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Geocaching the Emmenuferweg: 102 Caches in two days
A Geocaching Powertrail brought us to the canton of Lucerne to follow the Emmenuferweg.
We started Saturday morning 09:03am from the bus stop Sörenberg Rothornbahn. From there we hiked upwards to the Emmensprung, a fascinating place where water bubbles up out of the earth to form the river Emme.
From there we followed the Emme downriver, picking up all the Geocaches we found on the way. After walking downhill for a bit we heard a large ruckus from the other side of the valley. After looking around for a while we spotted a group of cows being led downhill. As luck would have it we crossed the group on the road and were able to observe the spectacle up close. Especially fascinating were the bikers who got caught in the middle of it.
Once we reached Sörenberg we did a small detour, taking the aerial cableway up to Rossweid where we walked along the Sonnentauweg, solving a multi cache. After a short lunch break we headed downhill again, with 11 Caches to break the monotony ;).
At 6pm we reached our destination for the day: Flühli. Where we rested our legs for a bit before heading out for a well deserved dinner. Since it was still early afterwards we went for a short stroll to PaK, a Cache located next to a small pond. We enjoyed the quiet and the lightness of traveling without a backpack :). This brought the total of Caches for the day to 43.
On Sunday, we started 8:55am after a hearty breakfast, hoping to find 57 Caches to break the magical 100 for the weekend.
We weren't the only ones up that early. Suddenly our way was blocked by a meadow and a group of cows watched us very interested.
On the way we encountered three wooden bridges with Geocaches on them. And every time we spent quite a bit of time until we finally had the prize in hand.
The way followed the Emme, sometimes closer, sometimes a bit farther away, but it regularly surprised us with stunning spots of nature, showing the river in a wide meandering way and then again in a thunderous tumult. However, we were so busy with just keeping going and looking for the Caches that we didn't find the time to take too many pictures.
Shortly after 5pm I reached a first milestone: 1500 Caches found! :)
At 6:29pm we reached the last Cache of the trail, number 1, since we were doing the trail in reverse order.
A short sprint later we just caught the bus which brought us back to civilisation.
On the second day we found 53 Caches, bringing the total for the weekend up to 102!
I had a fantastic time and can highly recommend this trail to everyone who is fit enough. We estimate the distance covered (including walking around looking for the Caches) to be close to 50 kilometers!
A couple of additional pictures can be found in my web album. Labels: geocaching, hiking, pictures, Switzerland
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Vertanzt - Dance the night away in 196'360 steps
I spent the last four days at Vertanzt, a dance festival in the middle of Switzerland. Throughout the day different workshops were held and in the evenings live bands played late into the night.
This year's theme was Swing and so I got to try my feet at West Coast Swing, Collegiate Shag, Disco-Swing, Lindy Hop and Jive/Rock 'n Roll.
Next to Disco-Swing, which I had already danced before, I had the most fun with Collegiate Shag, somehow the strange leg movements just flowed easily :).
There were many great bands in the evening but I was most looking forward to see Katze Steffan und das Lügenorkestar again, a band focusing on Balkan music which has an unbelievable drive. And the music is perfect for improvised dancing! The festival finally ended at 4 am on Monday morning, by which time my feet really needed a break ;).
This time I had my cellphone with an integrated step counter with me and it was interesting to see, that over the four days it counted 196'360 steps with which I supposedly covered 147.85 kilometers! Interestingly enough, out of the countless hours of dancing, only about 29 minutes registered as running, and most of that probably during the Shag workshop ;).
As last year I had a fantastic time at Vertanzt and would like to thank the organizers, all the musicians, the countless helpers and of course the other dancers!
I'll be back next year!Labels: dancing, Switzerland
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Birthday Cinemathon 2
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 :)Labels: Event, movie, Switzerland
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Middle Earth Festival (MEF) 12
After a five year break the Middle Earth Festival returned for the 6th time to Leuk last July and I couldn't miss this.
One day before the event officially started, I met up with about 100 others for a costumed hike to the Gemmi pass. This time the weather was perfect and we only had to cross a couple of small snow fields.
After an enjoyable evening and a refreshing bath in Leukerbad we were ready to conquer Leuk :).
One of the first events on Thursday was Jugger, a game a bit like Rugby where a ball had to be carried into a goal, but almost all players were equipped with cushioned weapons with which other players could be temporarily taken out of the game.
