- # of days: 11
- # in travel party: 38
- # bus miles traveled per person: 2,017
- # air miles traveled per person: 9,347
- # of miles traveled in total: 431,832
- # of countries visited: 4
- # cities visited: 10
- # of outdoor concerts: 3
- # of indoor concerts: 8
- # of workshops: 1
- # of worship services conducted: 1
- # of bus drivers: 1
- # of currencies used: 5
- # of ferry rides: 1
- # of bags checked (each way): 76
- # of loaves of bread consumed: too many
- # of diet cokes consumed: never enough
Monday, June 8, 2009
CSB 2009 European Tour Fun Facts
Our 2009 European tour has come to an end and I thought I'd take a shot at a few fun facts to list for you. OK... You'll have to decide if these are fun facts or not. But they are facts.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Day 11 - Solingen, Germany to Dusseldorf, Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark to Chicago, IL
I know you've heard plenty about our early starts during this tour but today we began earlier than any other day. We needed to leave our hotel at 5:00 am in order to catch our first flight at 7:20 am. That meant that most of our alarms were going off about four hours after arriving at the hotel.
Everyone was on time and we loaded our Swedish EKS coach for the very last time. We proceeded to Dusseldorf, Germany airport where we said goodbye to our excellent coach driver, Bo. He met us on our arrival in Bergen, Norway and chauffeured us every kilometer of the tour. He was a real help and benefit to us as a driver but also as a friend and adviser.
After saying goodbye to Bo we checked in at the Lufthansa desk for our flight to Copenhagen, Denmark. There were a couple of glitches at check in but nothing too serious. One bandsman was mysteriously missing from the system. They were He able to take care of it but was warned his luggage would not likely make it. A couple of others were only checked in to Copenhagen. They were able to finally straighten that out in Copenhagen.
Frankly, given the size of the aircraft to Copenhagen it won't be surprising if some our bags arrive later. But they may have caught up with us in Copenhagen during our six plus hour layover. If luggage is going to be delayed it's always better to happen when going home. As long we get all of our stuff by commissioning next weekend we'll probably be OK.
During the extended layover most grabbed breakfast and/or lunch. Some took good long naps. A few ventured into the city for a short visit and others shopped in the numerous shops at the airport. Most were anxious for the departure that means returning to spouses, children, parents and other loved ones.
Our flight from Copenhagen to Chicago, O'Hare departed pretty close to schedule. It seems that everyone has their own theory on how to best deal with the anticipated jet lag. Some think that going this direction that you should try to sleep as much as possible. Others, including me, think you try to stay awake as much as possible. Admittedly, given the shortness of our night staying awake is easier said than done unless you are one of those who can't sleep on a plane under any circumstance.
We arrived at O'Hare pretty much on time and to the best of my knowledge all of the equipment has made it. I'll have to check with the quartermaster tomorrow to verify that.
It was a blessing to travel so far in so short a period of time without serious issues. But, it's always great to be home.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Day 10 - Dresden, Germany to Solingen, Germany
As has often been the case on this tour the day started early for us. We packed our gear and had a quick breakfast at the corps before saying goodbye to our Dresden hosts, Majors Jim & Judy Garrington. Jim and Judy are actually Central Territory officers and it was really great to spend some time visiting and seeing the work they are doing in Germany. Next month will mark their 23rd year of service in Germany.
We then loaded back on the bus and began what turned out to be an eight and a half hour journey to our last stop on the tour, Solingen, Germany. We had hoped to be able to visit the cathedral in Cologne. Our local hosts in both Berlin and Dresden advised that it would not be possible and they were right.
After our late afternoon arrival in Solingen we had a quick cup of coffee with the members of the German Staff Band under the leadership of Bandmaster Heinrich Schmidt.
Following coffee we had a quick rehearsal of three massed band items for the evening concert. The three massed items included "Precious Fountain" (Himes), "Milestone" (Himes) and "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" (Wagner, arr - Himes).
The two bands joined together in a beautiful fellowship dinner buffet at the corps just prior to the concert.
The concert at Luther Church was extremely well attended by a very enthusiastic audience. In addition to our repertoire the German Staff Band played "The Kingdom Triumphant", "They Could Not" and "Godspell". From my chair it was a welcome relief after ten days on tour to hear this fine band.
Following the concert we began the arduous task of packing our equipment for the trip back to Chicago. In the confusion we neglected to tell our bus driver we were to join the German Staff Band at the corps for fellowship. We discovered the error to late and the Bandmaster had to call and extend our apologies to Bandmaster Schmidt. As it turned out we didn't arrive at the hotel until nearly midnight and we have a 5:00 am departure for the airport in Dusseldorf.
