Well we are back from our trip to Europe, and we have put together the biggest Photo Blog – Road Journal ever.  We were robbed, we ate some good food, we ate some really crappy food, and we had some great times, and great shows.  Follow us spiritofthesea  for more information. Above all some great shows.

Our plane was late, and we had to spend 24 hours in Philadelphia.  This was one of the first things we saw once we finally got to Ireland.  Already we were confused. For more details follow grid-nigeria .

This is a row of Irish Pubs in Kilkenney, Ireland.  They look an awful lot like Irish Pubs in the US, and they have Budweiser on tap everywhere!  John Cleere’s is the white one with red trim.  We played there, and it was killer.

A church in Kilkenney, Ireland.

We were told that you could get a pint and a prayer on every corner.  Here is yet another cool church in Kilkenny, Ireland.  This time with graveyard.

This is an alter inside the Black Abbey in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Kilkenney Castle, Kilkenney, Ireland.

Weird Statue in Kilkenney, Ireland.

This  is outside of Buckingham Palace.  I believe that is a giant pile of poop.

This is one of those soldiers who doesn’t talk or move.  London, England.  A couple of them did give me a dirty look and a nod for getting too close.

Protesters very close to Big Ben.

Near Buckingham Palace, Breezy feeds a squirrel rice krispy treats.  Two things here… One, Who knew squirrels love rice krispies.  Second, if you look back through the blog archives here you will see that this is not the first time Breezy has fed animals by hand.  She is like the beastmaster.

Near where Breezy fed the squirrels the Rev. Peyton stands in front of a famous London Plane tree.

The  London show was one of my favorites, and we had seen some amazing things.  Little did I know the clothes I was wearing in this picture, in front of Big Ben, would be the clothes I would wear for the next two and a half weeks.

This was the menu at Water Rats, the venue in London.  Toad in the Hole with Gravy?

The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.  These fellas dress old fashoined, but their firearms are mean and modern.  I wouldn’t mess with them.

See what I mean.  Mean and modern guns.  A guy near their said it like this, “They are proper soldiers.”

This is Rainer.  He was our driver for a lot of the tour.  He had to bring the bad news, that while we were playing  the show in London… All of my things were stolen.  For two weeks I had to wear the same clothes.  I just  hand washed them in the sink.

The thieves busted the window out of the van, and got my computer, clothes, medicine, and song journal.  Everything.  I still had my guitars though, so thank god the tour continued.

This is  the world  famous Brighton Pier in Brighton, England.  It was beautiful, but really really cold.  I have never felt wind outside like that except for during a storm.  The donuts on the pier were killer.

Amsterdam is beautiful.  There is water running down the streets like Venice, Italy.  You can take a boat taxi.  I was amazed at how clean Amsterdam was.

Jayme and the Rev. Peyton stand in front of the Flying Dutchman as it makes it’s way down a  canal in Amsterdam.

In Amsterdam we found an “ethnic” grocery store that sold American food.  This is a picture of the stuff in the window.  We couldn’t help but laugh… and buy a bunch of crap.  Jayme and Breezy bought Mountain Dew.  I got Root Beer.

I knew that there would be legal weed in Amsterdam, but I didn’t expect stuff like this.

They really frown on taking pictures of the working girls in the red light district in Amsterdam, so I had  to take this picture on the sly.

Small European truck in Amsterdam.

Big Dutch Shoe.

We stayed on this boat in Harlingen, Holland.  The beds were pretty comfortable.  Beats the floor any day of the week.

This was the bathroom on the boat.  The shower was right above the toilet.  No curtain or anything.  You just shower over everything!  See the drain!  We ran into a few of these kind of bathrooms.

I took this from the boat at night after the show.  Pretty awesome.

Jayme feeds a zebra.

Jayme is a Zebra.

The Rev. Peyton stands in front of the fun statue of the “Bremen Musicians,” Bremen, Germany.

A gold wall in Bremen, Germany.

This man stood in the middle of the square tapping a book and shouting toward the sky.  I asked some kids what he was saying, and they said he was crazy, and I said yeah, but what is he saying?  They said he is talking about Jesus.  A street preacher, I thought to myself.

The police then came and arrested him.  This freaked us out a little bit.  Some of the crowd cheered, but an old man took up his cause for a while. No one could explain it to us exactly.  I wondered what his crime was.

An old couple walks under an old tower in Ulm, Germany.  Birthplace of Albert Einstein.

This was on the door to the reception area of the hotel we stayed at in Ulm, Germany.  I know the first line is “Love is.”  The second line is still a mystery.

Dave, our tour manager, challenged people all over Europe to a drinking contest.  He was undefeated.  First up was Rainer our driver.  Rainer gave him the best competition, but still lost.  We had a lot of fun with Rainer.  He was a good guide.

Next up was our next driver Lars.  Dave beat him pretty bad as you can see.  Lars was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I think Dave freaked him out with his speed drinking.

