2023 The Netherlands and Ayreon Beneath The Waves Travelogue - Part 1

Prologue

I last visited The Netherlands 21 years ago, when my parents brought me to Europe for the first time for my 16th birthday, as part of a trip where we visited England and Belgium as well. It was my first time traveling to another continent, and also my first flight after 9/11. We had only a few days in The Netherlands itself, but it was very memorable, as we visited Rotterdam and Amsterdam; checked out the cube houses and indoor water park Tropicana (which has apparently been long since abandoned), and the Anne Frank House and Rijksmuseum, among other highlights. We had limited time and missed out on the Van Gogh Museum, or seeing Haarlem and other parts of the country, as we returned to England to wrap up our trip. Now I am going back, and have a good 18 days to truly experience all that The Netherlands has to offer.

Since graduating college and becoming financially stable, I’ve made an effort to travel annually; and particularly love international travel. I’ve made it to Israel, Italy, and China; taken several cruises (JoCo Cruise) in the Caribbean, and a couple on the west coast as well; and made many visits to Southern California, a drive across the southwest, a family trip to Tennessee to see the solar eclipse, and been up and down the east coast many times. In March 2020, plans to visit Japan for a honeymoon (of my ill-fated brief marriage) fell apart due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we quickly shifted gears to a visit to Taiwan staying with my friend Matt and his wife Rosie. (You can read about that in a travelogue of its own, as well as my trip to Israel, one of the early JoCo Cruises, and my first trip to LA to see Danny Elfman; sadly I did not write up the other trips). We were stranded in Taiwan for a couple extra days as our airline dropped Taiwan during the pandemic, and had to find an alternative way home as the world entered lockdown.

Shortly after getting vaccinated in 2021, and newly divorced, I felt safe enough to travel to Denver and the Rocky Mountains for my brother Alex’s bachelor party; and since I hadn’t gotten to travel all pandemic (besides visiting my parents down in Florida and working from there for a couple months), I took a detour of my own to Las Vegas (which I had previously visited briefly on my trip across the southwest), primarily to see the new Meow Wolf: Omega Mart, after visiting and absolutely loving Meow Wolf: The House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe on that southwest trip. Finally, in spring of 2022, someone I was dating at the time had a business trip to London, and I felt comfortable taking another international trip and decided to join her and returned to England to visit Bath, Stonehenge, and London… and just before flying the mask mandates were removed; and despite masking on the flight myself, I tested positive for COVID 3 days later and ended up stuck in London for an extra 10 days to recover. It thankfully turned out to be a very mild case–I’m sure vaccination and being boosted helped–and I spent most of my time exploring the parks, canals, and trails that crisscross London; while sadly skipping the museums and cancelling the tours and plays I had booked. Once I finally tested negative, I squeezed as much as I could into the 3 days I had left out there before flying back home, and had a marvelous time visiting Shakespeare’s Globe and seeing a play there, touring the Harry Potter sets at Warner Bros, visiting Leeds castle and Canterbury cathedral on a bus tour, visiting the British Museum, going to the Doctor Who: Time Fracture Immersive Experience, and walking across the Tower Bridge late at night when the Underground had stopped running. With all the extra time I ended up spending in London, it came to feel like a second home for awhile, and despite missing out on much while sick and my travel companion returning home long before I did, it ultimately was a great experience and I felt much better acquainted with the city than when I had first visited at 16.

Now it’s my chance to get better acquainted with The Netherlands. This trip came together organically; I wasn’t planning to revisit the country necessarily. Sometimes I have a destination I really want to go to; but often these trips come about due to an opportunity. I went to Israel to take advantage of the birthright program, before aging out of it. I visited China because my Dad and brother were already planning to go (and while my brother diverted to Mongolia to visit a friend, Dad and I toured a lot more of China). My visits to LA were because Danny Elfman was playing live, or Oingo Boingo Former Members, or for MST3K set visits; but I usually stayed extra days and found tons of things to do. Now, I’m traveling to The Netherlands to see Ayreon Live, and building an extended vacation around their shows.

Ayreon is one of my very favorite artists. Ayreon is a progressive metal rock opera project from the mind of Arjen Anthony Lucassen, a dutchman. Every album tells a story, usually in the sci-fi and fantasy realm, mostly in a shared universe he has constructed where humanity was spawned by an ancient alien race known as the Forever, who have been replaced by machines on their own world, and have evolved past emotions but are trying to use humanity to remember them and have a second chance. They also try to warn humanity about their impending doom in 2084 by using “time telepathy” to send a message back in time which is picked up by a blind minstrel named Ayreon, in the time of Merlin and King Arthur, and also by “Mr. L” who is in modern times, locked in a psych hospital for his delusions, and sung by Arjen himself. The stories range from pulpy sci-fi adventures to dark explorations of betrayal and loss, but are always quite epic. The music crosses genres, often multiple in the same song, and he pulls in many different singers to play the different roles each album demands. All these singers come from their own bands, and contribute to this project. Because of this, Ayreon can never tour, and live performances are rare events. Every few years, Arjen pulls together a massive show, getting as many of the original performers as he can book, and taking over the city of Tilburg in The Netherlands, and putting on a massive stage production. In 2018, they put on a performance of Into The Electric Castle, Ayreon’s break-through third album.

When I first heard about this I had thought about what it might take to attend, but traveling all the way to The Netherlands for this seemed like too big an obstacle; and tickets sold out before I could even begin to consider logistics and feasibility. And that felt like it just wasn’t meant to be. But when a blu-ray came out from the show and I watched it, I realized what I had missed. They built a huge castle set on the stage; and put on a brilliant show. John De Lancie (Q from Star Trek TNG) was brought in as the narrator, and most of the original cast from the album were on stage singing. They played the entire album, and then several songs from Arjen’s various other side projects, and it’s one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen!

So, when Arjen started teasing another concert in 2022, to take place in 2023, I knew that I had to go. Especially when he revealed that this time they would be playing the album 01011001, which may be my favorite Ayreon album! Tickets were put up on sale nearly a full year in advance, and I happened to be in LA at the time to see Danny Elfman playing at the Hollywood Bowl for Halloween “From Boingo to Batman and Beyond” (side-note: this was the best show of my life, finally seeing Danny Elfman playing several Oingo Boingo songs, along with his movie scores and his new solo album Big Mess!) I had just paid a fortune to go to those shows and be right up front (where I could sing right back at him!), and it seemed that traveling for another favorite artist was in the cards now. This would become my next big international trip. I had to wake up extremely early due to the timezones, and managed to quickly grab the Ultimate VIP ticket, which gets me special swag and into the Thursday dress rehearsal show, prior to the other shows. Annoyingly, Ticketmaster would only let me book one show at a time, so by the time I got through the virtual queue again there were no other tickets left. But after refreshing a few times, I was able to snag tickets to one of the regular shows; and after another hour of retrying (and about to give up) I managed to grab one more ticket - so I could go to Saturday and Sunday evening shows. (They did add some matinee shows in, but I was content with seeing them 3 times, and no more than once a day). For this kind of rare performance and this amazing music, I’m very happy to go 3 times, and it really helps take the pressure off to soak in every moment knowing that I’ll get to see them again. (Plus the first time is a dress rehearsal, so it’ll be a bit different).

I spent some time planning the trip, thinking about using this as the excuse to finally visit Germany (where I have family), or Scandinavia. Early on I opted against revisiting Belgium, since I had also already been there at 16, and wanted to try something new. But I discovered that the cheapest flight - and direct - was to get a roundtrip through Amsterdam, which limited how far I could travel; but in limiting me it also helped to provide my trip with structure. I started investigating more about The Netherlands itself, and ultimately ended up with more than enough options to fill the 2.5 weeks I’d have just in that country alone, and ultimately opted to keep this trip constrained. I’ve also come to realize that I prefer more leisurely travel, where I can have a home base for multiple nights. The Netherlands, being a small country with excellent train and public transit, works really well for taking day trips. I had been doing a lot of smaller trips throughout the months leading up to this one, so my 2023 was fairly busy, and I did get a bit anxious after procrastinating on booking and completing my full plan beyond the concerts! Eventually I settled on an itinerary for the extra days, although I ended up booking many of the hotels fairly close to the actual trip. But having hotels booked in advance, and online, is already so different from when I last visited those 21 years ago!

I kept a journal for that 16th birthday Europe trip, and it’s remarkable to see how much travel has changed since then. The journal itself was physical and hand-written. We had no cell phones to stay in contact, let alone smartphones. Heck, Dad and I had to cut our visit to Tropicana short because we had arranged a time to meet back with Mom, and there was no way to contact her. If we wanted to check our email, we had to find an internet cafe, pay for some time on the computers, and get used to the unusual keyboard layouts. Back then we lost precious vacation hours each day waiting at booking agencies to find us hotels for each night. My parents carried traveler’s checks, and needed to find places that would take them, and the Euro itself was still a brand new currency! I had a film camera and a few canisters of film to develop after the trip ended. We needed to consult physical travel guidebooks to determine where we wanted to go, and physical maps to figure out how to get there. We were very lucky my Dad was really good at finding his way around trains and subways and navigating us, but still we sometimes missed a stop or a train. Restaurants were found either by personal recommendations, or just checking menus as we walked by. Tickets were booked by standing in lines at the ticket counters, and rarely reserved in advance.

