On the road again, bringing home thousands of records. Would you believe a hundred records? How about a couple of dozen? Well, Chief, would you believe a handful of fresh records?”

This will also serve as a brief summary of our trip to Europe. Let the journey begin.

Starting in Edmonton but not listening to anything on the plane, I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which featured some good music. We stopped over in Montreal just long enough to run to our next flight. Montreal has a special place in my musical heart. In 1970/71 I flew in and out of Montreal several times, and I often had longer waits for the connecting flights, so I hopped into a cab to the nearest shopping mall. In that mall, there was a small record store, and the guy working there always had some goodies playing. It was through my visits to that store that two of my fondest music memories were formed. CSN&Y and their fantastic album Déjà vu, and In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson. I still keep these two albums close to my turntable. I have been blessed to have seen live performances by several of these musical geniuses. I saw Neil Young live so long ago that I can barely remember it, and I saw David Crosby recently. The Neil Young show was not that great; he was in a minimalist country music frame of mind that didn’t translate very well to me, way up in the cheap seats of the stadium. David Crosby, on the other hand, delivered a stellar performance that was mostly solo but featured his son on a few of the songs. We were only a few rows back in the Winspear, and that translated well for me. I have seen King Crimson live twice, once in Calgary and once in The Royal Albert Hall in London, England; they were both amazing concerts that I will cherish all the more because my son, Joel, accompanied me to both shows.

Back to the trip, Montreal to Paris was the next leg of our itinerary, and we were able to see the Northern Lights from the plane. We didn’t spend much time in Paris, but now I can say that I have been there, even though I was only in the airport. Nouvelle Vague is the only Parisian artist in my music collection, so the playlist for Paris consisted of just one album. Then, we caught the next flight to Florence, Italy. We only stayed in Florence long enough to find out that I am rusty at driving manual transmissions and that I shouldn’t go the wrong way down a one-way road. No record shopping in Florence or in the rustic villa that we spent 3 nights in for the wedding of a niece. I learned why so many good rally drivers are from Italy; the roads have to be driven to be appreciated.

The scenery is magical. The picture below is from the deck of our guest house, which is visible in the photo below. The cash crop in the area we visited was olives. The guest house is in the second photo.

The wedding was a good time. The food was OK, the weather was good, and the guests were good to converse with. I could never be a racist in our family. I am of Scottish and Finnish/Swedish descent. Valeria is from Jamaica, with English, Spanish, and African ancestry. Valerie’s brother, Wayne, is married to Oi-Wa, who is from Hong Kong. The wedding was for their daughter, who is now married to a German who lives in Switzerland. Her brother has moved to Poland to live with his significant other in her hometown. Whew! I have probably left some nationality out of this list. Please send me the information if you can add to this tree.

Charis and Toby, the bride and groom, are busting some moves.

Onward to Pisa, where we spent a couple of days doing the tourist stuff. Pisa is an experience like no other that I have experienced. Good food was abundant, and history was all around us. Not a good place for rollators or wheelchairs, as there are cobblestones everywhere.

The Leaning Tower began to lean during its construction in the 12th century. Construction on the cathedral began in 1064. That fact suggests that a significant city must have existed before construction began. Pisa has a history going back thousands of years. Excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth-century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince. The Leaning Tower is still leaning and is actually the bell tower for the cathedral, which I found more interesting than the bell tower itself.

I also found a couple of good record shops and scored some vinyl. I discovered the album Maledetti (Maudits) by the Italian progressive rock band Area in an interesting shop, La Galleria del Disco.

I asked the man at the till for his recommendations of Italian prog bands. He then turned on the lights in a back room where some hidden gems were kept. I found the Area in that area. AreA, are an Italian progressive group that formed in 1972 by singer Demetrio Stratos and drummer Giulio Capiozzo. They are considered one of the most respected, innovative and important bands of the blooming 1970s Italian progressive rock scene. The songs are in Italian, but language does not constrain the music. The band AreA is cited as playing Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Free Jazz, Jazz Rock, Experimental, and electronic music. They have all the bases covered. I enjoy pretty much all of those styles, which translates into me enjoying the album. I used Google Translate to follow the lyrics; however, I got so caught up in the music that I lost my place in the lyrics. It doesn’t matter what label you use; I enjoyed this album start to finish. No Finnish jokes here, please.

From Pisa, we flew to Stockholm, Sweden, which is located near Finland and close to my ancestral roots. Although my family are Swedish, I have more Finnish DNA than Swedish. My mom spoke only Finnish until she went to school and had to learn English.

