#switzerland summer camp

[marywales8985]

Do You Want to Visit Switzerland This Summer?

Switzerland is well-known for its chocolate, cheese, picturesque cities, and scenery. Switzerland offers it everything, from spectacular alpine landscapes to lovely communities with fairytale charm. Switzerland's breathtaking natural beauty draws visitors from all over the world. Summer in Switzerland arrives on the calendar like an open secret that no one knows about.

Here are the top locations to visit in Switzerland: https://www.step2travel.com/switzerland-in-summer/

#traveltoswitzerland #summerinswitzerland #holidaystoswitzerland #switzerlandsummercamp #switzerlandinsummer #vacationtoswitzerland #triptoswitzerland #switzerlandvacation #europetour #switzerlandinwinter #switzerlandinjulyweather

[just-anka]

A long weekend in the van 💙 got to work from home today so we left a day early and worked in the van, big bike ride with E planned for the next two days, and then two more days of fun in the mountains because Tuesday is a holiday here and I spontaneously decided to take Monday off as well. Was a bit of a mad rush this week to make it here but today was such a good day and I'm so excited for the next few days!

[lovellcamps1]

History – Summer Camps in Switzerland Since 1973

The camp aimed to provide a safe, healthy, fun summer learning environment for children in the beautiful saanenland region. The founders brought with them an enthusiasm and knowledge of how summer camps work and should be run.

Visit Us - https://lovellcamps.ch/session-9-13-02-18-02-2012-fully-booked/

[theemporium]

your mai tai (1) with luke hughes?

BTW congrats on 10k!! you deserve it so much💐

thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

1.touching foreheads

.

It had felt like a lifetime had passed since Luke had last seen you. 

It was actually six weeks but that was besides the point. 

He thought he would be fine. He thought time would pass quickly and the six weeks would pass in the blink of an eye. He thought he would be busy with his own summer plans in the lakehouse with his brothers and his friends that he wouldn’t have time to really miss you. 

It took a week into the summer break for him to realise his plan was absolute bullshit and he missed you a pathetic amount. 

Despite not joining the Devils until last season, Luke had met the team a fair amount over the years since Jack had been drafted. He had met Nico a fair amount of times. And in turn, he had met Nico’s little sister—you—a handful of times too. 

When Luke joined the Devils, he had no intention of falling in love with his captain’s sister but it was funny how the universe seemed to work.

However, between the two of you playing around your feelings and trying to deny the inevitable, it meant that you had only been dating for a few months by the time summer break came along. The relationship was still new and exciting and fresh—and it was vulnerable. You two had spent so long sabotaging the time you had together, and now you were going to be apart for almost two months. 

You wanted to go back home to Switzerland to see your family and friends. Luke wanted to do the same in Michigan. It had been a fairly easy decision to spend the summer apart, but it didn’t make either of you feel all too happy about the situation. 

Nor did it make any of Luke’s friends or family happy when the boy had spent the summer pathetically pining after you, pouty and angsty whenever he got the chance. By week three, everyone was counting down the days until you returned to Jersey. 

And the day had finally come. 

Luke had jumped at the chance to pick you up from the airport. You assured him you didn’t mind getting a taxi, that your flight landed at a god-awful time and you didn’t want to disturb his routine too much before training camp. He had just snorted and rolled his eyes in response. 

Now, it was somewhere after two in the morning, he was dressed in sweats and a hoodie and his body was practically buzzing on excitement and pure adrenaline as his eyes watched the arrivals gate like a hawk, waiting to see you. 

It felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest when he finally saw you. 

His feet were moving before he even realised, his eyes glued on your as he dodged through the group of other passengers before he finally reached you. He wound his arms around your body, pulling you as close as he could like he was scared you would disappear again. 

“I missed you so much,” he managed to murmur out, his eyes falling shut as he felt your arms wind around his torso, squeezing him close too. 

“Missed you too,” you whispered back, pulling back enough to see his face even though the boy whined a bit at the loss of contact. Your lips twitched upwards. “Jack wasn’t lying about you being whiny while I was gone.” 

Luke rested his forehead against yours, his arms still wrapped around you. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Mhm,” you smiled up at him, playfully nudging your nose against his. “Let’s go home, I’m so tired I could pass out here.” 

His heart skipped a beat. “Home?” 

Your cheeks flushed but you didn’t look too embarrassed. “Yeah, Hughes, home. Preferably a bed. I missed sleeping next to you.” 