Today I have all my hotels booked. I picked up an eSIM for my Galaxy Fold 3; for a mere $20, I have 10GB of data to use for the time that I’m here, and I was able to get it set up all through an app. I downloaded the 9292 app to tell me what trains to take, and can tap my phone to use Google pay to enter and exit the train stations. I can pull up Google maps to give me walking (and public transit) directions anywhere I want to go, and then use my Samsung smartwatch to view the walking map and directions! (Plus track my steps and where I’ve walked, check my messages, and control my music). I can easily use my smartphone to research museums and sightseeing, find and book activities, and check restaurant reviews. Right now I’m typing all this on my Microsoft Surface, a tablet that has a nice keyboard cover that makes it into a very portable laptop that still feels good to type on. I’m connected to other Ayreon fans on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Discord all on my phone; and have been able to get lots of great advice from Dutch fans, as well as share travel stories with others who are coming from all over the world to see the band. I’ve got a tablet that I’ve downloaded several streaming shows and movies onto that I can watch on the plane or during downtime, and even brought my Nintendo Switch with me for gaming during any downtime (if there is any!). I’ve even got my entire music library on my portable music player, to listen to on (custom-molded in-ear) headphones when traveling, and on a bluetooth speaker when at my hotels. I’ve brought along my DSLR digital camera and a new GoPro for videos, but in a pinch I can also take photos and videos on my smartphone. Truly, we are living in the future, and 21 years has changed the world and changed how we travel!

Sept 10-11: Day 0 & 1 - Farside Of The World

I spent most of the night packing and getting ready; ended up staying up way too late but thankfully I had a late flight at 5:35PM. Since this would be 18 days, I was very grateful that family-friend Lisa offered to pick me up and drive me to the airport; as parking for that length of time would be a significant expense! I heated up some left-overs, started the dishwasher, said my goodbyes to Lunar, and grabbed my suitcase, my huge “carry-on” backpack, and smaller “personal item” messenger bag, and headed to Dulles with Lisa. We chatted the whole way, about DragonCon (which I had just gotten back from on Monday!), about the pending closure of the Hunt Valley Inn where local cons Farpoint and Shore Leave are held (very sad news), and about my upcoming trip! Thankfully I have TSA Pre-Check, so I was able to get through security fairly quickly; grabbed some extra food to-go to take on the plane (which took just long enough that my flight had started boarding when I got to my gate); and boarded. Thankfully I had a window seat and nobody took the seat beside me; a rare luxury! Sadly, the plane had no personal air vents, which is unfortunate because they help me deal with motion sickness (although the last few planes I flew on had them but there was so little air pressure you couldn’t feel them anyway). Thankfully, the dramamine I took helped me avoid any sickness, but also had me very drowsy for the first couple hours, so I just listened to Ayreon on my headphones until it was time for the in-flight meal.

They offer “chicken, pasta, or veggies”, never really describing the actual dishes. Luckily, “chicken” turned out to be “butter chicken” - while a very mild approximation of the Indian favorite, it was still fairly tasty with the rice it came with; and the roll and butter and side quinoa+salad were all decent enough. The lemon-cake dessert was very tasty. I had also gotten a coke + cranberry juice to mix in, hoping the caffeine would help me wake back up. I watched “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” on the in-flight screen while eating, and enjoyed the satire very much; I had been meaning to get around to watching so this was a perfect opportunity. Once I finished the flight-provided food, I was still a bit hungry, and grabbed the hot honey chicken sandwich + balsamic greens I had bought at the airport, and chowed down on those too. I also watched “The Super Mario Movie” on their tv, before taking another nap until it was time for breakfast to be served. They gave us a bagel sandwich with turkey, egg and cheddar - not too shabby for plane food (maybe I should’ve said not too “plain”), and I got some tea with milk and sugar (which I’d learned to enjoy in Britain; although I typically go for loose-leaf and nothing added, I’ve found that cheap tea-bag tea is improved if it’s done British-style). This time I pulled up my tablet and watched some old episodes of Disenchantment, which I’ve been catching up on/re-watching since the final season just dropped.

Land Ho!

Overall the flight was fairly uneventful, just a little minor turbulence. As we came into Amsterdam, I opened the window, and saw the sea transition to beach, to beautiful fields and villages, and then to city. At the airport the first thing I see is a Starbucks and a McDonalds - how international! But then on the other side was a gift shop with a giant wooden shoe in front, so I guess I’m not in America. I head to customs, but realize I got in the wrong line (for EU passports only), then again another wrong line (for EU and some other countries), before getting in the longest line which is for everyone else. The passport customs guy asks me a few questions, before asking where in the Netherlands I’m staying, and I tell him “Amsterdam, Tilburg, Utrecht, Haarlem, and back to Amsterdam”. And he looks at me quizzically, “what are you doing in Tilburg?” Apparently not a common tourist destination. So I respond “I’m seeing Ayreon live!” and he waves me on. By this time, my bag is already on the belt, so I grab it and take a quick breather to get my bearings, and move my messenger bag and contents into my backpack to collapse my load down.

The moving walkway was under repair

Wait... I thought I left America?

*Turns around* Ah ok, I guess I did!

Cool Rental Car Display

One leg of the journey

Another leg of the journey

I follow the signs to the train station, and pull up Google maps to my hotel (having switched my phone over to the eSIM so I’m not paying ridiculous amounts to Verizon for roaming abroad). It’s only around 8AM, and my hotel technically doesn’t let you check in until 3PM, but I had messaged them about the chance to check in earlier. They couldn’t commit, but would try if a room was available, and could hold my luggage if not, so I figured I’d head there and then figure out my plans from there. I found a kiosk selling train tickets, so picked up a “one way to any station in Amsterdam” ticket. I’d heard you need to be sure to tap in and out at train stations, but couldn’t find a place to “tap in” - I held the ticket up to some post that I don’t think was it, and the train was on the platform when I got there and doors were closing - someone saw me and opened them for me, and I jumped aboard. I didn’t see a conductor, or a place to tap inside the train, so I just went a found a place to sit with my bags. I had to go 2 stops and switch to the Metro, so I tapped out. There was some message on the screen in dutch that I didn’t understand, but the gate opened for me. But then tapping the card again for the Metro didn’t work. I either messed up on the ticket by not properly tapping in originally, or it wasn’t good for the entire trip (despite listing my final station, Amstelstation, on it). Ah well, this time I pulled up Google Wallet, and just tapped my phone to check in. By the time I made it to the platform, my train was leaving, but it was only a 10 minute wait for the next one. 3 more stops, and then I pull up google maps walking directions to figure out which exit to take, find the exit gate, and pull up Google Wallet again to tap out… and it gives me a message that I didn’t tap in with this same card. I double check that it’s the same credit card and tap again, and same message. Frustrated, I try a third time, to no avail. Finally I take a few steps back, and study the gates, and notice something. This gate is yellow and says “train”. To the right are several identical gates, but they are red and say “metro”. So I walk a few steps over and try the red gate, and sure enough, I’m able to escape as the gate lets me tap out and opens to sweet freedom; aka the same damn exit that the yellow gate led to. I feel like such a tourist at this point.

When an exit isn't an exit

I now have a 10 minute walk to find my hotel, so I switch over to the map on my smartwatch to navigate, and head outside. There are bikes everywhere, and bike lanes beside all the roads, which you have to cross carefully as a pedestrian so as not to be hit by bikers zooming each way. Now I truly feel like I am in Amsterdam again! Finally I make my way to my hotel, the Hotel V, with giant V in front of it (I’ll have to show a picture to my future brother-in-law V! If you're reading this now, it's below.) Luckily, I’m able to check in and they do have a room ready for me! They also tell me that the mini-bar in the room is complimentary (it contains two bottles of water, an iced tea, and even a beer - it’s too bad I don’t like beer! Also they include complimentary apples, popcorn, and nuts, tea bags and coffee pods). It’s a really comfortable room, with a decent view and a nice bathroom, although it’s got two single beds pushed together. I’ll be staying here for two nights so that I can take my time recovering from jetlag before I travel to Tilburg. I’ve left my schedule open and flexible otherwise. But despite it now being about 6AM my time, I’m still wide awake, so I’ve spent the last 2 hours starting up this travelogue. I’m kind of amazed how much I’ve written when I haven’t even actually done anything yet!

My hotel at last!

Hotel lobby

My room; very cozy but the split bed is not ideal

The Netherlands does not believe in shower curtains, or doors

The view from my window

Anyway, I’m going to relax in the room, maybe I’ll nap if I get tired, we’ll see. Hoping I can get myself on a good schedule, especially because many things I’m planning to do here open or start early (which for me is 9:30AM). We shall see how that goes, but either way I’ve got to deal with this jetlag.

