Tag Archives: concerts

Cologne, North Rhine Westphalia

The Eagles sure didn’t stink in Cologne… part 5

Tuesday night was the night we’d been waiting months for.  I was finally going to get to see the Eagles play live.  Yes, I was going to do it without Glenn Frey, who was a founding member and co-wrote so many of the songs.  Fortunately, I’m a big fan of Vince Gill’s, and he and Frey’s 25 year old son, Deacon, have joined the band and kept it awesome.

I managed to score us 5th row seats, which was even more amazing to me.  They were expensive, though not as expensive as our tickets to the Rolling Stones were last year.  For that show, I got 13th row seats and still couldn’t see so much, thanks to all the tall people around me.  It was an amazing show and well worth the 1200 euros I shelled out for two tickets close up.  I spent about 800 for the tickets to the Eagles and enjoyed the show a lot more.  In fact, I’d say that for many reasons, it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

For one thing, we got really lucky and sat near considerate people.  The lady to my left had the good sense not to wear a tank top (like the guy at the Stones concert wore) and there was no smoking allowed.  There was no one sitting in the seat directly in front of mine, although the guy sitting in the next row to the left was a bit tall.  I still managed to get lots of pictures.  Since the Eagles asked us not to video the show, I didn’t.  I noticed some people ignored the rules and videoed anyway.  I guess they’re never going to be able to stop people from doing that.

I don’t do that many selfies, but somehow Bill manages to make me look pretty contented.

 

The view before everyone showed up.  I could see it wasn’t quite a sold out crowd, but it was a very well-attended show with most seats filled.

 

There they are!

The band was about ten minutes late getting on stage and I could tell some of the natives were getting restless.  But when they came out and began with “Seven Bridges Road”, everyone loved it.  Below are some pictures I got of the show.  Here’s a link to the setlist.

I got a huge kick out of Joe Walsh, who is always entertaining, gregarious, funny, and super amazingly talented.

 

It also wasn’t lost on me that Joe and I have the same hairstyle and color.  However, you will never catch me wearing leather pants, faux or real.

 

Check out that facial expression.  Joe Walsh is entertaining if all you do is watch his face contort.

Timothy B. Schmit was pouring his heart into it.

This guy, Steuart Smith, is a fucking genius on guitar.  I read that he took Don Felder’s place when Felder was fired from the Eagles.  He toured with Don Henley during his solo projects.  He was an excellent “straight man” to Walsh’s wild guitar licks.  He was also technically brilliant, although he said nothing to the crowd.

 

Dreamboat…  too bad I’m old enough to be his mother.

Glenn Frey’s handsome son, Deacon, sang a couple of his dad’s songs.  He has a very nice voice, although it didn’t remind me of Glenn’s.  Some children of rock stars end up “cursed” with their rock star parent’s sound.  Ben Taylor, son of James Taylor, comes to mind.  Actually, I hear his mom, Carly Simon, in his voice too.  And Julian Lennon, John Lennon’s son, also sounds a lot like his famous dad.  On one hand, it’s awesome to sound like someone famous.  On another, it makes it hard to carve out your own niche.  Deacon’s voice is warm, rich, and actually reminded me of a much less twangy version of Travis Tritt– who covered “Take It Easy” by the Eagles back in 1993.  Deacon sang “Take It Easy” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling” on Tuesday night.  I’m glad he has his own sound, too.

The crowd was loving it!

I knew about Vince Gill from his 90s country hunk days.  He’s married to Amy Grant and, I’m sure, always dreamed of playing with the Eagles.  He probably would have been about Deacon Frey’s age during their heyday.  I was delighted when they played “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away”, which was a big hit from his solo days.  It was great to hear it done Eagles style.  The Germans seemed unfamiliar with it, though.

 
 

Here’s an illegal video from a show they did in Oklahoma.  I knew all the words, but no one else around me did.  I love this song!  And Vince Gill is an amazing choice for the Eagles.  He has a beautiful tenor voice, plus he’s a kick ass guitar player.  I’m getting goosebumps just listening to it now.  Joe Walsh doing a guitar solo… hot damn!

And here he is… Don Henley.  I have a love/hate relationship with Don Henley.  I think he’s an amazing singer, a fantastic songwriter, and I even appreciate his famous crankiness.  He seemed to be in a good mood on Tuesday night, probably because he’s in Europe.  He quipped that he’s happy to be Europe… and given his political leanings, I think we know why.  He said they were going to play 2.5 hours, commenting that 2.5 hours is a long time for guys their age to play.  It’s a long time for women like me to listen, too.  But the bladder gods apparently blessed us all and we made it without a potty break.

 

These guys played horns on several songs and they were bloody awesome.  One guy played an epic trumpet solo for “Hotel California”, which was the first of three encores.

Final bow!

Easy going crowd.

The stadium was almost full by the time the show got going.

A selfie with Don Henley in the background?  Why not?

At one point, Timothy B. Schmit occupied the crowd by having everyone cheer as we looked up at the monitors over the stage.  I’m glad I didn’t see myself up there.  They probably did that to give the roadies a chance to set up for the next song and/or allow one of the band members to whiz.

“He’s cool!” (because life’s been good to him so far…)

Big crowd!

Nice tribute to Glenn Frey.  I think he was with us in spirit.

Everyone got out their phones for “Desperado”, encore #2.

Pre-flighting before the show?  Not us. 
 

I’d definitely go back to the Lanxess Arena for another show, even though I prefer concerts in smaller venues.  It was super easy to get to the venue and I thought the facilities were very good.  There were plenty of toilets and plenty of food vendors, so people had a choice besides wurst.  We didn’t actually eat at the concert, but it was nice to see we could have if we’d wanted to.  The security wasn’t obnoxious and the seats were quite comfortable, which is more than I can say for both the Paul Simon show and The Rolling Stones.  I also like Cologne and the Excelsior Hotel Ernst… so if we stay in Wiesbaden, I think we’ll be back for more.  I’d also see the Eagles again.  The tickets were worth every penny!

We got back to the hotel at about 11:30pm.  The piano bar was still open, so we went in for a night cap.  The same bartender was there and he remembered what we drank on Monday night.  We had a couple more cocktails, some barbecued potato chips, and almonds while a different piano player played.

The barman was impressed by Bill’s knowledge of libations.  It’s hard to believe he was a Mormon when we met.  However, he’s also quite Irish– though not as Irish as I am.

Nice piano player!

 

I think I finally drifted off to sleep about about 1:00am.  I was very excited about the show.  The Eagles are playing in Munich tonight, having taken yesterday off.  I’m sure the Munich crowd is in for a big treat!  I hope I’ll get another chance to see them play again before I (or they) die.

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Cologne, North Rhine Westphalia

The Eagles sure didn’t stink in Cologne… part 1

Last October, as Bill and I were preparing for our big move from Stuttgart to Wiesbaden, I found out that the Eagles, one of my favorite bands of all time, was going to be playing two dates in Germany in 2019.  2018 was our summer of concerts.  We saw The Rolling Stones in Stuttgart, Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, and James Taylor (all at one show) in Dublin, Roger Hodgson in Stuttgart, and the Irish Folk Festival in Stuttgart.  I also knew we were going to be seeing Elton John in Stuttgart in May 2019.

Given that we’d already spent so much money on shows and knowing that a move always requires more spending, I hesitated slightly before I bought the tickets.  When we go to concerts, they usually turn into major spending events.  I usually book us a nice hotel, so we don’t have to worry about driving far to get to the venue or trying to park (although we made the mistake of driving to the Elton John show).  I also don’t bother with “nosebleed” seats.  There was a time when those were the best seats I could afford, but now I want to sit closer, which always means more money.

I asked Bill what he thought about seeing the Eagles, even though the band’s legendary frontman, Glenn Frey, passed away in January 2016.  After some thought, Bill was okay with attending the show.  Now it was time to choose a city.  I had a choice between Cologne and Munich.

