FASNACHT~Carnival~LUZERN

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My first Fasnacht was over ten years ago. It was one for the books, to be sure and I wasn't sure I would ever need to explore such an epic Carnival Festival ever again. They say, you only need to go to Luzern's Fasnacht ONCE in your life. Well, this year I decided I would have to return. Seeing as I am self-employed and Fasnacht falls on a Thursday/Monday/Tuesday. (many people take their holidays this week) The grande opening/start happens in the old town section of one of Switzerlands most beautiful cities, Luzern, at 5am and the formal closing ceremonies end at 8pm the following Tuesday. I headed out by bus and train on Monday and wandered around in AWE for hours. Some of my friends leave the city for the entire LOUD and CRAZY spell of Awesome and some join in for the best time ever. This Feat for the eyes and ears is centuries old and usually takes place before Lent.. pre-Fast! 

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Guggenmusik is mostly what you hear while wandering around the confetti filled cobblestone streets. Big Bands practice all year, top forty and old school sounds and people also spend the year making their costumes. The masks are unreal and very scary at times!!! There are SO many people on the streets and SO many bands filing through the narrow paths that sometimes they cross with each other and the chaos of sound is unlike any other, the drums outweigh all of the noise and when there are two groups of twenty (or more) people weaving through each other with FULL on costumes and HUGE detailed masks, playing drums, both in different tempos, it is wonderful and strange to say the least.

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You truly have NO idea what images and sounds you are going to see and hear next. I only wish that my Iphone4 (gonna use it til it dies!) didn't fill up so fast or I would have taken so many more photos, as it was I had to go through and delete all the time for better shots. ANYTHING goes at Fasnacht. Really, some might think many sights were unacceptable, especially in today's time of being 'overly' politically correct. I had to keep my mouth shut on a few occasions, which I am sure some of you reading might 'tsk tsk' at, but in the name of PARTY and a wild one like this, I decided to just let it all go and live and let live! Needless to say, I refrained from taking photos of that which didn't suit....

The details that go into the creation of these elaborate costumes, BLOW my mind!! In Switzerland, it is safe to say that it is pretty "safe" here. It certainly isn't a very loud place, in general, but there really are NO rules during this Carnival. That said, it is rare to see or hear a fight and the garbage gets swept up by the hour... I am not sure the confetti is ever swept clean, it get's everywhere! 

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People also go to great lengths, building floats and moving trains and so much more. SO incredibly elaborate. You really must come to see this, yes, at least ONCE in your life. But plan your costume early, not the day OF like I did. I knew I had some silver make up and a great silver wig, but wasn't I lucky to find a huge roll of tinfoil to help matters?? Tinfoil is a good heat-insulator as well so it turns out. There are DJ's and beats ALL over, so dancing is also encouraged! The restaurants and bars are also open to all, but mostly the party is on the streets.

Yes, scary masks to be sure! Yet, I saw many children in costumes enjoying the festivities, so perhaps after hundreds and hundreds of years, this fabulous weekend is highly appreciated and prepared for. Shocks come at every turn though. I was leaning to the side of one of the covered bridges, erasing photos from my phone (I had to make space!) pretty focused, when I looked up to see an entire band, inches away from me, walking slowly towards me, massive masks, about fifty people who just out of the blue started playing. I couldn't get away, and stood in awe as they filed (slowly and creepily!) past me, creature by creature! What a feeling!! Anyway, I will leave you with this Lovely photo of this Lovely family..... 

Adventure Awaits Us All

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The first flight I remember was when I was seven years old. We were heading back to Bermuda, my first home. I will never forget seeing the world below me get smaller and smaller until we were above the clouds, and all you could see for forever were mountains of white, gray & purple. I used to dream about what it would feel like to be out among them, bouncing around, floating, having my own kingdom in the clouds. Turns out my imagination is the only place where I can actually do that....

The next trip I would take (I was eleven) would be again, to Bermuda. This time I was alone, meeting my Dad over there. It was the only trip we would take (alone) together, and I hold those memories near and dear.   Whenever I smell gas (petrol) I think of my Dad, either on the back of a moped leaning in, or snugged up tight on the back of the ski-doo out in the wild snowy fields of Prince Edward County. 

Travel and Adventure started at an early age, perhaps already in my soul from the start, but thankfully, my parents gave me many an opportunity to do so,  I still Love exploring various parts of the world. The people you meet, the places you see, the scents, the sounds... It really is an incredible feeling; sometimes stupendous, sometimes humbling but always life changing.

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As a touring musician, I have been given the opportunity to play in and feel the vibe of some pretty marvelous spots. Being able to get to far off places with guitar in hand, is awesome and (I must say) pretty addictive. There's something about the connected-ness of it all, meeting folks with similar mindsets, soul wishes and more. That "Hunt for life, for life" I have spoken of before just keeps on playing....

There are people who would rather stay home. I too am one of them at times, there is a time for everything, but for the folks out there who wish upon a star to go somewhere different, to see something, to feel something new, I encourage it TEN FOLD. There are many ways to do it if money is the largest worry. I am lucky because I have music to pave the way, so I know with that skill, it makes things a little easier, but the world is so much bigger (AND SMALLER) than I ever thought. People will always help you along the way, from a bite to eat to a hostel/camp-ground recommendation, to a smile, you will never be alone and such connected-ness helps to dwindle fear.

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You just never know what kind of magic awaits or what kind of food or what kind of splendid architecture! Visions of wonder and beauty imprinted on your minds eye forever...