The playing part of the tour has ended and will begin the journey home soon. God has been good providing safe travel, good health and ministry opportunities.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Friday, June 5, 2009
Day 9 - Dresden, Germany
This was one of those days where we didn't have to travel. We haven't had too many of those days and this on was really welcome. It was a leisurely morning with breakfast at the Dresden Corps pretty much whenever you wanted it between 7:00 am and 10:00 am. Then, we all met at the corps to see what kind of sightseeing we could do from the coach.
Some of you may realize that President Obama chose to be in Dresden today, too. That meant we were a little bit limited in the places we could visit. Although the corps tried there was just no way we were going to be let anywhere close to the area where he was going to be. Of course the area he was in was some of the most interesting places. But Major Jim Garrington was able to direct our coach driver so that we did get to see quite a bit. Some of it was only from the bus but we did manage to get off of the bus and walk along the Elbe River. We were on the opposite bank from where the President was and we ran into plenty of security details. At one point we were stopped by some mounted policemen. They eventually allowed us to pass but we only went another 100 yards or so before the next contingent of police turned us back. There were others allowed through but I guess our group drew too much attention.
It was interesting to see the police presence in town. I heard that as many as 4,000 police were in town and they were very visible. To our knowledge there were no security issues. Even on the plaza we played at across later in the day all of the man hole covers and sewage grates were sealed with appeared to be yellow lane marker tape.
After our tour we returned to the corps for lunch and then changed into our uniforms for an afternoon outdoor concert. The location of the concert had to be changed at the last minute but it worked out fine with many people passing by to hear us and to talk to German Salvationists who accompanied us. The bandmaster of the Berlin band even took the baton for one number.
Prior to the evening concert at Annenkirche we were treated to a lovely dinner in a city restaurant. The evening concert went well and we were very well received.
We've now returned to our rooms and we will depart bright and early in the morning. As I said in my Twitter it was another blessed day.
Good night
Some of you may realize that President Obama chose to be in Dresden today, too. That meant we were a little bit limited in the places we could visit. Although the corps tried there was just no way we were going to be let anywhere close to the area where he was going to be. Of course the area he was in was some of the most interesting places. But Major Jim Garrington was able to direct our coach driver so that we did get to see quite a bit. Some of it was only from the bus but we did manage to get off of the bus and walk along the Elbe River. We were on the opposite bank from where the President was and we ran into plenty of security details. At one point we were stopped by some mounted policemen. They eventually allowed us to pass but we only went another 100 yards or so before the next contingent of police turned us back. There were others allowed through but I guess our group drew too much attention.
It was interesting to see the police presence in town. I heard that as many as 4,000 police were in town and they were very visible. To our knowledge there were no security issues. Even on the plaza we played at across later in the day all of the man hole covers and sewage grates were sealed with appeared to be yellow lane marker tape.
After our tour we returned to the corps for lunch and then changed into our uniforms for an afternoon outdoor concert. The location of the concert had to be changed at the last minute but it worked out fine with many people passing by to hear us and to talk to German Salvationists who accompanied us. The bandmaster of the Berlin band even took the baton for one number.
Prior to the evening concert at Annenkirche we were treated to a lovely dinner in a city restaurant. The evening concert went well and we were very well received.
We've now returned to our rooms and we will depart bright and early in the morning. As I said in my Twitter it was another blessed day.
Good night
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Day 8 - Copenhagen, Denmark to Dresden, Germany via Berlin, Germany
This morning we had to have our bags down for the coach at 7:40. It's 19:52 and we are back on the bus continuing our journey to Dresden.
In between we have had a unique day. First, this is the one day on tour that we haven't played at all. Our instruments have been locked under the coach all day.
It took us two hours to drive from Copenhagen, Denmark to Gedser, Denmark. Upon arriving in Gedser our excellent bus driver, Bosse, checked us in for the ferry ride to Rostock, Germany.
We had to wait about an hour for the ferry which pulled in, unloaded quickly and then loaded us back just as quickly. After the coach was parked we had to go upstairs on the ferry for the hour and forty-five minute crossing. During the crossing we had a chance to relax, have lunch, shop and enjoy the out of doors.
At the appointed time we all returned to the bus and the ferry unloaded in Germany just as quickly as it had in Denmark.
Because we lost our equipment truck all of our instruments were packed under the bus. Our personal luggage was packed in the back seats of the bus. That meant we lost quite a few seats.
To remedy that our German hosts sent a mini van to meet us in Rostock. We were able to put all of our suitcases into the mini van and they have gone directly to Dresden while we proceeded to Berlin.
