Being In The Right Place At The Right Time
Jan
When traveling, truly magical moments are often entirely unplanned and require simply being in the right place at the right time.
This was certainly the case this past Saturday (January 17, 2009) when I stumbled upon a masked marching band causing a ruckus on the streets of downtown Luzern, Switzerland.
As I stood with my camera off in the distance, a man came up to me and explained (in German) that Mr. Bucherer, the owner of a large jewelry store here in Luzern, had just arrived in town and that this was his way of making an entrance (Or at least, that’s what I think the man was saying? My German is horrible, so don’t quote me on that).
Anyway, I quickly followed after the band and positioned myself in a good spot to pull out my Flip Mino HD video camera to record some video for you.
The following is just a small taste of what I experienced:
While all of this was happening, I kept thinking to myself, “If I had been anywhere else today, I would not have been able to experience this. If I had been on my bicycle I would have ridden right past. If I had been in my apartment, I would have heard the music, but likely not been able to get out in time to partake in the festivities. If I had been even just a few blocks away, I wouldn’t have even known that I had missed such a special moment.”
I guess it just proves my point that many of the most memorable moments when traveling by bicycle occur when you are off the bike. The bicycle is an incredible way to get from one place to the next, but the truly magical moments seem to almost always occur when you step off the bike and slow down just enough to truly experience your surroundings.
From your travels in the past (whether they be on a bicycle tour or not), what kind of special moments have you experienced that have been entirely unplanned and occurred simply by being in the right place at the right time? Let me know by leaving a comment below:
That’s not any marching band, either – that is a Guggenmusik band, usually seen during carnival, which is not for a while yet. The speciality is off-key music, as you probably heard. And you are right – special things don’t happen when you are on the bike, do they? Unless you count meeting other riders as you ride along, but how often does that happen? Meetings are generally off the bike – even away from the bike. So make time, I guess.
Peter,
Thank you for correcting me on the band type. I knew that these were the same type of bands that I could see during the carnival in February, but I wasn’t sure what they were called or why they were wearing the masks, etc. So thank you!
There has been a lot of people advertising the upcoming street carnival already. Lots of people walking around in costumes and marching bands walking around town at weird times. It’s very cool and I’m really looking forward to the carnival (street festival) when it arrives in February.