Day 25: Luxembourg
Welcome
Yesterday we played our final European show in the world’s only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy.
**W A R N I N G** – this blog entry contains formula 1 spoilers
We escaped Amsterdam by way of the A10 ring road which took us around the city limits and spat us out onto the A2 heading south through Utrecht province.
A pleasant interlude in our morning was crossing Brug bij Keizersveer or Keizersveerse bridge, a 310 metre steel truss bridge that carries the A27 motorway over the Bergsche Maas canal.
After an hour it was breakfast time for the van, so we pulled into a gas station and fed him seventy litres of fresh truck diesel. I grabbed a bowl of fruit for myself and we continued towards the Belgian border.
Not far south of Antwerp and nearly astride the E19 highway is a small city called Mechelen. In the late 1970s the growth of the population and of industry on the outskirts of the city brought on increased demand to the water supply and the decision was made to construct a new water tower in the city’s southern industrial estate. The result is the Mechlen-Zuid Water Tower, a 143-metre combined water and telecommunications tower that was completed in 1978. The conical shaft of this structure is constructed of reinforced concrete. It rises 44 metres from the ground to meet the water tank, a 40-metre diameter shallow bi-conical design with a 2,500,000-litre capacity. Above this the shaft continues until it at 100 metres it meets the 10-metre-wide platform that supports a range of transmission equipment. The tower is capped by a 20-metre stainless steel tube which tapers to a fine point and supports a lightning rod and red warning beacon.
A quick stop to change into shorts.
The landscape changed dramatically as we moved into the southern regions of Belgium and the farms soon disappeared, replaced with the vast pigmented forests of the Ardennes region. This was one of the more spectacular pieces of scenery we have experienced this tour and we were sad when we had to exit the E25 highway to head to our venue.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a country with an area of only 2,600 square kilometres. This tiny state is sandwiched between northeast France, southeast Belgium, and western Germany, and the languages and culture of Luxembourg reflect this. It is a country with a huge rate of immigration and nearly half the population are foreigners, a fact that was ratified when we discovered that our venue was located in the Portuguese-speaking Esch-sur-Alzette canton, and several of the venue technicians were Lusoburguês – Portugeuse Luxembourgers.
Kulturfabrik Esch-sur-Alzette is a government funded cultural centre located in a former abattoir – the sloped floors and the cranes with their meat hooks have been left in place as a reminder. The entire complex houses a theatre, gallery, rehearsal studios, restaurant, and two music halls, the smaller of which we played. The hospitality we experienced at this venue was spectacular, helped out by the beautiful facilities of course but everyone we met was warm and welcoming and provided us with every bit of assistance they could.
Our luxurious green room with monorail cranes and hooks visible on the ceiling.
Here is a video from soundcheck. Please be aware that you may experience motion sickness from viewing it. The sound is okay though.
Sadly, Cherym have been unable to join us for the past two shows and we really missed them last night as we tried to eat all of the incredible snacks laid out inside the buffet-protector. We also missed watching them play before our set, a treat we have been taking for granted. In an effort to feel inspired we tried to play their songs in our warm ups. The show was great and even if it wasn’t the loudest or rowdiest or most energetic it was easily one of the tightest performances we managed.
Our hotel was right across the street from Kulturfabrik so right after pack-out we all crowded around Tristan’s four-poster bed to watch the formula 1 race. A great finish to our European leg of the tour and a great finish for Max Verstaffen.
Ready for the walk to the hotel: with eight beers strapped to his chest, a bag of washing, and some excellent cymbals, Tristan is prepared for anything.
The four poster bed doubles nicely as a washing line.