We arrived in Berlin around 16:45 and were met by the DCs wife and the corps officer. The corps officer acted as our tour guide taking us to see the Brandenberg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, the balcony JFK spoke his famous line and the Reichstag. These were many places I never imagined being able to visit prior to the ending of the Cold War in 1989.
Following the tour we went to the Army where we had a really nice dinner.
Now we are back on the bus again heading another 2.5 hours down the road to Dresden where we will be on duty tomorrow. It just happens that our visit coincides with a visit by President Obama. Could be interesting.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
In between we have had a unique day. First, this is the one day on tour that we haven't played at all. Our instruments have been locked under the coach all day.
It took us two hours to drive from Copenhagen, Denmark to Gedser, Denmark. Upon arriving in Gedser our excellent bus driver, Bosse, checked us in for the ferry ride to Rostock, Germany.
We had to wait about an hour for the ferry which pulled in, unloaded quickly and then loaded us back just as quickly. After the coach was parked we had to go upstairs on the ferry for the hour and forty-five minute crossing. During the crossing we had a chance to relax, have lunch, shop and enjoy the out of doors.
At the appointed time we all returned to the bus and the ferry unloaded in Germany just as quickly as it had in Denmark.
Because we lost our equipment truck all of our instruments were packed under the bus. Our personal luggage was packed in the back seats of the bus. That meant we lost quite a few seats.
To remedy that our German hosts sent a mini van to meet us in Rostock. We were able to put all of our suitcases into the mini van and they have gone directly to Dresden while we proceeded to Berlin.
We arrived in Berlin around 16:45 and were met by the DCs wife and the corps officer. The corps officer acted as our tour guide taking us to see the Brandenberg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, the balcony JFK spoke his famous line and the Reichstag. These were many places I never imagined being able to visit prior to the ending of the Cold War in 1989.
Following the tour we went to the Army where we had a really nice dinner.
Now we are back on the bus again heading another 2.5 hours down the road to Dresden where we will be on duty tomorrow. It just happens that our visit coincides with a visit by President Obama. Could be interesting.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Day 7 - Copenhagen, Denmark
Well, it's almost unbelievable that we've been on this tour for 7 days. We left Chicago a week ago tonight and since we left we've visited 3 countries and have been pretty busy.
Today was a little bit easier on us than yesterday. There was absolutely no schedule for us until 12:45 pm when we were to meet for lunch. A few of us slept, others walked on their own or on prescribed tours and others took a tour on the canals. Personally, the canal tour was a really good way to see a lot of the city in one hour without expending tons of energy. I even got to see the back side of the little mermaid statue. I didn't expect to see her at all. I'd read that she was going on loan to an exhibition in China but apparently that isn't until 2010. Erik Silfverberg was right when he told me she's not much to look at. I'm glad that I did get to see her but more glad that I didn't go to extra effort to see her.
Once our free morning concluded we proceeded to the Copenhagen Temple Corps for a traditional Danish smörgåsbord. OK... since smörgåsbord is actually a Swedish word maybe it wasn't a traditional Danish meal. But it was good.
We then had ample time to set up the Temple for the evening concert before heading to a plaza for an outdoor afternoon concert. The afternoon concert was held right outside Royal Copenhagen, the purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark since 1775. The building we were in front of was not quite that old but I believe it was built in the late 1800s. In a city that was chartered in 1254 that building is almost "a baby".
There were literally hundreds of people passing by the spot where we were playing. Many stopped to listen. It was actually a beautiful day for an outside concert. The wind was blowing but the sun was shining and the temperature was pleasant. Our Executive Officer spoke to one American couple who asked if we had just been in Sweden? When he replied yes, they said they'd heard us at our outdoor concert in Stockholm and were now hearing us in Copenhagen. They wouldn't really qualify as groupies since their next stop is Rome and ours is Dresden.
During the concert Erik Silfverberg honored us by conducting two of his march compositions.
After a short break we had dinner with much of the territorial staff and then proceeded back to the Temple Corps for our concert. All but the "cheap seats" on the far sides of the balcony were full and the audience was very generous in their appreciation of our efforts.
This marks the end of the road for us and Mike Dickens from Sweden. Mike has been hauling our equipment in his truck for us since we arrived in Oslo, Norway. Not only has he taken care of transporting our equipment he has been handling the borrowed percussion equipment we've been using. He's been a big help to us in a lot of other ways as well since he knows Scandinavia very well. We'll miss Mike as we head to Germany and he returns to his regular full time job.
This marks the end of our time in Denmark and we were truly blessed to be here. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.