Sept 12: Day 2 - Heart of Amsterdam

I ended up staying in after writing this, resting but trying not to nap too much until it was close to actual bed time. But I woke up from a nap around 10PM local time, and realized I wouldn't be able to get any food, and literally hadn't eaten since breakfast on the plane! Decided to chill for a couple more hours and then take melatonin and get to sleep closer to the proper time so that I could try to get myself on a better schedule for the trip ahead, so I've had a lot of rest. Sadly, the bed is tiny (two pushed together, but a wide gap between them) and the mattress is very firm. I'm glad I brought my own pillow, cause the hotel pillows are really thick, and oddly square shaped!

I still woke up 90 minutes before the hotel breakfast was even open (at 7AM)! I went ahead and got the earliest possible tickets to the Van Gogh Museum, which had already sold out until 2:15PM!! But after all this rest I figured I should be good to be up and about then. I grabbed a shower to wake up a bit more, and finally headed to breakfast. And immediately got myself a bit lost on the way down. See, the hotel is a bit confusing. When I had arrived, I took the elevator up to the 1st floor, and found the side that I needed to be on for my room number, and had to use my room key to go through a door to the hallway. But after following the hall all the way to the end, my room number hadn’t been reached! Confused, I looked around, and found a SECOND stairwell behind another set of glass doors with key access, and went across, and found my room was on the OTHER side there, another key to access that hallway. So this morning, I tried taking that closer stairwell down to the lobby… and found myself between two more room hallways that my key wouldn’t let me into, and a door to the outside, that had a sign saying we found the “secret staff area”. After determining there was no way to the lobby, and glad I had my key on me, I went back UP the stairs, and found that my hallway does NOT go all the way to the other stairwell; I had to go back to the hall on the other side (using the roomkey to access it), then down that hall, and FINALLY down the stairs where I was relieved to find myself free of the maze of corridors.

Enjoying the hotel breakfast

Eggs Benedict, my favorite breakfast

The hotel lobby and restaurant were very modern and attractively laid out, with lots of comfortable seating, and even tables to play chess and checkers at. I spoke to the host and got seated for breakfast. It wasn’t cheap, but the hotel had eggs benedict, my favorite breakfast dish, so I got that and some sencha green tea for a bit of caffeine. Plus no other nearby restaurants were open that early (most are only open for dinnertime). I was still hungry (I had literally fasted for 24 hours after all, unintentionally), so I also ordered a croissant with jam and butter. The restaurant was very pleasant and comfortable, and I took my time savoring the meal, and also making plans for the day ahead on my phone. The Rijksmuseum was possibly available a couple hours before Van Gogh, but I’d been there before so it wasn’t a priority, and I’m not sure I need two art museums in a day. I finally settled on the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, which was available for 10AM tickets. (It is very unusual for me to eat breakfast and be up early enough to hit museums when they OPEN.) Then I decided to grab tickets to AMAZE Amsterdam, a walk-through immersive light and music experience that sounded really fascinating, and grabbed them for 9PM, hoping that I’d still feel awake by then, but making sure I’d have plenty of time to grab dinner after Van Gogh closes at 6, and get a train to the experience.

I still had a little time to kill, so I grabbed an apple in the lobby and headed back up to my room, and made a coffee and relaxed in the comfy wicker chair while enjoying the apple, and complimentary room snack popcorn I just found on a shelf on the wall, since I was… yes… STILL a bit hungry. I packed the iced tea from the minibar in my camera sling, and grabbed my camera and gopro and a water bottle, and made my way to the train station to head to the Royal Palace, which is in Dam square.

Art and sculpture in the train station

The train station ended up being a few blocks walk away from the square, but as I stepped out I finally found myself in Amsterdam proper, walking down the old brick streets criss-crossed with canals; skinny one-way streets that are either shared with bikes, or have additional bike paths, and sidewalks beside. And you need to take care not to walk in the bike areas, and when crossing the bike paths, as well as pushing the button for a signal to cross the regular streets. Beautiful brick buildings, and bridges with lots of flowers. And cars parallel parked right against the canal, with zero barrier at all and no room for error! Imagine the terror pulling into a space like that: one misjudgement and instead of scraping the curb, you’re dropping a wheel over the edge, and possibly plummeting to your watery doom!

Amsterdam Canal

Rubber Duck Store! (Rubber ducks were a meme with the Ayreonauts, due to the "Beneath The Waves" theme of the concerts.)

Don't Sit

More bikes than cars

Welcome to Amsterdam!

Parallel Park without falling into the canal, or hitting anyone, or blocking the narrow street

Parallel Parking on Expert Mode

I pulled out my good camera to start capturing pictures of a canal, and another tourist spotted my camera and asked if I was a photographer, and could take a picture for him. So I took his phone and he posed in front of the canal, and I took the opportunity to have him get the same photo of me too! It’s so difficult to get great pictures of oneself when travelling alone (and selfies aren’t always the best way to showcase the area around oneself!) I walked past a rubber duck store, selling nothing but novelty rubber ducks of all varieties. This struck me as particularly amusing, since the Ayreon chat groups had an ongoing meme about rubber ducks (this being the “Beneath the Waves” show, it’s somewhat fitting to the theme). I also walked past the House of Fries, self proclaimed best in Amsterdam, and decided to grab a snack there and saw they had a satay chicken covered fries - but they said the chicken wasn’t ready yet, so I said I’d come back later. Finally I made my way to the Dam Square (lol), which had a gorgeous monument, statues, and surrounded on several sides by absolutely stunning architecture - including a church and the palace itself.

That Dam Square

They ain't Lion

Streetcars everywhere too

About to enter the Royal Palace

Since I had meandered a lot on the way there, I was a little later than the 10AM opening, but that wasn’t an issue. I had to check my bag, but pictures were allowed, and they had an audio tour to listen to for each of the rooms. The palace started its life in 1665 as a city hall, before being converted into a royal palace by Louis Bonaparte (younger brother of Napoleon) when The Netherlands was conquered by France in 1806. Today it’s still used for state functions, but is otherwise open to the public to tour. With high ceilings and beautiful statues carved into the walls and archways, paintings on the ceiling, and general excessive opulence, it was a stately place. My favorite was the large central chamber with several round atlases embedded in the floor, and meaningful statues from The Netherlands history, and Roman mythology around the walls. There were several rooms and galleries to wander around, but the layout was fairly uninteresting to explore, there were basically hallways that went around in a rectangle, and rooms off on the sides, and while I dutifully completed the audio tour, I found it had grown a bit tedious by the end. I grabbed photos all about the place, and was ready to head out. The final stop was in the tribunal, which was actually one of the most interesting rooms, where judgements were passed that resulted in criminals being put to death - surrounded by statues depicting “good judgements” from biblical figures.

Good judgments of sinners being put to death?

Mirrors!

Treasure Chest?

I decided to check out the fantasy shop Chimera, which was recommended on the Ayreon chat and was a few blocks away. It turns out it was right across from the House of Fries, and I had just missed it! This was a very cute shop that unfortunately did not allow photos inside. It was set up like a fairy tale world, and filled with figures of dragons, fairies, and other fairytale creatures - all purchasable, of course. (I already own several similar figures, and didn’t favor trying to pack them in luggage for a trip home, so opted just to enjoy browsing). I then crossed the street to finally order the fries, and lucked out as the lunch rush hit literally right after I ordered and lines grew long. They had a counter around the edge of the place to stand and eat at, so I pulled up to a corner by the front window, and tried my fries. They were… fine… but I honestly found that, while I love satay, the satay chicken really clashed with the fries, which were crying out for a different flavor. The chicken itself was also fairly low quality. I put a bit of salt and vinegar on some of the fries that hadn’t gotten any of the sauce on them, and they were decent that way (I left my old bay in the hotel - yes I did remember to bring old bay with me this trip; something I had vowed to do when I returned in my 16th year trip journal, lol). But ultimately, I found myself grown tired of the fries and chicken long before they were finished. I drank the iced tea that I brought from the hotel, and ended up abandoning the fries, and headed out. At the least I was not hungry, and still had some time to kill before going to the Van Gogh Museum.

Outside the Chimera shop (no photos inside)

Satay Chicken Fries

As it happened, the infamous red light district was right around the corner. It was still early afternoon, so not the night scene, so I decided to stroll down and see it in the day, particularly to check out the Old Church. Here was this absolutely beautiful cathedral, and suddenly I heard a woman yell at some other tourists “No photos!”, but she wasn’t talking about the church - she was talking about the prostitutes - right across the street! A few of the windows were already open, and there ladies of the night were out in the afternoon, dressed in provocative lingerie. One side of the street offered sin, the other side offered penance. How efficient!