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The friends you can make! I asked my Grandfather, nearing the end of his 95years, what he thought the most important thing was, his gift of advice to me... He said you can never have too many friends. He and his wife (of nearly 65years) traveled across the world from Quebec to New Zealand when they were in their eighties. Amazing. And so far he has been right. There are many guest rooms, couches and back yards that we are privvy to, just because we went out there in search of travel adventure. Every person I have ever met started out as a stranger, so there's that....

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One day, I too would like to get down to New Zealand and Australia. I suppose one has to reach far and wide to get where they need to go. In the meantime, home is also a valuable place to be and a much needed sanctuary. However that search to find out about other people's lives, taste food from the soils of far away, dream up and off into clouds above new scenery, laugh together under a different set of stars, sitting round a campfire smelling of peat, or the view from a mountain village or the scenery of an old seaside town... Ahhhh so very fulfilling and wondrous indeed! The things I don't know that I yearn to know, through travel....

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Home is where the heart is.

Travel In Time

Travel has always been something that I have longed to do. When I was seven years old, we (my family; Mum, Dad, brother and I) flew back to Bermuda. My brother and I were both born there, but I returned to Canada when I was around four years old, which leaves a lot to be imagined and much less to be remembered. That flight back to my first home felt like my first time in an airplane; the feel of the smooth seat covers, the glide of the window shades; up, down, up, down, the neatly bundled airline branded silver cutlery, the tidy meal tray, the metal/canvas/bizarre liquid smell of the plane, the discovery of how to balance ear pressure with a simple yawn, and the view! The view out the window, seeing the world from above; the tiny cars, the plots of land, the lakes, the bizarrely beautiful cloud formations....

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I have always wondered, what is it that makes people want to stay in one place? MONEY problems aside (because there is always a way to get what you want i.e Cigarettes and alcohol come to mind.. where there is a will, there is a way!) I am guessing the main reason people tend to 'stay put' is fear. Fear of the new, fear of change and fear of the unknown. You would be surprised at how YOU you still are in other countries. You do learn new things (language, geography) meet new people (keep in mind there are all kinds everywhere; energy stealers, bartenders, constructions workers, writers, dancers, dunces, artists, arses, buskers, bakers, jokers, joggers, liars, looters, snobs and stars: just like at home!! You will be introduced to some local culinary deliciousness', you will be in awe of new (and very old) architecture and you'll feel SOMEwhat different in a new country but that is likely due to the THRILL of being somewhere new and far away from home. To be sure, however, you will always be YOU, wherever you may be.

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People who don't tend to travel, romanticize travel. Folks tell me how they long to see the Louvre, or the dreamy Eiffel Tower (neither of which I have seen, yet) I hear about all these fantastic fantasies of wine-tasting in the South of France, or inhaling the salty beach air of the Bahamas (also things I have yet to do.) There are an incredibly and over-whelming amount of destinations out there to discover. You can not know the feeling of walking the length of the Berlin wall in the rain or the enormous orchestra of sound from tree frogs at night in the tropics, or the taste of freshly caught Digby scallops pan-fried in butter, or the feel of the slippery rocks of the Giant's Causeway underfoot, or the immense magic behind the walls of a an eight hundred year old castle, or that satisfaction of seeing an entire train shooting across the fields of the Canadian prairies. You will, most definitely FEEL a great many things when you leave the comfort of your own home, but least of all fear. And, if you are lucky, those romantic notions you dream up might actually be real, somewhere, out there.

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A Grüningen Session

Hello and Happy Wednesday to all of you readers out there!

Thanks for stopping by for your weekly dose of the happenings in the "Land of Lindsay"

Perhaps this is your first visit? Glad to have you and I hope you will return! I am just a girl who likes to write; blogs, songs, letters and more, and here, you will find a little of life insights, from my point of view or sometimes something akin to a diary entry! If you are looking for MUSIC; you can find LOTS of that here too. Just head over to the LISTEN tab and you can listen away...

In the meantime, people often ask me what it's like playing in Switzerland! Well, some gigs are, of course better than others, just like anywhere else, but this past weekend, it was quite a Lovely and unique place that we played in, and I thought I would share some photos.

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This is Timo, a.k.a Timothy Jaromir. He is a Swiss Singer & Songwriter who has some great tunes! Check him out! He asked me to sing with him this past weekend in the small and Lovely town of Grüningen. I was amazed at the sights of this town! Quaint would be a good word for it!  Here are a couple of photos of some of the houses around..... Quite "typical" to what we North Americans would envision when thinking of the Lovely country of Switzerland.

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I was lucky to arrive at the right time, when the "Schloss (castle) Museum" was still open. I had a gander and was easily amused at what I found!

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Eventually it was time to play some music! We had a wonderful time playing as part of the "Grüningen Sessions" which is a night of music that happens about eight or nine times a year. The session of sounds takes place in various settings around the sweet town and on this particular night, it was in the Wy Galerie, and we were surrounded by wine! And no, the wine did not stop flowing! Thanks, Susan! Haa. And a big thanks goes out to Caroline Edwards, a brit who decided to bring music and culture to this little town, a few years back. We musicians LOVE people like you! It is always great to play to a town of music Lovers. And thanks to Timo for asking me to sing along. It is always a pleasure.

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Thanks for having us and this will most certainly NOT be the last visit to Grüningen :)

-one weeks later- 

Yesterday I found out that I WILL be returning, to the Wy Galerie as part of Grüningen Sessions on Saturday October 1st, 2016!! Right on, eh??)

xoxo