TOM: Germany
As a self-styled linguist I thought I could easily master the German language in the 10-hour flight from Singapore. But even with the handy language-learning program on the seat-back TV and a kooky German-Swiss woman next to me who tickled my toes when I fell asleep, I’d only mastered a few jumbled sentences by the time we touched down at dawn in Cologne. And they were long forgotten by the time I got to the pub near our hotel for my first taste of German beer. Strangely there were already plenty of customers despite the early hour. And why not when the beer is so copious and cheap (at least according to the exchange rate I was using)
Anyway, onto the gig – we were supporting an English band called The Crookes. We’d never heard of them but the Germans seemed to like them, and it was good to be playing to a full-house both in Cologne and the next night in Munich. Even though the crowd didn’t know any of our songs they responded really well and we made a few friends who taught us a few German swear words. Munich was a particularly beautiful city, but we had to run to London, so we snuck out the back door while The Crookes were playing, taking most of their beer with us and leaving a little note thanking them for having us!
TAKA: Paris
We drove seven hours straight from London to Paris and then played a half-hearted show in front of 20 people. I was so bitter about the whole thing and spent the next hour yelling at the passing cars in front of the venue, ‘Paris sucks! You French, kiss my ass!’ It was my first time in Paris and I was giving French people a piece of my mind.
While I was having my usual psycho fit, the rest of us (a psychologically stable bunch) made a plan to hire a bike each and ride around Paris ‘til sunrise. That sounded good to me. I was in. We grabbed the rest of our rider out of the bandroom and bought more alcohol from a milk shop, including fine bottles of champagne and pedaled into the dazzling Parisian night.
We rode along the Seine River and stopped at Notre Dame. I popped the champagne and passed it around, cheering to everybody around us, ‘Cheers to Paris, Cheers to your beautiful city!’ We rode around Paris drinking champagne all night ‘til sunrise. People spoke French to me and I spoke Japanese to them. That didn’t bother anybody. I was feeling drunk and amazing.
ADRIAN: London
My favourite thing about London are the glorious public parks and gardens. There are more trees in London than there are people, and in the parks, there are almost more drug dealers than there are squirrels. All you have to do is find yourself a nice cosy seat in the sun, pretend to read your book, and they come to you.
Actually it’s a good way to encounter some funny characters. While I was in Regent’s Park (my pick of the bunch), I had come sit next to me a refugee from Lybia, a flamenco guitarist from Japan, as well as many a miserable Londoner eager to get their shirts off and bake in the autumn sun. I even found another Aussie in the park (another Aussie in London can you believe it?) kicking around a footy that cost him 80 quid.
Regent’s Park is also home to London Zoo, the world’s oldest, and the only place you’ll find both a bearded pig and a Malayan tapir. Hyde Park is even more populated. It was once the private hunting ground for Henry VIII, and while there are no deer left to speak of, you might spot Peter Pan if you’re lucky, or even the odd cavalry on horseback. Just watch out for the horse dung while you take your photos. On a final unrelated note, did you know Charles Dickens’ sister was named Fanny Dickens?
