Amsterdam, Holland...28 June, 2010
Yesterday, the 27th, was a day off in Prague. In the very wonderful Augustine Hotel they serve breakfast until 2 on the weekends and I went down for a late one with some of guys. It was sunny and hot and after breakfast put on my walking shoes and hit the streets of the old town. I made my way across the Charles Bridge with all the stands catering to tourists with everything from jewelry to paintings. The great jazz band that has played on the Charles Bridge for decades was there and in fine form complete with a fantastic washboard player. Brilliant! I stopped in a little cafe for a great pizza and ice cold, creamy Budweiser/Budvar. This is the orginal stuff, not anything to do with or related to the American version. Budvar has been brewed in Prague long before Anhauser-Bucsh was ever in existence. From there I sat on a bench in the sun by the river watching the excursion boats go up and down the river and made it back to the hotel in time to go to the bar where the England vs. Germany World Cup game was playing. Needless to say the Brits were not pleased with either the bollocks-ed goal call in the first half or the performance of the England team. Our normally mild mannered tour manager Pete McKay went very vocal during the game. At some point a table of elderly American tourists came in and sat next to our group for a late lunch. I'm sure it's not really what they expected of their experience.
We all met up for dinner at a traditional Prague restaurant and it was delicious. Among the dishes ordered were wild boar, duck, chicken, roast pork, goulash, caramelised red cabbage, delicious purple tomatoes, dumplings and whole heads of roasted garlic. All washed down with many bottles of wonderful red wine. Dessert and coffee followed...a heavy dinner to say the least. I made a point to get a card from the restaurant so I could name it here, but for the life of me can't find it as I peck this out. I'll come across it in the next day or so and will make note of it then.
This morning we decamped the fab Augustine Hotel. Guy rated it 9, but only because it didn't have a pool. Apart from that there were no complaints. We flew to Amsterdam and went straight to the venue, Music Hall. A stand up gig of 5,500 and our usual place to play in Amsterdam. It was the first of three shows here and will be nice to settle in for a short residency, the crew will have a breather as well since they don't have to tear down and set up for the next few nights.
So long,
Richard