19th july 2007 - river kilometre 420

we drop anchor in the middle of the danube, swim break.

to our right is a sand bank and some people jump straight from the edge of the boat into the water and swim over to it. i follow them. the water is warm and not very deep. the closer you get to the island, the shallower and warmer the water becomes. there are sites where it is about 40ºC, as warm as a thermal pool (and my cabin). petra, who is the team member responsible for the live editing of the visuals, teaches one of the roma musicians to swim. i establish a small cult site with seagull feathers and jetsam, swim once more around our ship and we carry on to silistra.

we have been travelling since midday.

before the departure from ruse, i retired with my accordion to the cool shadows of the trees along the waterside promenade. drawn by my playing, i had one or two conversations with locals. they were all thrilled by yesterday evening. 2 young men are desperate for me to fetch the "italian girls".

we reach silistra as darkness falls. a shock here too. our venue, the beautiful cove not far from a hotel, has meanwhile been blitzed and a huge concrete pillar has been erected for a viewing platform for the hotel. the docking papers have been issued at a place that is a kilometre outside the town and has nothing to boast but a high quay wall.

i go to the shore with the dinghy and find a nice place a little above the hotel. the only disadvantage is that shallow banks near the shore mean a greater distance from the audience, but otherwise it is ideal, a natural arena. nicoletta, whom i met last autumn, appears with the mayor. anxiety, it was arranged and announced that we would play in front of hotel drustar. since it is pitch black by now, the decision is deferred until the morning.