So many people ask me how “Ich Liebe Es” came to be. It’s funny, isn’t it? How a song that resonates with so many can spring from such a simple, personal moment. It wasn’t some grand, artistic revelation. It was… Bamberg.

The weight of Berlin – a pressure I hadn’t even fully acknowledged – finally lifted as I stood on Altenburg Castle’s ramparts. The sun-warmed stones beneath my bare feet, the town sprawling below in a tapestry of red rooftops and winding streets… it was a perfect summer day unfolding. The air, crisp and clean, carried the scent of linden trees and freshly cut grass. A balm to the soul, truly. A strange sense of homecoming, too, in a place I’d never been. Perhaps it was the shared human experience echoing through the ancient stones, a connection that transcended time and place.

That journey south… it was necessary. A chance to remember who I was beyond the labels – musician, performer, the girl from Sumter. Bamberg, with its rich history and vibrant spirit, offered a space to breathe, to simply be. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? How a place can feel so familiar when you’ve never set foot there.

Leaning against the railing, peace settled over me. Berlin’s hustle, the pressure, the constant striving… it all shrank, became insignificant in the face of this quiet beauty. A stark contrast, the city’s frantic energy versus the gentle rhythm of the town below. A reminder that balance is crucial, and that I’d somehow lost sight of it.

The sun warmed my skin, the breeze rustled my hair, a symphony of everyday life drifting up – church bells, children’s laughter, murmuring conversations. A simple melody, a reminder of the beauty in the ordinary. A melody I desperately needed to hear. A reminder that joy wasn’t about accolades, but about presence, about connection.

And then, I began to move. A gentle sway at first, responding to the town’s rhythm, the rhythm of my own heart. Then, more fluid, more expressive – a dance of pure joy, a release. No longer Hilda the musician, but simply Hilda, dancing in the sunshine. A shedding, a liberation. A return to the self I sometimes forgot existed beneath the weight of expectation.

As I danced, joy bubbled up. I stopped, breathless, a wide smile.

“I love it,” I said, the words a release.

“Ich liebe es,” I repeated, in German, the language of my heart now, too. It felt right, true. And then, instinctively, I sang the line, soft at first, then stronger. “Ich liebe es…” A song of belonging, a song of gratitude.

Bamberg filled my mind – cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses, friendly faces. The local beer, a symbol of community, of celebration. “Ich liebe es…” My voice soared on the breeze. A love song to the town, to the feeling it had unlocked within me.

A dandelion, a splash of yellow against ancient gray, caught my eye. I held it up, imagining fireworks, a vibrant explosion of joy against the blue. A symbol of the fire within. Fire. It resonated. The fire that drove me from Sumter, that fueled me through Berlin’s challenges. The fire that now burned bright, thanks to Bamberg. The fire I needed to nurture, to carry with me.

Eyes closed, sun on my face, wind in my hair, music in my heart. I knew what I had to do. Not stay in Bamberg, but carry its spirit back to Berlin. Weave its warmth, its joy, its sense of community into my music. Add another color to my art’s kaleidoscope. I am Hilda. Musician. Artist. Woman finding her way, her voice, her destiny. And I love it. Ich liebe es. And I will bring that love, that fire, back to Berlin. It was a decision born not just from my head, but from my heart, from the very core of my being. A decision born from joy, from peace, from the rediscovery of a self I had almost lost.

And that, I realized, was perhaps the greatest discovery of all.