Today was a little bit easier on us than yesterday. There was absolutely no schedule for us until 12:45 pm when we were to meet for lunch. A few of us slept, others walked on their own or on prescribed tours and others took a tour on the canals. Personally, the canal tour was a really good way to see a lot of the city in one hour without expending tons of energy. I even got to see the back side of the little mermaid statue. I didn't expect to see her at all. I'd read that she was going on loan to an exhibition in China but apparently that isn't until 2010. Erik Silfverberg was right when he told me she's not much to look at. I'm glad that I did get to see her but more glad that I didn't go to extra effort to see her.
Once our free morning concluded we proceeded to the Copenhagen Temple Corps for a traditional Danish smörgåsbord. OK... since smörgåsbord is actually a Swedish word maybe it wasn't a traditional Danish meal. But it was good.
We then had ample time to set up the Temple for the evening concert before heading to a plaza for an outdoor afternoon concert. The afternoon concert was held right outside Royal Copenhagen, the purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark since 1775. The building we were in front of was not quite that old but I believe it was built in the late 1800s. In a city that was chartered in 1254 that building is almost "a baby".
There were literally hundreds of people passing by the spot where we were playing. Many stopped to listen. It was actually a beautiful day for an outside concert. The wind was blowing but the sun was shining and the temperature was pleasant. Our Executive Officer spoke to one American couple who asked if we had just been in Sweden? When he replied yes, they said they'd heard us at our outdoor concert in Stockholm and were now hearing us in Copenhagen. They wouldn't really qualify as groupies since their next stop is Rome and ours is Dresden.
During the concert Erik Silfverberg honored us by conducting two of his march compositions.
After a short break we had dinner with much of the territorial staff and then proceeded back to the Temple Corps for our concert. All but the "cheap seats" on the far sides of the balcony were full and the audience was very generous in their appreciation of our efforts.
This marks the end of the road for us and Mike Dickens from Sweden. Mike has been hauling our equipment in his truck for us since we arrived in Oslo, Norway. Not only has he taken care of transporting our equipment he has been handling the borrowed percussion equipment we've been using. He's been a big help to us in a lot of other ways as well since he knows Scandinavia very well. We'll miss Mike as we head to Germany and he returns to his regular full time job.
This marks the end of our time in Denmark and we were truly blessed to be here. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Day 6 - Stockholm, Sweden to Ystad, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark
Today turned into a bit of a marathon kind of day. We woke up in Stockholm at the Salvation Army conference center and we checked into the hotel in Copenhagen around midnight. In between we traveled something like 762 km/473 miles (according to Google Maps). For those of you back in Chicago, it's possible to fly from Chicago to Copenhagen in less time than it took us to drive from Stockholm. That just gives you an idea of the distance we covered today... it's really not a complaint.
We stopped at Holmgrens (http://www.holmgrensbil.se/) automobile dealership in Jönköping for lunch. Other than the occasional free hot dog lunch some of us get from car dealers from time to time (and the one guy that actually works in a dealership) I doubt many of us have eaten lunch at a car dealer. But this was no ordinary car dealer. They carry 5 manufacuturers or so and one of the executives is a Salvationist. So, he'd made arrangements for a very nice lunch which they called "flaming love". At least that was how it translated. It was a good lunch but it looked more like mashed potatoes and some kind of bacon meat course. Very nice and welcome stop about half way between Stockholm and Ystad.
We got back on the coach to drive the rest of the way to Ystad a nice little town on the water front. We first went to the corps to change into our uniforms and have a snack before going to the Maria Church where we played our last concert in Sweden. The Maria church has some parts of it that were built in the 1200's. In other words very old and very ornate. A number of burials have taken place in the floor of the church. Now those of you that follow Brian Allan know what he meant when he said it was cool.
The crowd was good although not as large as in other places. But they were very receptive. Then we returned to the corps for supper before saying goodbye to our host Lars-Otto Ljungholm. He was staying overnight in Ystad before making his way (via train?) back to Stockholm.
In Ystad we picked up our host for the Danish part of the tour, Erik Silfverberg. Most Salvation Army bandsmen will have played his music from their earliest days.
The trip from Ystad to Copenhagen was just over an hour and very uneventful. For those who wonder about such things Sweden and Denmark are connected via a bridge and a tunnel. We took the bridge. We've checked into the hotel and after a good night of rest will be ready to see something of Copenhagen tomorrow.
We stopped at Holmgrens (http://www.holmgrensbil.se/) automobile dealership in Jönköping for lunch. Other than the occasional free hot dog lunch some of us get from car dealers from time to time (and the one guy that actually works in a dealership) I doubt many of us have eaten lunch at a car dealer. But this was no ordinary car dealer. They carry 5 manufacuturers or so and one of the executives is a Salvationist. So, he'd made arrangements for a very nice lunch which they called "flaming love". At least that was how it translated. It was a good lunch but it looked more like mashed potatoes and some kind of bacon meat course. Very nice and welcome stop about half way between Stockholm and Ystad.
