Depeche Mode in Hannover or a true story written by life

Saturday morning my friends picked me up in Cologne Deutz and we drove to Hannover.

My Cologne friends had rooms in different hotels but I had an appointment with my friend Mirko from Otze, a small village near by Hannover. The next small town is Burgdorf, and in this small town I lived the first 5 years of my life.

So let me tell you a true story written by life :

In 2001 I flew to New York to see Depeche Mode two times at Madison Square Garden.

Good concerts and a wonderful week.

But I came back home and had a strange feeling of " I need more!",

More concerts, more United State of America.

It was the second time for me in New York and I loved this city, but I got the feeling New York isn't America.

But no one of my friends wanted to come with me to Los Angeles, where Depeche Mode played two weeks later.

Then I read in the German Depeche Mode fanclub forum a post of a guy who was searching a travelmate for exactly this trip.

Yes, believe, I answered him and he wrote me his phone number for speaking live about the travel.

I read the number and thought, strange this is the area code of Burgdorf my old homeland, where I spent my first 5 years.

I called him and the first question of mine was" Are you living in Burgdorf?"

" Yes", he answered, " how could you know?" and  I told him my story and we laughed together at the phone and in this moment I knew, yes I will travel with this guy to Los Angeles.

It was an unbelievable trip, we had so much fun together, saw really good concerts, visited the Rose Bowl stadium and other wonderful places in California. We got an impression of the " american way of life" together and enjoined the time together.

We are friends since 2001 now and visited so many concerts together since this time.

Now I came back to Burgdorf the first time since 1994.

1994 died my grandmother, she was the last bond to Burgdorf, so I never had a reason to come back.

Now I'm here in Otze and tomorrow I will visit together with Mirko and to other friends from here some places of my childhood.

Now a few words to the concert of Depeche Mode at Saturday night in the Tui Arena.

I need not many words for this concert: same set ( Martin sang "Judas"),

but Depeche Mode was unforgetable great at this evening and the crowd stood every where in the arena from the first moment, so the conditions were right at this evening and in my opinion after Milano and Rome it was the best concert, anyhow the best indoor concert of the tour!!

I had so much fun with my friends from Hannover and Cologne, wonderful to spent time with them all.

Nobody around me was in a bad mood, nobody felt disturbed by our sreaming and hopping.

Best song " Enjoy the silence" and "Pain, that I used to", where Dave went the first time on the catwalk at this tour.

After the concerts we met some friends from all over Germany, such a great feeling to see many of them again and again!

We had a late dinner together and than we drove back to Otze.

Today I spent the whole day with many friends of Mirko, very hospitable guys, thank you for having me here.

Now I have to sleep, I'm so happy tonight. I saw the starry sky on me.

It is not possible to see the stars in Cologne like here and with this impression I go to bed now!!

" See the stars are shining bright!"

Good night!

Picture of me taken by Lars Schumacher, thank you Lars!

Chickenover!

Mirko

Lars

With Frank from Stuttgart ( picture by his wife, thank you!)

With Sylvia and Alexandra

Depeche Mode in Cologne or after"fucking" 12 years

Excuse the words: after fucking twelve years Depeche Mode played yesterday night at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. The arena is better known as Kölnarena.

Me and my friends we was so happy and met three hours before the show starts to get a wristband for the front area in the arena. Cologne was so well organized, you might get your wristband before you had to go inside the arena, we only showed our ticket to a security man, he made a cross on the ticket and tied the wristband around my wrist. So cool!

We had a lot of fun and many beers at a huge bar beside the arena and went inside as the supporting band already played.

The front area was the same like front of the stage of the summertour, we had so many space around us, great!

After 30 minutes Dj Set the lights went out. I love this moment, because it is so exciting if you know, wow only 30 seconds left and Mr. Gahan will enter the stage. After this wonderful moment the time is running so fast, it feels like minutes what are in reality two hours.

Yesterday the time ran extra fast, because we were a large group of friends and we danced, sreamed, sang together the whole time and had extraordinary fun!

Unfortunately there were a few fans  ( couldn't be fans!) which didn't like our party, the told us to be quieter.

