September 26, 2011

Trip 5: Oktoberfest

Trip date: September 23-25, 2011

Oktoberfest is the world's largest annual fair and happens in Munich, Germany. The Calgary Stampede is like the in-bred and retarded cousin to this event. Oktoberfest openly celebrates drinking and by consequence, openly celebrates being belligerent all day in the streets. There are dirndls, lederhosens and 1L beer glasses as far as the eye can see.

Oktoberfest celebrates it 178th birthday this year.


I know, you're saying, "But Kristen, don't you have a gluten intolerance? What are you doing at Oktoberfest?". If there's any place to disregard and re-evaluate your allergy to hops, it's in Munich during these 16-18 days.

Almost every Calgary intern, save two, came with us on this trip. We managed to pick up and Aussie somewhere in the mix as well. We took the train after work on Friday and reached Munich (aka Müchen) on Friday night. We stayed at The Tent campground and it is honestly my favorite accommodations yet. It worked out to 10 euros a night (booked way way way in advanced) and worth every bit thrice over. The camping/festival atmosphere really brings me back to Shambhala and for this reason alone, I fell in love with the place.

We woke up at the crack of dawn and left the campsite by 6 in the morning. I can't remember the last time (if there has ever been a time) I woke up at 5:30 so I could go drinking but there is no larger motivator than a full day of party. The tents don't open until 9 but it's a first-come-first-serve push and the lines were already formed once we arrived there and people in full Bavarian gear were already pre-gaming. We lined up for the Hacker-Festzelt tent.

Mike, Jason and I didn't get into the tent but we did get a table outside. We sat with 4 Germans who gave us the ins and outs of the festival. I also discovered that Oktoberfest beers are brewed sans whatever it is I'm usually allergic to in beer (so, obviously it's not hops I'm allergic to) and I could drink it to my heart's tolerance's content. 1L beer glasses (or Maß) of beer will set you back 10 euros with tip.


Song singing and stomping around the festival brings about a Stampede flashback. People pass out and game-over in all sorts of places at all hours of the day. But unlike Stampede, this doesn't lead to a ticket for public intoxication or a free night in the drunk-tank. Instead (and more rightly so, in my opinion) it leaves you vulnerable to other Oktoberfest goers like how the first person to pass out in a party is vulnerable to everyone with a sharpie. A stomach full of Oktoberfest beer (and beer in general) sways you to spend a lot of money on unhealthy and over priced fair food but once again, living in Switzerland has destroyed my ability to interpret when things are expensive. This impairment is also magnified at Oktoberfest for obvious reasons. So I indulged in all the starchy delights I could get my clumsy fingers on.


Zigzagging through the streets all day sure takes a lot out of you. So I felt a bit torn when I headed back to the hostel at 9pm. On one hand, I wanted to keep staying out and enjoying the festival, perhaps even go to a club and on the other hand I was so over the crowds, snail-paced shuffling and fatigue had set in a bit. Here is where my hostel addressed all my needs in the form of 2.50 euro half liters beers and a campfire circle.

Sharing a campfire with just about anybody is right up there in the best past-time activity that people can do together. I chatted with a lot of Aussies and Germans. I took guitar lessons and learned Knocking on Heaven's door from an Israeli. I exchanged the 3 Spanish words I knew and lots of hand gestures to an Spaniard. I met guy from Bristol who was just about the nicest guy there. All in all, I had a fantastic night and it was a perfect end to a day of doing nothing but stumbling and being noisy. My only regret is that I only stayed the weekend because it's awful to say goodbye to people you just met.



Don't worry, I actually saw a bit of Munich as well. On Sunday we wandered around Munich and saw the sites and I (of course) took many touristy photos. We saw the new town hall building which was insanely beautiful and adorned with so much detail. We watched and listened to the Rathaus-Glockenspiel which is like a very slow paced-large scale cuckoo-clock show. Don't worry if you miss the show and only see the building if you go to Munich, the show registered at a 2/10 on the exhilaration scale.



We also walked through a bunch of parks, including a one where being nude was encouraged. Walking through a field of naked and half naked sunbathers while fully clothed really makes you feel like a pervert.

All in all, I'm really glad I didn't get to do everything I wanted to at Oktoberfest because it leaves room and motivation to go back one day soon. I had a fantastic time!

Things I learn:
  • A radler is half beer, half lemon soda pop and it is very enjoyable
  • A friend that I made told me that radlers are made so children can drink (oh well)
  • The only German you need to know during Oktoberfest is "ein maß bier, bitte" and "PROST"
  • Efficient and easy-to use transit has impressed me once again. Shape up, Calgary!
Thing to do when I come back:
  • Attend on a weekday, perhaps a Thursday to Saturday trip to avoid the high crowd congestion.
  • Stay at a campground again
  • Get into a tent
  • Learn the words to the songs (though banging on tables, clapping hands and shouting random sounds seems pretty passable)

September 16, 2011

Trip 4: Speer, Switzerland

Trip date: September 10, 2011

I have found a new addiction in Swiss hiking. My eyes can't drink up enough of those rolling green hills. There's often a faint fog present when looking out into far distances and it slightly distorts all the colours and makes everything look dreamy. I like to think this haze is a protective shield provided to obstruct your vision so you don't go insane from how beautiful it actually is.

