Looking back at my year 2023

Today I would like to take you on a bit of a journey. A journey through my year 2023 and believe me, it's exciting for me too to review everything again.

My year got off to a pretty turbulent start, but more on that later. At the beginning of the year I received a visit from Cordula and Kaja. We celebrated the New Year together and I saw the famous London New Years fireworks for the first time.

Maybe you remember, at the end of last year I was evicted from my shared room and had to start looking for a new shared room two weeks before Christmas. That was pretty stressful, but surprisingly it worked out quicker than expected. And that's with the current housing market in London.

I've been living on Rainbow Street since January. Such a lovely street name. As the saying goes: happiness lies at the end of the rainbow.

That can definitely be said here. This has been the best shared apartment since I've lived in London. It's a large shared apartment and clearly not a shared apartment for any purpose. Since I've been living here, I've gotten the feeling that I now have more self-confidence to just chat away in English.

So now the Camberwell district is my new home and I really like it. Located much closer to the city center, I can reach the Thames within 20 minutes by bike.

And then I discovered SITZ in March. SITZ is an organization for musical enthusiasts. For many years they have met once a month for a day and rehearsed a musical. You can apply as a singer or musician in the orchestra. Amateurs then meet students and professionals and sing and play the musical together. Unfortunately, I have only taken part on one Sunday so far. But that was really good. The West Side Story.

Since this year there has also been SITZ weekly. You can register for this on a term-by-term basis. Then there are three songs from different musicals that you practice for several weeks and a surprise number every week. I took part in one appointment and liked it so much that I immediately registered for the first one in the new year.

And then every now and then someone comes to visit me. Here, for example, is my cousin Konrad. We did a little musical marathon together and watched a few musicals together.

At the end of March I took my first vacation and flew to Seville for a week. I visited my cousin Hanna there and was able to see Seville, such a beautiful city!

Spain in February was a nice summer trip for me. It was already a nice 25 degrees in Seville and when I got back to London it was wet and cold. I had gotten used to the warm weather so nicely in that one week.

The church choir, in which I sing, kept me busy again this year. I love the choir and that I found something really typically English. But sometimes it can also be really tiring. We always rehearse on Fridays and then sing during church services on Sunday mornings. Evensong once a month, although we usually still sing in the morning. Then it sometimes feels as if the weekend only belongs to the choir. But that's just the way it is, but I experience a lot of traditions differently and sing a lot of different English church music.

Then I went to the Globe for a Shakespeare theater for the first time. I bought a famous standing ticket for £5 and watched The Winters Tale. What was special about this piece was that it played in both rooms of the theater. Inside and outside in the famous Globe.

This year I definitely wanted to go to Oxford. Not far from London it is a popular day trip destination. Two friends of mine studied in Oxford and were able to show me a different side of the city and I had the chance to take a look at some of the universities that you normally have to pay admission to.

I could also describe 2023 as the year of flying. Unfortunately... I haven't had such good experiences with buses and trains so far, so I always end up resorting to the plane. Around

This year I saw a few new sides of Europe again. I have been to Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany and Italy. Visited my cousins, went on vacation and saw friends.

Of course, as already mentioned before, I went to the theater and musicals a lot again, but I'll tell you in another post whether I broke my record from last year. This beautiful theater is currently showing Wicked.

And then this year I managed to see another play in the West End that wasn't a musical. "The ocean at the end of the lane". A partially scary fantasy piece, but very well staged.

And then around May my test baking period started. I had the honor of baking the wedding cake for my brother and sister-in-law, but of course I had to experiment a bit first. My roommates and colleagues were very happy about this.

Over time I have been able to explore my new district of Camberwell and the neighborhood better and better and have already found some favorite shops and restaurants and my new favorite place (you can check it out later).

My shared room is probably the best room in the house. Located on the side of the garden, it is one of the quietest rooms in the whole house and I can watch beautiful sunrises.

The last two years have been very significant in British history. First the Queen celebrated her 70th anniversary last summer and then unfortunately she passed away in September. This year in May, Prince Charles was crowned King Charles III.

Especially at the coronation we had a lot to do with the choir again. This is what our church looks like from the inside. The direct view of the beautiful organ with the choir stalls in front of it. If you're interested, you're welcome to listen. Every service is broadcast live on Facebook. Or you can come over. ;)

And then I got a year older again. I celebrated with my shared apartment and my friends in our garden. It was grilled and eaten well. A beautiful summer evening that I remember fondly.

I attended my very first major concert with my roommate Wendy. We saw the French band M83. The band makes electronic music and I mainly know it from films as a soundtrack.

At the beginning of July I went on vacation. On my list this year was to visit Paris. So I went to Paris for a day. You can read about everything you can experience in Paris in one day in my article.

We continued from Paris to Pingjum, a small village in the Netherlands. I spent a week's summer vacation there with a friend in a small holiday apartment. We experienced the biggest storm of the last 10 years, but also the most beautiful sunsets and a wonderful rainbow. A week full of rest, good food, playing games and riding bikes.

From the Netherlands we went straight on to Lingen for the “Lautfeuer Festival”. There I saw my favorite band “das Lumpenpack” but also met other great new artists.

And then one of the biggest events of the year took place. My brother's wedding. A lot of preparations were made and six months in advance we, as siblings of the bride and groom, got together and planned our gift.

I also baked the cake and everything turned out well in the end and the bride and groom really enjoyed it.

Back in London at the end of July the choir went to Fotheringhay and Cambridge. We actually go on a short choir trip every year. We sang a concert and an evening song with the children's choir.

Funnily enough, my brother and sister-in-law were in Cambridge at the same time. So we were able to spend time together again in England.

In the summer I often went to my new favorite place. In the park around the corner you can climb a small hill and watch the sunset. You also have a beautiful view of the London skyline, which gives you the feeling that you really live in London. Sometimes I went to the park every evening in the evening. Either with friends or alone, good to just wind down and relax.

Some will be familiar with the BBC Proms series. A classical concert is played every day at the Royal Albert Hall from July to September. It's often sold out well in advance, except for the tickets that you can buy on the day in the morning. And believe me waiting in that line when 2000 people are trying to get a ticket out of 1000 tickets at the same time, most of them standing tickets. Unfortunately it didn't work out at the beginning, but shortly before the concert I still got a ticket. For one evening I immersed myself in the world of film music. And the Royal Albert Hall is simply an experience in itself.

As mentioned before, I discovered SITZ for myself this year. I visited SITZ weekly in October and November. A weekly rehearsal in which you sing different pieces from different musicals. Just for yourself and without a concert at the end. Just a lot of musical nerds in one place.

And then autumn was just around the corner. In the fall I was visited again by various friends and family members. But I also went on vacation myself.

At the end of November I visited my cousin Konrad in Siena, Italy. We took a little tour of Tuscany together (Pisa, Siena, Florence) and I was able to see many different places.

December, a month full of Christmas parties, Secret Santa, baking, seeing friends and family.

We also had a Christmas dinner in my shared apartment. From time to time we have dinner together, where everyone contributes a share of the food. There was a good starter, typical English roast with baked potatoes and baked carrots and an Indian chicken curry. For dessert, a Swiss roll and a baked apple tiramisu. Incredibly delicious and I always really enjoy the activities we do together with my shared apartment.

It was also musical in December. We had quite a program with a big Carol Evensong, a concert and Carol singing in the streets of Dulwich.

Right now I'm in Germany with my family. We celebrated Christmas together and spend the time between the years together before I head back to London on the 31st.

Thank you for following me again this year and reading my blog. I was always happy about your feedback.

I wish you all a happy new year and look forward to a hopefully exciting 2024!