TOURING EUROPE IN 2001

(To see the photos I took in Europe, scroll down this page.)

When my plane landed in Amsterdam, I caught the first train to Germany and excitedly found a seat by the window to look out at what I was sure would be windmills and girls in large bonnets with wooden shoes. The first thing I actually saw was a McDonalds... followed by lots of colorful graffitti all over the walls alongside the tracks. I shared a train car with German travelers who spoke little English, and it was oddly isolative. Rather like what it will be like for me when my hearing is finally gone and not just going. Unlike American and French "choo-choos", German trains are powerful sounding. They are loud, and the doors make slamming sounds. Then there is the German language. I don't understand it so I am not influenced by the words, which could mean something gentle and loving. What I hear is the soundtrack from one of a hundred American movies from the 40s where the Germans are all mean Nazis. The truth is, I found the German people to be far more hospitable and kind than we "busy" Americans.

GERMANY

The Neusuende Festival where I performed, is a 36 year old festival near Bremen in Northwest Germany. It is an audience of devoted music lovers. I was worried that the language barrier would keep them from getting my songs, but it was never a problem. They laughed at all my jokes, cried when I played my new song "Goin Home" and clapped so long after another new one "JC Watts" that I actually got embarassed. After two encores and a complete sellout of my CDs, it was certainly a night I will remember!

I was impressed by the cleanliness of the German cities I visitied, and the beautiful lace curtains in the windows everywhere I looked. The roofs were quite steep, and all the houses are brick. Many had flower boxes under their windows. The thing that impressed me most however, was the hardware. The people that brought us the BMW have the coolest windows, that open both sideways or by tilting in at the top... very clever hinging. They also have the best door handles and latches and stuff... designed and engineered to smoothly glide into place with very few moving parts. It is hardware so well made it feels good in your hand. (Can you tell I've spent the last six months at Home Depot?) The down side of German hospitality is that they make the worst pizza I have ever had. (It was the only place still open after the show)

PARIS, FRANCE

The trains are amazing in Europe... I took the train from Bremen to Cologne (something of a misnomer to my way of thinking.), and boarded the TGV (Train Vitesse) to Paris. It's a high speed train that travels at about 180 mph.

Paris is as romantic as her reputation. When you step outside of Gare Du Nord, the main train Station in Paris, your mouth drops open. The buildings across the street are hundreds of years old, and they stand there like some old movie set.

It's the same everywhere you go in Paris. You are riding down a street in a taxi and glance out the window to see the Arc de Triomphe or the Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) and there goes the jaw again. You know you look like a tourist but you don't care cause you're standing there thinking, "wow! this is Notre Dame, and all the steps are worn in the middle like water erosion because human beings like me have climbed them for HUNDREDS of years". On the other hand, The boulevard Champs Elysees has become a tourist trap with a Gap, a McDonalds, a Citibank, and hundreds of American college students. I'd skip it. Arc de Triomphe along the Champs Elyssees Besides the cuisine and the wine, the most incredible thing about Paris is the art. At the Louvre Museum, you stand only inches away from paintings like Whistler's Mother and the Mona Lisa. I was surprised to see how thick the paint is in Van Gough's paintings, and the darkness of the oils of Rueben's paintings. And then there are the Greek and Roman sculptures...ooh la la... I also visited the Rodin Museum and saw the famous "Thinker" ("Le Penseur") and "The Kiss". I audibly caught my breath however, when I saw "The Hand Of God"... it's a sculpture where he carved Adam and Eve in the palm of God's hand, and even though it's stone, it almost seems to have movement in it. But my favorite sight of all in Paris, is the view in the windows of the patisseries... (pastry shops) Ahhhhh...

LONDON

From Paris there is now a train called the Eurostar that goes through a tunnel underneath the English Channel to London. Clive Hudson of Round Tower Music, (the record label I recorded my first CD for over there), and his wonderful wife Lynn, met me at the train station and brought me to their home in Bricket Wood. Their "English Garden" is just like in the books I've read. It boasts not only the usual flora, but also a fish pond, two cats, numerous birds, and a hedgehog and fox that come every night around midnight for the food Lynn sets out.

Richard Kirk, who gave me a lovely review of the CD in Country Music Roundup, stopped by and interviewed me just before the show. The interview will be in the December issue of the magazine. I also had another nice bit of press from Time Out Magazine.

I did try to set aside time for tea with the Queen in case she wanted to get together, but I was just too busy. I was setting my watch by Big Ben, and visiting Westminister Abbey. It's amazing how many dead people they have crammed into that place. I find living people a bit more interesting. Queen Elizabeth the first is in there, along with Mary Queen of Scotts. Wandering around looking at gravestones, you realize how short the life span used to be. We are quite fortunate to live in this day and time, to say nothing of what the women had to wear back then. I was intrigued by the Victoria and Albert Museum, and particularly the wardrobe exhibit. Shoes from the 1600's looked no more comfortable than they do today.

ZEVENBERGEN, THE NETHERLANDS

Back on the Eurostar, I traveled next to Belgium then to Roosendahl, Netherlands just across the Belgian border, and on to Zevenbergen. I was treated with incredible hospitality there, by the people who hosted me while I played the Zevenbergen Country Music Festival. We had a bit of rain, which hurt the festival as it was outdoors, but the spirits of the people who attended were high, and I had a chance to meet many of the DJ's in the area. I also had a chance to do more eating, and I'd have to say the french have nothing on the Dutch when it comes to goodies.

ANTIBES, FRANCE

I was only in the Netherlands for two days, and then caught a train, again the TGV, for the south coast of France. My longtime bud Monica was vacationing on the Riviera in a village called Antibes, and good friend that I am, I didn't want her to be lonely so I forced myself to join her.