TUESDAY, JUNE 19TH – FIRST DAY OFF IN ZURICH:
Finally got to sleep in and still get most of my work done. By sleeping in, I means 6 hours instead of 3 or 4.
Went to the gym in the hotel and was disappointed that it has changed so much since I was here 3 years ago. It used to be a great gym with lots of equipment. Now it is a tiny room on the 3rd floor with ONE weight machine, lots of free weights and several cardio machines. At least I got to work out with something other than “rubber bands”. I’m saving my cardio workout until I get to Interlaken since I love jogging along the river there.
Skipped breakfast today, showered and worked all morning. I did walk over to the airport later in the day to see if the USB Bank exchange counter would change Faroe Currency. They won’t. Carlene was paid in Faroese Currency instead of Danish Krone for her merch sales and they haven’t been able to find anywhere to exchange it in the UK. I guess I’ll just take it with me to Denmark and hope for the best there…or maybe on one of my connections through Amsterdam.
I ate in the “food court” connected to the train station. Had grilled salmon, steamed spinach and steamed mixed veggies…..pretty easy to eat healthy here and it was great food.
Still working on emails and it’s almost midnight. At least I am getting somewhat “caught up” which relieves some of my stress. I stopped to by water again today and found my new favorite drink. It is Evian with lemon and flavored with Edelweiss. If only we could purchase that in the USA!
Bellamys leave tomorrow morning to fly to Zurich. I’ll meet them at the airport and travel with them to Interlaken. Carlene will arrive later in the afternoon and I’ll just meet her group at the hotel in Interlaken.
Jude
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20TH – LAST DAY OFF IN ZURICH:
What a disappointing way to spend my two days off in Zurich. All I did was work, work, work! I didn’t even take the train into the city. ☹ The weather is beautiful here and I’m kicking myself for not going into the city.
But, at least I’ve gotten a lot done and feel less stressed. I did get in another good workout (as good as available in the small gym) today.
Bellamy’s flights seem to be on time and they will arrive at the Zurich Airport a little after 8 am tomorrow morning.
I had a “little” encouraging news today. Supposedly the company I sent my server to was able to recover all my data. I’m not going to get too excited until I get it back and confirm that it’s true. I’ve been “limping” along for weeks now….praying for a miracle and if they did recover everything, that will be my miracle!
Nothing exciting to report, so will wait until I type up tomorrow’s report to send this one.
Jude
THURSDAY, JUNE 21ST – FIRST DAY IN INTERLAKEN:
Got up at 6 am after getting up 4 times throughout the night to check the Bellamy Brothers’ flight status. Their flight landed 30 minutes early but I was at the airport waiting for them. The bus driver was there as well and he pulled around and we loaded up the bus and headed to Interlaken. I asked him to take the “direct, fast route”, not the “scenic route”. He took the “scenic route”! Howard is fighting a cold so I wanted to get him into a room as quickly as possible
We arrived at the hotel at 10:45 am – much too early to check into our rooms. We all scattered and had lunch and Howard, David, Bart and I ate with Iris and Katja (our promoters/staff). By the time we finished eating, all but two of the rooms were ready. While I was standing at the front desk waiting for our keys, a couple walked up and announced that they had just been robbed! Evidently they were in one of the stores and a “pick pocket” stole the man’s wallet. The thief took 2,000 Swiss Francs and then threw the wallet on the floor. Someone handed it back to the man – but without any of his cash. Had to warn everyone that Switzerland isn’t the same safe place it was a few years ago!
Howard’s air conditioner was not working and they said it would take a long time to repair. I moved him to the room they were holding for Carlene since she wouldn’t arrive until around 5 pm today. The hotel promised to have the air conditioning working by that time. I was able to work for a little while and also walked down to the local grocery story – Migros – to purchase water and fruit.
Had a text from Carlene’s tour manager that the group was on their way to the hotel and would arrive around 5 pm. I had their keys ready for them upon arrival and while I was waiting for them, I overheard an “argument” with some hotel guests from India with the hotel management. Evidently, the man had been smoking in the room and flushing his cigarette butts down the toilet – which overflowed and flooded the room! He was denying everything but the hotel had locked their room and wouldn’t let them back in unless he paid 200 Swiss Francs. Normally there is a 300 Swiss Franc fee for smoking in the room and a 100 Swiss Franc Fee for “water damage”. The man said he had smoked “outside” and the hotel asked why he would smoke outside and then carry his cigarette butts back up to his room and flush down the toilet! Good question in my opinion.
Carlene’s group arrived so I’m not sure how that drama concluded. I had another hour to work before dressing for the Sponsor Party.
Carlene, David and I left for the Sponsor Party at 7:45 pm. Howard wasn’t feeling well because of his cold, so he didn’t join us. We saw all our long-time, dear friends at the event and it turned out to be a really nice evening. The buffet was great, as well. We were back at the hotel before 10 pm and it was just starting to sprinkle. Supposedly, it is going to rain all night and then turn a lot cooler tomorrow. Originally, it was supposed to rain all weekend but thankfully that prediction has changed!
The festival always draws a huge crowd but this is the first time the festival tent where the main stage is located has sold completely out! Going to be a wonderful weekend.
If is 2:30 am and I need to sleep for a “few” hours now.
Jude
FRIDAY, JUNE 22ND – PRESS CONFERENCE AND RADIO INTERVIEWS IN INTERLAKEN:
What a day. I didn’t get in bed until 4 am and thought I could at least sleep until 9 am since my first “obligation” of the day wasn’t until 6 pm. Nope. The “problems” started pouring in even before 9 am. Unfortunately, some of the issues were beyond my control based on the fact that the hotel is completely sold out all weekend.
