January Roadtrip

One day in Germany turned into one night in both Luxembourg and the Roman town of Trier. Having left England Wednesday for Cologne, a trip that had us almost miss our plane if it hadn’t been for the quick wits of the inimitable Boy D at the wheel and whilst in the air the snow fell so heavily that we were almost redirected to Munich, finally landing, one of the last to do so before cancellations of take-offs and many stranded passengers. An hour on the runway whilst waiting for the snowploughs to clear the stand to disembark, we finally made it. But today was looming and a late night after a late arrival had us waking underslept to the most beautiful scene of rural village Germany.

Then into the car along the autobahn listening to The Raven That Refused To Sing, our destination a meeting in Welschbillig, buried under the white mountains in the South-West. After, Luxembourg City was so close we had to visit, a country neither Olivia nor I had visited before despite crisscrossing Europe in my case for decades. Driving into town we found a city that was a mix of French, German, Swiss and Austrian influence, or was that just the snow? A chance to speak French, parking in the square of Guillaume ll, doffing his hat from his horse.

In two minutes walking we found the world famous Chocolate House where the cakes greeted us and offered themselves to us as a sacrifice grateful for our interest. Next, so close and beckoning, we stumbled across CD Buttik. Inside, various records that I’d played on sat in the CD racks, including an All About Eve bootleg with songs I’d written (Forever and Will I Start To Bleed) credited to Bricheno/Cousin/Regan. It was Fairy Light Nights with guessed artwork. I never understood why if you were bothered to bootleg something, all the work that took, that you would also bother to get tracklistings, song titles and the credits right too. We asked the record store owner about potential locations to play in this city/country and we visited De Gudde Wëllen and Konrad bar – we’ll see.

After walking in the snow, and admiring the city in the dark, clinging to the hills, we left this city-state for Trier back in Germany where we were excited to see the famous Porta Nigra (Black Gateway), built by the Romans in 170 AD and still standing in all its magnificent glory.

Now, it’s late and we are off travelling again in the morning to Stockholm where I will be working on new material with Swedish Progressives Anekdoten and visiting family including my brand new granddaughter. The days rush by, the world holds such amazing treasures and experiences and we are so happy to be able to share them. Time for bed.