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| Sunset in the Bavarian Outback © P.K. |
So shut that buckle and turn that key again
Take me to a place they say the dreaming never ends
Open wide, drive that mystery road
Walk through eden's garden and then wonder as you go
- Midnight Oil
Allow me to take you on a journey to the past. Back in the early '90s when I still was a teenage boy - and the Internet not even born yet - young people like me interested themselves in music and television. Those were the glory days of MTV where they actually played music videos instead of commercials and reality soaps. A whole new world of vision and sound has been opened to the young and hungry minds for a couple of years now. As soon we laid our ears and eyes upon such master pieces like Michael Jacksons Thriller and clips by Madonna, U2, Depeche Mode, Billy Idol, New Order, Iron Maiden, Talk Talk, Genesis, etc. have been on air 24/7, we all did what's not so common anymore these days: we went out to the next record store and bought all their CD's. Of course we've been also doing the whole sharing thing back then just like today. But instead of copying gigabytes of harddrive space we spent hours, weeks even, recording those long forgotten cassete tapes. And we called those 'Party Mix Tape #1' or 'Best Mix Ever!'.
And this, my dear friends, was the age where I've fallen in love for the first time. Not with a girl you fools - I'm a geek and ever was. Anyhow, my heart's been stolen by the strange sound of a wind instrument which I couldn't quite make a picture of back then. But I just love strange and queer things which twist your imagination and seem to bend reality into a new and unknown angle of perception. The first time I crossed paths with this awesome sound was when my best friend shared a new CD with me. And behold - it was from a Band called Midnight Oil. When I listened to it, I was thrilled. Queer guitar sounds, harmonicas, organs, crooked vocals and of course mixed in this typical roaring sound resembled by a didgeridoo.
Soon I connected a name to all these new experiences: Australia. And hence began my passion for this red continent down under. Remember it was the early 90s so Google was out of the question! For information I had to rely completely on classic media like books and travel guides. Documentaries and of course the great influential output of Australian Rock Bands. I even requested Immigration Forms from the Australian Embassy to check on the conditions to permanently move there, which were not at all encouraging. You either had to be a millionaire, a rocket scientist or married to an australian gal. Neither of those seemed accomplishable to me by that time - mind I was 16.
So here we are now back in 2010. Almost twenty years later and i've never forgotten about my Dreamworld. It is truly amazing how music can influence your mind and connect it with things you haven't either seen or touched only by creating a deep longing for new experiences. And in a couple of weeks I'll be even flying there to visit. It's just so mindboggingly unbelievable to see one's childhood dream fulfilled at last. I am perfectly aware that one longs most for the things which are the farthest away. That might have been a problem 20 years ago. But now I am just deeply thankful and happy to be able to join a very good old friends wedding at Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, 14.000 miles away from my home town.
From November 1st on I will be trying to describe my experiences and emotions on my three week journey through Terra Australis Incognita, the legend of the great unknown land of the south.
Until then, my dearest readers, stay safe and be well.
ph|l
