A couple of days ago we were in Hamburg for a well earned day off (then, of course, a gig). I spent the majority of the day off in my hotel room which won the award for most comfortable bed of the tour. We were staying at the Renaissance hotel in the centre of town; A prime example of Expressionist architecture, the Renaissance was designed by Fritz Ho(with an umlaut)ger in 1925 to house the Brosheck family's publishing business. It was a fairly posh affair on the same street as a Cartier shop with a pair of diamond earrings in the window for (guess how many, I'll tell you later) Euros. Everything about the hotel said 'class'. Our bags were taken by the porters and we were greeted by the concierge. After checking in, our keys were handed to us - not alone, but accompanied by a small bag of Haribo gummy bears!

So, whose idea was that? Every hotel in Germany leaves you a pack of Haribo on your pillow so the brand was no surprise. I admit, sometimes it's nice to find something to eat in your room that doesn't cost more a tenner and I always eat them despite the fact that I don't even like them. The thing is I would expect the posher hotels, ones that presumably cater for business men in suits with briefcases, to opt for something a bit more impressive; "Perhaps sir would care for a Ferrero Rocher with his room key?"

I can see why a sealed pack of Haribo might be safer than, say, an After Eight mint, which is liable to look like something else if you forget it's there and spend a night melting it into the sheets with your thigh (right Simon?) I just can't get my head around why this impressive hotel would hand you the Haribo with your keys - therefore making a statement of the fact that they're giving you a pack of Haribo as a gift. Am I supposed to be impressed? Would you turn up at a dinner party with a pack of Haribo? And we're not even talking a big pack; I would probably have been quite impressed if they'd handed me a key and one of those bags the size of my head).

Anyway, I'm sure Hamburg was nice. I walked around for about 20 minutes, checked out the jewelry shops in memory of Jamal Fixit (is he still alive?), then returned to my room and browsed the internet as I do in every other city that we visit. They're all the same when you look at it that way. Berlin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo (where I'm writing this) - when it's cold, snowy and grey they're all just places to add to my "visit when it's not so bloody cold" list before I see what mundane things are going on in the world of Facebook.

So, there you go. See Andy's post to learn about the history and culture of the places we've visited. I'll just tell you that they were 250,000 Euros!

Next post: Andy's Hamburg Blog
Previous post: New Wishbone Ash Single on the wireless!