Finally, Internet!

Monday night we had our show at the Rheinlander theatre, which was absolutely gorgeous. The one thing we tend to keep hearing everywhere we go is, "There's a lot of history in this building." It's amazing how much has happened in this one country, even just over the past 100 years, but also the fact that there are buildings older, and landmarks older than the United States has been around-- it's amazing. We didn't find out too incredibly much about a lot of the places we've played (the Germans don't like talking about any of it too much), but we did find out that the Rheinlander was a club that Hitler used to go to on a regular basis before his rise to power. And even just knowing that gives the place a really eerie vibe, though the building itself was amazing.

The Baumholder show itself was a big deal to us, because all of the soldiers at the base were deployed to Iraq, so we were to be performing for mostly women and children. We tried to keep all the little kiddies entertained, and when we played our Beyonce cover, we actually had a dance party in front of the stage of mainly kids under 10. It was amazing. A little guy, probably 7, was doing the worm. We gave out cds to the ‘best dancers,’ and we had a great time (I almost couldn’t sing I was laughing so hard). At the end of the set the commander came up and awarded us coins and a plaque for boosting morale on the base, but again, I think we were more honored to be there than anything else.

Rheinlander Club

The next day we left for Manheim. On the way in we stopped at Hiedelberg, the most amazing touristy/Disneyworld/busy little town with a castle that dates back to the 30 years war. It was unbelievable. The only thing that I can say in a somewhat negative tone is that I’m sad we didn’t get to spend more time looking around. There are so many cute shops, and the towns here are SO CLEAN. And there are dogs, like, everywhere. I loved walking around. Also, I finally got to speak German! To the gelato-man, and it was glorious. Not only was he pleased I understood how much the gelato cost (zwei euro = 2 euro), but I said “thank you” and I know that doesn’t sound like much but it was pretty awesome.

So after our short stint of Hidelberg, we went out to the venue, ate some dinner, and played our set. It was a slightly smaller crowd, but still they were so amazing and appreciative, and many of them were to be leaving for Iraq in the coming weeks. I will add that our hotel in Manheim was AWESOME, we each had our own room and huge bathroom and internet and well, I can’t ask for much more than that. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from doing tours like this… it’s absolutely unreal to be in this place, the tour bus, the whole ‘Europe’ thing, and I love seeing as much as I can and doing as much as I can fit into one day; but it’s nothing if I can’t share it with the people I can’t imagine being without.

I’m writing this on the bus en route to Edelweiss. We stopped by this fantasy castle that Walt Disney actually modeled his Cinderella castle afterwards, and although we didn’t get to go in (it’s closed today), we did get a great view of it. Also, someone took a picture of our bus. That was something.

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After not being able to find a parking spot for the bus, we just decided to keep on moving. We passed into Austria (yay!) and then went through the Alps to get to our hotel. Wow. I’m so bummed that my camera’s batteries died during the trek, because I don’t think I can accurately describe how amazing the little towns were that we drove through. How ornate the roofs were, the murals on the sides of the houses, the colors of the plants under each window. I even saw a little goat running through someone’s backyard. It was one of the best things I’ve ever seen, I felt like I was in a different world. The snow-covered mountains were jaw-dropping, and although I did get a few shots the glare on our bus really doesn’t do the scenery justice at all.

We arrived at the Edelweiss lodge and resort maybe an hour or so later, and it is AMAZING. We decided that tomorrow we would go into the town and explore it, along with take a gondola up to the top of the mountain. Tonight though, we wanted to take it easy and explore everything the resort had to offer. We made a stop at the gift shop (and some of the things… seriously, so good), ate at the restaurant, and then hopped in the hot tub. Then we went down to the bar for some German beer for the boys, and some Snow Bunnies for the girls (peppermint schapps, coffee, cocoa, and whipped cream). Overall this was a great day of travel, and we’re really looking forward to spending the whole day here tomorrow. Also, check out this place we’re staying at… quite a nice little view from the windows.