We had been in Cologne once before, back in May 2012, when we took our very first Space A military “hop”.  I remember we stayed at the Ibis in the train station, which was fine for a night when we were totally exhausted, but probably wouldn’t do now that I’m older and richer.  I also know Munich is expensive, since we did a blind booking out of Cologne on Germanwings (now known as Eurowings) during that same Space A hop and got Munich.  Don’t get me wrong– Munich is so much fun; but it’s super pricey.  Even average hotels down there cost a mint.  Munich is also further away from us, now that we’re in Wiesbaden.

Both of the shows were on work nights, but the Cologne show was the day after Memorial Day, so we decided it would be easiest to go to Cologne.  Bill would use up one less vacation day, and both the concert tickets and the lodging were less expensive than Munich.  Now that we’ve been back to Cologne, I can say that we’ll probably go there for more shows.  Not only was it super easy to get to the concert venue, it’s also super easy to get to Cologne from where we live.  And, as a bonus, we discovered an amazing hotel in the Excelsior Hotel Ernst!  As long as we can afford it, I think the Excelsior Hotel Ernst has effectively ended our Ibis days in Cologne.

This trip was also important, because it provided an excellent opportunity for our dogs to try out a new doggy pension.  When we lived in Stuttgart, we used Dog on Holiday, which I would absolutely recommend to anyone.  In fact, we’ve decided that anytime we need to go to or through Stuttgart with our dogs, we will try to have them stay with Max and Christine.  But it wasn’t practical to take the boys to Dog on Holiday from Wiesbaden, so we needed to find a place for them closer to our new town.  In February, we visited the Tierpension Birkenhof, and arranged for our boys to have their first stay during this quick trip to Cologne.

 

I got us fifth row seats!

 

With all of the arrangements made, we set off for the “city of pleasant smells” on Monday of this week– Memorial Day.  Since our hotel was super close to the train station and the train station had a stop near Cologne’s Lanxess Arena, which was where the Eagles would be “crying”, we decided to take the Inner City Express (ICE) train from the Frankfurt Airport.  The Tierpension Birkenhof is fairly convenient to the airport, although not as convenient as Max’s pension is to the Stuttgart airport.

 

 

 

The Tierpension Birkenhof was recommended to Bill by one of his co-workers.  It’s always interesting to see the differences in the “doggy hotels” in Germany.  When we were in Stuttgart the first time, we used to use Hunde Hotel Haase, which was a beautiful facility in Bad Niedernau, a very country hamlet south of Stuttgart.  Kiersten, the  lady who ran it back in those days, was absolutely awesome.  But, when we came back to Stuttgart in 2014, she’d left and took the hotel’s good reputation with her.  We used the Hunde Hotel Haase a couple more times, but kept hearing horror stories about dogs that were left there.  That’s when we switched to Dog on Holiday, which has been universally great, despite it’s somewhat urban location.

 
 

Tierpension Birkenhoff is a rather large facility that cares for dogs and cats.  It’s located in a somewhat suburban area, yet it’s near farmland.  The owner doesn’t accept VAT forms, and we haven’t yet met him.  We have met two of his employees, both of whom seemed very kind.  

 

I have noticed that each German dog facility has its quirks.  At the Birkenhoff, you’re not allowed to bring your own dog bed.  I’m not sure exactly why this is… I think it’s because the other doesn’t want to have to worry about the owners’ beds getting dirty.  Nevertheless, it does make things somewhat more convenient for us, since we’re about to trade in our RAV 4 SUV for a Volvo SUV and will probably have to bring the dogs in my Mini Cooper next time they stay.  Mini Coopers are small.  Dog beds take up a lot of space.

 

Frankfurt Airport train station to Cologne Messe

 

Once the dogs were dropped off, we made our way to the Frankfurt Airport.  Bill had reserved parking with ACS at the airport, which turned out to be very convenient, once we figured out where P4 was.  The reserved spots are reasonably priced and located near the terminal, so there’s no need to haul heavy bags long distances from far away lots.  Frankfurt Airport is a bit more confusing than Stuttgart Airport is.  It’s huge, and finding parking can be super confusing and annoying.  But now that we know where the ACS parking is, I’m sure we’ll use it all the time.  It really made parking super easy.

 

Frankfurt Airport also has a big train station, making it easy to access a lot of cities.  If we had left from Wiesbaden, it would have taken a lot more time, required us to park in the parking garage from Hell, and we would have needed to change trains at least once.  From Frankfurt Airport, it was a straight shot to Cologne.  

 
 

I like how, in Germany, “bullshit” isn’t a bad word.  You’ll even see it on billboards.

 

We had time for lunch, so we stopped at a restaurant called Little Italy, not to be confused with the Little Italy in Wiesbaden, which has become one of our favorite Sunday lunch stops.  The Little Italy at the airport is in the shopping area called The Squaire.  It’s not long on ambiance, but the food and service are good.

 
Mmm…  food!
 
 

Bill went vegetarian with spaghetti and fresh vegetables, tossed in a little olive oil and washed down with a tempranillo.

 

I had a very lovely tagliatelle salmone.  The salmon was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth.  I love salmon that isn’t overcooked, and they did a really good job with this.  However, I probably would have preferred about half this much food.  

 

With lunch sorted, we headed down to the platform where we’d catch our train to Cologne.  But then, about ten minutes before we were to depart, our original train was cancelled due to some people on the tracks.  Don’t ask me what that means.  I have no idea.  Bill ran up to the Deutsche Bahn (DB) information kiosk, where he was advised that we should take another train. 

 

Instead of dropping us directly at the Cologne Hauptbahnhof, would go to the Cologne Messe stop.  That would require us to take a city train one stop over the Rhein River.  The nice thing about the train we took was that it went directly from Frankfurt to Cologne, with no stops.  It was also practically empty, which was a good thing, since changing trains also erased our seat reservations.  Within an hour, we were whisked to Cologne, having flown past beautiful scenery at about 280 kph.

 

I was surprised by how fast our trip from Frankfurt to Cologne was on the ICE train.  It was also very comfortable, since the train has clean toilets and a restaurant.  We did not use the restaurant during our trip to Cologne, but it was nice to have had the option.

 

 

Bill checks the schedule…

 

This is the life.  First class all the way.  Second class probably would have been fine, too.

 

We could have taken a more leisurely train to Cologne and probably saved some money, but this was a really nice way to get where we were going.  It’s been too long since our last train trip.  I think we need to take them more often.

 

It was a simple thing to take the S-bahn over the Rhein River to get to Cologne’s main station, home of the city’s majestic Dom and our hotel, the Excelsior Hotel Ernst.  

 

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Welcome back to Stuttgart… part 4– “Eine wirklich schwäbisch Küche”, Elton John, and STAUgart HELL!!!

Saturday was the day we’d been waiting for.  Ever since I bought the tickets to see Elton John in February 2018, I anticipated finally getting to see him for the first… and likely the last… time ever.  We spent Saturday morning relaxing and recovering from the Fest.  Then we had lunch at the nearby Vereinsgaststätte TSV 07 Stuttgart, which I had wanted to try because I noticed on other visits that it always smelled good near the restaurant.  The signage around the club also indicated that it was “eine wirklich schwäbisch Küche” (a really Schwabish kitchen).  Although I can’t say I’m a devout fan of Schwabish cuisine, I wanted to see if there was truth in advertising.

See?  It even says on the sign that it’s a really Schwabish kitchen.

Corona?  Really?

The Gasthaus was fairly busy when we got there, which I always take as a good sign.  Curiously, I noticed a large beer fridge full of Coronas– Mexican beer that goes well with lime slices.  Although Corona is prevalent enough in the United States, it’s not that often that I see it in German Gasthauses. We took a seat in the dining room and the English speaking waitress brought us a Weizen for me, and an Apple Schorle for Bill.  For lunch, Bill had a small turkey schnitzel with pommes.  I decided to have asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce.

I don’t know why this trip was so heavy on asparagus.  I do like it, but I prefer the green asparagus to the white.  To me, it’s got more flavor.  I don’t usually want to center a whole meal around asparagus, either, although once May is over, so is asparagus season.  Nevertheless, here’s the photographic evidence of the source of my stinky pee.

