Spring Break in Switzerland: Girls Do Not Go Wild

Since I'm on vacation right now, and can't seem to sleep in past 7:00AM, I have plenty of time for writing and as this is my first time out of the country I have plenty to write about.

Switzerland is an interesting place. Three official national languages, French, German and Itallian. I would presume that kids have to learn all three in school, but someone from, say, the German region of Switzerland will speak to someone in the Itallian region in English rather than Itallian (and vice versa). It works out well for me since I am in the Itallian region and I don't speak a word of Itallian. I don't speak much French or German either but I have a base level of framiliarity with them from school.

I'm staying in Locarno with my dad and step-mom at one of the condos her family owns. My step-mom's parents and sister are also here in town and they are showing me around. I've heard it said that Locarno is like the Miami Beach of Switzerland but aside from the occasional palm tree the scenery here is remarkably similar to Western Washington (mountains and lakes, covered in lots of trees) so I feel right at home. It is somewhat of a resort town, but we are here before "the season" really starts. Another analogy I've heard that's a bit more accurate is that Locarno is a lot like Carmel, California if it were relocated to the Lake Chelan, Washington.

The Carmel analogy brings up another point about Switzerland; everything costs (at least) twice as much in Switzerland as anywhere else in the world. Before I came here my best friend, who's dad is Swiss (German) and therefore she spent every summer here as a kid, told me that the Swiss are big on three things: money, chocolate and guns. Everyone knows the superiority of Swiss chocolate and I haven't noticed much obsession with guns (which could be because I don't understand anything the people are saying, maybe they are all talking about their gun collections), but there is a higher concentration of banks here than I've seen anywhere else in my life. In Lugano, there are about 15 banks within a two block radius of the main square and it's not just that they are all concentrated in that one spot because we saw several more on the way out of town.

Another thing there are in large concentration here is churches. In one little alpine village we went to there were at least 5 that I saw. We went up to the very top of Monte Bre, where there are no houses around for several kilometers, and there was a chuch there. Seriously, it would be a hike to get there from any of the closest homes, and not a super easy hike either. We drove up as far as we could and even from there it was a bit of a hike to get to the top where the church was.



This first picture is of the restaurant (we drove to) that is nearly at the top of Monte Bre, taken from down in Lugano by the lake. The drive up to that restaurant is...I was going to say interesting, but thinking back on it the only word that comes to mind is frightening. It's a single lane, switchback road, carved into the side of one of the steepest hills I've seen. What's interesting though is that near the bottom the houses are built so close they're practically on top of each other. Space is so tight that they park their cars on the roofs of their houses. Of course, everything here is built on or into the side of a mountain, almost the entire country is in the Alps, but I wouldn't want to have to park my car on the roof of my house or to commute up and down that road.



The view from the top though is amazing. This picture doesn't quite do it justice because it's hazy with smog from Milan which is close enough to see from this mountain, except that we couldn't see it, again, because of the smog.



I was a total tourist in Lugano, Monte Bre, and Bellinzona and I took pictures of everything. I took about a million pictures at Bellinzona Castle, but seriously, a castle is a way cooler tourist attraction than, say, guys throwing fish which people take pictures of in Seattle all the time. Okay, I admit I took a bunch of pictures of random stuff in the streets too. I also got post cards so if you want me to send you one, unless you're 100% certain I already have your address, e-mail me.

Getting There

Some things of note about getting there:

I had a layover at London Heathrow airport. Everyone I knew who'd flown through Heathrow said that connecting flights almost never leave from the same terminal you arrived at so what seems like a long time between flights (almost 2 hours) is really just barely enough time to get from one plane to the next. My connecting flight however did leave from the same terminal as my arriving flight so I got to sit in Heathrow airport which struck me as remarkably similar to any number of other airports I'd been in with the noteable exception of the fact that the departures board doesn't list the gate that the flights are leaving from until about 15 minutes prior to take off.

I won't be seeing London (except from the air) for another month or so, but I've been hearing about it for ages and not just tips about connecting flights through Heathrow. One of my best mates (to use the local jargon) is from a town near Reading and she's been telling me about London since I met her (almost 4 years ago). The main thing most people (both natives and foreign travelers to the UK) note about England is that the food there is really bad. I've heard it said that there are only two things the Brits do well: tea and sandwhiches. That's not really the kind of warning that works on me as I happen to love tea and sandwhiches. Tea, as a meal, with mini sandwhiches and pastries on a three tiered plate, is one of my favorite things. Tea and sandwhiches may be the thing I'm looking forward to most about London. Even on the plane, British Airways by the way, the tea and sandwhiches were good.

