Pictures I took in Poland when I wasn't

dancing or learning text or memorizing stage directions or being taller than everyone in stilettos or sitting in a van or listening to Celine Dion at the hotel breakfast buffet or being grateful for amazing colleagues or trying to find something to eat that wasn't cooked or refining my polish accent in preparation to say Jestem barzo barzo schtuschleva, which means I'm very very happy.  I was told have a Russian accent in Polish, and when I said it, I meant it.

The theater was beautiful, in that communist architecture kind of way.

Magdalena was there as stage manager and Polish ambassador,

And so were 25 redheaded extras, 

Giggling.

Shelter

Home from Poland - via 12 crazy hours in Berlin. Made this on the days-long journey.
More news on the dancing part of the tour later.



I found shelter
in some thoughts turning wheels around.
I said 39 times that I love you
to the beauty I had found

White Stripes, Hotel Yorba lyrics

Just got paid

I'm in Berlin... came up yesterday to catch BLK JKS at the Volksbühne tonight with Jose & Meri... when, during a 12-hour train trip from poland back to Kassel, Lily jumped the train at Ostbahnhof, I met her at the S-Bahn stop, and here she is in B-Town for the night...



She just got paid, so she's taking us all out to dinner. Hot-cha-cha.

Today is the Day

Let's give it up for Deutschland, celebrating 20 years of unity today.   What an amazing country. And how fitting that tonight the first domino of the replica wall created by German youth and built in the wall's original path was knocked down by Lech Walesa, leader of the Polish solidarity movement.  

And now: off to Poland.  We dance on Friday in Lublin.  

It works....

...the new iPod makes videos!  

Tested it out on the road and back home in Kassel.  Treasure hunting included: spotting the new Very Best album at a Hamburg record store (art direction by KR).... a glimpse of my favorite bunker (Berghain flashbacks)...a sneak preview of the set for the new piece.... Sho tickling the ivories... and a moment out of my lunchtime stroll.  Schatz all over the place.

Hamburg in twenty-five hours or less...

Lily and I spent our 11th wedding anniversary apart, with me in Hartford, CT and Lily around Kassel. Now that I'm back, and we had a little window without work, we took a quick jaunt up to Hamburg. 

We landed around noon, dropped our bags and headed out to their most blazing flea market...

I didn't come up on anything, but lily scored BIG-TIME. A couple vintage dresses, a floppy hat, and this...

Halloween? more like... 

The hunt for Red October... Cold War-era James Bond girl status like crazy...

Definitely communists...

After a nap, we took a twilight stroll above the Elbe... 

startling to the sight of a few ghosts out trick-or-treating...

Eventually making our way to Das Weiße Haus to get our food game on... (chef pron to follow).

 

There were like nine things going on at once here...

Lily tried to muscle me out of my second course... She kept telling me that I didn't like beets... I almost had to growl...

I had no trouble with the foamy herb-stuffed halibut...

 

Lily went for the Osso Bucco... wow. it was like a meat spaceship landing on Planet Whitebean.

Back at the hotel, I read their restaurant's menu and chuckled quietly to myself...

Sunday morning, we woke late, thought about going for a run around the lake, decided instead to walk, and to make a stop at Literaturhaus for a little coffee (or, if you're lily, a post-breakfast glass of Rosé) and a view of their gorgeous staircase. 

Good to get away for a minute and spoil ourselves... 

use your _____, hamburg edition