Gosh, he’s cute.

Bill’s salad was the traditional kind, with potato salad on the bottom.  I’m sure they serve it like that up here in Hesse, although to be honest, we haven’t been frequenting Gasthauses lately.

A little turkey schnitzel with fries.  I liked that it came with ketchup or mayo and that you could choose pork, veal, or turkey.  I also liked that you could order a small.  I can never finish schnitzels, which is why I rarely order them.  Bill liked his.  I probably should have gotten one, too.

My asparagus with Hollandaise and a “Fladl” (crepe).  It’s a very “beige” dish.  I couldn’t eat all of the asparagus, but I gave it a good try.

When we got back to the hotel, there was a saxophone player named Sebastian Lilienthal playing.  Waldhotel was having an open house and I guess his music was part of the festivities.  I thought his playing was technically good, although it lacked a certain sense of soul.  He seemed to prefer hits of the 1980s.  Having looked him up, I can see why.  He’s just a few years older than I am, so that music was no doubt part of his personal soundtrack.  I did get a kick out of his rendition of “Boogie Wonderland” by The Emotions and Earth, Wind, & Fire.  It’s not a song I would have expected to hear played solo on the saxophone.

Sebastian was playing to no one at this point, since no one was sitting outside.  It was chilly and rainy outside.  He was later driven inside by a sudden hailstorm.  At one point, he reminded me a little of Squidward.  

Sorry… but he really did.

The hotel staff set out some very tempting looking treats.  

I’m really glad we had a piece of Black Forest Cake, especially given what happened on our way to the concert.  This is one of my favorite German desserts!

 

The concert tickets I bought came with a parking pass and vouchers for a buffet with an open bar for two hours before the show started.  Although we don’t usually drive to concerts due to the hell of getting in and out of the parking lots, we decided to drive this time, since we had the parking pass.  It’s a mistake I won’t be repeating.

We left the hotel at about 4:45pm, figuring that would give us plenty of time to get to the venue and get something to eat.  One thing that usually happens to us at concerts is that we miss dinner.  It’s not that I can’t afford to miss a meal… it’s just that I get really “hangry” when I’m hungry.  So we thought we’d be safe.  We were about 900 meters from the concert venue when the Stuttgart police suddenly decided to close the road leading to the Hans Schleyer Arena.  I mean, it happened literally a car ahead of us.  He put traffic cones up and people were having to make U turns into oncoming traffic, which seemed really dangerous to me.  And the cop was very rude when Bill asked how he was supposed to get to the parking area.  I was tempted to use bad language, but remembered that insulting the cops can lead to huge fines.  So I zipped it… and so did Bill, who also felt like cussing.

This was just the beginning.  If we had left about five minutes earlier, we would have avoided this mess.  At one point, I was wondering if we were going to make it, since traffic was at a standstill.  We were about 600 meters from the parking lot, but it still took an hour.

Traffic was a nightmare, of course, as we and everyone behind us was forced to change directions.  The GPS rerouted us to the road that ran past the Wasen grounds.  It took about an hour to work our way down the street congested with festgoers.  It was absolutely infuriating, although even if we’d taken a cab or the U-bahn, it would have been an ordeal to get to the venue.  By the time we parked the car, it was already 6:30pm and the concert was due to start at 7:00.  So we decided to just find our seats.

The view from where I was sitting.

The concert was, of course, completely sold out.  I didn’t see a single open seat in the arena.  Elton put on a great show and played for about two and a half hours, straight.  I really enjoyed the concert, especially since John Jorgenson was in the band.  About ten years ago, I used to review albums for a public relations firm out of Nashville.  They sent me a couple of Jorgenson’s albums to review.  He was filling in for Elton John’s regular guitar player, Davey Johnstone, who is taking a break due to back problems.

The band was stellar and we had pretty good seats in Block Twelve.  The songs were each paired with an audio/visual presentation, which I guess is the trend with some artists.  I remember Diana Krall did something similar with her concert in Stuttgart a few years ago.  The videos were kind of interesting, but they were also a bit distracting.  I found myself watching the videos instead of Elton, whose piano was on some kind of track that moved him around the stage.  I remember being surprised when I turned my attention back to him on the stage and seeing him in a different place than where he was at the beginning of the song.

After a particularly exciting song, the house lights would go up so we could all see each other.  There were several exciting songs, so we got to see each other a lot.  It was a huge, appreciative crowd.  I was sitting next to a German guy who was really into the show.  He was dancing in his seat.

Toward the end of the show, Elton said that in 1990, he decided that he didn’t like how he was living his life and decided to make a change.  He got off drugs and alcohol and, two years later, decided to start a foundation to fight AIDS.  Maybe a lot of younger people don’t realize what a scourge AIDS was for people in the 80s and 90s, but I plainly remember how many people– truly amazing, gifted people like Ryan White, Freddie Mercury, and Rock Hudson– died of the disease when I was coming of age.  I appreciated Elton’s comments about how now, no one has to die of AIDS.

Speaking as someone who remembers thinking of HIV infection as an automatic death sentence, I was really impressed by Elton’s speech, as well as his explanation as to why he’s retiring from the road.  He got everyone excited when he said we all need to come together– especially England and the rest of Europe.  He said, and I quote, “We don’t need fucking BREXIT!”  The Germans all roared their approval.  I was kind of relieved that he didn’t bring up Donald Trump, although that was probably another thought people were having.  Personally, I don’t think we need fucking Donald Trump, either.

Ray Cooper… he’s a madman on the drums!  I also enjoyed watching Nigel Olsson, another one of Elton’s longtime band members.  He kept mugging for the camera.  It was adorable!

Goodbye, Elton…

It looked almost like he was ascending into Heaven.  I hope that’s not on the horizon…

Taking a bow.

Before we knew it, the show was over.  But, because we were tightly packed into our seats, neither Bill nor I had the chance to pee before the end.  Of course, because the arena was packed with people, most of whom also needed to pee, we didn’t get a chance to go before we exited the building.  We were kind of swept out of the venue into the rain.  Then, once we got in the car, stomachs rumbling because we didn’t have time to eat, the real fun started.  It legitimately took over an hour just to get out of the parking lot.  There was no sense of queueing and plenty of people were acting like totally inconsiderate assholes behind the wheel.  I did a lot of swearing… I won’t lie.

This was hell.  However, I did see a few amusing scenes of young people staggering after spending too much time at the Fest.  One person even left a full cup of beer tucked into someone’s windshield wiper.  

The hotel’s parking lot was full when we arrived at about 11:00pm.  The show had let out at about 9:30pm, but it took us 90 minutes to get back.  The kitchen was closed, of course.  We hadn’t expected it to be open, although we could see others who had gone to the show and got back before us were eating.  I guess they had the same problem we did.  The bartender was sympathetic, though, and loaded us up on red wine and peanuts.

When we got back to the room, we found it completely set up for bedtime.  The housekeeper left us more tea and cookies, closed all the blinds, and turned down the bed.  That was very nice and left us with a good impression.

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Helpful apps

Honey made my latest hotel booking a little sweeter…

Sign up for some honey!

A big shoutout goes to my friend, Stephanie, who turned me on to “Honey“, an app that automatically finds coupons for you.  Although lately, I’m not a frugal as I used to be, I’m always up for saving money, especially when it’s easy.  Honey, a browser extension, is always looking for deals on your behalf.  I found this out yesterday, as I was searching for a hotel room in Leipzig.

On July 4th, we will be traveling to the east German city to catch Mark Knopfler in concert on the 5th.  I’ve been wanting to see Mark Knopfler for years.  Even though he’s also playing in Mannheim, which is a lot closer to where we currently live, and Stuttgart, which is near where we used to live, I chose to get tickets in Leipzig, because we’ve never been there.  Ever since we visited Dresden back in 2008, I’ve been wanting to explore more of what used to be East Germany.

