Linkin Park

Ten days and two concerts- what a life! We went to see Linkin Park last night. After the Foo Fighters (and my well-known obsession with Dave Grohl), I wasn't ready for Linkin Park. We were still listening to the Foos- and watching Jay and Nils headbang/air guitar to Monkeywrench and other Foos songs! So I didn't expect much for the show.

The show had three opening acts. We missed #1 (arrived just as they finished) and missed #2 (N.E.R.D.- we were eating dinner). But we saw #3 (HIM). Linkin Park came on at 10 pm and played only about 1:15 or so total (including the encore!). But for a short show, they rocked. Chester's vocals were amazing and Mike's rapping rocked. I have to give props to Chester's vocal coach- anyone who can scream like him and not ruin his vocal cords, especially on tour, must have a great teacher.

I've attached some photos of LP here, one of them is so you can see how many people were actually there. General Admission was packed- we estimate about 8000 or so were down there. I don't know what I did wrong, but we no longer have the two videos we took. Grrrr..... it really is my fault for not properly uploading the data to my computer. You live, you learn.

Foo Fightin'

Ahhhh.... the Foos. I love the Foo Fighters. I love Dave Grohl. I love music with lots and lots of guitars. My life suddenly changed the minute Nirvana (Dave again!) entered the music scene and grunge became the new big thing. (Remember wearing leggings, combat boots and flannel shirts? OK, don't admit it and I won't either). Smells Like Teen Spirit changed music and pop culture for Generation X forever. OK, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but damn that music (and what it spawned today) is still great.

The Foos rocked. The opening number (Let it Die, a current fave of mine) was awesome- we have a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO5PPXiaFk4 Monkeywrench and Everlong were other great numbers, closer to the end. And many other great songs in between- they would play one after the other without even stopping. One song would end and seamlessly meld into the next. Awesome.

Part of me realized how old I've gotten though. When we left, we saw the tour buses, etc and there was NOBODY there hanging out, waiting for a close up glimpse of Dave and crew. What?? The old me (Betty, for those of you who remember) would have pulled the car to the side, parked and hung out, waiting. But the me now realized it was close to midnight on a school night and a friend was kindly watching our kids for free at home- he had to work the next day too and didn't get the Foos to boot! So home we went.

Ship Ahoy!

We spent the weekend making the boys' bed into a ship. We got two beds at Ikea (Kura) and converted them into L-shaped bunk beds. The bed is made so that (when it's single) it can be a low, four-poster bed with a ladder for climbing and playing.

When the child is older, you can "flip" it and it's a (somewhat) high bed with play space underneath. Jay has had this bed for a little over two years and we bought Nils the same kind. We (Michael!) then did a lot of sawing, connecting and reinforcing to make the beds overlap each other.

On Friday we went to the hardware store and got a ton of stuff- ropes, nuts, bolts, and big, colorful plates to make the ship. The idea was simple: the ship and waves would be for playing but also protect Jay from falling out of bed. We've also ordered a play telescope to attach and have our eyes on a ship-shaped steering wheel.

I've spent half an hour trying to properly format this entry. Sometimes Blogger is so frustrating. I just want the photos to line up and the text to be justified!

Switzerland- The End

So now you have seen a recap of our whole Swiss trip. Our very last day, Friday, was another rainy one. Thursday was more or less dry enough for us to have a cookout in the national park. But Friday was another story. We didn't really have any other rain plan than (a) an indoor pool or (b) a drive. We chose Plan B.

We weren't sure at first where to go, but everything kind of unfolded on its own. We ended up finding a mountain road that was only one lane. That meant you could start the ascent only from on the hour to twenty minutes past. And you could start your descent only from half past to ten before. If you showed up outside of those times, there were spaces to wait until you could go.

We drove up and it was worth it! Too bad it was so foggy- the view must be amazing on a clear day. We couldn't see anything of the view- with my fear of heights that was probably good! Here are some photos of the road.

We also took another narrow road to the very top of a mountain. Once we got to the top, we kind of got out of the car, walked around it, and re-entered to start the descent. Lame, I know. Well, Jay played a bit in the snow and then Nils woke and we wanted to get going before he started to demand out! out! out!

Here at the end you can see Nils back home playing with the pots and pans. Some things, no matter what country, language (Swiss German is a completely different language) or elevation, stay the same!

Switzerland (Still Rainy) Day Six

Uh oh- our last day and we have no rainy day plan! What to do? Well, it was more or less dry, just light rain every now and then. Michael had bought some eggs at a farm down the street a day before- they were good- and we went back to visit the animals. It as actually a farm that kids can come and live at for (I guess) a week at a time. So it was meant for kids with a big play area and a lot of kid-friendly animals.

After our farm visit, we went back to the national park to have a cookout by the rapids. We started by simply throwing pebbles and rocks and splashing about a bit. Then we went for a little walk and grilled at the end. It was a little chilly and a bit damp but a lot of fun.

ps- the eggs were so good we bought another pallett (30!) to bring home with us!

Switzerland Rainy Day Five

We got to use our rainy day plan. We only had one rainy day plan, so hopefully all will turn out okay! Tune in to day six to see.....

Day five was rainy ut that didn't stop us- we're German! We just put on our wellies and rainwear and go outside anyway! We went to some caves on the other side of the lake. St. Beatus lived there and they're named after him. Nils kept looking for spiders and bats but we didn't see any. We did see some stalagmites and stalagtites of course, as well as a river.

We weren't allowed to take photos inside the cave, but we have some of our hike up to it. The kids hiked the whole way up the mountain, in the caves (900 meters in and 900 meters out) and all the way back down. For that they got ice cream at the end!

Switzerland Day Four

Are you tired of the day by day account of our vacation? Be glad you don't have to come over and watch the slide show!

On Day Four, we took a ferry ride to a larger city, Interlaken. We needed to buy Nils new pants since we only packed 2 pairs- one was dirty (see snow and mud reference, yesterday) and the other had a broken waistband. Rather than drive half an hour to the city, we drove 10 minutes to the port and took an hour and a half ferry ride there and back. Because of the ferry timing, we had only about an hour and a half to find trousers in a town we knew nothing about. Stress! Yes, we did end up getting some pants.

Of course Jay had to wear his rain pants (rubber overalls- what are they called in English?) and wellies on the boat because that is what sailors do, Mama.

On our ferry back, we were lucky (co-incidence!) enough to catch a paddle boat back. The kids were mesmerized by the machination of it all. We were lucky- it was the most beautiful day of our whole trip and we spent three hours of it cruising a crystal clear lake. Does it get any better? (See Day Five! Ha ha ha!)

Day Three

Day Three we found ourselves in a national park a only ten minutes away. We actually went back to it a few days later for a picnic. We didn't know what to expect, just that there were some waterfalls there. We drove in and decided to park pretty early into the park. This is very unlike us, we like to check things out first and then stop. But the kids seemed excited, so we went to check out the river.

A great, gushing river! With mini falls and lots of rocks to throw, it was great for the kids. We put their wellies on and took them down.

Later on, after a lot of puddle jumping, snail inspecting, and pebble (and stone!) throwing, we got back into the car and headed towards the waterfalls. It was definitely a hike to get there, but worth it! Jay climbed the whole way himself and Nils did about half. That's a lot since it was steep, uneven and Nils was cranky since he was getting tired for his nap.