty of applause and CD purchases, and finally we could just sit there and enjoy.

We were allowed to sleep in the garden of the Meißen rowing house and after we were invited to food and drink by the people in charge of the clubhouse, Holly took another look at the problems with our car. After he was able to assure me that we would not have any life-threatening problems, we fell asleep exhausted and calm.

DRIFTWOOD Holly, a really crazy guy who has lived in the far north of Canada for twenty-two years, has to fight with bears over his blackberry bushes and experiences temperatures of minus fifty degrees in winter. But he creates heartwarming lyrics and songs, some in German, some in English. Highly recommended – he really hit me emotionally with his music.

Next entry: Lutherstadt Wittenberg is waiting for us today

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