The plane broke through the cloud cover and we all caught our first glimpse of Germany; rolling hills and snug residential areas all dusted with snow. It's been ages since I've been in Germany in the winter and it has a very different vibe. I dig it.
Grabbed our bags in the eerily quiet Stuttgart airport and picked up the keys to our tour whip; 2015 black VW Touran. No shit this thing had 10km on the odometer. Even the steering wheel leather felt nice. She has already been dubbed "Tender Betty" by the other beardo and the weirdo.
40 minutes later we arrive in Stuttgart-Feuerbach which is a small village within Stuttgart city limits. We parked the car at the venue and went on a walk about for food and fresh air; we had an hour to kill before we were supposed to meet Jürgen and Karin at the club. We followed the street down into the little center of town which had a bakery and a hair salon on every block. Apparently these folks love sweet hairdos and warm baked goods... Maybe both at the same time? Up in the mountains around Stuttgart there was snow in the trees and while the snow was already gone in Feuerbach, it was still pretty darn cold. Glad I packed some cold weather gear. I'm gonna need it...
We hit the first Döner joint we came across. A couple restaurants were closed for siesta which made the streets look really deserted. No matter, we found what we'd all been waiting for: BEHOLD.
We all agreed it wasn't the best we've ever had but it still hit the spot. The bread was like a crispy English muffin. The meat was a little dry and it could've used more sauce and/or heat. We were just stoked to be in a warm restaurant and stuffing shaved meat in our food holes.
Walked off lunch and then headed back to the venue where we met Jürgen and Karin the couple that run the club. Reminded me of a cross between the club in Parchim we played back in 2009 and Sancho's venue in Walksfelde. They are both super nice and Jürgen even has a touch of the muppets in him.... Those two cats that sit in the balcony, know which ones I mean? Anyway they broke down the schedule for the show tmrw and sent us off to the hotel with a couple bottles of wine and some bottled water.
It took all my might not to press the old lids together and sneak a nap before rehearsal but I powered through and we got about an hour into running tunes when I hit the wall around 430pm. I shuffled back to my room and went full horizontal, under the covers, eye mask, sound machine, power nap... It would've been all over had I not received a phone call from Tommy our booking agent about our first gig tmrw. Woke up, showered, and rallied and we hit the mean streets of Stuttgart... Actually, they were really clean, well organized, and well lit... But that's Germany for ya.
I haven't spent a lot of time in Stuttgart at all. Seems like a pretty cool town Id like to get to know. We took the U Bahn to Schloßplatz in the heart of town and started a walk about. Somehow it felt warmer outside this evening than it did today. We walked the pedestrian shopping zone and then stumbled on a little joint for food and our first beer of the tour! Prost.
After our meal at Schräglage we continued walking around some more and ended up at Cafe Weiss, an "old school institution" as one bartender called it. It was small, smokey and a bit of a time warp but super chill and vibey. They handed out small plates of spicey crackers (affectionately named "spicey Dragons" by us) with a lone gummi bear on top... It felt like a locals bar which is always preferred. We did well tonight; saw some of the city, got some fresh air and stretched our legs out and sampled some delicious local treats. We caught the U6 back to our stop (Wilhelm Geiger Platz, 15 minutes away) and made the short walk up the hill to our hotel.
Tmrw the tour begins.
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