Buenos Aires - Until the bitter end

We are very lucky that we can stay in the house and garden of Jan's friend's mother, thanks to very lovely people. That means, we have the house and garden all to ourselves for the next few days! The aunt welcomes us a few streets away with vegetarian food and the neighbors offer their help several times. The house is located in a quiet area, slightly north of the center, and we immediately feel comfortable! That's good because we can use the first day to fight Lisa's cold. We only take a 'small' bike trip to the shopping center 4km away to pick up our tickets for the concert by Die Toten Hosen the next day. But cycling is not easy here, despite the fact that it's actually a quiet area. Bike paths? None! Cars on the road don't really care, but the sidewalk is so potholed and bumpy that it's hard to make progress. And there are only one-way streets, so sometimes you have to take detours. But enough complaining, because the reward awaits us at the shopping center: a bakery called 'Hausbrot' with REAL whole grain bread!! We quickly pick up the tickets and buy some decent cheese in the giant supermarket, then we're back on our bikes. The anticipation for tomorrow's concert is growing every hour :)

And then the day has come! The 'Hosen-Fest' is here! At first, it's not easy to find the right line, because there is another concert taking place next door. But then we finally stand in the right place: surrounded by almost exclusively Germans in Hosen shirts! The whole process seems a bit strange to us, because apparently the start of the festival was postponed from 2pm to 3pm and it doesn't look like the main entrance at all, but we wait patiently. At around 3:30pm, the entire German line is moved a few hundred meters forward and finally! We have reached the entrance! While the first Argentinian support bands - sometimes bad, sometimes better - open the Hosenfest (and that's not a joke, the festival is actually called that!) much too loud, we make ourselves comfortable and wait for our personal pre-band highlight: KRAFTKLUB (with a K!). Together with other Germans, we rock in the middle of Buenos Aires in bright sunshine! It's a bit surreal. After that, it takes a few hours until around 9:30pm, when Die Toten Hosen finally perform after an also very good & well-known Argentinian band called Ataque 77! By now, the area is also well filled and we are in the middle of German and plenty of Argentinian Hosen fans, enjoying a fantastic show. But how did it come to be that so many people here are watching a Die Toten Hosen concert? Well, the majority of German fans have probably traveled specially for this or have combined the concert with a small tour. There are certainly also some German students or people like us who happen to be nearby and are therefore here. But the majority of fans are Argentinian and the Hosen have been known here for many years and people heard their songs in their youth. And actually, even Campino speaks a few words of Spanish, but mostly guitarist Michael translates. Otherwise, the concert is no different from one in Germany. All the classics are on the setlist, all in German, even the Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder! :) But at least in every song there are a few lines that you can sing along to even without knowing German: WOOOHOOOO ... HEEEEY HEEEEY HEEEEY ... AAAAAHAAAAA ... OOOOHHHOOOOHOO. And so we all sing along together :) The Argentinians can even pogo like the Germans ;) But there is one significant difference: you can buy beer, but only in a restricted area at the other end of the stage and you are not allowed to take it to the front. That means - except for those caused by Campino himself - there are no unexpected beer showers and few drunk people - actually quite pleasant!

The next day, it's time to visit the overcrowded Tigre Delta. The starting point for all boat trips is the absolutely touristy town of Tigre, which offers everything from amusement parks to casinos to a China market (even more plastic with plastic with plastic). Countless boats depart from here and take tourists (including us) on a one-hour trip through a small part of the inhabited delta. The view is really beautiful, passing by fancy vacation homes, kiosks on stilts, and old, rusty ships. There are no more roads here, everything is done by boat! In order to see the peaceful areas of the delta with lots of nature, you would have to take a complete private day tour, as it is huge! Although we would certainly like that, we decide against it, as we have already been to the Okavango Delta by boat. After the boat ride, we make our way back, also a very beautiful train ride along the coast!

On the 5th day, it's finally time to see the center of the 13 million city. And so we stroll through the Plaza, to the Obelisco and the widest avenue in the world. It must be said, the streets, parks, and buildings are really beautiful, partly reminiscent of New York. However, we have become somewhat 'tired of cities' lately, so we make our way back home after enjoying a big MILKA-Mc Flurry (unfortunately delicious!). Since we still have no plans for the next destination and it is starting to make us nervous, we decide on the same day to cancel our trip to Uruguay (too expensive for crowded beaches) and book a flight to Bariloche, in northern Patagonia, also known as the 'Argentinian Switzerland'. We need nature and exercise again!

The last day is used for packing and cleaning, and of course to enjoy the garden one last time! :) After a very heartfelt farewell from neighbors and the aunt, we leave the city after 7 days to head to the hiking paradise of Patagonia, where we will spend the rest of our trip! At least that's the plan so far... :)