His smile widened. “Sounds perfect to me.”

Someone cleared their throat from behind them both. 

“You both know I’ve been standing here the whole time, right?” Nico deadpanned. “Luke’s my ride too.”

.

[ice-ice-lizzie]

Lian Bichsel primer

I've been following this guy since the Stars drafted him two years ago and I find his story really compelling- from the word go, Lian has taken his development into his own hands, and chosen what he thought was best over the conventional wisdom.

(Lian playing with the Texas Stars)

Lian comes from an athletic family. His father Andre was a handball player in the late '90s/early 2000s, and his older brother Joel is a footballer (currently for FC Saarbrucken). His younger brother Finn is a hockey player- a defenseman like Lian- who is currently playing for EHC Biel-Bienne.

(left to right: Finn, Andre, Joel, Melanie, and Lian)

(Lian with EHC Biel-Bienne)

Lian also played for EHC Biel-Bienne during the 2020/21 season. As a 16 year old, he even played 4 games up with the men's team, but he wasn't satisfied.

“I gave (EHC Biel/Bienne) the chance to do something with me, and they didn’t,” said Bichsel, matter-of-factly. Bichsel’s maturity is evident in the way he doesn’t couch his statements. He’s aggressive in his pursuits, just as he is aggressive on the ice. He says his former team’s lack of interest in playing young players is part of “the way things are in Switzerland.” “They don’t want to go too fast (with young players),” he said. “I don’t understand it. When you’re young, you have really no chance to play in the first team.”

-Josh Kloke, The Athletic

(Lian with Leksands)

He made the decision to move to Sweden to play for Leksands IF for the 2021/22 season. In Switzerland, he'd been an offensive defense-man, scoring 28 points in 45 games with EHC Biel-Bienne's junior team, but in Leksands he focused on the defensive and physical aspects of his game- shaping himself into a more well rounded player.

Lian also had to learn to live alone in a foreign country. He would often cook for himself and his friend and teammate Anton Johansson, who told a documentary crew that Lian is "a good cooker and a really good friend". Anton's father, who was also the team manager, said that he'd heard a lot about Lian's risotto.

(purchasing ingredients for his famous risotto)

His specialty dish was also noted by reporters at the draft-

“I know how to cook, I know how to clean and I like to be alone sometimes. It was just the right thing for me to learn about myself,” said Bichsel. Bichsel’s specialty in the kitchen? “Risotto,” he said, with a faint whiff of a humblebrag. Wait, risotto? The dish that famously takes time and effort to cook? Not what you might typically expect from a 17-year-old. “You need patience,” Bichsel said of cooking risotto, with a tone more reminiscent of a 50-year-old trying to teach his children how to cook for the first time. “I like to cook. It brings me away from hockey

-Josh Kloke, the Athletic

(Lian being drafted)

Lian was drafted 18th overall by the Dallas Stars, July 7th, 2022. It was clear to everyone that he would not be coming to the NHL right away- Lian's game was still very raw, and there were those who said that he'd rushed to play at higher levels- and that his size masked issues with his skating and offensive game.

The 2022/23 season was busy for Lian. He represented Switzerland at world juniors that winter, in addition to playing a full season with Leksands men's team- falling to Rogle BK in the first round of the playoffs. With his team out of contention, he went into preparations to play for Switzerland at worlds, where he unfortunately broke his ankle and was unable to participate. According to Bruce LeVine the injury was serious enough to require surgery. Very shortly after his injury, Lian signed his ELC with the Stars. That July, still unable to participate in on ice training due to his ankle, Lian attended Stars development camp. He'd had a very busy year- and a busier summer- and he'd only just turned 19. He needed a break.

(Lian playing for Team Switzerland in 2021)

He chose not to go to team Switzerland's preparation camp for world juniors that August. He'd also missed their summer training camp. The higher ups for team Switzerland were not pleased by this, saying "We will not respond to his wish to join the World Junior team without any preparation. Such special treatment of a single player is not in line with our 'Team First!' philosophy". The decision was final- not only would Lian not be allowed to play at World Juniors in 2024, but he'd also be barred from playing for team Switzerland until 2026.

