7 years ago was the last time I celebrated one of my Birthdays with friends. At that time a good friend of mine came up with the idea of a Cinemathon, spending the whole day in the cinema watching different movies. We had a great time and watched the following movies:
An Inconvenient Truth (very interesting)
Pan's Labyrinth (fantastic!)
Smoking Aces (a huge let down, especially right after Pan's labyrinth)
Ghost Rider (interesting but not great)
Now that all my friends turned 30 and had a big party, I thought it time to do something as well. And so the idea of the second edition of the Birthday Cinemathon was born.
This time we watched the following movies:
Non-Stop A very good Action-Thriller that kept us on our seats wondering how it was going to end. Definite recommendation!
The Grand Budapest Hotel A fantastically funny movie about loyalty and friendship with a fantastic cast (Willem Dafoe is simply brilliant!) and wonderful pictures. A must see!
The Wolf of Wall Street Even though it ran for 3 hours, this was a very entertaining movie about the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, a stock broker on Wall Street. Recommendation: We liked it, but it's not for everyone, since it shows some very questionable behavior.
Stormberg - Der Film Stromberg is a German TV Series based on the UK hit The Office. After five seasons a crowd funding project enabled the making of the first Stromberg movie. We had no idea what to expect from this movie, since we never saw the series before, but I chose it based on a recommendation from a co-worker and because it fit the schedule. We were pleasantly surprised. It was very funny and entertaining. Recommendation: If you are an office worker, go and see it.
After almost 10 hours in the cinemas the second event ended with a beer in a nearby pub. Compared to the first time, we were very happy with the film selection. All of them were worth seeing.
Thanks to everyone who joined me for this special day! I'm sure it won't be the last time :)
Three years ago was the last time I attended the Spaktekel. So I was surprised to learn that this year it would take place in on a Castle in Grisons. Fortunately it was very easy to get there by public transport.
We arrived at 5pm, just after a heavy rainstorm blew over. So it was markedly cooler than we expected, after all it was supposed to be sunny and warm!
The first band to play after our arrival was Seabass a Swiss band playing "Balkan beats 'n Melodies". Their music was catchy and encouraged us to dance along.
Next were Cumulo Nimbus a Renaissance Metal Band from Germany. Even though their music sounded cool, I couldn't warm to the vocalists and so I wasn't too disappointed when their show was over.
What then followed was an impromptu acoustic concert by members of Des Königs Halunken and other musicians. And it was fantastic. The guys had never played in that combination before and even exchanged instruments between songs, nevertheless it sounded very professional :).
And then it was finally time for the highlight of the day, Des Königs Halunken played their 5-year anniversary concert. Exactly 5 years and one day ago they played their first gig at the Spaktekel. To celebrate this they vowed to make all their speeches in Swiss German, in addition they regularly toasted to the audience with Vodka and other liquors, which definitely didn't make it easier for them to play! Thus it wasn't surprising that fun was the first priority and fun we all had. As a special present to the constant fans the Halunken played "Herr Mannelig", one of their oldest songs, which no longer features in their regular program. After two hours the show was over and everyone was relieved to get a break ;).
With a nice fireshow the evening ended.
Overall, the Spaktekel was a great success despite the mixed weather. I'll definitely consider returning next year :)
After an absence of 5 years the famous Middle Earth Festival returns to Leuk in 2012. I myself have attended three times so far, and every time was tremendous fun. Let's take a look back.
2003
I didn't have a clue was I was getting into when I signed up for the 3rd Middle Earth Festival in 2003. The reason for going was my good friend Ronny, who is a huge Lord of the Rings fan, didn't want to go alone. I most clearly remember the workshops featuring fighting skills such as Sword Fighting and Archery, but also the concerts by An Lar and Saltatio Mortis in the evening. We had such great fun at the concerts that we blocked the bands from leaving the stage! Only after Saltatio Mortis appealed saying they had to travel another 300 kilometres tonight, we appeased and gave them a rest ;). All in all it was a wonderful experience. Unfortunately for this review, the Middle Earth Festival happened before I started blogging and before I acquired a digital camera, thus there are no further posts and pics to link back to.
