November 21, 2009
We are currently on the train to Brussels where we will transfer for the 3rd time and ride a Eurostar (bullet train) into London. We just finished some sandwiches and in Europe they do not put mustard or mayonnaise on them only butter. This time they were dry, but we were hungry and it was better than nothing. Here are a few more pics from yesterday.
Mic at the Interblatt Cafe in Gronau
Mic with the owner, Mesut, of the Interblatt Cafe after many Hurricanes
Hopefully I can make a last European post from London…Seeya then ~ J
November 20, 2009
Shell station where they sell kindling and beer next to the gas pumps.
We are back at the hotel preparing for bed. Tomorrow is the last gig and it will be a busy day getting to London. Here’s the Gronau pictures and hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get online, however it will be a so busy I’m not sure I can…so I may be posting London from California…
Yes...it's a Ford swing for little kids
Our hotel
Tour Bus
Roger and David taking a walk
Smokey, Hunter, Bella and Penny this sign's for you.
One of Two Churches in Town
After Gig Bratwurst
We're coming home soon baby we love you...Mom
November 19, 2009
Amager Bio Copenhagen..there aren't any restaurants near it
- Mic and Hokan on the train from Oslo
My connection is really slow, so hopefully I can get my post finished tonight. Last night we were in Copenhagen and it was rainy, windy and cold. The hotel was nice and the venue was good. TOP sold out and the crowd enjoyed the band.
During the train ride Mic and I met a drummer from Sweden named Hokan Nyberg who is from Malmo and is a David Garibaldi fan. He plays in the Nationaltheatre Rockorkestra. I will be posting a picture of Mic and Hokan once I can get a connection in which I can post pictures.
We are in Gronau for 2 nights and heading to London on Saturday. We had a wonderful dinner at the hotel. We enjoyed salads from the salad bar, cream of tomato soup, and I had perch in a coconut curry sauce and Mic had beef and chicken with mushrooms and potatoes in a light gravy.
It will take us 8 hours on 4 different trains (3 transfers) and the tour bus will take about 10 hours to get to London. We will be traveling under the English channel in a tunnel on the bullet train…it should be interesting. We traveled once again on the ferry from Copenhagen traveling from Denmark to Germany and this time it was during the day, so we got to see the channel crossing. We fell asleep and the conductor had to wake us up to get us off the train and we were the last people off. Everyone gets off the train when it is on the ferry. The London gig is supposed to a be big deal, so hopefully all will go well. I’ll try and keep you posted.
Typical sideview pic of the TOP horns who are the best in the business
Fehmarnbelt Straight...Ferry Crossing
Typical Swedish train food bowl. In front there are these little chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips. They made me think of Matt. Hey Matt no one watches the bowl, so you could have them all. No stuck smiles on these little babies.
German train...We found that Swedish trains were our favorites
German emblem on the train...yes it's a Mic pic
Ferry Crossing Map...another Mic pic
Mic's dinner in Gromau...German food isn't pretty, but it tastes good
My perch dinner. It was delicious.
Mic thought this was cool. It's Grappa named Julia. Grappa is a liquor made from grape skins. Adolfo likes it, but I think it tastes nasty.
Our backyard...still the best place on earth.
We will be walking to the town of Gronau today where the venue Burgerhalle is located. Gronau is very suburban and reminds me of Hayward. We had to walk 5 kilometers from the rail station to get the hotel with all our luggage last night. Mic and I have had to be resourceful to get from the train stations to the hotels. It is important to stay out of the way of bikes. They have their own paths and get really upset when luggage toting Americans gets in their way. Sometimes we take busses, cabs or we walk. It normally requires asking 3 people to find our way. My job is to look for the person most likely to speak English.
I’ll make sure that I get a lot of pictures today. The gig is at the Gronau rock ‘n’popmuseum. I think you can look it up at http://www.rock-popmuseum.de/
Seeya soon!
November 17, 2009
You were not expecting Marilyn as opening huh?
- Happy guys
Oslo is an interesting city. Like most European cities there is old mixed with new. They filled up the venue on a Tuesday night and like the other cities people are walking around late in the night. We had dinner at Santinos, which was an excellent Italian restaurant. I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures. So far our best meals have been in Ingolstadt and now Oslo. Overall I have been rather disappointed with the cuisine. I really thought the countries would have much more identity in terms of dishes. Germany definitely had more identity than Switzerland, Sweden and Norway. Indian and Turkish foods are popular in all the cities. They have 7-11’s everywhere, as well as Burger King and McDonalds.
