La Tribune de Geneve

Here’s the link to the article in La Tribune de Geneve. A friend is doing a translation into English for me, and I’ll put that up when it’s done.

The article is really well done, although he misquoted me on the last sentence by leaving out my negative. I actually don’t see myself staying in the US in the future… if only just for a while.  

The web page also doesn’t list the name of the reporter. For the record, his name is Henri Della Casa.

Enjoy!

Thrift is the New Terrorism: A Cheapskate’s Guide to Airport Security

Not so long ago on a continent far far away….

The train schedule in Zurich was different from the train schedule in Geneva, so I missed my train and tried to stay in the train station overnight instead of finding a hostel last minute. Four ass-hole harassers later and with the promise of no sleep at all in my near future, my plan got thwarted when they closed the train station in the wee morning hours, so I was stuck with 1) renting an ungodly priced room for half the night assuming I could find one on a holiday weekend, 2) getting on a train (any train) asap or 3) staying on the street. Too expensive, maybe, out of the question, respectively–so, I opted for the latter, and the train ended up making one measly connection in a country that wasn’t on my Eurail pass, so I had to pay out the nose for the penalty fair. 

THEN! When I finally made it to Duesseldorf for the my plane to England, security wouldn’t let me through, because I accidentally left a very dull, kitchen knife in my purse from my packed lunch. I’m sure it didn’t help that it fell through the ripped lining of my purse either… or the fact that the hole was very small, and I had to rip the lining of my purse further to get it out. Something about carrying a concealed weapon?!?!? And sewing it into the lining of a purse!??!! Dunno. ::looks innocent:: So much for saving money by making my food.

The postman never rings twice!

If you can’t tell already, I love Lana Turner.

I also like to send postcards. So, who wants one????

Leave a note in the comments or email me directly at ceceiliainmunich@gmail.com.

Discount! Discount! Git Yer Country Now!

Update: Since writing this post I have learned that Danish masquerades as Flemish quite regularly in the mouths of those not acquainted with the language. In light of this new information, I replaced the word Flemish in the following post with the word Danish. Otherwise, nothing has changed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hallo, Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Nein?

Parler Francais? Non.

Danish? ::head shake::

::manic gesturing::

Well, thanks anyways!

Right now I’m in the grand ol’ land of Benelux.

Restlessness pinned down

Travelling is great, and my nature doesn’t let me stay still for too long. But I really value living somewhere for a while. Not a long while but with some impersonation of permanency. That entails working a job, building friendships, evoking a little bit of home in the spaces, contributing to community, creating under new influences, and learning to perceive and appreciate the tenants of a particular culture.

Perhaps I’m built to value remaining in one place for a while. Perhaps it’s where I’m at in life right now. Perhaps that’s the enigma of my internal clock. Perhaps that’s what I’ve been conditioned to value. Whatever the reason, I know that being itinerant for another six weeks will be a stretching experience.

Tour Groups

Tour groups are simultaneously miraculous and annoying inventions. No travel guides, no surprise expenses, no train to bus to bike to bus to plane itineraries, no missedconnections, no unstable connections. It’s one flat fee, one knowledgeable guide, and it’s all been done plenty of times before. Me likes. The people are generally nice too. I find it’s a great way to meet people in a non-creepy way, because let’s face it, meeting random people as short, friendly, single girl when you live/travel/work alone can be a questionable activity.

The problems that accompany tours may outweigh the benefits though. People, myself included, tend to get lazy on tours. If the tour company does all the work, why invest in the experience? Other problems may include self-important tour guides, slow walkers, tourist traps and a plethora of Americans. I want to meet people, but, girlfriend, I did not come all the way to Germany to work on my twang.

Travel Tip #4,937: If you do your homework on the destination, most tour guides can give you very specific times and locations to meet up with the group after uninteresting component x finishes. This, I tell you, is bliss. It cuts down on the bulk of travel planning (e.g. fares, reservations, timetables) and lets you really focus on the local area. And, if the ENTIRE tour promises to be tourist hell, then you can always find out the time of the return ticket you paid for and meet up with the group at the station for the return trip.

