Day 4 & 5, Wulfringhausen to Hamm

Morgen all from Hamm, the venue for our lovely little house concert last night, and home to an excellent collection of figurines, two of whom I was having a chat to this morning. I can't remember what exactly we were talking about, but it was great banter nonetheless, language barriers aside...

So it only took me 4 days, and already I'm offering my apologies for a missing blog.... We we had limited internet access yesterday in the German outback, but with scenery like this you can't blame us for taking a little break from the world of computer screens et al...

A big thanks to Anna and Matthias for arranging and hosting the concert on Friday (actually in and old Farmouse in Wulfringhausen, just near Sundern...), and for taking the time to show us around the area the next day. Some beautiful woodland areas and hill-country in this part of Germany, and it was nice to get a bit of fresh air away from the cities and autobahns, even if I do like watching Alpha Romeos fly past the drivers side window at 300km/h... There is something about a pine forest that seems magical to me. Perhaps because the Australian bushland is so rugged by comparison, and there is a touch of the childhood fairytale about a pristine European pine forest. Whatever the case, you can't help but feel a real sense of connection to the world around you when you stand silently in a place like this. Hopefully this is the first of many trips to similar locations throughout the tour.

Last night's concert in Hamm was a lovely evening in the living room of Sabine and Wilfred, friends of the Vondo family who hosted my old mate Brett Winterford when he toured here last year. An unexpected surprise as well to be joined by Dom and Tine of Lauscher, a local band here in Hamm, who played some wonderful tunes to start the night, including a song with Tina on the saw! A musical saw in fact, which looks like a normal saw only it has been made to sound a lot better... I've heard about people playing saws and seen photos/videos etc, but I've never had the opportunity to see it live. Quite an amazing discovery, as was the home made apple strudel I found in the kitchen at the end of the concert. One thing about Germany - they really know what to do with apples here! And pastry for that matter. In the presence of such greatness, I am defenceless... This does not bode well for the waistline come November....

A great start to the tour so far. 5 gigs down, plenty more to come, but a couple of rest days in Hamburg now which I'm looking forward to...

See you soon... x

PS - One more pic from the German outback.....