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My Beatles Journey

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

This year has been special for Beatles fans. More than 50 years after they broke up, a new Beatles song called “Now and Then” appeared last month. Featuring all four members, it was an unexpected but fitting conclusion to the recording career of this unparalleled band. It was also accompanied by an evocative video that tugged at the heartstrings one last time.

“Mendips” – John Lennon’s childhood home in Liverpool

My Beatles journey began in high school, when I discovered my sister’s old Beatles albums. That was 40 years ago, but I’ve remained a fan ever since. And while my collection has expanded to include everything from Antonio Carlos Jobim to Bajofondo Tango Club, the enduring influence of the Beatles is abundantly clear in other favourites such as Crowded House and Jellyfish.

3 Savile Row – former headquarters of the Beatles’ business empire

When I look back, I see that a significant amount of my travel has been Beatles-related. The most obvious trip, of course, was a 2005 trip to Liverpool. While there, we visited the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. But we also visited their early 1960s haunts such as the famous Cavern Club and The Grapes pub. We even stayed at the Adelphi Hotel – the top hotel in town in the 1960s, and the very definition of “faded grandeur” by the time we stayed there. You can read more about this trip in this post from 2015.

Abbey Road Studios, St. John’s Wood, London

Just as memorable was my November 2014 trip to London, England. I attended several great musical events while in London, but I also took an extended tour of Beatles sights. In addition to the Apple headquarters on Savile Row, I saw the Abbey Road Studios where almost all of those great songs were recorded. I even crossed Abbey Road, as you can see at the very top of this post. But I also saw several other places that were less obvious parts of the Beatles story. You can read more about that day in this December 2014 post. 

Street entrance to the Cavern Club in Liverpool

London and Liverpool – those aren’t surprising Beatles destinations. But there’s more. On a trip to New York City, we stopped by the “Strawberry Fields” portion of Central Park and the adjacent “Dakota Building” where John Lennon spent the last years of his life. And, like I have on many of my travels, I also found a very rare Beatles-related record as a souvenir. On this occasion, it was a very elaborately packaged Paul McCartney solo vinyl single from a shop in Greenwich Village.

The Weeklings, with string and horn sections, live at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre.

On a completely separate trip, I found myself at Monmouth University in the state of New Jersey…for a Beatles symposium! My friend (and fellow Beatles fan) Anthony heard about an academic conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1968 “The Beatles” album (a.k.a “The White Album”). Well, why not? You can read about that conference in this post from November 2018. Pictured above is a concert we saw at the conference…The Weeklings were brilliant, and played most of The White Album live!

Paul McCartney live in Halifax, Nova Scotia (July 2009)

We’ve seen Ringo Starr in concert a couple of times: once at Casino Rama (north of Toronto), and another time (just last year) right here in Kingston. And while I saw Paul McCartney in Toronto when I lived there in the early 1990s, we also saw him many years later in…Halifax, Nova Scotia! We were visiting friends in Halifax but managed to include Paul’s concert as well. You can read about the 2009 concert in this post from 2015.

Poster for an upcoming Beatles cover band concert (Budapest, Hungary – June 24, 1991)

Beatles connections seem to pop up in the most unexpected locations. Who would have thought that Paul McCartney had a connection to Verona, Italy? Or that we would cross paths with a Beatles event in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec? How about a Beatles tribute in Budapest, Hungary? Or a Beatles link to a rockabilly concert in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto?

The Straight Eights live at Castro’s Lounge (Toronto, Ontario)

Unexpected links are a great part of travel. And while this post features previously published photos, I’ve just unexpectedly discovered some “new” photos from prior travels. I’ll be sharing some of those in my next post…coming soon!

Posts from Base Camp

The people you meet while backpacking

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I recently reviewed the photos from my 1991 backpacking trip through Europe. It was the same kind of extended post-university trip that new graduates have been doing for decades.

Downtown Trier, Germany (June 2, 1991)

While I have posted about a portion of this trip before, I was struck by some of the people in the pictures and how clearly I remembered them nearly 30 years later. And not just their names…although I will refrain from using their names here. Since personal connections are an important part of travel too, I thought I’d talk about some of the events that I shared with people I have never seen (or heard from) since.

The Roman Amphitheatre (circa 100 A.D.) in Trier, Germany (June 2, 1991)

Virtually every night was spent in a youth hostel, so it was natural that I would meet others doing the same thing. My first hostel night was in Trier, Germany, where a nice young German couple joined me for dinner and gave me some tips on the sights in the area. This set the stage for some memorable experiences later in the trip.

