Weeks 12, 11, 10, and my Birthday!

So, things have been quite busy on the work front. We're not really having any more shows to do, but there have been some mishaps with sound equipment (my area of responsibility on tour) which I've had to deal with, and we've had to move accommodations MUCH more frequently than before Easter. Anyone who has lived on the road knows from experience how difficult this aspect of touring is! We went from 2-4 weeks in each accommodation to practically two accommodations per week! That bit's been a bit crazy, but it'll be alright.

I've only got 9 more weeks of tour left - hard to believe! I also have two long weekends during that time, and I'll get to spend those with Sidonie :D On the audition front, Sidonie has another audition coming up in a couple weeks in HH. We're both waiting to hear about an audition that we've both applied for (requested an audition slot for.) And I'm in the process of applying for another audtion which would happen in early June. We'll keep you posted when we know any concrete news!

Because my birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, Sidonie was not only off the day of my birthday but also the day before, so she came to visit me in Brühl, a little town near Köln, for my birthday! She got to come in the afternoon before and we walked around Köln together before having a very yummy birthday dinner out at an Arabian restaurant (that we'll take any of you to who come visit!) It was delicious! After our shows on my birthday, Sidonie and I got to come back to our accommodation there in Brühl and relax together. She got me the DVD of the Disney musical The Princess and The Frog for my birthday, so we watched that together and just had an all around relaxing afternoon and evening! She went back home to Essen the following morning. It was a wonderful birthday!

Just before I headed back to tour, the weather finally decided to warm up and the sun showed its face in earnest. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the weather in the park just behind Sidonie's theatre!

One of the first places we visited was Monschau. We didn't actually perform in this little "village" in the valley, but it was very near where we performed, and our contact teacher gave us the heads up that it was beautiful...

...she was right!

As you can see, in the building of Monschau, they weren't terribly concerned with houses being perfectly square! I took lots of pictures of houses like these - I knew you'd get a kick out of this Pop!

Sidonie and I took pictures of the Köln Cathedral on the evening we were there walking around - it's very well lit at night, as you can see!

The next cool place we visited is called Aachen. It's a very old town with plenty of legends to go with its age!

The legend of how the beautiful Cathedral of Aachen was paid for by the devil in exchange for the soul of the first mortal to enter the Cathedral after its completion can be read here. And yes, I felt, and the devil's thumb is still there caught in the door where he slammed it after being tricked by the cunning people of Aachen!

Side view of the Aachen Cathedral.

After Aachen, we moved to a VERY small town called Nettersheim. There was ONE train platform, and a train that ran once an hour - during the day!!! There was, however, plenty of beautiful nature to enjoy/photograph!


Our landlady in Nettersheim was my favorite so far! She was so sweet and helpful. She also had a very cute puppy named Temo (which I somehow neglected to take a picture of...) She asked me questions every day about English. She's 70 years old and says that her parents didn't want her to go to school more than was required because they wanted her to work, so she didn't get to learn English, and she says she's too old now, but I told her it's never too late! When I told her I was going on a walk one afternoon, she told me about this beautiful path through the forest and around the mountain!


Among all the beautiful creation was this odd little stump with a chair carved into it!


Just around this bend was a path that climbed up to a spectacular view...


...of the whole of the valley!


Here's the sign for the climb up to the view. The Eifel is the area of Germany that we were in, and Blick means view, so this sign advertises a view of the entire Eifel valley! (I wasn't disappointed!)


The next stop on our tour was Luxemburg! This tiny little country, which makes the fourth European country we've performed in, is situated both geographically and linguistically between France and Germany. Most people there speak both French and German as well as their own Luxemburgian which sounds to me like a mixture of the two! This is a view of Luxemburg from the courtyard of our flat just across the river in Germany.




The River "Sauer" which divides the two countries at this point.



On my walk, I found a beautiful tourist trail up a mountain.


There were lots of pretty things to see and photograph! ;)


Lots of Cherry Trees blooming.


I just liked this one, so I figured I'd share :)


Here are some pretty flowers for you to enjoy! Spring has arrived!




After our show in Luxemburg, (which went very well - the kids asked very intelligent questions afterwards) we went walking around! We ran across a Finnish street performer doing push-ups on this thumbs...


...and flipping over people and chains - I love the reaction of his audience volunteer on the left!


We also saw some very pretty buildings and bridges.


These flags were displayed on an old casement of the castle there in Luxemburg city.


Last, but certainly not least, I had to include this picture because this sign made me stop in my tracks laughing!

Love and Hugs to you all! Until next time :D