JUNE
1) Alsace, France
Bruce has done a great job writing about our trip, check it out: http://switzerbruce.blogspot.com/2009/06/wine-in-france.html
2) Europride Parade in Zurich, Switzerland
I actually wrote a bit about this here:
3) Lucerne, Switzerland with IAESTE
Lucerne was a special trip where I first experienced the unmatched beauty of Switzerland. This is truly one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, so beautiful it's hard to believe that what I'm looking at is real and that it's not a postcard! So pretty it hurts. I also had the chance to meet alot of other trainees like me on this trip, but a lot of them were only here for the summer and I have had to say goodbye :(
On a boat tour on Lake Lucerne4) Berlin, Germany
Bianca, a very talented violinist and friend of mine, invited me to join her on a trip with her to Berlin to see an outdoor performance by the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and also a solo performance by Evgeny Kissin. We also joined her orchestra friend Alex who is working in Dusseldorf, Germany. It was a fantastic weeked of music and exploring a city with such a cool, raw vibe. This history that I learned there about the Communist rule and liberation on November 9, 1989 was more than an social studies class that I ever had in school. Definitely a city everyone must see!
At the original start of the East Side Gallery, Berlin's longest remaining stretch of the Wall. This exact segment isn't there anymore because they have repainted the entire Gallery for the 20th anniversary of the Fall this year.5) Interlaken, Switzerland
I met with Megan Chan and Alex Chan at one of the world's top places for adventure and extreme sports and activities! I think I can almost compare it to a Swiss Banff. We went for my first hike from Schynige Platte to First in the famous Swiss Alps (although it was so foggy we couldn't take advantage of the panoramic views that this hike was known for), and then went canyoning the next day! Canyoning is pretty much descending a water/stream/river filled canyon by any means possible (eg. swimming, rappelling, sliding, jumping of 25 ft cliffs...) and it was thrillling!!! You really have no time to think or else you'd just get too scared and be one of those wimps that have to walk on the paths that are actually right beside all this ridiculousness that you are doing. Oh, and I also visited the Schuh chocolate factory where I was this close to dropping my Engineering career and instead aspire to become a Chocolatiere. Hahha a great time and visit with some Canadians!
Oh, and can I just add that I am in complete awe of Switzerland's hiking/biking/trails network? Every path in this country is marked with a yellow sign that can take you anywhere you want. The small alley behind hind my house is an official hiking trail, or "Wanderweg". It makes hiking so incredibly easy, no wonder the Swiss are so fit. I love it here.
Hiking the Faulhornweg
1) Amsterdam, Holland
I clearly remembering this weekend materializing out of nowhere, where my plane was just suddenly booked in a matter of about 20 minutes. It started with me just casually chatting with Bianca, when suddenly she says:
"Hey Rachel, Shannon is going to this HUGE party in Amsterdam called Sensation White. Want to go?"
"Uhhh, what is it?"
(come the magic of the Internet and YouTube)
"WHOAAAA...yeah let's do it."
"Ok. This is the plane that Shannon booked."
Done.
Went back to the Schad where I was temporarily living at and ended up convincing two more people to go, then consequently they convinced another five people to go, and in the end all of us joining the original five that had started it all.
And so finally after many days of antsy waiting, I attended the famous Sensation White, where 70,000 people crowd into an enormous area dressed in white attire, and dance into the night. World-class DJs, amazing theatrics and lights, it was EPIC. Slept for about 3 hours, and then played tourist in Amsterdam for the rest of the weekend, where I visited the Van Gogh Museum, did a countryside bike tour, and went shopping. Yup.
