I awoke in Görlitz, a German city, on the edge of the Polish Border, (Go over any of the bridges in the center of the city, and you're in Poland!) -in the flat of Rowan Kunitz, and his Girlfriend, Michelle. I know Rowan, and his brother Everett from dancing together in Banff, all those years ago, and now they both work in the theater of Görlitz.

This city was a surprise for me: my imagination had made it out to be a small, half-run-down, simple, relatively poor Eastern German city, with more than a hint of its Polish past, (meaning more run down and rural.) Certainly, as far as Germany is concerned, it's on the edge of the world. (Twice, on the way there, a message was sent to my mobile phone, welcoming me to Poland, because theirs was the only network available.)

The Reality, however, is that this is a cultural, Historic place, which has has wealth, trade, and THINGS going on. It has more than eighty Historic buildings, all kept in good order, (including some place that Napoleon stayed, where you can look right up at this little balcony he had made speeches from.) And in tandem with these... buildings, a college has grown, which specificaly teaches restoration, and preservation techniques.

This city used to have a patent on Blue Dye, so that all the royal families of Europe got things dyed by them. In fact, Rowan's home, where I stayed, was once a house for dying fabric. This city is even a very good candidate for Germany's "Cultural Capital" which is elected every five years or something. It has got That much culture... and I found it wholly strange and unexpected.

Anyhow, I had my private audition at 10:00, semi-private; there were two other girls auditioning in the class that morning.And I felt... mediocre, by my standards. And perhaps a low-mediocre, compared to the others there. Considering that one of the muscles in my left hip is painful, and can't work properly, I felt that I did all right though. The Ballet Director was unimpressed however, and said that he needed better technique there. Fair enough.

I guess it is time for me to sign the contract in Lüneburg.

So, I left the theater, and went powerwalking through the city to the train station. -Nearly. My direction was not completely clear, and I ended up being three blocks off my mark. I'm not sure that I would have caught the train if I had gone directly straight there, but as it was, I was five minutes late.

I took my time then, to buy my ticket, and have some lunch, and focus myself. I then got on the 1:00 train, which would get me back to my rehearsal in Detmold at 8:20; an hour and a half late. I'd cleared it up already though, so this was expected. Just as the train was pulling out of the station however, I read an SMS informing me that I wouldn't be needed at all in Rehearsal; I had the night free. -"But it's too late to see the church or parks of Görlitz!" I thought. "Too late by one and a half seconds!

Ah well; Such is life.I decided instead, to spend the extra couple of hours in Berlin, and to catch the last train to Detmold from there. (My journey had a stop in Berlin anyhow, and I was free to lengthen it however I pleased.) I had been through Berlin the day before, on my way to Görlitz, and it looked inviting, (with great old cathedrals, and brick railway hotels, grassy promenades, and lazy, elegantly bridged rivers.)

I then thought of the one person I knew in Berlin: Liis! And was gloriously pleased when I called her, and found out that she Did have time to meet for an hour. Liis... perhaps has never been properly described by me. She's from Estonia and studied Opera Directing. I met her in Vanemuine, when she was creating her very first production: Salakütt, ("Die Wildschütz",in it's original German.) On the odd afternoon then, when neither she, nor I was working, we got to know each other, and were glad of the good company. I'd say that... she's 100% wonderful person, and 40% great friend. Why so? Simply because we never see each other anymore. I think we've only met two or three times since she was in Tartu working on that production.

Well, Liis has now graduated, as well as becoming a mother last September (!!) (Congratulations!) to her Beautiful Alexandra. I got to meet both of them, in the lovely German capitol, and we went for a walk, seeing this Opera house, and that university, this library, (Oh Gosh! What a library, with the statues, the Ivy, and the Fountain!) and that Church. (And then... another concert hall, college, archives, and cathedral.) -and so on.

And I found out that after our hour, she only had 15 to 20 minutes that she needed to meet someone, so if I'd wait, we could talk more afterwards. So... I held sweet little Alexandra, while Liis met with someone and organized schedules, (And what a sweet little baby she is!) and then we leisurely went back to the train station, and I got the last train coming home.

It was lovely talking to this kind, gentle soul again, and she... wished me well with Pamela. That was the last thing she said to me, as we parted this afternoon: I was wishing her continued joy, which is what she feels so fully right now, and she told me... to take care of my darling. (I didn't actually understand completely, because she chose to say it in German, but... that just made me focus on and think about it more; Take care of her! Take care of what you have! Be careful, and preserve your bond. Any of those interpretations are... applicable. And all of them -ought to be followed.)

Isn't that true?

For what is more important than love?
-I become romantic, pensive, and poetic. It's likely best if I stop writing.   But First...

The wise one said "Go seek your joy!"
"Discover one who's Dear!"
"There's untold years still there for you
In which you'll find a love that's true.
You're barely older than a boy;
There's naught for you to fear.

The wise one said, "Preserve your Joy!"
And "Look after your dear!"
You've found a suiting match at last
Your lonely, searching time is past
You've finished dreaming, like a boy;
Now share your lives with cheer.