Posted on January 26, 2012

It was very nice to start this journey from Czech Republic, because we felt very comfortable there in a big rehearsal room and with people taking care of us, that we have known for several years already. The shows in Zlin and Pardubice were amazing. I was happy to realize that there were lot more people in the shows than in my previous visits, so I can only be grateful for that. We performed couple of new songs from my future album in those shows already. It was exciting to see if people were accepting them. It looked and felt pretty much like a great success.

There was no free time apart from having a lunch or dinner break since I got to Czech. I took the only chance I got to see something in Pardubice. It was a very windy day, but the old city is beautiful.

I was expecting to have a good time in Poland and I was not wrong. The fan club people had made us Polish flags with all of our names and hanged them on the walls at the venue when we arrived there. It was a nice gesture from them. I have been trying to say at least few words in every country in their language during the concerts, sometimes with better luck sometimes not… Gosh, aren’t these languages hard?! But it is rather remarkable to see the reaction of the people when they understand me We had lots of fun in Poland with the audience.

I was quite excited to hear one day before the show in Vilnius Lithuania that it was sold out on my first visit there. Great! The venue was modern and very clean.

Unfortunately there was again NO time to see the city since we arrived in the morning and there are always too many things to do before the show. I have to be patient to wait for my return to be able to see the city of Vilnius. Everyone that I know and who has visited it says it is beautiful. Mike said after the concert to me that he had felt how the people in the audience really wanted to see us, wanted us to be close and have fun with them. We felt really welcomed.
I have always have troubles to sleep in the bus while it moves, so this time the beginning hasn’t been any exception. I whether need to wear earplugs, listen music or drink a half bottle of red wine (which I never do if there is a show on a next day ) to be able to sleep at least few hours. Well, the journey from Vilnius to Vienna was very looooooong. Finally when we arrived to the hotel in Vienna I could close my eyes and get some rest. Even though I have pretty awesome place in the bus this time. Here for you to see; my private lounge. Quite nice isn’t it?

The show in Vienna was nice and people were very warm to us. I hope I can return soon with my new album in Austria. It was my dream country when I was young and had my first concert there on my European tour with my high school choir. The lovely country of Mozart!

Finally it was a relief to perform again in Slovakia. We had a bad experience in the past due to an irresponsible promoter. But this time the show happened as expected and we had a great time. Here the Slovakian fans are doing the “hands up” thing 

How happy I was when we arrived to Slovenia in the midday and I could walk to the city of Ljubljana while the sun was shining. So the day was perfect.

I have always loved Ljubljana. I like the size of the city, ‘cause it’s rather small and the combination of its modern and old architecture. It is also a very clean city and obviously the Slovenians should be very proud of what they have. Even our modern venue made me a good impression.

There I could for the first time do what I would have loved to do everywhere; sing among the people. It was so cool to see the reaction of the people when I went down the stairs and started walking right through them, singing. I just love to do these kinds of surprises in my shows.
I had only once been in Croatia before so I was excited about my return. The people were SO loud during the concert that sometimes I had hard time hearing my own voice!!! Well I loved it though! Zagreb, thank you for your support.

After the concert we knew that the journey to Romania would be long, but no one would have expected that it was this long. Actually it took us 28 hours to get to Bucharest from Zagreb! Can you imagine that? Well there were 3 border checks, one ferry and a snowstorm that all delayed our trip with at least 16 hours.
When we arrived to Bucharest in the morning at 06:00 I was so glad that we made it in time for the show. And the show was awesome! I got totally surprised by the amount of people in the packed hall.

I also discovered a very nice grand piano at the backstage, so I wanted to use it during my show.

Everyone in the band was happy about the show.
What we didn’t expect was about to happen.
Now where I am writing you this post is quite interesting. I am in only 20 km from Bucharest at a gas station, sitting in my lounge alone and waiting. We heard last night that there is a huge snowstorm between Bucharest and Sofia and that ALL the roads are blocked, basically closed for traffic. There have been several truck accidents and those are still blocking all the traffic. We waited for further advice from the promoter of Sofia who left just couple of hours before us, but who needed to stop his journey as well because of the same storm. Even our support bands are at the same gas station where we have been now for more than 20 hrs! What a mess.

The show in Sofia has been postponed for tomorrow and we are doing everything possible with the promoter to make it happen. It’s like a worst nightmare. Luckily we have electricity, water and supplies here for us, so that everyone is ok. I will let you know immediately when I have further news.
With love, Tarja