Hannover to Köln

I’m writing this while sitting on a coach traveling from Hannover to Köln. We’ve been on the road for about 1.5 hours - only another 3 to go ... It’s pretty damn uncomfortable as it goes, but I did at least manage a wee bit of a snooze before I realised subconsciously that I couldn’t feel my left leg!

I’m now plugged into my MP3 player and am feeling quite contented, enjoying my own company for a while. I’m feeling strangely disengaged, but then I guess that’s what being on tour is like - totally disengaged from real life. I have a schedule which means I don’t have to think about anything. It tells me where to go and when I need to be there; the only decisions to make are what to eat and what to wear, and with my suitcase already being in the state that it is, the latter decision amounts to simply wearing whatever is on the top and hoping that the colours don’t clash! Not that you’d be able to tell by looking at yourself in the mirror in the hotel room mind you; it’s too dark to see! What is it with these people that design these rooms? They’re all the same: light in the hallway, lamp by the bed and a lamp on the dressing table and none of them can be more than 10 Watts. Why do they not want their guests to be able to see themselves, or indeed the contents of their cases? Very odd.

I’m hoping to get more of a nap on the bus later as I only managed to get 5 hours sleep last night. They actually threw us out of the bar, muttering something about wanting to go home ... but there’s not going to be enough time when we get to Köln as it’ll be mad dash to get frocks hung up, feather pillows swapped for synthetic (vital unless I want to join the bass section!) and find something to eat before getting back on the bus to the concert hall for rehearsal and concert number 2.

Concert number 1 went well. Full house, and apart from a couple of dodgy moments, pretty good. I was in quite good voice personally, courtesy of 9.5 hours sleep the night before! Amazing how much better the instrument works when it’s relaxed and rested ... Ah well, the coach is just pulling into one of those very precise looking German service stations. Time for a loo break and with any luck it’ll be one of those that flushes automatically when you stand up and then revolves the seat to clean it. It’s always entertaining to listen to people in adjoining cubicles experiencing them for the first time!