I have no idea how late it actually is. We flew off somewhere this morning, and my cell phone automatically turns off the clock if we're getting close to a new time zone by plane. Mile by mile, the bus pushes through the inner city. Budapest seems to be quite big. We are in the middle of rush hour traffic. As it is Friday, everyone wants to get out of the city very quickly. But nothing works quickly here at all.

Flake, the legendary keyboardist for the German band Rammstein, takes readers on a journey of what it is to be a touring musician. The excitement, the boredom, the moments that will be remembered and those that are forgotten. It's The World's Birthday Today is a strange and moody book about life on the road.