I kept a little journal on my computer during the trip, but since internet was hard to come by, and sleep was more important, I never uploaded it to my blog. So here is a week worth of adventures…
The Van (it was a Ford! woohoo!)
In 60 hours it got us from Stockholm-Venlo-Innsbruck-Vienna-Straubing-Frankfurt-Odense-Stockholm!
Monday, March 22: driving from Venlo to Innsbruck
After a lovely breakfast at the hotel, Anders and I got on the road to head to Innsbruck, Austria. We had about 8 hours of driving, but no stress in getting there at a particular time. The roads and rest stops in Austria are really nice, so we had a few nice meals and even a fika. As we approached the mountains it was getting dark, but they were still stunning and majestic. At about 7pm we took a pit stop to get more gas…and when we tried to get back on the main road we took the wrong exit! Instead of staying on the main route we got on a back road and spent the next hour driving through small curvy roads up and down the mountains! It was crazy! At one point we saw a beautiful castle lit up in the distance…and before we knew it we were driving just next to it. Anders drove really carefully and we laughed a lot at the situation. It was cool to see the Alps at night, and it was a fun mini adventure. The town of Innsbruck was really cute and clean. After checking in at the hotel we walked down to a pizzeria to grab some food and a beer. I tried a pizza with anchovies (I like to just pick something off a menu that is in a foreign language and see what I get…and that’s what I got!), and it was actually pretty good. Then, the guy who is the contact person for this seminar (helped organize and advertise it), Stephan, met us to show us around and grab another drink. I was really tired and got a bit tipsy quickly, so I didn’t talk much. But as always, it was just fine to listen and absorb the info.
My cute hotel room
We met Stephan in the morning to go over to the conservatory with the van to unload the cymbals. When we arrived there was a whole bunch of guys waiting to help us unload. It was really nice because we had so many heavy boxes. We set up in a few small rooms in the percussion area. Three of the guys kept asking me what they could do to help. They spoke decent English and would have done anything that I asked! How nice!
Since Neil wasn’t arriving until around 4pm, Anders started the day with a seminar on 'sounds' and the differences between the cymbals. There were about 12 students, a few teachers, and one older man that plays in a local group. They were very attentive throughout the whole seminar, and loved playing and getting involved. My job was to take a lot of pictures and help out whenever I was needed.
Anders' sound seminar
After lunch we went back to the cymbals…Anders helped the instructors and pro players pick out some cymbals while I went on a stroll through the city. The weather was so perfect it was unbelievable! I took a lot of pictures, and tried to absorb as much sun and culture that I could before going back to see Neil and get ready for his clinic.
beautiful!
Neil’s clinic was awesome! I really like his approach to the instrument, it is very unique and he gets a constant and full sound with every crash. The students were positive and great to work with. I learned a lot by just observing…plus got a few great pictures!
Cleaning up all 60+ pairs of cymbals was a breeze because I had so much help. This studio was full of some really nice and considerate guys, and they seemed really happy to have us there. After loading the van with everything, Anders, Neil, and I had a nice dinner at the hotel before heading back downtown to a bar/club. Stephan asked Anders to play vibes with his steel band, and of course Anders agreed. Neil and I went to listen and had a fun time watching the group. It was incredible that Anders could easily improvise in that setting! After the gig, I hung out with some of the percussionists from the clinics that day, and noticed that they are much more chivalrous than boys in Sweden...plus I don't think many American female percussionists visit Innsbruck. :) Unfortunatley, I also noticed right away that it is still legal to smoke in public places in Austria. Yuck. Those clothes were quite stinky after that night!
Wednesday, March 24: Innsbruck to Vienna (show cymbals) to Straubing
I stayed out pretty late last night, so I wasn’t exactly ready for the drive from Innsbruck to Vienna early this morning. I would have loved to stay in Innsbruck a few more days...it was so beautiful and the people were so friendly. But, the tour must go on! The drive to Vienna ended up being fun, though! Neil and Anders are pretty darn funny…and although the car is cramped and not very comfortable the conversation is nice and they make fun of me for being able to fall asleep so easily.
A lot of our jokes revolved around the crazy GPS lady. Sometimes she spoke in English, sometimes Swedish, and sometimes not at all. She was crazy!
Beautiful scenery at a rest stop
We had no idea what to expect in Vienna. When we finally found the place that we were supposed to be, we met up with Stephan’s friend Christian who arranged the seminar there. He showed us into his “studio” that was literally a basement. We had to take about 4 flights of stairs down into the depths of a damp space. His studio was made up, but the air was still stale. We didn’t take the whole box of cymbals down because it was too big and heavy, so we unloaded the pairs we needed.
Creepy!!