Unbelievable because Depeche Mode did such a good job last night, Dave smiled the whole time and nearly the whole arena wacked out.

Martin sang " but not tonight" and " shake the disease".

 Best song for me " Enjoy the silence" and " never let me down"! Great feeling as all the people swung their arms to " Never let me down"! Yeah! Home match and home victory!

A friend of mine saw the band yesterday the first time and he was so impressed by the show specially of the performance of Dave.

After the concert we spent together a good time on the party in the " Wartesaal" beside the station of Cologne. We danced nearly 3 hours and met many friends. Thank you Elvis for the wonderful party.

Now I'm still happy and looking forward to The Hannover show, will be my next home match, because I was born in Hannover and will meet friends of my old homeland.

Thank all my friend for this wonderful evening:

Sylvia, Andreas, Martin, Brit, Claudia, Andre, Simone, Frank, Arkadi, Ulrich, Elvis and last but not least Sanne for driving me to the arena. Gave me a kind of princess feeling!

Depeche Mode in London, the 3rd!

I was so happy as I arrived in Greenwich, London after a depressive day & night in Lille.

My hotel "King William" was very comfortable  and had a nice pub.

All the people there was extremly friendly, so I went in a very good mood to Picadilly Circus to shop in one of my favourite food store some mustard.

If you don't know "Fortnum & Masons", go, visit it next time in London.

Then I met a good friend of mine from Cologne. He was working in London at this time and it was funny to be together in London.

We had a good meal and walked trough Soho to Covent Garden, to the Somerset House, along the river Thames and back to Soho with some stops in several pubs to grease our dusty throats, hicc!

I discovered some new places, never been at seven dials, a wonderful small place with a pillar in the middle of a junction of seven roads! Beautiful!

I love London!!!

Next morning after very good vegetarian breakfast in the pub of my hotel I started to my last episode of river Thames traverse but in this case it is not the right word because I went through the walking tunnel.

So far I crossed the river wirh the tube ( under water/ on water ), walked and drove over many of bridges, with a ferry, by airplane and cable car. Now walking under the water, cruel.

Next time I have to swim.

The entry of the tunnel is at Cutty Sark, an old british clipper ship from 1869 what is now preserved as a museum ship located in Greenwich!

I got a little bit claustrophobic feeling in the tunnel and was happy as I reached the north side of London.

Then I got the chance to visit the reopened Tate Gallery with a bigger exhibition of british art then before and a wonderful new spiral stair in the front hall.

They have so many sculptures of Henry Moore, a british sculptor which I love!

I walked through a few of my favourite streets of London  for example the "Belgrave road" where I

Had a hotelroom as I was the first time in London to see Depeche Mode in January 1988.

Then it was a washed-up neighbourhood with very cheap hotels, but I didn't have enough money for a better hotel.

The owners of the hotel came from East Europe and their English was maybe still worse than my English. They had many plates with references in bad English: " pleese, closs the door " or " do not cook on the carpit". But I Stayed then for a week and had a good time there. They called me " good girl" because I helped a little bit to clean the breakfast room every morning.

Now it is a glamorous place with redecorated houses. Not bad neighbourhood anymore.

I had a good lunch in another favourite street: " the Wardour street" in Soho.

Time to go back to Greenwich and I made a long bus trip from Holborn to Greenwich with line 188.

Good interesting and cheap sightseeing tour.

Two hours later I arrived in the O2 arena, drank a beer in one of the many bars there and joined in with music from Depeche Mode.

In the arena I upgraded myself to places directly beside the stage at the left side and spent a wonderful evening with many nice guys from Italy, South Africa, New Zealand and London.

It was a good concert, Martin sang " Leave in silence" but I missed Dave's laugh from the summertour.

The spark was only at about " Just can't get enough"! But that's my opinion, it is normal to have ups and downs if you see so many concerts like me!

The evening ended with a big party at the Union Square bar in the O2 with my new friends.

Special thanks to Jacqueline and Jenny, was so nice to meet you. Lucky me!

Bed, sleep, long trip to the airport, flight, back at home and today after 12 fucking years Depeche Mode will play in my hometown tonight!