But London is more than a month away and right now I'm in Switzerland. I can't tell you much about it though as my entire time here so far has been spent in the airport or on trains after dark. Or asleep, but not much that.

Instead of being exhausted (having only slept about 4 hours in two days), I just can't sleep at all. I got up at 6:30AM on Monday back in Seattle because I had a final to take at 8:30AM. My plane took off at 7:30PM and 16 hours later I got off the train in Locarno (at about 9:30PM local time). I couldn't get to sleep and I couldn't stay asleep. So, here I sit watching the sun rise over Lago Majora (in the Swiss/Itallian Alps). I imagine I'll be paying for the sleep deprivation in a couple of days, but right now I think this isn't such a bad way to start my vacation.

Those pillars really tie the room together man.

Contingent in my resolution to see more live music and travel more is the fact that I might have to do those things alone because I resolved to travel to the places I want to go to and to see the live music that I want to see and not everyone, certainly not all of my friends and family, shares my tastes.

So, this past Friday I ended up by myself at Lebowski Fest at the Showbox. Now, I like the movie (The Big Lebowski), but I had my reservations about the music. There were two opening bands, The Fucking Eagles, and Har Mar Superstar and I'd never heard either of them so I didn't know what to expect.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. The first thing I have to talk about is the Showbox. It's a venue that I've never really appreciated. Most Seattlites that like live music love the Showbox. It's the favorite venue of several people I know, but I never really liked it. My first complaint was the smoke. My second complaint is the fact that there's next to no seating in the Showbox. The first has been solved by the smoking ban recently passed in Seattle but the second is still a problem. However, you can get seats if you just go to the attached Green Room for a drink first because there's a connecting door and they let people in through the Green Room before they open the main doors.

So, now, I'm a convert. I love the Showbox. You walk in under a huge chandelier and on either side are raised up bar areas with four bars in total. All of the seating is in the raised bar areas so, for the most part, the view from those seats is pretty great. Straight ahead as you walk in is a large circular floor area (with no seats) and then the stage. The walls are painted blood red and there are lighted pillars that look like hibiscus flowers. In the bar area to the right of the stage there's a photo booth. It's a really cool vibe that I never noticed before this Friday (despite having seen at least 7 shows there).

Now, on to the show. The Fucking Eagles were amazing. They're a local band (from Tacoma) and they totally surprised me. Their music is sort of rockabillyesque but with a bit harder edge and they are funny and, of course, they say fuck a lot which is always hilarious.

The second act, Har Mar Superstar wasn't that great, was funny when talking, but almost completely incomprehensible when singing. Luckily, being at the show alone meant that I met some interesting people to talk to during the more boring parts of his set. Being there by myself sort of made me a target for being picked up on by guys, but that's not so bad. Cute boys flirting with me didn't exactly detract from the concert going experience.

The movie was, of course, fantastic although I would kind of prefer to watch it at home without a crowd full of people quoting it in, not quite, unison. But it's an experience to go to something like Lebowski Fest and the crowd participation is part of that experience.

All in all it was a great way to spend my last Friday night in Seattle before embarking on my European adventure.

Ain't Nothing Wrong With Robert Randolph

The title of this blog is taken from the lyrics to a song by Robert Randolph and the Family Band. So, I think I'd be remiss if I didn't write about their show last night at the Showbox.

First of all, it was impossible to get decent pictures because Robert Randolph and the Family band put on a really high energy show. In other words, they move around a lot, so much that even the flash doesn't help, though flash pictures are a waste of time at the Showbox because of the lighting there. Everything taken with a flash looks almost sepia toned. I did manage to get one decent picture though.

If you've never seen Robert Randolph and the Family band play live you're really missing out. A lot of bands are better live and that's certainly true in this case, but it's more than that. They are like a completely different band live. If you're familiar with their music you might not even recognize it in their live show. I wouldn't really classify them as a "jam band" but, they jam. A lot. And it's fantastic.

Having said that, I don't think the Showbox is the best venue for them. They need a bigger stage and, I think, an outdoor venue would suit them better. The first time I saw them they were opening for Drive by Truckers and the Black Crowes at the White River Amphitheater and that venue was great for them. In fact they totally stole the show, in my opinion. I was lucky enough to be sitting in, possibly, the best seat in the house at that show and, even though the audience was practically empty for the opening acts, it was still some of the best live music I've seen. Normally I think a large part of what makes live music so great is the energy of the audience, but Robert Randolph and the Family Band put out so much energy of their own that the audience energy is almost superfluous.