In the arena at Sensation White
2) Hiking the Surrenenpass, Switzerland
I got a chance to do a two-day hike from Engelberg to Altdorf, called the Surrenenpass. This hike is Stage 7 of the famous 'Swiss Alpine Pass Route', a large hiking tour of Switzerland that takes about a month to do. I was really excited to do this hike because it was going to be my first time staying overnight at the a mountain hut called Blackenalp. (hahaha the process of booking beds for 11 people was a little chaotic with my inability to speak Swiss German) In Switzerland, there are these mountain huts stationed all over ready to give you a bed and hearty breakfast for everyone who is hiking the many trails of the Swiss Alps! This hike (haha not well planned by me) turned out to be gruelling, seven hours straight uphill and 1 hour descent on the first day. A net elevation gain of 1800m which is not bad at all. I got some massive blisters but it was totally worth it for the warm beds, cozy atmosphere, and DELICIOUS dinner and breakfast that we had! (note to self: never forget drinking amazing warm milk from a bowl probably unpasteurized from the cows only 10 feet away outside) The next day was a great 3 hour hike downhill to Engelberg, where we relaxed in the beautiful town while waiting for free trains to start after 7pm. A great weekend with great company :)
I met with Megan Chan and Alex Chan at one of the world's top places for adventure and extreme sports and activities! I think I can almost compare it to a Swiss Banff. We went for my first hike from Schynige Platte to First in the famous Swiss Alps (although it was so foggy we couldn't take advantage of the panoramic views that this hike was known for), and then went canyoning the next day! Canyoning is pretty much descending a water/stream/river filled canyon by any means possible (eg. swimming, rappelling, sliding, jumping of 25 ft cliffs...) and it was thrillling!!! You really have no time to think or else you'd just get too scared and be one of those wimps that have to walk on the paths that are actually right beside all this ridiculousness that you are doing. Oh, and I also visited the Schuh chocolate factory where I was this close to dropping my Engineering career and instead aspire to become a Chocolatiere. Hahha a great time and visit with some Canadians!
Oh, and can I just add that I am in complete awe of Switzerland's hiking/biking/trails network? Every path in this country is marked with a yellow sign that can take you anywhere you want. The small alley behind hind my house is an official hiking trail, or "Wanderweg". It makes hiking so incredibly easy, no wonder the Swiss are so fit. I love it here.
Hiking the FaulhornwegJULY
I clearly remembering this weekend materializing out of nowhere, where my plane was just suddenly booked in a matter of about 20 minutes. It started with me just casually chatting with Bianca, when suddenly she says:
"Hey Rachel, Shannon is going to this HUGE party in Amsterdam called Sensation White. Want to go?"
"Uhhh, what is it?"
(come the magic of the Internet and YouTube)
"WHOAAAA...yeah let's do it."
"Ok. This is the plane that Shannon booked."
Done.
Went back to the Schad where I was temporarily living at and ended up convincing two more people to go, then consequently they convinced another five people to go, and in the end all of us joining the original five that had started it all.
And so finally after many days of antsy waiting, I attended the famous Sensation White, where 70,000 people crowd into an enormous area dressed in white attire, and dance into the night. World-class DJs, amazing theatrics and lights, it was EPIC. Slept for about 3 hours, and then played tourist in Amsterdam for the rest of the weekend, where I visited the Van Gogh Museum, did a countryside bike tour, and went shopping. Yup.
In the arena at Sensation White2) Hiking the Surrenenpass, Switzerland
I got a chance to do a two-day hike from Engelberg to Altdorf, called the Surrenenpass. This hike is Stage 7 of the famous 'Swiss Alpine Pass Route', a large hiking tour of Switzerland that takes about a month to do. I was really excited to do this hike because it was going to be my first time staying overnight at the a mountain hut called Blackenalp. (hahaha the process of booking beds for 11 people was a little chaotic with my inability to speak Swiss German) In Switzerland, there are these mountain huts stationed all over ready to give you a bed and hearty breakfast for everyone who is hiking the many trails of the Swiss Alps! This hike (haha not well planned by me) turned out to be gruelling, seven hours straight uphill and 1 hour descent on the first day. A net elevation gain of 1800m which is not bad at all. I got some massive blisters but it was totally worth it for the warm beds, cozy atmosphere, and DELICIOUS dinner and breakfast that we had! (note to self: never forget drinking amazing warm milk from a bowl probably unpasteurized from the cows only 10 feet away outside) The next day was a great 3 hour hike downhill to Engelberg, where we relaxed in the beautiful town while waiting for free trains to start after 7pm. A great weekend with great company :)
Breathtaking view outside the Blackenalp Hütte
3) Gurtenfest in Bern, Switzerland
You know when you go to a concert and when it's over, you're just all depressed that it just had to end? No, just me? Well this weekend was exactly NOT that. It was just simply indescribable, one of the best that I've had this summer! Megan Chan was such a pal and came to visit from Canada and join me at Gurtenfest, a four-day open-air music festival in Bern. I also went with two friends, Bruce and Chris. It was an awesome four days of being among thousands of other music fans and attending non-stop concerts all day long by local and international acts. I got a chance to see Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, Bloc Party, Dropkick Murphys, and some new unknown bands that I really liked were Ska P (Spanish ska hahha), Peter Fox (German electro), Hockey (indie band from Oregon), and Royksopp (Swedish electro/synthpop), and more! Also a great time of three straight days of thuderstorming rain and mud (ended up spending 100 bucks on rain boots), tenting on a 40 degree inclined hill, budget eating from the local grocery stores, and epic barefoot dance parties until five in the morning, and just way too much more than I can't even explain. I had just that much fun that I came home and got deathly ill but it was so worth it.
