Winter Vacay 2010

Well it kind of ran into 2011, but I'm grad student, things are always running behind...

Despite some European travel delays on the way back to Canada, I made it back safe and sound. Instead of my nice direct flight back to Montréal, I took a more circuitous route via New York and arrived about 36 hours late (which unfortunately led to Emily and I missing a BSS concert we had tickets for since September :( ), but considering the delays others faced (especially through London, which apparently doesn't believe in snow), mine paled in comparison (also my luggage actually beat me to Montréal, which was nice). It is always frustrating at the time, but in the end if you make it to where you are going then it all worked out.

The next three days were spent cross-country skiing in the Eastern Townships (Parc national Mont-Mégantic) with a great group of Emily's friends from school. What an amazing way to get over way too much time spent in airports and planes. Being out in the woods at a ski-in chalet with a big wood fuelled fire, drinking maple slurry (TM pending) was so invigorating. Despite it being my first true experience doing classic technique, the conditions were fantastic and Em and I were able to ski quite a bit. I don't think I relaized how uphill the trail was into the cabin until leaving to head down the same trail and only needing about two double pulls before cruising all the way to the main gate.

Toasty...

Great conditions for a bit of a ski

The gang at the end of the merry adventure.

 I then spent about two weeks in Nova Scotia with family (my sister and brother-in-law were down from New Brunswick) and friends (some of whom I haven't seen a long while). I enjoy coming back and checking out the new improvments to the house and new additons to the yard (truck and trailer my parents purchased for their weekend road trips). Of course the greatest thing about being home is not having to cook and just eating loads. I enjoyed that immensely, although I'll admit it does get old after a while. Emily came down on the 29th and we rang in the New Year in Cow Bay in a hot tub with some friends. That was excellent. We also had time to drive up to Antigonish to stay with a great friend overnight and ring in a second New Year (although we might have missed midnight and celebrated at 1 AM instead...whoops). The driving conditions on the way back were less than ideal, but we made it albeit slowly.

 Plastic snowman wine glasses are an essential part of any New Year celebration.

The view from Julie's back porch in Antigonish.

Emily and I both went back to Montreal in the New Year as she had to be back for class and other related responsibilities. I stuck around for a couple of weeks in order to spend a bit more time with her before heading back to Europe. We were able to get to the gym a couple of times, take a quick weekend trip to Ottawa and also take in a Habs game at Le Centre Bell. Our seats were actually the highest one could possibly be. Our backs were against the wall in the 400s, but the views were quite good (once you got over the vertigo). We also sampled the fantastic Indian cuisine in Parc Ex and took in a couple of films.

The pre-game festivities at Le Centre Bell.

Of course the time passes too quickly when you know that you will be on separate continents in a few weeks, but it was a great time back in Canada. Thanks to everyone who made that possible!

-GK

Not just chocolate and mountain vistas

Apparently the Swiss are also world leaders in door technology. OK, so Switzerland as we know it, would not be around for another 4,000 or so odd years, but finder's keepers, right?

Archeological investigations related to the construction of a new underground parking garage for the Zurich Opera House, have unearthed a 5,000 year old door! Apparently a very well preserved and rare find that helps improve our understanding of the development of construction technology.

The cool connection to me (other than being in Zurich) is that the head archeologist of the dig, Niels Bleicher dabbles (actually I think it is more of his primary methodology) in using dendrochronology for archeological purposes. In early October, the Dendro group was supposed to go and visit the excavation, but for some reason it didn't happen and it was canceled. Too bad. Maybe I would have stumbled upon a door...

