For the Thrill of It

Live music, Live theater, Live musical theater

2008-01-08T00:50:00.000-08:00

When I started this blog it was to chronicle my experiences doing all the things I'd always wanted to do but, for whatever reason, had not done as much as I'd have liked. The main things that fall into that category are live music, live theater and travelling.

It occurs to me right now that I was able to combine all three last April. I went to Dublin with a friend of mine and we went to see Sweeny Todd (live musical theater). It was a really fantastic show and it was the first time I'd ever seen it, and I got to see the first ever Irish professional production of it.

This past weekend I saw the latest film version of it too and it's an interesting comparison. I think ultimately I preferred the stage version. I've finally come to the realization that I don't much care for Tim Burton's directorial style. Not that I even think it's bad, I can see the good things about it, I just don't personally like them.

Tim Burton films are very stylized and the style is, as my friend likes to say, very animated. The translation of that politeness is that his films are like cartoons and the characters are really caricatures. Johnny Depp, who, in non Tim Burton films, often exhibits an amazing range as an actor plays a fairly one dimensional Sweeny Todd. As I've seen Johnny Depp in a lot of films and am often impressed by his nuanced acting I can only assume this one dimensional characterization is a result of direction more than anything.

However, Helena Bohnam Carter and Ed Sanders give surprisingly layered performances given the style of the film. The kid is one of the few clearly sympathetic characters in the source material regardless of the skill of the actor or the choices of the director. He's been rescued from the work house only to be indentured to an abusive boss who is then murdered at which point he's taken in by kind hearted woman who bakes human meat into her meat pies and, well, you get the idea, he's had a hard life.

The character of Mrs Lovett though, is not so clearly sympathetic. In fact, in the stage version I saw she seemed pure evil and any horrible thing that befell her I felt was deserved. In that stage production Sweeny Todd was the sympathetic character. No mater how many eveil deeds he did I still felt sorry for him, felt like he'd been driven to his madness. In this film version I felt exactly the opposite. Helena Bonham Carter takes the role of Mrs Lovett and makes her into someone of great feeling. She's really quite spectacular in this role.

Could be another directorial choice, to portray Mrs Lovett as more sympathetic than Sweeny Todd, but I wonder. I wonder if she just went her own way with it. Her performance seems so out of place in the picture. The hair, and makeup, and set design, etc, all combine to create a certain feel that her emotional and layered performance doesn't seem to fit. Johnny Depp's single layered portrayal of Sweeny Todd is much more in line with the tone set by Burton and indicative of what I've now decided I don't like about Tim Burton movies.

Incidentally, on my crusade to see more live theater, I also saw Jersey Boys this past weekend which was brilliant, though as largely expositional as you'd expect a play with the tag line "ask four guys, you get four different answers" to be, and I've also been enjoying the new season at the Seattle Rep. On the live music front, the Dropkick Murphys are coming to town next month. And as for the travelling, I'm planning a trip back to Europe in May this year. Perhaps I should call those things my New Year resolutions. I don't generally make New Year Resolutions but for trying to keep in touch with my friends and family better (and I'm generally not even successful at that one). At least these promises to myself are ones that I know I can keep.

Culture Shocks

2007-10-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

Lest you think I've gone into hibernation since returning from Europe you should know that in the last week and a half I've been to two plays and a Pogues show. The latter was pretty much the highlight.

I'll admit that going to the Pogues show seemed like more of a novelty in the beginning. Not that I don't love the Pogues, I'm a big fan, and I wouldn't spend fifty bucks on a ticket to their show just for the opportunity to possibly get puked on by Shane MacGowan. I do love the Pogues, but with everything you hear about Shane MacGowan's...um...stage presence, I wouldn't expect a lot from a live Pogues show. I'd expect it to be amazing just because it's always amazing to see one of your favorite bands live even if they don't put on the best show anymore.

The show, and MacGowan in particular, exceeded my expectations. At first, MacGowan lived down to his reputation. He came out on stage and seemed pretty out of it, kind of incoherent. He would sing a couple songs and then leave the stage for a song or two. About half way through the show though, he got a hold on it and he sang the remainder of the show almost coherently.

They did two encores and ended the show with Fiesta which is, I think, my favorite Pogues' song, and by that point MacGowan really shined. I have to say he did pretty good with Dirty Old Town too which is another of my favorites, but Fiesta was the show stopper in more ways than one.

While the Pogues show was the clear highlight I've also been enjoying the new season at the Seattle Repertory Theater as well. Last year I bought season tickets as part of my renewed interest in...life. I'd decided to see more concerts and plays and to travel more and that's what this blog has been all about. It's about my doing things I love ("for the thrill of it").

So, Twelfe Night was the first show of the season this year and I went to see it last weekend. While I love Shakespear and this production was great, that was last weekend and this weekend I saw Murderers (also at the Rep). Murderers is one of the funniest plays I've seen (and I've seen a lot of plays).

Murderers is staged in the Rep's Leo K Theater which is a bit smaller than the Rep's "main" stage, the Bagley Wright Theater. I definitely prefer seeing shows in smaller theaters (except for musicals) because there's a better audience energy. There's more of a give and take between the actors and audience in a smaller theater and this show especially relies on that because it is all monologue so the only people the actors can play off of are the audience members.

The show is still playing through November 4th so, if you live in Seattle, or are planning to visit this week, you should see this play, you won't be sorry.

Delayed reaction

2007-06-21T11:01:00.001-07:00

I don't know why it's taken me this long to write something about the Supersuckers show at the Tractor Tavern. It was almost two weeks ago. Maybe because I'd seen them, and written about it, less than a week prior, or maybe because my attentions have been diverted to other creative endeavors the past couple weeks and I've now hit a giant snag there in the form of writers block that I can't seem to shake. Whatever the reason I didn't write about it before, I'm ready to write about it now.

You might think it odd that I'd go see the same band twice in a week. Die hard fans won't. People who saw both Pearl Jam shows at the Gorge, or all three Dave Matthews shows, or Dead Heads, but other people might. The Supersuckers put on almost the exact same set at the Tractor that they'd done a week before. So, what's the big attraction? Well, there's the charisma I talked about before of course. Even when the set is almost identical, it's still brilliant, and funny, and it still rocks more than most shows. Also, seeing the Supersuckers at the Tractor is like seeing Death Cab for Cutie at the Showbox or, I imagine, like seeing the Cubs play at Wrigley (and with all the times I've been to Chicago, and my feelings about baseball, you'd think I'd know first hand about that, but I don't); It's the home stage advantage. At least that's the feeling you get watching them there, like they've come home and they're really enjoying it.

Finally, the Tractor Tavern is simply a great place. I'd only been there one other time. It's an odd place. You walk in there and you think there's no way you'll be able to see the stage unless you push your way to the front of the crowd. I'm am most certainly not a push my way to the front of the crowd kind of girl. I like to find a seat, somewhere where I can actually see the stage. I know, it's not very rock and roll of me to want to sit down while I watch live music, but I am the way I am. The initial impression though, that you won't be able to see from anywhere other than right next to the stage, couldn't be more wrong. You can see the stage from everywhere.

You can't beat a great band at a great venue (with the home stage advantage). Viel Spaß!

Cheese toast: The meaning of life.

2007-06-07T20:53:00.001-07:00

I finally graduated from college yesterday. An event which, while thrilling, fills me with abject terror because it leaves me without a goal. So, instead of examining that I'm going to focus on the one thing I've really learned in the last 10 years.

Toaster ovens are far better than toasters. For some people it may seem obvious but others may be thinking, how big can the difference really be? It's just toast. Those people could not be more wrong.

Sure toast is just toast. That's all a regular toaster can make though. Your toaster oven, however, can make all sorts of things. Most things that you can bake in a regular oven you can also cook in a toaster oven, just in smaller quantities.

The two best things about the toaster over though are cheese toast and s'mores. I bet you didn't know that you could toast marshmallows in a toaster oven. All you need is parchment paper which will allow the marshmallows to toast on both sides while also keeping them from melting through the grate.

Cheese toast is self explanatory. I like to put mustard on mine. Sure, you can make toast in a regular toaster and put mustard and cheese on it after it's done, but the cheese won't get all melty and what's cheese toast that isn't melty.

Okay, maybe I've learned a few more things, both in college and in life, but the most important thing is the toaster oven principle.

I like it all man

2007-06-03T23:06:00.000-07:00

I saw the Supersuckers last night. It was sort of culmination in some ways of the last 6 months of my life. Back in late December a friend of mine recommended the Supersuckers to me. Actually, it was someone I barely knew at the time, but I trusted his taste in music because I knew he was a Who fan. So, I checked out the Supersuckers and immediately loved them and made it my goal to see them live (also ensuring the status of said friend as the best person in the world to go to for music recommendations). I missed the chance to see them in Munich, but luckily they're a local band for me so another opportunity presented itself this weekend.

I went with one of my best friends and we couldn't help getting into a conversation afterwords about the importance of stage presence. Now, of course, I love the music on its own, but live it's just different. Some bands you love and then you see them live and it sort of falls flat. You still love the music but the band doesn't have any charisma. The Supersuckers are not one of those bands. Eddie Spaghetti has so much stage presence that it's like a joke at the expense of all other musicians...or at least the ones that have to play before him.

The stage presence conversation lead to discussion of musical genres. My friend asked what genre I'd put the Supersuckers in and I had trouble with that question. I said they're sort of punk, sort of country, sort of pop, sort of rockabilly. She called it "ironic rock" which is a great label, though I think their country is more ironic than their rock. They kind of defy genre, but not in the art housey incomprehensible way, in a different, yet equally specific way that I like a lot.

Regrettably, I forgot to bring my camera and consequently didn't get any pictures. So, you'll just have to trust me, it was a great show. They're playing another show this Friday. Hopefully I'll get some pictures at that one.

7 Wonders

2007-05-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

There's a movement afoot to create a new 7 wonders of the world and apparently more than 45 million people have already voted. I like the idea of the New 7 Wonders and I even appreciate that anyone with an e-mail address can vote for them. The original 7 wonders had their titles conferred on them by academics in ancient times, only one is still standing, and there hasn't been much agreement on what should replace those wonders that have fallen, which means there hasn't really been a list of 7 wonders in well over a thousand years. It's about time there was a new list.

I do find it odd that one of the criteria for the new wonders is they have to have been built or discovered prior to 2000. That opens it up pretty wide, allowing for the inclusion of the Sydney Opera House (built in 1954) among the possible contenders. I'm not saying the Sydney Opera House isn't a fascinating piece of architecture, and I haven't seen it up close so maybe I shouldn't say anything, but it's not exactly awe inspiring. Also, included on the list of candidates are the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, which are, perhaps, slightly more awe inspiring than the Sydney Opera House, but not much.