Lars ran out of gas on the Autobahn.  Dave and Jayme went looking for gasoline.  Jayme returned and said Dave kept going and he decided to come back.  30 minutes later we see Dave running with a gas can.  We measured it out, and we think Dave had to run almost 4 miles to get the gas.  Lars was amazed.  Between the drinking and the running, I think he was freaked out.  Dave did it all in 30 minutes, half of it with 10 liters of diesel.

In Ulm we had our only real day off with no travel or transportation.  We went to a carnival.  Here we are eating Brats that are a half meter long.  They are broken in half and doubled over the bun.  Pictured are tour manager Dave, Jayme, Driver Lars, and The Rev. Peyton.

This is maybe the scariest ride I have  ever seen.  Breezy and our tour manager Dave rode it.  Jayme, our driver Lars, and myself watched from the safety of the ground. Ulm, Germany.

Jayme is on this Space ride at Carnival in Ulm, Germany.

Most of the rides had English names and/or American themes.  This was the “American Grab.”  It was a big bunch of “Crane Machines.”

This ride was strange.  “Swing Time.”  Kids just  stood up and bopped around while this thing tilted and spun.   It was like a weird dance party.

Most of the food that  in the United States we think of as “German Food,” is actually Bavarian Food (Southern Germany).  Brats, Kraut, and Giant Pretzels like this one in Ulm, Germany.

I was a little bummed out being around all these American style rides and a fireworks show at a carnival that except for a few things  might have been in the US.  I really wanted an elephant ear.  I kept talking about it.  On the way out we saw this  guy getting ready to put ham and cheese on what looked like an Elephant Ear!!!!!!  I stopped him, and I asked Lars to see if they had cinnamon and sugar.  They did!  And even though the  guy thought it was weird to put cinnamon and sugar on a “langos,” he agreed and I got my Elephant Ear.  It  was awesome.

A couple of  tractors work the German Countryside.

This is how you work the laundromat in Germany.  All in German.  We were clueless.

Every now and then things would be lost in translation.  I think they mean “Live Show.”  In the red light district  of Hamburg, Germany.  Just  like Amsterdam’s only smaller.

This is a public toilet in Hamburg, Germany.  The lights depict these little fellas peeing into a pot of gold.  That  really struck me funny.

The Tyrrhenian Sea part of the Mediterranean Sea, Livorno, Italy.

I don’t know what this fella was doing in the Adriatic Sea near Cesena, Italy.  It looked like he  might have  had little things floating around  in the ocean too.  If you know what that device is let us know.

Breezy and  I stand in front of the  Leaning  Tower of Pisa.  Man it was pretty awe inspiring.  I can’t explain it.  Huge and it really does lean.  Looks  like it is gonna  fall.

Street musicians in Oslo, Norway.

Field of yellow flowers in the Czech Republic.

This was an energy drink/condom combination we  saw in Germany.  Pretty funny.

Swiss lake.  That water  is really that  blue.  That cliff is really that tall.

Another section of the lake.  It was massive.

Bird bath statue of a boy strangling a goose.  Near Livorno, Italy.

Castle in Cesena, Italy.

Strange Statue in Cesena, Italy.

The Moon looks  down on Cesena, Italy at night.

A pair of Norwegian Moose.

The pedestrians in Norway are sharp dressed.

Happy Troll statue in Norway.  Norway loves trolls!

Norwegian Lake.

We had  to take the van on a bunch of ferry rides.  This is from the ferry in Norway.

Breezy walks down a hill in Norway.

This is quite a vista in Norway.  Check out the giant waterfalls.  They look like little white lines.

Norway is pretty far North.  I part of our travels took us through a place that looked like this… In June!

We stayed in this house  for a couple of days.  A lot of Norwegian  houses have grass on the roof.  Pretty cool I thought.  From far away they blend in with the  mountains.  Like camouflage.

These  kids came  in second  or something in a  “Norway Idol” type singing competition.  We were told they were  famous and we should get our picture with them.  Here it is!

This is a Viking dog collar found in a burial mound of a viking.  Even their dogs were bad ass.

This a ship at the Viking Ship museum.  This is an actual ship that was buried with a Viking Queen.  They buried the whole ship filled with treasures and artifacts.

This is the Oslo lighthouse and a giant Stena Line Ferry.  We rode the Stena Line from UK to France.

Breezy in front of a cool boat in an Oslo Harbor.  Oslo, Norway.

This is Oslo, Norway.  That giant ship in the back is the Stena Line.  It is pretty far back there.  Then there is the broad side of a huge sail boat.  Look at the cars over to the side for perspective.

One  of the coolest shows of the whole tour was put together by our friend and Norwegian Promoter Andree.  It was in a big Junkyard.  you can see some of the cars in the right.  That car to the left of  Breezy has a big ax stuck right in the  hood.  You can see the handle to the left of Breezy.

Breezy in the  Junkyard.

The  Rev. Peyton in the  Junkyard.  Norway.  The  trip was a real adventure, and we made  so many friends.  If you have any pictures send ’em in.  Get ready for a killer Summer.  Festivals and shows all over the USA and even Canada.  From the Vans Warped Tour to Austin City Limits Fest.  From Indiana to California.  Please help us get the word out, and thanks for all the help at home and abroad.  your pals, The Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band.