2005
When I learned that the Middle Earth Festival would take place again, I didn't hesitate to sign up. This time I even signed up alone, knowing that there are so many wonderful and friendly people there, that I wouldn't feel left alone. The day before it all started I joined the Caradhras expedition, for a day-long trek with beautiful summer weather over the Gemmi pass. This time my focus for workshops shifted from fighting to dancing (Irish Dancing, Medieval Dancing, etc.) and I didn't regret this choice, because they all were great fun! But let's take a look what I had to say about it at the time: Mittelerdefest 5 Pics from Mittelerdefest 5
2007
Signing up for 2007's Middle Earth Festival was a no-brainer ;), after two such wonderful events, I just had to be there. Same time as last year I joined the Caradhras trek a day before the festival. However, this time we were not so lucky with the weather and ran into a snow storm!!! Remember, it was the 5th of July! We all made it through and still have fond memories of our heroic feat :) Fortunately the weather improved for the rest of the Festival. Having loved the dance workshops in 2005, I signed up for more dancing in 2007 and again it was great fun. But let's take a look what I had to say about it at the time: Caradhras Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Conclusion
With great joy I learned that the Middle Earth Festival will take place again in 2012 and immediately marked it in my agenda :). I can't wait to meet all those wonderful people again :)
More information about the Middle Earth Festival 2012 can be found on their official homepage.
The Spaktekel Ruined Castle Festival took place on the "Alte Bechburg" in Holderbank (SO) last Saturday. The "Alte Bechburg" is a picturesque location, secluded from any unwanted distraction and was a perfect place for this small but mighty festival. Despite the bad weather forecasts we were lucky and it rained only lightly and it soon stopped again.
MoneyPennySixPenny, an Irish / Scottish Folk band from Winterthur, were the first to storm the natural stage. They played a relaxing and varied set of traditional and modern tunes from Scotland and Ireland.
I observed Pornolé, the next act, from a distance because I forgot my earplugs and their Stoner Rock set was pretty hard and loud.
Then it was finally time for Des Koenigs Halunken. As main act of the evening they obviously attracted a big crowd, which was insofar problematic because the space in front of the stage was a) limited and b) extremely uneven, putting hard-core headbangers to the test and endangering people who were jumping around too ferociously. Despite these difficulties we had a fabulous time! The Halunken played a very entertaining set with a balanced mixture of rock and medieval market tunes. At the end everyone could answer the famous question "Who are the biggest scoundrels in the country?" "Des Koenigs Halunken!".
Attila Vural had the honor to play the last concert of the evening. Unfortunately many people had already left and missed the performance of this unbelievable guitar virtuoso. Listening to Attila Vural's music it is hard to believe that all he had at hand was a guitar, the pieces are so complex, varied and captivating. Even seeing isn't the same as believing, I was dazzled by the dexterity and speed he demonstrated playing the guitar. Because of the wet weather he brought only his eight string guitar along, however, to compensate for this he covered several well known songs or better said interpreted them anew. Time flew by and the 90 minutes he played seemed to have flown by. In short a fantastic concert by an exceptional talent.
As a rounding off the Burning Goatees performed a breathtaking fire show.
Despite the mediocre weather this day was a complete success!
Some impressions have found the way into my gallery.
On Sunday we (Rico, two friends and I) pilgrimaged to Singen (in the South of Germany) to take part in the Mittelalterlich Spectaculum. The Mittelalterlich Spectaculum is a traveling medieval fair featuring a market, jugglers, a show fight troupe, musicians, medieval food stalls and much more. Similar to last year the weather was very modest with sun and rain going hand in hand. Nevertheless we had a great time looking at the different stalls and meeting many familiar faces from Switzerland. The highlights of the day were the two long concerts by Die Streuner and Vermaledeyt. Die Streuner are well known for their medieval drinking and naughty songs and they even brought their own fan club along. Vermaledeyt on the other hand focus on powerful medieval folk with bag pipes, drums, pipes, cello, hurdy-gurdy and many more instruments. I enjoyed their show a lot and danced the whole time. After two encores they left the stage completely exhausted, by then even I was glad for the break ;). On our way home the storm caught up with us and at times I could hardly see the road through the windshield. After a while the weather quieted and we got back safe and sound :). Despite the weather the day was a success, however, with sunshine it would have been another perfect day.
