TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 – ZURICH TO HOF, GERMANY:

Met everyone in the lobby at 8:00 and departed to the Zurich Airport.  It is usually a 30 minute drive but we planned on an hour—maybe 2 hours because of morning rush hour and construction.  We actually made it in an hour.  I asked a Swiss Air Agent where we could check in our group and they sent me to the Group Desk.  Only no one was there.  I went to the counter and asked the only agent who wasn’t working with a customer.  He said he thought he could check us in but wasn’t sure.  He asked me what the “sign” over his counter said!  I knew we were in trouble when he said that.

He started checking us in and it was obvious he was “new”.  He was really sweet but when he said he only had 45 minutes to check everyone in before he had to “move”, I got really worried.  It took him about 10 minutes just to check in the first person.  Then he looked at his watch and said, “Oh no. I have to leave in 2 minutes”.  I told him it had not been 45 minutes yet but he said he just got a message on his watch that he had to leave.  But, then he said he was only moving 2 counters down!  The agent working next to him told him to stay where he was and just notify whoever told him to move that he couldn’t move right then.

He kept asking me if we had paid for any excess baggage online and I told him we had not.  He said it was going to be very, very expensive.  I told him we had just flown from London to Zurich 2 days ago and they only charged us 290 CHF and we had the same number of people with the same amount of excess baggage.   He called a supervisor over and she was even less helpful than he was.  I am “permanently” GOLD on United Airlines because I have more than a Million Miles on them.  The supervisor said that I wasn’t “GOLD” for the Swiss Air flight because not all flights were code-share partners.  She tried to make me believe that Swiss Air randomly picked which flights were code-share partners!  I know that all the airlines in Star Alliance are code-share partners and United is in Star Alliance!

We FINALLY got checked in and I went with Tim to pay for the excess – almost $1,000 in charges!  The lady taking the payment said some of it should have been waived and we should not have had to pay that much.  But because the Supervisor was still there, she couldn’t help us.

We went through security and they pulled my purse and my mesh bag of “electronics” aside.  I had to wait about 20 minutes while they went through everything than another passenger had pulled before they looked at mine.  They didn’t even open the mesh bag of electronics or ask me anything about it.  They had me unzip all the compartments of my purse and looked inside.  The only thing they took out was a small travel brush.  Unbelievable.

Walked down to Marche and ate a little late breakfast/early lunch with the guys and waited for the gate number to be announced.  It was finally posted at 11:20 am and we headed for the gate.  I waited until I got to the gate to find a toilet but the Ladies toilet was closed.  I thought is was only for cleaning but when I looked in, the toilet seats had been removed and were up on the counter…not an encouraging sign.  Had to hike back down to the far end of the terminal where we had arrived.

We finally boarded and I was sitting by Howard and across from David and Susan.  It was sooooo hot on the plane and no air was turned on.  We sat at the gate more than 30 minutes past our take-off time with no explanation as to “why”.  We finally started taxiing but then sat on the tarmac for about another 30 minutes!  When we took off, Howard realized that the Exit Door where we were sitting was not completely sealed and a lot of air was coming in.  I told him to buckle up good so he wouldn’t be sucked out!!!

It was a short one our flight and all our “very expensive” excess baggage made it to Nuremberg with us.  Kurt was waiting with a really nice double decker bus and it took us a couple of hours to drive to the hotel in Hof.  The venue is attached to the hotel which will make it easy for us to walk to the show.  Hotel is a “spa” hotel and really nice.

It was 5 pm by the time everyone got in their rooms and dinner started in the hotel restaurant at 6 pm.  Everyone was hungry so we went down as soon as it opened.  The promoter had the restaurant prepare a “set” menu of 3 items to select from but it wasn’t food anyone would eat (Wild Boar, Vegan Chicken or Fried Perch).  The restaurant staff told us just to order whatever we wanted and we did.  The food was excellent.

After dinner Susan and I walked up to a little store to buy some water and then I settled in to work for hours and hours!

Jude

 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH – PERFORMANCE IN HOF, GERMANY:
This is a really nice hotel but my bathroom is very small. Lots of counter space but no “floor space”. My shower stall is located about 3 inches from the toilet. I got up at 3:30 am this morning to go to the bathroom and didn’t turn on my lights. I managed to slam right into the shower stall corner and put huge bump on my forehead and a gash on my foot which bled profusely. Amazing I didn’t knock myself out!!
Got up and dressed to go jogging. There is a great work out facility here but I know it will be better for me to work out at the hotel gym in Oslo than try to jog there. We’re staying at the airport hotel in Oslo on Friday and Sunday nights and they have a wonderful gym there. But “jogging” at an airport isn’t any fun! And it was the PERFECT day to jog in Hof. I got directions to the river from the front desk. Then stopped into the breakfast buffet to grab some food to put in my refrigerator and eat for lunch.
I can’t believe I didn’t get lost even once on my jog. And it was truly perfect weather for jogging. Came back and showered and learned that my hair dryer doesn’t work! Front desk brought me another one. Eventually I ate my “breakfast/lunch” and then it was time to go over to the venue. I went downstairs first to confirm where the room was located where The Bellamys will participate in the photos and handprints for the “Signs of Fame” to be placed in Fernweh Park. Also, when I was coming back from jogging, I saw a sign on the top of the hotel that said “Indoor Golf”. They have a golf simulator on the 5th floor and lots of big tournaments are held here. The nice man at the front desk gave me a demonstration and I passed on the news to the guys.
I was also able to talk the restaurant into opening at 5:30 pm for us instead of 6 pm so that we would have time to eat before meeting for the “Signs of Fame” representative.
I got in a couple of more hours of work and then went downstairs for dinner. I had the Vegan Chicken tonight and it was excellent. Finished up just in time for the “Signs of Fame” ceremony and then did an interview with Radio Extra. We had a few minutes before walking over to the venue for the Meet and Greet prior to the show. My friend Lisa drove over with one of her friends from Graf Army Base and it was so great to see her again! Hans and his daughter Isabell are also long-time friends and they attended as well as Silvia and Michael Stone.
Show started right on time and it was a great, lively audience. They brought the Bellamys back for two encores and standing ovations! The fans knew the words to all their songs and sang along. Kurt(our promoter) does a great job and he has excellent staff assisting him. Always a pleasure to work with him! He was very pleased since the show sold out months ago and all the fans were happy. Walked back to the hotel and finishing up this Road Report a few minutes after 2 am and going to bed.
Jude