Travis performing at Gurtenfest4) Davos, Switzerland
Spent the Saturday running my first ever race! Took a train to Davos and ran 11km through the mountain trails, and it was great! Here's a bit from an email I wrote:
****hey guess what! i am proud to say that i ran 11 km, even at ease yesterday! i think i could have pushed myself a little harder though. i also ate way too much food beforehand because i was scared that i was going to be hungry and not be able to run, but while i was running all i could feel was all the food that i hadn't quite digested in time blehhh.
but yes, here are my stats:
time: 1:03:41
i was aiming to finish give or take an hour, and i definitely did!
placement: 30/152 for womens, 93/264 overall
not bad!!
definitely got beat by these 8-12 year olds running this race too. and some very old men and women. but hey, this was my very first race! right now i think i'm in the best shape i've been in since i sprained my ankle.****
Yup. Even got a medal at the end and a lot of free banana. Can't wait to run my next race!
Me and my running crew after the raceAUGUST
1) Ticino, Switzerland with IAESTE
AWESOME WEEKEND. Let Steve and Bruce tell it like it was.
http://steveseuroadventure.blogspot.com/2009/08/best-weekend-ever.html
http://switzerbruce.blogspot.com/2009/08/potentially-greatest-weekend-ever.html
At Lake Lugano
1) Ticino, Switzerland with IAESTE
AWESOME WEEKEND. Let Steve and Bruce tell it like it was.
http://steveseuroadventure.blogspot.com/2009/08/best-weekend-ever.html
http://switzerbruce.blogspot.com/2009/08/potentially-greatest-weekend-ever.html
At Lake Lugano2) Week in France (Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Nice)
I took solid two weeks off work to travel France and Spain with my friend Eunice Poon. Here's an excerpt from an email I wrote right after a week in France.
****so my keyboard is stuck in italian. just to let you know in case anything weird pops up that i can't fix.
Eunice and I in the streets of Antibes, France
3) Week in Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid)
From an email to my family:
****hey family, i'm back home, just got back late tuesday night, and eunice left early the next morning. yesterday i spent the day cleaning and doing laundry and resting before going back to work today. eunice and i spent the last week in spain. we went to barcelona for two days where we went to the beach, visited a park and a the cathedral "La Sagrada Familia" designed by the architect Gaudi (amazing!), and also went to the Picasso Muesum where we saw Picasso's famous renditions of Velasquez's "La Meninas". ( you should just google everything i just mentioned, they are amazing) We then took a train at night to Valencia, a beautiful smaller city along the coast where we went to the beach again, rent some bikes and biked around town, and just enjoyed the spanish atmosphere. we also met few other travellers at night. Spain's nightlife is incredible, no one wakes up early, everyone sleeps in beacuse people don't start going out until about 1am, and then go home around 7am. so in spain eunice and i were very tired. Our final stop was in Madrid which is the Spanish capital and inland, so no more beaches :( We got to see a flamenco show! it was fantastic, we spent a little more money to see it in a great taps bar that fit about 30 people, and it was an incredible performance by the musicians, dancers, and singers! We also went to the Reine Sophia Museum, another excellent contempory art museum. And finally our trip ended too soon :(*****
Spain was another fantastic week! I left it knowing I could have stayed another month there. It is very different than France, the people are a lot more lively and passionate, the colors are brighter, the flavors are bolder! I think that I've enjoyed Spain even more than France, and can't wait to go back. Although I could leave the +35 degree heat behind hahaha.
Flamenco show in Madrid
I took solid two weeks off work to travel France and Spain with my friend Eunice Poon. Here's an excerpt from an email I wrote right after a week in France.
