2010 Germany Tour (Köln)

[kavr]

Woohoo I see Kate and Haley and Brigitte at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cologne!!!!

It looks a bit like Kate from far away, but it´s not her...

Kate was with us in the hotel , they wont let us in the HRC

Philip

[Delphine]

Woohoo I see Kate and Haley and Brigitte at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cologne!!!! Wow I wish I could hear from Kate about all of this!! I DO know that when a bunch of them were at the hotel with Matthias, they decided not to go over and be part of the ADORRRING fans surrounding Matthias. Good going guys!!

It's absolutly not Kate !!!!!
It's one of my friend from France and she already known Scorpions that Kate was'nt born
And Haleyna was with US !

[Deleted User 13688]

OKAY OKAY! HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO TELL ME??
I am just surprised that Haley wasn't with Kate, since they are great friends who have spent good times together, so......

Phillip, are you one of them in the picture with Matthias, when he strangely didn't show up at an awards presentation? I think it's funny that Kate didn't have anything to do with the mass quantities of ppl surrounding him.

[HANS33]

I will tell the story of my "adventures in Köln" in 4 posts

12/11: day before the concert

It started allready when I arrived at the train station. There were roadworks everywhere, and nowhere a parking place. About 10 minutes before my train was due, I found a parking, but you could only park for 3 hours there, and I was planning to stay away for 3 days... So after I jumped on my train, I had to call someone to pick up the car.

Around 13:15, I arrived in the Cologne train station. I had arranged to meet Katerina & Haley there, who had already arrived the day before. When you come out of the station, you can walk up the stairway to the dom. After climbing the stairway, I saw a person with dark curly hair, and another one with a white scarf.
We first went to my hotel together, to drop off my luggage. Of course we didn't take the shortest way, after all, we were tourists.

After that started the most difficult assignment of the day. We wanted to find a place to have lunch. For my 2 companions, the food had to be according specific preferences, and even the interior of the place to eat was examined carefully and taken into consideration. So it took some time before we could come to a final decision. The rest of the day and evening was filled with sight seeing.
In the evening I still met Sarah in the HRC (it was the first time ever I went inside a HRC, OK, it's a café like another, but the music is better, and the decoration is also not bad).
My feet already got quite some mileage on this first day.

Next days will follow in other posts

[Gość]

ok Hans, I love to read your reviews always

[kavr]

OKAY OKAY! HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO TELL ME??
I am just surprised that Haley wasn't with Kate, since they are great friends who have spent good times together, so......

Phillip, are you one of them in the picture with Matthias, when he strangely didn't show up at an awards presentation? I think it's funny that Kate didn't have anything to do with the mass quantities of ppl surrounding him.

yes I standing beside him (on Mathias left side )

Philip

[HANS33]

13/11: day of the concert, part 1: untill Edguy show

Before I met the others, I went into the city and bought the RYL book.
After that, I met with Haley and Katerina again, and we decided to take the U-bahn, to explore another part of the city. It will be noticeable later, that "planning" is not the strongest part of my 2 companions.
After cruising around some parts of the city (many parts of the U-bahn are actually above the ground), we left and want to start to walk, there seemed to be a nice park in that area. In the mean while, Katerina and myself were also busy doing all kinds of phone calls from CCC (Cologne Control Centre), because some practicalities still had to be arranged for the concert.
We had not been out for a long time, when Katerina got a call that she had to pick up a friend at the station. So we had to go back. That was something that often came back these days... we went somewhere, and then we went back, because we changed our mind...

Katerina went to see her friend, and Haley and I wandered in a part of the city, that we also hadn't seen before. We went untill the Chocolate museum and then walked back along the west bank of the Rhine. Around that time, Philip's train was arriving, so we went to meet him at the station. Philip then went to his hotel, and we agreed to meet again at the venue.

The plan was that we were going to find a place to have lunch, in the neighbourhood of my hotel (which was close to the arena, in the part of the city called "Deutz"), and then inform Katerina and her friend where we were. But I soon realised, that this was going to take too long, so I informed Katerina to try to find something on her way already. So we walked some km, stopped at Haley's hotel that was on our way, then went further to my hotel, where I changed my clothes (it had not stopped raining the last 2 days) and took my ticket for the concert. We were just looking for a place to eat (we planned to go to the arena immediately after that), when Haley got a call from Delphine that they were waiting for Haley in her hotel, and that they were going to have lunch there. So we went back on our steps (only some km) and had lunch together with Delphine, Brigitte & Haley.
I have to say, Delphine and Brigitte were not so happy, apparantly because of something that happened (or didn't happen) the day before in Mannheim. I wanted to say something like "come on girls, it's only rock & roll" but Brigitte had a knive, so I was a little bit afraid. After the lunch, Haley and Delphine had to discuss some things, so Brigitte and me were left to wait.

