I will not lie. My enthusiastic reaction on Christmas morn’ to the two Bryan “Spelled the Cool Way” Adams tickets nestled in my stocking was somewhat forced. Sure, I couldn’t get enough of the Heaven video I recorded onto VHS off the MTV countdown when I was a mere grade school lad. And I cautiously added Waking Up The Neighbors to my CD collection a few years later, but come on… Bryan Adams on tour in Zurich? I was skeptical.
Chiz bought the tickets months in advance knowing the concert fell on the worst possible day. For you see, today marks what has become an infamous household event. Yes, Quarter End is upon us again. There are early mornings and late nights. There is weekend work. Essentially, you will want to avoid Chizzy at all costs and she will want to avoid you. Did the Canadian Wonder have a way of making us forget?
The plan was to meet inside the arena since she was coming from work, so I made my way solo through the Friday rush hour. The crowd I ended up walking with from the train station didn’t do much to bolster my confidence. An odd elder mix of leather clad Euros is tough to read in the most obvious of circumstances, but a Bryan Adams concert made it all the more surreal. Maybe they were just heading to the We Will Rock You show across the street? No. No, they weren’t. They were heading the same place I was. Bryan Adams beckoned. What did it all mean? How did they know him? Surely it wasn’t Prince of Thieves? Please don’t be Prince of Thieves. It wasn’t.
Bryan Adams truly is “Big in Switzerland”. Oddly big. The sold out, lyric-knowing, devoted crowd was not to be trifled with. There are no two ways about it. We ran with it. The crowd reception to Summer of ’69 was amongst the best I have ever seen. He and his black T-shirt clad band totally floored the place. They did FOUR encores. We had a great time. The fantastic gift, fantastic show, and fantastic wife, who made it out of work in time to catch the entire performance by my side, certainly made this a night worth mentioning.
I’m happy I finally had the chance to visit Prague. It would have been great if Chizzy could have been there as well, but she tricked me into going without her and I’m really glad that she did. And it wasn’t like I was alone. In fact, I’d recommend bringing along Chris, Paty, Reid and Heather anytime you need to leave the house really.
I was the first to arrive early on Thursday morning with plenty of time before the official hotel check-in so I decided to save some money by making my way to the city via public transport. Two lessons quickly learned. 1) Don’t expect to break a large bill with a token iced tea purchase at the airport shop and 2) Enthusiasm in the English language wasn’t quite as widespread as I expected. It was no problem getting around whatsoever and I never felt like I was misunderstood, but there was a fair amount of caveman conversations going on. And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because they couldn’t carry on a conversation with you in English if they wanted to. It just seemed like the type of wariness that comes with being a massive tourist destination and dealing with lost and confused people all day.
A 20 minute bus ride and a 5 minute metro (subway) ride later, I popped onto the street right next to the main Old Town Square.
The square was very crowded in general but any photo where it looks like there is an unnecessary amount of congregation is probably related to the clock in the next photo.
I’d heard a fair amount about this clock from Chizzy who stayed in the hotel that overlooked it when she visited. Every hour, hundreds of people would gather around to watch the magic. Looking around the crowd, I did see a little bit of the disappointment Chizzy mentioned that follows each little show but there was always a hearty round of applause as well.
It snowed here yesterday. Probably not shocking to those back home who are still dealing with some winter weather, but we were having a decent string of sunny days so it seemed out of place. Chizzy missed it because she is currently in sunny Irvine, California on a business trip. I’m really jealous of her being in The States, but it equals out because she is really jealous that I am going to Prague this weekend. I’m meeting up again with Tobin, Paty, Reid, and Reid’s girlfriend (sorry I don’t know her name yet). The main event of the weekend is a half marathon that the guys are doing. Paty and I will be providing moral support and I’m interested to see if the Czechs have a sidewalk cheer for the participants like the Swiss do. “Hop, hop, hop, hop…”
I’ll do a Prague post when I get back. It will be my first time to the city and I’m really wondering if people have built it up too much in my mind. I’ve never heard a negative word about the city and Chizzy considers it one of her favorites. I’m excited to see the city and the gang.
It just seemed like a photo was due.
Nothing going on.
Oh no you di'nt! Shelbs - look away now! The second shot actually looks pretty tasty.
Bryan, March 31, 2007 09:44 PM:It was tasty!
Chizzy, April 1, 2007 02:09 AM:I was horrified, and Bryan forced me to try a piece. It wasn't too bad and it smelled great, but I couldn't get Seabiscuit out of my head.
Shelby, April 1, 2007 03:46 AM:I think I may be sick.
R., April 2, 2007 11:26 PM:You ate horse?
Ron, April 3, 2007 05:03 PM:Why? Now you can't ever say that you haven't eaten pony.
Wow, did it taste like chicken?
Bryan, April 3, 2007 07:10 PM:No, it was definitely a red meat flavor. A bit sweet. Kind of like dog. Kidding.
Reid, April 7, 2007 02:38 AM:Haha, Heather wanted a Pony when she was younger. Actually I think she still wants one. She opened your site at work to show a few pics of the trip to a coworker, who is a vegetarian, and I think she got sick.
Tobin, April 14, 2007 10:35 PM:This is one way to keep all the surfing comment trawlers off the website. A person would have to be a very dedicated Chizzy and Bryan reader to keep reading after this post!
So did you buy this at a restaurant? Or is this somehting you made at home? Even more funny if you made a concerted effort to eat a pony.
Wheelson, April 19, 2007 08:14 AM:While in France I saw a shop with an oval sign hanging outside whose logo was a horse almost exactly like on the package pictured. From the side I expected it to be a Tack Shop. As I got to the front I was for a moment confused as it looked just like a butcher shop. Then I put the whole equation together: France + horse + butcher shop = boucheries chevalines. The American in me thought how wrong it was but the adventurous side totally wanted to try it.
Goodonya.
Vilson, July 15, 2007 12:10 AM:Yo this reminds me of an "accident" I made in Zurich... but dog-goooonnne-it if pony salami doesn't taste "more like the real thing"!