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And now I am on the bus headed to grafenwoehr. We didn’t have internet (that was free), so I wasn’t able to update anything while I was there. Yesterday we were hoping to have been able to climb up the mountains, but in the end we just decided to take it easy and explore the town since we hadn’t been able to really look around since we got into Germany. We got up early and walked down into the center of Garmisch, found an amazing little café and candy shoppe, and just hung out for a few hours. When we walked back to the hotel later on, we rented bikes and rode all around the Alps and through beautiful German neighborhoods. It was a really great day.

The show setting in Edelweiss was very much like playing a restaurant/bar; there were families there an dpeople of all ages. I think I should note that Edelweiss is a resort and lodge for ONLY military personnel (which means when I don’t have my military ID anymore I won’t be able to go back), but it’s cool because I met kids and people from all over the world just vacationing there. It was really awesome, and the show was a ton of fun. Overall, I think yesterday was my favorite day so far on my trip.

So yeah, like I said, today we are headed to Grafenwoehr, and Silvio had us get up early so that we could actually make a stop at a concentration camp today before we get to the hotel/venue. Today should be a really interesting day.

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So, now we’re in the bus again, just stopped in I’m-not-sure-where to change a tire that we somehow SHREDDED UP. Again, due to the inconsistent internet I’ve been forced to update in word and then post this with pictures once I get my computer online.

I’m not sure if there’s much to say about going to Dachau; it was a major concentration camp during World War II, and although it was more of a work camp than an extermination camp, the number of people who passed through, suffered, and died there is tangible when you open the gate and walk in. It’s amazing how much they still have intact, and how much they preserved for the sake of the memorial.

Then we finished the drive out to grafenwoehr, and were met by a couple AFE people- they took us out to dinner for MEXICAN (yes), and I had the hugest burrito. And I ate it, all. And then went and played a show directly after. Worst best decision ever. The show was again for mostly women and children, and of those children many were dawning their pj’s because it was so close to their bedtime. It was adorable, and again a very sad feeling for all of us. One woman who is in charge of something on the base spoke with me after our show, and told me that they already have thousands (I think over 4000) soldiers deployed to Iraq for 15 months, and in the next couple week a number quite similar will be leaving for the same destination. Also, I should note that Grafenwoehr is a huge base training facility, and right before we left she warned us that we would hear a lot of gunfire and bombing tonight, but only that it was them training for Iraq. After hearing that, it was difficult to get to sleep knowing what was going on outside, and that so many people would again be leaving their families.

Today we woke up and got on the bus at 7am. It’s about a 6 hour drive to Spangdahlem, and I can’t believe that we are heading to our last show already. It’s a festival, and we were told that there’s another band going on before us, and that Billy Blanks will be there. More information will follow, I assure you.

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Today's show was really great, and felt like a great show to finish the tour up with. We arrived so close to when we had to play that we didn't even get time to check out what was going on, we just pulled up to the stage, soundchecked, and went on. It was the Spangdahlem Open House, where 5-6000 people (mostly French and German) come to check out the air base. They have planes on display, and yes, even Billy Blanks was there. I didn't see him, but I know he's staying at our hotel. So there's still hope.

We were the final band at the stage, and we kept really good energy the whole show. I think this was one of the most difficult shows we've ever played, because we had so many people there, but we had no means to communicate with them. Everything we said to them, no one understood. They enjoyed the music, clapped after every song, but there was no response when we tried to incorporate them into the set. Thankfully we had a translator who helped us out and got the crowd even more riled up, and it was amazing. I was able to say so little to them ('thank you to our german crowd' and 'i speak little german, and i understand very little'...) so yeah, I was lacking a bit in the communication department. But seriously, this crowd was amazing.

Afterwards, we finally got to check out our hotel, and grabbed dinner with some people from the base. Jess knew a couple who was stationed out there, so they came out too and then we went to the bar. I'm back at the hotel now, packing up all our souvenirs to bring back. This was a truly surreal and amazing trip, and already we're doing some planning on going back.

I'm definitely looking forward to heading home tomorrow, but this was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. We're leaving at 6:3o tomorrow morning to head to the Frankfurt airport, and from there we leave somewhere around noon. See you in the states this time tomorrow!