****so my keyboard is stuck in italian. just to let you know in case anything weird pops up that i can't fix.
hey everybody!! i just got into barcelona about 5 mins ago to my hostel and found out they have free internet so i have decided to write to let you all know that i am safe and sound. i just spent the last five days in france which was just absolutely great! 3 days in paris, where i got to see the eiffel tower of course, the notre dame cathedral, sacre-coeur basilica, arc de triomphe, and walked around their many arrondissements. turns out as well that my friend sophia just happened to have been in paris during the same weekend, so we met up too! i also decided to take advantage of cheaper haircuts in france but got a TERRIBLE haircut unfortunately in paris. so if you see pictures, my hair does not look quite as nice as i'd like.
i left paris for the south and went to aix-en-provence for one day. it is a beautiful little french city that is just what you would picture france to be like. also very unfortunate that we were there on a sunday and monday when everything is closed, so we were more than ready to leave for nice. i just spent the last two days in nice where we stayed in a DIRTY hostel but met some very cool people that shared our dorm room with us; a guy from zurich who could speak spanish portugese german english and french, a british guy named alastor that we spent most of our second day with, and two girls from barcelona who gave us alot of tips for our stay here! in nice eunice and i INDULGED in the french cuisine. we ate so much, some crepes, salade nicoise, mussels, croissantes, les tartines (which is just a giant bagette with jam and butter but sooo good) and so much ice cream. nice is along the cote d'azur so we went to the beach on a daytrip to antibes, and also walked around the old city, watched a french movie called "partir", and just enjoyed the atmosphere. being in france has been great in practicing our french.
last night we left nice and caught a late flight to barcelona, and then we spent the night sleeping at the barcelona airport. a great time, we laid our new beach mats we bought in nice in this nice private corner and slept for 7 hours. and now we are here! eunice and i will probably go to the beach after this email and walk around Les Ramblas, a popular street in barcelona, and then go explore the nightlife tonight, maybe after a nap though (we were told that no one goes out until about 1 am and then they stay out until 7am. we are going to be tired). we'll take off to valencia tomorrow night and then finally wind up our trip in madrid.
so yes, that is an update. i hope that everyone is doing well at home! email me! ciao!
love rachel :)******
Being my number one country to visit for a long time it was amazing to finally go to France! It is incredible how a completely new culture can exist just over a border (from Switzerland). I am pretty sure I will be back again, who knows, even this year.
Ahh I just went to look for a photo of me with the Eiffel Tower and I don't even have one! Hmm this will do.
Being my number one country to visit for a long time it was amazing to finally go to France! It is incredible how a completely new culture can exist just over a border (from Switzerland). I am pretty sure I will be back again, who knows, even this year.
Ahh I just went to look for a photo of me with the Eiffel Tower and I don't even have one! Hmm this will do.
Eunice and I in the streets of Antibes, France3) Week in Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid)
From an email to my family:
****hey family, i'm back home, just got back late tuesday night, and eunice left early the next morning. yesterday i spent the day cleaning and doing laundry and resting before going back to work today. eunice and i spent the last week in spain. we went to barcelona for two days where we went to the beach, visited a park and a the cathedral "La Sagrada Familia" designed by the architect Gaudi (amazing!), and also went to the Picasso Muesum where we saw Picasso's famous renditions of Velasquez's "La Meninas". ( you should just google everything i just mentioned, they are amazing) We then took a train at night to Valencia, a beautiful smaller city along the coast where we went to the beach again, rent some bikes and biked around town, and just enjoyed the spanish atmosphere. we also met few other travellers at night. Spain's nightlife is incredible, no one wakes up early, everyone sleeps in beacuse people don't start going out until about 1am, and then go home around 7am. so in spain eunice and i were very tired. Our final stop was in Madrid which is the Spanish capital and inland, so no more beaches :( We got to see a flamenco show! it was fantastic, we spent a little more money to see it in a great taps bar that fit about 30 people, and it was an incredible performance by the musicians, dancers, and singers! We also went to the Reine Sophia Museum, another excellent contempory art museum. And finally our trip ended too soon :(*****
Spain was another fantastic week! I left it knowing I could have stayed another month there. It is very different than France, the people are a lot more lively and passionate, the colors are brighter, the flavors are bolder! I think that I've enjoyed Spain even more than France, and can't wait to go back. Although I could leave the +35 degree heat behind hahaha.
