We’ve been to the Lavaux area a few times now, and it continues to be one of our favorite locations in Switzerland.  It’s the complete package.  There are unbeatable views of the Alps, water activities in Lake Geneva, and fabulous wine from hundreds of vineyards.  This past weekend, we were introduced to another component that made us appreciate Lavaux even more: music.

We loved attending concerts while we lived in DC, so once we heard that Montreux hosts an annual Jazz Fest (which was actually the inspiration for the song “Smoke on the Water” — full story available from NPR), we were pretty pumped.

On Friday, we headed to The Lumineers concert and while they were very good, we actually enjoyed the opening act, Passenger, more.  Some of the band’s songs were a little low-key for our tastes, but the lead singer had great stage presence and a certain way with the crowd.  On the whole, it was definitely an enjoyable/memorable experience.

Saturday was an absolute blue chip day.  We headed about 20 minutes outside of Montreux to a small village called Chexbres (pronounced Cheb) for wine tasting.  As previously stated, there are hundreds of vineyards and tasting rooms, and we typically like to try a different one each time we visit; however, with Britton and Julia in town, we settled on our tried and true location, Domaine Bovy.  The wine is tasty, the staff is friendly, and their terrace is a perfect place to spend the afternoon.

Post wine, we had planned to go on Jazz Trains (a 2.5-hour train ride that features a variety of New Orleans style jazz bands), but sadly Sarah bought tickets for the wrong day.  Womp womp.  It was a certainly an expensive mistake, but luckily the day was not completely ruined.  We spent the late afternoon drinking rosé while sunbathing on the hotel roof.

Saturday evening was definitely the highlight of the trip.  We had a delicious (and rather expensive) meal at the Fairmont Restaurant, Montreux Jazz Cafe, followed by drinks and music at their partner bar, Funky Claude’s.  The live music was just mediocre, but the people watching was … let’s just say the bar lived up to its name.

After a few cocktails, we were ready to embrace the craziness of SILENT DISCO!  No idea what this means?  Basically, every participant wears a set of wireless headphones.  These headphones receive three different radio signals from the three different DJs.  All the participants can choose the music they want to listen/dance/sing to (note: they also played the most popular channel of music aloud).  It ends up looking absolutely ridiculous as everyone is dancing/singing to different music.  We weren’t really sure what to expect when we arrived, but we ended up staying for multiple hours and we had an absolute blast.

Sunday’s weather was just as beautiful as the previous day, so we decided that some sort of water activity was in order.  Unfortunately, if you do not have a boating license you cannot drive a boat with anything more than an 8-horsepower engine (we know … Switzerland has crazy laws).  Even with this silly rule, we felt that a slow boat was still better than no boat at all, so we rented a boat for 2 hours and putzed around the lake.  It was an absolutely perfect cherry atop a weekend filled with fun and pals.

 

 

 

We seriously don’t even know how to start this post.  This past week in Croatia was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives.  There are just too many good details to leave out, so we apologize in advance for the long post.

A Little Background

SAS (a common point of confusion for our readers) stands for Sports, Activities, and Stuff and is essentially our adult fraternity.   They are our absolute very best friends, and we have been planning a “family reunion” with them for months.

The Yacht Week is a company which offers seven-day sailing holidays in a variety of locations.  We settled on Croatia for a few reasons.  1) the waters are described as some of the most beautiful in the world 2) the Croatia route includes the most boats (at times we sailed with approximately 100 other yachts!) 3) Because this route is the biggest, it was rumored to also have the best parties.

All but two individuals from the trip were able to spend a little time in Basel beforehand, and, including ourselves, we actually crammed 9 people into our 1,000 sq foot apartment.  It was obviously a bit tight (the experience turned out to be good practice for yacht life), but it was great to show off our new city and lives to old friends.

Getting There

The morning of Yacht Week check-in was very stressful.  All nine of us had a 6 am flight out of Basel, and unfortunately, the trams didn’t start until 5 am.  Consequently, we had to walk with all of our bags (loaded down with rafts, costumes, and other party supplies) to the train station to catch a bus (which was unusually late).  Basel has a small airport that is typically quick and quiet, but lo and behold, it was a zoo.  We have been close on a few flights before, but never have we been the last ones on the plane … until now.

Day 1: Trogir

We arrived in Split around 7:30 am, and even though check-in didn’t start until 1, we headed straight to our marina in Trogir to drop our bags.  This allowed us to pal around town and check out the sites (including Kamerlengo Castle and Trogir Cathedral).  Early that afternoon, we were finally able to check-in at our yacht, The Lostovo (which we dubbed The Lost Hobo).  The yacht was a 48-foot sailboat with 4 main cabins, 3 bathrooms, a bunkbed room, and a main galley.  While it may sound huge, we had 12 people in our group and the quarters were definitely tight.

