Motorcycle Tour - The Beginning

Anytime you take a trip for a couple of days and you're traveling by motorcycle, packing for it will be an interesting feat; simply because you don't have a trunk to put anything in...just a backpack and a tankpack to share between 2 people and another great way to bond. :)




The first day of the motorcycle trip was relatively low key. We rode out to a town near Zurich so we could meet up with our other traveling companion, Martin.




Martin and his family live here. This house is amazing! We were warmly welcomed and had a great meal.




















Later in the evening, we rode into Wadenswil to see a local film that was being shown outdoors at Rosenmatt park. I was totally kicking myself because I forgot to bring my camera. You can get an idea of what it looked like, if you visit their website : http://www.rosenmattpark.ch/ The film, "Heimatklange" (english translation "Echoes of Home") was about the history and current state of Yodeling in Switzerland today. Did you know that back in they day, there were yodeling gangs? They'd yodel at one another and beat eachother up. Most of the time, I find yodeling to be amusing and somewhat goofy. I never thought I'd ever find it beautiful. There were moments in the film where I was really moved by it. I know...it's strange. It's just one of those things you'd have to see for yourself.

Next to the outdoor screen was a restaurant in a tented area. It had some really great ambience and once again, I wish I had my camera so I could show you. After hanging out, having something warm to drink and talking, it was well after 1am and we rode our motorcycles back to the house.

A Harley, Leather and Attitude

Anytime you ride a Harley and wear a black leather outfit to match, you're destined to feel bad ass and have the voracious desire to take a series of poser pics. As promised, here are the best of the poser pics:







































































If you're honest with yourself, poser pics are a lot of fun to take! I felt like I was channeling a little bit of the Trinity character from The Matrix.

I will post more later about the actual trip.
:)

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...

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:

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!