Respecting the sex workers, I turned my camera downwards to indicate that I was not taking any photos (other than of the church, away from them). I passed a few more windows, and they either looked bored, or were a bit flirty and smiled at me. Coming across the Secrets of the Red Light District Museum of Prostitution, I decided I had just enough time to check it out. It was an interesting walk-through about the history of the oldest profession in the city of Amsterdam, with an audio tour narrated by a former prostitute, and stories about her life and career, rooms set up to demonstrate the less glamorous side of the profession, and explanations of how the sex workers can refuse any customers, and how they keep them safe, and regulate the industry well. Honestly, it makes a lot of sense, regulating legal sex work seems a lot safer for both the sex workers and their customers. While I’m not interested in partaking, I don’t understand how an allegedly “free” society would outlaw sex work. All that results in is unsafe and unsanitary conditions for everyone involved.

The walk-through took about half an hour, and I was right on time to walk to the Van Gogh Museum, which was a decent 45 minute walk away. I could’ve halved the time by grabbing a train, but I wanted to explore the city more after my day in a hotel room, and felt fairly energetic. I strolled leisurely, stopping for several pictures along the various canals, and finally found myself crossing under the Rijksmuseum, and across a park to the Van Gogh Museum, right as my reserved timeslot hit.

The Van Gogh Museum had another audio tour, which I had rented, and free lockers to stow my bag. It had four floors filled with art, mostly from Vincent Van Gogh, but also a few from artists that inspired him, contemporaries, and those influenced by him. It was fascinating seeing how he explored styles, his love of peasant art and portraying the truth of people by using color, and his continued work on using contrasting colors to highlight each other. On a painting of waves, he signed Vincent in bright red just to provide a sharp contrast to draw out all the blue! On several other paintings if you get close you can see how he used separate colors and your eyes blend them together when you take a step back. Most touching was the story of brotherly love with his brother Theo, who as an art dealer supported and encouraged the starving artist Vincent, and bought most of his art. The letters between Vincent and Theo are where much of what we know today about the artist come from. Theo even named his own son after Vincent. Theo died less than a year after Vincent lost his mental health battle and took his own life, and his widow Jo aggressively advocated for Vincent’s art and showcased them in galleries, and is the reason he has become so renowned since then. I managed to just barely finish the museum right as closing time hit.

The red is essential as a contrast to the colors of the waves

Letters between Vincent and his brother on display

The cabinet in which the letters were kept

I found a spot to relax in the park outside the museum while investigating nearby dinner options. Ultimately, I settled on Sherpa, an Indian, Nepali, and Tibetan cuisine restaurant with rave reviews, which was a short walk from there. While much of the menu sounded amazing, reviews praised the Chicken Tikka Masala as the best they’d had, and as one of my favorite comfort dishes I ultimately decided to go for that and judge for myself. I also got a mango lassi and garlic naan, all fairly standard fare, but everything was delicious! I’m not sure it’s the best I’ve had, but it’s certainly a worthy contender.

I managed to wrap up my meal just in time to head out and grab the lightrail to go to AMAZE Amsterdam. This place really lived up to the hype, it’s like walking inside the trippiest music visualizer. There were multiple rooms to pass through and experience, including one where you get to play with the lights and sounds, one where you could relax in beanbags and take in the looping 20 minute music and light show, and the coolest, the mirror maze, filled with fog, light and laser effects, and screens projecting back your own face at you, all with very atmospheric music. It’s definitely one of the trippier experiences one can have while sober, and a lot of fun! I took my GoPro through many parts of the experience, and can share the videos later.

It was approaching midnight by the time I was done, and I was still feeling fairly awake, but I opted to get back to my hotel and not worry about missing the last trains. This active day definitely made up for my first day of relaxing!

Sept 13: Day 3 - Where the Sidewalk Ends

While I was awake fairly early again, I spent a lazy morning in my room chatting on the Ayreon group WhatsApp, and making plans for the day ahead. A staffer at AMAZE had recommended the Tilburg Doloris Metamaze ( https://doloris.nl/meta-maze/ ), so I shared it with the group, and soon had several people interested in joining, a group of whom were going to be in town this very evening, so we made plans to grab dinner down the street the metamaze at 5:30pm, and then enter the maze at 7:00. I grabbed a shower, and afterwards ended up getting so immersed in the group chat that I suddenly noticed it was 8 minutes before my 11AM check-out time! I hurriedly got myself dressed, finished packing up, and quickly made another coffee - which I grabbed to-go, and drank as I made my way through the hallway maze back to the lobby. Once I checked out, I relaxed on one of the comfortable sofas, and chilled for another hour finding a place to grab lunch.

Ducks seen on my walk to the restaurant, which was in a nearby park!

On my walk

Huize Frandendael

I ended up walking to the nearby Restaurant Merkelbach at Huize Frankendael, which was in a nearby park. The outside tables were in a beautiful garden, I found a chair that wasn’t damp from an apparent earlier rain, and pulled it up to the table with the best view. They served gourmet vegetarian cuisine. While I’m a carnivore, I absolutely savored every bite, and this was the best meal I had in Amsterdam! I got the artichoke with bread and garlic soup starter (turns out the bread was part of the soup, and not actual bread. I asked the chef, ha.), the Ravioli and malfatti with Sorrento lemon, spinach and ricotta main, and jasmine tea. I practically licked the plates clean.

The Menu

Delicious meal and a view

Once I had paid, I started back towards my hotel to pick up my luggage so I could take the train to Tilburg. I decided to walk through the park, and encountered school gardens filled with all kinds of flowers! Checking the train schedule, I decided to go for another half hour later train, and explored the gardens for a bit, before walking the rest of the way back.

Busy pollinator!

So is this a... kinder-garden?

I managed to make it to the train, this time needing the yellow gate (as red was for metro). I settled in, put in my headphones, and put on Ayreon’s The Source album. After a 50 minute ride, I had to change trains, but the next train was literally on the other side of the platform and already there! It was fairly crowded, but there was a long wait for it to leave, and a bunch of people suddenly departed. I was a bit concerned I’d missed an announcement when they did, but the train left fairly soon after and I was able to get a seat with my luggage. This was a much shorter trip, about 15 minutes, and then I was in Tilburg! Outside the train station I spotted a bunch of Ayreon flags advertising the shows. Google suggested that taking the bus would be about 30 minutes, but I’d have to rush to make it, and the next bus would take me even longer than the alleged 45 minute walk time. I thought I might just walk from there to my hotel, but first headed the opposite direction so I could photo the flags, and noticed that they were right in front of the bus stop, and I was there in plenty of time to find my bus, so I decided to go ahead and board.

Ayreon flags wave in Tilburg!

The bus was incredibly crowded, it was a city bus, and I had to stand with my luggage and hold on for dear life to a pole. It was not comfortable, but I only had to go 4 stops. At one point some new passengers were a bit rude that I hadn’t moved further into the bus, so I squeezed down the aisle, but the next stop was mine. I tapped out, and from here google informed me I still had a 17 minute walk to the hotel. It didn’t appear too far on the map, and I should arrive by 4:30, in plenty of time to get checked in, and then make my way to the restaurant (another 30 minute walk back into the city center). So I started down the sidewalks following the directions, and suddenly the sidewalk just… ends. I cross the street (waiting on the crosswalk buttons, including having to push it again at the median to cross the rest of the way), and there is no sidewalk on the other side, either, but there’s a nearby street that seems to go parallel, and has sidewalks, so I start down there - but google maps keeps telling me to turn around, and it appears that this street will head off in another direction. So back across I go, and I notice the very thin path through the tall grass beside the road, and realize I need to pull my luggage through this. I’m getting exhausted with my heavy backpack, but I trudge onwards, beyond the sidewalk.

So I guess this is the way forward?

Ok google, lets see how your walking directions go...

The path gets narrower, passing through taller and taller grass, then alongside a deep ditch. There are prickly plants, broken glass, even a hubcap and a broken street sign. Then the grassy side path disappears completely and there is only a merge lane from a gas station. I have no choice but to proceed, and carefully make my way along the edge of the street, which doesn’t even really have a proper shoulder. There’s another thin grass strip for a bit, then I need to walk along the edge of a turn lane once more, before finally making it to my hotel. All the way, I’m sharing updates in the Ayreon group chat, and later I find that someone else staying at the hotel spotted my below, and snapped a picture as I finally arrived at the Hotel Van der Valk!

Me exasperated at how ridiculous this is

Please do not hit me with a car before I get to see Ayreon!

Finally made it to my hotel! (As spotted by another Ayreonaut).

At this point the walk had taken me over 45 minutes, and I was running late. Relieved, but drenched in sweat and exhausted and seriously tired of lugging the backpage and luggage, I checked in at long last. I asked how to walk there, since obviously google was wrong, and they gave me directions that go through a park instead of that busy street. I gave google maps a bad review of their directions! I had mere moments to drop my stuff in the room and sit for a spell, since I was already going to be running late to dinner.

Reaching the hotel at last

My room!