Sweden has been on my bucket list for a long time. My grandparents sailed from Sweden 99 years ago, looking for a better life in Canada. I wasn’t able to see the town that they came from, but I can say that I have been to Sweden. While in Sweden, we did some sightseeing, starting with the Vasa Museum. That was a truly wonderful time; the museum was well thought out, and we all thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We also visited the Swedish Museum of Natural History, another excellent museum with something for everyone.

I also scored some nice vinyl in Sweden. I found Record Mania, which had something for everyone in the vinyl category. That is where I discovered the 21st Century Schizoid Man album, credited to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, but it should also be credited to the band Free, as the B-side is entirely theirs. The vinyl is clean, but the music is really rough; it is a live album that sounds like it was recorded from the back of the room on a vintage Radio Shack cassette deck. A very limited, strange release from the USA in the early 1970s. Packaged in an LP-sized cardboard envelope with inserts Scotch-taped on either side and a loose sheet of reviews on the inside. The ELP show is from Spring 1971. An interesting album that will be filed away as a collectible, a unique oddity since only about 300 were made.

On a prog rock tilt, I also bought Vital from a band that I have enjoyed for a long, long time,  Van Der Graaf (Generator). This is a live album that covers a wide range of their prodigious catalogue. I didn’t get the feeling that this was a greatest hits concert tour. Their music is complex, compelling and captivating. Vital is a good overview of Van Der Graaf, encompassing both older and newer material, as well as some in-between material. I found it to be a very good listening experience. Not all live recordings are the same, as the quality of the recordings can vary. Some, like the 21st Century Schizoid Man album by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, are sketchy at best. Other live albums recorded from the soundboard can achieve a quality comparable to studio recordings. Some of my favourite albums are live, including Stop Making Sense by The Talking Heads. I won’t bore you with a long list of live albums; I’m just making the point that Vital by Van der Graaf is a high-quality live album. Not everyone will like the sounds that come from Van Der Graaf; it is a bit of an acquired taste. They did not experience significant commercial success in the UK or North America, but gained popularity in Italy during the 1970s. I should have bought it while in Italy! Such is the vagaries of bin diving.

Sweden had a wealth of good music, and I had to limit myself so I didn’t bring back a whole suitcase of records, which would have been expensive. We enjoyed our couple of days in Sweden, I would go back at the drop of a hat. Below is Stockholm. Next stop, Iceland.

The photo below is typical of Iceland. I couldn’t see anything but clouds from the airplane’s window.

Flying directly from Stockholm to our home would be a mind-numbingly long flight, so we broke it up with a stopover in Iceland. While in Iceland, we experienced fog, rain, and overcast clouds all day, with the exception of ice in our beverages. I am glad we can scratch Reykjavík off our bucket lists. I doubt I would return, except for a stopover on a long flight. They have an amazing church, a sight to behold. And Iceland has good music. Iceland has a vibrant arts scene that offers a wealth of excellent music. I only brought one record home from Iceland, but it has provided me with a great deal of joy. Come to think of it, I may return to Iceland; there are a few more records that I would like to purchase there.

The only one I purchased was “A Dawning” by Ólafur Arnalds, featuring Talos. “A Dawning” is the collaborative album by Icelandic musician Ólafur Arnalds and Irish musician Talos (Eoin French), released on July 11, 2025. It is a posthumous release for Talos, with Ólafur Arnalds completing the project following Talos’ death. The results are a powerful tribute that blends their artistic styles and explores themes of friendship, grief, and hope. 

“A Dawning” isn’t all about the music, which is good. Or the lyrics, they are profound. It is about the experience. This album isn’t one for background music while you do the chores. “A Dawning” is an album that deserves our attention. We listen for the space between words. We listen for the instruments. We listen for the emotion. We listen for the words between notes of music. We listen because an album this good deserves our attention.

So, there we have it. 12 days on the road. Edmonton to Montreal. Montreal to Paris. Paris to Florence. Florence to Stockholm. Stockholm to Reykjavik. Reykjavik to Vancouver. Vancouver to Edmonton.

Below we find Greenland on the left and icebergs on the right. The mountains in Greenland are impressive.

Back home I dived right back into listening to music.

The Saint James Society Bab(a/y)lon Rising
Phillip Sandifer On My Way
Jim Reeves The Best of Original Hits
Ólafur Arnalds, Talos A Dawning
Faron Young Four In The Morning
Nena 99 Luftballons
Erik Satie Piano Music Of Erik Satie, Vol. 1
Eddie Schwartz Schwartz