My alarm was set for 9.00am but I woke at 8.00am so I had a shower and the included breakfast. Obviously all the hungry people had already eaten as there was hardly anything left! I had the last roll. I went back to my room and did some work for an hour or so as it's only a couple of hours drive to Mainz.
I checked out at 11.00am and just pottered along the autobahn as I had loads of time. I pulled into a parking area and sat reading in the sun for a couple of hours looking over fields which was lovely (see photo).
I got to Mainz at about 4.30pm. It's a lovely German city with loads of trees. I couldn't find the Zitadelle at first but I assumed that it was Citadel in English and they are usually built on a hill so I headed upwards and saw the entrance.
By this time it was lashing down with rain so I sat in the car as I don't like being right at the front of a concert anyway. I ventured out at about 5.30pm (the gates opened at 6.00pm) and there was just a mass of people around the entrance (as my Europeans friends say, it's only the English that queue!).
They opened the gates at about 6.00pm and I was about 400th in but I just wandered towards the front and managed to get in the third "row" on Kasim's side quite easily. Again there was no pushing and there was a lovely atmosphere of people just there to enjoy themselves. One woman near me had two young children with her and several people at various times in the concert put them on their shoulders so they could see better. (Unfortunately I got kicked in the head once by the little girl!)
The first opening act was the same girl who opened in Bonn (I think she's called Valentino). Next there was a guy from Manchester called Mark Gillespie who was really funny. He had a running gag about his CD being for sale and he played an acoustic guitar. He didn't have much of a Manchurian accent and a German later said that he spoke German with no accent.
I'll add a full review at http://www.KasimInfo.com/2005/06/25.html but this was a great concert. It looked like all the band and Meat Loaf were having fun on stage. The concert was also the longest of the tour so far as it lasted 98 minutes. Kasim was wearing a really lovely lilac coloured shirt that set off his colouring so well!
I stayed around and chatted to some people after the concert and left at about 10.30pm. In the centre of Mainz there was a large fairground and place where there were loads of stalls that were even open at that time of the evening! I really wish I was staying in Mainz so that I could have explored the city more.
I then found the autobahn and started my drive home. As I was thirsty I stopped for a drink at the first garage I found. As I was getting out of my car I heard someone calling out about "damn foreigners" - thankfully it was someone I knew!
It was supposed to be about five and a half hours to Calais but at one point we were turfed off the A4 as they were doing roadworks overnight. Sometimes I find driving quite easy but today it was an effort (not helped by the fact it's the 8th anniversary of John's death today) so I stopped a few times for catnaps.
I got to Calais at 5.55am and caught the 6.40am sailing. It wasn't too crowded but was bitterly cold on board (they hadn't turned the air conditioning down and the rain had cold the temperatures). Of course when we docked at Dover it was cloudy...as usual!
I got home by 9.00am so I managed some sleep before I started work at noon although it was tough working through until 11.30pm tonight!.
Mileage today: 574 miles
Tour total (in my car) –4, 073 miles
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