Music

The Sound of Getting Out

Picture it: motorway, nothing in front of you, a good day. The wind comes in through the open windows. The engine is content with itself. You are leaving behind the things that weigh, and you know you will deal with them, only not now. Now you put the music on.

These playlists are for that. They are sorted by the countries where I heard the songs or picked them up. Don't expect folklore. There are local musicians in here, but mostly this is music that carries you further.

Georgia

Untouched country, ancient ruins, and people who are rough and warm at the same time. The wars left a great many scars here. The Georgians stayed proud and stayed their own, and the country kept what it is through every turn of the tide.

Their music has heat in it. Georgian dance is plainly descended from the fighting arts they defended this place with. Meet them with respect and they will hand you more hospitality than you know what to do with.

Turkey

I had only a vague idea of what mercy meant until I drove into Turkey. Almost every Turk I met was kind to me without asking for anything. A man with little will share his food, his floor and his good humour.

Most of the people I met think their country is poor. From where I was standing, Turkey is one of the wealthiest places on earth. What actually makes a person rich — a lot of money, or a good heart?

There were things about the way Turks deal with each other that I could not follow as a German. One thing I did understand: in what they do, these people show what the human soul is capable of.

Greece

Greece means monasteries to me, and family, and a certain kind of quiet thinking. On the way from Albania through Kalambaka and Thessaloniki to Bulgaria I was largely occupied with a relationship, and I could barely open my eyes to the country because personal things were in the way.

It is characteristic of Greece, I think, that I found something like a second family here, and that in their company it got easier to let certain attachments go. It would be a while yet before I could actually do it. But between the rocks and monasteries of Kalambaka I found my way back to trusting life at all.

Countries are missing here: Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Germany. I am working on it.