The day after the PPM Fest. It was a peaceful start to the next journey of my tour. When I went to Wacken 2009 & the Euro Metal Fest Tour 2011, the day after the festivals were hectic, as the 2009 Edition of Wacken I woke up to a fire 10 feet away from my tent, and the 2011 Edition of Wacken I woke up at 4:00AM so me and my best friends can beat the traffic, with the rain pounding the living shit out of the camp grounds & the 2011 Edition of Brutal Assault saw me and some newly made friends camp out in a train station on the last night, with many of the other campers not too far behind us. Waking up at the PPM Fest provided a unusual calm I haven't experienced before at a campground, and it was a huge difference. I soaked in the camp site one more time before breaking down my tent.
This spot is now available for lease, call the folks at the Lotto Mons Expo at +32 65 39 94 94.
The aftermath of a night of partying, PPM Fest style. Note the only survivor of said party \m/
The gates to our home, looking majestic as ever.
Saying good bye, a story that has been said time and again, and no matter how many times it is told, it never loses that painful touch of separation.
The next portion of my trip saw me heading off to Emden, Germany, to visit my best friend Stefan of Radio Gehacktes fame and his family. This part of the trip is all about settling down, enjoying good company, and catching up the best way one can. For those of you wondering, there are no pictures of this portion of the trip because I want to wind down the Hawaiian-shirt wearing tourist for one moment in this trip and try to be "civilized". I will say this, Ida Sophia (Stefan's daughter) has grown since the last time I saw her back in 2009 & 2011 \m/.
After spending the night in Hotel Czerlikowski, it was time to say farewell to Stefan, Astrid (Stefan's Wife and Ida's Mom) and Ida to head off to Düsseldorf for the final leg of this journey. As with the visits before, I will definitely miss their company and never take it for granted.
Once I arrived in Düsseldorf, I managed to check in at the Ibis Hotel Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof that was right next to the main train station. This choice in hotel accommodations was the best one I had compared to the last 2 times I visited this city. To give you a comparison, the Wacken 2009 trip, I arrived to my hotel very late which did not allow me to visit the Metal Night Clubs (this should be blamed more on missing a train, but I'll still chalk it up as a bad choice one way or another), and for the Euro Metal Fest Tour 2011, I picked a hotel that was too far from the city center and the public transportation stopped too soon. The best part about the 3rd time in Düsseldorf is the easy access to the subway that got me really close to the Papidoux Metal Bar thanks to this hotels location.
Before going to Papidoux, I saw this place right next to it. If it wasn't for the fact that I had to compensate for the last 2 missed opportunities, I would've gone in and gone Copacabana (minus the gun shot).
Papidoux, as determined by the Metal Travel Guide reviews, is the best Metal Bar the city has to offer.
The atmosphere in this place can best be described as cozy, with screens playing Metal videos and a good selection of songs. I can safely verify this place ranking in Metal Travel Guide.
Celebrating a milestone...
...and another \m/
Of all the beverages I drank, their most Metal offering (by default, this will be explained in a minute) was Becks Lemon. Why is Becks Metal? For one simple reason, it fuels the war machine known as Metal Festivals (this is why it is Metal by default, may not get a post, but it will be respected). We don't have this flavor in my country, and that's why it was drafted into my stomach.
As much as I wanted to stay and continue drinking, father time reared its head and gave me a friendly reminder that I had a flight to catch the following day, ending my run at Papidoux.
The following day, I woke up early (with a decent nights rest) to do some final organizing of my gear, lose the dead weight (toiletries, dirty laundry, and some jeans that got ripped), and head off to the flughafen (airport).
One last omen from the Metal Gods at the airport shops before heading off to the plane.
The bird that's gonna get me back to the US of A.
With the trip now in the history books, it's time to talk about the goods I procured during my visit.
When I arrived in Zürich, I knew one of the things I had to do was visit a Lindt Chocolate store, since I have been a heavy consumer of their products for some time and consider it the best chocolate in the world. My loyalty would be tested as I had a 2 hour layover time before catching the next connecting flight to Düsseldorf. I barely made it to my flight with only 30 seconds to spare, and this was a close call of the worst kind. As for the chocolates that were procured, I went after the flavors we don't typically in my city.
During my visit in Brussels, I procured a lot of gifts for friends and family, and the first item were some Belgian Waffles, covered in :::SURPRISE::: Belgian Chocolate.
Next up was some Milka Melo-Cakes (Chocolate covered marshmellows with graham cracker).
Than came the Belgian Chocolates (I know, I would have gone with the Swiss Chocolate, but due to the Belgian-theme of this trip, I focused on bringing back something from the country I was visiting). This was an armada.
While I was at the Atomium, Mini Europe and the Manneken Pis, I managed to snag some trinkets. As you can tell, each one came from their respected attraction. The obvious article (the skull pen, a Channel 13 contender), I purchased for myself was purchased at the Mini Europe Shop.
The "Belgium" Scarf, purchased in one of the shops near the of the Manneken Pis. This scarf came in very handy during my trip (especially at the PPM Fest camp grounds when I was freezing to death in my tent).
During my visit in Leuven, I managed to procure some Leonidas Sea Shell Chocolates, a winning combination of Milk & White Chocolate with nougat in the middle.
While waiting for my flight back home at the Düsseldorf Flughafen, I found these as some last minute gifts.
We have come to what is quite possibly the biggest haul of the goods I brought back from Europe. Note these were found from many different sources (namely, the Carrefour Planet in Mons, Belgium, Aktiv Markt in Emden, Germany, and a kickass dude by the name of Günther who helped beef up the numbers \m/).