Without Lian, Switzerland only had three NHL drafted players- none drafted as highly as Lian. Lian continued to take his development into his own hands during the 2023/24 season. He began the year playing with the Stars' AHL team, the Texas Stars, but he negotiated with Stars management to be allowed to return to Sweden to play for Rogle BK

(Lian with Rogle)

The Stars decision to allow Lian to return to Sweden was not taken lightly. The Stars knew that if they refused they would risk damaging an important relationship with a key prospect- and they said all the right things publicly. But behind closed doors, Stars management was displeased. There was concern at the time that this would set back Lian's development and keep him out of the NHL for an additional year.

That Spring, Rogle BK lost in the first round of the SHL playoffs in time for Lian to come back to Texas and play in the AHL playoffs. Once the Texas Stars fell in the conference semifinals, Lian went to Dallas to serve as a black ace during the NHL playoffs.

Dallas's big trade deadline pick up- physical defenseman Chris Tanev was injured during the conference finals against Edmonton. It was unclear if he would be able to play in game 5. Lian was told to be ready to play.

Lian didn't end up making his debut that night- but it was a show of faith. He wasn't ready yet- but he was getting close.

He had an excellent training camp in 2024- and even though he was sent down after preseason, it was clear- Lian wasn't going to finish the year in the AHL. By December of the 24/25 season, it was clear that Dallas's blue line was struggling. Chris Tanev hadn't resigned. Miro Heiskanen had a slow start to the season, and Matt Dumba wasn't working out as well as had been hoped.

(Lian Bichsel 12/16/24 against the Capitals)

Lian was called up on December 12th- and played his first NHL game that same day, after Dumba was put on injured reserve. He's scored two goals and thrown 13 hits in his first 4 games- one of which sent the Blues' Braden Schenn into the Stars' bench.

He's a dynamic physical player, who's extremely fun to watch, and he's going to be around for a long time.

Misc Fun Facts

He wears glasses

Lian during the 21/22 season

When he was asked what animal best fits him as a person and as a player in a draft interview he said “A gorilla. On the ice, a gorilla is strong. He likes to fight. He’s heavy, but also, a gorilla can be calm, he can be chill, he can be alone. That’s the perfect match.”

He was in Texas for the partial solar eclipse on October, 14th 2023

(Matej Blumel and Lian during the partial solar eclipse)

He was given a game misconduct and suspended three games after he left the penalty box to continue an argument with an opposing player.

He and Matej Blumel went together for Halloween 2023

(From Lian's insta)

He wore a pride jersey in Rogle

(Lian warming up for BK Rogle's pride night game)

During the summer of 2024 Lian spoke with Stars Broadcaster Josh Bogorad at length regarding the pronunciation of his name- requesting that the broadcasting team pronounce the 'ch' in his last name as a 'sh' sound, instead of as a hard 'k' sound.

He wears a neck guard even when he's not required to.

And last but not least, more baby photos-

[starry-hughes]

pretty like a devil

luke hughes x hischier!reader

summary: luke hughes joins the devils and meets his captain's sister. someone he should never find himself falling for, but here we are.

warnings: angst! overprotective nico

au masterlist

Luke Hughes was transferring over from the University of Michigan at the end of March. The team wanted him to begin practicing with the whole team since he would be joining the Devils full-time at the beginning of the new season. You had moved over from Switzerland to join your brother, Nico, at the beginning of his third year on the Devils. You loved it in New Jersey. You were close with Nico’s teammates, and everyone knew you as the Captain’s sister. 

Luke had never felt so nervous, his hands shaking as he pulled his pads on over his shoulders. Jack had not shut up about his younger brother joining the team in New Jersey. It was always cold at the training facility; there were no fans around to warm the space. You always joined the team for practice, and the guys loved you. You had taken Nico’s extra hoodie from the back of his car. 

You were walking to sit by the ice during practice, walking toward your normal spot next to Amanda. “(Y/N)! (Y/N)! (Y/N)!” Jack repeatedly called your name as he ran out from the direction of the dressing room. Jack was rushing to greet you, almost falling over since he was in his skates. “Luke is here! You gotta meet him!”

You had never been nervous meeting a Hughes brother. You had met Quinn, and you even considered Jack a close friend. Every time Luke was in town in the past, you had always missed him. You were either busy or just never got the chance to officially meet him. Luke was trailing behind Jack, not knowing his way around the facility fully yet. “Lukey! this is (Y/N) Hischier, Nico’s sister!” Jack introduced the two of you. 

You met eyes with Luke, your face suddenly felt hot. “Hi, Luke,” you smiled softly after you finally found your voice. He fumbled with his sticks and gloves as he tried to figure out if a handshake was proper, his sticks almost clattering to the ground, but you caught them. “Hi,” he gulped out finally.