My trip to Dachau yesterday was with a tour group. Great decision. The tour guide was genuine, well-informed and interested in learning along with us. He also considered each person’s questions with an appropriate level of sophistication and sobriety that you don’t often find in tour guides. If he didn’t know the answer to a question, he deferred to one of the memorial’s staff members. Per usual, travelling went off without a hitch; the annoying people stuck together like glue; and the crowd was decently international. It made the whole experience very enjoyable, and I was able to experience the memorial free of banalities. Honestly, no one should have to think about bus schedules at Dachau.

Next up: Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, Bavarian Food Tour, Bike Tour to Starnbergersee, and a day trip to Nuremberg.

June 20-25: So busy I didn’t have time to come up with a title

The trip to Salzburg, London and the two days in Muenchen since have been an unparalleled whirlwind of activity.

While in Salzburg I …

Walked through the Old City, shamelessly danced and sang at all the Sound of Music sites, visited Mozart’s birthplace and house, soaked up sun in the Maribell Gardens, marvelled at the Churches of St. Blasius, St. Sebastian, St. Erhard, the Schlosskapelle and St. Peter’s Abbey, climbed the heights of FestungHohensalzberg, bought postcards, ate lunch at Berchtesgaden, and walked around Koenigsee for pristine views of an Alpine lake.

While in London I visited,

Kew Gardens, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, the Globe Theater, the Tate Modern, Leicester Square, Big Ben & Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Margaret’s Church, the Jubilee Gardens, the London Eye, Dali Universe, Charing Cross, the Victoria Embankment Gardens, Trafalgar Square, the London Stock Exchange, Regents Park, the Royal Academy of Music, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Barbican, London Bridge, Cleopatra’s Needle, and three traditional English pubs.

In Gouda Waits My Guru

This just in… the voice teacher I wanted to study with in the Netherlands agreed to teach me this summer! Yahooooooooo!

Jetzt gehe ich nach Holland.

Details: Every two weeks I’ll take a ten hour overnight train ride to Holland, where I will spend two days in Gouda eating cheese and throwing red wax around like confetti. Oh to dream! Want to join me?

This teacher is intense, and I’m going to get some serious teaching. Here’s what I mean…

She doesn’t give one hour lessons. Instead, she spends a HALF DAY on one lesson, working technique, working repertoire, working Alexander Technique, and then working the voice some more. There are lots of breaks, but I gather that it’s all very body/singing oriented. Then, she wrote that she believes she can (Huzzah!) help me with my middle voice, as long as I don’t try to avoid it anymore.

First item on the agenda… Una Voce Poco Fa. Gulp. And then Oscar, Tytania and the Schumann set.

So. No making nice and no fear of the middle voice. 

I’m told Persephone hails from the Edith Bers and James McDonald school of singing.

You ask, what exactly do they teach?

Balls. To. The. Wall. Singing.  

I’m in for a trip.

On delays and the limitations of language

Just to clarify, I write little every day in order to capture what I experience, and sometimes I write twice or three times a day. It may take up to three or four days after writing till I post though, because I don’t have immediate access to the internet. I’m trying my hardest to get them up as soon as possible!

I also like to write a post, and then let it sink in for a few days to see if any forthcoming experiences temper what I wrote. In many cases they have, and I like seeing that change.

Finally, I haven’t been writing in German, because it’s exhausting to speak in German all day. When I write about this summer, I want my reactions to be as honest as possible, and I find that difficult to do when I’m struggling for words that don’t _exactly_ describe what I mean. Perhaps I’ll begin posting in German as the summer progresses, but for now, it’s English with Deutsche Woerter for some local flavah.

 

The first three days…

Eaten Wienerschnitzel? Check.

Gotten lost amidst roccoco splendor? Check.

Drank a liter of beer, correction… TWO liters of beer at the Hofbrauhaus? Check.

Spoken German till I bleed black, yellow and red out the corners of my mouth? Check.

Experienced my first “real” case of jet-lag? Check.

Cared deeply for the state of European soccer, even if only for a second? Check.

Thought about buying a drindle? Check.

Become profoundly overwhelmed by train schedules? Check.

Been told I speak “sehr gutes Deutsch”? Check.

Been told I speak “sehr gutes Deutsch” with an English accent”? Umm…. check.