Switzerland

See ya Holland, onward and upward to Germany! I can't believe how far behind I've gotten! With all that's going on every day and night, it really is dificult to post with any kind of regularity. We end up back at the hotel at 4 or later and are just too wiped out to do anything but sleep. Blog veterans have suggested writing while driving and uploading when wi-fi is available, but unfortunately for me this isn't an option, as I become car sick very easily if I do anything other than look out the window. Especially with Lorenzo's driving!!!

We're now on German soil after an incredible string of adventures through Switzerland, France, Belgium and The Netherlands! The whole gang is in extremely good spirits--we've had the Shadows cranked on the van stereo, Dave and Bernard have been discussing all variety of geeky topics and I'm reminiscing about the journey thus far. Let's see, where'd we leave off? Ah yes, Fat Joe's hot sauce and steak debacle!!! Haha!

Well, after departing Keiko's hotel, where young hooligans kept us awake drinking and making noise in the hallways until all hours, it was off for the morning coffee ritual and then to find the closest music store to replace some tubes that were acting up in our Bassman. Thankfully we're armed with 2 ipads, iphones and 2 Macbooks, so any kind of information is always right at our fingertips. After a quick search, we made a pit stop at a music store in the middle of nowhere in Northern Italy that actually had quite a nice selection of guitars. 

It was here that I learned two things..one, that Lorenzo has an obsession with music stores and must always stop if given the opportunity, and two, that no matter where you are in the world, some kid in a Megadeth T-Shirt is always playing Metallica in a guitar store! It really is a small world sometimes.

Tubes acquired, it was time to make the trek out of Italy and up into Switzerland! The drive was quite dramatic as we ascended into the mountains. Tiny little ruined castles seemed to be perched on every hilltop with the greenest brush between them. The road became more and more winding and narrow, until the most spectacular view of Lake Como suddenly appeared out the window to the right. Definitely a location I'd like to come back and explore more in the future. The scenery's impact didn't get any less dramatic, however, as we proceeded on and into Switzerland! Unreal sights of waterfalls, streams, green mountains and old farmhouses lined each side of the highway like some kind of surreal out of body classic European scenery slideshow! 

After oohing and aahing for sometime, it was time for something completely different--the dreaded and notorious third-longest tunnel in the world (16+km), The Gotthard Tunnel!

Now, I'm not claustrophobic, but your mind does begin to go to very strange places when inside a tunnel for this long. When the half way point is reached, you can't help but think "what if something crazy happened out there while we were in here?" Very strange indeed.

Emerging at the other end felt like coming up for air and immediately, the scenery opened up again with spectacular lake and waterway views.

After a short drive further we ended up at our destination, the small town of Schaffhausen, which seemed to wind around in circles with Medieval looking buildings on all sides and a grand central castle looming in the distance on the tallest hill. The gig was at a really cool club called Dolder2, which as a joke, was apparently named after one of Switzerland's swankiest resorts. The place was anything from swanky, rather, it was warm, down to Earth and comfortable, with almost a Swiss hunting or skiing lodge vibe.

The proprietor Tom was another gracious and kind host and went out of his way to make us all feel at home. Also, the guys from Tony Dynamite and the Shootin' Beavers were not only extremely cool guys to hang out with, but put on a damn fine show, especially with their unique song mash ups and unusual trumpet use. 

We had a chance to hear and enjoy them at The Surfer Joe Festival, but they really knocked it out of the park at the Dolder2! We had an absolute blast playing with them and the crowd seemed to really enjoy the entire night!

Afterwards, the only solution was to grab a late-night Doner Kebab in the center of town, as guided by our intrepid local guide and new friend Markus, the Tony Dynamite drummer. 

Retiring to our accommodation was especially interesting on this night, as we had one big room filled with old rickety bunk beds! It was like being back at Summer camp or having a sleepover all over again!

The next day was kind of lazy, as everyone had a bit of housekeeping/responsibilities to catch up with, most notably Lorenzo finalizing the artwork for his new album. So, we took our time, finished what we needed to do and wandered around the little town. Of course, this led to some wonderful food discoveries including the most delicious local specialties of pretzel sandwiches and grilled bratwurst! 

And I couldn't help but be completely mesmerized by the incredible baked goods and gourmet chocolate around every turn!

  

OK, we couldn't possibly be that close to the largest waterfalls in all of Europe without checking them out, right? Just down the road were the legendary Rhinefalls, so we proceeded to have a look on our way out of town. 

Mainly because we could, we next had a quick pit stop to look around Zurich, but were put off a bit by it's shi-shi-la-la nature, extreme expense, and focus on high end shopping. There were some nice views of the lake and sunset, however.

We decided to push on through, continue driving and just make it to our destination for the next night's show in Guebwiller, which is in the Alsace region of France, just near the German border. Next catch up post...France!