Jack rushed off past the two of you, heading to the bench. A couple of the other players pass by, Dougie and Miles greeting you by ruffling your hair. “Are you liking New Jersey?” you questioned Luke. The boys out on the ice watched Luke and you talk to one another, quietly whispering about the two of you. “Nico is going to kill him,” Miles sang to his teammates.

Nico emerged from the direction of the dressing room. “Luke, I see you have met my sister,” Nico said, affirming the fact that you are his sister. Luke gave you a small wave as he joined the rest of the team on the ice. 

After practice, Luke was sitting in his new stall. “Not to be a hardass captain, but there’s one rule when it comes to my sister. No dating,” Nico stated as he stood in front of Luke. Some of the other guys nearby had to stop themselves from laughing. This was a problem Nico hadn’t addressed with other teammates. They were guessing that Nico didn’t have a problem with any of them until he saw Luke and you talking. Nico was not letting his sister date a Hughes boy. 

-

When the team returned for the next season, Luke was sure he did not have feelings for his captain’s sister. But then he saw you for the first time after the off-season, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. You took away his breath. Shit, he thought, he likes his captain’s sister. 

During training camp, you seemed to be everywhere Luke looked. Watching practice, at team dinners, and in the media room watching. Luke couldn’t shake his crush on you if you were everywhere. At a dinner, hosted by you and Nico, he found you in the kitchen of the apartment, mixing up the salad. “Did you have a good summer Luke?” you asked him. 

Luke forgot how to speak, “Oh! Yeah, I had fun. Lots of training with my brothers and on the boat. What about you?” He helped you carry some food over to the table full of different foods. “It was good! Switzerland is nice to visit in the summer.” 

After that, Luke and you began hanging out more. Luke and you were both pretty shy and got flustered easily around one another. You were falling for Luke every day. Luke finally got the confidence to ask Nico for permission to date you. Luke was hoping that Nico would change his mind about allowing you to date him. “Can I ask your sister out?” Luke questioned Nico after practice one morning. 

Nico barked out a laugh. “No,” Nico said, laughing while shaking his head. Luke was defeated. It hurt. It hurt even more that you didn’t know that Nico had warded off Luke from asking you out. Luke wasn’t just going to go behind Nico’s back to ask to date you. 

The feelings were evident to you and Luke. There were multiple moments of almost kissing one another, but Luke always was pulling away or making excuses for needing to suddenly leave. It didn’t make sense. You knew Luke liked you and openly flirted with you, in your opinion. 

You two had been watching a movie in Luke’s bedroom. Luke and Jack lived a floor above you and Nico. You don’t remember what Luke commented on when you looked at him to laugh, but suddenly you felt both of you leaning in before Luke came to his senses. Luke pulled away and stood from the bed. 

“Why do you always do that?” you blurted. “You always pull away before we kiss, and I think we like one another, but you never kiss me!” 

“I promised Nico,” Luke mumbled. “Nico asked me not to date you. I’ve been trying so hard to respect his wishes.”

You felt a bit embarrassed to have been rejected by the guy you liked. You gathered your coat and shoes. “(Y/N), wait, I’m sorry. I do like you. I just can’t date you,” Luke attempted to elaborate. Luke couldn’t get you to stay. You were stomping down to your apartment downstairs. 

Slamming the door of the apartment, Nico flinched as you stomped into the apartment. “What’s wrong?” Nico asked, seeing the angry look on your face. “Do you have to try and ruin everything in my life? Stay the hell out of my love life next time!” you shouted, storming off to your bedroom and slamming your door shut. 

Nico tried to talk to you throughout the night, leaving dinner for you in the microwave. You didn’t leave your room until you were sure Nico was asleep. When Nico woke up for practice the next day, he waited to see if you would attend practice with him. But you never left your room. 

Your brother practically corners Luke at practice. “What did you do?” Luke feels sick to his stomach. “I had to reject her because we almost kissed. I was just trying to follow what you said. No dating, remember?” Luke was sure you hated him when he realized you weren’t at the rink. 

Nico felt like a jerk for the rest of practice, and even more so when he was going home. Your mom called, asking her son why you had a sudden interest in moving home. Panicking, Nico sped home, finding you in your room with a suitcase. 