I got some of the hotel problems sorted out and went for a quick run in beautiful weather. No rain but it cooled off considerably. I went to COOP and picked up a salad for breakfast/lunch and after showering, spent the rest of the day “solving problems”.
The Press Conference was held in a different area this year and we saw lots of our long-time Swiss friends there. It only lasted about an hour and then Howard, David and I had one hour to eat dinner before going to the Radio Station for an interview. Carlene cancelled her interview because she is still having bad headaches. Howard actually seems to be feeling better. David and I went across the “alley” and had Indian food. We’ve eaten there lots of times in the past and the food is good.
The radio interview only took about 30 minutes and we finished up at 9:30 pm. Made a quick stop at the COOP so they could get some fruit and healthy snacks for their rooms. Then it was back to “email” hell for me.
Tomorrow will be “non-stop”, so I’m hoping to get in a good jog before my day starts. Two sound checks and two performances and not back at the hotel until around 2 am tomorrow night.
Jude
SATURDAY, JUNE 23RD – SHOW DAY IN INTERLAKEN!
Started the day off with another great “run” in perfect weather at the base of the Alps. Very lucky!
Showered and had a quick breakfast with some of the musicians and Howard wandered in near the end. My bathtub/shower has a problem! When I turn the water on and it comes out the bathtub faucet, I can get it to exactly the right temperature. But when I switch it to the shower, only scalding hot water comes out. It’s been a challenge these past couple of days, so I finally “reported” it today. Hoping they got it fixed while I was out. I rushed over to the “COOP” grocery store today to grab some more water. The line for the cashiers was extremely long (mostly Chinese and Indians!) so I decided to try and master the “self checkout kiosk”! Thankfully there was a button that allowed me to switch it to English and it was relatively easy to use. I paid with my credit card but then the screen flashed a sign that I had to “sign” the receipt and “help” was on the way. I waited and waited and “help” was not on the way. I grabbed my water and walked out. I assume that the charge went through even without my signature. That or there is now an APB out for me! ☹
Departed the hotel with Carlene’s musicians at 11:45 am and stayed at the venue until 5 pm – only going back and forth for a few minutes to pick up or drop off one of the groups. I walked around the festival grounds for about a half hour and it was already packed with people although it was still early afternoon.
Our friends Lukas and Sandro drove over for the festival and I had a really quick dinner with Lukas and a new artist he is managing – Sunanda. She was born in India but grew up in Switzerland. She’s a beautiful young girl, with a great voice. She wrote her first album and recorded it in Nashville. Was really nice to talk to her.
Mustang Sally opened the festival and the Bellamy Brothers performed after them. Usually, there are long picnic tables with benches throughout the venue. But tonight, everyone was standing … no seats or benches and it was completely packed. I tried to walk to the Front of House and stand at the sound board but gave up on that idea pretty quickly because it was impossible to navigate through the crowd to get there. The Bellamys were called back out for 3 encores. The audience was amazing and so was their performance. The promoter has already told me he wants to book them back next year. Usually, they perform in Interlaken every other year, but he wants them back again next June! Good sign.
Carlene performed next and her show was amazing as well. As I mentioned in my Faroe Islands report, she has a stellar group of musicians with her now. Not only are they great musicians but also terrific vocalists! The stage manager didn’t want her to do an encore, but the crowd was screaming for it so she went back out and sang one more song anyway.
What a great evening it was! It’s after 2 am now and I’m going to bed!!!
Jude
SUNDAY, JUNE 24TH – BBQ AT GOLA’S HOME AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER LINDSEY!:
Can’t believe my “baby girl” turned 42 years old today. Time flies too quickly. ☹
I got up and went for another fantastic run in beautiful weather. I’m going to miss these early morning jogs when we get to Norway. Showered and worked a little while trying to get everyone checked in for their flights. We are on KLM flights and KLM “partners” with Delta – except when they don’t. Had all kinds of issues just trying to get everyone checked in and still haven’t solved a couple of them. There’s no way to “call KLM”. I had to send a message via What’s APP! Of course, they never answer!
I got Carlene’s guys off to Schilthorn at 10:45 am and then I departed with the Bellamys at 2:00 pm for Gola’s. Gola actually came to the hotel and drove us up with him. We had a great political conversation on the way to his house.
I had purchase “Hello Kitty” dolls for Gola’s two adorable daughters – Leslie and Nicky. They were in “Hello Kitty” bags and the minute I arrived, the little girl came running up to me wanting to see in the bags. I made her come with me to find her Mom so we could show her how the work. I purchased the dolls in Japan a few weeks ago so they have been around the world twice already in my suitcase. They are dressed in little kimonos and they sing and dance in Japanese. Or you can change the setting so that they repeat everything you say back to you. They were a huge hit with the girls.
So many of our great friends were there including Gola’s lovely wife – Heidi. Zappo, Lukas, Sandro and lots of other friends were also there. The food was amazing as usual! Gola grilled meat and corn outside and we ate it as quickly as he could take it off the grill. He also had this amazing mushroom sauce that his 80 year old father made for us.
I had everyone gather around and sign “Happy Birthday” to Lindsey. Two of Gola’s male friends did a little line dancing for us to the song “Achy Breaky Heart!”. The view from Gola’s house is breathtaking and we had perfect weather to see it in.
David and I left at about 6 pm to come back and get some work done but the musicians stayed a while longer. I met Iris a little after 8 pm and we walked next door for a quick dinner and “re-cap”. Carlene and all her “boys” were eating at the same place.
This is the first year we have worked with Katja at the festival and she did an outstanding job. Everything was perfect this year – weather, entertainers and their musicians, audience, staff and on and on and on. So blessed to be a part of this wonderful Trucker and Country Festival!!!
Tomorrow we fly to Kristiansand, Norway and have a show there on Thursday.
Jude