I mapped the path through the park, and it would be about another 40 minute walk. I ended up arriving close to 6PM at the Restaurant Rodeo that had been picked, but was actually not the last to arrive, and was just in time to order. I decided to treat myself after this ordeal, and got the combo platter with Steak, Lamp Chops, Shrimp Scampi, Grilled potato and veggies. Since any drink cost extra, I got a Pepsi, which came in the tiniest glass bottle ever. Every sauce cost extra as well, but I went ahead and got the red wine sauce, which was fairly tasty. I sat with 4 other fans for the meal, Ross from the Netherlands, Markus from Germany, Matt from Canada, and Vince from LA (on his very first time out of the country at all!) We had a great conversation, and a nice meal, and while we were a little worried about being late, we managed to wrap up close enough to our 7PM entry to the Doloris Metamaze, only about 10 minutes late.

The much better park walking path

Dinner!

Dinner [Jason, Ross, Matt, Vince, Markus] and a quick surprise photoshop from the WhatsApp group

The metamaze unfortunately does not allow photos or videos, and you need to lock up your phone and watch too, so you can really immerse yourself in the experience. It was really awesome, essentially a playground for adults that was a massive multi-story maze. They separated our group, letting us enter one-at-a-time (Markus had poor vision and opted to get drinks and wait for us). When it’s your turn to enter, a staffer walks you inside, gives instructions, and you put your entry token into a machine and go through the door. They cultivated a very eerie atmosphere with creaky doors, entering through a long hallway with door after door, seemingly endlessly passing through each doorway, and eventually the handle is replaced with a hand, and you find yourself in a hallway that appears to be a bridge, with infinite space above and below it, that turns out to be a mirror effect. You make your way to a room with a dark slide down into the main maze. The central room is filled with girders that you can climb to several different doorways. The maze is filled with rooms of abstract and sometimes unsettling art, some of which you need to climb around, many dark passageways, crawl spaces, and ladders. It’s a real work-out, and you need to go very carefully, often tapping the walls to feel your way, and gripping very carefully on ladders in the pitch darkness. There was a lot to explore and see, although there didn’t seem to be an underlying story or any interactive puzzle elements, this was an experience mainly meant to be explored, and taken in. One room was a bright white giant metal cube on its point, that you crawl down inside, with lights on each of the corners and a seat partway up the wall that you can sit in, and then metal platforms you can climb to get back out the other side. Another had giant hands clasped in front of an eerie face, positioned as a bench you could sit on and take in the atmosphere. There was one hallway through a curtain that had no light at all, and you walked across pebbles, and had to feel your way for openings in a wall that alternated textures - sometimes soft, sometimes hard, and wind through - before coming out through a person-shaped exit behind a statue of a person on the other side. I had to double-check it wasn’t a real person! Turning about, the exit appears as the shadow of the person on the wall behind. Another dark corridor ends at a stairway up and up, and lets out at a room with a quaint wooden cabin, where a radio plays odd old timey music, and you can sit on the bed. This was a dead end, though, and there was nowhere to go from here. Another room had an entrance shaped like… well… a vaginal canal, that you have to squeeze through as if being born, to enter a chamber with odd egg-like shapes and sounds like hatching insects playing through speakers. Another room had a forest, and comfortable padding on the floor, and if you sat there long enough a pretty firefly-like light show played along the walls with some music. There was a room with a piano you could play, but if you climbed up on top of the piano you could go up a ladder to another secret room above it. Everywhere there were hidden doors to find and explore further, and unusual hallways to clamber through, and unusual art to reflect upon, and atmospheric sound and lighting. When I finally located the exit, I turned back multiple times to continue exploring. Sometimes you’d come across your friends, or other strangers, all lost in the same maze - making a brief encounter before disappearing again down the strange dark corridors. Finally figuring I had seen everything there was to see, many rooms multiple times, I made my way through the exit and found my friends again.

Check out some videos on the Making of the Maze for more.

The bar was closing, but the waitress offered me tap water, and I was super thirsty at this point! We briefly took the elevator up to check out the rooftop bar, but it was crowded and wasn’t very impressive. Ross generously offered to drop me off at my hotel, so we all walked through the city towards his car, passing the Ayreon pop-up store on the way (set to open up tomorrow!).

Back at my room, I relaxed and spent some time writing in this journal, although I didn’t finish and get caught up until the next morning! It finally hit me, I would be seeing Ayreon live for the first time finally the next day.

Sept 14: Day 4 - The Age of Shadows Has Begun!

Today was the Ultimate VIP Ayreon Dress Rehearsal show, but I had no other real plans for the day, and upcoming days would have early mornings, so I spent a lazy morning at the hotel and relaxed until lunch-time.

I reached out through the Ayreon WhatsApp group and found some additional Ayreonauts to grab lunch with. I mentioned this group chat earlier, but should go into a bit more detail. Before the trip began, since I would be traveling alone and was interested in finding fellow fans to connect with and do activities with, I reached out via Facebook on the Ayreon group with the following post:

“Looking for group: I'm traveling solo, and I'd love to meet up with other Ayreonauts in town! Anyone else looking for new friends and people to do activities with?

I'm super excited to be traveling from the US to see Ayreon live for the first time; as they are one of my top five artists. I managed to get the special VIP dress rehearsal ticket, and two more shows (Saturday and Sunday), plus the 2:30 theater showing of Electric Castle Live on Friday (that Blu-ray sold me on finally taking this trip). I'll be in Tilburg from Wednesday 9/13 through Monday morning. Already booked Efteling for Monday and Tuesday afterwards! I've got another 8 days in the Netherlands after that as well, which I'm still planning. (And maybe go to Germany for a bit). (Travel tips also appreciated, I've been seeing lots of good advice in other threads here!)”

From this posting, I found several others interested in the same, and was directed to the WhatsApp chat group, which I joined… and was promptly overwhelmed by the rapid-fire discussion from a large group of people who had been chatting for years since the last Ayreon concert. But as the trip approached, I started venturing into the discussion more and more, and during the vacation itself it was a lifeline for any advice in The Netherlands, as well as a connection to a group of friends who quickly began to feel like a family to me.

I walked through the park, across the drawbridge, and into town to meet up at The Mercure, a hotel near the venue which would become the hang-out spot, especially since many of the band were also staying there. We introduced ourselves, as I got to meet several of the people I’d been chatting with online, including Ayreon Mom Sus and her husband Klaas. Sus has taken on the role of group-Mom, as she is of the generation that could be our Mom, and she looks out for everyone and takes care of everyone, and if you need anything she will likely have it for you. After chatting for a bit, we opted to head to an actual restaurant down the square.

The first meeting with a large group of Ayreonauts!

Ayreon Rubber Duckies!

We ended up going to The Talk, where I got “The King of All Burgers” and fries with aioli instead of mayo. The aioli was excellent and the fries were crispy and well-seasoned. The massive bacon-cheeseburger was ok, a bit overcooked and dry (they didn’t ask me how I wanted it cooked); the bacon on it was the best part. It was great to meet several of the people I’d only been chatting with online, and as the weekend drew on I’d never have to eat alone. (I’ll have to refer to my photos later to figure out who I ate which meal with more specifically! And if anyone from the Ayreon group is reading this and sees themselves but aren't mentioned, let me know and I can update!)

After eating, we headed to the Ayreon pop-up store at the venue to check out the merch. I picked up a clearance “Into The Electric Castle” hoodie for a bargain, and an Ayreon Rubber Ducky. Since this is the “Beneath The Waves” show, rubber duckies had become something of a meme in the group.

Outside the pop-up store

Inside the store!

Clearance shirts!

With my new rubber ducky!

I headed out to line up for my limited Ultimate VIP Dress Rehearsal show. This was very limited to only 200 people, and the Ultimate VIP came with a bag full of swag (which is why I bought so little at the shop - I wanted to see what I’d get first!) and one hour early entry to any other shows I had tickets to, too. I saw Matt in line, and met Joanna (from Sweden) from the WhatsApp group, and we ended up chatting and waiting together.

With Matt and Joanna and rubber ducky.

Inside the venue, we grabbed our swag bags after another line, and then headed inside the concert hall. I met a couple (Chris and Chrissy) who were also from Maryland! What a crazy small world this is sometimes! I found Joanna at the right of the stage right in front of the barricade, and made friends with Maggie (from Iowa) and Élan (from Spain) nearby, who let me share the front spot during the show. I later learned that Élan was the official artist of the Universal Migrator comic, so something of a true VIP himself! Maggie had introduced him to Ayreon, and they’d been long-time online friends who were finally meeting at the show.

With Maggie and Élan

After hanging out and chatting for awhile, the lights finally dimmed, and the show began. One of the singers (Mike Mills I think?) came out stage right to introduce the show, and then the curtains parted and we got the first glimpse of the epic, multi-level stage. There were up to 3 different levels, massive screens, lasers, fog machines, and pyrotechnics at the front. 8 of the singers came on stage one at a time to applause, before turning around and revealing the backs of their shirts read “01011001” (the album name). Then the show began.

It’s really hard to describe the feeling of a really great concert of some of your favorite music. It’s the closest I’ll ever get to a real spiritual experience. You could feel the bass with your whole body, the rhythm flows into you and directs you, the surprising heat of the pyrotechnics, the chill of the fog machines, the beauty of the laser light show shining out above, at times creating a “beneath the waves” effect, the surprise of the fireworks, the lingering smells of smoke and fog, and oh… the wondrous sounds produced by over 18 singers, drummers, guitarists, bassists, woodwinds, strings, keyboards, everything culminating in a beautiful emotional story. 

