Ahhh, the snow has melted, the sun is showing its face again — and we’re still here!
For those of you who missed it, we had planned a lot for the end of the year and early 2021, but unfortunately Corona is still a thing... For most people, 2020 was a challenging year in many respects. The project, overall, had a good year.
Things we didn’t get to do:
We wanted to have some Christmas carols at the station, but that couldn’t happen.
We had planned a Folk gathering for New Year... but, you know, Corona!
We had events, courses and concerts planned for 2021, but many events have already been cancelled and others are uncertain.
Despite these setbacks and disappointments, we decided to make the time as productive as possible.
Here are some things we’ve been able to do:
The team looked in great detail at the financial situation of the project.
We went through multiple funding applications.
Ali continued his hard work in planning and renovations.
We discussed possible schedules for future cultural activities, if corona allows.
We’ve also spent time connecting with other wonderful people and projects in Saxony, including the great people at “Roots & Sprouts”, a Leipzig-based association. Once Corona calms down, we look forward to coordinating events alongside them. We also had time to grow as a team and practice music together., einem Leipziger Verein. Sobald es möglich ist, freuen wir uns darauf, gemeinsam mit ihnen Veranstaltungen zu koordinieren.
We also had time to grow as a team and practice music together.
Polar Bears and Penguins
Things got very cold, with the low of -17c. Most areas of the Bahnhof were at freezing temperature, with ice forming on door handles. We started calling the entire ground floor “the fridge”, and disconnected our actual fridge since we didn’t need it! And we sometimes had to thaw out our food before we could cook. Thankfully the penguins and polar bear didn’t get in and eat everything.
The Bahnhof has two working stoves close to eachother, so even when we were not focused on Bahnhof work but our own personal remote work, we sat in the same three rooms, keeping close to the warmth.
Many people in the community kindly checked in to ask if we were doing okay! A special thank you to Frau Winkler who very kindly donated coal for our oven.
Leisnig’s natural landscape is beautiful in the summer, and stunning in winter. In our time out, we’ve explored the surroundings and every day we fall a little deeper in love.
We were also picked up by the great Ethno World Podcast who introduced the project to an International Folk Music audience through this Interview.
WE HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR MAY!!!
We all need something to look forward to. We want to make 2021 a great year. We are making preparations for the Beer garden. It’s going to be a fun, vibrant space for everyone to enjoy a drink, soak in the sunshine and hang out in a friendly atmosphere. There will also be plenty of entertainment, with cultural events and music.
This project is all about bringing people together, and the beer garden has always been an important part of our plan. So even if Corona doesn’t allow us to enjoy the full experience, we will still hope to provide ‘take away drinks’ with some nice live music for you to enjoy.
Thank you, as always, to everyone who has helped out, contributed, supported and donated to the project.
The Bahnhof Team
PS: In the depths of winter lockdown, Chris had a bit of time to put together a little ‘documentary’ showing a day in the life in the Bahnhof. You can view it here.
