Tour Fatigue

Week two and I’ve already transitioned from Jet Lag into Tour Fatigue. I’m sleeping through the nights, but all of the shows and traveling and lack of exercise leaves the body in this kind of sleep-deprived haze. I try and hold it off. Staying away from coffee, chocolate, and all the free drinks we get offered night after night, but the hardest to get is the exercise.

We take a long walk through Brussels with our friends Jeoren and Kaerl through the touristy parts of the city center, to a tall cliff overlooking the city. I see a traveler kid sleeping in the sun. He rests his head on his camping backpack with a walking stick across his lap. He seems somehow impervious to his surroundings. An island in the middle of the city. I’m like that too I suppose. Wearing these clothes, a pocket knife, the “did it myself” haircut, even the beard feels out of place in this town.

Molly ordered french fries drenched in mayonnaise from a trailer. We’re still working on them as we step onto the train. Fries must be super popular here. I see a “no french fries” icon posted on the train door. I feel the starch like an undigested ball in my stomach as the train lurches along the tracks. Between the bread and cheese and the fact that we toured Belgium right after easter left every one of our hosts with a surplus of chocolate eggs ready to hoist on unsuspecting musicians, I’m craving a salad and a bicycle.