Salzburg

Saturday, 13 October 2012
Greetings from Österreich!  (Weird keyboard alert!)
So, I didn't really wrap up my time in Edinburgh.  I won't do that now either, so here's the very short version: business slowed down, it started getting cold, I debuted the puppet theatre, it's going well, did my last Saturday market, did my last Stockbridge market, played a child's birthday party, the end.

Then I played one last gig with KAIHO, then hopped on a plane!  And here I am in Salzburg, on the beginning of a trip that will take me through Austria, (Budapest?), (Bratislava?), the Czech Republic, NE Germany, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, then hoooooome.

How am I paying for this trip, after blowing all my savings on being abroad this year?, you may ask.  Well, mandatory busking.  My last trip it was optional, but now I have to do it.  Especially since I accidentallz shipped my bank card home with all my stuff.  Oops.

So today it began.  It was Saturday, so naturally I had to take advantage of the crowds.  It was an especially nice Saturday, too, due to gorgeous weather and a "Bio Fest" that brought families with childrens to the streets of the Altstadt.

Step one was to observe the pitches.  I set out, thinking I'd see a ton of buskers, but I did not.  There were many beggars, though, so of course I wanted to keep my distance and not test how territorial they are.  One woman was setting up on one side of a pedestrian bridge.  She had an accordion, and seemed to be applying face paint of some sort.  I didn't stick around to see it.

I wove through the narrow pedestrian streets of the old town that were certainly full of people (one American tourist came out of a store and grumpily quoted to her party, "No English."  Cringe).  But I wanted to check out the squares.  I saw two buskers near the Alter Markt, a silver statue "playing" a piano held up by a stack of books, and...a puppeteer!  His puppet was dressed like Mozart, I presume, and played a little piano as well.  But not Mozart music; like, pop.

And so I set up in the Alter Markt square on the side of a fountain.  Oh, I should say, all the tourist shops sell piano-key and musical note themed merchandise, so my dress fits in quite well.

This was a success.  I had a lot of people stop to watch, kids wanting to put money in, smiles on old ladies' faces.  One woman sat for a bit and seemed to sketch me.  I've had challenges with Flaca's setup being unlevel, but today it was fine and functioning.  Also, I hadn't played accordion for a while, so I sounded pretty good.  One man, however, who was walking around town with what seemed to be a studded dog's collar in his hand, had a negative comment.  "Laut, laut!" he yelled.  I tried to play a little quieter in case anyone of higher power agreed.  But I wasn't asked to move.

Some women did set up ninety degrees from me at the same fountain collecting signatures for something.  After a while they turned on a recording of Asian-sounding music, which must go with the cause.  

Every once in a while, someone would say something of a decent length, so I'd have to say, "Ich spreche kein Deutsch."  They usually smiled, said more in German, then walked away.  

But one man sort of translated his comment, pointing out that I have 12 buttons.  I nodded, and gave him the universal symbol for "small."  Then he said something about the number 8, which could have been buttons, but then sounded like his small child?  Not sure. 

Another two men, however, followed up, asking, "English?  Romanian?"  I guess the latter are the accordion players they're used to?  I said, "English...or Spanish!"  This other guy heard that and excitedly came over and tipped, complimenting my abillity to speak Spanish, in Spanish.  Knew including that would pay off!  I talked further to these men, confirming that I'm from Scotland (a pasttime in which I can engage once again).  One said, "As long as you say you're from Scotland, people will like you."  I took that to mean Scotland rather than the US, then realized the US hadn't entered this conversation.  Ah...Romania.  Okay.  I saw one of these men again later, after I had changed locations.  He mentioned that the cafe behind me was very good, if you like coffee and cake.  We chatted for a bit, and he invited me for said coffee and cake.  Very nice, but I wasn't quite up for explaining my tendency to avoid caffeine, and generally wasn't super up for smalltalk (I've got a bit of a cold).  But so nice!

As I mentioned, I moved spots.  I took a break in which I walked around the outdoor market and had some food, sampled some delicious cheese, and realized that I really need to practice key phrases in German.  I was going to sit somewhere and study my guidebook to make a plan, but saw that the other puppeteer had packed up.  His spot really was a good one, on a narrow pedestrian street without a lot of shops to annoy.  So I decided to expedite my second set and play a bit longer.  

This was even better, due to the street.  I had decent crowds, which I'm really not used to, and I became aware that I've improved at operating the puppet without sacrificing accordion playing.  I was sure, for the first time since doing the puppet setup, that it was a good thing.  Three students reacted to Paint it Black, and sang along, then came over and immediately started speaking English.  It turns out they're here studying abroad, and from Ohio.  They were pretty helpful discussing sites.  

I sent a few emails on Couch Surfing, and one person replied saying that he had seen me busking, playing "Fur Elise."  Hmm, not sure what song that could have been, but pretty cool!

I was going to squeeze in one more set, maybe around dusk to get the effect of the stagelights, but I was tired.  It was a totally succesful day, though, and the main older man said that Sunday will be even better.  So I'll play for a bit after my Sound of Music tour!

Till next time.