Our ferry back to Albion wasn't till 2am on the Monday after the gig, so we'd all day Sunday to relax and explore Utrecht. We found parking near the edge of the business district and walked into the beautiful old town centre, and along the lovely canal. There were bars and restaurants all along the canal banks, all reached by steep steps down from the higher level roadways above, we stopped at one for a lovely lunch of omlettes and beer.
Not sure what it was for, but pretty!
About to leave the hotel
Blast from the past: Until about ten years ago,
C&A was a well-known high-street name in Britain,
but they subsequently closed all their UK stores and
withdrew to the continent. Still going strong in
Holland though!
We ate at a table right on the edge of the canal, and watched a procession of varied motor boats, canoes, pedal-boats, and ducks, floating gently past.
Watching all the boats floating past we decided we should take to the water too, and this couple very kindly directed us to where the pedal-powered "canal bikes" could be hired from. Cheers!
On the water
We decided to let these guys through first...
You find the weirdest things in canal tunnels!
A striking Goth couple on the bank
Venice-style gondola, complete with gondolier
Town + canal = bridges, lots of them!
A canal-bike, just like ours.
We helped these lasses tie up eventually.
When it was my turn to pedal, I found my size-11
New Rocks didn't really fit the pedals, so I took them
off and stuck them on the bow. I wonder if anyone took
any pictures of us?
Candia and Adam doing the pedaling
Hail Captain Beefheart!
Friendly tourists waved from the bridges
A rather nice canal-side pub, which we came
back to a bit later on (see below).
We tried the narrow bridge, and got stuck...
But the wide one was OK, fortunately!
Back to home base.
After the trip on the Canal Bike, we wandered round the city centre for a while longer, ending up in the rather nice pub we'd seen from the water.
This was the official Summer Darkness cruise
boat, playing a pounding EBM soundtrack as it
passed us.
We stopped for a drink at the "Dragon Bar"
Tony and Candia chatting to a fan at the steps.
The pub cat, sleeping beneath a chair
The gondolier again, with fresh passengers
Just as we left the Dragon Bar, a heavy, drenching rain started. For a moment, we looked for cover, but realising it wasn't actually that cold, we decided just to walk through the rain, carrying on down the canal until we came to the pub we'd spotted earlier.
Water off a duck's back?
In the pub
There were two black cats, and two little dogs too!
There was an oil-lamp on the table, so we
lit it for a touch of heat to dry off a bit.
The pub, with the landlady and a dog.
Utrecht is a beautiful place.
The last pub we stopped at.
Themed display at a local bookshop.
All too soon, it was time to head back to the van and start the long drive back to France, and the ferry home. Gloucester to Utrecht is over 400 miles, but it was worth it. The Dutch people we met were without exception friendly and helpful, the organisers, sound and lighting engineers, and everyone else involved in running the festival were brilliant, and Summer Darkness is definetly a festival worth attending. The whole thing was brilliant, huge thanks to everyone involved!
On the vehicle deck.
A fond farewell to France and the European mainland.
The End.
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