You make Das Bett, and you have to sleep in it

Mischa put out the familiar spread this morning, bread, cheese, coldcuts and coffee. We chatted on his balcony for a while and formed a plan, basically to leave Stuttgart as fast as possible. Ralf came over to lead us out of town, and asked if I would ride with him to Hamburg and I happily agreed. Once we were on the autobahn, he kept a good pace, but explained that sometimes he goes more than 200 kph (120 mph) on his way to Berlin to see his girlfriend. As it was there were many cars that passed us like we were standing still. It took about 3&1/2 hours to get to Frankfurt. The road in to Frankfurt stayed close to the Main river the whole way, and we found the club fairly easily.

Das Bett is in the Sachsenhausen district on Flabbergaste street (gesundheit!) The narrow cobblestone road in front of the club is off limits to vehicle and a little 5 year old girl chews out Lorezo for backing in. Next to the club there is a brass sculpture of a peasant woman, and she spits a stream of water out of her mouth every 30 seconds or so, drenching an unsuspecting passerby. Hilarity ensues!

We load in the gear then have to take a walk while our dorm is prepared. (The dorm is on the third floor above the club and is accessed by the tightest circular stairs. I keep expecting to find lost members of the Anne Frank family). It has 5 Ikea beds, and floor space for Ralf. And a shower- cold water only.) Our walk takes us to the Main River and we walk along the shore to the next pedestrian bridge. There are all kinds of youth in costumes, we get our pic taken with a squad of girls wearing Dragon Ball Z, but we see ninjas, pokemon, halloween costumes, zombies. This has something to do with a Christopher Street Paraded. Across the river to a central square called Petersplatz, named I guess for the cathedral nearby. As it is almost 6PM, the bells of the church start ringing, and continue for a full 115 minutes. Poor Quasimodo. the central square is pretty charming, though obviously a mecca for tourist with the usual mimes and musicians. Some of the buildings are ancient, in the style with the exposed criss-crossing beams. Very Richard Scarry . Outside the square becomes major mall land, and there is also an Italian festival going on, so there are lots of sights to take in. One mall is housed in an incredible Bucky Fuller geodesic worm whole. Not my pic:

Ralf encourages us to try a Herring sandwich, but I have to say it doesn't really appeal to me. I could really go for a bag of carrots. I haven't seen a vegetable in a few days. In fact, the comparisons between Germany and Texas continue to pile up, they very least is that greens are unattainable.Around the time of the Herring sandwich, we lost Jeremy and Jono, but they were back at the club by the time we got there. On the rainy walk home, Jeff took the chance to reconnect with a friend he made many many years ago-- just gave her a local call.

The club provided dinner at a restaurant next door called Safron, quasi Indian food with nice spice, and lamb or beef kabobs. And who should walk in but Martin Schmidt from The Razorblades! I have talked and communicated with him for a few years now, so it is great to meet him. He is an ace guitarist and journalist. And pretty damn funny too. I asked him, "What goes on in the Sachsenhausen?" his reply: "Knife fights and beatings" Ha ha. And lots of public drunkeness.

We amped ourselves up for a long set and wore our new matching black shirts and hats. The club was densely packed, smokey. and filed with Zombies. turns out there was Zombie Walk flash mob / tonight. But hey, zombies are enthusiastic dancers, I am happy to see them. Additions to the set include the 10 minute Wild West Medley and Jack the Ripper, as always, Link Wray is universally popular. Again, the crowd demanded encores. Wow! but we had to end at some point so the club could continue the entertainment with Tarantino night DJ. Jeff appears to be turning into a Zombie as the flesh hangs off his finger tips as his callouses ripped. We were warmly greeted after the show by an adorable California blonde named Lilly who gave us giggly hugs- she was so happy to meet someone from California after being here for months studying German.

Outside on the Flabbergaste after the show for some air- not quite as bad as Martin suggested, but it has the potential. We walked around a bit, more zombies... but the funniest thing was the the Polizei van filled with a bridal party and the cops taking pictures of them. Then the cops took the ladies for a ride around the block, rolling over and smashing bottles the whole way. The street just got louder and louder, I retreated to our attic while the other guys closed up the party at some late hour.