MAY 8 = BONN

The train.
This is the part of the trip that is all of us traveling by train. 16 of us now, with sound man, and tons of luggage. This is us by train. This is the big test. We make the first train on time. Ride it the 2 hours to koln. Then I decline the connecting time of 8 minutes by sending the band and choir off to go check out the giant “dome” cathedral which is just above the station there. It’s a perfect tourist op. We pile the ton of baggage in a coffee shop near the platform. Anders, bruna and I wait with that heap. Then an hour later we catch the next train to bonn : and just as I figured, the duration was short enough so our now incorrect tickets will not be checked. I will have successfully snuck on 16 people on a german train with all that baggage.

training

Bonn is a small town on a lovely spring day. The kind of day you remember from your childhood or old movies. White birch trees sway in the breeze.
Blooms bloom in multitudes.

Its an effort to figure out the taxi situation with all of us and the bags. Some of us walk after we load up a couple of large taxi vans. The hotel has no elevator. Folks are figuring out now how much luggage not to bring next time. They now marvel at my little bag, but that took years to whittle down.

The hotel is cozy and clean. The breeze comes in and hangs out. The beds are deliriously comfortable. The vibe is slow and leisurely. Sleep deep for an hour. Then sound check. Another 4 taxis to the club : this time without bags.

The club is mostly an outdoor beer garden. But the stage is not bad inside, and it fills up good. Tonight we sound like we have played together for a long time. It is a very fine night. After we have dinner I keep trying not to sign autographs. Already word is spreading that I do not sign things anymore, and it is very interesting to see some of the old timey collector folks struggle with believing that. But when I do sign something, the signature has eroded severely now.
It is barely an X now with a dot or two.
We pile in another 4 cabs back to the hotel then. There is a sweet little beer garden tucked away in the back yard there. We attempt to linger, but the usual lack of sleep on the road coaxes me back up to slumber land while the youngest choir girls hang out with the road encrusted band dudes.