I would think the candidates would be structures that are grand in scope and have been around for ages. For me the architecturally interesting factor is multiplied exponentially if it's old, perhaps ahead of it's time, perhaps spanning multiple architectural styles and time periods. Having an interesting, and long, history was the main criteria I used in deciding what to vote for. I see the appeal of the iconic, though less historically significant, but I don't think that's what the list is about.

The only two of these prospective new wonders that I've actually been to are Schloss Neuschwanstein and Alhambra. Neuschwanstein is beautiful and has a pretty interesting history, plus it's iconic (of course a lot of people aren't entirely sure Neuschwanstien isn't modeled after the Cinderella castle at Disneyland rather than the other way around), but it's not that old relative to a lot of the other monuments on the list of possible wonders. The day I went to Neuschwanstein was the highlight of my travels on a personal level but from a tourist perspective, Alhambra, was definitely the highlight of my 7 week sojourn in Europe. It's massive and has such a rich history, plus it's beautiful and has been around almost a millennium. So, all of this is designed to get you to go vote for the Alhambra and which ever 6 other wonders strike your fancy. Before you go though, check out some pictures of the incomparable Alhambra:

Free Will Astrology

2007-05-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

"It's about time you got the chance to be knocked on your ass by a flood of positive surprises and good feelings. I hope you're trusting enough to go with the tidal flow, even if it does temporarily render you a bit woozy. Naturally you'd like to know if this giddy surrender will land you in trouble. Is there any chance that you'll have to endure some karmic adjustment at a later date because of the fun you're having now? Here's my prediction: absolutely not. If anything, your enthusiastic cooperation with the free-form dazzle will shield you from any negative repercussions."

That's my horoscope for the week from Free Will Astrology. I don't know if you're familiar with Free Will Astrology but it's the horoscope column from Seattle's alternative weekly, the Stranger, which is now syndicated and has it's own website (www.freewillastrology.com). I've been reading these horoscopes off and on since I was 16 years old. In fact when I was 16 I was a big believer in them, often clipping them out of the Stranger and saving them. I'm less of a believer in astrology now than I was then but these particular horoscopes are usually funny so I still read them from time to time. They are weekly and their weeks always start on Thursday (presumably because that's the day the Stranger comes out and that's where they began).

So, on Tuesday I locked myself out of my apartment, not such a big deal as I have a roommate who said he'd be around when I got home from work. Then I managed to also lock myself out of my car when I got to work. The first was my own absent mindedness, the second was because the car key fell out of my pocket onto the floor of the car. Yesterday, I was in a car accident which was not my fault but for which I was ticketed anyway. Today, Thursday, is my birthday.

Supposing this horoscope is right that I'm about to receive a tidal wave of positive surprises I think I've already had a pre-emptive karmic adjustment for it.

Perfect Moments

2007-05-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

I went to Mexico last Friday, just for the weekend. It was an impulsive decision. A guy I met in Munich was getting married and he invited me to his wedding. It meant a lot to me that he asked so I decided to go, I decided I had to go.

I've been doing a lot of traveling lately, as you may have noticed, and, of course, it has been an incredible experience as a whole but what really sticks with me are isolated moments.

In Mexico, at my friend's wedding reception, things were beginning to wind down and I went outside to call a cab. It started raining really hard and I stepped just inside the doorway to get out of the rain. There was lightning and for the longest time I've been terrified of lightning but this time I wasn't. I sort of felt like stepping out and standing in the rain for a while, but I stayed in the doorway. I watched the rain and lightning for a few minutes.

Then I went back inside and back on the dance floor which by that time had thinned out a little and the rock band had been replaced by a mariachi band and everyone formed a circle and linked arms and sang (except I didn't because I didn't know any of the songs). It was a kind of a perfect moment.

I had a few perfect moments like that on my trip(s).

Watching the sunrise in Switzerland was pretty perfect.

In Munich I had a whole day that was sort of perfect. It was the day we went to Schloss Neuschwanstein. I woke up early that morning and walked to the Hauptbahnhof. I was early for the bus so I went into the train station and bought Nussschnecken for my classmates, had a super cute German boy chat me up, and then went to get on my bus. That was the day that I realized I had really found a brother there. After the Schloss we went to the Schrannenhalle and had a few beers and then to an Itallian restaurant in my building and had a few more. Someone grabbed my camera and took a picture of me and my new brother near the end of that night, right at the moment I was realizing that the day had been perfect and that the moment was perfect.

I had a lot of perfect moments in Granada.

The day I got back from Barcelona I walked around Granada, went shopping, saw the Cathedral and then met up with a friend and went in search of a bowl of gazpacho. When we found it I couldn't believe how perfect that moment was. I actually stopped with the spoon halfway to my mouth just to enjoy the moment. Which kind of freaked out the guy I was with, but I couldn't help it. It had turned into a really great day despite having started out as one of the worst of my trip (that morning in Barcelona my suitcase had broken). The Gazpacho turned out to be excellent, but it was the company that made that moment so perfect.

I had a few perfect moments alone (like the sunrise in Switzerland for example), but it was actually often the company that made the moments perfect.

In London I sat at a sushi bar in Paddington station and ate sushi and drank ten glasses of fizzy water and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, with the friend I'd been staying with there. That was another perfect moment that was certainly a result of the company more than anything.

Occasionally I have random impulses to become like a hermit. Lately I've also thought about divesting myself of possessions and moving to Europe (I've even looked at jobs in Dublin, London and Hamburg). The trip made me appreciate solitude a lot more, it increased these impulses to withdraw from human contact, but there are all these perfect moments and most of them are perfect because of the people. I guess it turns out I'm a people person.

Essen und Trinken

2007-05-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

I've been back home for a few days now and have indulged myself in one of the things I missed most: mole poblano enchiladas. So, it's time to start talking about the food in Europe. I've mentioned it briefly before and the gist is that some of the food was good but a lot of it wasn't that great. I did have one food experience that was surprisingly good though and that was black pudding.

As you might imagine, black pudding is the black bit in this photo, which, by the way, is a proper English breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, bubble and squeak, mushrooms, and black pudding). You probably don't want to know what's in the black pudding, especially if you plan on ever eating it, but trust me it's actually kind of good (and must have loads of iron which is nice for me as I have an iron deficiency).

In Ireland they served a proper Irish breakfast which also had white pudding. I suspect that the terms black and white pudding were just coined to avoid saying that the breakfast comes with all the above plus sausage, sausage, and sausage.

I had a couple of other really great food experiences in Europe. The tapas were good. Of course the best tapas I had were in Germany (at a really great Spanish restaurant called Alhambra) and Ireland, not in Spain. The curry was good in London. And there was one really great restaurant in Munich, just up the street from where I was living, that served all sorts of food and it was all fantastic. The best was this salad with goat cheese and pumpkin seeds.

What was really great in Europe was the beverages. The juice and tea in Spain. The whiskey in Ireland. The Pimms in London. The Jagermeister and, of course, the beer in Munich. I also have to add the tequila in Mexico to this list. Normally I hate tequila, but that tequila was really good.

Fear of flying

2007-05-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's taken a 7th grade science class knows the basic scientific method. First you formulate a theory and then you test it. Really test it. Not a test that's designed specifically to prove the theory but a really hard one. One that's practically designed to disprove the theory and if it doesn't disprove the theory, well, then it's a pretty solid theory.

Take my theory that 9 flights in a month and a half would cure my fear of flying by getting me so used to it that it would seem routine to me. The theory seemed pretty solid after 5 flights when I no longer needed to take Dramamine and by that 9th flight (all 10 hours of it) I was perfectly calm. The theory needed a test though and it got one.

What would you think would be the perfect, scientific method approved, test for this theory? Try putting me on the second smallest plane I've ever been on and flying me into a lightning storm.

You'll be happy to hear that the theory survived the test pretty well. I don't know that my fear is entirely conquered. My palms did get a little sweaty while flying through the lightning filled clouds over Puebla tonight; seeing the fires that I can only assume were started by the lightning. I didn't feel like I was going to puke though. So, I think I may finally be past the worst of my fear of flying.

Little things

2007-05-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back at home now and I'm thinking back on my trip and the oddest things are coming back to me, little things.

I know I've talked about the great guys I met in Munich, about the beer drinking, and the English garden, and my first Jager shot, and conversations about love and faith, and I've said just how great they were, how they were gentlemen and yet also total guys if you know what I mean, but here's a story I haven't told:

It was our last night in Munich, at least our last night all together in Munich because the Swedes were leaving the next day. We were sitting around a table outside at the Schrannenhalle trying not to get morose about the fact that it was our last night. The topic turned to how much weight we all were bound to have gained after two weeks of drinking wiess beer by the liter (or half liter but no one ever had just one). I swear to God it was the boys that brought up the topic of weight gain. I participated in the conversation. The truth was I'd actually lost 4 kilos while I'd been in Munich and I said so. They were a little surprised and it lead the talk to exactly how much they all weighed. One by one everyone asked each other how much they weighed, except for me. Not one of the boys asked my weight. These boys who gave me so much shit about...everything, allowed an entire conversation about weight gain and loss to pass by without once asking my weight. It's weird the things you remember, the things you hold onto. These boys were absolutely the coolest and there are tons of stories I can tell to illustrate it, but this is the one that comes to mind.

Speaking of weight loss I've actually lost around 5 kilos even though, after Munich, I went on to London and Dublin where I ate a mountain of the greasiest food possible.

And then I'm gone

2007-04-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

My brain is properly melted since coming back from Granada. I can't seem to put together two coherent sentences, can't be bothered to go out clubbing with my friends in London and even in Ireland didn't get up to much debauchery. Just drank whiskey and tea and went to the theater (we saw Sweeney Todd at the Gate theater and it was amazing).

It's getting to be time for me to go back home. I'm kind of ready for it frankly though my definition of home has changed a bit along the way. Now, when my travel fatigue is taking over and I long for home I feel like Munich or Granada would do just as well as Seattle. In fact right this minute either of those places would do better than Seattle. If I could afford to, which I guess technically I could but then I'd go back home to no job and with no money in savings to see me through until I found a job, but if money weren't an issue, I'd go back to Munich or Granada and stay another couple weeks. In fact if money weren't an issue I might stay indefinitely.

It is time for me to get back to Seattle though, I'll be leaving London on Tuesday, and I thought a list might be in order, of countries I've been in, cities I've visited, attractions and events I've seen, people I've met and things I've done in the last couple months in Europe. A retrospective.
I've been in 10 different countries in the last month and a half:

Switzerland
Italy
Lichtenstein
Austria
Germany
Czech Republic
England
France
Spain
Ireland

I only drove through Lichtenstein and Austria, and France I was only in for about 12 hours and Italy for less, but the rest I visited properly.

I've been to the tallest viewpoints in many of these places:

I went to the Olympia Tower in Munich, I rode on the London Eye, and went to the top of the Chimney Tower in Dublin (but I didn't go up the TV tower in Prague).