Okay, enough of my nonsense.

All in Attendance: Bikram, Mohammad, Philip and Kristen

We're in the tail end of the hiking season. In a desperate effort to save money, I tried to find somewhere to go that is relatively close so we wouldn't need any hostels or pricy trains. This location is just under 2 hours traveling time from where I live in Baden.

We took the train to Ziegelbrücke and then a bus to Amden (16.90 CHF total). From there we took the Niederschlagwald chairlift (8 CHF) up and began our hike to Speer. Mohammad is from Jordan and has never taken a chairlift (or even a hike until this one) and it really boosted my own experience to share in someone else's new discovery. Especially when the discovery is something as beautiful as Switzerland's mountains.


I can't get enough of how beautiful it is here! I hope the green contrast to my familiar Rocky Mountains never gets old. The grass is so vividly green and perfectly groomed that it almost feels impossibly natural. It's more like neon carpet than plant-life. I also love the random instances of mountain bovine chilling on the hiking trails.

We followed the hike on this site.
http://activityworkshop.net/hiking/switzerland/speer.html
Right before the switchbacks to Speer, at Oberchäseren, is a big restaurant. I'm still not use to these types of establishments that seem to be placed in the middle of nowhere. As usual to Swiss way of life, the bathroom in this restaurant, regardless of all the sweaty and dirty hikers who visit on a daily basis, is absolutely spotless. I think the average Swiss would be horrified at the state we keep our apartment in which is still better than most rez rooms. They also sell milkshakes here from the fresh milk of the mountain cows but that's only in the earlier part of the summer.

There were so many nice look out points and the inclination isn’t too bad, which I was thankful for since my knees aren’t the strongest. We reach the peak (Speer) after around 2 hours and 30 minutes of hiking.



There is such a large window of time for train and bus connections too that you could definitely do this hike even if you started in the early afternoon. In fact, we prolonged the hike down as long as we could so we could gleis7 home without having to wait at a bus or train station for too long.

Things I learned:
  • Don’t touch that low white rope fence that goes along the hiking trail – it’s electric and it will hurt you.
  • Swiss mountain cows are not afraid of hikers but they are afraid of cameras
  • Jordanians get embarrassed for you when you moo to the cows
  • Fearlessly sharing utensils might just be a Canadian thing

September 15, 2011

OM NOM NOM


I have been a baking and cooking fiend (more so than usual). Without a television to watch any cooking shows, I have taken upon myself to have my own cooking and baking live action show with common appearances by my roommate/sous-chef/bowl licker Gordon in our tiny Swiss kitchen.

In fact, when I am not working at my desk, I spend my time drooling over cooking blogs. (Or, as Gordon might tell you, when I'm not drooling over cooking blogs, I will do a little bit of work at my desk). Here are the blogs I waste company hours on:
Baking Bites
Joy The Baker
Kalyn's Kitchen
Smitten Kitchen
food52
Brown Eyed Baker
Gordon and I eat dinners together and I make baked goods for the entire household. You can view the things I've been cooking here, if you're interested.

September 09, 2011

Fantoche

Fantoche is an International Animated Film Festival hosted right here in Baden. It's in its 9th year. There are even student pricing on tickets so I can so see a movie for a reasonable 13 CHF instead of the crazy price of normal movies of 20 CHF.

I have also learned that popcorn prices are similar here to Canadian pricing. I think this speaks worlds about Canadian movie-theater food mark ups if I have to pay 11.50 CHF here for a Big Mac but pay the same for food at the movies.

I saw a really good animated short yesterday with Jason and Eliot. Lucky for me, the creator put it online so I can share it with you now and you can save 13 CHF to use towards your rent and groceries.

The film is called The External World by David Oreilly


PS. I keep using Big Macs as a comparison not because of my North American gluttony and fast food dependency but because I feel this is the most internationally understood price comparison.

September 04, 2011

Trip 3: Basel and Bern, Switzerland

Trip date: September 3, 2011

Bern is the capital city of Switzerland. It's population is only 120,000 people plus a bit of change. Basel is a beautiful city and Switzerland's third most populated with 160,000 people.

All in attendance: Eliot and Kristen

I am restless on the weekends. I feel as if every weekend spent at my home in Baden is a weekend wasted. So with another Alstom intern I met three days prior, I set out to visit Bern and Basel for sightseeing all day Saturday with promising plans to go to Zurich at night for a drum and bass show.

