What an amazing adventure! I can't even put to words the experience that Dave, Rob and I had over in Europe. We met so many wonderful people, saw so many familiar faces and had such an amazing time performing familiar and not so familiar venues. Here's the last of our tour and it is jam packed so grab a cup of coffee, tea, or a cocktail and settle in, we have a lot to share from this last adventure....
 First stop on our double show day after driving six and a half hours the lovely 300 year old Tapperij de Zwaan in Heeze, NL.  A favorite spot to play in Eindhoven, De Groot and so many familiar faces, thank you folks!  Welcome to Sommerda! |  It was also our first castle stop and the beginning of our ad  One of our two days off was spent in Haarlem catching up on coffee, laundry, sunshine and a big family dinner with my Dutch Mom and Dad, Paul, Yvonne and the fabulous Camille Bloom!  And the fabulous folks at Piano! |  Next stop for our double show day was In De Brouwerij in Asten, NL with a few familiar faces and our most enthusiastic sing-a-longs.  On the road again back to where we just were in SE Germany. Beautiful country roads and a 7 mile tunnel.  More castle chasing.... |
 900 year old Wartburg castle in Eisenach.  Spotted a castle from the road so castle chasers must investigate...  A small but incredibly amazing audience including two women who drove 300 miles to hear us & Rob's friend Sage who drove over 4 hours (one way) to see us. Thank you ladies and sweet Sage!!  Next and final stop in SE Germany,Weimar, the city of poets and of course a beautiful castle.  Morning breakfast at our favorite Pension and all it's tropical goodness. It was also the place of our first serenade which later became a trend...  Next stop Antwerp and one of my favorite venues, Crossroads, in their beautiful new space and lots of smiling faces!  We were all excited to check out the museum, but after making the journey cross town, we found it closed. Sad sigh.  To complete our day off, Paul took us to Jopen Brewery in Haarlem which is in an old church. We got to sample 14 beers and the bartender gave us the rundown on each of them. As you can see, the samples were not small and the beers were very very yummy!  We walked right up to the windmills which were HUGE!  Closing in on the end of our tour and it wouldn't be complete without a show in Amsterdam and a stop at the Int Aepjen (the monkey) one of the oldest bars in the city.  Hotel La Truite d'Argent where we had our final show in Belgium, a great audience and an after party that went until 3am. Our most eclectic audience made up of folks from Holland, Belgium, Germany and a couple from Nebraska. We said thank you and cheers in French, German, Dutch and English.  Sporting my new Dutch red boots with my Dutch Momma, Yvonne. |  Smiling faces at Schorsch'l.  It was full of dolls, scary, old dolls...  The boys and I with our fabulous German booking agent, Willi! Thank you Willi! Such a cool space and our bartender Kermit was amazing! Thank you Londoner!  And gorgeous historical theater.  On to Weimar but first a stop at a castle we've driven by at least 3 times. It was off the beaten path, but well worth it.  Post show with Suzy and Jan getting the lowdown on the best Belgian beers and where to find the best Belgian chocolate.  But we did get sunshine and a photo in front of a canal.  Market day in south Haarlem for cheese to take home. We also drove to see the North Sea and the windmills that are on a platform out in the ocean. Too windy to hang out for long, but it was really pretty. To complete the day, we performed at the Cultuurhuis. A beautiful theater space in Heerlen, NL. A fabulous day!  And then to Koln to see the cathedral. You can wander around all around. Another day of sun and today is Assention day as well as father's day so there are herds of tourists and herds of men who are pub hopping some wear matching clothes or hats for their group.  Fans old and new at the student run cafe in Amsterdam, SKEK, which has amazing food and fabulous drinks.  Our fabulous hosts, Henja and Bob. If you every find your way to Belgium and want to stay at an amazing place, please stop in, they are wonderful!  Officially heading home and wishing we had more than a layover in Iceland. |  And of course we must visit the Bach Museum that showcased various instruments he played including a violin trumpet. Yes both a violin and a trumpet. Cool!  Bye bye Gotha!  Another fine night, thank you Beatcorner!  1000 years old mostly in ruins, but really really cool and from the top of the tower you could see the other 2 castles on hills surrounding. There was also ruins on the castle grounds of roman pillar remains.  Our second and final day off this tour was a sunny day in Antwerp! First stop De Kathedral which was jam packed full of tourists from a cruise ship and our first experience of hearing English accents all over the place.  And Dave found a yacht named after him.  Back to Germany for our final show in Linnich in a tiny tiny little village surrounded by windmills and yellow flowers. Special thanks to our friends from Kult+Genuss who made the trip to come see us again.  That's right, CCLL on tour!  Late lunch in a pub where we had a neighboring table of older Father's singing songs whenever they got a round of drinks. Then a group of women came in and songs were exchanged back and forth between the two groups. We were serenaded as we left the pub. Best serenade of the tour!  Final road trip through amazing farmlands to the French part of Belgium and the beautiful town of Houffalize.  And our final show of the tour at De Waag in the city where it all began, in Haarlem. Words can't describe how wonderful this final show was. Thank you all so much!  Next time, Reykjavík! |
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