What's long and thin and made of durable fabric? Metals equivalence of military decorations, aka the Festival Bracelet. PPM Fests bracelet is decked out in a steel tone, adding to its Metalocity.
Being flanked by other awards, showcasing history in its most awarded glory \m/
Its time to talk about the PPM Fests Stock Market and the options it offered to its patrons. First up, from the Jägermeister concession stand. If you purchased "X" number of shots, you got a Jägermeister item to go with the shot. I opted for the lanyard as the shirt was not my cup of tea.
Next up is my very first Gamma Ray Shirt (there we go again with the firsts). Modeled after a certain, infamous whiskey label, double the dose of Metal \m/
Another first, my first Helloween Shirt. Seems they were inspired by the likes of Alestorm.
As if I travelled back to 2011, I got myself a Kreator Shirt, but not just any shirt, a "WHITE" Kreator Shirt. Finally, people can stop complaining about the lack of other colors in my wardrobe.
And to continue on the subjects of Kreator and adding color, here we got the allover print Coma of Souls Shirt. Been wanting to buy this shirt for a long time without resorting to import wheeling and dealing.
It's time to take a detour to Emden for one minute, as I also picked up a hoodie from the greatest Metal Radio Station.
Speaking of hoodies, and we go back to the Peddlers of Iron Armor in Mons, I found this hoodie which reminds me of my first Iron Maiden show. As you can tell, the design is from their 2011 Florida Tour they did when they played Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa, which I managed to watch both shows, and they were \m/ HEAVY \m/.
For some goofball reason, I felt like a Tourist visiting Florida and buying one of those clothing articles with the states name on it, quite ironic considering this was purchased in Mons, Belgium.
Our gators look exactly like that. So do the golf players, withered old people.
We have finally come to quite possibly the crown of all the schwag procured, the 2013 PPM Fest Shirt. The glory of a Epical Metal Festival emblazoned on my body \m/
What happens when you reach the last page of a book? The end of the story, that's what. It is that time to put the final words in this saga and to have a retrospective of what this voyage was all about. This trip provided me the best opportunity to know a great country that has always had a special place in my life, thanks to its finest (and the worlds best) offering, its beers. I managed to see and experience this country in ways my previous visit in 2009 could not accomplish. The visit was fruitful, and I now have an intimate appreciation of Belgium that I will have for the rest of my life. I managed to mix 2 things I really like, Metal and Belgian Beers, together in one holy union of greatness, thanks to the PPM Fest and its kickass lineup, its fans, but most important, its staff that made it happen, good show PPM Fest Crew \m/
As for what's next in my travel itinerary, I got the 2014 Edition of Wacken that I will be attending, and possibly another Metal Fest (if I can squeeze it in the same trip). If you are looking for a travel buddy to Wacken 2014, shoot me an email ( i6z6a6n@hotmail.com ), an AOL Instant Message ( Screen Name: talshiaragent930 ), or look me up on Facebook.
Finally, it's time to say "thank you" to the following people who made my trip memorable and even more enjoyable than it could have been. Advance apologies for forgetting anyone and anybodies name on this list as it was a huge trek and I had the excellent opportunity of meeting so many awesome people along the way. If you want your name mentioned, drop my a email and I'll set it up here \m/
Nicko McBrain and the staff at Rock N Roll Ribs, for creating a very memorable prelaunch to my trip (and for the music, especially the music, and the ribs \m/).
The guy at the first Lindt Shop in Zürich Aiport, for pointing out there is a bigger Lindt Shop, and the lady at the bigger Lindt Shop who hooked me up with the goods.
Denis, the City Sightseeing tour Bus Driver.
The bar tender (the HUGE W.A.S.P. fan) & patrons (especially the one who recommended the Belgian Beers) of De Rots in Antwerpen.
The bar tender & patrons (especially the guy from Kazakhstan, for picking up my wallet after I dropped it) of Rock Café in Leuven.
The bar tenders, the customers from New Jersey (many thanks for the service you give to our country in the Air Force), New York (Staten Island) and Chicago at the Delirium Cafe in Brussels.
Dennis Bepunkt, Tim and the patrons of Papidoux in Düsseldorf.
The English dude with the Manowar and the VIP tickets.
Uwe Harms of Radio Gehacktes for saving me a hoodie from your fine radio station, I shall wear it with pride for the 2 hours of winter Miami gets throughout the year.
Sabine Dupont and the Cameraguy of Mons Television for the interview at the camp grounds.
Patrik Kött Hammar (especially for introducing me to Yägert), Innokenty Victorovitch Gritskevitch, Yoko Sophie and the other girl who shared their cheap Belgian Beer (still better than Budweiser) with me.
Günther Czerlikowski, for being great company and beefing up my Haribo armada.
Sebastien, Maxime Baix, Alain Baix, Daniel Mostosi, Musca (sorry about your tent), Audrey Dermul, Cedric Wasteels, Pierre Roux, Gregory, Kevin, Carlos Quilez, the Dutch dude whom I had a lengthy discussion about politics and everybody else who I met at the festival campgrounds.
The Max Pie crew for hooking me up with that special item during my backstage visit, many thanks.
Gd Fred for being a great neighbor and being the only one who can sport the helmets with class.
Stefan, Astrid & Ida Czerlikowski, for welcoming me into your home and being great friends, Danke!
Mom (the lady who was the first PPM Fest Crew member I met going to Mons in the bus) for being in the right place at the right time, thanks for the hospitality, I owe you.
Bruno, for helping me in a HUGE way, I owe you BIG.
Thomas Portier, for everything you done, but most important, for being who you are, many \m/ HEAVY \m/ MERCIS!6!6!6!
See you in Wacken 2014 \m/
...The End
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