“Is this because of Luke?” Nico asked. You jumped at the sound of your brother’s voice. He had been standing in your doorway. You had just come out of the bathroom after washing your face since you had been crying. “It’s because of you and him. I got embarrassingly rejected by the guy I like. And my brother is treating me like some twelve-year-old, telling guys they can’t date me. My whole life, you’ve been protective, and I come here and like someone, and you ruined it! I don’t even think Luke will speak to me again.” 

He felt bad and asked you to sit. He tried to ignore your half-packed suitcase as the two of you sat on the end of your bed. “You gotta think about it from my view. If something between Luke and you don’t work out, it affects the team dynamic. I have to lead this team, and there can’t be issues because he broke your heart,” Nico explains. You sighed and nodded. 

“You understand me?” Nico asked. You nodded again. “You still want to go home? Or are you going to be okay here?” Nico questioned. “I’ll stay here.” It hurt to stay, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to date Luke. Luke had no idea about the conversation that you and Nico had. But he noticed the cold shoulder you were giving him. 

You slowly inserted yourself back into life. Luke had caught wind that you were at the training facility, and he found you sitting in the hallway, waiting for Nico. “Can we talk about it?” Luke asked. “I think it’s better if we don’t. Just forget about our feelings, okay?” 

It broke Luke’s heart to hear that, and it broke your heart to say it.

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Carl Lutz

Carl Lutz was a Swiss diplomat in Hungary who saved tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust by providing them with transit visas and creating safe houses throughout Budapest.

Carl was born in 1895, in Walzenhausen, Switzerland, to a devout Methodist family. When he was 14 his mother died of tuberculosis. The next year he left school and started working at a textile mill. Carl yearned to explore the wide world outside his sleepy mountain town, and at age 18 he moved to the United States, settling in Granite City, Illinois. For five years he worked and saved money for college, then in 1918 enrolled in Central Wesleyan College in Missouri.

In the summer of 1920, Carl took a summer job in Washington DC working at the Swiss Embassy. He loved the international environment and the rewarding work. Carl’s gracious personality and keen intelligence made him well suited for diplomacy. He enrolled in George Washington University, graduating in 1924 with a BA in law and history. Two years later, Carl moved to Philadelphia, and then St. Louis, to serve as Swiss Consul in those cities. Around this time he married Gertrud Fankhauser, a Swiss human-rights activist,

Carl was sent to Jaffa in 1935, where he was Swiss Vice-Consul. In 1936, he and Gertrud watched an unarmed Jew being lynched by a mob of Arabs. They were horrified and helpless to do anything. The tragic incident haunted Carl and perhaps contributed to his later stunning heroism in Europe.

The Swiss government recalled Carl from the Middle East in 1942 and sent him to their embassy in Budapest, Hungary. He represented not only Switzerland, but also countries that had broken ties with Hungary after it allied with Nazi Germany. As soon as Carl arrived in Budapest, he began working with the Jewish Agency for Israel to provide Hungarian Jewish children with transit visas, enabling them to emigrate to Palestine, then under British Mandate.

In 1944, the Nazis occupied Budapest and immediately started rounding up Jews and sending them to death camps. It was late in the war, and the Nazi war machine had gotten chillingly efficient at murdering Jews. During a two month period, 440,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. Carl Lutz kicked into high gear to save lives. As a diplomat, part of his job was to cultivate relationships with Hungarian officials, as well as German Nazi leaders in Budapest. He used these connections to negotiate a special deal – he could issue protective letters to 8000 Jews, enabling them to move to Palestine.

Carl used clever tricks to increase the amount of Jews he could save. He enabled each letter to cover an entire Jewish family of any size, rather than just one person. Taking the ruse further, he issued tens of thousands of protective letters, making sure each had a number between 1 and 8000, so that busy officials wouldn’t realize that more than 8000 letters had been issued. “The Germans are very correct people. They admire discipline and order. So when Nazi commandants saw these letters, they accepted them,” said Eric Saul, founder of “Visas for Life,” a project that honors diplomats who saved Jews during the Holocaust.

As thousands of Jews were being shoved onto cattle cars and taken to their death, Carl was desperate to save as many as he could. With the integral help of his wife Gertrud, he set up 76 “safe houses” all over Budapest, designating them as under the control of the Swiss government, and therefore beyond the reach of Hungarian or German authorities. One of them was the Glass House, a former glassware manufacturing facility previously owned by Arthur Weiss, a Hungarian Jew. In the summer of 1944, Weiss’ business was forcefully taken from him and he disappeared, leaving the large building empty. Carl rented the space to open the newly created Swiss Embassy’s Emigration Department for Representing Foreign Interest. Over the next few months, over 3000 Jews found refuge in the Glass House.