July 7th, the day we’re coming home, is Bill’s birthday.  I figured, since we usually do fun stuff for my birthday, this year, we’d do something nice for Bill’s.  Although I was closely eyeing the Leipzig Adina Hotel, which is part of a great chain of apartment hotels and is a lot cheaper than the ritzy Hotel Steigenberger, the truth is, I like overpriced luxury digs.  I’ve stayed in a lot of inexpensive lodgings in my lifetime, so when I can splurge, I do.  We stayed in an Adina hotel in Berlin and liked it, particularly because Bill’s mom was with us.  The super clean apartment allowed her to have her own bathroom and bedroom.  But this time, it’s just Bill and me, and we don’t need a kitchenette, laundry facilities, or other apartment stuff.

I booked us at the Hotel Steigenberger, cringing a little at the price.  But then, just as I was about to pay, Honey went into action.  It found me a coupon that ended up shaving about $71 off the price of the room!  And better yet, I didn’t have to do a thing to get that discount.  In fact, I had completely forgotten about Honey and would have missed out on that coupon if it hadn’t worked automatically.  Also, looking at Honey’s official site, I see that they have “Honey Travel“, which is a site available only to Honey members.  One can use Honey Travel to browse deals and collect “keys”, which can be used to save money on future travel.

I didn’t use Honey Travel yesterday, because I didn’t know about it.  I can see how it will be useful, though, when I plan future trips.  I can use the dedicated site to compare hotels and find deals.  The site appears to compare prices at the major travel Web sites like Travelocity, Expedia, and Booking.com.  I already collect points on Expedia and am a Booking.com “Genius”, so I’m not sure how often I’ll also use Honey Travel.  It depends on if it allows “double dipping”.

Still, even though I didn’t use Honey Travel, Honey saved me money– about 10% off Expedia.com’s rate.  And every time I save money with Honey, I get Honey Gold, which I can eventually trade in for gift cards at stores like Amazon, Macy’s, and Target.  I already use other sites, like MyPoints.com, for collecting points that can be turned into gift cards.  When I was in the States, I also used MySurvey.com, which was good for a little pocket cash and the occasional freebie.  Honey appears to be somewhat similar to MyPoints, only you don’t have to remember to click through any links.

Anyway… I just wanted to share the news and the wealth.  I’ll be sure to keep using Honey for all of my online shopping, which is pretty much the majority of it these days.  God knows, I can use a little more cash for my travels!

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entertainment

Dinner with friends and the Scottish Music Parade!

Bill and I have had a busy week so far.  Monday night, we drove to Schwetzingen, a nice town next to Heidelberg, to visit old friends.  One of Bill’s former co-workers came to Germany and Austria with his wife, to celebrate their wedding anniversary and visit the Christmas markets.  They used to live in Heidelberg when Army troops were still posted there.  Back in the mid 2000s, Bill was a branch chief at the Army National Guard Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.  That’s where he met the male half of the couple we met on Monday night.

We had dinner at the Brauhaus zum Ritter, a nice restaurant just across the street from the Schloss in Schwetzingen.  We visited the Schloss in 2008, when we spent a weekend in Heidelberg.  That was the first and last time we were in the area, though I had been trying to get back there when we were in Stuttgart.  Now that we’re in Wiesbaden, Heidelberg and its environs are even closer.  We could conceivably spend an afternoon there.

Because it was a visit with old friends, I kept the picture taking to a minimum.  I did get a few shots of the excellent beer and food, though.  Have a look.

We got to the restaurant before our friends did, so we had a round of beer in their bar area.

I had a very tasty and surprisingly flavorful Schwarz Bier…

And Bill had a Weiss Bier… again, surprisingly flavorful compared to other Weizens I’ve had.

I liked the decorations.
 

The Brauhaus zum Ritter offers a lot of the usual German fare.  I had a cordon bleu Schnitzel, stuffed with mountain cheese and ham and served with potato salad.  It was very good and not too huge.

I’m going to have to ask Bill what he had.  It appears to be a Rinderfilet with mushroom sauce and spaetzle.

Instructions on toilet use… Apparently, they had trouble with women building “nests” of toilet paper.

 

It was really great to see Tim and Melody, especially since it had been over ten years since we last saw them in person.  They have gone back to Munich and will be flying back to the States today.  We got home late Monday night, had a rather calm Tuesday, then went out again last night to see the Scottish Music Parade at the RheinMain Congress Center in Wiesbaden.

I found out about this event when we were visiting Wiesbaden for the first time, back in October.  There was a billboard advertising the show near our hotel.  Since I’ve been on a roll with concerts lately, I decided it might be fun to go see this event, which apparently happens regularly.  One thing I’ve learned during this Germany stint is that Germans seem to love the Scots and other Celtic folks.  On Halloween of this year, we went to the Stuttgart version of the Irish Folk Music Festival, another annual tour.  I thought maybe the Scottish Music Parade would be like the Irish Folk Music Festival, but it turned out to be decidedly different.  Still, we had a good time.  Below are some pictures.

We got to the surprisingly large concert hall a bit early.  I think Bill’s original plan was to find somewhere to have dinner, but we got caught in some traffic and I really needed to pee.  So instead of looking for a restaurant, we entered the concert hall early…  I noticed one guy wore a kilt.  I wish Bill had worn his, but then the weather was a little chilly…

We enjoyed a little wine at the wine bar after checking our jackets.  Light snacks and wraps were available.  We drank wine and ate pretzels.  We also bought three CDs from the dancers who were selling them, as well as programs and t-shirts.

A view of the stage before the show began.  My heart was done good as I heard Bruce Hornsby playing on the sound system.  I grew up near Williamsburg, Virginia, which is where Mr. Hornsby was born and raised. 

 

A kilted man who spoke German came out to introduce the performers.  There were pipes and drums, dancers, and the band Aceltica, whose music was on the CDs we bought.  There was also a male and female singer.  The female singer’s name was Jane Jackson.  She is from Glasgow, Scotland, but she now lives in Australia.  Most of the other performers are from Scotland and live there now.  I didn’t take a lot of pictures during the show because I’d rather watch it than record it for posterity.  However, I did get a few shots of the dancers during the second half of the program, which ran for about two hours with a twenty minute intermission.

The man in the kilt was pretty much the star of the show.  He normally pipes on Britannia, which was once Queen Elizabeth II’s ship.  The Royal Family sold the ship and it is now permanently docked in Edinburgh, Scotland where tourists can visit it.

He was quite the showman.

I really enjoyed the dancers, who were very graceful and athletic.  I found myself wishing I’d learned how to dance when I was a girl. 

Again with the head piper… I think his name was Stephen or Steven…  I should have bought a program.

The guitar player was also quite the badass.  

During the finale, the singers had everyone on their feet.  The male singer, who also played acoustic guitar and, I think, was named Mike, had a voice and a style that reminded me a little of Bono’s. 

The dancers came down the aisles to get everyone going.

Taking a bow…

And they piped in the foyer after the show.  I was very happy that they played Highland Cathedral, which has both German and Scottish ties.  It was the music I walked down the aisle to when Bill and I got married.  And yes, we did have a bagpiper who played with the organist.

 

I thought the Scottish Music Parade was a perfectly enjoyable event, although I think I liked the Irish Folk Music Festival better.  The Scottish Music Parade seemed to rely more on lights and electronic music and was… for lack of a better word… a little bit cheesy.  That being said, Bill and I had a lot of fun watching the performance and would attend again.  I really love listening to bagpipes… must be all that Celtic blood in my history.  The musicians were excellent, as I expected them to be, and I was surprisingly even more entertained by the dancers than I was the musicians.

The tour continues tonight in Koblenz and on into 2019.  If you’re living in Germany and don’t mind traveling to see this show, you can easily catch it.  There are still tickets left.  I’m glad we went.

Tonight, we’re going to a wine tasting and Christmas party.  It’s not often I go out so much during the week!

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Halloween in Stuttgart at the Irish Folk Festival!

It’s showtime!  

 

If you’ve been following this blog, you might know that the summer of 2018 was our summer of concerts.  Since I recently bought tickets to three more shows and have one more that has been planned since February 2018, I can safely say that 2019 will continue on the concert theme.

