Lily’s big birthday present this year was 2 tickets to see Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. To say she was excited would be a major understatement. She had a plan – get her nails done, braid blue into her hair, make a ton of friendship bracelets, and go shopping for an outfit. She knew that she wanted to put together an outfit from the Reputation era (I didn’t know this was a thing), and she loved what she found. I think she looked pretty stinking cute.

Jay drove us all to Gelsenkirchen, including Ty’s friend Garry who is a Swiftie. We arrived in town early enough to grab some lunch before heading to the stadium. The people watching at a Taylor Swift concert is fantastic. Pretty much everyone was dressed up as one of her album themes (or in a Kelsey jersey). Lily traded several bracelets with people. We arrived at the stadium entrance about an hour before they opened the gate, but then were one of the first people inside. We went to the bathroom (the lines were crazy long all night – both the women’s and the men’s (full of women)), then hit up the merch booth to get some swag.

The opening act was good, but I wasn’t familiar with them and can’t remember their name… And then the countdown time to Taylor started. Lily was SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!! Watching her in that moment is going to forever be in my top 10 mother/daughter moments. I mean, I knew she was excited, but I wasn’t expecting her to be THAT excited. It was adorable.

I am not a Swiftie, but I have always liked her music. I saw her open for someone at The Mark in the Quad Cities many years ago, back in the old Tim McGraw days. She made an impression on me then – hard for an opening act to do. But this concert, with her front and center, was incredible. The entertainment factor was off the charts. She managed to capture the attention of 50,000 people for over 3 hours. Her creativity, energy, use of LED bracelets, dancers, costumes….all genius. I have a new respect for her.

Nails….check!!
Hair…check!!
Friendship bracelets…check!!
I think we are all ready to head to Gelsenkirchen!!
Gelsenkirchen had little Swiftie surprises all over town.
Jay and Ty dropped Lily, Garry, and I off for a short walk to the stadium. Lily’s “fit” was fire. 🙂
At the gate. So. Excited!!!!
The suspense is building!
Our seats were great. I cannot imagine being one of the thousands standing down on the floor.
Show me you went to a concert in Germany without telling me you went to a concert in Germany
“Best. Day. Ever.”

As the concert came to a close and we walked back to our meeting point to catch our ride to our Air BNB, Lily was tired, the crash after the adrenaline rush. But she crashed with a giant smile on her face. I almost didn’t fork over the cash to buy the tickets, because let’s be honest, they were stupid expensive. But given the chance to do it all over again, I 100% would. If you have the opportunity to see TS live, take it.