TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH – DAY OFF IN LILLESTROM, NORWAY:
Got up early to answer emails and then went downstairs for breakfast. Several of the guys were already up and had eaten before I go there. It was a HUGE spread for breakfast….much more than I can handle. I worked for an hour after breakfast and then went for a jog along the river. It was a fantastic run – beautiful weather and warm. Only “negative” as the wind had picked up significantly. My cap blew off twice and I had to chase it several fee to get it back on my head.
At the end of my jog, I stopped to take some photos and talk to a man with a huge white dog. Back to the hotel to shower and then walk back over to the “grocery store” for water and fruit.
Since this was the first day back after a long weekend, I had lots of emails to answer all afternoon. I checked in with Kjell at around 5 pm and decided I would depart on the 6:18 pm train to meet him at Nationaltheatre. No problem buying my train ticket and making the trip. But, when I got off the train, I was at a different entrance than where Kjell was waiting for me. By the time we found each other, we had missed the ferry out to the island where his boat is docked! We had an hour to sit and talk though which was nice. His wife – Ruth – and Jan were with us as well.
The ferry ride was very short – about 5 minutes. I remember the island because I took the “hop on hop off” boat tour with a friend of mine years ago. We had dinner in a “quaint” restaurant and it was excellent. I had salmon (again but can’t go wrong with salmon in Norway!) and Kjell had the “whale”. It was black and covered with some kind of disgusting looking black sauce and he said it was fantastic. YUCK!
He took me down to see his boat after dinner. I have had lasik eye surgery and have monovision which means I have no depth perception. I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to climb the side of the boat to get on. But I made it – on and off. It’s a beautiful boat. He got a great deal on it from an older man who never used it. It’s ten years old and looks brand new.
Took the ferry back and then they walked me to the train station to make sure I took the right train back. J Was back at the hotel by 11 pm and have LOTS of work to catch up on tonight. The wind finally quit blowing and it’s nice and warm outside.
Jude
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH – PERFORMANCE IN LILLESTROM, NORWAY:
Well, I had today’s Road Report typed up and ready to email and Word “Crashed”. Not happy to have to start over!
I got in a workout this morning at the small gym with the really heavy weights but it was better than nothing. Had breakfast with some of the guys and then showered and got dressed for sound check.
The “culture center” is a beautiful venue. It’s a “theatre” style inclined seating with a balcony. Only “problem” I saw was the fact that there is not an elevated stage. The first row of seats is only a couple of feet from where the guys are performing. It will be an “intimate” show tonight.
The production company, staff, catering, and “Dag” (our promoter) are all great people. Very professional and efficient! I checked out the backstage area and did the few things that I needed to handle and then walked into town to buy a couple of things. Skipped lunch today as I knew I had to eat dinner early – like 5 pm – because we had to depart to the venue at 7 pm. I got everyone checked in for the short SAS fight tomorrow and had the front desk print the boarding passes.
The hotel supposedly has “air conditioning”. It is freezing in the hallway, just the right temperature in the restaurants and lobby and about 90 degrees in our rooms! I called the front desk and asked for a “fan or ventilator” and was told they don’t have one. They sent a technician to my room to “work” on the air conditioner. He did something that made it cool off for about 30 minutes and then it was hot again. I know Americans are “spoiled” by air conditioning. But, I downloaded an app and checked the temperature in my room this afternoon and it was 89 degrees! I can open my window about 2 inches but the minute the window is opened, it cuts off the air conditioning….not that it’s working anyway!
We arrived at the venue at about 7:15 pm and a couple that we had met in Denmark several years ago were waiting to say “hello”. I had gotten them tickets to the concert and backstage access. Really nice people who live in Lillestrom.
Bellamys had another great show. In these theatres, all the people are a “listening” audience It was a nice chang. They were still a great audience and it was evident they loved the show. Bellamys sang a 3 song encore and the audience was still asking for more.
Going to try and get a couple of hours sleep. Have to get up at 5 am to depart to the airport at 7 am. Only a 55 minute flight and then a short drive to the hotel in Sandnes.
Jude