title The Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra at Haan, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany - 28th July 2023 intro Fred and the Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra are on a mini tour of Germany, playing a number of gigs in towns around Düsseldorf in North Rhine-Westphalia. Nosher decides to catch one or more of the gigs and so books a flight for the laff. To get there, there's a train from Diss to London Liverpool Street, and then a journey on the Elizabeth Line, which connects straight to Terminal 5 at Heathrow. From there, it's a one hour flight, then another train into the central station of Düsseldorf itself, and finally a short walk to the Premier Inn just around the corner. Unfortunately, the inbound British Airways flight is about an hour late, so there's no chance of catching the Thursday gig at a church in Wuppertal, but there's plenty of time the next day to make way - by train again - to the small town of Haan, about 17 kilometres away, where the SYWO is playing as part of the Haaner Sommerfest. The gig is in a marquee in the Neuer Markt part of town, which has been turned into a beach for the duration of the month-long festival. imgp5052 It's the first time on the Elizabeth Line imgp5055 The long and spacious tunnels of the Lizzy Line imgp5056 The train to Terminal 5 arrives imgp5057 There's a water tower like New Milton's imgp5061 A Class 66 Shed near some aggregate works imgp5064 Graffiti on a metal shed imgp5067 Heathrow Terminal 5's check-in area imgp5069 Terminal 5's departure lounge is heaving imgp5083 A dude drives a 737 around with a remote-control tug imgp5087 A lone purple bag waits by the plane imgp5098 There's a long queue of planes waiting for take-off imgp5108 The airport railway station is a bit bleak imgp5109 A train to the city arrives imgp5111 Railway graffiti imgp5113 A curious Dnf building on the railway imgp5117 Someone likes their cake imgp5118 Faces on a building imgp5120 A thinking chimpanzee imgp5123 Düsseldorf's Hauptbahnhof Central Station imgp5125 There's a lawn around the tram tracks imgp5127 A father-and-son statue near the station imgp5129 Thursday's tea: a bratwurst stall by the station imgp5130 The entrance lobby at Düsseldorf Station imgp5132 Cool building graffiti on Harkortstaße imgp5133 Nosher's first German beer in the hotel bar imgp5136 Colourful waiting room at Hauptbahnhof imgp5137 The train for Solingen runs in to platform 9 imgp5139 Very literal graffiti on a building imgp5144 Nice wall art in the subway at Solingen station imgp5146 Derelict loading sheds at Solingen Station imgp5153 The cute station at Haan imgp5154 A presbyterian or Lutheran chapel near the station imgp5155 The orchestra is unloading the trailer imgp5156 A statue near the old market area imgp5157 Looking up Friedrichstraße imgp5158 Traditional window shutters on a greengrocer imgp5160 There's a street book cupboard on Diekerstraße imgp5162 A shiny cube above a flower shop in Neuer Markt imgp5163 The orchestra is setting up in the marquee imgp5165 It starts lashing it on Neuer Markt imgp5167 More traditional-style buildings in Haan imgp5168 Magic Café - for a lunch of Krakauer und Pommes imgp5169 Inside Café Magic for a bit of lunch imgp5170 There's another book kiosk near the beach imgp5171 The temporary beach of Haaner Sommer imgp5172 The marquee is set up and waiting imgp5173 The fountain in the middle of Neuer Markt imgp5176 Fred and his posse roam around Neuer Markt imgp5178 The orchestra assembles and tunes up imgp5180 The gig kicks off imgp5184 Fred in the flute section imgp5192 The orchestra takes its first bow imgp5200 Harrison's family arrive after their epic drive imgp5211 The Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra in action imgp5215 The conductors do the "we're twins" gag imgp5218 The marquee is filling up imgp5220 A page-turning moment imgp5230 There's another stand-up-for-applause moment imgp5234 The orchestra in action imgp5237 The crowd really gets into it imgp5240 The trombone section imgp5241 The ladies of Haan are enjoying the music imgp5248 The orchestra takes its final bow imgp5251 Fred packs away his music stand imgp5256 Fred carries a box of stuff to the trailer imgp5260 The organisers chat to the Music Service team imgp5262 A damp Haaner Sommer festival continues imgp5264 Graffiti in the park imgp5269 The lobby of Solingen Bahnhof station imgp5271 Klingenstadt on a subway wall imgp5273 Silver graffiti on a derelict building imgp5275 More graffiti on a trackside building imgp5277 Back at Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof imgp5278 Bakery products at the railway station imgp5279 A curious statue with boils all over it imgp5280 Outside Düsseldorf's central station imgp5281 An evening view out of the hotel window imgp5283 Bells on a wall on Bismarkstraße imgp5288 Time for a beer in Brauerei Schümacher imgp5290 Bar life outside Schümacher's imgp5291 The bar dude taps another barrel of beer imgp5293 Looking out on Oststraße