I saw live theater in both London (We Will Rock You) and Dublin (Sweeney Todd).

I ate crap food in Germany and France but pretty good food in London, Ireland and the Czech Republic. Spain had okay food and absolutely fantastic tea.

I met some amazing people in Munich who will, hopefully, be lifelong friends and I also got to hang out in London with some of my best mates from back home.

I saw live music in East Germany but didn't end up seeing any in Munich, London or Ireland.

I drank more beer and whiskey than likely in the rest of my life combined...well, maybe not more beer, but definitely more whiskey. And my first ever Jager shot (and second, third and fourth). Interestingly, I drank no gin at all.

I saw the Paris-Roubaix. Stood right next to the pave and watched Tom Boonen ride by in the heat and the dust.

I saw palaces and castles in Bellinzona, Munich, Prague and Granada. I saw cathedrals in cities all over Europe. Granada has the best of both by the way.

I talked about politics, philosophy, books, movies, music, sex, religion, love, commitment and the weather with some amazing people.

I saw a ton of cute furry animals. Dogs everywhere in Spain. Dogs almost never on leashes anywhere I went. Birds everywhere in Spain too. Not to mention herds of deer just setting in fields by the side of the road or train tracks (and once in a park). Stray cats at the Alhambra. Tons of livestock including flocks of sheep, highland cattle, horses, pigs and goats.

I've walked over about a million cobblestones, nearly destroying a brand new pair of shoes in under a week.

I've learned that I prefer buses to trains (by a lot).

I've nearly gotten over my fear of flying (after 8 flights in 6 weeks).

I've sent two care packages back to the friends in the States and many postcards.

I bought souvenir paintings of Prague and Granada (my two favorite cities in Europe so far), and had my name painted in Arabic.

I took over 1500 pictures.

I've gained a brother (or two, or five).

I've acquired the taste for beer and whiskey.

I'm going to certainly come back to Seattle as one of those obnoxious world traveling people who insists that people in the States just don't know what real beer is (or real chocolate).

I'm ready to be done travelling, but I'm not ready to leave Europe behind me. I'm already trying to plan my next trip back here (to Sweden next time).

Barcelona

2007-04-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to say about Barcelona. It was a beautiful city, but I couldn't enjoy it like I would have wanted to. Part of that was because my trip there was sort of a fiasco of progressively worse luggage problems to the point where I spent my last hours in the city carrying around my broken, open, suitcase looking for a place to buy a new one. The other part is loneliness. I felt similar about Barcelona to how I felt about Prague but in Prague I snapped out of it the second day and enjoyed my solitary travel experience like I always do. In Barcelona it stuck with me. I still enjoyed things. Like watching old people play bacci ball in the park across from the Segrada Famillia, and watching people sailing RC boats in a random park I walked by and ended up sitting in for a couple hours, but I did sort of wish I had someone to share it all with. I wished when I was walking down "the most famous street in Spain" that I had someone to turn to and say "what's with all the birds" (they have stands on the street that sell birds of all types), or someone to laugh with about the fact that they were playing Santa Clause is Coming to Town in the restaurant I ate dinner in the first night. I'm not sure if it's Barcelona or me. I mean I feel kind of like Barcelona is a city that needs to be shared, experienced with others, but it could just be that my travel fatigue was taking over and I needed someone to snap me out of it. Either way, I'll go back to Barcelona one day with friends so I can really enjoy it the way I'd like to because it really is a beautiful city.

Granada Part I

2007-04-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Spain is the first place I've really felt a complete inability to communicate. I don't speak Spanish. At all. Of course I didn't speak German really when I arrived there and I didn't speak French, Itallian or German when I arrived in Switzerland, but in Switzerland I was with family half of whom did speak German which was usefull even in the Itallian speaking region and I knew enough German to not feel totally lost in Germany, plus I spent a large majority of my time in Germany at the Goethe Institut learning German in the company of people who, for the most part, spoke English. In fact they were all there to learn German as well so most of them spoke better English than German even if English wasn't their first language. I also, don't speak Czech but everyone in Prague spoke English or German or both so it wasn't too hard to communicate there. The only communication I needed in France was enough to order frites though I feel pretty confident that even if I hadn't been able to speak to people in French I would have been able to understand enough of it to get by there (the same as with German, from having taken it in school).

I feel like a deaf mute in Spain. It's not entirely bad, but it is a new experience for me. People who know me probably wonder how I manage to not have my head explode from the inability to communicate verbally. The truth is I'm actually quite shy and rarely speak to people who haven't spoken to me first so it's not too hard for me to go through a couple days not speaking to anyone. Or it would be easy enough if I didn't need to make any sort of purchases while I was here (my Spanish phrase book was no help what so ever in Barcelona when I needed to find somewhere to buy a new suitcase).

There are some destinctly pleasant aspects of not speaking the language though. In Granada not being able to speak Spanish afforded me the oportunity to have someone else order my food for me. Frankly even back home I enjoy having someone else order for me. I know this will get me in trouble with the feminist set but there's nothing better than having a cute boy order for you except perhaps having a cute boy order for you in a language you don't understand (especially if that language is Spanish).

Granada is beautiful. I can't decide if I like it better than Prague or not. The comparison is mostly unwarranted as the only similarity between the two really is that I love them both in similar ways. Part of that is the type of travel experiences I've had in them. In Prague, after the first miserable night, I took a guided tour and then spent most of the rest of the one day I had there just wandering around the city which was great. I've been having one of the better travel experiences of my life here in Granada though. I met up with a friend who took me out around Granada despite being sick. He was really great and totally willing to just wander around the city with me which is one of my favorite things to do. We went to a couple of really great tea shops that made me wish I could live in Granada for a while just so I could hang out in tea shops everyday.

Of course, I also went to the Alhambra which is just as amazing as you might imagine. The gardens there are awesome and it's springtime right now so everything is in bloom, poppies (at least eight different types and colors), gerber daisies, pansies, and wisteria hanging on every trelise and up the sides of every building. There were also orange trees everywhere (with fruit on them). It was beautiful. Yet I frequently found myself starring at the cobbled pathways under my feet. I'm oddly facinated by cobblestones for some reason. I liked the granite in Switzerland and Germany and I loved the marble in Prague, and in France, of course, the cobblestones were a big attraction, but the cobblestones in Granada take the prize. They mostly aren't cut blocks like the ones in any of the other places I've mentioned, they're just rocks of various shapes and sizes and types. There's marble, and granite, and quartz, and what looks like black basalt, all kinds of stone. Often there are patterns where stones of a couple different types have been placed to create designs but just as often they're is a totally random mix of all kinds of stones.

Prague is a huge city and Granada is pretty small in comparison but they both have intersting histories which could be part of why I feel a similar way about them. Visiting the palace in Prague was a lot like visiting the Alhambra (though the Alhambra is way more interesting) in that it is huge and took centuries to complete and has several different architectural styles and influences because it was built over such a long period of time. All of Europe has an astounding amount of history in comparison to the US but some parts seem to have more of it, they seem to have kept a certain soul (for lack of a better word) that other cities have lost. Prague is that way and so is Granada.

Granada, the Alhambra specifically, was the final place to fall to the Christian monarchs and as a condition of the surrender it was required that Muslims be allowed to remain in the city and practice their religion unharmed. As a result, according to my friend who's been living there for the past 4 months, the city still has a destinct arab quarter. That's an interesting bit of history that might have faded over time, in many other cities it would have, but not in Granada. I don't have a similar example for Prague but it's the same kind of feeling I had there, that the history is more intact there. Perhaps it's the fact that WWII history over shadows so much in a lot of Europe, especially Germany obvisoulsy (which is where I spent most of my time) and Prague and Granada don't have that. There's some war history in Prague, it was occupied by Hitler and there's interesting trivia about it (like the fact that Hitler made them drive on the right side of the street), but it doesn't dominate the historical landscape it's just one part of centuries worth of history.

I couldn't quite explain why Prague was special for me and I can't quite explain why Granada is either, but it is.

A woman's got to eat.

2007-04-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

I promised a friend back home that I would take pictures of all the food I ate here in Europe and I've totally failed. I took one food picture. I can only attribute this failure to the fact that most of the food has not been worth photographing. In fact a lot of it wasn't even really worth eating.

I ate Schweinbraten in Germany and it was okay. I said to someone recently that chocolate, gummi candy, and beer were the only decent consumable products in Germany and that is pretty close to the truth. The goulash was also good, though goulash everywhere is pretty good. There was a restaurant just up the street from where I lived in Munich that had great food. They had one of the best salads I've ever had and they had excellent American style breakfast there which I actually ate one time (at about noon on a Sunday which is kind of an early breakfast for me).

I think the fact that I don't eat breakfast is where my problem in finding good food in Germany (and Europe in general) lies. Breakfast is a big deal in Germany and they do breakfast foods really well. They love bread, and jam, and eggs, and pork products, and dairy products, and muesli so they have the breakfast bases pretty well covered. The few times I did eat breakfast it was excellent. In Switzerland, Germany, France and Spain, breakfast was great.

In France I only ate twice, breakfast and frites and the frites were more of a novelty than an actually food item. They weren't bad frites but they were mostly good because I was eating them in France by the side of the road after watching Stuart O'Grady win the Paris-Rubaix. In Switzerland I had great food but that's because my family cooked every meal I ate there. In Germany I had great international food, good Indian, good Spanish, good Italian food, but the local food I tried to avoid after the first few days. In Spain I had paella in Barcelona which was pretty bad but I had a tuna sandwich there that was excellent and I had gazpacho here in Granada that was amazing. In general the food has mostly been better in Spain.

London has good food too actually. I'd been getting warnings for weeks, no more like months, about how awful the food in London is, but it's really not bad at all. It's not just fish and chips either, in fact the fish and chips are bad in comparison to some of the other food. Of course there's great curry in London, and sandwiches, but there's more than that. The food in London in general is pretty good. I'm looking forward to going back for a proper English breakfast (of fried potatoes, bacon, sausage, toast, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, etc). I only just learned what black pudding is a couple weeks ago and it kind of freaks me out actually so I probably won't really eat that, but I'm told it's part of a proper English breakfast. Of course I'll have to find someplace that serves it in the afternoon as I don't really eat breakfast.

Perhaps I've stumbled on the real reason I loved Prague so much. I didn't have a single bad food experience there. They food was fantastic. Great salad, great goulash, and truly exceptional pancakes, it was all good.

London will rock you

2007-04-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

My travel schedule right now is very bizarre. I don't have time to let things sink in, or to write about them, before I'm in another new city. I was in London for a couple days, then Granada, now Barcelona. London is special for a lot of reasons but I can't think of anything to say about it because my brain only has so much space and it's now full of things I want to say about Granada.

