Vacation's End: Skiing with the Family in Cortina D'Ampezzo

After the wet and rainy Venice, the family headed north to the Dolomites, an Italian mountain chain that is part of the Alps.  Specifically, we spent the last days of the trip skiing (snowboarding for me) in Cortina D'Ampezzo, a 3-hour train ride and 1-hour bus ride north of Venice.



My Mom and Dad with beautiful Dolomite peaks behind them.





My brother as we descended down the slopes through the clouds.


Sunny skiing can be found above the clouds.


Family picture shot!  I had a blast traveling with them around Italy.  As I type this, they are flying back to the U.S., Cody to Los Angeles and my parents back to Wisconsin.  Last night I said my goodbyes at the Venezia Mestre train station and caught a night train to Ljubljana, Slovenia, arriving at around 2 a.m.  My first gig of the tour is tonight in Ljubljana, and many more gigs and adventures to follow for the next few weeks as I make my way around Europe.  Stay tuned...

Venice Is Sinking... For Rizzle

On New Year's Day the family and I left Florence to spend the next two nights in Venice.  We had caught word that there was some flooding in the city, which left us a little bit worried, until we learned that Venice floods about 100 times a year, which helped... a bit.  They call the floods "acqua alta", which means "high water" in Italian.  They are caused by a combination of high barometric pressure and strong winds from the south which literally push the ocean up into the city.  The Mediterranean has little to no tide, so this doesn't affect it at all, but rising sea levels and the fact that Venice is slowly sinking certainly doesn't help.  I have decided that for purposes of posting on Venice this trip, the floods are the story, so that is what I have posted pictures and commentary of.  If you want to see some pictures of Venice on a nicer day, check out my post from last April on my last time in Venice.



When we arrived during the night the waters were down, so we were able to walk to our hotel and stay high and dry.  In the morning, the alley outside of our hotel was beginning to flood and we were lucky that the hotel supplied us with rain boots.  Pictured above are my parents and brother, about to embark on a wet Venetian adventure.


The city of Venice sets up boardwalks on main streets, though boots are still recommended.


Myself standing in a watery St. Mark's Square.


Boardwalks in front of St. Mark's and the Ducal Palace.  Yes, I took this picture while standing in the water.  I quite liked sloshing around in the encroaching Adriatic.


My brother, Cody, standing at the point of entry for water into St. Mark's Square.  Though the water also seeps up through grates in the middle of the city, you can see how high the sea water is here.

New Year's Eve in Florence

Spent New Year's Eve with the family in Florence (Firenze).  During the day we went to see the sights, and at night I partied with my broseephus in chiefus, Cody.  We witnessed some drunken Italians, though they don't really party quite as much as we Americans do on New Year's.  They do, however, enjoy setting off quarter sticks of dynamite all over the city randomly, so you are constantly hearing loud booms, sometimes right next to you. 



A side view of the Duomo, Florence's famous cathedral.  Too huge to capture whole in picture, at least from the ground.


Famous bridge over the river Arno, though I forget what it is called, it is filled with shops and a secret passageway along the top.


Heading out on the streets of Florence on New Year's for fun and adventure, making sure to watch out for dynamite.


Fireworks over the Arno at midnight.


On a rainy New Year's Day, my mom shows her appreciation for yet another Catholic church.

Rome Is Too Massive For Just One Post

The Pantheon.  Work began over 2,000 years ago under the reign of Augustus, and it is still in use today.  This is the only ancient Roman building that has been in continuous use since its creation.  There is also a really neat strip club inside.


Stumbled into this church at night while walking around drinking beer with my brother, Cody.  Can't remember the name of it right now, but it was designed by Michaelangelo and looks really awesome at night.  Michaelangelo totally rocked Italy.


The Protestant Cemetery, one of my all-time favorite locations in Rome.  A serene, calm location amidst a city of chaos.  Some famous English poets are buried here: John Keats and Percy Shelley.


A new sight for me, the family took a walk down the Appian Way, ancient Rome's main drag out of town, and found these ruins.  Apparently its an old Roman circus, though I could not satisfy my craving for cotton candy anywhere.


The Coliseum.  A shitload of people died here.  Its still pretty damn cool, though.  And apparently they were setting up a stage for the New Year's celebrations.

Grazie, Roma

Happy New Year's from Florence, Italy!  I am traveling with my family in Italy for the holidays before embarking on a tour of much of the rest of Europe.  