Some months ago, I noticed an ad on Facebook for the Irish Folk Festival.  This is an annual tour that celebrated its 45th anniversary this year.  Every year, bands that play Celtic music travel through Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Benelux.  And yet, even though this festival is almost as old as I am, I somehow never knew about it until I saw that Facebook ad.  Since I was on a roll buying tickets for shows, I decided to pick up a pair for Bill and me.  They were comparatively cheap.  I think I spent a little over 80 euros for two tickets and we sat in the second row.

Thanks to all of the big name acts we’ve seen this year, there were a couple of times I actually forgot that we’d bought tickets for this show.  I set up a reminder on Facebook, just so we wouldn’t forget to attend.  I’m so glad we did manage to catch this festival.  We had a wonderful time!

Last night’s show started at 8:00pm at the Stuttgart Theaterhaus, located very close to Robinson Barracks.  Bill and I have passed that Theaterhaus a few times, but this was the first time we ever took in a show there.  It’s a very nice venue.  Next door, there is a restaurant that we would have liked to try if we’d had time.  Unfortunately, we were caught in hellacious Stuttgart traffic and arrived at the venue about an hour before showtime.  The restaurant was very full and we didn’t think we’d have time to eat.  However, there were a couple of bars open and they did have sandwiches and candy available.  We each had a beer.

The theme was the hope for Ireland’s reunification after Brexit.  The lineup included several acts that I had never heard of, but I left the venue with several new CDs that I can’t wait to plug into my Celtic music mix.  We had the pleasure of being entertained by: Joanna Hyde & Tadhg Ó Meachair, Christy Barry & James Devitt, Ailie Robertson’s Traditional Spirits, and The Outside Track.  The show lasted a solid three hours with one twenty minute break.

Bill and I left as they were doing the last song, because it was already 11:00pm, and he gets up early for work.  The mostly German crowd was on its feet at the end.  They enjoyed the show as much as we did.  We saw more than one person wearing a kilt.  I was sorry Bill hadn’t worn his!

Below are some photos from last night’s show, along with a little light commentary.

It was just starting to get busy in the Theaterhaus when we arrived.  I was marveling at how nice it was.  I wish we’d had the chance to go to other shows during our time here.  Maybe we’ll have another opportunity at a later date.

 

Some information about other planned shows.

I got a kick out of this giant sign for the toilets.  I didn’t get a picture, but next to this lit up sign, there’s an Andy Warhol style graphic depiction of toilets.  That’s one way to make sure theatergoers know where to go when they have to go.

 

The venue has quirky decor.

 

My goofy husband, being a good provider.  He bought peanuts and crispy M&Ms so I wouldn’t get too hangry.

 

I’m always intrigued by graffiti and stuff people leave in bathrooms.  Here’s a statement on the evils of prostitution…  Prostitution is legal in Germany.

 

Our view before the show started.  A German couple sat next to us and asked if we were from Ireland.  We admitted to being Americans, albeit with lots of Celtic heritage.  The couple seemed surprised we’ve been in Germany for four years and are moving to another German city.  They wondered if we would eventually go back to the USA.  I’m sure we will at some point… but then again, maybe we won’t.  Time will tell.  I noticed they didn’t come back after the pause.  I hope we didn’t offend.

 

The local concert promoter was a German guy who wore a green suit covered in shamrocks.  He reminded me a little of Steve Martin before his hair went completely white.  I almost expected him to have an arrow through his head, the way Martin used to about 40 years ago when he did stand up comedy.  I understood some of what the guy was saying and noticed he had a good sense of humor.  The performers spoke a little bit of basic German, but the rest was done in English.  I noticed most of the people around us understood English perfectly well.  Once again, I regret not studying German in school instead of the six years of Spanish I took.

I did not take any photos during most of the show, nor did I do any filming.  Having performed on a stage myself, I understand that photography can be distracting, especially when people use flash.  Also, I think it’s rude to watch a concert through a cell phone screen.  I did get a few photos at the end of the show, when the excellent performers were doing their finale and taking their bows.

 Ailie Robertson, playing harp, seemed to be the evening’s bandleader.  She performed first with her band, Traditional Spirits, and explained how her music was about the making of whisky in Scotland, particularly in splendid Islay, which Bill and I have had the good fortune to visit twice.  After the pause, she joined her band, The Outside Track, which consists of almost all females and includes members from Ireland, Scotland, and Canada!  The lady in the sparkling green dress is lead singer, Teresa Horgan, who also served as a great bandleader and has a stunningly beautiful voice.

Mairi Rankin, the beautiful redhead from Cape Breton, Canada dancing front and center, was absolutely enchanting as she played her fiddle, sang, and danced.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.  She had a wonderful stage presence and seemed to really enjoy her work.  I was drawn to her and probably would have loved to have had the chance to chat with her after the show.  She has a very friendly and kind aura.

 

A close up of the dancing!

Mairi is joined by Joanna Hyde and a guy named Cillian O’Dalaigh.  Cillian had fabulous hair and played flute and guitar and danced and sang.  He was another one I was drawn to watch.

Taking a bow!

The rest of these pictures are a little repetitive, but I’m including them for the curious.  It really was a wonderful show and the house was packed.  The tour continues tonight in Ravensburg and ends on November 17th in Hamburg.  I would definitely recommend getting tickets to any of the upcoming shows or planning to see this next year.  I see that they stopped in Mannheim and Frankfurt earlier in their tour, so if we’re still in Germany a year from now, we’ll have to make plans to attend.  It was time and money well spent for us!  And frankly, I was a little jealous because I wanted to be on stage, too… and I wish I had kept studying music when I was young.  Oh well…  At the end of this post, I’ll include a video I did of one of the songs we heard last night.  Yes, it’s me singing.

Well deserved accolades!

The song on this video, which includes pictures from Capri and Amalfi, is “Get Me Through December”.  I originally heard this done by Alison Krauss and Nova Scotia native and fiddle player Natalie MacMaster, but it was also performed last night by Teresa Horgan and the rest of The Outside Track.  I may have to do this one again today…  By the way… I would love to see Natalie MacMaster and her fantastic family play in Germany.  Maybe someday…  This version is mine, and the arrangement is similar to the one done by Alison Krauss and Natalie MacMaster.  Last night’s version was done in a lower key, but was no less ethereal.

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Baden-Württemberg

An evening with Roger Hodgson at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart…

Last night, Bill and I continued our summer of concerts and saw Roger Hodgson, formerly of Supertramp, at the Liederhalle in downtown Stuttgart.  This was our third concert this year, having seen The Rolling Stones in June and Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt in Dublin in July.  I don’t usually go to a lot of concerts because I don’t like crowds, but I am definitely a music lover and I did grow up in the 70s and 80s.  I guess it’s just a byproduct of having seen so many (for me) shows this summer, but I actually kept forgetting about this concert.  I created a Facebook alert to remind me to go!  I’m glad I did.  Roger Hodgson is a fine entertainer!

Supertramp was a huge part of my childhood and I love their music.  Roger Hodgson left Supertramp in 1983, but his songs were the band’s biggest hits.  Former bandmate, Rick Davies, still performs under the name Supertramp and did contribute a few hits, but Hodgson was really the mastermind of that band when it was especially popular.  I have read from a couple of accounts that Davies and Hodgson aren’t on the best of terms now and Davies has had some health challenges.  It’s too bad, because it would have been awesome to hear Davies’ “Goodbye Stranger” and “Bloody Well Right”.  But I guess these things happen.

Roger Hodgson playing his trademark keyboards…

I bought tickets for the show kind of on a whim during the spring.  It was right after I’d dropped a load of money on Elton John, The Rolling Stones, and Paul Simon.  I figured, “what the hell” and got tickets for Hodgson’s show, too.  I also bought tickets for a Celtic music festival on Halloween.  This year is really turning out to be my year to hear live music.  My Elton John tickets aren’t here yet; I got special ones that are due to arrive two weeks before the event next May.  Hopefully, we’ll still be living in the Stuttgart area.