Here's a few things I do remember about London:

The first day I did nothing but lay about and buy shoes and eat (an almost proper English breakfast for lunch and curry for dinner)

The next day we went out to the airport to meet a friend who was coming in from Seattle. We started out on the train, doing great, never having to wait for connecting trains, but then when we got to Paddington Station all the trains out of there were cancelled because of a fatality on tracks. We ended up sharing a cab to the airport with three random people which was fun as it was my first time in one of the famous London black cabs. I'd heard the story about "the knowledge", how London cab drivers have to study for two years and pass a rigorous test to prove they know the city inside and out and know all the best routes, but I didn't know that they have specially made taxis as well. Apparently the black cab is made with an especially tight turning radius so they can pull U-turns anytime, anywhere.

The following day was filled with typical tourist behavior. We saw Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abby. We rode up the London Eye. We took tea at Fortnum and Mason. We saw a show. We ate fish and chips. The show was actually the highlight for me. It was We Will Rock You and it was so much fun I almost couldn't believe it. I kind of want to see it again when I'm back there later this week, but will probably see Mousetrap instead and/or something Shakespeare.

Of course, I had a few occasions to ride on the famed London Underground as well. That was less fun. The London Underground is really far underground, so far that your ears pop on the escalator going down to it. I don't like trains in general. I get motion sick on vehicles of any kind and it's particularly bad on trains. I think the fact that the London Underground is so deep makes it worse because it messes with my equilibrium. It's not so bad when the trains aren't very full but when they are it gets really hot and the ventilation is bad and I don't enjoy it. Having said that the London Underground is kind of amazing in scope and it, like most mass transit systems, is the best way to get around the city.

I'll be back in London on Tuesday...well really on Friday night because I'm only back late on Tuesday night and then leaving again on Wednesday for Dublin. In any event I'll be back there and hopefully be able to say more about it. In the mean time, Spain.

The Road to Hell

2007-04-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

I just spent 24 straight hours on a bus and can't begin to put a string of coherent thoughts together, but Paris-Roubaix deserves better so I will give it a try. I'll attempt to spin a yarn.

The bus departed at 11:30PM from Redbridge station in London. I spent most of the bus ride and ferry crossing (from Dover to Calais) sleeping as it was the middle of the (expletive deleted) night. We arrived in Compiegne at about 8:30AM and hung about watching the riders arrive and sign in. I planted myself in front of the CSC bus, of course, and took a bunch of pictures there and then, of course, took a picture of Boonen riding down to sign in because he looks so good in those tight shorts.

The next stop was a small town in the middle of nowhere. It's kind of amazing to stand by the side of a tiny road in a tiny town in France with hundreds of other people in the heat and the dust waiting. And there is a lot of waiting. I generally think cycling is better enjoyed on television where you can see all the action (no waiting), but there's nothing like seeing 200 guys ride by at 35mph. It's awesome in every sense of the word.

There's a book about Paris Roubaix called the Road to Hell and a documentary called A Sunday in Hell. I'm sure it lived up to that infamy this year. It was a 60 year record high temperature and astoundingly dry. I felt like I was melting and could barely breath from all the dust kicked off the cobbles and all I was doing was standing by the side of the road. I can't believe anyone makes it through the whole race, but in fact 96 riders finished it (16 less than last year).

The second stop was the Forest of Arenberg which is absolutely crazy. People everywhere, stands set up selling food, totally beyond belief. We stayed near the end of it and saw all the mechanics there. They just stand there with extra wheels (front and back), just in case. There are so many people on the sides of the road in the forest that if riders puncture (which they often do on that section of cobbles) they have to just ride it out and change wheels at the end.

I imagine you've noticed I haven't said much about the actual race action which is because I couldn't really tell you what was happening. They ride by so fast you can barely tell which riders you're seeing. I knew there was a break away fairly early on as one group came though ahead of the others at the first section of cobbles we stopped at. Then, of course, I knew things had spread apart into several groups after Arenberg, but I had no idea who was in each group. We were able to get radio coverage on the bus but it was in French. The tour guide understood it and told us some of the more major happenings on the road but I'm definitely looking forward to actually watching the whole race when I get back home so I can see what all happened.

We stopped and saw one more section of cobbles before going on to Roubaix for the finish. Most of the group on the tour bus with me just stopped in cafes or bars and watched the finish on TV, but I felt I had to go up to the stadium and see the circus. There were so many people there I could barely find room to stand so I went just outside it and watched the race come into the stadium and then went and bought frites. Even though I only spent about 16 hours in France I managed to fit in both bike racing and frites for a quintessential experience. Okay, I know frites are really Belgian and I have to admit I got ketchup on my frites instead of mayonnaise, mayonnaise alone on frites is just disturbing, but I'm still going to call it a quintessential French experience.

In traditional brit style we had a betting pool on the tour bus. Each Euro you put in got you one choice. I put in five and took Boonen, Cancellara, Ballan, Backstedt and Hushovd so clearly I lost five Euro, but it was fun.

I left Munich on Saturday morning to London then straight to France and back to London again. Spent around 40 hours travelling, dripping sweat in the sweltering heat and dust, without showering or changing clothes, but had a (expletive deleted) great time. There's no experience in the world like seeing European pro-cycling live in person. I fully recommend it.

Aufwiedersehen Muenchen! Bonjour Paris-(expletive deleted)-Roubaix.

2007-04-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

I'll try to censor myself a little, for those of you with delicate sensibilities, but it's hard to talk about leaving Munich without a few expletives. I'll also try not to be to sappy, sentimental or overly emotional, but at this I fully expect to fail.

Leaving is harder than I expected. Everyone said, "You aren't going to want to leave", which seemed so obvious as to elicit the sarcasm inherent in my nature. What I was thinking though is that I wouldn't want to leave Switzerland, Spain, London or Ireland. Not that I thought Munich wouldn't be great, but this part of my trip is obligatory. I mentioned a while back that, for a moment, I even felt like my time here was something to be gotten through rather than savoured. It's been all day, every day in class and I sort of expected to be glad when that part of my trip was over so I could get on to vacation, to London to eat tiny sandwiches and drink tea and see one of the coolest chicks in the world who I have never really gotten to hang out with much when she's visited Seattle, and on to Spain and the Alhambra and Segrada Familia and a friend who at one time I thought I may never see again and whom I've unexpectedly missed quite a bit since he left Seattle, and on to Ireland, a place I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember, for Guinness and stalking Shane MacGowan with one of my best friends. These things, I thought, were the real trip and Munich was just the obligation I had to fulfill in order to get them.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Munich was amazing. It felt like home to me and leaving the Goethe Institut yesterday was one of the hardest things I've ever done, mostly because of the people. Leaving these people is like cutting off one of my limbs.

I love these boys like family. I've occasionally felt like I was pledging a fraternity, but in a good way. I kind of can't believe that tomorrow I won't be in the English Garden drinking beer and talking (expletive deleted) with them.

Here are some things I had planned to do but in Munich but didn't:

I didn't go to the Frauen Kirche
I didn't go to the new Jewish Museum or Synagogue
I didn't go to the Hofbrauhaus
I didn't go to the Pinakothek (Neue, Alte, oder Moderne)
I didn't go to Dachau
I didn't see the Allianz Arena
I didn't go to the Supersuckers show

I'm pretty happy with what I did do though which is meet some of the best people in the world. I've introduced you to the cast of characters a little already but let me tell you a bit more about these guys. It might make sense to put names with faces and drop the constant referral to people by nationality, but I'm sticking with it because it pleases me to see in writing what an international group we were.

There were two Swedes who I'd swear had known each other their whole lives when in fact they just met when we all did (two weeks ago). The first, who was in class with me, is like a brother to me now. Saying goodbye to him yesterday was the hardest part of my last day in Munich. It broke my heart a little. He was constantly teasing me (like any decent brother would), but he is also one of the most sincere people I've ever met. He's got a big heart. I'm going to cry again if I say any more about my new big brother. I miss him. A lot.

What can I say about the second Swede? He looks hot. I didn't have class with him but he was the center of the party every night after class. He may have a schmutzig mind but that's part of his charm. Only part though as he has a lot of (expletive deleted) charm.

There was another excellent Mench, from Mexico, in class with me. It was a bit of a novelty for these boys to see how drunk I would get. I'd told them that I was bad at drinking (which is a description I love and can't stop using since a new friend of mine from back home said it about me a couple months ago). My Mexican classmate, and kindred spirit, kept missing it though. Every time I set to really drinking he was somewhere else. So, instead of bonding in beer we bonded over faith, I think. I don't have a religious outlet for my faith like he does but I have a lot of it and we had some really interesting talks which weren't about faith directly but for me, and I think for him to, faith is always in the background of everything we do. I can't say enough good things about him.

The Italian/Swiss professor we're going to call Opa from now on. He wasn't that much older than the rest of us (I don't think), but he was the philosopher of the group, always imparting words of wisdom to us all, and always insistent that we try to speak only in German to each other so we would learn more. He was also very hard to say goodbye to.

In the Scottish lad I found a kindred spirit of a different type. That sounds like (expletive deleted) sentimental (expletive deleted), but it's really true. To say he's like a brother to me would seem close to the mark but slightly off somehow. He reminds me a lot of my best mate from back home and she's like a sister to me but to say he's like a sister to me is ridiculous, odd, and even further off the mark. He's one of the funniest (expletive deleted) guys I've met. He's another one with a schmutzig mind, but I don't know that I've ever met anyone less schmutzig at heart. He made fun of me when the Professor said I look into people's souls, but if he knew what I saw in him, which is a heart of pure gold, he might not have. Nah, who am I (expletive deleted) kidding, he still would have. He's not incapable of being serious but it's a rare occurrence. I tried to find a picture where he isn't making faces, but that is an equally rare occurrence (I think we can all agree he looks (expletive deleted) good when he's not (expletive deleted) making faces for the camera). Saying goodbye to him was hard to, it helped that I barely saw him on my last day so, in fact didn't really say goodbye to him, but even so it's hard.

My Swedish brother and the Scottish lad simply are family to me now. I'd do anything for them. I expect one day I may get a call from the Scott asking for part of my liver, as the boy (expletive deleted) drinks like a (expletive deleted)...well, like a (expletive deleted) Scott really. I wouldn't even hesitate. I love these boys. I can't explain it really. The brother analogy is a good one but it, like any analogy, isn't really precise.

This picture of the three of us may be my favorite picture from my whole trip so far. I'm so (expletive deleted) sad I can't (expletive deleted) believe it.

But now it's on to the Paris-(expletive deleted)-Roubaix, to London, and Spain and Ireland which are, of course, all just as exciting to me as they were before, it's just that my heart is a little broken.

