Wroclaw, Poland...2 July, 2010
It was a great day off yesterday, the 1st, in Amsterdam. Woke late, did my time on a treadmill then tumbled out onto the street where I met up with road managers Tim and Paul, Paul's wife Ellen and two of our drivers Bernie and Dominika. I tagged along with them to Our Lord In The Attic. 350 years ago when Catholicism was not allowed to be practised openly, authorities turned a blind eye to private practise. Three stories of an apartment were turned into a church complete with pews, alter, confessional, bedrooms, kitchens etc. An amazing secret find in Amsterdam that is being restored to it's original colours and construction. From there we found a little cafe on a canal for sandwiches and beer and after that I continued walking for another hour. We all met up later at an Indonesian restaurant for dinner. So many trays of food arrived I lost track...all delicious. One dish we were told to save for the last as it was very hot. Very hot doesn't even begin to tell the story. It was ridiculous, took your face off, set you hair on fire. From there it was a stop at the great bar just round the corner from the hotel for a few beers. It's been a grand stay in Amsterdam.
This morning we decamped and flew to Wroclaw which I won't even attempt to pronounce pheonetically here, but I will say that it is not Warsaw, this is another city altogether and we'd never played here. The Hala Stulecia is an arena holding 5,000+ and every seat filled. The people were so great to us. A wonderful show and we hope to return again.
A runner to the Legacy. There was a problem with the flaps on the plane so we ate dinner parked on the tarmac...a spectacular Persian feast of spinach and beef, aubergine, rice, chicken, yoghurt and spinach and more....washed down with loads of wine and beer. The problem taken care of and the plates cleared, we took off for a short flight to Budapest where we'll base from for the next couple of days.
So long,
Richard