Benny, my uncle’s Dachshund – Riehen, Switzerland (June 3, 1991)

By the time I got to Zug, Switzerland, I was getting good at the whole hostel thing. There, I met a couple from Vancouver, as well as a teacher from Australia, and we decided to hike together the next day. We walked on the newly established “Swiss Path” around the Vierwaldstättersee: we saw where Switzerland was born exactly 700 years before (see photo at the very top of this post).

Leading the cattle through downtown Zuoz, Switzerland (June 11, 1991)

But the defining moment with my new friends was eating in an Italian place in Zug. It wasn’t a traditional restaurant, it was more of a club for the local Italian community. Anyway, the menu was mostly in Italian with a few (all too brief) German translations. I couldn’t quite figure out one of the pasta dishes, but my friends told me they thought the main ingredient was wild mushrooms. Well, it was a wonderfully spicy tomato sauce, and the “mushrooms” sure were chewier than any mushrooms I’d had before. About halfway through, after some worried whispering between the couple, I was told “Sorry, I think those are clams”. Still, I guess that’s how you overcome unfamiliar food: don’t find out what it is until it’s too late!

View above St. Moritz, Switzerland (June 11, 1991)

Another interesting adventure was in Zell am See, Austria. After getting off the train from Innsbruck, I dutifully headed to the local hostel. Imagine my surprise when nothing remained except a charred pile of bricks: it had burned down a few days before. Now I was in a bit of pickle! However, a group of 5 Swedes arrived at that very moment. They were on the very same train, and wanted to stay at the very same non-existent hostel. We decided to tackle our problem together.

Swedish picnic at Areitalm, above Zell am See, Austria (June 16, 1991)

We managed to find a place that would rent a “suite” to the three Swedish young ladies, and another “suite” to me and the two Swedish young men (who both had the same first name). They were all active people, so I joined them the next day for tennis and a picnic on the mountainside above town. It was fun being Swedish for a day, and foreshadowed other positive Swedish experiences in the future. When I finally made it to Sweden 21 years later, I found the vibe very comfortable. Stockholm was one of those places where I said “I think I could live here”.

On the Kohlmarkt in Vienna, Austria (June 20, 1991)

I eventually made it to Vienna, where I met a backpacker from Vancouver with energy to spare. We decided to tackle Vienna together: dinner at a very famous Schnitzelhaus, and then we managed to get cheap standing room tickets for a performance at Vienna’s State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper). For those keeping track, the opera was “Elektra”, by Richard Strauss. This was the kind of unique experience that you might not try on your own, but seems much easier when you’ve got company. I made it back to Vienna, albeit briefly, in 2014.

Street market on Rakoczi Blvd. in Budapest, Hungary (June 24, 1991)

Meeting other people on the road can really enhance a trip. We’ll never forget the personal connection we had many years later in Estonia! It takes more work if you’re not staying in hostels, but it’s worth the effort.

Posts from Base Camp

Perceptions of Canada

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

On most of my trips to Europe, I try to disappear into the crowd and am probably not easily identifiable as coming from Canada (or perhaps anywhere in particular).  Generally, the only people who know I’m Canadian are hotel proprietors…for whom Canadians are not too much of a novelty.  As a result, I don’t hear too much about Canada from the perspective of Europeans outside the tourist industry.

My hockey tour of Eastern Europe* was different.  Not only was I travelling with a lot of other Canadians, we were unequivocally members of “Team Canada” and made no attempt to hide it.  The fact that we were Canadian hockey players was, in fact, a big part of this tour.

Looking intense against our very strong Czech opponents in Prague
Looking intense against our very strong Czech opponents in Prague

As Canadians, we tend to fret about our performance at international hockey events.  We greatly enjoyed our Olympic successes at both Vancouver and Sochi but have also had a number of recent disappointments.  If this tour was any indication, however, other hockey nations still have an immense amount of respect for Canadian hockey.  Some of them found it hard to believe that not all Canadian hockey players were world-class!  As I mentioned in my “Hockey Night in Budapest” post, the minor hockey program in Budapest was even named after Canada and had a maple leaf logo. The local kids watching our game gave us high-fives as we left the ice.

On the shore of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary
On the shore of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary

While the hockey perceptions were not completely unexpected, the non-hockey perceptions of Canada came as more of a surprise.  After all, these countries were on the other side of the Cold War (at the political leadership level, at least).

We constantly heard positive references to our country from the people we met.  But there were also reminders that this part of the world has had a long-standing respect for Canada.  In the otherwise miserable environment of Auschwitz, we learned that the concentration camp area used to sort the belongings of prisoners had been named “Canada”.  This was because Canada was seen, even then, as a land of wealth and prosperity.