Brothers in beer, kind of like brothers in law but more fun

2007-04-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

I was really sick the earlier this week so I hadn't been enjoying Munich as much as I'd like to. In fact on Thursday I went straight back to my room and slept for 12 hours. Friday night though I decided not to let being sick stop me and I went out with the guys from my class for beers. It turns out beer is the miracle cure and I felt better the next day. Who would have thought that the morning after getting a little drunk would be the first morning in a week that I didn't wake up with a headache. So, I went out drinking beer with them again Saturday night and Sunday night and I feel a lot better now

It's an odd experience being the only girl in a group of guys. These guys are great. Gentlemen, every one of them. Always letting (in fact making) me go first (when ordering or getting on elevators, or anything really), and always opening doors for me. I go out drinking beers though and they're still complete gentleman but there's a pervasive guy tone to the whole evening. Picture if you will a 20 year old Scottish rugby player, two Swedish salesman, a Texan product manager, an Italian Swiss professor and me. Actually, don't bother, here's a picture of it. In fact several as I promised a photo montage with a narration something like this: Here we are at the English garden drinking beer, here we are at Augustiner drinking beer, here we are at the Schrannenhalle drinking beer, here we are on Marienplatz drinking beer, here we are in a restaurant who's name I can't remember drinking beer, here we are at Schloss Neuswanstein drinking beer, here we are the Schrannenhalle again drinking beer, here we are at the restaurant in my buidling drinking beer....

On the bus up to Schloss Neuschwanstein we passed a monestary and the guide was telling us what is there now (because it's not really a monestary anymore). He said, there's a meuseum, and a distillery, several restaurants and, as this is Bavaria, naturally, a brewery. That's exactly what he said, except he said it German. I know I joked about beer drinking being the only tourist activity left for me, with both opera and soccer tickets sold out, but there is a bit of truth in it. This is the beer capital of the world, origin of Oktober Fest, with 13 beer halls, where beer is often cheaper in restaurants than water. At the table next to us that afternoon on Marienplatz there was a group of elderly ladies drinking beer. Everyone, everywhere, at every time of day drinks beer.

Having said that though, we have done a bit more than drink beer the last few days. I've gotten to know some really great people this week. The group I mentioned above are actually only a few of them. There's the guys from my class as well (of which one of the Swedes, the Texan and the Italian professor are included). Mostly we've talked. We've tried to talk in German and when it failed us we've talked in English and those of us who only speak English have tried to learn phrases from the others in Swedish, Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. The Swede from my class has become like a big brother to me. He's constantly taking the piss (you can thank the Scottish lad for the turn my vocabulary has taken and consider yourselves lucky I haven't been peppering this narative with the word fuck two or three times a sentence).

My new Swedish brother has tried to fix me up with every guy we meet and at least half our schoolmates. He, the professor and I had an interesting conversation about falling in love and being in love. They often look to me for the female point of view but I'm a bit of an oddity in some ways (than the average female point of view). According to the professor I'm very open which is true and I'm impressed that the French and Italian speaking Swissman was able to describe (in German no less - geoffnet madchen) after only a few days of knowing me, what I've only recently become able to describe about myself in my native tongue.

We also saw the castles (Neuswanstein and Linderhoff), hiked up a mountian (to get to Schloss Neuswanstein) and saw some of the Munich sights (including the river, twice). Outside the English Garden we saw a swan land in the middle of the road and proceed to cross the street (against the signal). I think a good time was had by all and will continue this week and hopefully beyond this week when we see each other in Sweden or Mexico or Switzerland or Japan or Scottland or Seattle or back here in Munich.

I'll leave you with another photo montage with a little less beer drinking.

Here we are in the English Garden looking for a place to drink beer, and here's the boys at the Chinese Tent in the English Garden, and the swan crossing, and me with my new Swedish brother, and me after a nice hike, and again with my new Swedish brother (you can totally tell in this photo that he was just teasing me, but then that's a constant so it can generally be assumed even when it isn't obvious from the photograpich evidence), and me on the bridge by Neuswanstein, and the Schloss.

My classmates are the yolk of the egg

2007-04-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

So, this Monday began a new term at the Goethe Institut and I have a whole new class, a much bigger one this time. It's an interesting, and rather international group, all men (but for me). One from Mexico, one from Sweden, one from Ireland by way of Scotland, one from Japan and one from Texas. Most of them, lucky bastards, are going to be living in Germany for at least 2 years for work, hence the need to learn German.

The ex-pat lifestyle appeals to me. I suppose I wouldn't want to move permanently to another country, but for a couple years maybe. My flat mate from last week asked me if I'd be willing to move to Europe and I had to think about it for a minute, but ultimately came up with the answer I just gave here, that I would but not permanently. Of course, that was before I'd been to Prague. I love Seattle and it will likely always be the one place in the world that I consider home, but Prague owns a piece of me now and I'd gladly live there for a couple years. Or here in Germany. I'd just want to stay long enough to absorb all the little details.

There are things you expect when you travel abroad, stereotypes of each country that turn out to be true like the fact that Germany is very logical, and very organized, that's to be expected, and Prague is kind of the opposite, very disorganized. For example, in Germany there are stop lights at every intersection, often three, one for bike traffic, one for foot traffic and one for cars, in Prague way fewer intersections have traffic lights and I didn't see a single pedestrian signal there.

Somethings though, some of the details, are surprising. Like the odd fondness for eggs in Germany. At first I thought it was just because Easter is coming up, and certainly the colored eggs for sale are because of Easter, but they really do love eggs here to an odd extent. I saw this postcard the other day that had a picture of and egg and said, "Du bist das gelb vom Ei", which means, you are the yellow (or yolk) of the egg. Clearly intended as a great compliment, because the yolk is the best part of the egg, but really, as a sentiment for a greeting card it's a bit odd.

The affinity for pork in all shapes and forms is something I could probably do without. They really enjoy meat here and especially pork. Schnitzel, Schweinbraten, Wurst, etc. I mean I don't necessarily mind it but it's a bit odd. The fact that you have to go to one store to buy meat, another for dairy products, another for fruits and vegetables and a fourth for bread is also odd. The fact that all the stores are closed after noon on Saturdays and all day on Sunday. The fact that all the buildings have a 0 floor (it's not the first floor, it's the ground floor, the second floor is actually the first). The way people always say you're welcome before you've even thanked them. I would expect a conversation to go something like this:

"Kannst du mir helfen?"
"Natuerlich. Was brauchst du?"
"Ich brauche eine flache wasser."
"Heir ist eine flache wasser."
"Danke schoen"
"Bitte schoen"

That's not how it goes though. When someone is giving you something, your change after you've paid for example, their "Bitte schoen" always comes out before you've had an opportunity to say "Danke schoen". If I were to live the ex-pat life I think I'd have to go home, or move to another city, once I got used to things like that. Once I no longer noticed at least one thing per day that made me think, "Hmmm, that's different" it would be time to go.

Unfortunately for me it will be time for me to go long before I reach that point.

Sunrise or Sunset: Prague

2007-04-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

If I begin talking about Prague I may not stop so know before you wade knee deep in this blog entry that you might be here a while.

Prague is really a city. When I first saw it I thought maybe it was the first real city ever and indeed many of the tourist books call it "the mother of cities". I mean it's really a city.

The train trip to Prague from Munich is over 6 hours. That's half again as long as the trip to Hannover even though Prague is about half the distance from Munich. The train to Prague is a) much slower than the (ICE) train to Hannover and b) stops at every town on the way. However, I didn't experience my usual travel annoyance and fatigue, at least not for the first 4 or so hours. It was a mostly daytime trip so that helped, and I was excited about going to Prague. On that train ride I saw the most amazing sunset I've ever seen. It was kind of cloudy, more of a haze really than clouds, and the sun looked pink from behind the haze but not just any pink, the brightest pink I think I've ever seen, like the juice from a blood orange, only brighter. It was amazing.

When I was about 4 hours into the journey though, the sun had gone down and I was uncomfortable, and tired, and annoyed as usual. Then I got to Prague and found that my hotel was kind of far outside the city center and the cab ride there cost more than two nights at the hotel cost. Also, it was kind of uncomfortable, and depressing, and had a shower so small I could barely fit in it. To be fair, it was a really cheap hotel, but if I'd known it was going to be that depressing I'd have either a) stayed at a hostel which would have been just as cheap (or more) and just as uncomfortable but way more fun or b) paid more for a hotel closer...which is what I ultimately did for the second night.

In the morning I took a cab back to the train station, determined to find a hotel within walking distance of it, and found that the first cab driver had charged me more than double, but even the cheaper cab ride was still really expensive considering the distance and how cheap everything else in Prague was. I walked to Wenceslaus square (about a block from the train station) and first had breakfast. I had dessert for breakfast because I found Czech style breakfast to be way to meat focused for me, especially after Switzerland and Germany where, when I ate breakfast at all it was usually some kind of sweet bread and tea. This restaurant served an, apparently traditional Czech, dessert that is a type of pancake but it's more like a doughnut and it's served on a citrusy cream sauce with plum jam. It was awesome. Especially the plum jam. In fact I kind of wish I'd bought some plum jam in Prague, it was so thick it was more like a paste than jam and totally delicious. A jar of it would have been heavy though and I have to consider the luggage weight limit for my flight home.

After breakfast I found a great (four star) hotel right on Wenceslaus Square with rooms available and a last minute booking deal. Prior to breakfast I'd been starting to think that coming to Prague by myself was a mistake. So far, I've been enjoying my solitary experience in Europe. Things I love, like wandering aimlessly, can't easily be done when you travel with someone because you have to agree on what to do and see which usually means a plan of some kind, at very least a time and place to meet back up with them. I embrace the opportunity to not have any plan. I love it. So, by extension I love traveling by myself. However, Prague is a place that should be shared and when I first got there I wasn't sure I'd be able to enjoy it on my own. Four star hotels, staffed by cute Czech boys have a way of brightening things up though. My room was on the top floor with a balcony looking out on Wencelaus square. It was amazing and totally worth it, even if only for the opportunity to drink complimentary Bohemian champagne while taking a bubble bath.

I only had one day in Prague really and I wanted it to be both relaxing and full which is a fine line. I took a guided tour of the city (and the castle) which was great fun but made me wish I had at least a week there so I could have explored things for myself and gone to some of the (many) museums there. You do learn fun facts on a guided tour like the fact that the Prague castle is the largest in the world (It covers about 5 K and includes several chapels and palaces built by various different Czech kings), or the fact that Prague is home to the oldest synagogue in middle Europe, or the fact that the city of Prague proudly consumes more beer per person per year than anywhere else in the world (some of you may be getting souvenirs with "Prague Drinking Team" printed on them). There was a young German couple on the tour that I took so the guide said everything in both English and German which was nice and because his English was far more accented than his German. I was actually sometimes better able to understand him in German.