During this time, the Nazis overthrew the Hungarian ruler and installed the fascist Arrow Cross Party as the new government. The Arrow Cross was viciously anti-Semitic, and after taking power they started massacring Jews in the streets. One day, Carl was strolling by the Danube River when an Arrow Cross officer shot a Jewish woman right in front of him. Bleeding, the woman fell into the river – and Carl, in his suit and tie, jumped in after her. He rescued her from the water, and demanded to speak to the Hungarian officer who’d ordered the shooting. Projecting confidence and authority, he proclaimed that the wounded Jewish woman was a citizen of Switzerland and was protected by international law. As the Nazis stood mouths agape, Carl quickly helped the woman into his car and took her to safety.

In November 1944, the Arrow Cross gathered 70,000 Jews from transit camps and hiding places and forced them on a death march to concentration camps in Austria and Germany. Carl and Gertrud followed along in their car next to the exhausted marchers and used every opportunity to surreptitiously pull people out of line and provide them with protective documents. Carl later described the scene, “For these people it was the last glimmer of hope, for us, this was the worst form of spiritual torture. We saw the people being lashed with dog-whips and lying in the slime and mud with bloody faces…. Whenever possible I would drive alongside these people on their way to the concentration camps to try and show them that there was still hope.”

After Hungary was liberated in early 1945, Carl and Gertrud returned to Switzerland. Without a shared humanitarian mission, the marriage fell apart and they divorced in 1946. Three years later, Carl married Magda Csanyi, a Jewish woman he had saved, and adopted her daughter Agnes.

Carl was not honored for his heroism for many years. On the contrary, when he got back to Switzerland he was criticized for exceeding his authority by saving Jews; the government didn’t want their neutrality called into question. In 1958, the Swiss understanding of World War II started to change, and Carl Lutz was “rehabilitated” and honored as the great man he was. The riverside promenade where he saved the wounded Jewish woman from drowning is now the Carl Lutz Rakpart. A street in Haifa, Israel was named after him, and in 1965, Carl became the first Swiss national to be honored as “Righteous Among the Nations” by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. There are other memorials to him in Washington DC, Israel, Switzerland, and Budapest, where the Glass House is now a small museum. Carl died in 1975 in Bern, Switzerland.

For saving the lives of over 62,000 (!) Jews, we honor Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[mesetacadre]

Hitler had gained possession of Europe’s resources, but had steadily lost possession of the souls of Europe’s people. At the beginning of his conquests, the vast majority of the common folk in the conquered nations really tried to adjust themselves to the German “new order.” They had lost faith in the “old order”; almost anything seemed better than the endless wars it provoked. Some sort of United Europe might yet grow, they thought, from the German domination; even the excessive Nazi flavor with which it started might change from within. I heard such views expressed in Switzerland and from Swedes and Danes and Dutch in the summer of 1940 after the fall of France. Such views gave the Vichy government the support that it received. A year of Nazi domination has showed the people of Europe what they have to expect. It is no “United States of Europe” in any conceivable sense. It is slavery, stark and utter, for all but the dominant German race. Polish peasants and workers are sold at auction to German landlords and industrialists in “slave markets” in Austrian towns. Over one hundred thousand Czechoslovaks and Carpathian Ukrainians are in Nazi concentration camps. The Serbs claim that in the first days of the German occupation 32,000 peaceful residents of one city were murdered. Great masses of population have been ruthlessly transferred. Especially among the Slavic peoples has it become clear that the Nazis intend the complete enslavement of their race. Hitler himself has stated, “We do not intend to abolish the inequality of man; on the contrary, we would deepen it and create insurmountable barriers that would turn it into law.” The actuality of Hitler’s system is so appalling in Poland that even some Polish landlords who had lost their estates to the Bolsheviks now say that they would prefer the Soviets to Hitler, since the Nazi rule means ruin to their entire race. This ripening hate of Europe’s subject populations is one of the new factors that counts against Hitler as the world line-up takes form

The Soviets Expected It, Anna Louise Strong, 1941

[wanderlustinwonderland18]

Turkkila & Versluis: “We Want To Differentiate Ourselves From Previous Years”

Earlier this month, ice dance couple Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis skated in the show L'Apprenti Sorcier (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) organized in Champéry, Switzerland. The choreography was done by Salome Brunner and Stéphane Lambiel. The Finns were the only ice dancers in the show. How did they end up there?