I'm cheating a bit to call this a "trip". It's like calling a visit to Canmore a "trip". There will probably be times where I take the train to Basel just to go to the clubs on Friday nights but honestly I'm over zealous about traveling so I'll call just about everything a trip until it gets old.

Switzerland cities are so very quaint and beautiful. They almost feels as if they're from some fairy tale story or medieval folklore. We set out and took the train from Baden to Bern which, like most things in Switzerland, felt more expensive than necessary (19 CHF with the halb-tax).

We went to all the central and cheap sites in Bern. We lucked out because there was a very big outdoor market fill with all these unique flowers, fruits, vegetables and handcrafts (all very expensive, of course) right outside of the Bundeshaus (parliament building).

We took pictures of the lovely view of Bern right outside parliament and then went walking around Old Town. We went to the Einsteinhaus, a very small museum in Einstein's old flat. Entrance was 4.50 CHF for students and I'm still debating whether it was worthwhile. I feel that the same information could've been gained with a few minutes spent on wikipedia.

Bern is the picturesque and quintessential Swiss town. The buildings are adorable and they seem to really like their clock tower and really like their bears. There is a place where you can see actual bears but Eliot didn't want to spend time watching animals in captivity and I felt there were better things to do than see bears in a pit. Then after visiting the Rosengarten (Bern's version of the Crescent Heights view) and a lunch is a nice sit down Thai restaurant (my first sit-down meal in Switzerland), we headed to Basel and spent another 19CHF on a train.

I was a bit annoyed that we didn't think to take the train to Basel first then Bern (Baden to Basel is 13 CHF) but that oversight turned out to be a lucky mistake because of what we found in Basel that afternoon.

We still don't quite understand what event was going on but we managed to come to Basel during an annual free music event. Free occurrences in Switzerland are few and far in between so we felt very lucky. There was a rock stage, a stage with soft indie music and then a jungle stage.

I feel like every time I encounter a DJ booth in a random outdoor location, it's just part of Shambhala's magic providing me with good music and good people.


After Eliot jumped off the Basel bridge for some impromptu swimming (much to my panic since I egged him to jump when I never possibly thought he could be serious) and dancing in the rain, we took the train to Zurich for a drum and bass show I had heard about.

The show was held in a club called "Thai Thai Club". The stage was downstairs and you had to walk through strange concrete-like tunnels before getting to it. Everything from the crowd to the obscure venue felt like a piece of home. Bryan, the event promoter, told me at Netsky that drum and bass was the universal language and it really is. Perfect end to the day!
Overall, what I learned from this trip is that my preference for Swiss traveling is tipped towards its natural beauty and mountains. I hope that the weather clears up before it gets too cold for hiking but for the meantime, visiting charming Swiss cities is a very enjoyable alternative.

September 02, 2011

Swiss Bank Account

If you think you can steal money from my Swiss bank account by hacking into my online banking - think again!

No seriously, the level of security on my internet banking makes the heist in Ocean's Eleven seem more achievable than stealing out of my checkings account.

Firstly, they send you your card, this crazy weird calculator thing and your internet login username and password in separate packages and at separate intervals in the mail. The latter of which must be retrieved, in person, at the post office with your passport as photo id.

Ready to log into your online banking? Well enter in your internet username and password that you got in the mail on the website.  Then you get to a page that spews out an 6+ digit number. You insert your debit card into the slot at the top of the PostFinance calculator and enter in this number. Don't forget to enter in your banking pin. Now a different number will appear on your calculator screen. You now enter this number into the website page and voila - you can now view your bank account where you must surely have millions of dollars to merit this type of encryption.

Holy crap. I guess you don't screw around if you're a country known for offshore banking.

Ein Kaffee, Bitte

Let me make a big fuss over coffee for a moment.

Coffee is a whole different species in Europe. I think it would be incorrect to think of it as the same beverage as what is sold in Canada. I wouldn't be so unpatriotic as to call a Tim's Double-Double "Black Soup" but absolutely all the coffee I've had so far is so beyond what I am use to.

I'm not even buying coffee in fancy places. I'm talking about the coffee vendor carts at the train station, the free coffee at the Italian hostel I stayed at and the coffee machine at work. By the by, that's a photo of the coffee I drink every morning and it has 4 different coloured tiers of caffeine goodness.

Coffee here is like a fancy espresso drink back home. I can assure you it doesn't come from a twenty year old plastic drip machine. It's so tasty that I don't even bother to use my coffee maker at my apartment for my routine 8pm coffee because I rather go without it now that I know what half the world has been drinking.

Mind you, you'd be hard pressed to find a coffee in Switzerland for under 3 CHF.

PS."Gas Turbines Forever!"