Architecture is a big deal in Prague. The guide on our tour was constantly talking about the architects that designed things. I wish I could remember any of it. I, in fact, am a bit crazy about architecture. I don't know the first thing about it, but I'm none the less fascinated. I like to take pictures of buildings from odd angles. I'll stand in doorways and take pictures of them. Perhaps I like taking pictures of buildings because they don't pose. I also love taking candid photos of people but when people see you're about to take their picture they always want to pose. Buildings don't do that. The Prague city tour was ideal for indulging my love of the inanimate. It seemed like at least half the buildings in Prague had some sort of interesting architectural history.

After the tour I just wandered around the city for a while. The Easter market was fun to see. Two shopkeepers asked me if I was Russian. That makes four times I've been asked that in the last year or so (twice in Seattle where I'm actually from) by people who've heard me speaking in American accented English. One of the guys in Prague that asked me pressed on after I shook my head and asked where I was from. I said I was from the US but he felt sure that I spoke something other than English (based apparently on my accent) and I told him that I spoke a little bit of German but was just learning it now. He was surprised that English was my first (and really only) language. I get it that maybe I look Russian because, in point of fact, I am a bit Russian (about an eighth if you can really deliminate race that way), but these people that keep asking me if I'm Russian seem to be basing it on my speech rather than my looks and that I find very odd.

Back to Prague though. It is a city of tourists. If I had to guess I'd say about 90% of the people on the streets in Prague are foreigners (either tourists or foreign students). However, whenever I did run into actual Czechs they were, with very few exceptions, beautiful. The Czech boys were super cute but I didn't find myself trying to catch their eyes because the Czech girls were so beautiful there'd be no competing with them.

I mentioned that everything in Locarno was granite so I feel compelled to mention that in Prague the streets were paved with marble...well, not the streets so much as the sidewalks and not paved, of course, but cobbled. The best were the sidewalks cobbled in alternating pink and black marble. I think cobbling sidewalks is the best use of marble, it looks so much better there than on counter tops or floors.

Prague, without a doubt, is a very beautiful city. However, it's also very dirty. Everything is covered in at lest ten layers of dirt and there is graffiti everywhere and pigeons. Okay, every city has pigeons, but not like the ones in Prague. I think they're way smarter than pigeons ought to be. There were many of them inside the Prague train station. Which reminds me, since I've talked about every other train station I should give some time to the one in Prague. Munich, Hannover, Braunschweig and Zurich all had big modern train stations. The ones in Munich and Hannover especially are bustling modern centers of commerce and transportation. Prague's train station, like every thing in Prague, is dirty. Also, it seemed to be more full of pigeons than people. I'm not quite sure why or how the pigeons get inside the train station. Okay, obviously, I'm sure how. All train stations are partially open to the outside, they have to be for trains to come and go, but I didn't see any pigeons in any of the other train stations I've been to, or even on the platforms at any of the others. Seriously, whole flocks of pigeons, just flying around inside the train station.

I'm coming full circle here and I am reminded of a question I see a lot online that supposedly tells people something about you. The question is, do you prefer sunrise or sunset. My usual answer would be sunset and having described in glowing detail how amazing the sunset was that I saw from the train on my way to Prague, you might expect that view to have remained unchanged. However, having seen at least one of each in Prague, I have to say that in Prague I preferred sunrise. The streets are still full of people at sunset, it's loud and it's the height of tourist activity. At sunrise, presumably especially on Sunday though I have no comparison, no one is around, it's quite and you're able to feel isolated even in this gigantic city that is so full of life and noise normally.

In an odd coincidence I've now been in the home cities of two of the authors I had to read for European Lit last quarter (in fact the only two I read all the way through). The Prague city tour took us by the former home of Franz Kafka and right here in Munich is the former home of Thomas Mann. So, raise your glass (of Bohemian beer) and drink a toast to truth and beauty and isolation, and to Prague.

You can call me the Lowen Frau

2007-03-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've been here for a week and a half and only just now noticed that I have a view from my room of one of the most famous landmarks in Munich, Frauen Kirche. I guess churches aren't really on my radar so much.

What is one my radar is lions. They are everywhere. Braunshweig is, apparently the city of lions. Herzog Henrig von Lowen (Duke Henry of Lions??? I think) was from Braunschweig. I guess he's the German equivalent of Richard the Lion Heart in England. Henrig also went on a pilgrimage (read: crusade) to Jerusalem. We visited a church in Braunschweig with carvings of Herzog Henirg conquering the non-Christian's one of which depicted him standing on someone's head. It was supposedly a non catholic church, which is easy enough to believe as it was not nearly as ornate as most catholic churches that old are. However, Herzog Henrig's crusade pre-dates (I believe) any sort of Christianity other than catholic. In any event there was a large bronze statue of a lion in the courtyard of this church and a series of benches, which unfortunately I didn't get pictures of, that had lion statues as their feet and each lion was in a different pose, one was sleeping, one was roaring, one was yawning, etc. They were so cute.

Lions abound in Munich as well. Those of you that have been living in Seattle for a while will probably remember when we had pig statues all over the city. It was a benefit for the Pike Place Market Foundation and local artists were enlisted to decorate the pigs which were then displayed on street corners for a while and ultimately auctioned off for charity. I can only assume that Munich did a similar thing with lions, though I think the auction has already happened as some of the lions are now in store windows though some are still on the sidewalks and I saw one at the Olympic Park.

I went, yesterday, to the Olympic Park with my flat mate (the Brit). The main attraction there is a tower that's, basically, a lot like the Space Needle (though I think perhaps shorter). We went a bit late (at around 10:00PM) but still I was kind of shocked not to see more people there. I mean I've lived in the Seattle area my whole life but I still go to the Space Needle every now and then (and it's always busy), plus I've been to the Seattle Center more times that I can count. There was practically no one at the Olympic Tower or in the Olympic Park.

There was a swim team practicing in the pool there though. This pool was beautiful. I mean, it was a pool, like any other, but much bigger. When you hear people claim that a pool is Olympic size I can almost guarantee that they are lying. The ones at Universities (at least at UW and Western) come close, maybe even match in size but not in scope. Obviously there is a regulation length for the Olympics and, maybe, the pools that claim to be Olympic size are as long as this one was, but I doubt as wide and it wasn't just the size of the pool that was so grad. The whole scope of the buildingwas awesome. There was a second, regular sized, pool (presumably for the Olympic swimmers to warm up in) behind the main pool and the stands could probably seat well over two thousand people. It was amazing. Really.

The Olympic tower was, in itself, unremarkable. It was tall, there was an amazing view from it, and expensive rotating restaurant in it (which we didn't go in because it appeared that they only served 3 or 5 course meals), etc. There's a rock 'n' roll museum in the top of it which is small but interesting mostly for the fact that it's there, in the Olympic Tower, in Munich. I didn't get any pictures but it was cheap enough that I'll probably go back sometime, during the day, to take pictures of the view. It actually cost less to get up the tower than the U-Bahn ticket to get there cost.

The best thing about the trip to Olympic Park was the company. I wish my flatmate weren't leaving after this week. She has a cousin at the University in Granada who she wants to visit over the Easter holiday. I'm trying to convince her to just wait a couple weeks so she will be there at the same time I am, but she seems to have her heart set on Easter. I'm exceptionally shy but when I do meet people (and they talk to me) I often connect with them immediately and so it's hard for me, sometimes, to meet new people whom I know I'll only really see for two weeks and then probably never see again. I'm also really bad at keeping in touch with people so even if there was a possibility of seeing someone again I often ruin it through my laziness about keeping in touch. I hope I'm getting better at it. I made a resolution to be better at it and so far I think I am. You guys would know I guess. Am I? Doing any better at it? Or if you've met me within the last six months or so are you asking yourself "What the hell is she talking about she keeps in touch plenty"?

The wild, wild East

2007-03-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

The weekend seems like a million years ago rather than just yesterday, but I'll try to recall it as best I can.

First, I have to mention the Hauptbahnhoff in Hannover. I'm a big fan of the trainstations here. They are big, and busy, a lot like American malls but busier and with trains coming and going all the time. The one in Hannover is even bigger than the one in Munich and when I arrived there, late on Friday night, a soccer game had just let out so it was packed with soccer fans. It was also packed with teenagers all of whom were buying liquor and condoms. The eagerness of teenagers to buy liquor seems to me to indicate that it's legality has not diminished its popularity, if anything it's the opposite. In any event it was kind of funny to watch 16 year-olds walking, hand in hand, determinedly to the liquor and condom sections of the stores in the Hauptbahnhoff. The Braunschweig Hauptbahnhoff, by the way, had well over a thousand bicycles parked in front of it.

Saturday my dad and step mom picked me up in Hannover and showed me around my step mom's home town. Wulfenbuetel's claim to fame is that it is where Jagermeister is made. According to my parents when they went grocery shopping this past week in Wulfenbuetel the store was handing out free Jagermeister drinks. I can't say that I tried Jagermeister at the source tough. Instead I saw the Saturday market in town and took communion at the church of mustard. Seriously, there was a store there that sold nothing but mustard and you could sample any of the zillion or so varieties of mustard they had by putting it on communion wafers. You don't have to take my word for it, I got a picture.

After that we went to Goslar which was really fun. Goslar is famous for being the place where they used to burn witches back in the middle ages. Every shop there sells witch memorabilia. I didn't buy any witches but it was fun none the less. I saw the most adorable dog there. he looked full grown but his paws were huge, like puppy paws so maybe he was still growing. He was sleeping at first but then a couple of kids came into the square and were running around. He woke up and wanted to play with them but they were afraid. There was nothing to fear though, he was a gentle giant, and he liked me, he let me rub his tummy and shook hands with me with his gigantic paw. He was so cute I had to take his picture. When I get a dog I want one like this.

Saturday night we went to a rockabilly show in Eastern Germany. My stepmother got a warning from her mother as we were leaving. She told us to be careful in the "Wild East". My stepmother explained that it was a double warning because we were not only going to the Wild East but also to a rockabilly show. Rockabilly here attracts a neo-nazi crowd apparently. When my step mom was a teenager here they had banned certain types of clothes because they were associated with the neo-nazi movement and people dressed a certain way weren't allowed into the shows. Also, the east really is a little wild. The autobahn stops at a certain point, in fact we took it all the way to the end. They're was no autobahn in the east when they first opened up the border (in 1989) and a lot of the towns were really run down so they've been pouring money into building autobahns and restoring some of the old historic villages but it's a project that will probably still be going on for many years to come.

There were, in fact, a lot of skin heads at the rockabilly show. My step mom speculated that they were primarily there for the psychobilly act that opened the show, but also that it was Saturday night and there isn't much to do there so a show of any kind brings everyone out. I don't know that the skin heads are any different here than they are in the US, but...well, in the US I get the impression that it's mostly posturing. It's a style not a movement in the US. It seems like the ideology comes with the style more here. Maybe that's just cultural bias on my part. Perhaps being in the wild east got to me. Though, even here in the west, they have extra precautions to deter the violent tendencies of the neo-nazis. There are police in St. Jakobs Platz every morning when I walk through on my way to class.