As it was a dress rehearsal, a few of the cast were in street clothes, there were a few mostly minor mistakes, and they ended up repeating the transcendent “Beneath the Waves”, which honestly was amazing the first time but for one missed cue, and even better the second time! They could’ve played it a third time, and I wouldn’t have minded. Arjen sang Connect The Dots, coming in at the very top level of the stage, before later making his way down the stairs and down to the main stage. Simone Simons, in a glittery dress with matching glitter eye-shadow, sat at an old-school desktop computer for the start of Web Of Lies, before coming to center stage to sing. Arjen was wheeled back out again on a hospital bed to sing “The Truth Is In Here” (by a nurse singing the duet lines: “Mr. L, did you take your meds?”) And the epic songs were incredibly epic. The head-banging moments were heavy and intense. The beautiful moments could pull tears from the driest eyes.

As the album wrapped up, Arjen came out again. He gave a speech, before asking the audience what we wanted him to play next. A bunch yelled out “The Day That the World Breaks Down” (the 12 minute opener for prequel album The Source), and he trolled us by claiming “That song is too hard, we can’t play that.” So for the encore, first Simone got to sing again with This Human Equation of the newest Transitus, then we got Fate of Man from the new Star One album, which I wasn’t yet familiar with, before… they started The Day That the World Breaks Down. And it was incredible and beautiful and amazing and I was so pumped that I was ready for them to just keep on playing and do the rest of The Source. They could’ve gone on all weekend and done every album, and I would’ve been rapt the whole time. When it ended, the crowd burst into such ferocious applause, we tried to will another encore out of them, but none was forth-coming. And this was the smaller exclusive crowd; in the days to come the balcony would open up, and the steps on the lower level would fill, and the true crowds would bring an even greater audience energy!

I'm an ultimate VIP

Testing out the lighting effects after the show

I hung around with new friends chatting and getting pictures (not to be shared with the WhatsApp group, in order to avoid spoilers) until we had to leave. I swung by the pop-up store (it had an inside entrance during shows), and decided to buy a nice Ayreon branded messenger bag, and a long sleeve shirt.

Back outside, there was a small group of fans including Elan and Maggie hanging around chatting, so I stuck around and we chatted late into the night. Eventually, we decided to check out where the camp ground was, since several are staying there and Marcela Bovio’s free show was going to be there tomorrow, but partway there I realized how late it was and that my hotel was in literally the opposite direction, so I said my goodbyes and began my 45 minute walk.I crossed paths with an adorable cat! The city streets felt very safe even in the dark at night, and there weren’t too many people. It ended in the dark park and I used my phone flashlight again to find my way, finally getting back to my hotel and virtually collapsing into bed.

Hanging out after the show

Someone else shared this photo of us hanging out after

Meow

Sept 15: Day 5 - Dawn of a Million Friends!

To adapt to jetlag and try to wake up on time to do things early in the morning, I’ve been leaving my hotel black-out curtains open to let the sun help me wake up on schedule, and it’s actually worked reasonably well! Many days I have woken up on my own long before my alarm, and even gotten breakfast, which is a rare meal for me to eat. However, this morning I had to get to the pop-up store early to see Damian Wilson’s free acoustic set, which started at 10:30AM (but would likely be filled up early), and with a 40 minute walk there, I decided to quickly brew a coffee from the coffee pod in my room and add hot cocoa to it (a "ghetto mocha"), and just buy something at the hotel convenience store. I ended up settling on some amaretto chocolate chip mini-cookies, and juggled drinking my hotel-room coffee and eating some cookies on the walk there. They were decent, but I didn’t end up eating all that many, since one can only have so much sweet at once (and I carried the box around for the rest of the trip as a just-in-case-snack, before eventually giving up on it.) The walk through the park was pleasant, and again much better than walking on the side of a busy street with no sidewalk. It reached a beautiful canal, and there was a bridge across that was drawn this time! I had to wait for a boat to pass and the bridge to lower before continuing into town, through a neighborhood, then down beautiful brick streets as I approached the city, finally spotting the glorious church as a landmark that is nearby the concert venue.

Part of a well-balanced breakfast

The bridge is drawn!

Approaching the main part of town

I headed into the pop-up store, and made it a good 30 minutes before the show. (Which turned out to be a good thing, since it got very packed, and many people ended up getting turned away later on.) I wasn’t too familiar with Damian Wilson solo, but he was very jovial and down to earth, and sang beautifully, and it was a wonderful show.

With Damian Wilson (he's such a nice guy!)

Joanna gets a hug

Someone else shared this image of us with Damian

At the end he hung around and came down into the audience, and I was able to get a photo with him. He gave Joanna a hug. I also found Maggie and Elan again, as well as Chevi (who was part of the WhatsApp group and I had briefly met the prior day) and a few others in a small group, and we ended up chatting after the show, before eventually realizing we really needed to start walking to the Ayreon campgrounds (set up by Tilburg) for Marcela Bovio’s free show at 12:00. We started the walk, and I ended up chatting with Brandon, another new acquaintance, about JRPGs. It turned out he was also a huge fan of the Trails games, which are the best written JRPGs I’ve ever encountered, and a series I adore but really need to invest more time in as I’ve only gotten through 1.75 of them, and now we’ve already gotten a good 10 brought over to America, with more on the way (all part of a shared world and continuing storyline).

With Maggie and Chevi

I met up with Katja from Russia, currently living in Switzerland, at the campground. Thankfully there was a crepe foodtruck there, as I was now starving, and I got myself a smoothie and a savory crepe, and right as my food was handed to me, Marcela started to play. I found myself a spot at a table under the tent to try to eat but also watch her show. I had a decent view of Marcela, but her keyboardist was behind a girder so I couldn’t see him terribly well. I ended up filming much of the show, which did impede my ability to eat somewhat (since I was holding my phone with one hand), but I didn’t want to miss a thing. Marcela Bovio is one of my favorite Ayreon singers since she first appeared on The Human Equation, and obviously Arjen liked her enough to set up a new band with her (Stream of Passion) as well as work with her in some fashion, even as background, on most projects since. (She is one of the background singers on this stage show). She is an absolutely incredible singer, able to flawlessly bring power, passion, and beauty into everything she sings. A particular highlight was when she sang Ayreon’s Dragon of the Seas.

With Katja

Our group

My crepe

My view

The show

At the end of the show, she was also going to sell merch and sign and meet people, but there was a massive crowd for this, so I went to meet a few other friends from the WhatsApp who had just arrived. I met up with Merel from the Netherlands, who had been advising me about Efteling, and Juliana from Brazil who I’d been chatting about music with, and who had both recently arrived on the same train. Ayreon Mom Sus gave me a hand-crafted monster-doll creature that she had made for several of her Ayreon family. There was someone getting an Ayreon poster signed by all the fans to give to Arjen later, so I signed it, and arranged a group photo with a huge group of fans and the poster. I ended up chatting with Susanne from Germany, who goes to so many music shows and has such great enthusiasm for live music. Eventually I realized we should make our way over to the merch line if we wanted to get anything. I bought every CD they had, and just barely managed to get a photo with Marcela and she signed all but one of them, but was having to wrap things up.

With Juliana

With Ayreon-Mom Sus and monster-doll

With Merel

Ayreonauts and the poster

With Susanne

With Marcela Bovio!

I walked back with Susanne chatting about music and her love of concerts on the way to the cinema to catch my viewing of Into The Electric Castle live, which was starting at 2:30 (an earlier 2:00PM showing had sold out before I got a ticket, but I ended up being thankful for that, as I would’ve been late!) Still hungry, I bought a popcorn - they had salty or sweet, so I decided to try sweet. It was a bit like kettle corn, but without the necessary salt. I also got a Cherry Coke, tapped my card, and headed into the theater. As I found my reserved seat (a nice one in the center), the clerk found me and informed me my payment didn’t completely process, and I had to rush out and give it another try! I made it back in time for Arjen and Joost (his keyboard player) to enter the cinema in flashy sparkly gold hats to introduce the showing, and run a quiz with the audience. The quiz played on the screen, and we could all join and vote with QR codes on our phones. It was actually very difficult, since I’m not familiar with all the Ayreon singers or their other projects and bands, so I didn’t do very well. One of the questions that I did know, however, was the name of the Arjen side-project The Gentle Storm’s album (The Diary). Arjen had included a joke answer, “The Diarrhea” on the quiz, and found that it got exactly one vote. He called out the person who voted for that to stand up, and brought them down to the stage and gave them his crown.