Stuttgart was getting some rain last night.  It’s good that Hodgson’s show was indoors in the wonderfully intimate Liederhalle, where I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing Lyle Lovett and Diana Krall.  We had an annoying time getting to the venue due to the weather, rush hour traffic, and at least one accident on the road, but we arrived with time for a pre-dinner glass of wine and a butter pretzel. Then we took our seats in the balcony.  I usually spring for seats closer in, but I’m actually kind of glad I didn’t do that for Hodgson’s show.

The scene before the show… Germans seem to love Supertramp!  There were lots of middle aged to older folks there, as well as a couple of kids.  It was definitely a different vibe than the Stones show, though.

Dinner.  I had Sekt for dessert.  

My view.  I bought tickets after they’d been on sale for awhile, so we ended up with cheaper seats.  I was actually kind of glad, though, because the permanent seats the the Liederhalle are very comfortable and it was easier for me to see.  When I sit on the floor, I’m usually surrounded by tall folks.  It’s not easy being 5’2″ at a concert in Germany, land of the tall.

Roger Hodgson greets the crowd.

 

This was my first time seeing Mr. Hodgson playing live.  I was quite impressed by how engaging he was with the crowd.  When a guy came in after the first song, he quipped “You’re late.  You missed the best song!”  He had just played “Take the Long Way Home”, which is one of Supertramp’s best loved hits (and a personal favorite of mine).

When a young girl aimed a camera at the stage, Hodgson said, “You want to take a picture?  It’s okay!”

I watched Hodgson shake hands with fans and even pass out a couple of souvenirs.  One guy got sheet music.  Another got a coffee mug.  Hodgson truly seemed to be enjoying playing for us as much as we enjoyed hearing him and his stellar band play.  The Liederhalle is a very intimate venue with great acoustics.  I still remember the first concert I attended there; Lyle Lovett played there in 2009.  We were just yards away from Lovett for that show.  Same with Diana Krall.  It’s such a pleasure to be able to watch a concert without having to look at giant screens.

The band launches into Hodgson’s best known songs, many of which were Supertramp hits, but a few that were solo efforts.  I knew most of the songs, but there were a few that were new to me.

I must give a shout out to Hodgson’s superb sax player for this show, Michael Ghegan of New Jersey.  I watched this man play at least two different saxophones, a harmonica, tin whistle, melodica, keyboards, and he also sings!  And when he played sax, he reminded me a lot of Branford Marsalis, when he was playing with Sting back in the 1980s.  I read that Ghegan isn’t even Hodgson’s usual sax player.  He joined the band this summer to give regular sax player,  Canadian Aaron MacDonald, a break from touring.  Ghegan is extraordinary.  I predict we’ll be hearing a lot more from him.

As you can see, the lighting was a big deal for this show…  At one point, there were strobe lights and I wondered if there were any epileptics in the house…

Hodgson played several guitars in addition to keyboards.  Keyboards and sax are very much a part of his music.  There was only one other guitar player, David J. Carpenter, who played bass… and bore a striking resemblance to Hodgson.  When he first came out on stage, I actually thought it was Hodgson, who later quipped that Carpenter isn’t his son.

I also really enjoyed the efforts of keyboard player Ray Coburn, who, along with Michael Ghegan, is new to the show.  And drummer, Bryan Head, was also putting on a masterful show.

 

During the concert, Hodgson mentioned that he likes playing in Germany (and indeed, is playing a lot of dates in Germany for this tour) because German audiences are clear about their likes and dislikes.  They are also respectful.  Having now been to several concerts in Germany, I have to agree.  Germans listen to the music and enjoy it without annoying other people, at least for the most part.  And… having myself sung at Tommi’s Bistro a couple of times, I also agree that they tend to be a wonderful and appreciative, or at least respectful, audience.  I could tell the locals were loving Roger… and he was loving them back.  It was very rewarding to experience the love, and hear some of Hodgson’s stories about how he came to write some of his best loved hits.

A number of old Supertramp songs especially remind me of when I was in high school.  I had bought The Autobiography of Supertramp, which in retrospect, was a rather poorly edited greatest hits album put out by A&M records in honor of their 25th anniversary back in 1986.  A bunch of A&M artists, including Supertramp and The Carpenters, made greatest hits compilations.  I was a teenager, so I was looking for the most bang for my buck and this compilation had most of their hits, as well as some songs I didn’t know.  I remember listening to it incessantly, even though a few of their best songs were unforgivably edited.  One song in particular, “Hide In Your Shell”, really resonated with me.  Hodgson played that one last night, remarking that a number of fans had told him that it meant a lot to them.

Recorded from another show…  A good example of a song Hodgson wrote for himself that touches others.

Roger Hodgson says goodnight.  I believe you could pay extra to hear the sound check and attend a meet and greet with him, but I knew that it would be a late evening for Bill, who is working today.  However, I get the sense that meeting Roger would be rewarding.  He really seems to love his work.

I did film one song… “Give a Little Bit”, which was the first encore.  I didn’t film the second one, “It’s Raining Again”, although when I was ten years old, that song was my absolute favorite for weeks.  I bought a 45 of it and then, years later, I bought the LP Famous Last Words.  Nowadays, I have it on MP3.  I could see the crowd loves that song as much as I do.

We left the show with smiles on our faces, especially since getting into and out of the concert hall was a snap compared to getting into and out of the Porsche and Mercedes Arenas.  I really need to make a point of seeing more shows in this venue.

Yes, we heard this song last night.  Apparently, this was written when Hodgson was 19 years old and had just gotten a pump organ.  He says it still makes him smile to sing this song so many years later.

Anyway… it was a really great show and left me with yet another awesome memory of our time in Stuttgart, a city where there’s delicious food, excellent entertainment, and good people.  If you like Roger Hodgson’s music, I highly recommend seeing him perform live.  He puts on an excellent concert and has an amazing band backing him.  It’s well worth the price of admission.

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booze tourism, short breaks

Paul Simon or bust… Our Dublin getaway! Part eight

Easy like Sunday morning…  we slept until about 8:00am, which is almost unheard of these days, even on the weekends.  Sunday morning was our last breakfast at the Merrion Hotel, although as it turned out, we totally could have had breakfast on Monday if we’d wanted to.  In fact, I wish we had done that, since the all purpose lounge at the Dublin airport kind of sucks.  For some reason, the breakfast menu on Sunday was abbreviated.  Maybe it was because we came down a little later.  Maybe it’s because it was Sunday.  I don’t know.

It rained on Sunday morning, which was significant because Ireland had gone 40 days without any significant rain.  The drought has scorched the grass pretty badly and, in fact, it was bad enough that a major archaeological find was discovered about thirty miles north of Dublin.

Bill had pancakes with blueberry compote and I had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.

Oops… I guess I didn’t pay close enough attention to Bill’s face when I took this…  

The eggs were very good.

 

We had big plans for the afternoon.  I booked afternoon “art tea” for us at the Merrion Hotel.  It was easy to make the booking through Open Table.  Since it wasn’t due to start until 1:30pm, we needed to find something to do in the morning.  I proposed a visit to the Jameson Distillery Tour on Bow Street in Dublin.  We had yet another entertaining cab driver and we were his last fare of the day, so he was quite animated as we discussed topics ranging from Scientology to Donald Trump.  Then he let us off in front of a very high speed looking hostel, where he got out himself because he needed to pee.

We had to do a little searching to find the visitor’s center for Jameson’s, which now only serves as a visitor’s center and not a distillery.  Until 1970, this was where Jameson’s Whiskey was made.  It is now made in County Cork in southern Ireland.  However, although the facility was renovated in 2017, some original features from the original structure built in 1780 remain.  And instead of making whiskey, the place serves as a big commercial for Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, which I will admit is quite nice.

The entrance.