Last Saturday I visited the historical craftsmen fair in Huttwil. Surrounding the Spycher Handicraft area several dozens artisans showed how their trade was carried out in medieval times. Additional highlights were sword fight demonstrations by Freywild, a storyteller and acoustic sets by Des Koenigs Halunken. Some beautiful impressions of the market can be found here. I mainly took pictures of Des Koenigs Halunken, which can be found in my gallery.
The evening belonged completely to Des Koenigs Halunken. After their acoustic sets in the afternoon they demonstrated that they were also masters of medieval rock, playing a concert in the Improvisorium in Huttwil. The place was crowded which worsened the stifling air and heat in the small room. But this didn't stop Des Koenigs Halunken and their fans from celebrating an ecstatic party. During one hour and forty-five minutes the Halunken played all songs from their newly released CD "Spieglein, Spieglein" plus another dozen, which will hopefully find their way onto another CD ;), and thus made for a perfect end of a perfect day :).
Now is a good time to see what I have done in the last year: - read 102 books - went 32 times to the cinema - went to 26 concerts / events - saw 3 Musicals (in the US) - saw 3 Theatrical Plays - visited 3 countries (Indonesia, Germany, USA) - collected 3 certifications
I visited the fantastic castle spectacle in Regensberg today. Unfortunately I have to return to the military tonight, so I can't describe all the great things I've seen. However, the time was sufficient to upload the pictures I took today. Enjoy :).
There could hardly be a better way to flee from the Street Parade than to immerse oneself into Medieval times :).
Even though the weather forecast was a bit unclear we made our way to Germany. The Mittelalterlich Spectaculum a medieval event which is touring throughout Germany made a stop in Singen. The stalls at the medieval market were as always well worth a visit, and there were even some that I hadn't seen at a Spectaculum before.
One of my personal highlights was meeting so many people from the Middle Earth Festival. I didn't count, but there were surely more than twenty people and Meri even brought a flag along so that we could easily spot the meeting point :).
Another highlight was the Fangdorn Dragon Saga. However, to be completely honest, the dragon was grand, but the rest was borderline. I've seen way better sword fighting as well as better acting. But the ten meter long fire breathing dragon was a sight to behold and remember for a long time :).
As always and important part of the Spectaculum was the music. This time Rapalje and Saltatio Mortis had the honor to perform as main acts. Rapalje is a celtic folk band from the Netherlands, who played a wide array of songs, to many of which we could dance :). Before and during the big Dream Spectacle Pill and Pankratz also had a short show block. Their comedic songs were very funny, especially the disagreements they had about the song texts. The rest of the Dream Spectacle revealed nothing new, though and so it was almost my personal low-light of the day. Saltatio Mortis on the other hand is a regular guest at the Spectaculum and their night concert drew a lot of people who enthusiastically sang and danced along. Their gig was scheduled from 11pm till midnight, but they ended up playing more than 90 minutes!
We had a great day, even though we got wet from time to time, the sun was always nice enough to make a comeback.
The trailer of the movie about the recent MEF 7 has just gone online. It manages to show the atmosphere much better than the written word. And you can even spot me several times (I'm the one in the red wizard cloak) *g*
After a refreshing swim and another great breakfast we were ready to face the last day of this year's MEF. My two workshops were again devoted to dancing, leading to a total of about 11 hours dancing during the three days :).