View of the Buda Castle (Budapest, Hungary)
View of the Buda Castle (Budapest, Hungary)

At the Wawel castle in Krakow, we saw a commemorative plaque with respect to the castle treasures.  The plaque acknowledged Canada’s storage of the treasures during the Second World War:  this saved them from being looted by the Nazis during the occupation.  The plaque also acknowledged that Canada returned the treasures to the castle too!

Many people originally from this part of Europe escaped oppressive totalitarian regimes for a new life in Canada.  These ranged from the famous (the hockey-playing Stastny brothers, for example) to the not-so-famous…but Canada’s acceptance of them has never been forgotten by the immigrants or their family members who stayed behind.

Off the tourist trail in Budapest, Hungary
Off the tourist trail in Budapest, Hungary

This ties in with one of the most obvious benefits of travel:  no matter how wonderful your trip is, you also appreciate what a good life you have back home.  Of course, there are aspects of life in Canada that can be frustrating at times and there are certainly things we could learn from other countries.  On the balance, however, Canada is a pretty good place to call home…and the rest of the world recognizes it too.

At the top of the Buda Castle complex (Budapest, Hungary)
At the top of the Buda Castle complex (Budapest, Hungary)

*-I learned on this trip that Czechs, Slovaks, Poles and Hungarians often think of themselves as Central Europeans rather than Eastern Europeans.

Posts from the road

Sightseeing in Bratislava and Budapest

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(Budapest, Hungary)

Our visit to Bratislava was extremely short. We arrived on the afternoon of September 10, had a pre-game meal, played the game (see my post on “A Great Game in Bratislava” for details), and celebrated the victory afterwards. We only had a couple of hours on the morning of September 11 to explore the city before heading to Budapest.

It was necessary to take a cab from our hotel to the old town. It was strange to ask the cab driver to take us downtown…but not to any particular place. We didn’t really know where to start and we certainly hadn’t done any research. This went totally against my usual “informed travel” approach but the clock was ticking and we wanted to see part of the city before moving on. We were eventually let off at the edge of a pedestrian-only district that seemed close enough to the old town.

A rainy morning in downtown Bratislava
A rainy morning in downtown Bratislava

The plan was simple: walk around the oldest parts and make sure we found a cab back by 11:00 a.m. The old town of Bratislava is relatively compact (especially if you are not entirely sure where it is) so after about 20 minutes we decided to climb a large hill and visit the castle overlooking the city. Climbing up was no problem and we were able to wander around the castle complex for a while.

Part of Bratislava Castle
Part of Bratislava Castle

We decided to descend the castle hill on the other side.  Surely there would be a second way down?  Alas, we encountered one dead-end after another and the timing situation was becoming more urgent.  Finally, we managed to find our way out…but were amazed at how few taxis were roaming Bratislava on this increasingly rainy morning.  Just as the situation became critical (and drenched), we found a taxi stand and rushed back to our hotel.  Yes, this probably could have been avoided with a little research, or even a map.  Intuition is great…when it works.

Changing of the Guard - Budapest, Hungary
Changing of the Guard in front of the Presidential Palace – Buda Castle (Budapest, Hungary)

We had more time in Budapest.  Our hockey game (see “Hockey Night in Budapest” post) took place shortly after arrival on the 11th but we had all of September 12 to ourselves.  I made sure I had a map before setting out; even though I had been here for 3 days in 1991, I was taking no chances.  I also was expecting a lot of changes, as 1991 was still very early in Hungary’s evolution from a one-party system.  I can still recall seeing eastbound trains loaded with Soviet tanks:  it was the winding-up of an empire.

Budapest, Hungary
Parliament Building in Budapest, Hungary

The main tourist areas had certainly been developed in the intervening 23 years:  it was as if a thick layer of dust had been blown off the downtown area.  The views along the Danube (see photo at top of this post) were also as spectacular as ever; it was not hard to see that Budapest flourished during the glory years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  But when I wandered into the less-touristed areas, it looked like the city was still recovering from those 40 years of post-war stagnation.

Fun in downtown Budapest
Fun in downtown Budapest

Our group reconvened that evening for a final dinner.  Our Hungarian hockey hosts recommended a French-influenced restaurant some distance west of downtown.  I think the best description would be “rustic elegance”:  it reminded me of the upscale cellar restaurants you often find in the German-speaking countries.  Although rather expensive, I couldn’t find fault with the food or the very professional service.  Even so, it would be difficult to eat like this on a regular basis.

