Europe Tour
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| Life Advice |
I think by now it has been pretty well
documented that I like to hoard. So it should come as no surprise to you that I
have kept one box for each of the two overseas trips I have undertaken in my
life. So these are extra boxes, boxes in excess of the annual boxes. Today’s
blog comes to you care of a box marked “Tour. Dec 2004 – Jan 2005”. It contains
travel documents and tourist brochures, mementos and weird shit I picked up
along the way.
I was very privileged to be a member of the
St Peters Chorale. Much more than a school choir, the chorale has recorded and
performed music all over the world, and in late 2004 it was our turn. I got a
casual job more than a year beforehand and saved up the majority of the cost of
the trip, something I was and am very proud of. We spent 4 weeks travelling
through England, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Switzerland.
We performed to 10 people in some places, 100s in others and notably, to about
1500 in Poland where we were also broadcast on TV. It was an amazing trip, and
this box provides a small glimpse into what 16-year-old Lizzy thought about it
all. (Actually this is a really weird snapshot and doesn't even really begin to cover half of what we did, a fraction of what I felt or a smidgeon of how important this trip was but anyway, it's good).
Items – Fanta bottles – 2005
It’s always exciting, I think, when you go
to a new place and things are the same but different. Here we have a mango
flavoured Fanta with not-so-mango colours and a “Vadmalna” flavoured Fanta. I’ve
googled it but I can’t find a translation that tells me what flavour that is.
I’d love to assume “grape” going by the colours, but with the mango colours as
an example, we may never know. The best/grossest part? They still kinda smell
like Fanta.
Item – City Info Guide to Wien – 2005
We know Wien as Vienna. There’s a lot of
great stuff to see and do in Vienna, and I have a distinct memory of the snow
being kind of like little perfectly round balls, like tiny beanbag beans.
Please note the sticker advertising the Toilet of Modern Art - that was a cool
place. And the art was good too.
Item – Brochure and Ticket to the Salt Mine
– 2005
Oh my god, if you EVER go to Europe,
promise me you’ll go to the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland. It’s a bit scary if
like me you are claustrophobic, but ultimately the awe and wonderment you feel
vastly outweighs any fear. It’s a giant, underground museum, and the walls are
made of salt. The tour guides carry lemons with them in case anyone brings
their own tequila, true fact. There’s a massive cathedral carved out of the
salt down there, and the salt has been so beautifully polished, it looks like
marble. Just fucking go, alright?
Item – Terrifying Kinder child – 2005
The Aryan ideals live on in this child.
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| If "Kinder" means child, is Kinder Chocolate made from Children? |
Item – Post-it Notes from my Mum – 2004
She left these in my luggage everywhere.
She’s the best.
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| She even wrote a love note in the waistband of my jeans |
Letters – from my ex-boyfriend – 2005
Ah, I won’t go into too much detail here
because I haven’t gotten permission from all parties involved but basically, I
was in one relationship when I left for Europe and another when I returned. It
was one of those unfortunate situations where I didn’t really want to be in
relationship 1 when we left, but I couldn’t very well break up with him at
Christmas time and right before we went away together, and I didn’t think that
relationship 2 would ever happen. And then relationship 2 looked quite feasible
and relationship 1 was really quite unhappy, so I just casually thought it
would be a good idea to pull a switcheroo while we were as far from home as it
was possible to be, surrounded by other teenagers and on strict behavioural
instructions. It’s got to be right up there with one of the dumbest things I’ve
ever done*. The letters range from being exceedingly angry to fairly forgiving,
epitomising, I think, how strange it was to play out big emotional changes while
in a sort of suspended reality – a reality where we could be arguing in the
snow, then singing in a concert 20 minutes later and laughing on the bus an
hour after that.
* Though in saying that, relationship 2
went quite well for quite a long time afterwards and the boy from relationship
1 did some pretty fucked up shit later on so… I don’t know what I’m trying to
say here, I should stop trying to find absolution for shit 16-year-old Lizzy
did.
Item – Fudge Kitchen Wrapper – 2004
Yes! Jim’s fudge kitchen! This was a place
in England that made some of the best damn fudge I have ever tasted. And they
made it all right there in the shop.
A bunch of people from the tour asked to see Jim (presumably to thank him for his delicious fudge) and the guy behind the counter said, “ah… Jim’s kinda like Yoda” ... “in that he doesn’t exist”.
Item – Crystal Worlds Brochure – 2005
Is this not the most terrifying face you’ve
ever seen? Even more terrifying than Kinder child? I saw this face in real
life. Nothing can really prepare you for how weird the Swarovski Crystal World
is.
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| And extensive counselling can't make you forget |
Item – Arty sugar packets containing what
is now almost 8 year old sugar – 2005
Gross.
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| Totes put them back in the box |
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