Ruud Schollaardt asked Robert Berger to join him and Muriel Reemers on a trip to Africa. Together they formed the crew of this first African project. Traveling with these people ensured an exciting and successful trip. During the trip, Robert performed in many cities they crossed on their path. Upon Ruud's suggestion, they were traveling with a piano in their Mercedes-Unimog ATV. The truck remained with them throughout their African journey, and was sold once they reached Gambia. From there the crew flew back to the Netherlands.This trip took place between November 30, 1998 to January 1999. This was the first try out for Ruud's foundation SETW ( Stichting Experiencing The World)

Some highlights of this tour include a performance at the Rock of Gibraltar, which was broadcasted on Gibraltar TV. A very special performence during the convoi from Dakhla to the border of Marocco and Mauritania, we had to wait for hours so there was plenty of time to give a concert for all the other foreigners in the convoi, after this event robert sold more than 10 CD's. Another stunning performance took place on the beach of Mauritania. A performance was held for the Moroccan border-control, and last but not least, they outdid themselves by giving a performance in the middle of a traffic jam in Gambia.

The challenging climate, which included traveling through 2500 km of desert, as well as the snow capped mountains of Morocco ensured media interest in the tour. The unique experience also provided inspiration for Robert to compose new songs.Before embarking on this tour, the crew was interviewed by a Dutch television station (Veronica). On route to Africa, they were also interviewed by a Belgian television station (VRT).

The African Tour Crew from right to left:
Muriel Reemers: DTP/Graphic design. In charge of the tour journal, cooking.
Robert Berger: Singer/Songwriter/Performer, cooking, driving
Ruud Schollaardt: Transportation logistics - driving and maintaining the vehicle.
Ralf a German guy from the red car. We met him at the beginning of the desert. With this two vehicles we're crossing the Sahara. In the North of Senegal we left each other.
Bram: the ever loyal guard dog ( during this picture creation he was in the back of the truck)

After returning to Europe, Robert began collaborating with the djembe player, Ibou Niang. They performed Robert's rocksongs and ballads combined with the African music of Ibou. This collaboration resulted in the creation of a new album called "Europe Meets Africa". A page from Robert's old site you can read this whole. story in Dutch Later on I got some pictures from Muriel Reemers, she made on this trip. You can watch them here .