Now that I think back on that show at White River, I think not only do they need a bigger stage and an outdoor venue but they need daylight. While the atmosphere at the Showbox is great I don't think it suits them. I hope they come back in the summertime and play at the Gorge, or White River, or the Pier (are they bringing back Summer Nights at the Pier???), but even at the Showbox, even on such a small stage, they're still better than 90% of the other acts out there. If you get the chance to see them live, do it, you won't regret it.

The Mountain Goats! Thrilling!

There are no words for how amazing the Mountain Goats show last night at Triple Door was, but being a wordy sort of gal I'm going to try to find some anyway.

This was my first time seeing the Mountain Goats and my first time seeing anything at Triple Door. I say that because there's a mystique about seeing one of your favorite bands live for the first time and there is also a mystique about going to a really cool venue for the first time and those things definitely had an effect on my impression of the show.

Having said that though, it was possibly the best show I've ever been to and to give you some context for that, here is a list of concerts I've been to:

Madonna (at the King Dome)
New Kids on the Block (at the King Dome)
Alanis Morisette (at the Paramount Theater)
Steve Miller (at the Gorge)
Alanis Morisette (at the Gorge)
Ringo Starr and the All Star Band (at the Pier)
Indigo Girls (doing Jesus Christ Superstar, at the Pier)
No Doubt, Beck, The Posies, etc. (Endfest 1996)
Blues Traveller (at Memorial Stadium)
Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Joni Mitchell (at the Gorge)
Modest Mouse, and Death Cab for Cutie (at the Showbox)
Built to Spill, and Death Cab for Cutie (I think also at the Showbox but it might have been the Pier II)
Pedro the Lion, and Death Cab for Cutie (at the Pier II)
John Hiatt (at the Pier)
Modest Mouse (at the Paramount Theater)
The Who (at the Gorge)
BB King (at the Paramount Theater)
Chuck Berry (at the EMP Sky Church)
Fire Marshalls of Bethlehem, The Daylight Titans, and The Rite Flyers (at Stubbs)
Coldplay (at Key Arena)
Black Crowes, Drive by Truckers, and Robert Randolph and the Family Band (at White River Ampitheater)
The Who (at Key Arena)
Augustana (at The Showbox)
The President's of the USA (at The Showbox)
Snow Patrol (at Key Arena)

That's not all the concerts I've been to, certainly it doesn't include any of the times I saw my dad's band play or friend's bands play (with the exception of Death Cab for Cutie which my ex and I used to go see because we'd gone to school with their bass player but now that they are huge rock stars they count), but it's most of the shows I've been to and certainly all of the truly memorable ones. The only ones that even come close to last nights Mountain Goats show were The Who (at the Gorge) and Bob Dylan. I'll admit there are some great acts, some of my favorites, that I've missed out on seeing live that might have trumped The Mountain Goats (U2, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead for example). There are stories of regret about great shows I missed.

The Grateful Dead came to Seattle for Memorial Day weekend in 1995 when I was a Junior in High School. My mom said we should go to one of the shows (they played 4 shows, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday), but I had to work, she said I should just call in sick, blow off work, and go to the concert anyway, but The Grateful Dead had been touring pretty much constantly for decades and I figured I'd have another chance to see them. Four months later Jerry Garcia died.

Pink Floyd won't come to Seattle anymore, there's some story about why, they actually refuse to and haven't come to Seattle since sometime in the early 70s (i.e. before I was born). So, the closest they've been is Vancouver (Canada), and the last time they came that close I was still in High School. Chances are pretty good that my mother would have taken me to Vancouver to see them, though it would have meant skipping school, but I was in a play at the time and I didn't want to miss rehearsal so I didn't go. I think that was the last time Pink Floyd really toured, certainly it was the last time they ever came near enough to Seattle for me to go.

There was always something more important, it seemed, than seeing my favorite bands play. This year though I decided that I wasn't going to live my life that way anymore. If I have regrets I want them to be about things I've done not things I didn't do. So, last January I decided to fly to Austin to see an episode of my favorite television show and some great live music. I decided to do a study abroad program even though it seemed wildly irresponsible and that decision is the genesis of this blog. And I decided that I wasn't going to miss anymore of my favorite bands. Even if it means travelling great distances, even if it means paying ridiculous prices for tickets, even if it means taking days off from work. The Mountain Goats show was part of my living life to its fullest, for the thrill of it, to quote Robert Randolph (and the title of this blog incidentally).