The evening program started with the traditional torchlight procession followed by a concert by An Lár. I was very much looking forward to this concert because An Lár were also playing in 2003, the first time I attended a MEF, and their concert was wonderful. They did not disappoint, playing for more than 2 hours everyone was properly exhausted when An Lár finally left the stage :).
Friday's highlight for me was the concert by Koenix, but this doesn't mean that I didn't do anything else all day long, far from it, there were so many things to watch and participate that I hardly had a free minute.
Koenix played a great concert and were followed by the main act, Letzte Instanz. This was the first concert of theirs I saw, and I wasn't thrilled, somehow it didn't fit into the atmosphere and then it even started to rain, so I retreated into the tower and waited for the bar to open. During the night there were many more concerts in the bar (by Duivelspack, Qui mal y pense and Koenix) and I ended up staying till 3am.
The main event on Saturday was the big Hobbit Feast, fortunately the weather cleared up and it could be held outside on the castle lawn. The fantastic meal was interspersed by entertainment from Forzarello and other Jugglers. The main concert of the evening was by Faun, and even though in the past I was not always taken by their non-acoustic sets, I felt that this time it fit wonderfully into the atmosphere and it was very enjoyable.
Another highlight of the last day was the big Firework choreographed to music by the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, due to the strong winds, the firework had to be aborted, but the part that we did see was breathtaking!
After everything settled down it was time to return to the bars, listen to more concerts and hanging around with friends. This time it was 5am until I finally found my way back to bed ;).
The Middle Earth Festival 2012 was wonderful, it felt like coming home and there were so many friends I hadn't seen in a while that it was sad it had to end so soon.
I would like to mention a huge thanks to the organizers, who put in so much work to make this a reality, as well as everyone who helped that everything ran smoothly. Should there be another MEF in the future, I will definitely be part of it again :).
All my pictures can be found in my web album.Labels: hiking, mef, Middle Earth, pictures, Switzerland
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SOLA 2010
This Spring I participated again in the SOLA Team Relay Race with a team from Zühlke. It was again a great event and I could even improve my time from two years ago, where I ran the same course.
The reason for this late blog post is that I only recently got hold of the pictures and here they are:
 Labels: pictures, running, Switzerland
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Riedhburg XVIII - Rights and Servants (Rechte und Knechte)
Last weekend was the follow up to 2 Weddings and a Funeral, the first peasant LARP featuring the four families from Tannenbüren:- Kellermeisters are well known for their wine, liquor and other alcohol production.
- Roggensingers focus on farming
- Waidmanns forte is hunting and tending to the woods
- Webers are the richest family in town and are mostly merchants and cloth dealers.
A lot has happened since that eventful Thanksgiving Feast. A war has started between Riedbhburg and neighbouring Falkenburg and many of Tannenbüren's sons were drafted and lost. Another casualty was Arnold Roggensinger, the previous steward of Tannenbüren. Now, as it is custom, it was time for Tannenbüren to elect someone else. This of course warranted another big meeting at the Roggensinger's house.
But politics wasn't the only thing on the agenda. The Bachelor society of Tannenbüren planned to celebrate their reunion with (illegal) gambling and parties. The women on the other hand were scheming to plan advantageous marriages for their unwed daughters and sons. This of course didn't please the Bachelor's at all ;).
After some long internal debates the final applicants for the position as steward, were announced and were asked to present their Agenda:- Gotfried Kellermeister (myself) wanted to strengthen the village by focusing on traditional values and bridging old grudges. His motto “Yes we can” (or as it was in Swiss-German “Ja mir chönd” was well received, mostly by Kellermeister family members, but in the end his experience in dealing with the last crisis was also a beneficial factor.
- Urs Waidmann wanted to abolish the old traditions and introduce shared wealth and possessions. I don't have to mention twice, that once his true agenda was revealed, he stood little chance ;)
- Gerhard Weber mainly wanted to strengthen his own position in the village.
- Waldemar Waidmann was all for hard work to overcome difficulties, however, he seemed to depend too much on his mother Annerös.
At the end of the day I was elected with a fair margin in front of Waldemar Waidmann.
People were also very active on the marriage front and so we could celebrate four marriages, bonding the families Kellermeister and Waidmann as well as Weber and Waidmann.
Although the Weber's turned out to be the sore looser when Agnes Waidmann eloped with their farm servant!
Early the next morning Baron Hannibal arrived to give his blessing to the election. Unfortunately, he was in the mood for painting and thus the village first had to pose for an idyllic farm picture.
