MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH – SWITZERLAND TO DENMARK:
Everyone was in the lobby on time and we had the vans loaded and rolled at 6:30 am. We hit a little rush hour traffic that I had not counted on but made it to the airport about 10 minutes later than I planned. Check in was simple and the agents were big Bellamy Brothers fans. I asked them if they liked them enough to waive the excess fees. They didn’t. J Our flight was late leaving Zurich and we had a short connection in Amsterdam. Fortunately, we landed and our connecting gate was right next to the one where we landed. Both flights were the small KLM commuter jets but were larger than what I fly back and forth to DC! Howard was in the Exit Row and the flight attendant was really rude to him. He was holding his hoody and she made him put it on! Then she told him he had to remove his cowboy hat. I’ve never heard of anything like that before. Jenny didn’t drink all her water and she got mad at her for not finishing it! Very strange flight crew. We landed in Aalborg on time and our drivers were waiting for us with two passenger vans and a cargo van. They were nice enough to go ahead and take the equipment to the venue and lock it up for us. The hotel is in the middle of the town which is nice but it is very, very OLD. I had checked it out on the internet and it was supposedly recently remodeled but it sure didn’t look like it when we checked in. I asked if they had an elevator and they confirmed that they did. But then they put us all on the 5th floor and said the elevator only went to the 4th floor. I made them move everyone before I would pass out any room keys. It is supposedly a 4 star hotel but probably would be rated a 2 star in the U.S. There is no air conditioning and it is still hot during the day, especially on the 4th floor where I am. I managed to scam a fan from the front desk which helps. There are TWO outlets in the room and about a dozen light switches. My computer is plugged into an outlet all the way across the room and I have to step over the cord every time I go to the bathroom or leave the room. I crawled under the bed (which by the way, is a headboard with a “fold up” bed under it!) and found an outlet for the fan. The bathroom has a shower but the entire bathroom is tiny. No where to put any of my cosmetics or toiletries. Really, really glad we are only here for 2 nights. Otherwise, I’d have to move. The internet if wireless and free and very, very slow. Also, figuring out the “code” for the internet was a challenge. I answered some emails and then hiked downtown to try and buy the toys I’ve promised Zac and Zoe. About 5 minutes into my walk, it started pouring rain. Fortunately, I had my umbrella with me. Went in a toy store and found nothing. Found lots of great stores for me but no time to go inside. I finally found a department store with the toys I needed. But, when I paid, they would not accept my credit card because I don’t have a PIN number. Most stores know how to manually enter the card number so a PIN isn’t needed but Denmark historically won’t do it for the customer. They would rather lose the sale than go to the extra effort, I suppose. I figured out I had enough “cash” to make the purchases. Got back to the hotel in time to answer a few more emails before dinner. They buyer provided dinner in the hotel and it was a “pre-set” menu. We knew we were having salad with balsamic vinegarette and smoked tuna plus “cockerel” and potatoes. The cockerel was, I assume, a young rooster. It tasted like very tender chicken and wasn’t bad. I had asked for a cake for Frank since today is his birthday. The restaurant had a huge party of very loud customers come in and they were understaffed to take care of everyone. We finally got the “cake” but they couldn’t find any “lights” for it. We sang Happy Birthday to him anyway. David, Wally and I walked down to a little market so they could purchase water. I was looking for coffee in a can because our rooms don’t have coffee makers. They had lots of beer and cokes but no coffee in a can. I checked out the exercise room in the hotel on my way back to my room. Doesn’t have “much” but I can make it work, I think. I called Visa on Skype and used half my minutes while “on hold” as they tried to figure out if they could give me a PIN number. Final answer – no, you can’t have a PIN number! Have been answer email for hours and want to go to bed very soon. Busy day tomorrow since we have a sold-out performance. The promoter is awesome. First time I’ve worked with him and he has really been super organized. I hate to tell him that the hotel isn’t up to par but I did see a Radisson Blu a few streets away and next time, I’ll suggest staying there. Jude
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH – AALBORG, DENMARK:
