Let's Get Lost

Solitude 4.

We plow on through sweden,l loved the few days we spent there and head into norway. we have no norwegain currancy and get stuck at the toll booth at the border. l throw in any coins l have and we just bail straight through it.a camera goes off and gets me smiling at it.damn.
we have a 5 hour drive to the show at the bottom on norway and its all along a one road mountain ridge. everyone is already falling asleep and l'm terrifed we are just going to plummet to our death in the middle of norway.luckily its sunny and the weathers ok.
l thought the landscape in sweden were intense but norway is unreal. crazy mountains and rivers intertwining and going on for miles..l dont get much time to stop and take it all in but l'm in awe of some of the things l see.

Somewhere in Poland...this is by far the bleakest country l have ever been, its just misery everywhere l look, half the roads we are driving on are'nt even finished with huge mounds of rubble by the sides and on the road.
After about 3 hours of driving through the countryside with nothing but abandoned building and people selling what looks like rocks at the side of the road we finally come to civilsations.
perhaps l have judged poland too early, the city looks real nice and clean ,although trying to find somwhere to eat is a nightmare.
we get to the show and l see some food on the table for us so l dive in, just before l take a bit l look up at everyones faces and they just drop..l take a bite and its the worst thingl have ever tasted, its some kind of banana.rasin and tomato pasta concoction and is so grimm.l load up on bread and ask the promoter where l can make a phone call.
he shouts over his friend who kindly tells me that he needs to come with me as the area is very dangerous and l will get robbed if they hear l'm english.
l realise a phone call is not worth gettting stabbed for and politely decline using it.
the show is pretty busy and we start playing, straight away the front of the crowd which consists of huge skinhead men start thrashing and jumping around, l get knocked back into dans guitar and now l'm scared. these guys are laying waste to anyone on the way and my muscular 10 stone frame is no match so l just have to keep bobbing and moving not to get hit.
After the show it feels like my stomach is trying to eat its way out l'm so hungry. we wander round the town and find a fast food place. l feel like a total english idiot as l can't read the menu or understand what the staff are saying,the only vegetarian option l see is pizza and l sit down literally dying to eat.
the pizza arrives and l look in bewilderment, it basically a slice of bread with some cheese on top as the waitress come over and squits a big dollop of ketchup in the middle.
l cautiosly take a bite as l'm so hungry l could eat my own hands right about now so some weird pizza bread will have to do.
we head back to where we are staying, a huge room next to a porn shop.go figure.
l get into my sleeping bag on a cold wooden floor and thank god we are leaving tommorow.
Our last show is in east germany and its a million degrees in the venue, l am sweating just writing this. the show was real good though but once it finishes l grab everyone and we say goodbye and jump in the van, we have 12 hours to drive through 4 countries to get the ferry home.
It goes fine until we hit belguim., everyine is asleep and l cant see the road anymore, the lines and colour are blending into one, l start hallucinating and my eyes close every 2 seconds.
l jump keep on driving like a machine, l know we have to get this ferry so l keep going. l count at least 6 speed camers flash the van and l'm swerving all over the road but l'm still going.
by the time we are 50 miles from calais my eyes have melted into my brain, l cant focus on anything and l am pretty much half asleep all the way, l have been awake for 26 hours now and still have a 5 hour drive when we get into england.
we get to the ferry with 30 mins to spare,everyone wakes up and we decide to count the tour money,we have a stack but then dan decides to mention we owe his parents loads to fix the van before we got it which leaves fuck all left.everyone looks bummed and l worry how l m gonna pay rent.
Back on home turf l put my foot to the floor and head up the motorwayay, l dont care how tired l am l just wanna get home. the van starts making a weird noise and l think 'fuck' its gonna break down. if it does l'm pushing it home,l'd gone past the point of reason by now.
finally 4 hours later we pull into sheffield and load out.later when dan starts the van up, the engine starts smoking and melts and we have to scrap the van..l think the gods were looking down on us for at least one night,haha
l take my clothes off and get into bed,a real bed for the first time in 3 weeks is amazing.l close my eyes and my head's heavy full of memories, stories and good times. l smile and start to dream....