TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH – TRAVEL FROM LILLEHAMMER TO TRONDHEIM, NORWAY:
Everyone met in the lobby at 9:30 am and our mini bus with the van was there on time. It was only a 5 minute drive to the airport. We quickly located the track for our train and waited inside for it to arrive. We were able to figure out which car we are in and seat numbers.
Train arrived right on time. We were told that we would have to put the luggage in the racks located at the beginning and end of each car. But that information was incorrect. There was a “luggage” car where all suitcases had to be stored. Of course, we were in the first two cars and the luggage car was the last one. We “hustled” down to the end of the train dragging all our heavy bags with us. There wasn’t a step to get into the last car so we had to lift the heavy bags up about 4 feet to get them into the car. Then the person who works for the train station told us we had to “hurry” to get on before the train departed. We made it just as they were closing the doors.
It’s a nice train but crowded. There was a nice dining car where I think the guys hung our rather than sit in their assigned seats for most of the trip. The scenery was breathtaking the entire trip. About ¾ way through the trip, David and I went into the dining car and Jim and David were already in there. While we were there talking, a lady on the train had a “medical issue” and they sat her down in the dining car. No idea what was wrong with her.
We arrived on time and there was supposed to be someone from the car company meeting us with a sign. Didn’t happen. Again, the bags had to be dropped from about 4 feet up from the train car and this time we had to drag them through puddles of melted snow and on gravel since the pavement ended before the last car. Once everyone got inside, I went outside to look for our driver/vehicle.
I found a van but upon inspecting it learned that there was no area for luggage nor did he bring a trailer! There was a “ramp” that lowered like a handicapped accessible van but it definitely wasn’t that type of van because there was nowhere for a wheelchair to go inside. We had to put the luggage in the seats and in the aisle. That meant there were less seats for passengers and everyone had to squeeze inside with the bags beside them. Fortunately, it was only about a 5 minute drive to the hotel.
We are staying at the hotel where we stayed in 2019 and performing in the same venue. Only it doesn’t “look” like the same hotel. I think it underwent a major renovation during COVID. The venue is located in the same building which is very convenient.
This is the nicest hotel we have stayed at during the tour. If I had known the agency was going to move us to the hotel near the venue in Lillehammer, we would have opted to come to Trondheim yesterday and stay at this hotel. It’s also located right in the middle of the city.
The hotel has free Wi-Fi and a free laundry room. It doesn’t have a gym but offers a discount at a nearby facility. They serve complimentary snacks (make your own waffles!) in the lobby every afternoon. They also offer a complimentary dinner and the food looked awesome. Tonight there was Cod, mixed veggies, potatoes, some type of “egg” dish, three salads – olive, Caesar, and beet — plus Leek soup. Very impressive! There is a “food court” inside the hotel, too, with every kind of food imaginable, Asian including sushi, burgers and sandwiches, Mexican, Italian, Turkish, you name it. I got a shrimp tempura sushi roll and it was great.
I walked down the street to a small grocery store to buy a couple of items for me but mostly for Howard. It’s cold but not brutally so. Came back to the hotel to work…probably until 3 am again!
Jude
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH – PERFORMANCE IN TRONDHEIM:
I got 5 hours of sleep and feel like a new person. Quick in-room workout, skipped breakfast, showered and worked non-stop until time for sound check.
Two strange things about all the hotels we have stayed in this tour….
All the rooms have ceiling to floor curtains. The only “heat source” in the rooms is a wall radiator by the windows. The curtains are very heavy black out drapes and go all the way to the floor – covering the radiator entirely. That means that none of the heat gets out into the room. I tucked my curtains up on the window sill but they are so heavy they fall back down. I put “shoes” on them to keep them in place and learned tonight that others are doing the same thing.
Then there are the bathrooms. In year’s past, none of the showers had “shower doors” so the entire bathroom floor was flooded every time I took a shower. This time, the showers have had a “half door” – which isn’t much better. They still have the shower wands but unlike previous tours, I have not had one pop off the holder and spray down the entire bathroom. But, it’s early in the trip yet.
But, I digress…
All the bathrooms have “holders” in the shower and by the sink with bottles of soap, shampoo and conditioner. They are all “pump” bottles but the bottles are flush with the wall so it’s impossible to get anything out of them unless you make a fist and hammer the top of it. Then only a few drops come out and that usually just runs down the front of the bottle. Plus…for people who need reading glasses for everything – I’ve learned that several of the others are doing what I do. We can’t see what the label says on the bottles, so we strip, get in the shower and realize we can’t tell which is shampoo, soap or conditioner. Then we get out of the shower, put on our reading glasses and hop back in wearing only reading glasses!
I started calling our driver who was delivering our backline and the venue at 11 am. No answers. Finally reached the driver who said he was in the venue but no one was there. He finally reached our POC and had him call me. He said we had to delay our sound check because they were still packing up the stage from an orchestra performance.
Finally at 2:30 pm, we got into the venue. I know we stayed at this hotel and performed in the venue in 2019 but as I said, none of us recognized anything. Found out that during COVID, everything was remodeled. Now we never have to leave the building to access the venue from the hotel. The theatre is beautiful! And all the restaurants and shops in the building by the lobby are terrific.
I left soundcheck and walked down to a larger grocery store and bought Howard de-caf coffee. Then met everyone in the lobby for the complimentary dinner. It was supposed to be turkey stroganoff tonight but they changed it to beef. They had 3 huge salads and a soup that only tasted like salt!
This is the first show we have had that started at 8:00 pm. We have to walk through the lobby to get to the “secret door” that allows us to enter through the backstage. There was a crowd of people waiting with cameras, photos and guitars that they wanted autographed. We only had two people on the M&G list and one of those has ALS. We waited and waited but no one showed up until about 2 minutes before the Bellamys were walking on stage. They took quick photos with her and spoke with her for a few minutes. She had a problem getting backstage because her wheelchair was too heavy for the elevator
Another great show but I couldn’t go out front because the stage door locks automatically and I would not have been able to get back in. I was able to listen from backstage though. Great Show!!! Same situation after the show with a crowd of people waiting in the hotel lobby to take photos with them and get autographs.
After what happened with the vehicle that picked us up yesterday, I made sure I called the car company to confirm our pickup. Learned they were booked for the wrong pickup time and could not accommodate the time we needed. I contacted our POC and had him handle it. Now instead of a 14 passenger bus with a trailer, we have two mini-vans and a car from a totally different company.
I also checked with the hotel and they did not have any reservations for us. Had to get the promoter to call them and sort that out. Still have an issue with the promoter’s travel agency not confirming the deluxe rooms for the Bellamys and not advising the hotel or our need for early check in. Will sort that out tomorrow!
Finally made it to my room. It’s 1:00 and I need to be up by 5:30 am so shutting down for tonight.