This is our fourth Germany tour, and it is a gift to see familiar faces from past shows smiling back at us, almost wherever we go. In Berlin, we brought together several little communities from our different worlds into one picturesque little show.

We played at a biergarten on a little island in the middle of a river running through the city. It was out of a movie, with people out on kayaks and boats going through the water as the day winded down into a sunset shining through the leafy trees. We couldn’t drive our car onto the island, so Robin at the venue helped us load our stuff onto a golf cart to set up and soundcheck.

We caught up with our Ohio friend Michelle(an artist friend who made some early album art for us and lives in Berlin now) and met her community of friends excited to see the set. We saw German friends who went to previous shows in Dresden and Berlin and elsewhere. And we played for new strangers and made a few friends both behind the bar and at the little tables.

The weather was perfect, and didn’t get too cold after sunset either. We got some Turkish food after the show — and I had kokoreç for the first time (described to me as “drunk comfort sandwich” consisting of chopped lamb intestines and organs, seasoned to perfection and cooked on a grill). I wasn’t drunk, but it was still perfect.

We spent our morning with our host and friend Flo having coffee and breakfast in his flat alongside the long ambling conversations that always seem to happen in the kitchen after a show. He played in a hardcore band for a while, and now does design consulting work — still finding time to host bands or go out to shows. He’s an absolute gem with a killer record collection — not to mention some of the best coffee we’ve had on tour. He’s a joy to see again.