The 1812 Overture was one the first classical CDs I ever owned. Maybe that’s not saying much because I own less than 10 classical CDs (and another one of those is The Nutcracker). But in any event, when my bus in Saint Petersburg, Russia wasn’t going in the direction that Google maps said it was supposed to be going I pulled up a map on my phone to see if anything interesting was in the neighborhood. Tchaikovsky’s grave was so I hopped off the bus to check it out.

Today’s photo isn’t of his grave but the monastery and church on the same grounds.

Posted on August 3rd, 2019 under Saint Petersburg. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR DX lens, buildings, Nikon D500. Comments Off on Alexander Nevsky Lavra

@COPENHELL #copenhell @RealKingDiamond #KingDiamond #MercyfulFate

As my summer festival season is approaching an end, I was thinking that now there are close to no bands left that I really want to see that I haven’t. And then this showed up in my email….

“The legendary Danish heavy metal band MERCYFUL FATE will make a spectacular return at next year’s COPENHELL festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Almost 40 years ago, singer King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann created what would later become the most iconic and influential Danish heavy metal band ever…

The band will perform (at 2020 Copenhell) with the “9” lineup featuring Hank Shermann (guitar), King Diamond (vocals), Bjarne T. Holm (drums), Mike Wead (guitar) and Joey Vera (Bass)… the set list will only consist of songs from the very first ‘mini LP’, the “Melissa” and “Don’t Break The Oath” albums plus some brand new songs written specifically in that very same style.”

And now I really must get back to Copenhagen next summer!

Yes, I’ve seen King Diamond a few times (including back in the 1980s), but I don’t like any of his albums nearly as much as I love Melissa and Don’t Break The Oath, and he barely touches those albums live anymore.

Posted on August 1st, 2019 under Denmark. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G lens, concert photography, copenhell, king diamond, metal, Nikon D500. Comments: 6

III Draakon in Tallinn, Estonia is a fun restaurant for time travel. The food is good and relatively inexpensive too. Read the menu outside as it isn’t posted inside. Once inside, you are transported back to a medieval cafeteria. After ordering, the wench (her term, not mine) asks for a certain number of “moneys” and of course you pay in Euros.

The bowls and cups frequently are partially broken. In addition, the costumed employees all stay in character. One of them ran out to try and kill a pigeon that landed on the table. She was screaming and seemed to be literally trying to KILL the pigeon. The customer at the table was horrified, but it brought a big smile to my face.

The reviews on the internet are hilarious because many customers seem to not understand that the employees are in character. They fault the place for rude employees, unhelpful service, or that you have to use your hands to eat. If some of the customers weren’t so dumb this place would have a perfect 5/5 rating.

Posted on August 1st, 2019 under Estonia. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR DX lens, Nikon D500, reviews, signs, tallinn. Comments Off on III Draakon

@CBScph

The library photo on the Copenhagen Business School page has always bugged me for some, unknown reason. So this year I decided to try creating my own version.

Today we are celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the International Summer University Program (ISUP). I’ve been fortunate to participate in six of those years with a first time of 11 years ago.

Posted on July 25th, 2019 under Denmark. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR DX lens, buildings, frederiksberg, living in copenhagen, Nikon D500. Comments Off on CBS library

@satyricon #geflemetalfestival

Perhaps my favorite experience at 2018 Copenhell was Satyricon. So I was excited to see that I would get to see them again so soon at the 2019 Gefle Metal Festival. Sometimes the second time seeing a band after just a year can be disappointing. Such was not the case with Satyricon. If anything, I enjoyed their performance in Gävle even more.

I like how today’s photo came out with the Swedish colors of blue and yellow.

Most of the time when a Scandinavian band plays in another Scandinavian country they speak to the audience in English. Such was the case with Dimmu Borgir on the following night. However, Satyr, pictured above, spoke a lot between songs, and he did so all in Swedish.

Posted on July 25th, 2019 under Other. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR DX lens, concert photography, gefle metal festival, Nikon D500, satyricon. Comments Off on Satyricon in Sweden