After a massive shop to stock up on supplies, we pulled out of the marina and motored about twenty minutes away to the welcome party.  Our skipper, Henrik, advised us to take it easy that night.  We were scheduled to set sail at 7 am the next morning for a four-hour tour [Chorus: A FOUR-HOUR TOUR!], and the waters were expected to be very rough [Chorus: THE TINY SHIP WAS TOSSED!].  Some of us heeded the advice better than others.

Day 2: Trogir to Vis

As promised, we left Trogir very early the next day, and also as promised, the waters, though beautiful, were very rough.  Sarah and Chris luckily have stomachs of steel, and the rest of the group was prepared with Dramamine – so we were fortunate in that there was no sea-sickness.

None of us really knew how to sail, but Henrik was fabulous.  For those who wanted to learn (mostly the boys), he taught them the basics.  For those who were mostly interested in watching and sunbathing (mostly the girls), he happily did all the work.

Once we arrived in Vis, we went for a quick swim and decided to rent scooters and explore the island.  “Scooters will be fun,” they said.  “It’s just like riding a bicycle,” they said.  While this was true for most, it was definitely not the case for all.  Britton and Julia bumped into a car, Emily couldn’t figure out how to start her scooter, and Caralyn nearly ran her scooter into the rental agency.  Fortunately, this all happened before they left the parking lot.  Unfortunately, this meant that these four were promptly asked to return the keys.

Though we were sad to be down a few crew members, those remaining had a blast.  It took about 3 hours total to circle the island, and we enjoyed some beautiful views along the way.  The most extraordinary of which was Stiniva beach (recently named the best beach in Europe).  It was a very challenging 20-minute hike down (exacerbated by the fact that none of us were wearing appropriate footwear); however, it was totally worth it.  The waters are perfectly clear and the pebbles are a pristine white, yet the looming caves give the beach a villainous lair feel.

That evening, we headed to Fort George (a 200-year-old fort) for dinner and a tropical retro themed party.  Lucky for Chris, the majority of his wardrobe (courtesy of Deb Milne) fits exactly the tropical retro theme (pictured below).

Day 3: Vis to Komiza

As previously stated, our skipper, Henrik, was THE BEST!  While most other boats stayed moored in Vis, he took us on a quick ride to a nearby bay known for its submarine bunker.  We arrived just in time to see some crazy people jumping from the opening (65 feet above the water), but per Henrik and Sarah’s requests, no one from our boat made the plunge.  Instead, we spent the entire day floating on rafts, jumping off the boat, and swimming through the submarine bunker.

We headed a short distance from Vis to a small fishing village known as Komiza that afternoon.  After showering up (note that while there are bathing houses on shore, most of us chose the more convenient route of showering off the back of the boat), we headed into town for a nice seafood dinner.

Following dinner, we headed to an open-air beach club for the “Glow Party” where we all covered ourselves in glow paint and showed off our dance moves.  The end to this party was actually one of our favorite parts of the night.  As we were being bused back to the marina, our entire group joined in singing (yelling is probably more accurate) Disney songs.  It was ridiculous and a ton of fun.  It was also the cause for our raspy voices.

Day 4: Komiza to Hvar

Day four was the Fourth of July (easily Chris and Sarah’s favorite holiday).  Though hundreds of miles from the old US of A, we still sported our Red, White, and Blue and celebrated with hot dogs, beer, and lots of country music.  In the morning, we sailed for about 2 hours to Hvar, and once we were docked at the marina, we spent the early afternoon playing games on the boat.  We played many of our silly American games including but not limited to: thumper, drunk telephone, kings, and cheers governor, and in doing so we 1) bonded with our skipper and 2) met a lot of new friends.  It was this day that made it clear to others that our crew is a ton of fun/the best.

 

 

In the afternoon, we headed to Hula Hula beach club situated right on the water to watch the sunset.  We may have enjoyed a few adult beverages as well.

To give you perspective as to the scale of this party filled adventure, The Yacht Week organized an event to start at 12:30 am.  A few of our crew members actually made it to the club and said it was a great time (laser shows, fog machines, etc.), but we will just have to take their word for it.  We were tired from celebrating America all day and called it an “early” night around midnight.

Day 5: Staying Put in Hvar

Wednesday morning was a struggle for the entire Yacht Week:  1) Having celebrated the greatest of holidays the previous day, we were all a little worse for wear and struggled to find our land legs 2) Our boat was hit by another boat leaving the marina (luckily no structural damage) 3) We witnessed the hostess on the boat next to ours get fired for her drunk behavior the night before 4) We watched in awe as someone drove a jeep straight off the dock and into the water.

