Montreux

Last weekend I traveled around Lake Geneva to visit Montreux. The world famous Montreux jazz festival was in full swing and just because I couldn't afford tickets didn't mean that I couldn't enjoy the atmosphere. The town is a beautiful example of the Swiss Rivera. Posh, beautiful and extraordinarily expensive.  The Jazz Festival itself is on of the most famous music festivals in the world, thanks in part for inspiring the song "Smoke on the Water". The day I was there the headline act was Van Morrison followed by zombie Bob Dylan. I was told that there would be lots of little outdoor stages with free act however, I forgot about Europe time which means nothing gets started before eleven pm. I didn't get to see much in the way of music but I did see my new favorite band the ingenious, highschoolkidswithaboat.

I also walked around the lake to see Chillion Castle. It holds the honor of being the most visited sight in Switzerland. A fact the festival must have something to do with. After some walking, snacking and sightseeing. I really wanted to take a dip in the lake. I hadn't brought a swimsuit and I was much too embarrassed to  jump in in my clothes. While I was milling this over in my mind, a older Swiss gentleman walked over and sat down in front of me and my friend. He then proceeded to put us all to shame by taking off all of his clothes and swimming naked. We were all a bit shocked (but not too much, this is Europe after all) and as he came back to shore, he looked us in the eye and said in a think Swiss-German accent "It's refreshing." Well, I had no excuse not to swim then and proceeded to jump in the lake. With my clothes on of course. 

In other news, this is my last blog post from France. I'll spare you the run down of my third trip to CERN. Unless you're into than just track me down when I return and i'll be more than happy to yammer on. In one week I fly to Barcelona for a short nine day trip to Spain, then I will spend ten days in London to visit friends and experience my first Olympics. Like Montreux, I don't have ticket and will just mooch in the atmosphere. 

The summer flew by. The last time I lived aboard I was gone for two and a half years so three and a half months seems like nothing at all. See you in Spain!

Need more travel blog?

In case you haven't grown bored of my rants about my rambles. Head over to my friend Michaels blog. He has a lot of nice pictures up as well as an embrassing testment to how many beers we drank in Bellgium.

Beers, Frittes and Waffles in lovely Belgium

I confess Belgium is kind off a strange destination. Why fly to Belgium when Italy shares a boarder with Switzerland? The answer is that I am, above all else a cheap traveler. I am open to all new experiences and so when I discovered an 60 euro round trip flight to Brussels, I booked my flight right away.

Plus I heard they had good beer...

My friend Micheal and I found a great flat on airbnb.com right in the center of Brussels. Belgium as a country is so small that it was easy to use Brussels as a base for day trips. Arriving in Brussels I was quickly charmed by the tiny squares and  stunning Flemish buildings. The town is heavily touristed strangely they are all confined a few square blocks. The symbol of Brussels and strangely enough, the entire country of Brussels is the tiny Mannekin Pis. This tiny cliche fountain would be like Reno representing the US. Why? There's so many wonderful things about Belgium!

Everyone is wondering, "why are we here?"

The first day was spent walking about the city and going to the Musee Magritte and Musee Royaux des Beaux-Arts. Rene Magritte is a famous Belgian painter famous for his surreal works. I enjoyed the Magritte museum but I am not a massive fan of his work as well as most of the pieces were the less famous ones. The Royal Museum was a great treat as I turned a corner and stumbled into one of my favorite painters  Hieronymus Bosch. The Museum also had a "Rubens Room" which had ten massive scaled painting by the local master.   

I wrote my very first research paper about him!

The rest of the day was spent eating waffles and french fries around the Art Nouveau buildings. Art Nouveau is my favorite architectural style. Brussels was home to the architect Victor Horta and the Nouveau buildings scattered around the country really helped me fall in love with Belgium despite the endless rain. 

This boat house was in Antwerp.

We took two day trips over the four day trip. The first of which was Antwerp. A small town with lots to do Antwerp was a  great town. Although I must confess most of the reason I liked the town was the legend of its name which involved a Roman warrior fighting a giant, chopping off his hand and throwing it in a river. A friend recently accused me of "liking everything". Despite the Brits believing they have a trademark on bitterness, I have been known to have my fare share. Still, I dare you not to like a town with a landmark like this statue.

Also has great beer...

oThe second day trip was to Bruges which was less bloody than  Colin Farrells trip. Bruges is a quaint medieval town based on a series of canals. The weather was miserable driving away the bulk of the visitors. The first stop on our wander was the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, a 13th century church which houses a Madonna by Michelangelo. The piece was quite small but it was clear to even my uneducated eye that it was vastly superior to the works that surrounded it. 