The Cinema

Joost and Arjen during the pre-show

The top few winners also got their photos with Arjen and various prizes, and then the showing began. The Into The Electric Castle live show was the previous Ayreon concert at Tilburg, the one I mentioned had a blu-ray so epic it convinced me to travel to The Netherlands this time around. It was amazing watching and listening with a full audience, although I got a little more enthusiastic in clapping even though it was a recording. I ended up spending a lot of the lengthy concert mainly listening and catching up on WhatsApp messages, which have been getting very difficult to keep up with as everyone finally was making their way into Tilburg. I remembered that I had a small thing of Old Bag seasoning (I had brought it along on this trip in the hope of adding it to some fries, although ironically every time I got fries I didn’t have it with me). I added it to my popcorn to try to make it a little saltier, and it was the best thing I had handy.

By this point, I’d already gained a reputation in the Ayreon WhatsApp group as the sharer of many photos. I’ve been sharing selfies from my travels, and getting pictures with everyone I meet (see many of these in the blog above!) And they noticed that I’m always smiling, and wondering how I always have a great smile and told me I’m photogenic. My smile would even become an ongoing meme in the group. I think I’m just out here in my element and loving every minute, and just naturally happy, but I can also thank being accustomed to posing for lots of photos from my Mom growing up. But also, they’re being sincere and kind and genuine in their compliments. And that’s really a lot of the spirit of the group, everyone building each other up, finding the nice things to say, and spreading kindness. It was really starting to feel like a great found family, and this feeling would grow as I met more of them and spent more time on this trip together with various members of the Ayreon tribe. Since I was also meeting up and sharing photos with everyone else from the group I encountered, we also started referring to that as catching Pokemon. By the end of the trip, I’ll have caught a lot of the group Pokemon (and so would others!)

When the cinema showing ended, I grabbed a free Electric Castle poster, and set about finding a group of Ayreonauts to have dinner with, since I had this evening free. As I crossed the plaza, someone recognized my Wilderun t-shirt, and called me out. Andrew, and a small group of his, and I ended up chatting for a good while on the plaza while they waited for some more friends to meet up with them. Wilderun is a band I’ve recently fallen in love with, an epic symphonic folk metal band that brings back the vibes of prime Opeth for me better than any other band has. They’re not very well known, and are American, so it was amazing to find someone who knows and loves them out here - although not too surprising that Ayreon fans have great taste in music!

Chatting about Wilderun thanks to my shirt!

The central square in Tilburg

I ended up meeting up with several Ayreonauts from the group chat for dinner, including Annika from Sweden, Chevi from Spain, Juliana from Brazil, Matt from Canada, Ben from France and a really quiet British girl (I think her name was Shona?). We found a place on the main street who used their billboard to reference Ayreon, and decided to grab food there since they had a big enough table outside. The braised beef I got was decent, but the company was what made it!

With Chevi, Matt, Juliana, Annika, and Shona

Braised beef

Annika (posed with the massive hotdog on purpose), Shona, Ben, Matt, Juliana, Jason

Many restaurants had Ayreon specials!

When we finished, we decided to find an ice cream place, and found the one that was still open, Intermezzo, and all got ice cream (well, it seemed more like gelato). I was actually getting fairly full at this point, so I didn’t even come close to finishing mine which had 3 different scoops to try a bunch of intriguing flavors, but were sadly layered so it was hard to try the one at the bottom. (From memory some chocolate, a cookie type one, and a minty one - but I’m not certain now). At some point I brought up the quiz joke-answer The Diarrhea, and suddenly the whole group found it hilarious and spent the rest of the evening adding it into song names and lyrics. No matter what we said, it never stopped (just like diarrhea). I guess you had to be there (just like diarrhea).

Eventually it was getting a bit cold, so we decided to head back to the Mercure Hotel, and sit inside where it was warmer and we could continue to hang out. After a bit, the show let out, and others arrived and sat outside, so we joined up with them, including Susanne and Joanna.

Ducky, Chevi, Remy

Susanne

Joining the big group as they got back from the show

Joanna and Susanne

As it started to get really late, Ben mentioned that he was staying at the Van der Valk and had a car, and since I was also staying at the Van der Valk, and it was a long walk in the dark, he offered to drive me over! So we said goodnight after verifying nobody else needed a ride there, and headed to his car, which he needed to recall where he had parked. Finally we started driving, he put on some good music… and we chat and drive… and drive… and eventually I’m thinking how this really feels a bit far to me. On a highway that seems to heading away from Tilburg, I pull up a map and finally confirm… “which Van der Valk are you staying at?” And it turns out there is a Van der Valk Hotel Tilburg, which I’m staying at, and a Van der Valk Hotel Gilze-Tilburg, which he’s staying at! But at this point we had already reached his hotel. He graciously offered to turn back and take me to mine, since it would’ve been really hard to get there otherwise, and dropped me off for the night before driving back to his own hotel again. Exhausted from a long day, I finally turned in - the next day would be my first non-dress-rehearsal Ayreon show!

Sept 16: Day 6 - The River of Time

There was another 10:30AM free show at the pop-up shop that I wanted to make it to, but I got a little bit of a later start and hoped I’d still get in by the time I completed my walk there. I failed with the hotel coffee machine - it just kept crushing the pod rather than puncturing it, and just making me hot water. So I made some hot cocoa with the conveniently provided packet (I had intended to make a ghetto-mocha like I’d done the previous morning), and headed out.

And luckily right as I reached the sidewalk, I ran into a group of other Ayreon fans, and they had just called for a van from Uber to go over, and offered to take me along! Arthur from the Utrecht area heard that I was planning to visit Utrecht after the concerts, and offered to grab drinks or a meal with me. The others were from the UK (I can’t recall everyone’s names).

Mike Mills on stage

We arrived in plenty of time to get into the pop-up shop for Mike Mills’ acoustic show. I also wasn’t very familiar with him, but really enjoyed his playing, and will have to check out more! After the show wrapped up, I found my friends Ross, Joanna, and Ari, and met up with Tessa, who had just arrived and was already a bundle of energy, wearing a crown of rubber duckies (yes, it was an ongoing theme). I also met up with Alvaro and a few others from our group, took more group photos (and a photo of me with the ducky crown, because of course.) Outside the venue, we saw Damian Wilson again, and got him to pose for a photo with the group (Paul and Annika had joined us, and Vince managed to sneak up and photobomb in the back!)

Friends, new and recent

With Tessa!

Elan, Psyduck, Jason, Rubber-duck

Ready to rock

Tessa bestowed (temporarily) the duck crown upon me

Group photo with nice-guy Damian Wilson

A group of us went to grab lunch at Backwerk, meeting up with Markus, Mama Sus, and Mr Mom Klaas (her husband was always Mr. Mom, never Dad), plus Annika, Paul, Vince, Ari, and Tessa. We ended up putting together some tables so we could all sit together. It was a small self-service cafe, but with everything in Dutch, I had my Dutch friends assist me in what to order, and ended up with a delicious smoothie, sandwich (with serrano ham and pesto, which they made fresh for me), sausage-pastry, and apple-pastry (which they heated up for me).

Lots of different foods to try

Lunch group! Markus, Mom Sus, Jason, Annika, Ben, Vince, Tessa, Ari, Klaas

Everything was quite tasty, but afterwards I found that a few others had been seeking lunch, but I had fallen behind on messages! A group was going to The Talk, and I decided to go ahead and join them and just get a drink and some fries, since I’d just eaten. This group included Chevi, Katja, Paul, Paula, Pablo, Annika and another friend whose name eludes me now. I ended up getting a ridiculous “triple caramel coffee” and their fries, and snacked and hung out.

Ridiculous milk shakes with Katja

"What about second lunch?"

Despite it being 3 hours before the 6PM early VIP entry for tonight’s Ayreon show, we decided to walk by the line to check it out - and I ended up sitting down and decided to stay so I could get a really good spot inside. I had wanted to hang out with friends anyway, so waiting for a chance to be up front was a bonus! Joanna, then Merel and Tessa and Elan and Chevi were all hanging out, and Maggie even joined in for awhile even though she wasn't attending that show. The sun beat down on us, it was hot and sweaty out today and quite uncomfortable. A few had smartly brought umbrellas for sun protection, and at one point someone offered a bit of sunblock, which helped. I borrowed the umbrella for a bit from a guy who was sitting nearby (he was Israeli, but I don’t recall his name) when he wanted to go get something and needed someone to hold his spot for him. I finally also met Jenny, who is one of the group admins, and always tracked everyone’s flights coming into the country. She also had a duck crown, and was handing out little tiny duckies to everyone.

With Joanna, Chevi, and Paula

Maggie and Elan, about to drop their hot new single

Merel, Jenny, Jason, Tessa

Duckies!

Waiting for Ayreon

Elan, Tessa, Jason, Chevi, Remy 

Josephine and Jenny, of the matching mini duck crowns

A couple line photos sent from others

Early in the line

At one point a group of us decided to go pick up some water bottles to fight dehydration, and ran a few blocks to a grocery store - the only place where my credit card didn’t work! (Thankfully Paula picked up the water bottle pack, and the others picked up a few more as well to share.) I instantly downed a whole bottle, grabbed a second for later, and passed out the rest of the water bottles to the others in the line, not too long before it was time to enter the venue!