Homematch, yeah!!!

" seven dials"

"CuttySark"

Under river Thames

Tate Gallery

Sculpture of Henry Moore

Depeche Mode 19.11.13 Leave in silence

http://youtu.be/BLrlW1FRM40

Depeche Mode in Lille or the heating was broken

I stood up very early at Sunday morning to reach the train to Lille, North France where Depeche Mode should play at Sunday evening in the Grandstade de Lille!

As I drank my coffee I looked into facebook and was shocked by the post of depechemode.de:

" the Depeche Mode show tonight on Lille was cancelled because a broken heating system in the stadium"!

Unbelievable, but the official site of Depeche Mode confirmed that.

But no choice: I had to go to Lille for one night because I booked a ticket for the Eurostar from Lille to London where DM will play on tuesday.

There aren't many words to say about this trip.

I made the trip alone, because my travelmate Sylvia cancelled Lille, too, because she was ill and I had a lonely evening in Lille with french beer and french tv.

Enjoy some pictures of Lille.

The town is more modern than the first time I was here in Feruary 1988 as I saw here Depeche Mode on the Music for the Masses Tour.

This time no strike for me, but shit happens and you could be worse off than me.

So I looking forward to London, one of my favourite towns in the world!!

Adieu Lille!

Depeche Mode in Dublin or " This is not Boys say go!"

Friday morning I woke up with bad headache, but which wonder, haha.
After a very good vegetarian irish breakfast and some cups of coffee everything was fine and we went by bus to Dublin, O'Connell street with the fantastic spire.

The first thing we did in Dublin was a counterattack, we drank a beer. I had a "Blemish", not so dark like Guinness but very tasty, too.

Then we checked in  our wonderful hotel beside the Point/O2 arena, where Depeche Mode played on Saturday. We was in the same hotel like the stage crew again.

For a good diner we went back to the city: we ate classical Fish and Chips at " Beshoff's", the oldest fish snack bar in Dublin, great meal. I'm vegetarian but I didn't succeed to disclaim this one time, arghhhh.

After the meal we was so tired, that we drove back to our hotel and went to bed very early.

This was a good decision, so we were up very early in the next morning and walked through sunny Dublin for catching a breakfast and take a train to the peninsula Howth.

We spent half of the day there and enjoined the wonderful heavens and the landscape. Great.

Back in the city we were ready for a hot mexican burrito and after that for a Smithwick in the Temple Bar, the great irish pub in the quarter Temple Bar.

Now, the concert was waiting at the O2 Arena.

It was an awesome concert. The crowd revelled from the beginning and Dave loved that, because he didn't have to do so much.
Later after Martin sang"But not tonight " we got the chance to go in the second row. The irish people were so friendly, no scramble, the let us go forward and the girls in the second row screamed very loud with us, as Dave danced on the loudspeaker box. This was such a great moment, not far away from collapsing. Funny.
But again, no word to Andy. I like to know what happens between Dave and Andy because they are in animus. Curious.

At the beginning of "Just can't get enough" Dave said: " This is not boys say go!"
In many concerts the older boys, which are longtime or should I say long life fans?, shout " Boys say go, boys say go!", because they want to hear it again one only time.
Depeche Mode didn't play it since unbelievable years. Maybe Dave wanted to issue a statement, don't know why he said that, but now the boys are in troubles together because each of them want to be the
initiator for " Boys say go!"
I heard that shouting a bunch of times this evening from different corners, so, we all are fans, many of us a longtime, so lets party together!!!!
Dave and Andy should be a deterrent example. Adult men brawl. For what?

We women dancing and screaming to "Just can't get enough", lol.

After the concert I spoke with some friends, those who didn't like the Belfast concert and the most of them are now happy again although it was the same short setlist.

We felt very happy into bed.

The last few hours in Dublin we spent in jail.....
We visited the Kilmainham Gaol and learned a lot about irish history.
The jail is closed since 1924 and in the younger times the jail was used as a setting for many films
like " In the name of the father".

Last action in Dublin: we drank a Guinness in the Temple bar quarter and took a bus to the airport.

Good bye Dublin, mar sin leibh!!!!