24th july 2007 - galati

(pronounced "galatz" and also written that way in old austrian publications)

right after the concert we bring the roof in and put the stage down and are ready to cast off at 2am. zdob si zdub from moldova are on board and we are off to the next venue, to galati, where we arrive two hours later. when i go to bed my cabin is 25ºC; it's almost cool.
there was nearly an accident in the night - our moldovan guests adjourned to the bow of the barge and either as a joke or by mistake they opened the moorings to our barracks ship during the journey. thank god it was discovered and put right, otherwise we would have been tipped over with the barracks ship and pulled under the barge and all those housed within would have drowned in their sleep. the shock hits home hard on everybody. thank god!

11am, just been to the spot where we will play. the sweat runs in streams over my face, chest and back. it's over 40ºC again. 45ºC has been forecast - when will it ever end? and when will there ever be a well-prepared show? there has been no preparation here either. our agent from bucharest who should have organised everything has done as good as nothing, has demanded money for it and has also always asked for praise. we attend more to her interests than she does to ours. even though she's annoying, i still feel sorry for her somehow as everyone is avoiding her.

in order to escape a little from the heat, i cross to the right side of the danube on my little barge. there is a kind of meadow there with trees, in whose shadows i want to if not recharge my batteries, then at least save them for the concert in the evening. because setting yourself against this volcanic glow can wear you out.

close up the place is as disappointing as it was inviting seen from a distance. every kind of rubbish you can imagine. but the water is clean, only suspended sediment makes it cloudy. there the danube flows leisurely and widely in a loam bed. it's as though it is taking it's time to enjoy the last stretch. there's another 150km to the sea, but you can feel it now for the first time.