Jun 17, 2023 3 min read Germany 2023

Day 78: My First Rave

A Full Week

Yesterday, thankfully, was a slow work day. I spent the day working from home. There are days when I really need to block out a few continuous hours for focused work, and having the flexibility to work from home in a quiet environment is really helpful. With just under a few working days left, I have a lot of coffee chats and lunches with co-workers before I head back lined up for the remaining few working days.

(Coffee + Cake) x 2

For some reason, I didn’t have much of an appetite yesterday. In the middle of the morning, I walked over to Treiber to grab a coffee and a pastry. I had a small espresso and another Streuselschnitte slice. The combination really hit the spot.

As lunch rolled around, I wasn’t particularly hungry again, so I decided to work through it. There was no use stuffing myself if I wasn’t hungry. At around 3:00PM or so, I was craving something to snack on. I didn’t do any grocery shopping last week, so I didn’t have anything appealing in the apartment. So, I opted to head over to Strohberg yet again. I couldn’t resist the temptation, so I had another coffee and a slice of cake. This time it was a latte macchiato and a slice of something delicious with lemon 👌🏾. This was a good conclusion to the day. I had no desire to look at a computer screen for any longer.

What the Title Says

I tagged along with some friends to an “outdoor” rave / dance party on a boat along the Neckar River, across from the Mercedes-Benz Arena and the Mercedes-Benz Museum at Fridas Pier. This is my first time ever attending one (although there was a time in Tulum at a beach club which came close). To be honest, I think the real rave starts at around 1:00AM, but we didn't stick around that long (thankfully!)

Now, it’s not my first time listening to this style of music (electronic-house-EDM-whatever-the-accurate-sub-genre-term-it-is). I’m a fan of late ‘90s/early ‘00s techno and electronic music. My go-to genres are tropical house (think Kygo) and (classic, alternative) rock (think U2, RHCP, Linkin Park, The Killers), but I listen to almost everything. Like everything (country, opera, Afro-beats, Bollywood, etc.). Again, I’m not good with terminology, especially with the names of sub-genres, which get really specific and niche really quickly, so I can’t say as to what genre the DJs tonight would be considered.

I just know that the music was great, the crowd was a lot of fun, and the weather and view up and down the Neckar was beautiful. We arrived at about 7:00PM and left close to 11:30PM. This place starts the party early. This was a welcome blessing. I didn’t have the energy to go out late into the night and early morning, so coming home before midnight was perfect. Also, I didn’t want to deal with the typical rave goers who enjoy other substances to alcohol. I just stuck to my beer and Moscow Mule, and tried my best to dance in a sensible way to the music.

All in all, the evening was a lot of fun and a nice way to kick-off the weekend. Thank you Fabian and Greta for the invite!