Bells and Lights

The Chrismas decorations, in my little town, Liestal, are all hung up and ready for the upcoming holiday. I really enjoy walking through here in the evening. It's just beautiful and there's such a warm glow amidst the bitterly cold weather we've been having lately.

















I can hardly believe that Christmas is next week!

A European Winter

Sometimes I forget that I'm in Europe. Yeah, I know...utterly ridiculous. But when things get busy and the days start to blur, sometimes you just forget where you are. The town I live in is fairly small and has a quaint European feel to it but the newness of it has worn off a little. Now that the summer days are over and life has settled a bit, my travel has been less frequent.
Due to immigration processes in conjunction with a certain possible upcoming event on the horizon (*wink*), I had to take the train, on Wednesday, to go to the Canadian consulate in the city of Bern, Switzerland (which, incidentally, is the country's capital).
I have to say that some of my favorite moments in Europe have been the times where I've been able to just wander around, take in whichever sights and discover new places along the way. There were a couple extra hours before my consulate appointment and afterwards to go explore and I was extremely happy that I was smart enough to bring my camera to capture the beauty of winter here in Switzerland.


Welcome to Bern.


















I enjoyed the city of Bern very much so, but it was the quieter places that moved me the most.
Warning: I'm going to inundate you with pictures of winter serenity.





























Needless to say, it's snowed a lot the last couple of days.










As I was walking underneath the bridge, there were some punk teenagers throwing snowballs at me from up above. Luckily, I'm quick like a ninja and dodged them all. :)












After walking around, the cold starts to get to you. I noticed this cozy looking cafe and decided a hot chocolate was in order. It most certainly hit the spot.





I had no idea, until I took this picture, that Albert Einstein lived here in Bern for 7 years. It was here that he wrote some of his most significant papers on scientific topics like the Special Theory of Relativity and the Light Quantum Hypothesis. My curiosity was piqued and I wanted to go inside and get a glance of his life, but for some reason, it was closed!







When I saw this place, I laughed out loud and then had to take a picture.








Bern is a wonderful place to visit and the winter season just made it all the more magical. There was that moment of renewed excitement where, once again, I pinched myself and said "I'm in Europe."
And Europe is where I'll be.

What's in your yard?

As many of you know, I live in a really big house with 6 other people. One of them decided a couple weeks ago that they were going to throw a snow party in our yard. After a little bit of planning, the big day came. When the Swiss party....they party!
We haven't had a ton of snow yet over here, so they decided to go get some from the local ice arena. 12 truck loads later, we had a yard full of snow. A steep ramp was built along with a couple of jumps and rails. The party soon began and we had snowboarders and skiers coming out to partake in the fun. When you put that together with great food, beer, wine and an afterparty inside with duel karaoke...it amounts to a very entertaining evening. And no, I did not do any snowboard or ski jumping.......that's just a disaster waiting to happen...a little too hazardous to my health, perhaps.

Here are some pics:



A view of the ramp

















A view from the ramp













A view from the rail














A view of the jumps





As usual, I took a couple short videos to give you an idea

SMS Dating

The other day, I decided to browse through a swiss newspaper to see how many german words I could recognize. Flipping through the pages, I came across the classifieds section. There was one particular page that you couldn't help but notice with the big splashy headline: SMS Dating!
"Meet and get to know someone!" was one of the slogan statements.
I guffawed. Yes...I did.
Dating via text message? What will they think of next?
I took a quick glance at some of the text message names listed:

BoneThug
FreeLove
BlueBull

Seriously? Yes, seriously.
Don't those names absolutely compel you to drop everything you're doing just to send off a quick text message so you can seize the opportunity to "get to know" someone? I couldn't help but wonder how much those people paid to actually get their text name onto that page.
It's an odd world sometimes.

Snow

Some of you have been asking how the weather's been here. It's been snowing a lot of the weekend. I think it's safe to say that winter has officially arrived.



This weather makes me want to drink tea and curl up with a blanket. I've been in my room with a couple cups of tea, reading, watching movies, talking with old friends (by way of skype) and making music. It's been a wonderfully creative and therapeutic weekend.