  

The rest of day was spend strolling the old and new parts of town. Just walking around....with Frittes and beer. Are you starting to see the pattern of my trip?  

Also everyone should see In Bruges. As all can think of when I look at my vacation photos is chase scenes. 

Bruges had its fair share of heart break as well. For example I really really needed to see the holy blood of Christ at the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek. I am obsessed with relics. Not because of some misguided belief in their authenticity but because of the objects have a terrifically morbid history.  The vial of blood was brought to the city in the 12th century and is paraded annually through town.  The viral may have arrived in Bruges after the sacking of Constantinople, a fact that would make the object more than worthy of a parade around town. The heartbreak comes in when we discovered that the vial is only on veneration for a few hours every week and that we missed the relic by 20 minutes. 

These angels are holding all of my hopes and dreams. 

It wasn't a complete loss. The Basilica was one of the prettiest I had ever seen. Every pillar, every wall, every surface as painted in bright colors. The paint is young by European standards (just over 100 years old)  and the colors help is stand out in my mind from all of the other Flanders style churches.

We then returned to Brussels for one more day of, say it with me now, Beer and Frittes. Oh and if you ever find yourself in lovely Brussels make sure you get frittes at the stand behind the European Parliament. They were the best i've tasted. And trust me, I ate a lot of frittes. 

Science Still Rules.

Let me continue my backwards recollections (Belgium trip is coming soon I promise) by sharing information about my second trip to CERN last Tuesday. It was a field trip of sorts, my boss took Micheal and I to visit the CERN archive. The archives were neat with letters form Einstein and memorabilia form various Nobel Prize winners.

The archive was nice however the real treat was the "behind the scenes" tour we received of one of the engineering labs.  My friend Vera is working as a records manager for one of the engineers who works with magnets on a massive scale.  I'll try to give an amateur overview with out being completely wrong.

This cut away section of the ubiquitous CERN blue tubes, shows the two path ways that the neutrons are "fired" The rest of the space is taken up by magnets and complex cooling mechanism. The tubes need to stay constantly at minus 41 degrees. The LHC has a circumference of 27 kilometres which means CERN has plenty of pipes on hand in warehouses such as these. 

*Add me geeking out

Why magnets you ask? Well, particles would naturally travel in a straight line and the magnetism keeps them spinning in loops under then French/Swiss countryside. Next stop was the room were the magnets are tested. Much science was spoken and the three archivists nodded respectful.

I wish I would have written this fresh from the tour as I am now hazy about the actual science. I remember that out wonderful German tour guide mostly worked on the keeping the magnets cold and that the amount of energy needed to do so was so great that they often halted testing during the winter months so Geneva could turn on the heat.

The fibers shrink in the cold hence the astro-slinky part!

Well that's all for this episode of Consider the Following. 

Happy Birthday Rousseau!

Last night was my villages annual Voltaire festival which is held every summer in honor of the beloved patriarch. This year the celebration was a bit different because it was Rousseau's 300th birthday this week. Despite the fact that the two were contemporaneous, the philosopher and satirist hated each other. Voltaire is quoted as saying that Rousseau wanted us to “walk on all fours” like animals and behave like savages. Voltaire pushed for an enlighten monarch and had no sympathies for Rousseau's ideas on Democracy.  Despite all this they are buried across from each other in the Pantheon in Paris, to hold heated debates for all eternity.

There strained relationship begs the question, How would Voltaire throw a party for Rousseau at his own home. This question was answered for me last night at the festival. Did I expect the answer would include a flash mob to Mama Mia? Of course not but, when you think of it it might be the perfect prank the author of Candide could play on his Swiss neighbor.

When I arrived at the Chateau with my landlords I was greeted by a man in historical garb leading around a horse and carriage. His face was painted into a fashionable pallor although I could but think he was a Rousseau zombie. There were five stages set up around the Chateau hosting everything from classic theater performances to flamenco dancing to flute choirs doing Shkira covers. People were in costumes everywhere, at one point we accidentally walked into an art piece where a handsome young man done up in enlightenment chic read to us passages from Rousseau while we slowly walk through the gardens. I went from being awkward to enamored and back again. 

The grounds were full of tasty food tents from all over the world and I ate a Libyan dinner with a french dessert. Another fantastically french addition was the champagne garden in a drained 18th century fountain. 

I've also found a way to spend my golden years. I am joining a french folk dancing troupe and playing the Hurdy Gurdy, the instruments amazing shape makes up for it sounding like shaking a can of trapped bees. This troupe of dancers and musicians had a median age of 73. This is young in comparison to the instruments they were playing which hand been handed down for over 200 years. 

I feel more French already.