My main course at dinner: goose breast with caramelized apple and bliny
My main course at dinner: goose breast with caramelized apple and bliny

When we returned to the hotel, the adrenaline had finally subsided and I was completely drained.  This didn’t really come as a surprise: in barely a week, we had played 10 games in 4 countries and also managed to incorporate a lot of sightseeing.  It had been an awesome trip with many special experiences…but I was also ready to return home and slow things down a little bit.

Coming up:  some more photos of Budapest and some thoughts on Canada’s image abroad.

Posts from the road

Hockey Night in Budapest

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(Budapest, Hungary)

While interest in hockey is surging in Hungary, it has not historically been a hockey power.  There are still only a couple of thousand registered players and, since 1939, it has been in the top group at the world championships only once.  As a result, we had the rare opportunity to experience “grass roots” hockey in Budapest.

Ice is at a premium here, as demand exceeds supply.  The only venue available was a relatively temporary facility – the ice was hard and fast but there were no facilities in the arena itself (see photo at top of this post).  The dressing rooms were located in a nearby building that appeared to be built in support of the surrounding track, tennis and soccer facilities.  To get to the arena, we had to walk down a sidewalk and over a bridge.  The route was padded so it was really no problem.

Happy to be playing hockey in Hungary!
Happy to be playing hockey in Hungary!

Once again, the welcome was warm.  All sorts of beverages were laid out for us in the dressing room and you could tell that the Hungarians were thrilled to have us there.   The arena was even named after Canada and the minor hockey program featured “Canada – Hungary” uniforms.

Our opponents (Szigeti Bikák Old Boys) wore Hungarian national team jerseys and warmed up with intensity.  Their top defenceman (#4) looked like he had played hockey at a very high level in the past.  As in Bratislava, the national anthems were played before the game began.  It was a bittersweet moment, as it was great to wear the Team Canada uniform and hear the national anthem one more time…but we also knew that this was the last game on our hockey tour.

Preparing for a key faceoff outside the Hungarian blue line.
Preparing for a key faceoff outside the Hungarian blue line.

Alas, any sentimental thoughts were quickly forgotten once the puck was dropped.  Hungary clearly wanted to put up a strong performance and they were playing with much more determination than the last couple of teams we faced.  Just because the arena was named after Canada didn’t mean that Hungary wanted us to win!  As facilities are limited, I also suspect that anybody who plays hockey in Hungary must necessarily be very serious about it.

The goals went back and forth all night.  While Team Canada had a full line-up for this final game, almost everybody was nursing an injury of some sort.  As a result, when Hungary took a 5-4 lead into the final minutes of the game, it looked like our flawless post-Czech Republic record was in jeopardy.

Oh no! Time to backcheck!
Oh no! Time to backcheck!

Of course, Canadians don’t like to quit either and we were determined to get the tying goal.  And so, with only 50 seconds left, we gained control of the puck in the Hungarian end.  The puck was passed to one of our injured defencemen who, due to injury, had been having trouble putting any weight on one of his skates.  While it must have been very painful for him, he took a quick snapshot from the point and found the top corner of the Hungarian net.  Goal!

The final seconds of regulation time failed to produce a winner.  It was decided that the tie would be broken by penalty shots.  This sounded good for our injured players, but there was another problem.  Our goalie, having been such a pillar of strength throughout the tour, was suffering from a groin injury and found it hard to move from side to side (or even to stand up, once he was down on the ice).  You could see him struggle to lift himself up after every save.

The play is whistled down after the Hungarian goalkeeper caught my shot from the left wing
The play is whistled down after the Hungarian goalkeeper caught my shot from the left wing

After the initial three shooters for each team, the score was still tied.  However, our fourth shooter scored and the Hungarians now had to score or lose the game.  The Hungarian shooter tried to deke our goalie but failed to lift the puck above our goalkeeper’s outstretched leg.  Victory for Canada!

There was nothing left in the tank.  The hockey portion of our tour was amazing but I don’t think we could have played another game.  I think we were all glad that no hockey had been scheduled for our final full day in Budapest.

Both teams met afterwards at a nearby restaurant for an all-you-can-eat buffet.  As it was now past 10:00 p.m. and I hadn’t eaten since the early afternoon, I was quite happy to “eat all I could”.  There were some speeches and it was clear that each team had a great amount of respect for the other.  Like every other country on  this tour, Hungary showed that Canada occupies a special place in the hockey world.  Hockey can be a fast and tough game but it is still possible to play with respect and dignity.  There is definitely something to be said for hockey diplomacy!