Early Turkey

I decided since I wasn't going to be in the states for Thanksgiving this year, I was going to bring Thanksgiving to Switzerland. A couple of us got together and planned it. Due to everyone's schedule's we ended up having an early Thanksgiving. I've never before prepared or cooked a turkey so this was a first for me. The grocery stores where I live actually don't sell turkey's. Bryan ended up going to Germany for half a day to try and find one! After about 3 or 4 tries, he was finally able to locate one and bring it back.
A couple years ago, I had the best turkey I've ever had with my friend Nicole and her mom. I was able to find the recipe they used. In case you're wondering, you can find the recipe here
After thawing the turkey, I unwrapped it and looked inside to try and find the giblets. I didn't see anything and wasn't too sure if I had to go digging for them or something since this was the first time I had ever done it. I ended up calling my mom just to double check. She got a good laugh out of it. As it turned out, the turkey was completely cleaned out already and there were no giblets.

All I had to do was just wash it out, add all the herbs and stuff it.
It went relatively smoothly and soon the turkey was ready to be put in the oven. To spice things up a bit, we added some apple cinnamon cognac to the sauce we were using to baste the turkey with. It tasted great and the gravy was amazing!







Everything was fantastic and full of flavor! The only thing missing was some cranberry sauce to go with the turkey. I love that stuff, but I haven't seen it anywhere around Switzerland.










To top everything off, we had pumpkin pie and apple pie. Afterwards, I was stuffed and ready for a nap!




This year, I am thankful for the simple joys of life...good food, laughter, great company, a roof over my head and a nice bed to sleep in.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Blindekuh

First of all, thanks to everyone who called me or emailed me wishing me a happy birthday. This last week, I've been feeling homesick so it was especially meaningful to hear from you.

My birthday went well. It started off with a nice brunch with my man and some gifts. Then we headed to Germany...which is just 20 minutes away. :) Unfortunately, everything was closed due to the holiday...All Saints Day or Holy Day..or something along those lines. So we came back to Switzerland and went to the carnival for a very competitive round of bumper cars. I think it's safe to say that it ended in a tie. Bryan got me as bad as I got him and we smashed a couple people along the way as well....which did wonders for my road rage. After that, my man showed off an impressive display of his strength...which won me a stuffed heart. Wahoo!
Since it was pretty cold out, we warmed up with some hot chocolate and good conversation at a cafe nearby. There was some time to kill before our dinner reservation and we walked around for a little while until we couldn't take the cold anymore.
We discovered a great place along the way...I can't even remember the name of it. It had comfortable couches to sit on and the ambiance was great. So we got comfortable and hung out talking about our process as artists.
Before too long, it was time for dinner.







Bryan took me to this one restaurant that I've been wanting to check out for a while now called "Blindekuh".
It is the most unusual dining experience I've ever had. Basically, you eat completely in the dark and your server is a blind person. I wasn't exactly too sure how it was going to work and felt intrigued by the concept and how provocative it is.
Before you are seated or even led into the main dining room, you are given a menu at the front desk and are told to choose which items you would like to eat and to remember them. You are then assigned a locker to place your jacket, purse, wallet and cell phone in. The front desk then tells you who your waiter will be and you wait in the lobby until he or she comes out. They encourage you to use the well lit bathroom before you are seated.
Our waiter's name was Moritz. After a few minutes, he came out to the lobby and asked for us. He told us that he would lead us to our table. The three of us walked in a line...my hand on Bryan's shoulder, Bryan's hand on Moritz's shoulder while Moritz led the way in complete darkness....and we're talking COMPLETE darkness. Where it's so dark, you can't see your hand in front of your face....you literally can't see ANYTHING.
Once we reached our table, Moritz placed our hands on the chairs we would be sitting in. From the sound of it, the place was packed with people. It is a little unnerving to hear, smell and feel the environment around you, but not be able to see it.
"This dining room could be the most ugly cheap looking dining room, but you'd never know it." I said to Bryan.
We felt around our table area and discovered where our silverware, glasses and napkins were placed, along with the appetizer bread basket. :) For the first little bit, the darkness felt a little claustrophobic to me and then my eyes were playing tricks on me. I kept thinking I was seeing a faint hint of light when I wasn't really...it was like blindspots dancing in front of your face. After a while, though, I became pretty comfortable and not so bad about judging distances between my place settings, the bread basket and Bryan.
Moritz came to our table and took our order. He brought us some wine and sparkling water. I'm very please to say that I didn't spill on myself once! And that's a big deal for someone who's as clumsy as me and who as Coincidental Misfortune Syndrome (CMS). The italian red wine was fantastic and before we knew it, our food had arrived. I had a delicious steak with sauteed vegetables and some risotto with this incredible rosemary garlic sauce. Best risotto I've ever had! Eating in the dark was a little bit more challenging, but I was still able to pull it off without spilling on myself. I know...unbelievable!
Moritz was the perfect server and I was amazed at his ability to serve us and bring us our food without any problem at all. He was effortless and charming.
For dessert, I had a chocolate mouse with gingerbread crumbs and red wine fig leaves. AMAZING!
It really was an incredible dining experience and gave me even more respect for people who are blind as well as a glimpse of what it's like to be in their shoes.
After we finished, Moritz led us out of the dining room and back to the main lobby. The light was harsh on our eyes and we were squinting for a little bit.
The whole experience felt a little surreal. I highly recommend it!