I ran in with Tessa when doors opened at 6, and we grabbed a spot on the second row. We made friends with the people around us. Fiona from Germany was in front of me but thankfully short. We sat down since there are still 2.5 hrs before the show, and made a toilet pact with these around us that we would save everyone's spot so they could take turns heading to the toilet, to get drinks, etc. Merel got multiple beers and had the people in front put them on the shelf in front of the barrier (throughout the show she'd get them passed back).

The toilet pact!

Hanging out in front

I ended up behind Fiona and LeAndro, next to Tessa on my left, and Chevi on my right, with Merel just behind Tessa and Arie and Jenny near her. Merel started a wave going several times in the last half hour, once the venue was completely full, finally getting it to go all the way back and to the balcony! We sang and danced all show, there was so much more crowd energy now with a fully packed venue, and a proper concert, and the band was on fire! I bonded with this group of friends especially quickly; I felt completely in my element, and we amplified our shared joy together, vibing as one and connecting with the music and each other and just feeling like we were experiencing being truly alive and human and together! And with these particular people, I could leave my shell far behind and just experience and live entirely in the moment - and be with everyone surrounding me feeling they were in that same moment, experiencing that same ecstatic spiritual bliss that was this music and this performance and this movement and dance and touch and connection and rushing emotions, and it was safe to be and feel everything and connect. During beneath the waves, a bunch of us got out the tiny ducks that Jenny gave us, to have them swim and dance. During River of Time, we started a bunch of people rowing at the start, and later during the finale The Day That The World Breaks Down, we ended up circling up into a giant group hug. Emotions ran deep, and the music was so cathartic.

Even though you weren't supposed to, I'm glad someone from the balcony captured this video. You can see me in the second row in the orange shirt quite easily! I should wear orange to concerts more often! (It just happened to be the only Porcupine Tree shirt still available in my size after the Closure/Continuation show this year!)

In the crowd with pyrotechnics

Smoke and fist pumping

Lasers and lights

Group hug!! A very special moment accidentally captured from the balcony.

Can you spot me in the crowd shot?

There I am! (In orange)

At the end, hung out and was able to get a pic with one of the performers as well (Marjan Wellman). When the venue kicked us out, I went with my Dutch friends Ross and Merel and they got some food at a doner place and stood just outside under the awning since it started to rain; but I wasn’t really hungry yet so I just hung out. Tessa showed up and ate inside, and I went in to say goodnight and she offered my a taste of kapsalon. This is a popular dutch late-night treat, with doner kebab covered with fries, iceberg lettuce, tomato, melted cheese, and garlic sauce. I wasn’t hungry enough to get my own, but it was pretty tasty - basically cheese fries. We chatted for a bit, and while I was concerned about getting to my hotel in the rain, I was convinced to hang around and follow the others back to the Mercure. Luckily for me, Ben offered to drive me back to my hotel again, so I didn’t have to walk. I got back so late I just collapsed in exhaustion, and decided to save showering for the morning.

After the concert!

With Marjan Wellman

Trying kapsalon!

Went to get a small photo at the Mercure, and more and more friends jumped in!

Sept 17: Day 7 - Complete the Circle

After these multiple exhausting days, I decided to skip the 10:30 Wudstik pop-up-store show and get some extra sleep instead. I was feeling exhausted, hoarse, and a bit dehydrated. I wasn’t really familiar with Wudstik, and while I was willing to check him out, I opted to get the extra rest on the day I could because I have to be up early the next couple of days to head to Efteling (the theme park!) There was one last show tonight, which I also wanted to be well rested for, but many of my new friends were already departing!

When I finally headed into town in the early afternoon, I decided to visit with some of my friends but take food to go and eat in line so that I could get a good spot for the evening’s show. This was going to be the performance that they filmed for the eventual blu-ray, so I wanted the best possible place for it! I swung by and saw various friends at the Mercure (including Ayreon Mom Sus and Mr. Mom Klaas, as well as Ross), Ross recommended getting noodles to go from a place called Wok and Go, so I swung by there and used google translate and the touchscreen to order udon with peanut sauce, beef, shrimp, broccoli and other veggies, and garlic. I then headed to Brownies and Downies, where Annika and Katja were eating, and said hello to them and chatted briefly. I found out that Katja would be staying an extra day, and was also interested in visiting Efteling, so we made plans to meet up tomorrow and do Efteling together. I went ahead and ordered a stroopwafel blondie to go, and headed up and decided to also swing by the Xu Noodle Bar that looked really good. Even though I already had food and dessert, I wanted to really have a good feast in the line, and I got myself a boba tea to drink, Bao buns, and Szechuan dumplings.

With Mr. Mom Klaas, and Ayreon Mom Sus

With Katja and Annika

Having finally rounded out my meal, I headed to the venue, and joined Joanna in line, who had held a spot for me. It was still 3 hours before VIP entry, but thankfully the weather was much more comfortable today. I sat and enjoyed my feast - the stuff from Xu Noodle bar was the absolute best, and I will need to eat there again next time I’m in Tilburg! (I might want to eat there every day, seriously, it was that good). The Szechuan dumplings were actually reasonably spicy, and I poured the rest of the sauce from them into my noodles to heat them up a bit. I didn’t end up having much space for more than a bite of the blondie, so I saved it for later. I held Joanna’s spot for awhile when she needed a break from the line, and chatted and got to know the other people who were in the same area of the line. While I was waiting, I also pulled up the lyrics and read through them all to try to refresh myself before the the show; and the story was so moving and beautiful it nearly brought me to tears just reading it again.

Me with my feast!

One more pokemon grabbed! With Maly. (She saw me in line as she walked past).

Once they let us in, I dashed inside to get the best possible spot. While Joanna was able to be right against the railing on the right side of the stage, I wanted to check the center. While I’d have to be second row, I found Élan right in the middle, and he’s shorter than my shoulder-height, so I asked to join him and standing right behind Élan I had a perfect view of the stage! A few other friends from the WhatsApp chat were there (I can’t recall every name, but let me know if you were there or recognize anyone and I'll update!), and the guy from Israel too. Vince also joined nearby and warned us he’d be singing the whole time. (I would ultimately be very impressed by the high notes he could hit!) I explained the toilet pact to them, and we agreed to do the same tonight. As the venue filled up and the show approached, Merel - who was not VIP and was back by the steps this time - messaged me to start another wave going. I told the people around me, and we managed to get it going eventually. When the cameramen came out before the show, we told them about the wave, and did a few more on film for them. I had also brought my rubber duckie this time, since I wore my hoodie and had pockets that could hold it (I kept a water bottle in the other pocket this time, which I refilled in the restroom a few times since tap water is good in the Netherlands).

My spot for the Sunday evening show!

Got one of the photographers to capture us!

Each night has had even better energy than the one before, and this being the last one, and the one they were filming for the blu-ray, the energy was through the roof! The crowd was completely into it, and the energy was reflected back at the stage, magnified, and sent back out as everyone rocked. The audience clapped along frequently, and thankfully the timing of their clapping was much better this night too than the prior ones. Once again, I had my rubber ducky swimming to the Waves of Time, and there were several times that cameras were pointed right at us in the front, so there is a very good chance that we end up on the blu-ray, depending on how they edit it! There were several times the camera was turned on my group and we were singing along tot the song and I was doing my best to try to remember the words so it would be useable footage, but had to just hum along a few times, lol! The whole show was just so emotional and so amazing, and it’s going to make an incredible concert video (and will be especially cool if I end up in it! The best souvenir of this trip!)

After the show, a view of the stage

Can you spot me today?

Right above Arjen's hand!

After the show, found my Dutch friends who were further back (Ross, Merel, Tessa, Sus and Klaas, etc). We walked back to the Mercure and hung out before Ross, Merel and Tessa had to head out for their drive home. More and more of my friends saying goodbye is bringing me down to earth, but at least my trip is only beginning, and there will be a lot of great times ahead! We said our goodbyes, and I continued to hang out with the remaining group. Late that evening, several of the singers and band members came by; you could hear the entire block erupt into applause for them as they came by, and then crossed the street to the Mercure. I was able to get photos with many of them! (But didn’t want to bother the ones who didn’t look like they were up for being approached). And hopefully someone who reads this can help me identify all of them to properly caption the photos.

Once more with duckies!

Trying the national Fanta (It wasn't really my thing)

One last big group photo!

With Arthur

Performers getting cheered all down the street

In the end, I met up with Arthur again, and he offered to share an uber back to our hotel. The concerts were now all over, but I had another ten days traveling the Netherlands to look forward to from here, including visiting Efteling for the next two days, so I had to get myself to bed. I would luckily get to visit several of the friends I’d made a few more times over my travels in this country! Seeing Ayreon had been absolutely incredible, and even though I went three times, I enjoyed each show like it was the first. Between the friends I made, the shows, and the experiences traveling in this country, this is one of those life changing experiences that I will always hold close in my heart, and remember to bring myself a smile during dark times. I will absolutely be back the next time Ayreon plays; I couldn’t miss it!

But first… the magical Efteling, Utrecht, Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Zaanse Schans to round out my trip! (To be Continued...)