The End - for now ;)
It was a terrific event with lots of laughter, intrigues food and of course alcohol ;). All pictures can be found in my webalbum.Labels: Fun, LARP, pictures, Switzerland
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A hint of Switzerland in Pittsburgh
We had a small Swiss Cheese Fondue tonight at Guido's Place and celebrated this Swiss winter dish in snowy and cold Pittsburgh.Labels: Food, pictures, pittsburgh, Switzerland
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Hermitage (Einsiedelei) St. Verena, Solothurn
Every year around Christmas thousands of people congregate to the Hermitage St. Verena in Solothurn, lighting candles to remember other people. The most people arrive on Christmas Eve, but already on the 23rd December many candles were burning and the atmosphere was very special.Labels: pictures, Switzerland
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Scholarship and goodbye Switzerland
Today I received great news. My scholarship application was granted! The Swiss government, the federal office for vocational education and technology to be exact, will cover 1/3rd of my study fees and living costs. This scholarship was granted to me because of my excellent undergraduate degree and is merit based, thus half the amount will be paid after the start and the other half after the successful completion of the program.
The notification letter came just in time, because today is my last day in Switzerland. Tomorrow morning I will fly to Pittsburgh and thus start a new chapter in my life :)Labels: Master, Switzerland
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7 days till departure
The clock's ticking. By this time next Thursday I'll already be in the air on my way to Pittsburgh :). Fortunately all the urgent todos have been taken care of, and I even received my US Visa on time.
Regarding the US Visa: When I first wanted to apply for my tourist visa I was aghast to discover that there was a 3 month waiting period to get an appointment! So after sitting on my hands for 90 days I could finally visit the US embassy in Bern last Thursday. There I spent another three hours till all the formalities have been taken care of (check out Guido's post if you want to learn more about the things I had to do at the US embassy). To my great relief my passport (together with the Visa and the I20-form) arrived on Monday at the post office.
Now I "only" have to finish packing and hope that I don't forget anything ;)Labels: Switzerland, usa
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Elfish @ Männedorffest
During the research for my Best of Swiss Underground playlist I visited elfish's homepage and just happened to see that they played a concert the same evening!
The gig was part of Männedorf's village fête and the first time I've seen elfish live in almost a year. Despite the hot temperatures they played a terrific concert mixing old favorites from their CD Don't Ask Why with a handful of new songs which range from quiet meditative pieces to rocky party tunes.
I'm looking forward to visit another show once I'm back in Switzerland and to listen to many more new songs :)Labels: Concert, elfish, Music, Switzerland
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The Best of Swiss Underground
I'm a big supporter of Swiss Bands, especially young ones who play cool music but haven't managed to make a break-through yet. So before going to the US I wanted to compile a playlist featuring songs from my favorite Swiss bands (one apiece).
Here goes:
Labels: coldeve, Labia, Marylane, Music, Switzerland
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Renaissance Dancing
Today I attended a Renaissance Dancing class in Lenzburg organized by Andreas Rutschmann. We learned several different dances such as Hole in the Wall (an English Country Dance), Branle Cassandre (a Folk Dance from the north of Spain), "Lass den Lenz uns Grüssen" (an old dance from Germany). It was a terrific experience and I can recommend these events to anyone with a liking for dancing. The next course will be held on September 21st again in Lenzburg.
A couple of impressions can be found in my gallery.Labels: dancing, medieval, pictures, Switzerland
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Seleger Moor
Last Weekend I visited the Seleger Moor, a place which is famous for its rhododendrons.
More pictures can be found in my gallery.Labels: pictures, Switzerland
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Bookparade
Today is UNESCO World Book Day and to celebrate this the Bookparade was held in the old city of Zürich. Last year about 200 book aficionados took part in the first Bookparade.
This year the hopes were high to reach up to 500 people, with simultaneous Bookparades held in St. Gallen, Luzern and Biel. Unfortunately, Saint Peter had other plans and so it rained cats and dogs just when the Bookparade was about to start.
But die-hard book lovers cannot be stopped by rain and so around 50 people accompanied this second book parade which was accompanied by recitations from the Poetry Slammers Lara Stoll and Simon Chen.