Like I said, my birthday went well. :)

28

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 28.

I have a question for all of my 30 year old and over friends. Did it ever start to get to you a little bit...the closer you got to the big 3-0? Did you ever feel panicky or try to start rowing backwards?

The other day, I was remembering a line from Deana Carter's song "Strawberry Wine":

I remember
when 30 was old

I totally identify with that. Now that I'm getting closer to that number, it doesn't seem so old. Or maybe that's just something I like to tell myself so I feel better. ;)
At what point do we grow up? When are we considered to be a grown up? 30 just seems so serious.
Yeah, I know, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself...it's 2 years away. It just feels so much closer this time around.
There's this movie I watched not too long ago called "The Straight Story". It's about how this old man, Alvin, rides his little tractor hundreds of miles just so he can reconcile with his ill brother. Along the way, he meets a variety of people from all different walks of life. There's this one scene where he's having a conversation with a group of young cyclists:

Alvin Straight: You don't think about getting old when you're young... you shouldn't.
Cyclist #1: Must be something good about gettin' old?
Alvin Straight: Well I can't imagine anything good about being blind and lame at the same time but, still at my age I've seen about all that life has to dish out. I know to separate the wheat from the chaff, and let the small stuff fall away.
Cyclist #2: So, uh, what's the worst part about being old, Alvin?
Alvin Straight: Well, the worst part of being old is rememberin' when you was young.

The hardest part of getting old is remembering that you were young once. I think there's so much truth to that.

Fall...or Winter?

As I was walking to my German lesson, on Wednesday, I couldn't help but notice the beauty of fall. Fall is my favorite season.
Luckily, I had a my camera with me and took a couple pics.


















The next morning, I woke up and there was some snow on the ground. Winter is trying to shove its way in. Right outside my window:















The weather here in Swizterland reminds me of Portland sometimes: the sky can't make up its mind. It frequently changes. You never really know what you're going to get. And the weatherman are rarely right with their predictions.

Artist Party

It was that time of year again...another artist party was to be had.
This last Saturday, here in Basel, Switzerland, we all gathered and dressed "artistically" and created "artistic" hairdo's in.
My hairdo basically consisted of me flipping my hair over and hairspraying it like crazy. I look like I'm wearing a wig, but really it's just a back comb over and the hairspray fooling you.
You should have seen the looks that people were giving me as we were driving and then walking to the party! I felt like a rebel or some kind of misfit.
There were several other people decked out for the occasion:



















































There was music












Food














Drinks






And even some breakdancing! There was a breakdancer who came and did some breakdancing and painting simultaneously. I took a video:





It was a smaller turnout than last year, but sometimes smaller is better. :)
I had a great time.