It was definitely odd being so close to what used to be the border of Germany and the GDR and then being in the former GDR. During our excursion to Goslar my step mom pointed out the highest point in the Harz Mountains which used to be in the GDR or maybe in the demilitarized zone. It makes me wonder what it was like to be here when the borders first opened up. My step mom said the autobahn was extremely congested after the east opened because the old eastern cars couldn't drive faster than 80 k/h and ultimately they had to add extra lanes. The wall came down in November 1989, my step mom would have been almost 20 at the time. It must have been very odd to be a teenager when all that was happening, although I think by then my step mom was living in Munich which is at the other end of the country and was, perhaps, less affected by it.

Another thing there was a lot of at this rockabilly show was smoke. I think every person there, aside from my father, stepmother and me, was chain smoking. Even when they were dancing they all had a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other.

The bands were pretty good, but often difficult to understand because they sang in English but with thick accents. My dad and step mom, who are much bigger rockabilly fans than I, said they recognised some of the songs the first band played, but not many because they played so fast. According to them one of the schools of psychobilly is just to play everything twice as fast. Ironically that band (The Tombstone Surfers), I think, seemed to speak less accented English so they could have been more easily comprehended if they'd played slower. The third band (Desperado 5) was definitely the best and they had a saxophone player. I really enjoy horns in rock music. I would have been able to enjoy it more though if it hadn't been so smokey. I miss my nice smoke-free Seattle music scene.

On Sunday we ventured into Braunschweig, which is the "big city" compared to Wulfenbuetel. There was a gigantic flea market there and I picked up some interesting purchases. A lot of downtown Braunschweig was destroyed in the war so it's an interesting mix of old and new architecture. There is a particularly odd new building right in front of a really old church and across the street from a building that was reconstructed exactly as it had been before the bombings (but also attached to a brand new mall). It's an odd juxtaposition, and I'm not sure this photograph does it justice.

We had lunch across the street from the new old castle in Braunschweig and I had an "Alterbier" (I think). It is apparently a Northern German specialty, served with fruit in the bottom of the glass (in this case strawberries). It is one of about a million kinds of specialty beer that I've been told I have to try while I'm here. Since the soccer tickets are all sold out and the opera tickets are all sold out I guess that leaves beer drinking as my main tourist activity. Stay tuned for a beer update, some talk about lions, Prague, and possibly more pictures of cute furry animals.

And for Alice, a picture of the food I had for lunch that day. I've been forgetting to take pictures of all the food for you, but I remembered that day.

Freizeit? Was ist Freizeit?

2007-03-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

I looked up that cafe I was in last night and it's advertised as the first kosher cafe in Munich. Presumably that doesn't mean first ever but first in the last 60 years or so. It was a great place. The proprietor sat in the corner with a group of people debating the intricacies of language. At least I think that's what they were debating. They kept switching back and fourth from Hebrew to English to German (or possibly Yiddish or possibly both). The part of their conversation I caught was about the meaning of the (German) word Mench.

In German they often have one word for things we have several words for in English (like Die Krebs which is cancer, both the disease and the astrological sign, but also means crab, the animal) but just as often they have more than one word for things we only have one, if any, word for in English. Mensh is one of those. It means man. Der Mann also means man (or husband), but Mensh is the more global sense (like mankind). It's used where we might say "one" in English. It's in a German proverb I learned from my landlady "Des Menches wille ist sien Himmelreich" (Man's will is his heaven). Anyhow, one of this group was trying to explain to another what it meant (because she didn't speak much German), at that point they switched back to Hebrew and I couldn't understand any of it anymore. I kind of wish I spoke Hebrew (and/or better German) so I could have joined their conversation.

I also wish I could have found a place to plug in my laptop there because I could have had an equally interesting conversation online with a friend of mine about the same topic if my laptop battery hadn't died just then.

Today, for the first time I found myself responding to a question in German without having to search for the words. And today the sun finally came out on Sunny Street just in time for me to go north where it's still freezing and wet. Also, today, I felt for a moment like my time here is something to be gotten through rather than something to be savoured. I think that's partly because I don't have much free time while I'm in Munich. I'm in classes everyday from 8:30AM-5:00PM. I planned on getting out and seeing more of Europe on the weekends but now that I realize how little of Munich I get to see during the week I might stay in town on at least one of my weekends. I'm conflicted about it though because there's so many other cities I'd love to see too. Prague is one that I really can't miss. I can't imagine being this close to Prague and not going. The main reason I chose the Goethe Institut in Munich (as opposed to the one in Berlin, or Hannover, or Gottingen, etc) is because of its proximity to Prague.

Prague holds some sort of mystique for me that I can't quite explain. There is, of course, the fact that both King Wenceslaus and Saint Nicholas are from there which I find both interesting and somewhat funny. But the mystique of Prague is more than Christmas iconography. I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to it but it's one of the places I felt I had to go to. One of the only places that I'd even be willing to skip class to go to if I had to.

So, the itinerary was going to be:
This weekend (March 23-25) - in Wulfenbutel
Next weekend (March 30-April1) - in Prague
The following weekend (April 6-7) - in Belgium for the Tour of Flanders
Then on to London on April 15th, Spain April 19th, Ireland April 25th, home May 1st.

The Tour of Flanders turned out to be too expensive and time consuming so instead I'm going to leave for London a day early (on April 14th) and go from there to the Paris-Roubaix. I'm still going to Wulfenbutel, in fact I'm almost there now. Prague is a must but I'll probably do that the following weekend now to give myself a break from traveling and time to really enjoy and explore Munich.

Travelling kind of saps my energy and by travelling I mean the time spent on planes, trains or buses not the whole experience. I try not to think of this as a metaphor because I like to think of myself as, metaphorically, someone who enjoys the journey as much as the destination, not more, but as much. The literal journey, however, I kind of can't stand. Being in any kind of moving vehicle makes me alternately, and sometimes simultaneously, sleepy and nauseated but trains (and boats of course) are especially bad.

The 4 1/2 hour train ride from Munich to Hannover didn't just sap my energy it kind of sapped my will to live.

However, again just as I was starting to think the cold and fatigue were killing my spirit, I find myself in one of the cutest places in the world. I booked a hotel/train package (because it was significantly cheaper than the train ticket alone) and this hotel is fantastic and adorable. It's off on a side street in an old building. I arrived late, at around 11:30 and the reception desk was already closed for the night. It would have stayed open for me had I not completely messed up my reservation. I might not have even gotten in but for a cute old man who was just leaving the hotel to take his dog for a walk (I really love hotels that allow pets, by the way). He let me in and I called the receptionist from the phone in the lobby. They were super accommodating even though my astounding ineptitude was the sole reason for the mix up with my reservation.

Also, the room is basically the room I always wished I had at home when I was growing up. It's in the top corner of the building and the roof is sloped so I can only stand up fully in half of it. All the furniture is super dark wood and there's a skylight in the sloped part of the ceiling. This room is so cute I can hardly l stand it. And instead of a mint on the pillow there was a tiny bag of gummy bears.

It's places like this that make the time spent on planes and trains and buses worth it. Places like the cafe last night, where I thought I could happily sit for days drinking tea and eating potato soup and listening to interesting people have interesting debates that I could only partly understand, or this hotel where I wish I could set up residence and just sit in this room writing all day and night. If I had more time.

Potato Soup for the soul

2007-03-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's cold here, way colder than I'd like it to be. I like walking around the city and I don't have anything really warm with me. I mean my clothes are okay for cold weather but I have no gloves and, more importantly, nothing to keep my ears warm, but I'm not letting that stop me.

The last two nights in a row I've gotten lost in the city. Not really lost since I didn't really bother to attempt finding something specific until I couldn't stand the cold anymore. Both times I was lost and wandering aimlessly through the streets of Munich enjoying the city in all its urban beauty people have asked me for directions. I was able to give them directions, despite being almost completely lost myself, though admittedly the second time I had to use the map in my purse, only because this super cute guy stopped and asked me, in German which I don't understand, if something was one way or the other and I thought it was neither so I had to get the map out and show him. I kind of love giving directions to someone while lost myself, not just for the irony, but because it makes me feel quintessentially me. I don't think that people stop me on the street and ask for directions because I look like I know where I am or where I'm going, but because I look like someone who will help and I am. It's the dichotomy of me though that I will, can, and do help other people without finding my own way.

Tonight though I was looking for something specific and it was way to cold to give in to the urge to stay lost. I was looking for a cafe that I'd been told was a wireless hotspot. I can't get used to the numbering system here. In the US each block has a number grouping so all the numbers in that block are, for example, 1XX and the next block is 2XX. Here the numbers start with 1 and just keep going. So, the number I was looking for was 47 and I got to the end of the block and on one side saw 46 and the other 51, but 51 was the corner building so I'm thinking there can't be a 47, but it's actually 3 doors into the next block. I walked up and down the block and almost gave up before I remembered about the numbering system here.

I finally found it, came in, and ordered potato soup and tea in my very bad German. I said "Entschuldigung, meine Deutsch ist nicht serh gut" (excuse me, my German is not so good) and the woman behind the counter said, "Mine either, which is better?" and I said, somewhat confused, "English". It was then I realized that most of the people in here are speaking a language I don't quite recognize at first, Hebrew it turns out, which I understand none of and the only way I'm sure it's Hebrew is that I look around and notice the kosher products for sale and the menorah and Israeli flag.

This cafe, it turns out is a wireless hotspot but not the kind I thought so I had to pay. It was well worth it though. The potato soup here is so good that it totally makes up for the ridiculous rate I'm paying for the T-Moile hotspot even though I already signed up for a whole month with AOL.de hotspots. There are more T-Mobile hotspots (supposedly over 1000 in Munich), but T-Mobile doesn't offer a monthly membership. You have to pay for increments of 15 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours or 24 hours. The AOL membership costs less than 1/4 for a month what it costs for 24 hours with T-Mobile.

A Swede, a Brit and an American walk into a bar...

2007-03-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, not yet but it might happen and I'm sure there will be a joke in there somewhere when it does.

The people...

My landlady is an interesting character but I'm not sure I can do her justice so I'll tell you a little bit about my flatmates and classmates.

First, let me say that the Goethe Institut is exclusively a language school so it is very small and many, if not most, of the students here are not really students but professionals who are learning the language for work related reasons.

I have two flatmates and two classmates, of the four there is one Swede, one Brit, one Kuwaiti, and one Italian all of whom speak English. We, of course, are supposed to speak only in German but to each other we can't help but speak in English because the desire to have meaningful communication is there and by meaningful communication I mean...any, really.