I studied abroad in Rome when I was in college, and have been trying to get my parents to go ever since.  Well, lucky me, they finally decided to go and bring me as a guide.  Oh yea, and my semi-cool brother is along too.  Just kidding, he's pretty dang sweet.  We like to party with crazy Brits/Brazilians/Canadians from our hostel and drink Peroni together, brother bonding time.  Anyways, here are some pictures from the Rome:



My Dad, standing in front of some ancient Roman ruins in the center of Rome, with the Vittoriano in the background.  The Vittoriano is a giant nationalist monument completed in the 1920's.  Most people think its ugly, I think its badass.  Screw you, naysayers.


Man, wouldn't you love to ride a tricycle down this shit?  Staircase in the Vatican Museum.


The Vatican on a rainy day.  It always rains over the Pope's evil empire.  Karma.


Piazza Navona, complete with a carnival.


Looking out across Rome at dusk from above the Piazza del Popolo, with a Christmas tree in the foreground.  You can see the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica in the background, nothing else is allowed to be built taller in Rome.

Euro Vacay/Tour Starts Tomorrow

Playing Rolf's house concert last year in Prague

Happy Holidays, everyone!  Tomorrow my family (parents and brother) and I will be catching a plane in Chicago bound for Rome, Italy.  The four of us are spending a week and a half together in Italy, visiting Rome, Florence, Venice, and Cortina, and then they are flying home and I will begin my tour from there.  

After leaving Italy on January 8th I will catch the night train to Ljubljana, Slovenia, where I play my first gig the next night.  From there on I will head to Budapest, Hungary to play a show and do a bit of recording with my friend Adam, and on to 5 or 6 more countries after that before flying out of Paris on February 2nd.  I will be trying to keep this blog current with pictures from the travels just like last year, so stay tuned!  Here are the tourdates I have booked right now, and I might add one or two more at this point.

• Jan. 9 - Tovarna Rog, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Jan. 12 - recording in Budapest with Hungarian engineer Adam Szabo
• Jan. 13 - iF Kavezo, Budapest, Hungary
• Jan. 15 - Subterrarium, Vienna, Austria
• Jan. 17 - Rolf's House Concert, Prague, Czech Republic
• Jan. 19 - Subway To Peter, Chemnitz, Germany
• Jan. 21 - Spatz Und Wal, Unna, Germany
• Jan. 22 - Cafe Hilde, Berlin, Germany
• Jan. 23 - Alice's House Concert, Berlin, Germany
• Jan. 24 - Mobile Blues Club, Hamburg, Germany
• Jan. 25 - Pony Bar, Hamburg, Germany
• Jan. 28 - Gisele's House Concert, Antwerpen, Belgium
• Jan. 29 - Bar Fabiola, Gent, Belgium
• Jan. 30 - Caitlin's House Concert, Bordeaux, France

If you are nearby in Europe, please stop by a show!  If it is a house concert, send me an email (johnstatz@johnstatz.com) and I can get you more info.  Also, please send any friends or family members that are in Europe out to a concert.  

On one last, unrelated note, the American music scene lost a great songwriter today, Athens, GA's Vic Chesnutt.  R.I.P., Vic, you were a truly original songwriting voice.

Euro Tour 2010

So I am currently working on my second European Tour, which I will be embarking on in January of 2010. Just like last time (Jan./Feb. '09), it will be just me, my guitar, and my backpack, riding the rails and buses of Europe. Unlike last time, this will be more business than pleasure, and I will probably spend a shorter amount of time in each city. Cities that I know I will hit for sure are Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Ljubljana, and Parma, all cities that I played the last time through. I also plan to hit Germany this time, as well as hopefully Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, and I already know that I will be starting in Rome, so I will be trying to get a gig there and in other Italian cities along the way.

If you are currently living in any of these parts of Europe, have lived there in the past, or have close friends or family there, I would appeal to you for any help you can give in the way of finding gigs. Booking shows in foreign countries is a daunting task for this folksinger, as language barriers and a lack of experience over there often get in the way. By help, I mean that if you have any information on venues that I should play, please send them my way, and if you have any interest in hosting a house concert in your home let me know. I played a wonderful house concert in Prague last time, and would love to do more. Just send me an email to johnstatz@johnstatz.com and I can give you more information on house concerts.

Also in the works for 2010: A tour to the west/southwest in March, for sure including stops in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and everywhere in between, as well as a tour to Alaska in July.

Now back to work for me!