It appeared as if the loose fabric that held the entire operation together was coming apart at the seams.

The lead skipper (as Aussie as they come) came by for the routine check in and pepped us up a bit.  He told us, “It’s Wednesday on Yacht week which means you want to kill yourself and your mates, but you just gotta get through it — it’s all mental, mates.”  With this in mind, the girls all attended a yoga session (which turned out to be terrible) while the boys found a beach to play activities.  Honestly, we were all just going through the motions, but no one was really home.

 

 

The sunset party was at a club called Carpe Diem, and boy did we seize the day.  For starters, we arrived around 5 (note that the sun doesn’t set until 9:30).  We also booked a table with bottle service, and let’s just say that we exceeded the spending minimum … by a lot.  The party was an absolute blast – we met a lot of great people, shared a lot of good laughs, and despite the bottle service, made some pretty unforgettable memories.

Once the sun dipped below the horizon, we headed out for some much-needed nourishment and found the best pizza ever.  Later we found Kiva Bar which played all 90’s music (think Brittney Spears, Back Street Boys, etc.) and absolutely tore it up on the dance floor.  We went home very sweaty but also very happy.

Day 6: Hvar to Natural Bay

Our second to last day was all about boats and water.  We left Hvar around 10 am and motored for about an hour for the infamous circle party.  Basically, all of the boats tie up into one giant circle and everyone has a huge party in the middle.  It was quite impressive to see the skippers all work together to pull off this nautical feat, and a day floating in the water was definitely needed after the marathon of an evening we had on day 5.

The evening was also pretty relaxed in that there were no planned parties.  All 100 boats tied up to one another (this time in a tunnel formation), and the entertainment for the evening was hopping from one boat to the next.  It was a great way to meet people and see different boats.

 

 

Day 7: Regatta Day

In planning for our trip, we read lots of blogs about what to expect.  Information varied from site to site, but the one common thread was the importance of a yacht’s theme for the regatta race.  We finally settled on Mardi Gras and brought an entire bag full of masks, bow ties, horns, beads, signs, you name it.  We were definitely prepared; so when Henrik told us on day 1 that he really wanted to win, we got even more pumped for the last day.

Seeing all 100 boats set sail at one time was absolutely incredible, and many of the boats had great themes (toga party, Bay Watch, Ghost Busters, Where’s Waldo, Little Mermaid, and disco were just a few of our favorites), but none was more impressive than ours.  We obviously had our costumes, but we also had chants (none of which are appropriate here) and dance moves (we legitimately practiced them before the start).  Given the fact that all of the yachts are rented, the regatta wasn’t necessarily about speed – it was more about energy, and we definitely brought it.

There was never a clear end to the regatta, and eventually, all of the boats just drifted apart.  Some headed back to their original marinas and some like ours found secluded bays to enjoy a final few hours of swimming.

We finally made it back to the marina around 4 pm and we were told that if we had won, we would have already received a call.  Seeing that we hadn’t received any communication, we were a little bummed.  Though defeated and obviously exhausted, we boarded the bus at 10:30 pm for the closing party and fully expected to catch the first bus back to the marina at 2:30 am.

As we were about to buy our second round of drinks, Henrik told us to stop.  Soon after, one of the lead organizers asked to have a word with us inside.  [internal monologue: Oh God, we took it too far … we did too much … do we have to leave?  Are we in trouble?]

Her words, and I quote here: “look, we were really impressed with your energy and everything.” [Internal monologue shifts: we got second place – that’s almost worse … we were so close]  “You guys were super prepared and your dance moves were incredible [group clenches hands and moves a step closer] and we loved your enthusiasm [group takes another step closer] OKAY, I can tell you all are really anxious, so I’ll just cut to the chase … YOU WON!!!” Our group actually bear-hugged this woman.  We won Yacht Week.  Out of 100 other boats, ours was the loudest, most obnoxiously energetic boat.  Usually, such a descriptor would leave us mortified, but Yacht Week is another world where one lives wildly and freely.

The perks?  A 1,000 Euro spending limit and a VIP lounge behind the DJ.  Yes, please!  Clearly, our thoughts of calling it an early night were immediately abandoned.

About an hour into the evening, they announced us to the crowd, and we shit you not, there were fireworks.  We have never felt so baller in all of our lives.

We caught the last bus home and returned to the marina with the sun.

Day 8: Kicked Off

Three hours later, we were kicked off the boat and though exhausted, we have never been happier.  It is now three days later and we are still grinning from ear to ear.

We used to say that we peaked in college, but we know now that the statement needs revision.  We peaked at Yacht Week.