Dandelion Wine at Warsaw Skład Butelek 17th August 2013

Two days before this small gig, I'd neither heard of Australian (male-female) duo Dandelion Wine nor the small but interestingly decorated Skład Butelek club over the river in the 'Bohemian-type' Praga district of Warsaw.  However, I've got to say that I really enjoyed both Dandelion Wine, who gave a very uplifting 90-100 minute set despite having driven from Berlin for most of the day, and the 'avant-garde' type decor of the Skład Butelek club.

So how did I come to discover Dandelion Wine a couple of days before this small Warsaw gig?  Well, I'd just got back off a weeklong holiday in the Balkans, and a good friend e-mailed telling me about the Dandelion Wine gig, and that the band were well worth checking out on Youtube.  So the latter I duly did, and immediately connected with the band's kind of hybrid Gothic-Folk-Electronic-Rock sound, as in 'Thin Air':

Before the gig I got to quickly speak with the duo (Naomi Henderson and Nicholas Albanis) who after asking me where I was from, told me about seeing My Bloody Valentine at Manchester Apollo where I'd seen my first gig, UFO on the 'No Place To Run' tour, about 34 years ago.  How time flies with all types of beautiful music, as diverse and as UFO and Dandelion Wine.

Finally, must stress that Nicholas and Naomi are incredibly multi-talented musicians, Naomi fluctuating between flute, recorder, percussion, keyboards, and vocals, while Nicholas switched between dulcimers, guitars, and several other things that I'm not capable of naming. 

The Mostar 'Old Bridge', Bosnia and Herzegovina

Another highlight of my recent Balkans trip was seeing the 'Old Bridge' over the Nereteva River in Mostar.  The bridge was originally built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, but had to be reconstructed after being destroyed during the recent Balkans conflict.  It was also interesting to read that Mostar is named after the old bridge-keepers who used to guard the 'Old Bridge' ('Stari Most').  The picture below captures something of the mood of tourists walking over the 'Old Bridge':

Plitvice National Park, Croatia

One of the highlights of my recent Balkans trip was a short hike round the Plitvice Lakes in central Croatia, near the border with Bosnia.  A quick raincheck with Wikipedia tells me that this magical land of waterfalls; turquoise-coloured lagoons; and friendly fish was formally established in 1949 and became an official UNESCO site in 1979.  Yes, I would say that this place is well worth a visit:

My Favourite Beer in Croatia

Just back from a short tour of Croatia; Bosnia; and Montenegro, and the beer above, which I supped after a hot and thirsty trek round the Plitvicka National Park in Croatia went down a real treat.  It was a lager with a bitter taste, my favourite kind of beer.  Thus, for me, it was head and shoulders above any of the other beers I tried on my recent little tour of the Balkans.

Triumph in Adversity

I came across this picture on a boarding outside the National Football Stadium in Warsaw on Saturday.  For me, the picture in itself says it all about the human ability to triumph in adversity.

The National Football Stadium, Warsaw

Had a really good time crossing the river and just walking around the National Football Stadium in Warsaw yesterday.  The last time I was down here was about three or four years ago, and the stadium was in the process of being built (in reality, they seem to have restored the old dilapidated stadium that stood down here). 

Must say that I was impressed with the National Stadium, as it looks powerfully built and it has a kind of majestic presence.  I'm really looking forward to coming down here on August 20th to see Roger Waters do 'The Wall' which should be fantastic:

Yesterday, it was all bright sunshine down at the National Football Stadium, and I even managed to get a shot of a hot air balloon in the distance:

Yes, all in all, the Warsaw National Football Stadium is well worth a stroll on a mid-summer afternoon.

The Red-Bricked Neo-Gothic Church in Ochota, Warsaw

The red-bricked, neo-Gothic church above lies in the Ochota district of Warsaw, and last weekend, I finally got round to taking a few shots of it.