Yo Ho Yo Ho...Let's Talk About... Piratengesindel

Who hasn't dreamt of being a pirate during childhood? With a tricorn, a pistol, cannons, sabers and of course: a ship?

There is a crew in Germany who has made this dream come true and they sail under the name Piratengesindel (German for pirate plebs). They have a whole show camp with a giant ship (24 meters long) and two masts (7 and 14 meters high), a lot of cannons, a guillotine, several gallows, flags...long story short: they love what they do.

Piratengesindel was founded in February 2014 and since then they have become a popular eyecatcher at the German medieval festival Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum (MPS) and call it their home port. 

The crew itself consist of six adults and two children and they all live in Lippstadt, Germany. Daniel is the Captain and the creative head of the crew and makes the construction plans for new items. His motto might be "If you can dream it you can do it" because for him nothing is impossible or too crazy to build. His wife Jenny and his son are also members of the crew and so are Jenny's sisters Tanja and James who are responsible for the decorations and James' son. Alongside the family there are Maik (Daniel's right hand) and Meg and together they are the greatest show crew I know.

Piratengesindel has a love for details because everthing just looks so amazing when you see their camp. May it be the huge amount of candlesticks, the fishing nets and shells or the tiny details you find on the giant ship (which btw has a height of four meters at it's stern.). Everything looks old and dirty, just like you imagine a pirate ship to look like that sails the seven seas for years.

Sailing with the crew is always an adventure because they are so awesome and funny. The tone might be rough sometimes - just very pirate-ish for obvious reasons- but in the end it is great to know them. You could end in the guillotine or their cage but when you beg for parlait and share your treasures with them (beer, rum or cookies) they will free you and invite you to their table.

(Photos by Holger Bär, Jürgen Merkens, Jürgen Uepping)

So when you're interested in getting to know Piratengesindel check out their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Piratengesindel/

Let's Talk About...Svenska

Europe is a continent with many languages...and I was lucky to learn some of them during school and due to living abroad and since October I am learning Swedish. It started as a joke because I have to do some extracurricular courses at uni, but since my boyfriend is Swedish it even makes sense now to learn this language. I have to say that I profit from being a native speaker of German since both languages have the same linguistic root and sometimes even sound alike. Soemthing I had to learn very quickly though was that words are not pronounced as they are written. Swedish people tend to swallow consonants at the end of the words like the word "jag" which means "I"...the 'g' is silent plus the 'a' is pronounced more like an open 'o'.

Jag heter Anni. - My name is Anni. (the 'r' is silent, too)

Furthermore Swedes have vowels that only exist in some Germanic related languages: 'ö' and 'å'.The 'a' with the circle is prounounced like a rounded 'o'. So as you can see the pronounciation it is a bit complicated for beginners. (BTW: the 'u' is pronounced like the German 'ü')

There are two more sounds - and I don't know how to describe them - that are super tough to pronounce. First of all the sound for (some) words written with 'sk' and 'sj'..it might sound like an English 'sh' but Swedes actually just breathe out while using it. It always reminds me of whistling without making a real sound. And then there is 'tj' which is almost the same - but different...you see, it gets a bit complicated here. 😁

Okay, that's enough theory...if you always wanted to be able to say something in Swedish I'm gonna give you some usefull phrases now:

Hej! - Hello!

Jag är...- I am..

Vad heter du? - What's your name?

Varifrån kommer du? - Where are you from?

Jag kommer från...- I am from...

Hur är läget? - How is it going?

Det är lugnt! Själv? - I am good! What about you?

Jag förstår inte. - I don't understand. (most important phrase to know, if you ask me XD )

Tyskland - Germany

Sverige - Sweden

Trevligt att träffas! - Nice to meet you!

Tack - Thanks

Hey då! - Bye

I really enjoy learning Swedish because I think it is always cool to know a lot of languages and I think it's a language that especially German native speakers can learn quite easily (except for the pronounciation though).


So that's it for now and lycka till (good luck) when you talk with someone from Sweden. 😎

Love, Anni

Ye Banished Privateers or: the Greatest Pirate Band I Know

If you've watched Pirates of the Caribbean you might think that you've seen some serious pirate action but let me tell you this: far away from wherever you live, in the north of Sweden, there is a city called Umeå. One of the things Umeå is famous for (apart from Stieg Larsson living there) are the birches that were planted after a huge fire back in the 19th century...well and the other thing that city is famous for is being the home port to the greatest pirate band I know: Ye Banished Privateers.

I remember when I first saw them which must have been sometime in 2013 or 2014 in a small town medieval pub called "Tack am Central". A friend of mine told me about this crazy pirate band I should check out so we went to Solingen and I have to admit that I was really impressed to find a huge group of insanely authentic looking pirates on a small stage. I've seen pirate bands before that I didn't really like so I imagined the Privateers to be just another one of those bands but the minute I entered that pub I was plainly and simply amazed. When they started playing I felt like I was in the middle of Pirates of the Caribbean because they weren't just good at singing but as well at performing. That night was a blast and I will always keep it in my mind. I also remember how down to earth everyone was because after the concert they didn't hide backstage but actually stood within the audience and talked with everyone.A day later I saw them again at the Role Play convention in Cologne and one more time I had such a good time. Their tunes were so catchy that I could sing along with them in no time.