Below are some photos from our tour.  Although we usually go for the more involved experiences, we didn’t have time for anything beyond the basic guided tour, which ran for about about 40 minutes. Also, we had forgotten that on Sundays, one cannot purchase alcohol before 12:30pm.  We were at the distillery in time for the 10:45 tour and were allowed to taste whiskey, but not buy any.  It made perfect sense why the more detailed tours were offered after 1:00pm.  They probably figure that after learning how to make cocktails or blending whiskey, people will be more inclined to buy whiskey in their shop.  We wanted to buy whiskey, but didn’t want to wait until 12:30 pm.

Nice bar area, complete with chandeliers made with Jameson’s bottles.

Sine Metu– without fear.

And the variety of tours one can take.  We did the Bow St. Experience, led by a winsome lad named Adam.

The Bow Street Experience basically consists of hearing about the history of the Jameson brand in one room, then moving to another room, where the process is described.  Actually, having been to way too many scotch whisky distilleries and, by now, knowing the whisky/whiskey making process by heart, I must commend Jameson for their presentation.  It’s interactive and Adam was a good speaker– funny and entertaining.

You can actually see and smell for yourself as the tour guide uses a very nice backlit display to explain the process of making whiskey.

I was imagining Adam would make a good teacher.  His presentation skills and wit were impeccable.

We were given a sample of Scotland’s leading blended whisky, Johnnie Walker Black, a sample of Jameson’s Whiskey, and a sample of Jack Daniels Black Label, which I hadn’t had since my college days.  It was interesting to taste the differences.

Ahh… we get to taste it!

I like how they help out with the logistics of bringing the booze back in luggage…

At the end of the tour, you get your choice of whiskey neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail with lime juice and ginger ale.  I had the cocktail, which was nice.  Bill drank his neat.

The “Daily Grog”, which employees were given at the start and end of every shift.  Now they only give it at the end of the day.

A glimpse of the aging room below the main level.

The area around the distillery is pretty nice.  There are restaurants, places to shop, and on the day of our visit, it looked like they were setting up for a concert, complete with food trucks.

Bill used a handy app to summon a taxi.  It was remarkably effective and we could even watch the taxi’s progress as it made its way to us.  It took just three minutes.  The taxi driver got us back to the hotel at about 12:30 pm and we got dressed up for our afternoon “art tea”, scheduled for 1:30pm.  More on that in the next post.

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Paul Simon or bust… Our Dublin getaway! Part five

After lunch at Chambers, we went back to the hotel for a rest.  Our room came with a daily paper, so Bill took the opportunity to read up about what was expected at our concert.  The same information was also available online, but it was a nice touch to have the information on an actual piece of paper.  The next day, the show (just Paul Simon’s part) was given a glowing review.  I saved the paper, although I didn’t entirely agree with the reviewer’s comments.

Paul Simon on stage with his excellent band!

Anyway, the show was at RDS (Royal Dublin Society) Arena, which I understand is typically used for equine and other sporting events.  We were instructed to use the “red route” as opposed to the “yellow route” to enter the arena, even though we actually sat on the yellow route side.  They were enforcing this rule, too, which was a bit of a pain, since the cab dropped us off on the yellow route.  I chose to leave my big purse at the hotel, which was a good idea.  I did bring a sweater, though, which was also a good idea.  It got surprisingly chilly Friday night, after the sun went down.

We booked pitch seating, which isn’t necessarily the best idea for Bill and me, since we’re both kind of short.  We were in row UU in seats 93 and 94– not super close, like we were at the Stones’ concert, but pretty close.  We were able to see the stage fairly well, especially with the use of the monitors, which weren’t as big as the ones at the Stones’ concert.  Many people who were standing in the back complained about the view.  I will admit, it was probably pretty hard for them to see much of anything from where they were.  The stands on either side of the arena appeared to offer a good vantage point.  In retrospect, I might have preferred sitting there.  Pitch seating felt a lot like riding in the middle seat in coach on an airplane.

Unlike at the Stones’ concert, we sat near friendly people.  Two Irish ladies sat next to Bill and they were very chatty.  The people on my side were not chatty, but they were very friendly.  The crowd mostly consisted of older people… people even older than Bill and I are.  We saw older folks at the Stones’ concert, too, though most of them seemed a bit more ambulatory than some of the people at Paul Simon’s show.

Bonnie Raitt took the stage at a little after 5:00pm.  I’d read that she recently had surgery.  She did look a little tired, but she and her band sounded great and played a lot of their best known hits like “Angel From Montgomery” and “No Business”.  She even brought guest player Paul Brady on stage; he co-wrote “Not the Only One” with Bonnie for her 1991 album, Luck of the Draw, and played “Something to Talk About” for a guy in the audience who was celebrating his 70th birthday.  She mentioned that it wouldn’t be long before she herself celebrates 70 years on the planet.  I kind of expected political commentary from Bonnie Raitt, and she did quip that she was happy to be on the other side of the pond.  Everyone cheered.  The ladies who were sitting with us had a whole lot to say about Donald Trump.  We agreed with their negative impressions of him and assured them that we didn’t vote for Trump.

Bonnie played for about an hour, said goodbye, and then we had about a half an hour before James Taylor took the stage.  That’s when a lot more people showed up.  I was surprised that Bonnie didn’t get more of a turnout; but then, Friday was a workday and the show started at around five o’clock.  It could be that a lot of people couldn’t get off work.  I enjoyed her part of the show and was kind of surprised to see her opening for anyone.  In my book, she’s a legendary performer herself.

The place filled up in time for James Taylor’s entrance.  I’ve been to two other concerts featuring JT– once in 1990 and once in 2003.  I’m always struck by how much he enjoys playing music.  Once again, he was sounding great and injected some humor into his set.  At one point, he was talking about how much he was enjoying his tour as he casually flipped over his guitar.  There, he’d put the words “Help me.”, which got a big laugh from the crowd.

James had his long time backup singers Andrea Zonn, Kate Markowitz, and Arnold McCuller with him.  I didn’t see David Lasley, who has always been with him in other shows I’ve attended.  Hope he’s doing alright, although Lasley is 70 now.  Maybe he’s retiring, too.  Michael Landau, who’s been playing with James since at least the early 90s, was also playing in Dublin.  I got a kick out of watching drummer Steve Gadd, who was really into the music.  He looked like he was about to take a dump on stage a couple of times, but it all sounded (and smelled) great.

I’ve been a James Taylor fan for many years and feel like I know him, although we’ve never met.  I did attend his brother Livingston’s concert at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia.  Livingston once sent me guitar strings when I was trying to learn to play (on a really crappy used Armenian guitar I bought at the vernissage).  I loved Liv’s show.  He was very accessible and the venue was intimate.  Unfortunately, he mostly plays in the United States, so I’ll have a wait before I can see him again.  Anyway, the Taylor clan is immensely talented and very near and dear to my heart.  Though they’re from Boston originally, they all grew up near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which is where my sister lives and not far from where Bill and I lived for a time.  I grew up in southern Virginia, which isn’t all that far, either.  Their music takes me home.

Finally, after Taylor’s ninety minute show and a short break for the roadies to set the stage, Paul Simon came out.  This was my first time seeing Mr. Simon in concert.  It’ll probably be the only time I’ll see him, since he says he won’t be touring anymore.  Let me just say that I’m delighted that I pulled the trigger on this concert.  It was absolutely awesome.  Simon was backed by a marvelous group called yMusic.  They played Simon’s best known solo hits and most his older Simon & Garfunkel hits expertly.  The crowd was enchanted by them.  I was equally enchanted… at least until I got a charley horse and had to walk around a bit.

The crowd mostly stayed seated for Simon’s show, although a few people couldn’t help dancing.  Toward the end of the concert, people got to their feet and Simon plowed through twenty-six songs.  He looked pretty tired by the end, but was such a gracious and humble performer.  It was a real treat to see and hear him play.  At the end of the show, he even left us with hope.  Just before he played
“American Tune”, he said “Strange times we live in, huh?  Don’t give up.”  The crowd roared.  Ireland clearly loves him, too.  Here’s a link to the review that was in the Irish Times on Saturday.

