Michael Feuerstack took us on a photographic tour of Europe

I began this tour in Copenhagen, where the shock of leaving Montreal's winter was minimized: all the beauty - none of the pain.

Part of the beginning of this trip was a one-off performance with Bell Orchestre in this gorgeous venue with the Copenhagen Philharmonic. Just had to share.

To roll a brand new suitcase over urine soaked cobblestones is a form of christening. Already the meals I've had were incredible. One, a lovely restaurant meal with my hosts in Modena. The other a sandwich from the train station. It's no secret that they are doing something right in Italy but I re-learn it for myself every time I come here.

I'm likely not the first person ever to point this out, but all of the graffiti in Italy looks like it was produced to order for an American movie set. Weird.

I'm sad to say that I spent much of my time in Finland wondering: "where is my imagination?" The shows were sluggish - the music felt a little awkward and precious in front of non-paying audiences in pubs and sports bars. Nonetheless, I played straight and true, and I believe I hit the mark. I made contact with lots of great people and left some records behind. It was on this 5am tarmac about to board a prop plane to Helsinki that I felt the magic creeping back in. The bumpy short flight made it settle. Now, after a hell ride day in all the wrong directions (ultimately to Bologna), we'll see if the tour rhythm can stay true.

This one is perhaps a little unremarkable, but I include it here for all the Canadians. I was very struck by how at home I felt in the countryside of Finland. It looks so much like parts of Canada that it felt like an alternate world.

Tired and happy.

You have to find time for some sight seeing. Too much beauty to take in on one morning, though. It was pleasantly exhausting.

Doesn't seem fair that even their airport is gorgeous. I exaggerate, but this Tuscan view made my departure from Italy bittersweet. Off to more familiar Germany

This will have to serve as a kind of ceremony for my beautiful classical guitar, which died along the way - even though (as you can see here) I treated it almost as well as myself. I think it just couldn't take the long nights and rapid changes of pace. A sad day, its years of service won't be forgotten.

From band leader to guitar tech. No egos here. Seriously though, I love changing guitar strings, and I did so more this week than in the past two years combined.

After a few days of really getting the feel of playing with The Fire Harvest as my backing band, we showed up for an afternoon matinee in Offenbach. It was a beautiful show, made more beautiful by the sheep wandering around the yard. The pile of wood in this photo was soon to be on fire as well, providing the first ever instance for me to perform in front of an actual feuer stack!

A yes, that old tourist classic: a bag caught in a tree at the Kölner Dom.

After a few rehearsal days in Utrecht, I hit the road again with my new/old friends The Fire Harvest. They are wonderful people and wonderful musicians. They also are full of wisdom. For example, they informed me that this is a German cloud factory. More on them later.

This is the space we played in Kassel. I'm not sure how old this building is, but we have to celebrate its longevity and multi purpose history. Not a lot of people showed up to the show, but the quality was extremely high. Very memorable night.

It's impossible to stay warm on winter tour. Sure the winters are milder than ours in Canada, but the air is damp and attitudes about indoor heating are a lot more stoic than here at home.

This is one of the most complicated load ins ever. You have to pull the van up onto the curb under a railway bridge, interrupting a bike path and several sidewalks. Also is the pigeon shittiest zone I've ever stood in for that amount of time. Still, it's an institution and has its terms. For whatever reason, our show this time was a little slim on attendance, but I've had many great shows there in the past. In fact, this is the very first venue I have replayed in Europe, when I was on tour with Snailhouse and Kepler back in 2003 (?).

I will seriously miss these guys. It is been an absolute pleasure to spend the last 10 or so days with them making music and sharing living space. They learned my set quickly and beautifully, and played so sensitively that I feel like we've known each other for years. Their own set was also quite striking and it was a pleasure to hear them each night. I'll miss them. Now back to lonesome tour for another few days before I head back home.