This album, with its 13 new tracks, is a memory of some unforgettable vacations on an old country estate on the German Baltic Sea between Kiel and Eckernförde.
The gravel crunched under the tires of the light blue VW Golf as we drove along the avenue. Tall trees swaying in the wind cast dancing shadows on the path that led directly to the manor house. Through the estate’s avenue, one could see directly out to sea. The estate, nestled somewhere between rapeseed fields and the salty Baltic Sea breeze, seemed like it had stepped out of time.
It was the summer of 1976, warm and full of shimmering days. My parents had been recommended the estate as a vacation spot by friends. For me, it was paradise: the creaking floorboards underfoot, the buzzing of bees in the overgrown garden, and behind the house, the small path that led through a patch of woods to an abandoned tractor. I could spend hours there, thinking about what it had been like long ago.
The house smelled of old books, linen, and floor wax. The furniture was solid and heavy; each piece seemed to tell a story. In one room stood an old grand piano, which a guest often played. On the walls hung pictures of the landowners’ ancestors. When I looked at them, I always had the feeling of being watched and protected at the same time.
In my memory, I still lie on white beaches, hike across deserted cliffs, explore old fishing villages, and admire the 1972 Olympic Village in Kiel-Schilksee with its multitude of yachts and sailboats.
The days passed slowly, in an almost magical way. Waking up early in the morning and seeing the light breaking through the old shutters and hearing the wind in the tall, old trees – that was happiness.
We were able to spend four summers there, until 1979. They were only a few summers, but they stretch out in my memory, to this day, full of warmth, sounds, and smells that I will never forget.
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