It's the first time on the Elizabeth Line
The Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra at Haan, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany - 28th July 2023
Fred and the Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra are on a mini tour of Germany, playing a number of gigs in towns around Düsseldorf in North Rhine-Westphalia. Nosher decides to catch one or more of the gigs and so books a flight for the laff. To get there, there's a train from Diss to London Liverpool Street, and then a journey on the Elizabeth Line, which connects straight to Terminal 5 at Heathrow. From there, it's a one hour flight, then another train into the central station of Düsseldorf itself, and finally a short walk to the Premier Inn just around the corner. Unfortunately, the inbound British Airways flight is about an hour late, so there's no chance of catching the Thursday gig at a church in Wuppertal, but there's plenty of time the next day to make way - by train again - to the small town of Haan, about 17 kilometres away, where the SYWO is playing as part of the Haaner Sommerfest. The gig is in a marquee in the Neuer Markt part of town, which has been turned into a beach for the duration of the month-long festival.
next album: A Walk To The Rheinturm, Düsseldorf, Germany - 29th July 2023
previous album: Harry's Last Primary-School Day, Eye, Suffolk - 20th July 2023
The long and spacious tunnels of the Lizzy Line
The train to Terminal 5 arrives
There's a water tower like New Milton's
A Class 66 Shed near some aggregate works
Graffiti on a metal shed
Heathrow Terminal 5's check-in area
Terminal 5's departure lounge is heaving
A dude drives a 737 around with a remote-control tug
A lone purple bag waits by the plane
There's a long queue of planes waiting for take-off
The airport railway station is a bit bleak
A train to the city arrives
Railway graffiti
A curious Dnf building on the railway
Someone likes their cake
Faces on a building
A thinking chimpanzee
Düsseldorf's Hauptbahnhof Central Station
There's a lawn around the tram tracks
A father-and-son statue near the station
Thursday's tea: a bratwurst stall by the station
The entrance lobby at Düsseldorf Station
Cool building graffiti on Harkortstaße
Nosher's first German beer in the hotel bar
Colourful waiting room at Hauptbahnhof
The train for Solingen runs in to platform 9
Very literal graffiti on a building
Nice wall art in the subway at Solingen station
Derelict loading sheds at Solingen Station
The cute station at Haan
A presbyterian or Lutheran chapel near the station
The orchestra is unloading the trailer
A statue near the old market area
Looking up Friedrichstraße
Traditional window shutters on a greengrocer
There's a street book cupboard on Diekerstraße
A shiny cube above a flower shop in Neuer Markt
The orchestra is setting up in the marquee
It starts lashing it on Neuer Markt
More traditional-style buildings in Haan
Magic Café - for a lunch of Krakauer und Pommes
Inside Café Magic for a bit of lunch
There's another book kiosk near the beach
The temporary beach of Haaner Sommer
The marquee is set up and waiting
The fountain in the middle of Neuer Markt
Fred and his posse roam around Neuer Markt
The orchestra assembles and tunes up
The gig kicks off
Fred in the flute section
The orchestra takes its first bow
Harrison's family arrive after their epic drive
The Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra in action
The conductors do the 'we're twins' gag
The marquee is filling up
A page-turning moment
There's another stand-up-for-applause moment
The orchestra in action
The crowd really gets into it
The trombone section
The ladies of Haan are enjoying the music
The orchestra takes its final bow
Fred packs away his music stand
Fred carries a box of stuff to the trailer
The organisers chat to the Music Service team
A damp Haaner Sommer festival continues
Graffiti in the park
The lobby of Solingen Bahnhof station
Klingenstadt on a subway wall
Silver graffiti on a derelict building
More graffiti on a trackside building
Back at Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof
Bakery products at the railway station
A curious statue with boils all over it
Outside Düsseldorf's central station
An evening view out of the hotel window
Bells on a wall on Bismarkstraße
Time for a beer in Brauerei Schümacher
Bar life outside Schümacher's
The bar dude taps another barrel of beer
Looking out on Oststraße
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It's the first time on the Elizabeth Line
It's the first time on the Elizabeth Line
The long and spacious tunnels of the Lizzy Line
The train to Terminal 5 arrives
There's a water tower like New Milton's
A Class 66 Shed near some aggregate works
Graffiti on a metal shed
Heathrow Terminal 5's check-in area
Terminal 5's departure lounge is heaving
A dude drives a 737 around with a remote-control tug
A lone purple bag waits by the plane
There's a long queue of planes waiting for take-off
The airport railway station is a bit bleak
A train to the city arrives
Railway graffiti
A curious Dnf building on the railway
Someone likes their cake
Faces on a building
A thinking chimpanzee
Düsseldorf's Hauptbahnhof Central Station
There's a lawn around the tram tracks
A father-and-son statue near the station
Thursday's tea: a bratwurst stall by the station
The entrance lobby at Düsseldorf Station
Cool building graffiti on Harkortstaße
Nosher's first German beer in the hotel bar
Colourful waiting room at Hauptbahnhof
The train for Solingen runs in to platform 9
Very literal graffiti on a building
Nice wall art in the subway at Solingen station
Derelict loading sheds at Solingen Station
The cute station at Haan
A presbyterian or Lutheran chapel near the station
The orchestra is unloading the trailer
A statue near the old market area
Looking up Friedrichstraße
Traditional window shutters on a greengrocer
There's a street book cupboard on Diekerstraße
A shiny cube above a flower shop in Neuer Markt
The orchestra is setting up in the marquee
It starts lashing it on Neuer Markt
More traditional-style buildings in Haan
Magic Café - for a lunch of Krakauer und Pommes
Inside Café Magic for a bit of lunch
There's another book kiosk near the beach
The temporary beach of Haaner Sommer
The marquee is set up and waiting
The fountain in the middle of Neuer Markt
Fred and his posse roam around Neuer Markt
The orchestra assembles and tunes up
The gig kicks off
Fred in the flute section
The orchestra takes its first bow
Harrison's family arrive after their epic drive
The Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra in action
The conductors do the 'we're twins' gag
The marquee is filling up
A page-turning moment
There's another stand-up-for-applause moment
The orchestra in action
The crowd really gets into it
The trombone section
The ladies of Haan are enjoying the music
The orchestra takes its final bow
Fred packs away his music stand
Fred carries a box of stuff to the trailer
The organisers chat to the Music Service team
A damp Haaner Sommer festival continues
Graffiti in the park
The lobby of Solingen Bahnhof station
Klingenstadt on a subway wall
Silver graffiti on a derelict building
More graffiti on a trackside building
Back at Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof
Bakery products at the railway station
A curious statue with boils all over it
Outside Düsseldorf's central station
An evening view out of the hotel window
Bells on a wall on Bismarkstraße
Time for a beer in Brauerei Schümacher
Bar life outside Schümacher's
The bar dude taps another barrel of beer
Looking out on Oststraße