The Wombats + Phantasialand (aka the weekend of my dreams) || April 9, 2018

The day had finally come. Remember how I'd said I'd bought tickets to the Wombats concert before I'd even come to Germany? THE DAY HAD FINALLY COME.

So a little background for those of you who don't know of the Wombats at all, they're an alternative band and they became my favorite shortly after my friend introduced me to them during math junior year of high school (shoutout to Thomas, you're the best). So I've been listening to them for a while and I'm quite attached to them, especially because they were the first band I ever saw in concert (and they were absolutely amazing). That was near the end of 2016 and I've been going to as many concerts as I can ever since because they showed me how much fun they can be. I even already have plans to road trip to a show in Arizona this summer to go see them again, even though they're just the opener. So yeah, to say I was excited was an understatement.

Izzie and I headed to Köln early again, but this time around noon because I was determined that we be early to this concert. I finally had my first Primark experience (years of watching British youtubers left me with the need to see it for myself) and we met Austin there. After that we walked around a flea market and some other places before stopping for the most delicious treat I didn't even know existed: poutin. Seriously, I'd eat that every day if I could. And then it was time to head to the concert! We got in line outside just before they let us head in, so soon we had to say goodbye to Izzie (she didn't actually have a ticket at this point, Austin had bought the last one before they sold out, but she was going to wait outside and see if she could find one to buy off of someone) and inside we went. Austin and I got separated for a little bit because there was a small debacle surrounding my mobile ticket, but after I headed down to coat check and the restroom and returned back to the main floor, I found him pretty easily. We sat down for a while on the edge of the people already gathered but eventually I decided to stand up and edge my way up toward the front. I did pretty well too--second row!! The first opener played and they were alright but I was getting impatient. But then I hear behind me a familiar voice and out pops Izzie holding a ticket with a rather triumphant smile on her face. Just in time for the second opener. I was very disappointed when they came out to say the least because I was expecting the Wombats, but they were actually quite good (The Magic Gang, I believe) and I was pleasantly surprised. But on to the good stuff--

The set list:
Cheetah Tongue
Give me a Try
1996
Kill the Director
Black Flamingo
White Eyes
Techno Fan
Emoticons
Lemon to a Knife Fight
I Don't Know Why I Like You
Pink Lemonade
Jump Into the Fog
Moving to New York
Lethal Combination
Let's Dance to Joy Division
Turn
Tokyo (Vampires & Werewolves)
Greek Tragedy

At this point I know (and love) all of their songs, so I think I'd be super duper excited about any setlist they decided to put together, but still, I was super duper excited about the set list. Every new song brought wave of recognition and with it a feeling of pure joy. Concerts are great in general, but I think we can all agree it's a better experience listening to songs you know and can sing along to. And I knew them all. And I sang to them all. It was maybe the happiest I've ever been, especially after a group of girls left the front row and we snagged their spots. So there I was, in the FRONT ROW, the only thing between me and the music and the people making it was a yard of empty space, and I was having an absolute BLAST.

Unfortunately, the music had to come to an end eventually but the excitement didn't end there. Izzie managed to get me the only set list we saw them give out after the concert and boy oh boy, I had hearts in my eyes. I stopped at the merch table and got a shirt (it says EU Tour on the back, how could I not?) then we met up with other Austen and Jack outside the venue and headed home.

BUT THE EXCITEMENT DIDN'T END THERE!!

First off there was a little surprise waiting for me at home and then second we spent the next day at Phantasialand! THREE CHEERS FOR AMUSEMENT PARKS!!!

It took Izzie and I about an hour to get there (and we ran into a palace on the way!) and then, the real fun began. We made our way through almost all of the park and definitely hit all of the best rides in the process.

Here were my favs:

• Taron — MULTI. LAUNCH. COASTER. Need I say more?

• Black Mamba

• Colorado Adventure

• Mystery Castle — I don't want to spoil the surprise in case anyone who reads this ends up going, but let's just say it was quite the surprise. A mystery indeed.

Even though we'd come for the coasters, it was also really nice just to have a day with Izzie. She's one of the best friends I've made on this trip and I honestly don't know what I'd have done without her. It's kind of funny that we became friends because we're so so different from each other. She's high energy and is fully capable of chatting your ear off whereas I'm usually much more reserved. Yet, we work super well together. I think it's because we can have really great chats and joke around with each other and have fun a lot of the time, but also she can tell when I need my own space and she's fine just existing with me. Both of us in the same space, but no need to talk about what's going on or what we're thinking or what we're doing. Just existing. A lot of people find mutual silence uncomfortable and don't really seem to understand, let alone want it, but I think it forms a really close bond.