I don't recall the first time I was overseas on Thanksgiving but I do remember being caught off guard when I realized that the holiday is not celebrated on other continents. I like Thanksgiving and Halloween as they both have an open membership to enjoy without the strings attached feeling that the various religious holiday's do. They are festive without the "hey, lets celebrate some long since dead humans kicking some other long since dead humans' ass" angle. I also remember being quite shocked to find out the Christmas celebrators in Australia and South America enjoy the opposite of a white Christmas as the holiday occurs a few days from the start of summer. Not a lot of pine trees in Australia and you would have to build snowmen out of sand if you want one. The more I think about it, it just seems so strange to have one of a global religion's top billed holiday's so geographically oriented in it's presentation.

All Roadies, regardless of where they are from, also like Thanksgiving a lot. There is a high probability that their fondness for the holiday is somehow related to the food part. This was easily demonstrated, as you can see in the picture below, when all the tour roadies voluntarily gathered at the gig on a day off.

In any other circumstance, heading to the gig on an off-day is considered 'gig-hugging.' When I went to the Roundhouse both two days early and the day before, though tough to admit, I was gig-hugging.

**** Gig Hugger's Anonymous Meeting ****

Me - "Hello my name is Dave Rat and I am a gig-hugger"

Everyone - "Hello Dave"

Me - "Well, I first started gig-hugging when ..."

Roadie in the back interrupts "Hey, your not a gig-hugger, you're an imposter, I have seen you showing up after the trucks dump and even sometimes leave before the band.. "

Me "Uh, oh! Run away!"

**** End Gig Hugger's Anonymous Meeting ****

After the fabulous meal, oh, Upbeat Catering is traveling with us again as they did on the other European tours, hurray for good food and our friends are back. So after the meal we went to do what all roadies do in Hamburg, off to the Reeperbahn of course. The Reeperbahn is a quite famous part of Hamburg, at least amongst roadies and not only does it have the best bars in the city but it is a huge ego booster as well. Women everywhere, very friendly women everywhere and boy, I must have been looking good, Scott too! Because at least a dozen attractive girls and another six pack of not-so-hotties all invited Scott and I upstairs, separately of course. What is upstairs, I wonder? Why are they all dressed like skiers? Why is her hand rubbing my leg? These are all questions that will have remain puzzles of the universe as Scott and I already have plans to do some beer drinking, sorry ladies. Mental note; wear my "I 'heart' Paris shirt, blue jeans and red shoes more often.

And beer drink we did till the likes of 4AM plus and a roadie stagger to a nutritious meal

Left me waking next day a smidgen off of chipper. I am convinced that the donner kabob was spiked with  glue leaving my mouth glued shut in the morning. Scott confirmed that he too woke parched but mentioned that it may have been the beers that caused it.

Back in Germany and cool places and people and all to love about what they call The Fatherland. And german father dude clearly runs the place because there is little doubt that the toilet paper the lady of the country had nothing to do with the toilet paper's design. The little things that change from country to country that get forgotten the day you leave and catch you off guard each time you come. Metric width I can understand but who's idea was it to put high abrasion sandpaper on a roll by the toilet? I guess it is kind of funny, maybe there are little camera in every German bathroom and someday there will be a feature length movie based on shocked faces of foreigners experiencing the sandy surprise.

The very thirsty,

Dave Rat