From Genoa To Torino to Berlin – By Train!!!
I am 1 week back in Berlin and it feels great – even though the chilly weather has greeted me, there has been a mix of sun, clouds, rain, drizzle – it’s Berlin, right? I have to say Torino and Genoa were especially mild, if not warm in comparison!
Genoa to Berlin you say?
I took a very very very long crazy train ride from Torino, to Milan, to Verona, to Munich, to Berlin – alone, with my 2 heavy suitcases and a backpack – why do they seem to get heavier? It definitely was a romantic idea but since I traveled mostly at night, being at the Verona train station at midnight was, well, creepy!! It was about 19 hours total!! (and no – not cheaper, I could have flown probably for less!) So I did that.. don’t have to repeat!
But let’s back up:
I went to a marathon in Genoa, Italy. What a cool port city! The best way I can describe it, is that industrialization and globalization merely pushed a little here and there to create streets for cars…. wandering around was the best and I got to do this with a Belgian tango dancer architect friend!!! So we gladly walked into buildings and aaahed and ooohed at beautiful things!!! On one main street alone I think there were 42 grand palaces, and the street itself is declared a UNESCO Heritage Site! Really fun!
And of course the iconic Lanterna, the renaissance lighthouse of Genoa built in 1543, which we missed going into due to strange hours and our strange tango hours!!!
I had lovely food in Genoa and some nice dancing! There were 2 venues for the Milongas. One was much better served for catching dances the other was too narrow for cabaceo and somehow smoking was happening on the enclosed terrace where ladies heels would fall into the gaps in the floor boards! So you were either on the smoky terrace to catch a breath (not really) or a drink, and watch the floor so you wouldn’t get stuck in the floor boards OR in the dance space where there wasn’t much moving room unless you were sitting on a chair on the sidelines sweating or dancing! Being with Italians is always fun but more often then not I felt like I had crashed a wedding or a large party that I was not invited to! And I had been told that Italians play their music LOUDLY! and this is true. Deafeningly loud!
I stopped briefly in Nijmegen for dancing the day after I arrived (another, what was I thinking move, sitting in a car for another 6 hours!!!) I say briefly because between my catching naps whenever I could and dancing, the Sunday car ride back to Berlin came really fast! I mention the volume of the music because in Nijmegen I felt like the music was so soft, that it made me wonder if I had lost some hearing while dancing in Italy! One of my dearest college students came up with a Tango Emergency Kit that he would carry to milongas and boy, I wonder if he had ear plugs in there… I could have used them! Maybe now I will keep some in my bag!
So now back in Berlin, I am happy to be living where I am, a fantastic neighborhood (designed with my foodie needs in mind!), a really lovely german flatmate and the other flatmate is traveling! I hope I will be able to stay a bit without having to move around as much as I had the last time I was here.
I am teaching a 4 week course entitled The Big Four with Raimund about the top 4 tango orchestras and ideas on how to dance to them differently. I have also started sharing Restorative Exercise again to my small group of ladies who enjoyed and benefited from it the first time around. Now to spread the word more widely….
It has been nice to go to milongas and have dancers recognize me and welcome me back! That was kind of a lovely surprise. I have some upcoming adventures in England again and hopefully in Istanbul. And another tango marathon in Geneva!
If you miss me and miss my words remember there’s the Tango Workbook and I have also been doing Skype sessions with some students – a nice way to get some tune ups!!!
As always – keep dancing and happy!
Subscribe