So, enough about my concert going history. The show, last night, was amazing. To start with the opening act as great. My friend Ivy and I were talking about how there aren't a lot of really great girl bands. We are both big music fans, and we share a love of classic rock and punk and we were talking about our top 5 favorite bands ever (because we were at the Mountain Goats show and they are one of my favorites). Neither of us had a single woman represented on our top 5. Now, this band, that opened for The Mountain Goats, isn't probably going to crack our top 5 lists but they were really good and all girls. They are called Pony Up and they definitely have a girl band style but with sort of a folk/punk fun element to it that makes it interesting. They were funny, the lead singer came out wearing no shoes and the guitar player was so short she had to stand on tip toes to sing into her mic. In fact, they were all very petite girls, tiny actually.

In addition to that, the Triple Door is an amazing venue. I suppose it's a venue that only works for a certain type of show, a more mellow type of show, but it really is such a cool place that I wish every show I see could be there. The mellowness factor, which I'd heard about prior to going, was the main reason I decided to see The Mountain Goats there rather than at Neumo's (where they played on Thursday night), but now I wish I'd gone with my original plan to got to both shows. Now, I think if The Mountain Goats played every night I would go. John Darnielle is a lyrical genius. He's also, kind of a spaz in a totally adorable way which I should have guessed would be the case given his music. He writes these amazing songs with lyrics that are pessimistic and cynical often to the point of being downright depressing but the music and the way he sings them has so much hope and optimism in it that the resulting songs are kind of hilarious and spazzy in a totally adorable way. The Mountain Goats have, or more specifically John Darnielle has, a sort of cultish following so the energy in the crowd (which is one of the best things about live music) was really great, maybe not quite as great as the energy you get from a crowd at a Who concert when they start in to Baba O'Riley, but still pretty amazing. I normally hate songs with depressing lyrics and upbeat music but he makes it work and people connect with his music in a way that I've never seen before. I don't know that I'd say he has charisma, but something like it, something more accessible.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any great pictures of The Mountain Goats. I took a few, but I don't really like to use a flash with my digital camera, I don't like the unnatural look it gives digital pictures. So, I take pictures without a flash and I have to take way more of them to get ones that are good. I got some pretty good shots of Pony Up but their lighting was brighter and I took way more pictures during their set because I wasn't as absorbed in their show as I was once The Mountain Goats came out. Hopefully, I'll have many more opportunities to see The Mountain Goats and get pictures, but if not at least I will never have to regret not having gone to see them in the first place.

Itinerary

I'm leaving for Europe in a little over a week and I'm a little apprehensive about it. Last week, I was, all of the sudden, terrified. I sort of panicked. I hadn't gotten my passport yet and I was worried about that, and I was worried about money and not having a job when I get back, but my passport came on Monday and what the hell, you only live once, you have to enjoy it. So, I'm excited now and you can look forward to updates and pictures as soon as I have some. For now, here is my itinerary:

Monday, March 12th I leave for Zurich at 7:30PM, I have an hour and a half lay over at Heathrow and I arrive in Zurich at around 4:30PM March 13th. From there I may take a train to Locarno or my parents may meet me and I may drive up to Locarno with them. I'll be staying in Locarno with my family for about a week and travelling around in Southern Switzerland and Northern Italy.

On Sunday, March 18th we're driving over to Munich and I start my intensive language classes on the 19th.

My step-mom is from Wulfenbutel and she and my dad are going to be visiting her parents there so the first weekend (March 23rd-25th) I'm going to go to Wulfenbutel and stay with them.

The following weekend I'm going to Prague and the weekend after that to Belgium (hopefully to see the Tour of Flanders).

I finish my language program on April 13th and on April 15th I fly from Munich to London where I'll be staying with friends for a few days.

Then on April 19th I fly to Granada for 5 days in Spain. I'll be in Granada for a couple nights and then Barcelona and Girona for a couple nights and then back to Granada before flying back to London on April 24th.

Wednesday April, 25th I fly to Dublin and then I'll work my way across Ireland stopping at least in Limerick (and possibly some other places) on my way to Shannon where I'll fly back to London again on April 30th and then back to Seattle from London on May 1st.

If I do have money left I may change my return flight and stay another week or two. I'd like to have more time in Spain or go to France, but right now, the plan is to come back on May 1st.