After what seemed an endless time to me, the 4 of us finally decided to go to the arena (some km of walking). We arrived around 17:00, and there was already a bit of a queue. I was a bit worried that I did not spot Jess & friends there immediately, because I knew they had been waiting in the rain since 11:30... But I later found out that they were there, but hiding under their "protective clothing". We got in around 18:00, Delphine and Brigitte went to their usuall spot at MJ side. Haley and me found a place in the 2nd row, at the end of the "T", just behind Jess and her friends. I soon noticed Adrian, some other crazy Italians & Yasmin on our right, at the corner of the "T". Haley decided to migrate to the front, to MJ side, because there was still a place in the 1st row there, next to Delphine. Katerina arrived somewhat later, but by then there were a bit more people already, so she was +/- in the 4th row, and did not look extremely happy there. Still a bit more later, Kristof & Joanne arrived, they had found themselves a "last minute" ticket and managed to make their way to just behind me.
Adriano already explained how he arranged to get Katerina in the 2nd row next to him, but he forgot 1 detail, that I don't want to leave out. To convince the friendly German fan, to let Katerina through, he has said "you gotta letta thissa girl through, mister, she issa my girlfriend".
So by the time Edguy started playing, we all had found a good place to watch the show.

It was the first time I saw Edguy live, and I think it was a very good performance. I have only discovered this band the last year, and I like many of their songs. This was the best band to "warm up" the audience that I have seen on the Scorps shows I went to so far. Of course it was a bit of a short setlist, but enough to make me want to see them again, when they give a show in my neigbourhood once.

[HANS33]

13/11: day of the concert, part 2: Scorps show & afterparty

The Scorps show started with the classic opener for this tour. I think it is a good song to open the show with, although, like other people, I would be very happy to hear "I'm coming home" once. I was in a bit of a melancholic mood during the concert, and because my feet were hurting so much, from walking all those km, there were moments that I almost felt like the beginning of tears in my eyes. I am a bit of a softie, and I can have that from seeing a sad movie or situation or something, but I never had that during a concert before. Maybe it also had to do with having been "on holiday" since the day before the cncert. Mostly it's always a rush in between work to go to a concert. Maybe it was because I was standing between friends that I have made through Scorpions. I think Klaus' voice was perfect, and so was the music. It was very nice to see the show from the "T" once. You can see the band from close when they come forward, and have a view on the complete "stage-show" when they are at the main stage.
All this made this for me the best Scorps concert I have seen so far. I'm sure my first show in Essen, was, objectively spoken, a better one, but the experience is also depending a lot on your mood, and environment of the moment, not only of the performance itself.
As already said before, the setlist was the same as previous shows. But very happy that we got "When the smoke is going down"as extra song. I had never heard this one live before (bad sound, but it's the only one I found).

After the show, we came to a meeting point outside the arena, because some of us still had a mission, before going to the FOS meeting in the HRC. After that, Philip, Katerina, Anika and myself started our walk direction Cologne/HRC. After dropping Anika off at the Deutz station, we still had some km to go, and when we arrived by the HRC, they didn't let us in. The FOS meeting was cancelled (no show) and we were not let in, because there was another official party, where the Scorps got an award (Doro was there too).
I believe you had to be invited to be able to go to that party. Haley had told me earlier that Delphine had put her on the guestlist for a party, so we were assuming they were there. We had a bit of communication problems at that moment. The credit of Katerina's German cell was gone (see mission) and the battery of mine was almost gone. I just received a message from Jess, that said they were in the band's hotel, and after I read it, my cell died completely. Philip still had his, but he didn't have any phone numbers, so we were a bit unable to reach our international family. After some time, Jess was so nice to come over to see where we were, and to show us the way to the hotel.

