chrisg's Tour Diary

We arrived last night in Copenhagen, after a 10 hour drive from Rotterdam. Originally, we were to have spent several days touring Germany, and I consequently attempted to learn German in my car over the past several months. Now I get to practice my German with reststop cashiers and gas salesmen. Not exactly what I had planned, but I am at least confident in my ability to indicate the number of my gas pump.

People drive like crazed madmen on the autobahns. I would like to drive like a crazed madman as well, but sadly our van tops off at 120km/hr (72 mph), and even then it sounds like it's re-entering the atmosphere.

Copenhagen is a beautiful town. Everything seems really clean, and there appear to be more people riding bicycles here than cars. We are staying with Andreas, the promoter of our show, and his girlfriend Laura, who moved in just the day before our arrival. I feel a little guilty for arriving in the middle of their honeymoon, but they go out of their way to make us feel welcome. Andreas has a vast knowledge of good bands (both American and Danish), and introduces us to some cool music while we hang out.

The day is spent hanging out in the center of town. I get the cutest four little sandwich wedges for my lunch. The crusts have been cut off of all of them, and they are stacked like ship sails. I see many cafes as I walk around, and my appreciation of the town grows even larger.

Everything in Copenhagen seems, for lack of a better word, well appointed. Scandinavian Design is not a niche d??cor here like it is in America. Department stores along the lines of Macy's carry nothing but sleek and shiny things. Consequently, I want to buy it all. But Denmark is a very expensive country. They are still on their own currency like England, and our mighty dollar means nothing here (capuccino - $6), so I refrain.

After a delicious meal prepared by Laura and her friend Lissa, we head to our show at a bar called Lades Kaelder. It is right in the center of town, in a subterranean space (with windows near the roof where you can see people's feet and bikes go by, just like Laverne and Shirley) lit by candles stuck in used liquor bottles. We play with a Danish band named Marvin's Revolt, who are very good. The bass player uses the exact same pedals that I do. SPOOKY!!!!!! My voice has returned to normal, which makes me very happy. The crowd (or at least one particularly vociferous listener) demands an encore. We are now almost out of tshirts. It has taken us one overnight ferry ride, one 10-hour drive, and another ferry to get here, but I'm really happy we did.