central & eastern europe 11

Yesterday we drove all day. From Croatia back to Hungary and then
further east to Romania.
And while the landscape changed and became more and more southern we
got a feeling for the size of Europe.
With country music turned up to the max we crossed a tiny little
border into Romania and all of the sudden things rapidly changed.
The villages looked older, more run down, the roads were bumpy and in
desperate need of repair, some of the farms reminded me of the farm
in Nick Cave´s novel ´And the Ass saw the Angel´.
For the first time this felt kind of like what we expected from
Romania. Although some of the houses were freshly painted in the most
extrem colours possible I could see that we have found what we were
looking for - a real clash of cultures. Well, things didn´t stay like
this. When we reached the suburbs of Timisoara modern factories
started to grow out of the flat land - Cola, Metro, DHL ... - I was
disappointed.
Timisoara itself is also a very modern and lively city. The
architecture is old and beautiful but the shops, the peoples clothes,
the banks, the cars looked just like everywhere else we have been so
far.
We only had time for a quick meal and then rushed to the venue - a
club with a very powerful PA system in an old factory building
surrounded by more factories.
We soundchecked, went to the hotel, lay down for a second and then
went back to the club. There was a shortfilm screening before our
show which was very modern and up to date and by 9 PM we went on
stage to play a bit unsatisfying show because from where the stage
was we couldn´t really hear what was happening on the PA. Our
soundcheck was too fast and we had to pay the price for it. About 50
people showed up which was good but the club had capacity for a 150
more people.

After the show we quickly wanted to go back to the hotel because
today we are playing in Sibiu and it is a 6 hour drive there.
But our bus broke down. We hung out at the club for hours. People on
phones, everyone stressed out, we had no idea what to do. Around 1AM
we decided to go eat in a fast food places somewhere in the middle of
the student dorms not too far from the club. We walked through an
adventurous area and it seemed like our nightmares and not our dreams
became true.
Thanks to wonderful hosts and guides we had a great night and even
made it back to the hotel at about 3 in the morning. Thank you very
much you wonderful people who helped with the club and the car and
everything else.
Right now I am sitting in the hotel waiting for our bus to come back
from the repair place our hungarian driver took it to.
It is 9.30AM - I am tired - the tension between the musicians is
getting worse but the sky has a wonderful light blue, the sun warmth
my neck and I am pretty sure that this trip will not end here.

bye