Flamenco show in Madrid4) Creux de Van, Switzerland
I originally was going to spend the weeking relaxing and resting after just getting back on a Wednesday from Spain. Nope, decided to go hiking anyway (well the hiking season was nearing, and you know gotta make the most of the best hiking on the entire planet.) And so was the plan to hike to the Creux de Van, a huge chasm/canyon/gorge in the earth with 200m , and then to camp for the night at Neuchatel and spend Sunday hanging out at the lake. To our dismay, a part of the route was closed and we ended up taking at detour that added an extra three hours to our hike. The entire day's walk was through farmer's fields, back road, nothing too challenging, but by the time we all arrived at the end (I forget where) at 9:30pm (!!! good thing some of us brought headlamps) we were all so exhausted we just went home. We also missed the last train to the campsite anyway too. Oh well, gorgeous views (not sure if the 8 hours of hiking leading to it was worth it though hahaha), and it gave us a relaxing Sunday at the schwimmbad.
I originally was going to spend the weeking relaxing and resting after just getting back on a Wednesday from Spain. Nope, decided to go hiking anyway (well the hiking season was nearing, and you know gotta make the most of the best hiking on the entire planet.) And so was the plan to hike to the Creux de Van, a huge chasm/canyon/gorge in the earth with 200m , and then to camp for the night at Neuchatel and spend Sunday hanging out at the lake. To our dismay, a part of the route was closed and we ended up taking at detour that added an extra three hours to our hike. The entire day's walk was through farmer's fields, back road, nothing too challenging, but by the time we all arrived at the end (I forget where) at 9:30pm (!!! good thing some of us brought headlamps) we were all so exhausted we just went home. We also missed the last train to the campsite anyway too. Oh well, gorgeous views (not sure if the 8 hours of hiking leading to it was worth it though hahaha), and it gave us a relaxing Sunday at the schwimmbad.
View from the top of the Creux du Van (courtesy of the Internet)
5) Baden, Switzerland
A weekend at home! Check it out:
****hey parents, well i thought i'd say hello and update you. i spent the weekend in baden. on saturday i went to jumbo, the swiss equivalent of candian tire+home depot to buy some new fenders, brake pads and headlight for my bike. then i hauled my bike onto the train with my friend dave to zurich where he needed to pick up his bike from getting repairs. we hung out in zurich for the later afternoon and then decided to bike home from zurich to baden. a point to point distance would be about 20 km, so we thought we could make it home in less than an hour, but it turns out that we would bike for about 2.5 hours instead! it was a beautiful and scenic ride but by the end i was getting really hungry and tired. we made it home and i just relaxed the rest of hte night and watched a movie. on sunday, my friend ran a triathalon so me and two other girls when to cheer her on and wave our signs that we had made for her. then it was an organized girls day, where 3 other girls and i baked muffins, cheesecake, cookies, and a loaf and then watched another movie. it was a great weekend. this week, i bought tickets to see STOMP, the famous group of percussionists that play on anything, from garbage cans to cars. i'm going to see them in zurich! aside from that, it is a good free week. on the weekend i will be going on another trip to a swiss region called Zermatt. iw ill be home on sunday night again if you want to talk. let me know!****
And a bit on STOMP from another email:
****i ended up working 9.5 hours yesterday at work and then had to rush to catch the train to STOMP and eat a hot dog really fast on the way. STOMP was so cool! you shoudl really see them the next time they come to calgary. it was a great show, more than just people banging on garbage cans. these performers are so talented, they are so coordinated because they have to be able to drum/dance/throw/climb/run/everything! and be able to interact with the audience as well all at the same time! the stage was super cool, everything it was made of you could hit it with a stick and it would make a cool sound. there was a part it got pitch black and they ended up doing really cool beats and making light with zippos.****
SEPTEMBER
1) Zermatt, Switzerland with IAESTE
Another fantastic weekend, described by an email:
****It's monday morning and i don't feel like working, so i will write an email! Well i just got back from a trip to visit the town of Zermatt. This town lies at the base of a mountain called the Matterhorn, the one that Toblerone chocolate is modeled after, that mountain picture on the box. i saw it! It was a great weekend to bring my down vest, toque, and mittens because we took a cable car up to a very high point, where people were skiing! Some people got dizzy from the altittude even. Zermatt reminded me of a swiss version of banff or cochrane. The next day we went to hike along the Aletsch glacier, a UNESCO site. I got to see my first glacier! The hike waw spectacular, switzeland's scenery is outstanding. the hills and mountains and flowers are so beautiful. Please go on facebook and see my pictures!
