Nina Nelsen
Jeff and Nina are on the road for 3 months! Check in with us to see where we are and what we're doing!Jeff and Nina
Travel Blog Posts
July 31st 2008
Nieder-Moos!!! I was so excited to head to Germany because my dear friend Jessica is spending 6 weeks in Weimar, and after a quick chat, we realized that it would be easy enough for her to take the train to Nieder-Moos and come stay with us for the 2 days we were there. We arrived in Frankfurt to no luggage. Not bad, considering we've been on the road since the beginning of May and it's the first time this happened. There were 2 vehicles waiting to take us to Nieder-Moos, which was about an hour away. The airline told us that the luggage would be arriving on the next plane...so Chuck and Joe decided to stay and wait to pick up the luggage at the airport (who knew when it would arrive in Nieder-Moos otherwise) and ... read more
July 22nd 2008
England take two! So, back to England we go. This time it’s to Durham, England. We arrive around midnight in Newcastle (northern England) and drive to our hotel about 20 minutes away. We enjoy a nice night’s sleep and awake to meet everyone for breakfast a 9:30 am. I went with Jeroen, Gene, Joe, Julie and Tony (who had met back up with us) for a walk after breakfast. We ventured to the town cathedral and castle. We ended up taking a tour of the castle. It was very interesting to see. It is now the university in the town. The whole area is absolutely gorgeous. The castle and cathedral were both constructed in 1093. I had received an email before we arrived from my mom… in which she remembered that 30 years ago, or so, ... read more
July 17th 2008
Luxembourg ….And the 4 hour train ride! Well…we all had separate cars on the train to Luxembourg. Jeff, Chuck, MB, Willis and I all shared a car. The boys watched a movie while MB and I both listened to music and enjoyed the scenery. After the movie was done Willis was getting a bit antsy, so I gave him Jeff’s camera and told him to have fun! He got some incredible pictures of the others sleeping, etc. Then, he decided to play a few practical jokes on Jeroen. He managed to find an empty Gin bottle and fill it with water and put it next to Jeroen’s head. He also made a blanket out of toilet paper for him, and stuffed toilet paper in his shoes. Needless to say, Jeroen woke up to all of us ... read more
July 17th 2008
Belgium…again! So, back to Belgium we headed! Somehow…we ended up in a town on the border of Holland and Belgium where we couldn’t get another train to Tongeren…so we called the Belgian Brass guys, and they brought a couple of cars to pick us up. It was a gorgeous day…so we all sat down at an outdoor café and enjoyed some coffee. Yes…there is a trend. Canadian Brass likes their coffee!! ;) We had a good time watching Willis, Jeroen, and Jeff be kids, and do magic with cards, coins, and lighters. Even our waiter came over and got into the act, performing his own magic trick. It was very fun! The guys have a great way of going with the flow while on tour. Things happen and plans sometimes fall apart. They try to get ... read more
July 17th 2008
Dordrecht and Einhoven, Holland - July 9, 10 We left at 11am on a train for Dordrecht, Holland. It was about a 3-hour train ride, and we had to transfer in Antwerp. Tony came with us…and of course we had too much fun on our train ride! It consisted of listening to music, transferring files from one computer to another, and the obligatory dancing on the train! In Antwerp we stopped for waffles covered in chocolate and whipped cream. They were INCREDIBLE!!! They were so rich that we only finished one between the three of us! We arrived in Dordrecht just as the CB guys were starting to wonder if we’d actually make it for the concert that evening. (We showed up around 3:30, but when they’re on tour together, if one isn’t seen for a ... read more
July 17th 2008
Tongeren, Belgium July 7, 8 Leaving Corfu was sad. We had such a wonderful time in the warm weather, by the ocean. We were a bit surprised to land in Amsterdam where it was over 20 degrees Celsius cooler! We were picked up by Alexander…a great guy who is studying piano and percussion (and whose father was the head of one of the two festivals hosting us, and the organist for Jeff’s concert the next evening). It was a 3 ½ hour drive to Tongeren, Belgium. I should mention that the reason we came to Belgium before the rest of the Canadian Brass guys was because Jeff had been invited to the Belgian Brass festival to give a solo recital with horn and organ. We had to stop for gas, and ended up with our first ... read more
July 9th 2008
Corfu! Well...not quite. Jeff and I went to the airport after spending our 2nd day in Athens. We arrived expecting to leave at 7pm on a 1 hour flight. Little did we know that Olympic Airlines had changed our flight and never told us. They randomly changed it to 11:45pm. And then on top of that, it was delayed until 12:45. We found out later that this is typical. Armed with our 6 euro meal voucher, Jeff and I found a table where we could plug in our computers and do some work. We got some airport food, and found a bottle of wine and settled in for our 6 hour delay! Well....3 bottles of wine later, we finally ended up on the plane and arrived in Corfu around 2am!!!! You all don't yet know why ... read more
July 3rd 2008
ATHENS!!! We arrived at the airport in Athens around 9:45pm. We hailed a bright yellow Mercedes cab that brought us to our hotel located at the base of the Acropolis. It is fittingly called the Hotel Parthenon! Jeff and I ventured out to have a bite to eat around 11pm. It always amazes me how many people are out to eat at that hour in Europe. But, the warm summer nights make it a perfect time to enjoy food and get some great people watching in at the same time! We sat down at a table and ordered our first Greek meal! We ordered Saganaki (brandy fried cheese…mmm… it’s HEAVEN), Greek salad, and a mixed gyro platter. Of course we ordered a jug of house white wine, and finished our meal with ouzo! What a great ... read more
July 1st 2008
Hi everyone!! Well, Nina and I have had a very busy week and we were mostly away from an internet signal…but we’re catching up on blogs now! Yay! WARNING!! Tons and TONS of family pictures to follow!! When last we blogged we were in Toronto with my mom and dad. My sister Suzanne was on her way. She arrived!! We gave her some little trinkets from Thailand, and a birthday gift (June 23 birthday). Judging by the kisses in those pictures, I think she liked the gifts! Nina gave our mom an iPod tutorial as well…muuuuch appreciated by mom! We then went out for dinner. We just had one evening of overlap when Suzanne and I were in Toronto together. We had Greek food “on the Danforth” (Toronto Greek Town) and then went over to one ... read more
June 23rd 2008
So....I think the last time we wrote, we had just arrived in Santa Barbara! Long time no write!!! Jeff and I enjoyed 4 wonderful days at home in Santa Barbara with my mom. We were able to see our good friends Laura and Peter and my dear friend from kindergarten, Cuca, and even catch a movie (Indiana Jones!) We picked blackberries with my mom (who then made a home made blackberry pie), walked through the garden, celebrated Cuca's Master's degree graduation and birthday, and managed to eat some incredible sushi at our favorite restaurant, Sakana!!! After our whirlwind stay in Santa Barbara, Jeff and I rented a car and drove down to Los Angeles, where we met up with the 4 other Canadian Brass guys for their concert at the LA Convention Center. Jeff played 2 ... read more
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