At the end of the night, we headed out of the arena and some American guy was complaining about not having a ticket stub.  Apparently, he printed his tickets or something.  They were being very strict about showing your tickets when you went for food or to the restroom, so he must have had something proving he was there.  Anyway, he asked the crowd if anyone wanted to donate their ticket stub to him.  Some guy obliged and the American guy started cracking jokes.  He said, “Hey, this says Bruno Mars on it!” (Bruno Mars had also played recently in Dublin)  Then he said, “Does anyone want this guy’s credit card number?”

The mood coming out of the arena was jubilant.  People really had a good time!  Bill and I were amazed that we spent six hours listening to three legends play.  We were exhausted at the end of it, but so glad we made the trip.  Ireland was a great place to see Paul Simon perform his last tour.  Better yet, no one smoked cigarettes next to me all night while wearing a tank top!

This is a picture of the hideous American Embassy in Dublin.  

I was impressed by all of the choices of things to eat.  At the Stones concert, you could eat wurst and drink beer.  Paul Simon’s show had a bunch of food trucks.  Bill and I stuck to beer, mainly because we didn’t want to wait in line.

Lots of people hung out on the green before the show started.

My view before the crowds arrived.

Bonnie Raitt on stage.  She was the only performer to get a formal announcement.

Thank God for zooming.

James Taylor sneaked on stage with no introduction!  

Andrea Zonn plays fiddle… she is a contemporary of Alison Krauss’s and also sings beautifully.  Check her out.

Paul Simon is only 5’3″ (still taller than me), so it helped that he was on the monitor.

This is the view off screen, although I zoomed for this shot.

Unzoomed!

I posted this picture on Facebook with the quip “This time, it wasn’t me.”  Between us, Bill and I had four beers, only two of which were in bottles.  The two guys in front of us drank at least fourteen ciders between them.  Drinking is not a joke in Ireland!

This guy on keyboards was insanely good.  He played a genius solo toward the end of the concert.  I was very impressed by all of the musicians who played with Paul Simon.  They were all very talented players.

Final bows.  I loved the guy in the red shirt playing lead guitar.  He had a lot of charisma and was as much fun to watch as he was to listen to.

Many folks were headed here after the show was finished.  Not Bill and I… we needed rest.

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Luxury

Paul Simon or bust… Our Dublin getaway! Part three

The first time we visited Dublin, Bill and I stayed at the Marker Hotel, which is a very nice business class accommodation located near Ireland’s Facebook offices.  The Marker Hotel was, at that time, Trip Advisor’s number one pick for hotels in Dublin.  I don’t think that’s why I booked it, though.  I think it’s because the Merrion Hotel was full during the time we wanted to visit.  When I travel without the dogs, I like to stay in nice hotels.

Super nice digs!

Bill and I liked the Marker Hotel fine, but the location wasn’t ideal for us.  It’s very close to the Liffey River, kind of away from all the pubs and sights.  The Merrion Hotel, by contrast, is right in the thick of things, off Merrion Square and close to St. Stephen’s Green.  It’s directly next to a street lined with restaurants and it’s also not far from the RDS Arena, which is where Paul Simon would be performing.  The Marker Hotel’s location is a bit more residential and not as convenient to non business related activities.

The Merrion Hotel is also just plain more to my liking.  It’s more of a traditional hotel, with more of a classic feel than the Marker Hotel’s ultra sleek modern vibe.  Both hotels are expensive.  Both hotels are very nice and offer excellent service and good food.  But my preference is for the Merrion, which our cab driver assured us is the best hotel in Dublin.  I believe him.  For readers who are wondering which one they’d like better– if you’re going to splurge, that is– I’d say choose the Marker Hotel if you like modern decor and want to be close to the river and/or Facebook.  Choose the Merrion Hotel if you like a more traditional decor with character and lavish service.  Either way, you really can’t go wrong.  They are both beautiful hotels.

If your preference is more for “interesting”, I’d recommend checking out the Charleville Lodge, which is run by a hilarious guy who is very active on Facebook.  I have not stayed at the Charleville Lodge myself, but I have a feeling I would enjoy it… if only I weren’t so posh.  The guy who runs the Charleville Lodge also runs the White Moose Cafe, which was all over the news a few months ago after the owner exposed a blogger.  Hmmm…  I guess that’s another reason I decided not to book there.  Seriously, if you like cheeky humor and don’t mind some ribbing, you might want to check it out.  Maybe we’ll stay there next time we go to Dublin, but only if I’ve given up writing by that time.

So, anyway, back to the Merrion Hotel.  I had prepaid for the room, but they took an imprint of Bill’s credit card for “incidentals”.  We knew there would be incidentals, too.  The Merrion Hotel has two restaurants, a pub, and a cocktail bar, as well as a beautifully equipped spa.  I never made it to a spa treatment, but I did try out the beautiful pool and took note of the well-maintained exercise room, which, of course, I didn’t use.

We were assigned room 333, which was a standard room on the “garden” wings.  The garden wings are relatively newly built wings to the original hotel, which originally consisted of four Victorian era townhouses.  While the newer rooms lack the character of the original rooms, they are still extremely well appointed and comfortable and even come with free chocolate and water.  Below are some pictures.

They gave us free Fuji water, which we never got around to drinking, and three chocolate bars, which we brought home with us.  Chocolate is definitely a plus.

The bed.  Not sure what that stripe down the picture is.  Maybe my iPhone malfunctioned.

A tray of amenities.  If you need dry cleaning or laundry done, they have you covered.  

A huge marble bathroom with a nice shower and tub.  It also had a scale in it, which I carefully avoided.  The shower was nice, although I preferred the one at Wald Hotel in Stuttgart!

Water by Oscar Wilde!  He’s everywhere in Dublin!

 

Our room also had a French balcony, free Internet, a mini bar, and a TV with lots of channels on it.  Every night, a housekeeper brought us ice and kept us stocked with water.  We only got turn down service on the night of Paul Simon’s concert because the other nights, we were already in for the evening when it was time for turn down service.

We were pretty tired on our first night in Dublin, so we decided to eat at the hotel.  They have a pub in the basement called The Cellar Bar (which I had originally misunderstood as “Salad Bar”).  It’s a really cool place, with lots of brick rooms.  Thursday nights, they have live entertainment.  Although we didn’t see the musicians who played for a short while, we did hear them.  It was a nice treat and, unfortunately, the closest I got to live pub music during our visit.  Maybe next time we’ll have better luck and want to stay up later.

Bill peruses the menu.

He had an open faced steak sandwich with mild cheese.

I went with half a chicken smothered with barbecue sauce.  This was a real treat!  While we certainly get chicken in Germany, it’s not usually prepared in this style.  It came with a salad.

A Hop House Lager, made by Guinness.

 

Service at The Cellar Bar was cordial and professional and the food was very good.  I would have liked to have gone there a second time, but we didn’t get the chance.  However, we did have three breakfasts in The Garden Room, which is one of the hotel’s restaurants.  Breakfast is 24 euros if you just want the continental stuff and 29 euros if you opt for a cooked to order breakfast.  If you want steak and eggs, it’s another fourteen euros.  I was a little tempted by steak and eggs, but that seemed too extreme.

On our first morning, we had a nice view of the courtyard garden.

And here’s a view of the continental island, which has the usual fruits, cheeses, breads, juices, and pastries.

Bill had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.

I went with Eggs Benedict.

The garden is very pretty.

It even has a fountain!

When the maid is cleaning your room, they hang these handy signs.

I liked the uniforms the staff in the Garden Room wore.  They had very nice tailored slacks and vests that appeared to be good quality.  Actually, everyone in the hotel wears very nice uniforms and they vary depending on what part of the hotel the person is working in.  We noticed at least one American working in the Garden Room. She was the chattiest of all the wait staff.  I think I overheard her saying that she was in studying in Dublin.  As a former English major, I couldn’t help but note that Ireland is kind of a paradise for former English majors…  or even well read geeks like my husband.

After breakfast, we learned more about Dublin’s rich musical and literary history.  More on that in my next post!
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