6/16
Morning in Bruges. Lizzy and Lena went shopping at the secondhand stores. Kate met with Gilbert, the magic man at the massage parlor down the street. RDs united for Belgian lunch of mussels and waffles.
Back in the car toward the next venue, Zennegat 13, in Mechelen, Belgium. We were told this place was hard to find. It doesn't even show up on Google maps. After ending up across the water from the venue, Kate ran into what appeared to be a men's social club to ask for directions. One of the men happened to be a former bartender at Zennegat and happily pointed us the right way. We ended up across the water from it, yet again, and carried our instruments across the walking bridge.
What we found was a small one room bar with a patio that opened to an expansive view of the river, fields, and sky. Jan, the bar manager, (think: Chocolat Johnny Depp + Willy Wonka Johnny Depp + Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp) gave us a quick hello between serving drinks and cooking food. Maybe this place was so hard to find because the locals want to keep it to themselves.
We played two acoustic sets in the narrow sunroom between the bar and the patio. People gathered around and joined in, including our friends Ingrid and Oswald from Radio Centraal.
When we finished playing, we got to talking with the folks outside. We even got offered accommodations for our next stay in Mechelen. Another irresistible offer came our way when Peter, aka Captain Sunset, said to Kate, "Would you all like to take a ride on the solar boat I built?" And off we went. With a motley crew from Zennegat 13, we boarded Captain Sunset's astro-turfed vessel. Last to board was Jan, who said he needed a ride downstream.
Powered by the solar panels overhead, we set off on our moonlit cruise, passing houseboats and frog croaks.
In the distance, in big bold letters on the the side of a docked boat we read Traumland (German for Dreamland). Our captain pulled up beside it and Jan hopped off. Jan lives on Traumland. Docked the boat and strolled back to Zennegat 13.
This night was a real Traum.
STSR