It's worth mentioning that today was again fantastic weather and temperatures rose up to 30 degrees centigrade. So most people were desperately looking for a place in the shade. Thus I was quite happy to go into the Knight's Chamber to participate in the Medieval Sewing workshop. The introduction was very practical and interesting and we soon could start with our own work, so I decided to make a "Bundhaube" a kind of medieval protection worn instead of a hat to keep the hair clean. As of today it is still a work in progress, but it was good to get some guidance to start :).
Soon afterwards the long awaited Knight's banquet started. All visitors assembled in the inner ward and awaited with suspense what would be up for dinner.
Between courses the different artists looked after our entertainment. Especially memorable were the Falconers, who brought two falcons an eagle and an eagle owl along and Forzarello ("Ouuuuiiiiii").
The main act of the evening was Omnia a Pagan Folk Band from the Netherlands. Their music was very atmospheric and I liked it a lot. However, they tended to talk an awful lot, it was in English, so no problem for me, but I could see people who were distracted by it. And for the last evening I would have wished for a band with more mass appeal such as An Lár. Anyways it was a good show and we had our fun :).
Then came the most touching event of the day, a fireworks display synchronized to the music of Lord of the Rings. It was way too beautiful to describe it with mere words...
The final point of the evening belonged to the Phoenix Fireproject and to Forzarello who performed another stunning fireshow.
And then it was slowly time to say goodbye to many good friends, even though we partied till the last bus left at 4.30pm it was over way too soon.
This MEF will stay in my memories for ever, it was a perfect event and I had enormous fun :) and if we're lucky the myth will one day be continued.
On Sunday we saw that Petrus indeed was a fan of the MEF, because now that it was over, it started to rain again...
Staying in Leukerbad in a four-star hotel had several advantages: First the comfortable beds, second the swimming before breakfast (there's nothing better to revive the tired limbs) and then of course the huge and excellent breakfast itself :). The only disadvantage was the overcrowded bus we had to take to get back to Leuk...
Having had so much fun dancing the day before I went straight to the next dance workshop :).
Returning to the castle I received the biggest surprise of the day. Thyrion approached and told me: "Scrappy, you are nominated for the costume competition." I didn't know what to say! So I ended up on stage together with a Nazgul, two riders from Rohan, two towers from Gondor the biggest dwarf in Middle Earth and Kankra (well, she waited in front of the stage). I didn't rank in the top three, but just being part of this was honor enough for me :).
The waiting time till the next workshop was shortened by an impromptu gig by Des Königs Halunken, a Swiss Medieval Folk band.
You can probably guess what I did next. Correct, I went to the next dance workshop *g*.
This evenings activities started with a big show block where most of the artist gave a small sample of their trade. Thus we could hear songs from Duivelspack and Romolus, witness a stunning performance by Phoenix Fireproject and laugh ourselves silly because of Forzarello (two amazing Jugglers).
The main event this evening was not a concert per se but a Dance Event led by Knud Seckel and accompanied by the Tom Bombadil Folkband. At the beginning there were so many people participating in the dances that there was barely enough place. Dancing the Polka was especially tricky, trying to avoid colliding with other couples dashing over the dance floor :). Still it was great fun and stopped way too early.
Last but not least were two stunning fire shows which brought another fantastic day to a breath-taking close.
The day after our climb over the Caradhras pass dawned bleak and cold. It was still snowing outside our hut. By taking the Gondola down to Leukerbad we could at least leave the snow behind, however we were greeted by slight rain. A trip to the Burgerbad revived our senses and we were ready to tackle three days full of Middle Earth.
The Middle Earth Festival is mainly dedicated to Tolkien's books, yet also offers a lot of opportunities for fans of medieval times. There were dozens of workshops ranging from Archery over Dancing to Excursions. Additionally there was a small medieval market as well as several musicians around to create a fitting atmosphere. And once again the icing on the cake were the visitors, most dressed in medieval or fantasy garb and as always extremely friendly and happy.
