Holland

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 few days, they seem to miss each other.)

We laughed at ALL the bicycles in Holland by the train station. It was quite amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many bicycles in one place…ever!

We had an hour or so to rest at the hotel before going over to the venue for the concert. We had a nice meal, and Willis and I set up for CD sales at intermission and after the concert.

I was able to sneak in and take a few pictures of the concert. The audience was so incredibly enthusiastic…and that’s always fun to see. The one major event of the evening was in the 2nd to last piece, Jeff’s bell fell off his horn. Ok, actually, during the “Hornsmoke” opera’s gun-fight, Jeff was shot in the back by Jeroen. When Jeff hit the floor, his elbow caught his bell and ripped it right off the threads that attached it to his horn! It was quite dramitic! He ended up finishing the piece without his bell, and playing the encore without his bell as well!

I guess it is teaching us to always be prepared for anything in a concert! You never know what is going to happen!!!

The next morning we had to travel from Dordrecht to Eindhoven. It was about an hour and a half train ride. Before leaving the hotel, we had breakfast. The most amazing thing about breakfast was the juicer that you could freshly squeeze your orange juice with. We LOVED it!

Somehow between Dordrecht and Eindhoven, Willis discovered lighters….and lighter tricks. We have a ton of pictures of him and his lighters. I’ll post one or two of them!

Our hotel in Eindhoven was absolutely gorgeous! We were met at the train station by our guide and a photographer….who followed the guys around for the whole time they were in Eindhoven.

We had 10 minutes to get our luggage up to our rooms, and time for a quick espresso and then we went to lunch…where we ate some incredible soup and open-faced organic sandwiches. Mmmmmm….

Jeff and Jeroen both needed to get some stuff on their instruments fixed, so while they did, MB and I went shopping!!!!

We both found some great items…and everything in the whole city seemed to be marked down for half off! I got 2 pair of shoes, 2 pair of linen pants, and a great blazer. Yippee!!! (Thanks Jeff!)

The church the guys played in was beautiful! The event was a fundraiser for the green cross (an organization focused on lowering pollution in the world). The concert was filmed and recorded for future use.

One of the most amazing things for MB, Julie and myself was intermission. There was a bar IN the church. That’s right…you could buy beer in the church. We decided we had to do it…just to say we had a beer in church.

We didn’t do much after the concert because we had an early morning train the next morning to head back to Belgium…those 2 days will be in the next blog!

Being on tour with the guys is really fun. I’ve been enjoying seeing what day to day life is like for Jeff when he’s with Canadian Brass. It’s especially fun because most of the guys have family with them. It feels like a big happy family…and I’m very happy to be a part of it!

Enjoy the pictures!

Love,
Nina (and Jeff)

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