“Last year, I edited the music for Deniss Vasiljevs' free program The Lion King,” Matthias says. This season, Matthias has done ten different music cuts for Lambiel's students.

“Towards the end of May, Stéphane asked us if we would be interested in joining the show. It was a great honor,” he continues.

“We were with an amazing group of skaters, some of the world's best. It's unique to skate with a live pianist,” Juulia shares.

In the show, Juulia and Matthias performed to Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 2. They presented wonderful lifts and spectacular movements. The international audience was impressed by the couple's soulful performance.

Finland's top couple has been training hard throughout the summer.

“Early May, we went to Rome for new choreography. In June, we had some vacation time and in July, we went to the Czech Republic for five weeks of summer camp,” Juulia says.

The rhythm dance theme for the 2024–25 season is Social Dancing from the 1950s–1970s.

“We chose music from the 1960s because we suspect that many teams will use disco from the 70s,” Juulia explains.

The pair found a go-go jive song that they immediately liked, and combined it with James Brown's classic I Got You.

“We wanted high energy music that the audience can recognize. There is no slow part in our rhythm dance. It is challenging,” Juulia reflects.

The couple's free dance is the Argentine Tango La Rubia Mirella, which is based on true events. The story was introduced to the couple by an Argentinian tango dancer, who worked with them on and off the ice.

“The beginning is quite soft, but the end is really strong. We want to show that we can be strong and fast. The language of movement is traditional tango, but the program is not built from typical dance movements,” Matthias shares.

Juulia plays a strong woman initially, but is used and abused by men. Matthias plays the role of a villain. The ending is dramatic.

“When there is a clear story, you have to bring in more emotion and drama,” Juulia states.

The pair's programs will first be seen in the Challenger Series competitions, followed by the Grand Prix events in Finland and China.

“We are aiming for medal positions in both GP competitions, and thus a place in the GP final. We are trying to collect world ranking points so that we can start competitions in the right groups during the Olympic season,” the couple says in unison.

With a fierce tango, Juulia and Matthias will be taking a different path this upcoming season, changing their image as classical lyrical skaters.

“We want to differentiate ourselves from previous years. A new combination lift is in the works for the free program, and the choreographic elements will be totally in character with the tango,” Juulia sums up.

[johaerys-writes]

Ch. 5: i thought we were the same, birds of a feather

Read on AO3 | Read from the beginning

By the time they leave their hotel room, most museums are closed for the day, but there’s still a few that are open. Achilles drags Patroclus from exhibit to exhibit in the Art Museum, telling him about each artist and art movement he has studied in detail beforehand. They stay there until closure, then they visit the botanical gardens, a vast swath of land filled with rare species of trees, bushes and flowers, fountains and streams and glass-like lakes with swans and other water birds gliding leisurely around them.

Achilles chirps merrily about this and that —botany has always been a shared interest of theirs, ever since they used to spend most of their summer in Chiron’s camp— and he laughs often, much more than Patroclus has seen him doing in years. Even before he left for Switzerland, when their relationship had already started getting rocky.

Patroclus had felt guilty about that for a long while, the fact that their… differences and arguments had soured the easy companionship they once used to share. He’d felt partly responsible for that: for disrupting the plans that he and Achilles had meticulously been crafting for years, then for not being able to be happy for Achilles for going on without him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a silver lining in the situation they’d both found themselves in. Besides, it’s not like Achilles had ever made things easy for him, rubbing his adventures and his glittering social life in his face one moment, then baiting him into endless arguments the next; so, really, feeling bad about it all had been pointless from the start.

But he still feels that sharp pang of hurt when he sees Achilles' smile now, genuine and sweet like it used to be, as he glimpses a side of him that he hasn’t seen in so long. As his heart jumps each time their hands touch. This is what he’d missed, more than anything, why he envied all those nameless new friends of his: being around him, talking and joking with him, simply having fun with him. They hadn’t done that in so long amidst all that turmoil, but somehow Patroclus finds himself falling perfectly in step with him as if they haven’t missed a single day.

“Look, Pat!” Achilles exclaims suddenly, catching Patroclus’ hand and pointing at a tall and robust tree a little down the lane. “That’s a Tebusu Heritage tree. It’s said to be one of the oldest in the world, over 170 years old. