Visiting Sensoji

Asakusa was the first area my host Noel and I visited, and one of my favorite in Tokyo. One of the main attractions is a Buddhist temple by the name of Sensoji. Leading up to Sensoji is Nakamise, a long walkway lined with vendors. This is a place to do some serious shopping! It reminded me of a spot Matt Thompson and I perused for souvenirs in Moscow, but that stroll didn't lead you to the oldest temple in town! There are 2 gates you must go through before entering the temple; Kaminarimon, also known as Thunder Gate, and Hozo-mon, which also stores the temple's treasures. Visitors are not allowed to photograph inside temples, but there was plenty to capture all around the grounds. I couldn't tell you what most of it is, but it's beautiful to look at!

 

Proof I was there!

Nakamise - full of goodies :)

Thunder Gate

The incense pit. You will see these at the entrance to most 

temples in Japan. Believed to have healing powers, it is 

customary to wave the smoke toward you before entering.

Hello, fishies!

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Hang Time in Amsterdam

After Metal Days we had some time before we were due to play Tilburg so I took one last opportunity to do some traveling on my own. I had only been to Amsterdam once for an evening so it immediately popped into mind as a place to spend some time. I used couchsurfing.com to find a place to stay my first few nights. My host wound up being an awesome, really interesting guy named Cleverson. This Brazilian born, 9 year Amsterdam resident looks like a pretty extreme guy. Big, muscular build, waist-long dreds, stretched ears, and tattoos on his face… this look doesn't phase me but it makes me laugh to think that many people would be suspicious of a man with his appearance. Meanwhile, this animal-loving vegetarian, doesn't drink, smoke, do any drugs, keeps a tidy apartment, and was in the midst of purchasing some investment real estate while I was there. I can't help but love when people squash stereotypes. Cleverson was a generous host and great company, telling me his tales of world travel. His roommate Bruno was also very nice, but the real treat was getting to hang with his Rottweiler, Jimmy :)

3 days in, I left West Amsterdam and headed to my next residence up north by the docks. Amsterdam is a busy city and Gay Pride was bringing even more people into town, so I found my second place to stay through airbnb.com. This place had a very different atmosphere - a modern apartment in a very quiet neighborhood. My host Ken was also a friendly guy who worked from home helping companies out with their branding and collateral. From this location I could easily hop the tram downtown, and even better, borrow a bike and cruise around the city. I visited the Rijks Museum, and while there was a slew of super impressive work, looking at all the classical artwork reminded me that I'm really more interested in contemporary art. Unfortunately I never made it to the Stedelijk Museum, but I did wander into quite a few galleries and saw some really cool work along the way.

One thing I did not expect to do during my visit was go to the beach. There was one exceptionally hot day while I was at Ken's, and lucky for me, a Bjilburg Beach was just a tram ride away. It was no Catalunya, but it was pretty cool to find a spot so close to the city to enjoy the water. It was really more of a lake, and the water only got about 2 feet deep, but it was a beach! People came from all over to claim their spot on the sand - even tho it was a bit like dirt. It made me smile when I imagined the same place but in Philly - tattoos and PBRs as far as the eye could see - and I'd probably be having an awesome time there with my friends :)

The best part of going to Amsterdam tho was reconnecting with an old friend. David German, "the Knife", now "the Germ" played drums for Shadows Fall back in 2000 when they supported King Diamond on the US House of God tour. It's been 12 years since I last saw Dave when I went to Brooklyn to watch his final show with the Shads. Through the wonders of Facebook, I found him last year living in Amsterdam, married to a lovely lady named Lana and playing in a punk/reggee band, Jaya the Cat. After all this time it was SO great to be reminded why it was so much fun touring together years ago - I forgot how funny that fool is! I had a blast getting reacquainted, hanging with his better half, and tearing up Amsterdam with the Jaya guys. Can't wait to see you again!

My favorite section of the Rijks Museum was the 
Asian Collection

Random Amsterdam park alligators!

I was super lucky to spend a night cruising the canals 
with Amsterdam friends!

Shore decor is a bit different here than in Jersey!

Sun!

Czech Czech

After Warsaw we made our way to Plzen, Czech Republic. We arrived in the evening and I decided to go to the festival site with the crew to check out the stage. The weather was miserable. We drove past tents and I thought about how bad it's gotta suck to hang out all day in the rain only to retire to a wet tent. The stage was no safe haven from the water either. Seeing enough we went back to the hotel for a night in... or so I thought :) Wandering the halls, I bumped into guys from Bloodbound and Kataklysm, then tagged along to a local bar. What a weird scene. The place had the atmosphere of a rock/metal club, but the music was anything but. Regardless, it was cool to get a chance to hang out with some other festival peeps for a much needed night out.

The rain continued on show day. It was the coldest I have ever been on stage by far. I gotta hand out to the metal fans in Czech - they weren't deterred a bit. Thanks for making it an awesome show despite being soaked to the bone!

The following day we all parted ways. Without a show for 12 days, some people went home, some to work other shows, and some to hang out in Copenhagen. I decided this would be a great opportunity to visit Prague. Of course, my plans were made before the flood came :/ A few hours before I was to leave, I heard that the military was going door to door giving out bread. It was about then that I started wondering why the hell I hadn't planned on going to Spain!

Our tour manager, Ole Bang, had arranged for me to jump on a shuttle with Enforcer to get a ride into Prague. The driver would only take me to the airport tho since closed roads in the city center were making it hard to get around.  Myself and a couple metal chicks from Poland were left to find a taxi into town. It was on this ride that I got my first view of how high the river was. Yikes! I saw restaurants 90% underwater, and soldiers stacking sandbags, and it was still raining... with rain in the forecast for the next week :(

Luckily tho, the rain has let up and the sunshine has been increasing every day. A lot of buildings are still closed so I have been exploring the higher lands first, and making my way closer to the river. I have gone to a couple Couchsurfing events and it has been awesome hearing tales from people traveling all over Europe. I even met an American graphic designer who has been traveling while working for the last 2 years.  Hmmmmm....

I set out yesterday with a site seeing plan but quickly decided to throw it out the window and wander instead. It was then that I stumbled into Fox Gallery. I saw some beautiful work here and chatted with a super sweet woman. She was uber helpful and took the time to write down other galleries and organizations show thought I would be interested in. Oddly enough, when I explained that I was in Europe doing performance work she said that she had that feeling about me... do I look like a performer?? Grateful for her help, I thanked her and continued walking around. I found another gallery who's name I did not commit to memory, but had a great show on display, and lastly another showing work by university students. This gallery was in the basement of a hotel. A guy opened it up for me and told me how their mission is to give students the opportunity to show their work publicly. I admired his passion as he explained to me that the show was not curated; it was a chance for the artists to express themselves freely. He spoke about how he wants to highlight Czech artists, and explained that most of the work you see in the galleries not not created here at all, but shipped in from Russia and marketed to tourists. It was a familiar conversation about the struggle to push underground art past the mass produced decorations, and into the public eye. I left feeling invigorated.

It was at that moment that I started paying a little closer attention to what you can't help but notice - visually, this is an amazing city. It is saturated with beauty. I decided to spend the rest of the day taking note of the textures and patterns around me. I don't know that I could ever get tired of seeing all it has to offer. I think I'm officially in love with Prague :)

Uh oh, welcome to Prague

A memorial to the victims of communism

While pork knee might be a popular dish in Prague :(
there is no shortage of vegan food - even raw!