Blue Like Jazz

While I was on tour, I re-read Donald Miller's "Blue Like Jazz". There's a specific part in the book where he talks about his experience attending Reed College which is in Portland, Oregon. He spoke of how beautiful the campus is and of how one night he was hanging out with a friend and they walked across the Blue Bridge...which he describes as , "a beautiful walking bridge on the campus that stretches across a canyon, fit with blue lights, which, when you look, at them with blurred eyes, feels like stars lighting a path winding toward heaven."
Right after the tour, I was scheduled to head back to Portland for a couple of weeks. While I was there, I played at a festival, spent time with my family and friends and tied up a lot of my loose ends from my 10 year stay there. :)
One particular night, I got together with my friend (and co-producer), Todd (or Mr. T as I like to call him). We went out and had some fabulous ethiopian food at the Queen of Sheba. Afterwards, we were trying to decide what to do. It was a beautiful summer night...perfect for walking.
"What would you like to do?" He asked me.
"This is going to sound really odd." I said. "Have you ever been to Reed College before?"
"Yes. I've played there before." He said.
"I just finished reading a book called 'Blue Like Jazz' and there's one part where the author talked about his experiences at Reed College. He talked about how beautiful the campus was and about this one bridge in particular." I hastily tried to explain. "The way he described it...well, it makes me want to go there, see the campus and find the bridge for myself. Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Todd said (because he's cool like that!) "Let's do it."
So, we went to Reed College, parked and started walking around to try and find it.
Donald Miller wasn't lying when he said how beautiful the campus is. There are several bridges and walking paths there. The landscape was really pretty.
We walked in the afterglow of the sunset and went in search of the bridge.















And we found it! The sky was losing light fast, so I took a couple pics quickly.

I love reading about places and then actually going there myself to see firsthand what the writer is talking about. It's just one of those things that I get some small satisfaction out of.
We came across another bridge too:


This one was lit in a way that felt like the sun was setting behind you and the orange glow was reflecting off of the railings.


It was a fun little adventure.

World Snack Tour

At the beginning of September, I went on a 2 week tour with a band named "Megalomania" and company. We had gigs in Switzerland and Germany. It was a first for me and there were a lot of new things along the way. I actually didn't really take a lot of pictures, which is a bit surprising. But we were pretty busy and now I totally get why artists who tour don't always remember which city they're in or where they were the day before. It gets crazy and becomes a blur all at once. There were a lot of great times and good laughs...even when things got frustrating or we were tired. We even had matching t-shirts made with the World Snack logo on them. So why World Snack Tour, you might ask? After a lot of the shows, we'd bring out a variety of different snacks and hang out with people and talk for a while. It was great!
I selected a couple of my favorite pics I took:





In Bern, Switzerland, we played in an old 70's disco room. This was during our soundcheck.


































Here we are in Freiburg, Germany...














To the left of me, you can see Micha's
shadow...he's playing hand drums with me.









During the encore, we'd all play and sing together. I forgot how great it is to play with a band.

Giselle

The highlight of my trip to Rome ended up being our last night. After all of us dressed up and had a great dinner, we went to an Italian ballet called "Giselle". This ballet was held outside among these old roman ruins.




It was the perfect, warm summer night.
The moon was out in its fullness, the stars were making an appearance and there wasn't a cloud in sight.











When you go to another country that you've never been to before, you always hope for something extraordinary to happen...to have at least one of those great memories that will stay with you for the rest of your life. The kind where you can say, "When I went to _____, I got to see________."
I love going on vacation and have something out of the norm happen...outside of all the sightseeing, museums, historic landmarks, shopping, wonderful food and touristy things.
I have been to several ballet productions before, but never like this.


After receiving our programs, we headed to the bar that was setup. One of the featured items they had were Ritz crackers! It made me laugh! I really wasn't expecting that.




Once we got something to drink, we found our seats and took in the set design along with the sounds of the orchestra warming up.









You could feel the anticipation.



My lil' sis and I.....happy to be there!











There was no photography allowed during the performance...but you know me. I snuck a couple pictures as well as a video:







It was a magical night...and such a great moment to end on.