Getting to Kolding or Europe part three.

I started out this morning, bleary eyed, rubbing the sleep form my eyes, which so desperately wanted to stay. I shooed it away reluctantly so that I could finish up last minute details that lingered like dirty dishes that never seem to leave the sink, no matter how often you clean them. I finally got to the airport around 10:30 a.m., lugged my bags up to the counter, received my ticket, and passed through security, whisking through like a fleeting memory that surfaces only too briefly to grasp.

I caught a 12:30 p.m. flight to Newark, and then caught a 6:45 p.m. to Cologne, Germany. We touched down into Germany around 7:30 A.M. thursday morning. The Sun had just cleared the clouds on our accelerated simulated sunrise. It was shining bright, warming the cool air outside, welcoming us with open arms. We claimed our bags, and proceeded to the next long part of our journey. The Trains.

We caught our first train out of Cologne shortly after 10:00 a.m. riding on twin steel rails, the train slightly swaying from side to side, clicking over the tracks, carrying us from station to station for the next several hours. We changed trains about four times total, picking up more band members as we went, until all of us finally arrived together in Kolding, Denmark.

The culmination of our travels ended at the venue, where we were fed a traditional Danish meatballs, grilled chicken, salad and 7-up. The venue was cool looking, an outdoor amphitheater, with tall stone bleachers rising from the ground, in a semi-circle of weathered gray pushing towards the sky just above, where rain laden clouds were pressing back down on us. We finally arrived at our hotel around 10:30 P.M., and I was asleep by 11:00 P.M., curled up beneath the classic european bedding; comforter tucked inside a white duvet, and a single, large, invitingly soft, square pillow.

It was a long day of travel, sparse sleep and food, but we arrived, to the welcome of happy promoters and hosts, and were welcomed with open arms and hearts from the people here in Kolding, Denmark. I am already looking forward to playing tonight for these wonderful people (11 or so hours of sleep might have helped with that!).

Until next time friends!