This week in baden is an animation film festival. I am going to see pixar's UP (i finally get a chance to see it in english, all the theatres released it in german), say goodbye to some irish/scottish friends that I have met here (they are wrapping up there summer work term in switzerland), and play some badminton at a local sports facility. Did i tell you that i've signed up for some hip hop dance classes in baden?
This morning on my walk to work today, it was cold! the transition to fall here was very quick, just last week we had our last hot day and suddenly they weather got very cool! the nights have also suddenly come much earlier now. compared to calgary it changed very fast. i think i might have to go buy a new fall jacket since i don't really have one here.****
Described by Steve:
http://steveseuroadventure.blogspot.com/2009/09/straight-up-is-better-than-piddling.html
Described by Olivia:
http://wennichnurmehrdeutschgesprochen.blogspot.com/2009/09/zermatt.html
View from hiking alongside the Aletsch Glacier
Spent another low-key weekend in lovely Baden (it really is lovely). The weekend began with a Latin party at ALSTOM on Friday night, where I was taught how to salsa for the first time and try alot of different types of food from all over Latin America. I also met some students from Britain and we spent Friday night dancing to some Reggaeton music which I am now a big fan of! (What is reggaeton? Quote Bruce, "...like reggae, but faster and with a lot more bass.")
I had a great Saturday and Sunday hanging out with my flatmate Nadine and another fellow ALSTOM coworker Duane. Did some shopping in Waldshut and hung out in Zurich the next day. Drank a lot of coffee both days. Mmmhmm.
3) Baden, Switzerland
This weekend I celebrated my 21st birthday! Check it out:
****i had a great weekend and birthday! on saturday i had four friends run a half marathon in zurich, so i went to cheer them on for the afternoon and i went shopping with another girl. i made dinner and then read a book and met up with a few other friends around 10pm for a night out in zurich for mine and another guy named mike's birthdays (his was on friday). we danced to some hip hop and r&b until 4 in the morning! i could not believe that the two guys who ran the half marathon still had enough energy to go out and dance. it was really fun. took the train back and got into bed at 5am. woke up yesterday at noon, and then went out for lunch at this nice german restaurant with outdoor seating with my internship friends, two flatmates, and a few coworkers to celebrate my birthday. my flatmate nadine managed to get our table a bottle of champagne on the house (she is a frequent customer and knows the manager). we went to my friend's house afterwards to play some settler of catan in german and eat a surprise birthday cake that my friend celia baked for me! it was a delicious chocolate bundt cake. we just hung out for the rest of the day and watched a spirited away to end the night. ****
4) Lyon, France
So during my trip to France and Spain I bought Eurail pass. This pass allowed me to take five days worth of trains over a two month period. Well it just so happens that two of the days I traveled the train operators never checked my pass, leaving me two "free" travel days up until early October! I decided to take advantage of this and invited 3 of mein freundes to travel with me to Lyon for the weekend!
Olivia has done a fantastic job writing about it: http://wennichnurmehrdeutschgesprochen.blogspot.com/2009/10/lyon.html
5) Baden, Switzerland
A weekend at home! Check it out:
****hey parents, well i thought i'd say hello and update you. i spent the weekend in baden. on saturday i went to jumbo, the swiss equivalent of candian tire+home depot to buy some new fenders, brake pads and headlight for my bike. then i hauled my bike onto the train with my friend dave to zurich where he needed to pick up his bike from getting repairs. we hung out in zurich for the later afternoon and then decided to bike home from zurich to baden. a point to point distance would be about 20 km, so we thought we could make it home in less than an hour, but it turns out that we would bike for about 2.5 hours instead! it was a beautiful and scenic ride but by the end i was getting really hungry and tired. we made it home and i just relaxed the rest of hte night and watched a movie. on sunday, my friend ran a triathalon so me and two other girls when to cheer her on and wave our signs that we had made for her. then it was an organized girls day, where 3 other girls and i baked muffins, cheesecake, cookies, and a loaf and then watched another movie. it was a great weekend. this week, i bought tickets to see STOMP, the famous group of percussionists that play on anything, from garbage cans to cars. i'm going to see them in zurich! aside from that, it is a good free week. on the weekend i will be going on another trip to a swiss region called Zermatt. iw ill be home on sunday night again if you want to talk. let me know!****
And a bit on STOMP from another email:
