Warsaw, Poland

I went down for breakfast, found Glenn Worf up to his elbows in a plate full of Belgian waffles that looked so good I ordered the same. The real winner though was the chicken sausages, all washed down with a couple of cups of coffee. Fortified with carbs and caffein I fell out into the streets of Prague and over the bridge to the old town, but the crush of people made it tough going. Prague has long been a tourist destination though I don't remember it this crowded, too many souvenir shops all selling the same thing and more humanity than I'm comfortable with, so I fought my way back across the bridge and headed toward the old Jewish cemetery and synagogue. Dating from the 1500's the grave yards have been packed so tightly with headstones you can barely see soil, many leaning this way and that. Unfortunately as today is Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, the area was closed to tourists. I'll try again next time. The avenues of Prague are home to hundreds of sidewalk cafes with tables and umbrellas that invite you to sit down, take something to eat and have a Pilsner Urquell,Staropramen or Budvar beer, three of the many fine Czech brews that are really worth a try especially on draught. In fact the pilsner style of beer with it's characteristic clean, crisp, bold flavour, originated not far from Prague in the town of Pilzen.

An hour's flight landed us in Warsaw and a short drive delivered us to what will surely be the foulest smelling dressing room that we'll ever encounter. A card table and a couple of folding chairs was all that was provided and the stench was overpowering. I know I've gone on about this a few times in these postings and thought yesterday in Katowice was bad, but this joint takes the biscuit. Hard to describe really, I call them public lavs but that doesn't do this one justice. Understandably no one wanted to hang round there and with no internet access available it was catering, a meet and greet, breath through your mouth, get dressed and take the stage.

A standing floor of 4,200 welcoming fans and another enthusiastic show. Toward the end of the set I got snowed under with hearing problems, a guitar that shorted out and a couple of other things that converged to make the last few songs an uphill battle for me. Still, a great show for wonderful people.

At the airport in Warsaw prior to our flight back to Prague, I picked up a few bottles of Zubrovka Bison vodka that's distilled in Poland with a long blade of bison grass in the bottle, giving this vodka it's unique flavour. This was a fave of the band's back on the Golden Heart tour of 1996 and Susi our lady of the Legacy promises to have it in the freezer and ready for tomorrow night's flight. In the meantime it was tonic water laced with vitamin G and some seriously tasty goulash for the trip back to Prague.

Tomorrow we decamp the Four Seasons Prague where we've based for the last five days. It's a hotel that receives five stars for the most comfortable beds, three panes of glass separation from the outside world making sure the noise of that world stays outside, blackout curtains that do what they're supposed to, air conditioning that works in a big way, CD player and speakers in each room, great showers, good breakfasts, speedy lifts, maids that know what 'do not disturb' means and a helpful staff. Everything a hotel should be.

So long,

Richard