Writings and pictures
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Dorsten Baumhaus
The Cornelia Funke Baumhaus in Dorsten is a community centre with a tree in the middle (Baumhaus means tree house). Ray had played here before and the venue was full. With good speakers, excellent lights and a very appreciate audience, it was a perfect venue to finish this tour.
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Schollbrockhaus in Herne
It was only a short drive to Herne. The Schollbrokhaus is an art gallery in the grounds of Strünkede Castle in Herne which dates back to the 12th century. We had some lovely pictures above the merch table. As you can see from the photograph, the timbers made for a very unusual place to play.…
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Essen Grend
The directions from Google maps said 3hr 42 mins but in practice we had a very long (five hours) drive up from Homburg to Essen. There are a lot of roadworks in this area which slows the traffic down (reminds me of England). The drive was north up the Rhine valley from Saarland into the…
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Schlossberghöhlen
The Schlossberghöhlen in Homburg is an amazing venue. A sandstone cave, originally laid down some 250 million years ago, it was first mined 500 years ago. It was then used as air raid shelters during the 1940’s. Conversion began in the early 1950’s into a nuclear bunker for the president of Saarland when, for only…
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Returning in September
Posted 20 September 2023 This is a short trip for me, joining Ray for just 4 shows during his September tour. We will be in the west of Germany this time with the first show being inside a sandstone cave in Homburg followed the next day with a long drive travelling north for 3 shows…
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That was the tour that was
I am home now after 19 days of travelling. It was a very good tour, finishing with over 150 people at the outdoor concert in Altlandsberg on Saturday and 40 people at a private concert in a barn on Sunday. I travelled home on Monday (yesterday) while it took Ray two days to get home.…
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Altlandsberg
On Saturday, we drove south east to Altlandsberg which is just outside of Berlin. The concert was an outdoor event organised by the main church in the town. The church was built originally in 1450. It has been modernised recently and now has underfloor heating and chairs and a stage that can be moved outside…
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Bad Doberan Klostergarten
Friday nights show was in the concert hall of the Klostergarten in Bad Doberan which is on the north coast of Germany just 10 minutes drive from the Baltic. A monastery was founded here in the 12th century followed by an abbey church in the 13th century. The church is huge and has undergone many…
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Komm du KulturCafé
Thursday nights show was at a small cafe in the south of Hamberg. The Komm du Kulturcafé. The cafe is a nice cosy meeting place for people to get information on music, theatre and the arts in Hamburg. Ray has played in Hamburg over 30 times, that’s as many times as The Beatles! With Oysterband,…
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Hamburg, and a day off with tiny trains
Ray has a show in Hamburg on Thursday evening and so we took the opportunity to go there a day early. We had been invited to view Miniatur Wunderland by Hauke, a friend of Ray, a long-standing Oysterband fan and, for the last 4 years, a modeller and guide at the exhibition. It was too…
A Visitor On Europe’s Roads 