My New Map, Finding Wherever There Is

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there" - Lewis Carroll

I plan to move to Germany, but I have only a faint idea at this point where I will land.   Since I am trying to downside downsize my life, I thought it was not appropriate for me to give myself a Christmas present that I couldn't use either immediately, or take overseas with me.  While I was in Jacksonville, FL for my last of six Handel's Messiah gigs, I wandered into Borders to do some holiday shopping and found this $12 map of central Europe.

Granted, I am like 99% of Americans who, if you stuck a blank map of Europe in front of them, they could probably fill England, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Russia...and get pretty much everything else on the map wrong.   Shoot, half of Americans can't name all 50 states on a map of the United States. (Is it Vermont next to New York, or New Hampshire?)   Makes you wonder if we didn't learn this stuff back when we were in school, are these things on "the test" that our teachers are teaching to today?  Anyway, I digress.

So, I find this map in the store.   I actually tend to have a very good sense of direction.  (I am not afraid to ask for directions if I am lost, though)  I can follow a map.  I can follow a GPS.   Perhaps this has to do with living in several different places like Atlanta and suburban Washington, DC where you must have a car to get around.   I have a good sense of where I am going, and usually if I have been there once (unless there are a zillion turns involved)  I can get there again!  

...Europe...Germany....now that is another issue.  I know that Berlin is in the east, Munich is in the south, Hamburg is in the north, Frankfurt is west central, and Cologne is west.   This is probably better than most, but if you start spitting out smaller cities to me, I really have no idea.   I know that the land area of Germany is about 1/2 the square mileage of Texas and is roughly the same as Montana, but with a zillion more people. (actually closer to 85 times more people than Montana)  The fun thing is that there is about 50x more classical  music (not a scientific number at all) performed there than here, and getting to much if it is like taking a train from New York to Boston (or less)!

So, I have my map in hand.  It is time for me to figure out where all of these towns and cites are, so I can plan an audition tour and figure out who to sing for and where.

First step...learn my map!  However, I am sure that any road I take, will get me there, wherever there is.