Soelden at Night
Soelden, Austria

Palkomuski, a Gypsy dance band that owned the night. Watch the whole thing.

The video above and the pics in this album pretty much sum it up. A small town with basically one street, Soelden is also a famous ski resort. The combination of the two result in a bar or club on every corner. Most of these were europop clubs or claustrophobic drinking bars, but we found an acceptable vibe in the Harley Davidson bar. It might sound pretty lame for an American to spend much of his Austrian night in an American motorcycle-themed bar, but my friends and I enjoyed singing along to the 80s hard rock. The night certainly felt like a ride on a Crazy Train. Or, perhaps, we were taken down a Highway to Hell.

An example of the beautiful decor in the Harley Davidson bar.

Thursday night was the exception. We heard that a Gypsy dance band would be playing at the Snow Rock cafe, so we made sure to get there early. There isn't much to say that isn't implied in the video above, so let's leave it at that. You really should watch the whole thing (the last minute is quite fun).

Here's that link to more pics, again.


.

Bahay Kubo


Manila Rhythm - Brown Eyed Girl

Sunday's dinner plans brought us to a well-regarded Filipino restaurant, Bahay Kubo. A South African cabernet accompanied our seafood, chicken, duck, and vegetable dishes, but neither the wine nor the food had us nearly as excited as the atmosphere. No fault to the food, the satisfying meal was eclipsed by the Manila Rhythm, the Undisputed Titans of Filipino Cover Bands (it may be a small playing field, but they're the champions nonetheless).

These Heros on Nylon Strings showered us with wave after wave of classic Western rock, including the Rolling Stones, Prince, Dire Straits, and the Beatles. Check out the video of their cover of Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl.

Click here for more pics.