If you would like to read more, here's an article from the Globe & Mail

Last Night's Gig: Dan Mangan at Parterre in Basel

Simply astounding live set from Dan Mangan. This took place about 4 days after the Polaris Prize Gala where Dan had been nominated for album of the year. I was familiar witha  few of his songs from Radio3, but had never had the chance to see him live.The venue was great. The week before I had been to a Wolf Parade concert in the same building, but this concert took place in the Parterre which is a much smaller room off the back. There were about 20 tables set up with candles and it had a very initmate vibe (I think in total there were about 40 people there. Considering he plays to over 5000 in Canada, it was great to see him in Basel). When I first arrived I met the hostess/programmer for the Parterre whose name was Andrea and who was from Victoria, BC as well. I gathered later on that she had met Dan a few years back (apparently at a strip club, this statement generated about 3 minutes of jokes from various band members...) and so when he came through on his European tour, he agreed to play Basel.

The Mountains and the Trees was the opening act and although at times it can be a much larger collective, last night we had Jon Janes playing solo. It was a good set and refreshing in terms that Jon told a load of stories (many about growing up, living and eventually leaving small town Newfoundland) to accompany his songs. He joked that it should be billed stories and music with Jon Janes, but I found it really nice maybe because I miss the banter at most shows in Switzerland and I enjoyed hearing some Canadian tales. The only downside to his set was that some gear malfunctioned during Up & Down which was the finale of his set and is my favourite of his songs.

Dan Mangan was outstanding. His music is often described as definitive Canadian acoustic singer-songwriter (to which I agree his contibution continues the great Canadian tradition), but his songs are often more that that, easily flowing between slower more touching ballads and foot-stomping, upbeat tunes. The lyrics are great and in its entirety the album flows superbly. His stage presence was excellent and I appreciated that the other members of the band had a voice and involved themselves in the banter (including a hilarious, falsetto fill-in for the female duet on The Indie Queens Are Waiting). There was also a double bass involved, a fact I am always appreciative of. He played through the majority of songs on his album Nice, Nice, Very Nice including Sold, Road Regrets (that's a lot of coffee) and Basket (my sentimental favourite from the album). He of course finished with Robots and even managed to get the generally reserved Swiss crowd singing along with him as they spread out across the room (and flanked us...). A great show and is one of the best I have seen in Europe so far.

What do YOU want to know about Switzerland?

One of my reasons for starting this blog was to give anyone who reads it (anyone? anyone?) the chance to learn something about Switzerland and the day to day life here. My continuing series of Amusing Things About Switzerland (Part IV coming soon!) obviously touches upon this, but if any readers have questions about something specific you want to know or you read something interesting in the news about the Swiss and you want your guy on the ground (that would be me) to investigate, post it in the comments or e-mail me and I'll see what I can find out about it ( I have connections) and do my best Mike Wallace impression on the blog.

Plus, to be honest, it provides me some additional ideas for things to post about other than ultimate or music.

The request lines are open...

Last Night's Gig: Wolf Parade at the Kaserne in Basel

...and an Alan Thicke joke. Let's just say as Spencer Krug noted in the middle of the concert "language barrier anyone?". There were a lot of blank faces and confused silence when Alan Thicke was mentioned. It's too bad, the Swiss are missing out on a comedic goldmine.

I got into Wolf Parade a bit later than most (post-Mount Zoomer), but I missed a chance to see them back in April in St. Gallen and I wasn't going to miss them again. If you haven't spent much time with Wolf Parade, I would describe it as electro-pop-punk. Great riffs, but copious use of organs and synths that really add to the composition. As well, both Krug and Dan Boeckner have excellent and incredibly unique voices.

I had seen some video from early concerts and I must say they have improved their live show dramatically. They had a great mix of new stuff (Ghost Pressure, What Did My Lover Say?) and their older favourites (This Heart's on Fire, You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son). I was a bit disappointed they didn't play Golden Age which is my favourite tune from their new album. Speaking of which, their new album Expo 86 has both an excellent title (blog admission: I have an excellent childhood photo of me with Expo Ernie, the robot mascot, so I have a ingrained affinity) with a great flow. I am definitely expecting this one to be on the Polaris shortlist next year.

My next show plans are Dan Mangan and The Mountain and the Trees back in Basel on the 27th. And I've now booked my tickets for the Heartland Festival in Vevey. So excited...