Bern

This is the concert hall in which we watched that Modern Orchestra performance... and since we were not allowed to take pictures inside the building this image of the inside of the hall in from online and I DID NOT TAKE THIS PICTURE!

KKL

Luzern

This is the Cathedral and the famous bridge in Luzern

On the Train

Images from the train ride to Luzern... Sorry for the reflections but I can't really open the windows :)

The Weekend

So this past Thursday my class departed for our first planned-overnight trip. We went to Luzern to watch a concert in the KKL building, which was designed by an Architect named Jean Nouvel. The concert hall was really nice! We were given a tour of the concert hall so we got to go backstage and into the reverberation chambers. The concert however was "modern" orchestra music... so it sounded like horror film music (I did like one of the songs though!). After the Intermission we tried to go to empty seats that were lower than ours (which was every seat because we were the very top, all the way in the back. I snuck into the next lower balcony and was able to sit in the second row of that... I struck up a conversation with the man next to me so it looked like I was supposed to be there :) and it worked haha. Most of our time in Luzern was free time so we got to walk around and take pictures, shop, etc. I went into the Cathedral and was able to hear the HUGE organ being played... I think they (the organ and an oboe?) were practicing for something... but it was still very cool. Some of my classmates and I went to a dance club Thursday night which was really fun! Friday night we got to sit in on a rehersal for the orchestra playing that night and they played normal orchestra music and it sounded Awesome! The rest of the weekend was a free weekend for our class but we ALL went to Bern, the Capital of Switzerland (which I did not know... oops). There we met a guy that we met in Riva (He went to Riva with VT in 2001 and is working at a firm in Bern) so he took us to a construction site of a building his firm had design. That was really cool and we talked about the different process to design and get a building built in Europe. He also took us to the Westside Mall (Designed by Daniel Liebeskind) and that was really crazy! The restrooms made me feel like I was in Star Trek… the doors had no handles and just opened automatically and slid into the walls. After that we went to our hostel and watched the Hokies defeat Marshall 52-10… GO HOKIES!!!!!!!! Sunday all the stores were closed so we went up on a mountain and that was really cool. It was hazy so it could’ve been a lot more beautiful but it was still really nice. I walked to the Bear pit (Bern-Bear… Think about it) and walked along the river and around the “old town” section. I walked a Cathedral where I hear people singing and was able to watch a folk-music yodeling concert. That was really cool… it wasn’t yodeling like you would hear in the mountains but they were like choir groups. That was awesome! So that was my extended weekend… I will upload pictures at a later date! Ciao from Switzerland!

Prague Weekend

I went to Prague this past weekend to visit the Stewarts. Lauren and Ondra picked me up at the airport and showed me their flat and we walked around for a bit trying to find some place to eat. Then they took me to the Stewarts. I talked with Mark and Joanna for a little bit then we went to bed. Saturday I ate breakfast with Mark, Joanna and Sasha... Izaak was asleep but he is really cute... and he smiles at me haha. I walked around Prague Saturday day and saw a lot of buildings that Jansen and I had seen last time, but this time I didn't have my camera and I just sketched them. Saturday night Joanna made some delicious pizza and we all just hung out together for a little bit then watched a movie. Sunday morning I was SUPPOSED to leave :) however I got to the airport later than I should have and they would not check me in to my flight... So I had a pretty big battle with my electronic devices (No phone, Credit card wasn't working, Computer battery ran out, etc.) I eventually got a hold of my professor who emailed Mark to tell him that I was still in Prague. Mark came and picked me up and we got a flight for the next morning so I was able to go to church with the Stewarts, which is something that I really wanted to do... so God made that happen haha. So I got back to the Villa around 10:00 am Monday morning to finish my little adventure and add another story to the Life of Zachary Lee! :)

Virginia Tech vs. Alabama

GO HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Roll OVER that Tide!

First Free Weekend

Finished our first project (maybe...) so I will post some images of that later. I am leaving for Prague to visit the Stewarts in a couple hours... Yay! This past week we went to a Blues Festival in Lugano... that was an adventure because when we got to Lugano we tried to find it and saw a lot of empty tents set up and packed up tables and chairs so we thought we missed it... but we found out that it had moved to another location so we got back on a train and finally got to the festival and heard 2 groups from Texas and a couple of the guys were from Chicago... It was very cool! Other than that the rest of the week was spent in Studio trying to finish my project model.

Bellinzona

Yesterday my studio class went to Bellinzona. First we went up to Monte Tamaro and saw the Mario Botta Chapel and the view was AMAZING! Then we went down into Bellinzona and ate lunch at the Castel Grande, one of the three castles in Bellinzona. After lunch my professor and whoever wanted to go (and I did...) hiked up to the other two castles. After that we took our Mercedez Bus to a Hockey Pavilion and Pool. We swam in the pool for an hour or two and then came home to Riva. In Riva that night we went to a Concert in one of the churches. The concert was a group of singers from Oxford that sang songs (accapella) in Latin and English... afterwards we talked to them for a little bit (I love the accents!) and invited them to come hang out with us that night but they never made it. Today has just been a day of rest for us and I played a little soccer, but tonight we are going to try and go to the blues festival in Lugano... Fun!