Have Accordion, Will Travel

Summer's End

Wow. I haven’t posted anything for weeks now. Sorry about that. Here’s the belated wrap-up.

Istanbul, as you can see in the last video, was different and unforgettable. I had finally reached the edge of the Middle East and it left me wanting more. Sometime, someday, eastern Turkey beckons.

So I made it to Istanbul. When I take a step back, I realize that is something in itself. The journey there was harder than I thought, that’s for sure. I made some huge planning mistakes - two and a half months of European capitals turned out to be an exercise in masochism. Sure, each one is beautiful. But when everywhere you’re seeing is beautiful, it all starts to blend into sameness. I should have mixed in a few crappy destinations. Because then, you have something to judge by. Still, I saw some wonderful things. And even more importantly, I hung out with some wonderful people. To my friends both old and new, thank you so much.

The busking was not as smooth as I’d hoped. It got better as I reached France and Austria, but never did I make more than 20 euros or so. I wonder if the days of “busking across Europe” are over. Nevertheless I played in almost every city I visited. I met plenty of people and - how’s this for seeing the upside? - I got over any apprehension of playing in front of indifferent crowds. Which is not to say that people didn’t enjoy the music. Many did. From their reactions I learned that Irish music has a reputation across Europe and a distinctive energy that is all its own.

Over the many hours I spent playing on the street, visiting artists, listening to concerts, seeing museums, and hearing Beyonce piped into sidewalk cafes, I came up with a few general ideas and guidelines for a life in art:

• Good music has the power to be heard all over the world
• Make your house your own and it will improve your creativity
• Don’t be afraid to branch out and shake things up
• Do work that can stick around, ie. recordings and compositions

I learned some other things, too, mainly lessons about being self-employed. For numerous reasons I’m not going to mention them here. But suffice it to say that this was the Summer of Lesson Learned.

This summer, more than what to do, I learned what not to do.

And that can be a valuable thing.

-    -     -

I have no idea who’s reading this, but if you are or did, thank you! I hope you enjoyed following along on the trip.

Right now I’m currently settling into a year in Galway, Ireland. I’ve had great adventures even in the last week, but you know what? I’m ready to be off camera for a while.

Keep an eye on this space and on my other website, dangurney.net. I’ll post updates from time to time, and maybe even videos, once I’ve had some time to recover! I have a few big things in the works - a new music-oriented website that will be related to a U.S. tour this winter, a new book, and, most of all, TONS of music.

After all, that’s why I’m here.

Keep in touch, thanks for reading, and all the best,

- Dan

Istanbul!

Fast-forward one surprisingly painless night bus ride, and here I am in Istanbul.

It was really tough to leave the farm, especially since a couple great new volunteers had arrived and things were getting better and better. But I said goodbye to that little corner of Bulgaria, pushed the five kittens off my lap, and got on the bus for Istanbul.

Luckily, Istanbul is awesome. I had a somewhat idealized expectation of “East meets West” but you know what? It’s mostly true. On the tram ride to my hotel, I caught a breathtaking glimpse of the Blue Mosque glistening in the morning sun. It was one of those moments that you know will stick with you even as it’s happening.

Today I walked around Sultanahmet and some of the area across the river, and it’s easy to see how Istanbul has been the center of the world for quite a long time. All kinds of influences mix together here. I feel like I’m seeing a bit of everything - a little Asia, a little Western Europe, a little India, etc.

And for 22 euros, I have a real hotel room, with a bathroom and - this is a first - A/C. Tomorrow I’m going to explore the Grand Bazaar and try out a Turkish Bath.

Now: bed.

Tech issues

For some reason the videos aren’t showing up right now … I think it’s something to do with the fact that I’m in Turkey, where Youtube is outlawed. I’ll see if I can fix it, but more likely it will fix itself in three days once I’m in Ireland.

Update

I’m quickly losing track of time. The date, and to a certain extent the actual time, doesn’t really matter here. Daylight is the thing you plan your life around.

I’ve been getting up at 8, working for around 5 hours, having lunch, and then relaxing, reading, playing music until dinner. In the nights we’ve had bonfires with neighbors and last night we watched the meteor shower in an incredibly starry sky.

One interesting thing about Voditsa is that a number of Kathy’s (my host’s) volunteers have ended up buying property and moving here. Property is CHEAP. You can get a house and land for maybe 10,000 euros. The daily cost of living is tiny compared to what it is in America or western Europe. For example, a meal at a good restaurant costs around 4 lev. That’s 2 euros. Buying fresh ingredients is of course even cheaper. Living here, you’re missing out on many of the “comforts” of developed nations, but from this perspective a lot of those comforts are more like distractions.

So for an impoverished college grad, this can be an attractive situation. It helps to have a job you can do via the internet - and for which you’re getting paid in American dollars.

I doubt I’ll be moving to Bulgaria anytime soon. But the wheels are turning. I have a couple longer-term ideas….

Bulgaria

So due to the limited internet here, I can’t post pictures or videos - although having any internet at all is quite an achievement, considering it’s a town of 900 in rural Bulgaria!

I’ve gradually started to settle into the routine here. It’s so nice to just take things slow. Even though I didn’t mention this much on the blog, I was getting completely burned out by city after city, museum after museum. I was in denial for a week and then I realized I couldn’t take it any more. What was I thinking when I planned this trip?? Two and a half months of large European cities is manageable for a month, maybe a month and a half, but after that it’s too exhausting to keep up.

And then, that kind of mood is NOT the way to visit a place like Romania, where you need to be constantly on your guard against pickpockets and overcharging. Romania, in fact, was a low point. I felt surrounded by a sense of .. well… claustrophobia and menace. I decided to move on as soon as I got there, which led to 20 hours of trains in 2 days.

But.

Here I am in Voditsa, Bulgaria. Getting here was hilarious. I took 4 trains (one of which was going out of service, and I got on, wondering why it was empty, and watched helplessly as it started moving away… the conductor had to run down the platform yelling to the driver to stop… after which I walked back into a train station of laughing Bulgarians) and then I took a taxi to this town. I forgot to write down the directions so we asked people in town for the “Anglichinka” - the Englishwoman who runs the farm. Of course, everyone knew exactly who she was. And apparently within 15 minutes word had gotten around town that she had an American guest working for her.

Yesterday I cleared the onion patch. In the evening, along with my host at the farm and a couple from Holland camping here, we went to the “secret” town pool, unmarked and fed by mineral springs. Then we stopped at the “secret” supermarket - an unmarked doorway into an apartment building - to pick up supplies for dinner.

This is just what I need.

And it hasn’t escaped me that, ironically, I was so exhausted from sightseeing that the only cure is full-time manual labor.