The studio space
Christian said that people would be coming around 3pm, so we ate lunch until then. About 8 professionals from various groups in Vienna showed up. Anders did a great job dealing with all the personalities and breaking the ice. Soon they were out of their chairs trying and analyzing all the cymbals. It was fun to just observe how they interacted, how they crashed, and what kinds of sounds they were looking for in the cymbals. Anders told me I could go walk around if I wanted to, but I really like watching and helping. It’s not everyday that you get to see these kinds of players. One of them is borrowing four pairs to try out during rehearsals this week and will let us now what he thinks. I hope he likes them, because it would be a big success for Zildjian if they choose our cymbals. When they were done trying the cymbals, we packed up and immediately left Vienna (at around 6pm).
We drive 3 hours to a small town called Straubing. The van got a little closter phobic at the end, but we made it just fine. We had an amazing dinner (duck fillets with apple honey glaze and yummy potatoe thingies). At the hotel, I tried to skype mom and dad, but the connection was bad. It was good to hear their voices at least!
Thursday, March 25: Straubing to Frankfurt
On the road again…3 more hours to Frankfurt! I feel like I caught a cold from the smoke and damp air in the basement/studio, but it’s not too bad, just a little sniffly!
What a team player! If he ever gets tired of the London Symphony, he can always open his own window washing business!
Yes...this is how we spent hours and hours.
In Frankfurt we met up with Conrad at the Radio House to show the cymbals. Not many people came to this meeting, but it was still worth it because we sold a few pairs, and made some really great connections. Since it was slow, I asked Neil to give me some pointers on my crashes. It felt good to play after watching everyone else have the fun the past few days. Neil really helped me out and I’m going to work on the things that he suggested. After the showing there, he flew back to London, so it was back to just Anders and I traveling.
Now, we're at the hotel that is near the airport. I laid down for a bit to try and get rid of the cold, but it’s not getting any better. During dinner in the hotel bar/restaurant., the guy sitting next to us started to chat and said he was from Philadelphia. Yay Americans!
Friday, March 26: Frankfurt Musikmesse and drive to Odense
We headed back into downtown Frankfurt around 10am. We sent up a few boxes of cymbals in one of the Zildjian conference rooms so Anders could meet with a few more people. While he did that, I walked around the messe, which is a huge HUGE music convention…tons of vendors from all around the world for everything instrument/anything to do with music. It was really great to see, but after a few hours I felt as though I had seen enough! I went back to the conference room, where I met Dieter, the European sales rep for Zildjian. He asked me about the week, and what I thought of the tour. We had a really great conversation, and it felt good to share my opinions. Then, Anders and Stephan came in and we had lunch. Anders had to go meet with some more people, so Stephan and I decided to go down to the lobby and have a coffee. We sat there for a long time chatting, mostly about the difference between percussion education in the States vs. Europe. Then, Rainer, one of the percussionists in Ensemble Modern (big deal) joined us. He was really down to earth and easy to talk to. After sitting there for a few hours, we decided to go back to the Messe. I found Anders, and after a few more chats with the sales people, we loaded the van again and hit the road.
We planned on driving about 6 hours to stop in Odense, Denmark. This was the first time that our plans were foiled…we sat in stand-still traffic for about an hour and a half. We didn’t make it to Odense until 4am!! Luckily, the hotel receptionist was really nice and funny, and they let us have a late check out at noon.
Saturday March 27: Odense to Stockholm
I just noticed that as the trip progressed, I took fewer and fewer photos! Silly me! Today was the last leg of the driving. Although it’s been a long trip, Anders and I are still in good spirits (and I took a box of tissues from the hotel, so at least I can suppress my running nose and coughing!). Conversation continued to roll and I’ve learned just as much from boucing ideas and stories off of Anders as I have in the seminars.
We decided to take a fika in Copenhagen. It’s a great city, and I would describe it as more European than Scandinavian in its architecture. Anders knew of a great coffee place, so we walked around to stretch our legs and then sat at the café for a bit. I had a danish in Denmark! Haha. It was yummy, and I was on a bit of a sugar high for the next hour of the drive!
We got back to Stockholm at around 10pm, and it was really great to see Anne and Emma (Tove wasn’t home, unfortunately). Emma and I chatted for a long time, then I took some Nyquil, and a lot of vitamins and don’t really remember the rest of the evening!
Sunday, March 28: Stockholm to Piteå
I slept like a log until 10am, and hung out with Emma and Hannah all morning. Then Anne and I chatted about Easter traditions in Sweden. One of my favorite topics is learning about how holidays are celebrated here vs. at home. After a lovely morning/afternoon just hanging around, I had to leave to catch my flight Piteå. I was happy to be heading home, and to be in one place for awhile!
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