I’m no stranger to Germany. Been there a few times, speak the language passably; and though I wouldn’t say I know the place, we’re on familiar terms. So when A-train asked if I wanted to go see Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH) in Germany I felt no anxiety about it. *cue suspenseful music*
Enter “Rock am Ring“; a 3 day metal fest at the Nürburgring. The lineup was incredible. From “The Prodigy” to “Rise Against” to bands I had never heard of before I saw the advertisements. I’m not a festival goer for many years, but I was willing to take a shot at this, so long as I had a decent nights sleep. A-train, my travel partner on this run agreed to book a nearby hotel and I started looking at flights. Though I had not heard of it, Rock am Ring is very well known in some circles.
Over the intervening year, I mentioned this upcoming festival in Nürburg to 10 or so American friends when it came up. Each time they asked, “Do you mean Nuremberg?” I politely informed them that there was an actual place called Nürburg, and I remembered how little the American populace knows about the world in general; Nürburgring actually being renowned as a race track for may years while Nuremberg stayed in the American memory as the location for a war crimes tribunal from 1945-1946.
Old friends are like your favorite leather jacket. Sheltering, familiar, and smells and feels damn good. Slipping into their presence to the comforting feel of being safe and the familiarity of affection; the kind you built over time to be stronger and more reliable through the years and miles. It is in these moments of reconnection that I find my deepest happiness; the justification for the life I’ve managed to cobble together.
I managed to sneak away a few days early to see some friends near Köln, and it was delightful, calm, and heart warming to reconnect with them and meet the new additions to the family. I have got a lot of things wrong in life, but friends like these mean I’ve got one or two things right. Thank you again, Z and T and the boys!
When I was explaining the festival to my friends, they asked again, “It’s in Nuremberg?”
A-train had allegedly sent me the hotel reservation a couple of times already, but by the day before we were to meet, and I had never received it. I asked for a screenshot of the hotel information so I could at least know where I was going.
Whoops.
Now, rather than down the road, I am across the country from the party. The part is across the country from the airport I need to leave from. BMTH, whom I had come to see, is no longer the opener, but the closer on the last night.
Things one should know about Rock am Ring and Rock im Park.
- Rock am Ring and Rock im Park are the same festival.
- They are 5 hours apart, and rotate bands on different days.
- The cities are named similarly.
- Pay attention when your friends mention the finer details and plan accordingly.