We got back on the coach to drive the rest of the way to Ystad a nice little town on the water front. We first went to the corps to change into our uniforms and have a snack before going to the Maria Church where we played our last concert in Sweden. The Maria church has some parts of it that were built in the 1200's. In other words very old and very ornate. A number of burials have taken place in the floor of the church. Now those of you that follow Brian Allan know what he meant when he said it was cool.
The crowd was good although not as large as in other places. But they were very receptive. Then we returned to the corps for supper before saying goodbye to our host Lars-Otto Ljungholm. He was staying overnight in Ystad before making his way (via train?) back to Stockholm.
In Ystad we picked up our host for the Danish part of the tour, Erik Silfverberg. Most Salvation Army bandsmen will have played his music from their earliest days.
The trip from Ystad to Copenhagen was just over an hour and very uneventful. For those who wonder about such things Sweden and Denmark are connected via a bridge and a tunnel. We took the bridge. We've checked into the hotel and after a good night of rest will be ready to see something of Copenhagen tomorrow.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Day 5 - Stockholm, Sweden
Having recovered from our Fun Night at Stockholm South Corps last night our day today began with our latest sleep so far. We didn't have to leave the Salvation Army conference center until 9:00 am and even then we were going into Stockholm for a little free time on our own.
There were a number of options for us when we arrived. Some of us went to museums, others went to old town (Gamla Stan) and most shopped at least a little. After a sunny morning free we met for lunch together before proceeding to change clothes on our bus in preparation for an outdoor afternoon concert in Stortoget. The concert was in front of the Nobel Museum -Stockholm is the home of the Nobel prizes after all. The city is absolutely beautiful but to be honest by the time the concert started it was really hot and we were in direct sunlight. We did our best and there were tons of people passing through the plaza we were playing on.
The concert started at 2:15. At 3:00 pm on the first Monday of the month they test the emergency sirens. So, we had to take a short break between numbers at that point. We thought they were done testing so we began. We thought wrong. But other than that little thing everything went well.
Once the concert was over we packed up and went to the Stockholm Temple Corps where we set up and touched on a few things for the evening concert. The Stockholm Temple Corps is reported to be the oldest and longest corps building in use by the Salvation Army in the world. It opened in 1887 and is really kind of neat. If this claim is incorrect I'm sure I'll be corrected. But the stairwells are somewhat treacherous. No harm was done but they are definitely not ADA compliant.
Following a light meal we did perform a full concert to a fairly full house. The main floor of the hall was pretty full and there were people in the balconies.
Leaving for the evening we headed back to the conference center. Our time in Stockholm is over as we head out tomorrow. The people here have been very welcoming and have worked hard on our behalf. It really has been a great time.
On a more somber note we were saddened to hear of the disappearance of the Air France jet over the Atlantic overnight. The families of those on board are in our prayers.
There were a number of options for us when we arrived. Some of us went to museums, others went to old town (Gamla Stan) and most shopped at least a little. After a sunny morning free we met for lunch together before proceeding to change clothes on our bus in preparation for an outdoor afternoon concert in Stortoget. The concert was in front of the Nobel Museum -Stockholm is the home of the Nobel prizes after all. The city is absolutely beautiful but to be honest by the time the concert started it was really hot and we were in direct sunlight. We did our best and there were tons of people passing through the plaza we were playing on.
The concert started at 2:15. At 3:00 pm on the first Monday of the month they test the emergency sirens. So, we had to take a short break between numbers at that point. We thought they were done testing so we began. We thought wrong. But other than that little thing everything went well.
Once the concert was over we packed up and went to the Stockholm Temple Corps where we set up and touched on a few things for the evening concert. The Stockholm Temple Corps is reported to be the oldest and longest corps building in use by the Salvation Army in the world. It opened in 1887 and is really kind of neat. If this claim is incorrect I'm sure I'll be corrected. But the stairwells are somewhat treacherous. No harm was done but they are definitely not ADA compliant.
Following a light meal we did perform a full concert to a fairly full house. The main floor of the hall was pretty full and there were people in the balconies.
Leaving for the evening we headed back to the conference center. Our time in Stockholm is over as we head out tomorrow. The people here have been very welcoming and have worked hard on our behalf. It really has been a great time.
On a more somber note we were saddened to hear of the disappearance of the Air France jet over the Atlantic overnight. The families of those on board are in our prayers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)