Got in a good workout at the little exercise room at the hotel and then went to breakfast. Was really, really not good food. And there were flies everywhere. I came back to the room and checked out all the hotels in Aalborg and pretty much the “guest reviews” were bad on all them. Seems we are staying in the “best of the worst”. J Showered and met the guys downstairs to walk to the venue – the Kongress and Kulture Center. It was only about a 5 minute walk. I’m out of the boot again today — just wearing my “metal” insert. Okay, so far. The venue is beautiful. Much bigger than I expected. We sold out the 1,500 seat larger hall. I finally met the promoter – Kenneth – that we are working with. He has been so awesome to work with and was just as nice, organized and professional in person – as was everyone at the venue. I left the guys to load in and sound check and went shopping. Didn’t get anything for me but got the grandbabies some clothes. Also found two cakes and candles that we will use for birthday cakes tonight for Frank and David. Stopped by 7-11 and purchased Starbucks coffee in a can (even the coffee was horrible in the hotel!) and yogurt with granola. I’m “set” for breakfast tomorrow. We had a meeting with Stig who handles the Bellamy’s distribution this afternoon. He’s also promoting a date for them in Denmark next July. I found out tonight that his wife was a member of the “Country Sisters” – a girl band from Czechoslovakia that is at almost every festival where we perform. She just left the group a month ago. She’s really pretty and so sweet. Anyway, we met with Stig and then the promoter on the July, 2012 gig came by and we took photos with him. It’s a really cool outdoor gig that is part of a “Summer Series” of concerts. Should be fun. Had dinner early and it was good food but again, the flies were a big problem. We had to leave for the venue at 7:15 so the Bellamys could do a radio interview and meet with Wenche. Wenche is a Danish entertainer that they made a duet with several years ago. She is going to sing with them on “Beautiful Body” tonight at the concert. My promoters from Silkeborg – Jytte and Sniff – were also there. The concert was awesome! There was 20 minute break halfway through the concert and the cakes were a big hit, too. Wenche did a great job with the guys on “Body” and the audience loved it. We hung around backstage talking with everyone for about an hour after the concert ended. Really nice people and everyone – promoter, staff, venue, and audience were thrilled with the Bellamy’s concert. We don’t depart to the airport until noon tomorrow. Leaving Europe later than I’ve ever left here. I’d much rather leave early so we could get home early. We won’t be back in Nashville until almost midnight if we make all our connections. L Jude
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH – DENMARK TO NASHVILLE:
Strange to get more than 2 hours sleep and not have to leave for the airport at 4 am! I was able to get up at 7 am, work out, eat my yogurt and drink my canned Starbucks coffee that I purchased from 7-11 yesterday (the food at the restaurant was just too horrible to even try again), and answer a lot of email before leaving for the airport at noon. Even though Aalborg is the 4th largest city in Denmark, that’s still a very small city by our standards. The airport is tiny – only 5 gates. But everyone was so friendly and huge Bellamy fans. The airport manager came to the gate to meet them and say he loved the concert last night! And, wonder of wonders, he was the one who waived all the excess baggage fees. That never happens and saved them almost $1,000! Our flight was late leaving Aalborg and late arriving Amsterdam. We had to rush from our plane to the next flight but made it with a few minutes to spare. Then the flight out of Amsterdam was delayed about 45 minutes which meant we would miss our connection in Atlanta unless we made the time up in the air. We had a KLM airplane and flight crew and they were very nice. Every seat on the plane was filled. The food was definitely not as good as Delta. I tried to watch one movie but it was so bad, had to change. I ended up watching “The Beaver” with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. Jodie Foster actually directed it and won critical acclaim for the production. Beats me as to “why”. It was very dark and very predictable. I tried to sleep for a couple of hours but a woman directly behind me had a 3 month old baby that screamed off and on the entire trip. We did make the time up in the air and landed on time in Atlanta. All our luggage and gear came in and we made it through Customs and to our gate in time for the flight to Nashville. Then that flight was delayed by 30 minutes. But this time, it was after 10 pm in Atlanta and we were dead tired. We finally boarded and then we sat on the plane for an hour. That seemed longer than the entire flight because we were all so exhausted. We finally landed in Nashville a little after 11 pm. Susan Bellamy had just flown in from Texas and met us at the gate. Was great to get to see her and sure miss having her on the tours. I was so tired, I went into the men’s restroom (a common occurrence for me unfortunately) at baggage claim! It took our luggage 45 minutes to come out…longer than the flight from Atlanta. I arrived back home at around midnight to face tons of problems with Chinese work visas. Welcome Home. J Jude