****i ended up working 9.5 hours yesterday at work and then had to rush to catch the train to STOMP and eat a hot dog really fast on the way. STOMP was so cool! you shoudl really see them the next time they come to calgary. it was a great show, more than just people banging on garbage cans. these performers are so talented, they are so coordinated because they have to be able to drum/dance/throw/climb/run/everything! and be able to interact with the audience as well all at the same time! the stage was super cool, everything it was made of you could hit it with a stick and it would make a cool sound. there was a part it got pitch black and they ended up doing really cool beats and making light with zippos.****
SEPTEMBER
1) Zermatt, Switzerland with IAESTE
Another fantastic weekend, described by an email:
****It's monday morning and i don't feel like working, so i will write an email! Well i just got back from a trip to visit the town of Zermatt. This town lies at the base of a mountain called the Matterhorn, the one that Toblerone chocolate is modeled after, that mountain picture on the box. i saw it! It was a great weekend to bring my down vest, toque, and mittens because we took a cable car up to a very high point, where people were skiing! Some people got dizzy from the altittude even. Zermatt reminded me of a swiss version of banff or cochrane. The next day we went to hike along the Aletsch glacier, a UNESCO site. I got to see my first glacier! The hike waw spectacular, switzeland's scenery is outstanding. the hills and mountains and flowers are so beautiful. Please go on facebook and see my pictures!
This week in baden is an animation film festival. I am going to see pixar's UP (i finally get a chance to see it in english, all the theatres released it in german), say goodbye to some irish/scottish friends that I have met here (they are wrapping up there summer work term in switzerland), and play some badminton at a local sports facility. Did i tell you that i've signed up for some hip hop dance classes in baden?
This morning on my walk to work today, it was cold! the transition to fall here was very quick, just last week we had our last hot day and suddenly they weather got very cool! the nights have also suddenly come much earlier now. compared to calgary it changed very fast. i think i might have to go buy a new fall jacket since i don't really have one here.****
Described by Steve:
http://steveseuroadventure.blogspot.com/2009/09/straight-up-is-better-than-piddling.html
Described by Olivia:
http://wennichnurmehrdeutschgesprochen.blogspot.com/2009/09/zermatt.html
View from hiking alongside the Aletsch GlacierSpent another low-key weekend in lovely Baden (it really is lovely). The weekend began with a Latin party at ALSTOM on Friday night, where I was taught how to salsa for the first time and try alot of different types of food from all over Latin America. I also met some students from Britain and we spent Friday night dancing to some Reggaeton music which I am now a big fan of! (What is reggaeton? Quote Bruce, "...like reggae, but faster and with a lot more bass.")
I had a great Saturday and Sunday hanging out with my flatmate Nadine and another fellow ALSTOM coworker Duane. Did some shopping in Waldshut and hung out in Zurich the next day. Drank a lot of coffee both days. Mmmhmm.
3) Baden, Switzerland
This weekend I celebrated my 21st birthday! Check it out:
****i had a great weekend and birthday! on saturday i had four friends run a half marathon in zurich, so i went to cheer them on for the afternoon and i went shopping with another girl. i made dinner and then read a book and met up with a few other friends around 10pm for a night out in zurich for mine and another guy named mike's birthdays (his was on friday). we danced to some hip hop and r&b until 4 in the morning! i could not believe that the two guys who ran the half marathon still had enough energy to go out and dance. it was really fun. took the train back and got into bed at 5am. woke up yesterday at noon, and then went out for lunch at this nice german restaurant with outdoor seating with my internship friends, two flatmates, and a few coworkers to celebrate my birthday. my flatmate nadine managed to get our table a bottle of champagne on the house (she is a frequent customer and knows the manager). we went to my friend's house afterwards to play some settler of catan in german and eat a surprise birthday cake that my friend celia baked for me! it was a delicious chocolate bundt cake. we just hung out for the rest of the day and watched a spirited away to end the night. ****
4) Lyon, France
So during my trip to France and Spain I bought Eurail pass. This pass allowed me to take five days worth of trains over a two month period. Well it just so happens that two of the days I traveled the train operators never checked my pass, leaving me two "free" travel days up until early October! I decided to take advantage of this and invited 3 of mein freundes to travel with me to Lyon for the weekend!
Olivia has done a fantastic job writing about it: http://wennichnurmehrdeutschgesprochen.blogspot.com/2009/10/lyon.html
No comments:
Post a Comment