I leave from Stockholm today on a 5 hour train ride to Copenhagen. It’s quite dreary out and I watch the rain pelt my window as lush, green forests wiz by me. It is also extremely early and I am quite warm from attempting to get my sleeping bag packed (always a bit of an issue) and then schlepping my backpack on a 20 minute walk to the train station. It doesn’t sound like the happiest scenario but I am still buzzing from an amazing last night in Stockholm!
Let me backtrack. Last summer I did a Contiki camping tour through Europe where we spent 32 days seeing all of the major sights of Western Europe. On the second night of the tour two fellow travelers and myself happened to come across one of the most posh buses you will ever see. Red lights were glowing on the inside. The driver of the bus was a man named Simon - one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. Simon is originally from Germany but currently has the job of driving road crewmembers and other folk around Europe while they are on concert tours. That night was great fun - Simon invited us onto the bus where he gave us wine and played the music up high for us to dance to. He showed us the whole bus, which had sleeping compartments on the second floor, plush sofas and even a monitor in the bathroom that displayed fish. It was truly a fun experience. When the night was over I figured that I would never see him again, although we did stay in touch on facebook.
Okay now fast forward to this week. A few days ago I was slightly bored at my hostel in Stockholm and waiting for the pouring rain to stop as I surfed the net. I found out that Simon happened to be just arriving in Stockholm with the Leonard Cohen tour that he has been driving on. He was parked at a venue called The Globe, which just so happens to be the largest spherical building in the world. To my complete happiness he invited me to come visit him, which is only a short walk and a metro ride away. As I mentioned, it was pouring rain outside, but I got on my rain poncho, not caring how much of a tool I looked and braved the elements to come see him. That was a fun night - I had dinner with him and some of the crew and just got to talk and relax on the bus. I just enjoyed talking with people and the company. But then Simon invited me to the Leonard Cohen concert going on the next night and you can be sure that I would agree to that.
Last night was a dream. I actually got to wear one of those magical backstage passes that let me go pretty much anywhere in the venue. We went inside early and I got to experience the awe of being at the bottom of The Globe and looking up into the 15,000 empty seats that would be filled in an hour with a sold-out audience. I got to have a fancy catered meal with the crew which was just lovely, and I got to meet some of the people who worked out all the technical things at the show. Heck - I even got to meet one of the guitar players!
When it became show time I got to take an elevator up with Simon to an upper spotlight that he was working that evening. That’s right, bus driver by day, spotlight controller at night. Talk about some of the greatest seats in the house! I felt like I was on top of the world as the crowd filed in and I was above it all. Then, the lights dimmed, the spotlight glowed, and Leonard Cohen entered the stage. It was so interesting to be right by one of those spotlights - to be able to follow the path of the bright beam as it lit up the star of the show.
Traveling is not just about all the great sights you see. It’s also about the people you meet and the unique experiences that you have. I look back and think about the things that I have done this last month and a half and how I lucky I have been to have gotten to know such amazing people. Simon is one of the nicest, most interesting guys that I have ever met and I hope that someday our paths will cross and we will get to meet again. He gave me a unique experience that I will talk about, heck probably brag about, for many years to come. Thanks for giving me a memorable last night in Stockholm, Simon, and may the rest of your tour go well!