Hey Meg and John creepy hallway at the hotel, huh
Mic and Adolfo heading to sound check
Our hotel at night..Nice lobby and restaurant and likly very expensive but tiny rooms and no big beds
Bowling in Oslo
Trumpet Lube
It always looks nasty after it has been picked at
No caption ncessary
Getting ready
November 17, 2009
The train ride was awesome. We passed through Sweden to Norway and Norway reminded us of Maine or Vermont, but with more waterways. There were pine forests and many vacation homes. It was nice to be in the country and out of big cities for the afternoon. I couldn’t get many pictures, because the train was moving along quickly, so this was the best I could do.
Here's Mic
View from the train...It wasn't the pretty part
A train stop along the way
Apple juice and Mic we think it might have been organic they use the word "eco" instead
Bridge in the distance
Town along the way...the sign on the telephone pole has the name
While you all in bed sleeping in the USA we were passing through this little town at 2:00 pm
Cute name
Our hotel for one night and they don't have double beds they push two singles together...Hello Lucy!
Well we're in Oslo now and we were stopped by an undercover custom officer as we left the train
More Oslo
It’s been rainy, but isn’t supposed to snow until later this week. We traveled from the Baltic Sea near Malmo to Oslo, which is near the North Sea. We are getting a Russian tv channel here, because we are so close to Russia. Wow…my head is spinning and I seriously need some REAL Mexican food!
November 17, 2009
We arrived at the train station and located the hotel after asking only 3 people. It was raining, but we avoid taxis, because it feels like we are always being ripped off. The room was so small we couldn’t open both suitcases, but it was likely an expensive hotel. The venue was a cool old building that was a pretty nice hang. We walked to the venue as well. Stockholm feels like a safe city. People are walking at all hours. It was a Monday night and they almost sold out. The crowd including children were parting hard. Here you go! Oh and we ate Mexican food, but it was pseudo- Mexican at best and only filled our tummys and fixed our hunger.
The room at the Scandic Hotel
The door going out of the teeny tiny room
Nalen Theatre
Nalen Hallway
Sound Check...trippy picture the lights made it looked haunted
SOund check
Wathcha doin?
Backstage...Harlem?
Gig Pic
Little Blurry sorry
Audience...little girl in front see her?
- Stockholm street
Lone trumpet player see him?
Avocados $2 each where do you suppose they are from?
Mushrooms they looked creepy in person too
That's Mic walking my suitcase in the rain to the train station at 7:30 am and yes we already broke a wheel on the dangin cobblestones
Yes, it's a naked statue
Train station sign...we're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy
There isn’t much structure to my postings anymore. We are on the home stretch and getting a little squirrely. ~ Seeya J
November 16, 2009
Meat...including Swedish Meatballs. They love meat here.
More Gillette humor
In the square near the ferris wheel
That’s me and some guy that walked out of a store right as Mic took the picture.
- Cool Manhole Cover
Just hangin with the homies.
Another sign Mic liked
The Brass Band
The Brass Band 2
Speedos with black socks Benny?
Benny and yes he does wear speedos with black socks
Venue in Malmo
Malmo Crowd
Well we are finally in a land that has tv in English and Swedish subtitles. We are on our 10th Simpson episode that aired for the first time when Meg was about 8 years old. We miss home.
November 15, 2009
We woke up and had a breakfast very similar to the German spread except Swedish meatballs and pancakes were present. We walked to the train station to reserve our ride to Stockholm tomorrow and then went trippin. The buildings and streets shown were along the way. We stopped at the Moose Head Bar and Restaurant and had the drinks shown. Mine had mashed melon and Brazilian rum. There was a ferris wheel in one of the squares and the sun came out. We traveled to the gig on the bus and after the sound check had dinner. It consisted of curry chicken and salad. The marshmallow dessert shown did not appear edible, so we didn’t indulge. Yes, the picture of the stickers is upside down, but I thought it looked better that way. Hopefully we can get online in Stockholm. Mic’s pic’s will be next.~ Julia
November 15, 2009
Back stage food at Hannover
Tropical flowers in the Marriott lobby
Adolf-oh!
Somehere in Germany
Salad bar at the Block House and you don't serve yourself
Mic saw a Gargoyle
Guess why he liked this sign
Mic likes the little cars
He likes this sign too Gillette humor
During the show in Leverkusen
Crowd at Leverkusen @ the Forum it was a nice venue
November 15, 2009
We stayed at the Marriott in Hamburg and it was one of the nicest hotels we stayed in so far. They had a nice indoor pool, hot tub, and sauna. Online fees were crazy, so I wasn’t online for several days. We took a walk downtown where they were preparing the streets for Christmas. We did a little shopping and had a great mocha at an outdoor cafe. We had a little sushi snack at the Marriott. Here’s Hamburg.
Elbe River...Viking ships once traversed this waterway destroying Hamburg
Mic teasing the swans
The sun doesn't come out much this time of year
Inside the Rathaus
Rathaus.. City Hall Parliament meeting place
Statues of German leaders surround the buidling
Fountain at the Rathaus
Waiting at the train station Mic this will teach you
