Travel Tunes Tuesday- Germany

About 6 years ago, I I quit my Spanish teaching job and decided on a whim that I was going to travel to Europe. Smart, considering I wasn't going to have a paycheck anymore. Obviously spending money on travel was the reasonable thing to do (note sarcasm).

I don't know why I thought this was a good idea, but I think a lot of my ideas are good until I realize ultimately that they're not.

Sometimes my "bad" ideas turn out alright, though.

Quitting that job and traveling to Europe was the best "bad" idea I've ever had, but that story is for another time.

I was dating a guy from Germany (Ich hatte einen Freund aus Deutschland), and he was one of the main people I was going to visit after quitting.

I got lucky and also had the chance to visit a friend girl I had in Germany who just happened to only live half an hour from him, and also one of my best girlfriends in Belgium and another friend I had in France.

So hey, even though traveling with no paycheck is pretty irrational, at least I saved on hotels!

Since I was going to be staying at the boyfriend's parents, I wanted to learn German so I could speak a little bit to them.

They live in East Germany in a town that tourists never visit called Jena. A lot of the "older" generations in East Germany don't speak English because they were forced to learn Russian instead. So as a result, I had to come prepared.

I have to say, the tourists are really missing out. Jena is a gem of a town. I freaking loved it and thought all of the architecture was great, the food was wonderful, and the bread was out of this world good.

Anyway, to prepare for the trip, I stocked up on lots of German songs because I've found that one of the easiest and fastest ways for me to learn a language is by translating song lyrics and studying the grammar patterns like a nerd who stands by the punchbowl during the school dance.

Some of these songs were recommendations from the German, and others I just found on my own through youtube or through my girlfriend from Germany who lives in Kassel.

Culcha Candela - Monsta

This one makes me happy! I can't help but dance!

Seeed- Augenbling

This makes me laugh because it basically says "Your eyes make bling bling and all is forgotten."

Sounds like a cool trick! I need to teach my eyes how to make bling bling, haha. Even though my eyes don't make bling bling, all is forgotten anyway. I forgot where my keys are, so I can't lock my room. I forgot to do my laundry today, so I have to wear dirty pajamas to bed. No bling bling here.

Laffee - Danke

I love this song because it’s dedicated to her parents. I wish my parents could understand it, because I want to dedicate it to them!

It’s so beautiful. Most songs are about romantic love, but I think this is equally as powerful. Love for parents and vice versa is some of the deepest, strongest, and most unconditional love you will find in the world. I feel SO grateful for my parents every time I heard this song.

She says this:

You're my life, you're the world for me. I love you unendingly (infinitely).

Thank you for every word you spoke when I was sad.

Thank you for every day you were by my side.

Bushido- Du Bist Immer Noch Hier

This one just makes me think of being in the car driving from Jena to the Czech Republic. It's just maybe a 2-hour drive, so if you're ever in East Germany, you might as well pop over to Prague if you can.

There's actually a really cool rideshare app/website in Germany called carpoolworld.com that you can use to ride in a car with someone who is already traveling the same direction!

These are the things I love about Europe/ Germany. Germany especially is very efficient. This app is the perfect solution for cutting down on traffic and pollution. Plus it allows people to make a little extra money just by taking passengers to a destination that they were already driving to, anyway.

We took a rideshare to Prague and had about 8 rides to choose from, so there is a LOT of supply on the site. It's totally awesome!!

I really loved Germany. Every city is clean and nature is beautiful. I took a train from West to East, and then another train from East to Belgium and I just remember being completely enamored with the beautiful views out my window.

I also had so much fun with people that I met there and if you have a chance to go, you definitely should!

What are some of your favorite tunes that you've heard while traveling, or that make you think of travels?

<3, @nomadicsoul

P.S. If anyone who is German sees this, feel free to sprich bitte deutsch mit mir! Ich möchte mehr Deutsch lernen und sprechen!