Thursday, July 31, 2008

Long Way Round


One of my favorite TV documentaries is called "Long Way Round" which stars actors and best friends Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. They decided that they were going to ride their motorcycles around the world beginning in London, England...traveling east through Europe and Asia...flying in to Alaska and the final destination being New York City. A film crew accompanied them and there's a lot of great footage of their travels. It was a pretty incredible roadtrip complete with all the unexpected things that always seem to happen. I highly recommend watching it.
When you watch something like this, it makes you want to travel and see the world too.
Well, I guess you could say that I'm getting my own little/short version of the "Long Way Round." This afternoon, I'm leaving on a motorcycle tour of Switzerland and I am stoked! Someone was kind enough to lend us a Harley Davidson with all the trimmings...i.e. matching leather outfits, gloves, helmuts, boots and back packs. Yes, I will be sure to post the poser pictures.
I've ridden a motorcycle before, but not a Harley. There will be 3 of us, a couple motorcycles and the open road. Wahoo. Adventure awaits...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Cherry Picking


To earn some extra cash, I went cherry picking out in the swiss countryside. I had no idea that cherry picking could be so much fun! I was there all day and had a blast picking cherries and taking in the incredible beauty of the swiss countryside. It was so peaceful. Afterwards, we were each given a box of cherries to take home.

As usual, I took a short video of the view. I wish you were here to see it for yourself:

Castle Ruins

I took a short hike up to Homburg...an old castle that once was.


This was the view at the beginning. Can you believe it? It really feels like a dream here sometimes.












After about a 10 minute hike from that point, the castle is visible.






















When I read about the all the earthquakes, fires and wars this castle has survived, I'm surprised there's even anything left standing.














Once you walk through the main entrance, this is what you see.





As you can see, there are no more floors.









...but you can always count on a long winding staircase to the top.













Old church bells rang off in the distance. It was the perfect summer day.







When there's no one else around...it feels like the castle is your own little getaway.


















The view is amazing:



On our way back, we ran into some noisy sheep:


Basel


Last week, I enjoyed a liesurely stroll through the city of Basel. I live in Liestal which isn't too far away. I'd venture to say that Liestal is to Basel what Gresham is to Portland. It was fun to walk around and take in some of the sights. I took more pictures:




This was taken from the highest point in Basel.











Yours truly.








This is the oldest cafe in Basel and was originally started by some jewish people before they were driven out during WWII times.
The cafe has some excellent chocolate cake and tea.








Wherever you go in Europe, no matter the size of the town, you can be sure that the church building will always be outstanding.
















I met the guys who's been the caretaker to this church for over 10 years. They've been working on restoring it for a long time. He knows every nook and cranny of this church. He showed me that two people can stand on opposite ends of the big doorframe and whisper things to one another. It's crazy, but you're able to hear what the other is saying. There are also some secret passages too. I love being able to find out about things like this!







I took a couple other shots:


Monday, July 21, 2008

Showtime

After a week of new friends, great conversations, interesting experiences and endless sights, we were finally gearing up for the big show.




Setting up the stage.













Hanging up balloons.














People begin arriving.











And so we begin....









I played some music.













Some members of the band, Meglomania, also played. And out of no where, we had some fire performers come out.















Bryan had a successful unveiling of his sculpture.

It was a fantastic night where music, art and culture collided....proving to be one unforgettable evening.

The Lithuanian people were attentive and enthusiastic. We all had a great time together!

Dancing

Next Year, Vilnius will be the European Capital of Culture in 2009. Understandably so. There is so much culture here. Music fills the streets as well as contemporary art in unexpected places. There is also dancing. One evening, the gallery we were at had a night of dance performances. It all started off relatively normal.

There were flamenco dancers:




A Justin Timberlake dancer:




A ballet dancer:




Then came the next, uh, dancer. This was some sort of interpretive dance about the raw human struggle.

So this guy comes out hidden beneath a fur jacket, blowing feathers and has a saw tied around his ankle. Here are a couple more pics:





At times, he looked like something out of the movie The Exorcist.










Didn't know quite what to make of it. At on point, he started waving the saw around in the air like a lasso. Since I was at the very front, I backed up a little bit because he got really close.
His performance lasted 20-25 minutes.












Here's a video of the craziness:

The Food

Most of the food I had in Vilnius is great. If you're interested in eating food, though, you have to make sure that you order before 10pm. There were a couple times where we'd be working late and when we went to have a late dinner, the waiter would tell us, "Sorry, our kitchen closes at 10pm. All we have available are drinks or dessert." At first, we thought this was just for one particular restaurant...but then we went to another restaurant after that and were told pretty much the same thing...except that all the appetizers were still available. Since the menu was all in Lithuanian and none of us had a clue what the appetizers were, we decided to be adventurous and order every appetizer on the menu. It was funny to see the look on the waitress' face.
So...the appetizers eventually all came and they were so good! The restaurant we were at was called Boheme and I highly recommend it.



The ambience is great too. A couple days later we went back and got to have a full meal there. I ordered some meat! It was tasty. :)












There was a wine bar there too. I love the old time feel of it.








Another great restaurant to go to is the Uzupio Klasika. This is a great place for a romantic dinner for two.










You can get your own private dining room....








...with the option of dim lighting.

wahoo.







The food, drink and dessert were amazing!

Vilnius - Part 3


There are more than 40 churches in Vilnius. No matter where you are in this city, you're bound to see a church. Some have been restored while others are in the process or are waiting to be restored. Because of Soviet and Russian occupation, some of these churches were used for all sorts of different things like grain stores, galleries, atheist museums or even prisons.
Visiting some of these churches totally enthralled me. They are haunted with history but have maintained such a sacred air about them.
I took so many pictures that it's really hard to narrow it down.


This is St. Anne's Church






























A view up into the tower.












The Vilnius Cathedral is one of Vinius' main attractions.

















I took a couple short videos to give you an idea:










The Jesuit Church of St. Casimir














While I was visiting this particular church, I noticed that they were about to have a concert there in 15 minutes. So I took a seat and waited for it to begin.
It was a women's ensemble. Sometimes, they were so in sync together that it sounded like one voice singing instead of an ensemble. The acoustics in this church were amazing and their voices were ethereal.
As usual, I took a short video:

Vilnius - Part 2


This castle is known as Gediminas' Castle and is considered a symbol of Vilnius. It was built at the beginning of the 14th century and has endured several wars. After surviving WWII, it was restored and is now a museum.





There wasn't too much inside that interested me.








I was more interested in climbing to the top of the castle to take in the the incredible panoramic view of the city. Too bad I don't have a panoramic setting on my camera, but you get the gist.

This is the view of old town Vilnius:


This is the view of modern day Vilnius:









This is main street.










One thing I've always enjoyed are the street musicians: