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"EUROBLOG #4 - ANTWERP" By ANDREW PALOCHKO - 10/18/06 Sorry this one’s a little late guys, but who knew coming off a 3 show stadium weekend that the small confines of the Sportpaleis would make for the hardest weekend thus far on the tour.
The bus left Arnhem on Tuesday at 1pm and we rolled into Antwerp, Belgium just a few hours later. We dropped our bags, checked into the hotel and immediately walked around. Last year the crew spent two weeks in Antwerp after the cancellation of another event, so the tour veterans showed us around town.
The square in Antwerp, Belgium.
One of the first things we did, of course, was grab some authentic Belgian Waffles. They are more of a snack item than a breakfast item, and not having Aunt Jemima didn’t hurt them one bit. They have sugar and some syrup baked inside them so they are sold ready to eat.
Wednesday morning we started moving into the Sportpaleis. The arena was built around an Olympic bicycle track so where there aren’t seats, there are high banks. This was Monster Jam’s third visit to Belgium.
This week I am going to write about our European staff since both of them call Belgium home. The first is the only European tech official, Ronny Vranken, who I had the pleasure of working beside in Germany , Holland , and Belgium . His enthusiasm for the shows is second to none and I’m glad he’s become a good friend. Ronny is planning a trip to the World Finals in Vegas so hopefully all of you will get a chance to meet him.
The second is freestyle motocross rider Jimmy Verburgh who is on the entire tour with us. The bike session of the show is way cool. Two American street bike riders start the show with some amazing acrobatic stunts, then smoke the tires and four FMX riders blast through the smoke into the arena. The FMX session ends with two trains and dual back flips. It is awesome standing on the floor and watching the crowd erupt in cheers, but I kinda wish I was taking pictures. All six bike riders are laying down some sweet stuff every night.
The shows in Belgium were good but plagued with truck breakage. I think we set a record for the most center sections destroyed in a weekend. The crews replaced nine centers over the weekend. Most crew members didn’t leave the arena until 5am Sunday morning after changing rears and a motor in Superman. They were back by 8:30am.
By Sunday night we were all whipped. Move-out took a lot longer because we all had to plan for the split weekend coming up. Between spare parts, office materials, track supplies, and our personal belongings, everything was carefully planned so both groups would be well prepared. After a few long nights, early mornings, and four energy filled shows in between, we all settled in pretty early and had two days off to spend in Belgium before splitting for Paris and Helsinki.
I volunteered to go in on Monday to help change the ninth center of the weekend and I thought I’d take the five minute train ride to the building. Don’t ever get on the wrong train, because once you realize you’re on the wrong one, you can’t ask the engineer to turn around and go back. An hour and a half later I made it back to the station I started at and instead of pressing my luck and trying another train, I got a cab. There were about four others that made the same mistake that I did, so I didn’t feel too bad.
Anyway, the last of the trailers left the Sportpaleis on Tuesday and we had the day off. The square in Antwerp is pretty cool. Outdoor bars and restaurants line the walk where you can sit and watch people go by all day and night. We checked out the Cathedral of Our Lady which towers over Antwerp and took over 100 years to build. Then we grabbed some dinner and found a bar that featured an American jukebox and pool tables. We loaded the jukebox with Euros, played dozens of songs and when we left hours later we realized we chased all of the Belgians out of the bar. We were the only ones there.
The Cathedral of Our Lady.
Dan & Lorrie Evans inside the Cathedral.
We walked around the city quite a bit on our way back, making fun of the group that had to drive to Brussels at 6:30am to catch their flight to Helsinki . Our bus to Paris was leaving at 1pm which meant we could stay out late and celebrate another hard week in the books.
Next week…..Paris!
- Andrew Palochko Email Andrew and let him know what you thought!!
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