My flatmates are the Swede and the Brit. The Swede is a salesman here to learn German because he has primarily German customers and travels in Germany at least 12 weeks a year. I think he's actually younger than me though he seems to be closer to my age than anyone I've met here yet. In some ways it's harder for me to relate to people my own age because of the place I'm at in life. For example the Swede, who is at least very close to my age, is done with University, he's working, he's married, he's past me basically.

I find it easier to relate to my other flat mate, the Brit. She is about 18 years old and she is here as part of her "gap" year. If I understand it the British system gives them a year off either between their equivalent of High School and Uni or the first year after Uni and she chose to take it before Uni rather than after. Her brother told her that Byern Munchen is playing Milan while she's here and apparently won't forgive her if she doesn't go to the game so I think the three of us (her, the Swede and I) will go together.

My classmates, the Kuwaiti and the Italian, are also older. The Kuwaiti is a doctor but is getting another degree, or doing his post-doc, here in Germany. The Italian is a banker with JP Morgan in London. He's married to a German woman and they are both trying to learn each other's languages. He says so far her Italian is better than his German but, in any event, they speak to each other mostly in English.

The only other people I've met here so far are friends of my family. My step-mother was into the rockabilly scene when she lived here in Munich (she still is but in Seattle now), she published a magazine much like my dad's magazine back home and I met a couple of friends of hers from back then. Also, I met a friend of my dad's (a musician who, I believe, played with him at his gigs here on at least one of his trips over) and his son who's studying Physics at the University. The son was pretty stoked on the new football stadium (that's soccer for you non-Euros) and said I had to see it.

So, that's two recommendations, nay, demands, to see soccer. I guess it would be way out of line for me not to. Perhaps seeing it live will turn me into a fan. I think it's funny how insistent the Europeans are that live soccer will convert me but when I say the same thing about baseball they laugh in my face.

So, I'll leave you with this quote:

"I'm over soccer...I just think it's a mind numbing bore and anyone with sense would rather be playing it than watching it" - Dan Rydell (Sports Night)

The not so sunny side of the street

2007-03-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

Munich is so much more beautiful that I could have even imagined. I really am at a loss for words about it so that part of the story will be mostly pictures. For now I'll talk about my living arrangements.

I am living in a boarding house in one of the bussiest parts of Munich. It's an amazing old building with, of course, a bunch of modern improvements. This flat, though, does not have a few things that I generally find essential, like an internet connection. It also has a washing machine but no dryer and as inconvenient as that is I have to say having a hand held shower head is far worse. Now, to sound, as Lou Reed ellegantly put it "so BA in English", I've just put this travel blog in conversation with a friend's blog. He's in Spain, having some interesting adventures of his own and he too noticed the inconvenience of not being able to quickly dry one's clothes. He's right, of course, but try washing your hair one handed.

Communicating with the outside world is a problem on top of a problem on top of a problem. First, there is the lack of internet connection in the flat I'm staying in. Secondly the exorbinate international roaming rates on my cell phone combined with the fact that my cell phone doesn't even get signal in most parts of Munich including the street I live on (or any non-urban areas in Europe including all of the places I went to in Switzerland and Italy). So, I've solved the later by buying a pre-paid German cell phone which won't do me much good in London, Spain or Ireland which are the places I might really need a cell phone because I'll be trying to connect with people. That said, if you want to call me e-mail me and I'll give you my European mobile number, it's likely to be the best way to reach me for at least the next month. The former problem is easy enough to solve as there are two wireless hotspots within a short walk of where I live which I'm happy to do since Munich is amazing to walk around in. It's very pedestrian (and bicycle) heavy. Not that it doesn't have it's share of car traffic too, but it seems, to me, much more condusive to foot traffic (for those expecting me to actually learn something while I'm here that would be fuss gehen auf Deutsch).

Which brings me to the final problem of communicating with the outside world inside Munich. That is to say, I don't speak German (or I speak only ein bisschen Deutch). I'm here primarily (almost solely) to learn to speak German, but I don't yet so logistically I'm in an interesting position in a foreign city, my first time abroad, not speaking the language and trying to get settled. It's actually mostly a lot less difficult and frightening than I expected it to be but in some ways it is actually more unsettling. For example, it does bring out my naturally shy tendency. I'm not one to approach people anyway, but at least when they approach me I'm pretty confindent in holding up my end of the conversation (and then some, as you can tell I'm very...verbal), but now that confidence is gone. For now I'm content to walk around the city observing but pretty soon I'm going to want to engage a little more.

The one draw back of the walking around philosophy and of being a pedestrian in Munich right now in general is the weather. It's cold. In fact it snowed today. It's apparently unseasonably cold. Normally Munich is very snowy in the winter time and starts warming up near the end of March but this year they had no snow at all, no rain, just clear sunny skies all winter, until now. The weather in Locarno was also unseasonable but the other way. Usually Locarno is still cold and often even snowy until the very end of March or begining of April but they had a very dry winter as well and it got warm sooner than usual. So there was no snow left there and, I went from warm, sunny weather, every day to grey, cold, snowy weather in just a 5 hour drive yesterday and both were, apparently, out of the ordinary.

Now on to the photographic portion of your entertainment.

This is my room

And the view from my room

And my street

And the entry hall to the building I'm living in

And the courtyard. If it ever warms up perhaps I'll spend some time out there.

And the stairwell. I am on the third floor, which is actually the fourth floor because the numbering of floors starts with 0 here.

And a medly of pictures of my walk home from class today. First we have a couple of pictures of the ironically named Sonnenstrasse (sunny street), I'm sure there is lots of sun most of the time but there isn't predicted to be any more for quite a while. Munich is so amazingly beautiful that every few meters or so I have to stop and take another picture. At least I know I'll never get lost coming home from class and if I do I'll have all these pictures to guide my way.

The last two are the brand new Jewish Community Center (and, I think, Temple). Not as architecturally interesting as I imagine the old one was, the one that was burned down on the famous "night of broken glass", but they chose not to rebuild the old one and instead sold the property and bought new land to build this building. Stay tuned for more about the new Munich Temple and the resurgence of Judaism in Germany. It's only about a block and a half from where I'm living and I plan to go to the Temple at least once while I'm here. It will actually be a first for me.
I'm Jewish but I like to say I'm faux Jewish or that I'm Jewish by technicallity. My mother's, mother's, mother was Jewish and being Jewish is matralineal (according to Orthodox rules) ergo it doesn't matter what (if any) religion you were raised practicing, if your mother was a Jew you are (and, interestingly, if your mother was not a Jew, even if your father was, no matter how devoutly you practice Judaism, you are not a Jew). My grandmother though, didn't even know that she was Jewish until she was an adult with kids of her own, adult kids of her own, in fact, even one grandchild (my big brother). She told my mother who was either trying to get pregnant or already was pregnant with me at the time and my mother has made a bit of an effort ot reconnect with this part of her heritage but only as far as giving me a Hebrew name and lighting candles on Hanukkah really. So, I've never been to Temple, but what better time and place to start than in Munich less than a year after the opening of the new Munich Temple and the ordination of the first group of Rabbis in Germany in 60 years.

Italy, Livestock and Little Miss Sunshine Euro style

2007-03-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

Day 2
On my second day here we went to Italy, just 15 minutes away. Ah Italy, land of Espresso and Gellato where life moves a little slower (except behind the wheel of a car) and people give their children numbers rather then names (like Primo Levy). I actually don't have much to say about Italy, except that there are a lot of churches there too and they are really ornate, sometimes the point of being ridiculous. In addition to there being churches every few meters in Switzerland and Italy there are also little shrines to the Virgin Mary set up periodically by the side of the road or in the middle of little villages. This is big time Catholic country. In fact I haven't seen much evidence of any other religions being practiced here at all, aside from the two families of Hasidic Jews that were on the flight into Zurich with me. My step-grandparents tell me there is a large Jewish population in the German states of Switzerland, but here in Ticino it's pretty homogeneously Catholic.

Day 3
We went up into one of the Alpine valleys and saw a bunch of Rustica villages. The houses in these villages are all built out of stone (including their roofs). The Alps here are basically solid granite so the cutting (and selling) of granite is big business here and everything that can be made of granite is. The curbs on the sidewalk are granite, the cobble stones are granite, fence posts are made of granite, the stakes holing up the grape vines are granite, the drain grates are granite, any outdoor stairs and many indoor ones are granite and up in the alpine villages whole houses are made of it. Granite is everywhere.

Another thing that is everywhere here - dairy products. I swear it seems like the dairy products aisle in the grocery stores takes up at least 1/3 of the total shelf space. Switzerland has crazy dairy products. Way better than anything we have in the states. I'm told that this is true of all Europe, which I suppose I'll see a bit of for myself by the time I'm done. The icon of Switzerland is a cow though so it stands to reason they'd have a pretty good handle on making dairy products. Butter, cheese, yogurt, it's all good here.

We got a chance to see first hand some of the super adorable livestock Switzerland has in such abundance. I know, "adorable" and "livestock" aren't usually words you hear together, but take a look at these pictures and tell me you don't think they're super cute.

Tap water is also better here. In fact where ever water runs from any kind of tap, fountain or spigot you can drink it and it's great. Every little village up in the mountains still has a community water source (like the fountain in this picture) and, while animals bathe in the trough the water coming from the spigot is cleaner than anything you'll find stateside.

We, of course, had fondue for dinner so I could get the complete Swiss experience and fully enjoy the fantastic cheese that abounds here.

Day 4
We went back to Bellinzona for the market they have on Saturdays which was remarkably like Pike Place market except they only have it one day a week (half a day really since it closes at 1:00PM). We also saw the other two castles there which were actually, along with the one we saw my first day here, at one time all three connected by a wall that went all the way across the valley. So, really the three castles were once one castle. More castles meant more opportunity for me to take zillions of pictures, of course, and on our way back to Locarno we stopped an watched some Go Kart racing which was fun and provided another opportunity for me to indulge my photography obsession. The drivers were all little kids (maybe 7 or 8 years old) but it seemed to be a pretty serious race. They had a pit crew and little racing suits and everything.

Day 5
My last day in Switzerland, spent mostly in the car. I was actually in 4 different countries (none of which had anyone stationed at their borders so I still don't have any stamps on my passport), Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria and Germany. We drove up through the Alps which was pretty amazing. Unfortunately I got hardly any good pictures of that because I was in a car on the Autobahn the whole time. I'm in Munich now and, as you might imagine, have loads to say about it too but apparently the Internet hasn't come to Europe yet, at least not to Germany or Switzerland, you'll have to wait a day or two for the next update because I'm at a wireless hot spot but only had 2 hours battery life on my laptop and it's nearly out.

Spring Break in Switzerland: Girls Do Not Go Wild

2007-03-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-15T03:21:00.001-07:00

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.

2007-03-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-03-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

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

2007-03-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

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.