Since then I've seen them so many times that I actually can't count it anymore. I am the proud owner of two of their albums and I was lucky enough to win a cover contest back in 2015 and had the chance to sing with them on stage at Pirates festival in Jülich, Germany which was plain crazy. It is one thing to see Ye Banished Privateers on stage- they're authentic, incredibly talented, entertaining and fun to watch- but being WITH them on a stage and stand beside them instead of in front of them is pure insanity. These lads and lasses have so much energy and give 110 percent on stage. It was one of the best things that happened so far in my life and I have to admit that I panicked a bit while being on stage with them because there is so much going on (and you have to know that they're usually about 10-12 people on stage): dancing and jumping and drinking and fighting - someone even gets drowned and one gets hanged. Not to mention the badass guitar and bass solos ( they are quite creative about this part and obviously very lose-jointed ;) ). So long story short: they're gigs are absolutely worth watching!!!

On their website the band describes their style as a mixture of sea shanties, Irish folk and 17th century rock and I can add that I've never heard music like their's before - it's unique. I really like their shanties like "You and me and the Devil makes Three" and so does the audience and sings along with the band. You just feel like dancing when you listen to the music of the Privateers. One thing I also love about them are their ballads. I remember that when I first saw them at that tiny pub in Solingen they played a song called "Fisher Lass" which is basically the most beautiful ballad I know. It is about a girl who waits for her lover only to find out that his ship sank and he will never return to her. The melody and the lyrics went straight to my heart and have never left it ever since. So if you don't know this song already: go ahead and listen to it on Youtube and I am sure you won't regret it.

I could name tons of songs now like my new favorite "Annabelle" which wasn't officially released yet but something I also wanted to mention is the community around the band. It must have been Christmas time 2014 when Björn's precious accordion was stolen after a gig in Hanover. This was a shock for everyone and people quickly decided to help him get it back. Unfortunately it was lost - a nightmare for every musician...until someone came up with the idea of donating money so that Björn could buy a new accordion. This turned into one of the coolest actions I've heard of so far and it became quite a charity event. Enough money was raised and Björn was able to buy an awesome accordion. The band later thanked everyone who donated with a song (which was super funny btw) and the fanclub was born.

The Privateers of Libertalia (the name was inspired by YBP's album The Legend of Libertalia and the song by this name) are the official fanclub of Ye Banished Privateers and I have to admit that I am happy to be a part of these crazy people because there is always someone coming up with a cool idea like a flash mob at a concert, a christmas action, surprising the band with a banner or saving money for kids in need....what I love about the fanclub is the atmosphere. Everyone is friendly and we are just like one big family, sticking together and having fun at the festivals. I've got to know so many great people through the fanclub, people I wouldn't miss anymore.

Besides all the fun Ye Banished Privateers speak out for equality in any case. May it be about the refugees coming to Europe or gender equality. The band has its opinion about it and doesn't hide it. Something I think is really important nowadays because there is too much hatred in this world. Their songs are about freedom and having the choice to live without any pressure like "Libertalia" which is one of my favorites from them. So one more time: check them out on Youtube or Spotify or better: buy their CD!! ;)

All in all, I am happy that I know Ye Banished Privateers and I could go on and on about their amazing members and music and how it inspires me. I am quite picky about bands I like but this band is really effing awesome. Hopefully they will release a new CD this year since everyone ( including me) is eagerly waiting for it but until then I'll just count on seeing them live a lot this year.

If you wanna know more about this band or their tour dates you should check out their website:

http://yebanishedprivateers.com/

facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/YeBanishedPrivateers/

or Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEcxXAc938ASv-Yljju-yDg/featured

Have fun and lots of love,

Anni

Photos by Magic Moments Event Pictures

What I watch on Netflix lately: Reign (CBS)

I am really into historical TV shows like "Game of Thrones" or "The Tudors" because I love the costumes and authenticity of these shows - well "GoT" is fantasy but it is still great. But at the moment I am re-watching CBS' "Reign" which follows the young Mary Queen of Scots during her time at the French Court. So as promising as this show sounds its plain awful.
I mean the story is actually as good as other historical shows like the ones mentioned above but what really sucks about this show are the costumes. I dunno if it's because it's an American show and America's history doesn't include the Middle Ages but how the hell can the women on the show wear dresses that look like they come from Fashion Week ( there's actually proof that they do)?!? Short-sleeved, spangled, bling-bling dresses made of sheer fabrics....WTF!?!
The story of the show has it all: love, intrigues, war..all you expect from a show like this but these damn costumes annoy me so much. The men are dressed historically correct so why not do the same with the women? I don't get it. So every time I see that show I could vomit on the screen because of those stupid and ridiculous costumes. Unfortunaltely, I like the story so I keep watching it...
Another thing that is absolutely dumb are the names of the characters...Lady Lola...LOLA!? Are you kidding me??? The show takes place in 1557....who the hell gave that girl that name?!
As a conclusion I can say that this show is a hate'n'love thing but whoever is responsible for the costumes and names should go back to history class and learn some proper stuff about the Middle Ages. Please!?

Have a nice evening! :)

Love, Anni

Me? A Blogger?

Test....test..test...is this thing on? 

For a very long time I had the idea of blogging...I know it is quite fashionable now but there are so many things that I would like to write about so I decided to give it a try. I have absolutely no idea about websites, settings or anything other computer related so you have to be very patient with me. What I am planning to do is blogging about my life, my adventures and hobbies, my travels or just writing about things that are on my mind. So this might become a very colorful blog one day.

So yeah, this is it for now.

Let the adventure begin!!!

Love, Anni