And so it once again was a unique experience and I'm looking hoping that next time the sun will join our little parade again :)Labels: Literature, Switzerland
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Oberschan
Last week I spent in Oberschan, a small village right on the border with Liechtenstein, my cell phone only got a connection to phone providers in Liechtenstein :(. We stayed in the Hotel Alvier which is situated at 975 meters above sea level and offered a nice view of the surrounding mountains. Now you might wonder what brought me there, it was this year's training camp of our business unit. Throughout the week we worked in groups on topics such as Aspect Oriented Programming (especially with AspectJ), Software Tomography and FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis). In addition we profited from a one-day Business Knigge seminary. The only low point of the week was the weather, which brought us rain on most of the days and even snow on Tuesday and Wednesday!
As usual pictures can be found in my gallery :)Labels: Java, Switzerland
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Vogelfrei Larp 1 - The journey begins
The first LARP of RSV Wasserschloss took place this weekend. The play was meant to introduce newbies to the wonderful world of Live Action Roleplays and so the Oriosen, my LARP group, were asked to step in as experienced LARPers and help the others along in case they needed any pointers.
The story is quickly told. We were part of a caravan on its way to the next big city to restock its supplies. Since the caravan leader received an urgent letter from a friend, we undertook a small detour. On this journey we had to face crazy hermits, a corrupt tollbooth, a group of bandits and finally an evil necromancer who wanted an artifact we were transporting. After the necromancer's defeat we all retreated to our camp and celebrated our success with a big party, unfortunately Saint Peter had other plans and a heavy downpour made us return to our tents prematurely. In all the hubbub of the final battle and the return to the camp I completely lost track of the artifact, lets hope it's in the right hands...
The pictures can be found here.Labels: LARP, Switzerland
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Music Promotion Revisited ^^
Bahnhof Hardbrücke in Zürich is a good place to take the train. Just today I ran into the guys from Membrane Records again. And same as last time I boarded the train with three new CDs, however, this time I had to reject two of the CDs he wanted to promote because I already own them.Labels: Music, Switzerland
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Irish & Celtic Night @ Grabenhalle St. Gallen
I'm a big fan of An Lár and Irish Folk in general, so I just had to go to St. Gallen and be part of the Irish & Celtic Folk Night.
Opening the evening were The Vad Vuc, a Skaountry & Irish Folk band from the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. They even had a dedicated group of fans along, who danced along right from the start. But these guys were by now way alone, after half an hour the place was packed and space for dancing was getting restricted. Fortunately, the Ska elements of The Vad Vuc's tunes generated a small moshpit and so we soon had space enough :).
The Vad Vuc played for over an hour and I would have gladly listened longer, but there were two more bands on the bill and after dancing for the whole time, I could use a break.
Next up were An Lár, the reason why I decided to come to this concert. Their show was fantastic, they played all my favorite songs and they even managed to hush the crowd so that David, the vocalist, could sing a sad song without a mike. Their performance also lasted longer than an hour and again, we were only willing to let them depart because another band was waiting in the wings.
The final band to take to the stage were Red Shamrock, a Celtic Folk band from the Aargau, who played very melodic songs full of the atmosphere of Scotland and Ireland. Their set lasted the longest, this time there was no other band waiting, and so I had to leave after 80 minutes to catch my train (which was canceled as I discovered at the railway station, see The Daylight Saving Time Conspiracy) and when I returned 15 minutes later they were still playing encores! All in all they were on stage for 100 minutes!
After the last concert the evening continued with an Irish Folk party, and I have to congratulate the DJs, they had a perfect nose for danceable songs and so I was dancing the night away until my first train left at 4.30am.
On the way to the train station I raided the merchandise stand and left with five CDs (two each of The Vad Vuc & Red Shamrock, and one of An Lár) ^^.
So, all in all, I had a terrific time! :)Labels: Music, Switzerland
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Stories in the Dark
A very special reading took place yesterday evening in a unique place in Zurich. Franz Hohler was a guest in the Blind Cow, a restaurant where the customers are literally left in the dark. Sitting in complete darkness we were served by waitresses who were either completely or partially blind. Our food was delicious, once we found it on the plate ;).
These surroundings added a special touch to Franz Hohler's reading, without any lights he recited stories and poems he knew by heart. These were a mixture of his own work and texts he remembers fondly. Franz Hohler also had his Cello along and played various pieces of music.
All in all it was a magical evening, which is hard to grasp in words. Sitting in the complete dark listening to these stories and to the music; it felt like we were on a different world and as if Franz Hohler was only performing for me :).
By the way, this was my second time in the Blind Cow (the first time was in April two years ago) and again it was a night to remember. I can highly recommend both the restaurant as well as their cultural events, they are one of a kind!Labels: Literature, Switzerland
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