These are the true tales of the rail and the wing, seen from the vantage point of train stations, dressing rooms, airports and the not-so-glamorous back of a cab. Buckle up in the jump seat for this caffeine-fueled 15-day tour of Italy, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, France, England and Ireland. Don’t forget your passport.
April 23 Vienna To Copenhagen
In the last 24 hours, my road manager has discovered that our flight from Brussels to Copenhagen has been scrapped. In the wake of the recent airport bombing, flights have been dramatically reduced. We’ll get to our destination, but there will be a nine-hour layover in Belgium, we’re told. First, we have to get out of Vienna. Mercifully, the Lufthansa personnel are able to accommodate some last-minute maneuvers and place us on a soon-to-be-departing flight to Munich. From there, we’ll run to catch an early flight to Copenhagen.
The Danish city is bright this afternoon. There’s an icy chill in the air. I’m on the scent for coffee and a sandwich. Copenhagen has some gorgeous old-world architecture, intricately detailed facades, fairy-tale-like spires encrusted in verdigris. The street level is more mundane: shawarma shops, adult shops, bars. This is the picture near the train station and the Vega club. The first thing you realize in Copenhagen is that it’s an expensive city. Stumbling upon a juice bar, I’m compelled to work out the conversion rate. How much will an avocado sandwich put me back. Juice and a sandwich is going to run about 15 bucks U.S. Comparable to NYC but still pricey. It’s easy to spend 20 to 30 bucks on an average meal here.
Plunking down 20s has an additional relevance today. Back at home, word is that Andrew Jackson (a.k.a. “Old Hickory”) is being replaced on the $20 bill. Jackson spearheaded the removal and genocide of the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Seminole and Choctaw tribes in the 1830: The Trail Of Tears. His smug mug has always been a slap in the face to Natives. While there’s still the possibility that this smal-yet-meaningful gesture will meet some obstacles, I’m very moved to hear that the slave-owning Jackson will be replaced by former slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who led the underground railroad. Tubman’s heroism is something every American would benefit to ponder with the same frequency that we dig into our pockets.
I’ve got the night off. It’s my eighth night out, and I could use a break. I’ll spend the evening in my room
sitting on the bed working out the chords to an old Ray Price song that Willie Nelson wrote. “When the evening sun goes down, that’s where you’ll find me hangin’ round … oh the nightlife ain’t no good life, but it’s my life.”