My first workshop was a play of Jugger. That's a kind of Rugby played by two teams at six players each. Five of the players were armed with latex weapons with which the opposing players could be "frozen" for five seconds. The sixth player was unarmed and the only one allowed to touch the ball. His task was to drop the ball in the opponents goal. Our team was called "Böö" (Swiss German for "er"). Apart from having a huge amount of fun, we even managed to win the tournament!
Next up was my first medieval dancing workshop of this year and it was huge fun. The advantage of medieval dances is that (more often than not) the steps are quite simple and thus easy to learn and dance. So we managed to try out several different dances within this two-hour slot :).
At night it was finally time for the first concert. Die Streuner played a great selection of sometimes funny and sometimes saucy songs.
To get into the right mood for this year's Middle Earth Festival (MEF) about fifty brave souls clad in medieval or fantasy clothes met to climb the Caradhras pass. We started from a gondola station close to Goppenstein. The weather was overcast and quite fresh, however, this didn't stop us. Soon after leaving we encountered the first snow flakes. Fortunately they didn't last long.
At the first resting point we were greeted by blue sky and the sun. So we dutifully applied sunscreen to prevent sunburns. Maybe we should have known better than to scorn Saruman and Petrus... And so they decided to send out everything they got. The first warnings of what was to come arrived about thirty minutes later with the first snow flakes. This time, however, it did not stop, on the contrary, more snow started to fall and a piercing wind accompanied it. So it shouldn't have come as a surprise when we faced a snow-covered way. Only the footprints of the leading group showing us the right way... At times we were facing up to 20 centimeters of snow and sometimes we preferred to walk up the riverbed, which wasn't empty by the way, instead of in the snow.
After a pretty long and difficult climb we caught up with the leading group. They had stopped next to a big rock because they could no longer fathom where the way was supposed to lead! It looked like Saruman would triumph and we would have to turn back! But then help came from an unexpected side, a group of hikers descended from the mountain and they could point us in the right direction. And even better, we could follow their footsteps almost all the way up to the pass.
The weather there wasn't any better. Heavy snowfall, a biting wind and temperatures around zero degrees centigrade. Nevertheless we stopped there for almost twenty minutes to wait for more people. Yet not everyone was content with waiting in such an exposed spot where Saruman could spot us easily and send even bigger foes than the weather. And so a brave fellowship consisting of thirteen people started the descent from the mountain.
The shelter we hoped to find on the way did not turn up, but we did see improvements, for there was less snow on the way than before. We could even see a couple of flowers which weren't completely covered in snow.
After another tiresome two hours of walking we came to a crossing where our destination wasn't marked, still it had to be close-by, we were sure of that. After deliberating for a while the fog started to lift a bit and we could see a big house on top of the next hill. Guessing that this had to be our destination, or at least a place where we could get directions, we started walking again.
To our great relief, we discovered that we did guess correctly and that we finally reached our destination. We were welcomed with warm tea which we drank gratefully. It took almost another hour until the last people arrived. But we all made it in one piece. We managed the thing that the Fellowship of the Ring could not, we bested Mount Caradhras!
Last Monday, on the occasion of the UNESCO World Book Day, the Verein Leseförderung Schweiz 4xL and the School applied Linguistics organised the first Bookparade in Zürich.
I only learnt of this event 1 hour before from the free newspaper heute. For me as a bookworm it was clear that I had to participate :). The idea of the Bookparade was that every participant would bring his/her favourite book and walk reciting loudly from the main station to the Theater am Neumarkt. Being surprised by the event I didn't have a book at hand, but a short detour to Orell Füssli's English Bookshop solved that problem. My choice was Jasper Fforde's 'Something Rotten' the fourth adventure of Thursday Next and one I didn't yet have as a paperback.
About 200 people participated in the demonstration to promote reading. The procession was shortly halted at the Hirschenplatz where a poetry slammer recited an entertaining story about books. After the parade there was a festival at the Theater am Neumarkt where several authors read excerpts from their works. Unfortunately I had some things to finish at home and so I missed that part.
However, I'll be going back next year :)
Two videos have found their way into the net (here and here) maybe you can spot me there (I didn't have time yet to watch them myself).