On the way to the hotel, suddenly people shouted "Matthias is there" and started running. When we got in the hotel, there was some fans flocking around Matthias and I could see Kristof, Joanne, Adriano and many others. I was happy to see Yasmin there, because I had not been able to talk to her before. So we got ourselves a beer, and Katerina a water. I think I was talking to Yasmin, when I was rudely interrupted by a voice calling me "Hans, Hans, come here, you also have to be on the picture". It was Matthias, the other Belgians wanted to make a group picture.
After a while, some of us had enough of the busy atmosphere inside and wanted to go out with some people to find something to eat. But it was already late and most places were closed. So we splitted up, Jess & friends had to hit the road to Belgium the same evening, Philip went to his hotel (west bank), and Katerina and I each went to ours (east bank).

[Deleted User 13688]

Wowee dude!! Thx so much for your awesome review darlin!! I still find it funny to know that you were the one called over cuz ur countrymen wanted you in the picture. Hey Hans, MJ wasn't the only one in demand!! haha

[Gabi6912]

Oh Hans, hey my friend, I absolutely adore your review.
It was as so detailed, that I felt being there with you, and percepted the wonderful Fos/Scorps atmosphere.
I still love your sense of humor, so I laughed very hard here in my room.
So, a german fan adobted Kate as his girlfriend, haha, it's hilarious.

I am so glad for you to be a superb couple of days in a good company.

Oh lol and, it was my latest discovery to get to know that Yes is a girl, not a boy.
My apologise for my wrongness earlyer Yes.

[Invitado]

It was so nice to read your review Hans !! Thank you ! It`s the closest of having been there .....

Gabi , as far as I understood it , they made Kate reach Adriano telling this german fan (who wasn`t too much cooperative) , that she was Adriano`s girlfriend ...

Do I understand that you`re complaining about women having a hard time making up our minds ?

I`m glad you`ve enjoyed Edguy , they are a great band.

[Emilie]

Hans, thank you so much!!!! You should be a review-writer and I'm sure you would have a lot of success

[Gość]

Hans, I love this review! I feel as if I was there too
thank you!

To convince the friendly German fan, to let Katerina through, he has said "you gotta letta thissa girl through, mister, she issa my girlfriend".

I love this part of your review where you described how you all were choseing good places
and When the Smoke... I can't find words to say how much I would like to hear it at a concert, hope it will stay!

[Guest]

That was one fantastic review, Hans, so lively and detailed !! So much so, that I started feeling soaking wet and my feet started aching

That feeling to be at the concert surrounded by other fans that you usually meet only on the forum is so....undescribably bitter-sweet! You would like to inhale the moment so that you could get the special feeling back whenever you want to...but, it´s only there and then !!! The memories with pictures are only pale images of the moments that passed so quickly.

Thanks for sharing

[Invitado]

I like that .....I mean your words, Lenita.

It describes it perfectly ...no that I have ever been with people of the forum before, but I can understand the feeling.

[cameleon]

Great Reviews friends...and Hans i can imagine...it's a mission but succeed great feelings FOS are best on earth, each concert is different but i think this Koln was amazing....
Rock on and cu soon...i think this mission will be shorter

from belgium we salute you...

[HANS33]

Thanks for the nice words everybody.
It is my pleasure to write a short "review" like this, and I always enjoy reading other people's reviews.
I was a bit afraid I might be boring the readers too much with all my explaining about walking in the city and all that.

BTW Gabi & Adriana, about the "girfriend" of Adriano, the interpretation of Adriana is the correct one (sorry if a wrote a bit unclear there).

@ Adriana, I wouldn't say I was complaining about that they couldn't make up their minds. I had time you know, I was on holiday.

@ Lennu, yes, it is exactly as you describe it!

[Deleted User 13688]

That was one fantastic review, Hans, so lively and detailed !! So much so, that I started feeling soaking wet and my feet started aching

That feeling to be at the concert surrounded by other fans that you usually meet only on the forum is so....undescribably bitter-sweet! You would like to inhale the moment so that you could get the special feeling back whenever you want to...but, it´s only there and then !!! The memories with pictures are only pale images of the moments that passed so quickly.

Thanks for sharing

Great way to put it Len!

[Gabi6912]

Ah okay, I see.
Thank you for your help Adriana, and Hans, to understand the "girlfriend" situation.
Ok, still, it was really a funny, and a gorgeous idea, anyway.

[Guest]

Great way to put it Len!

Thanks Should we revive our poetry topic ? I´ve lost my muse, though, but I could imagine myself a new one ..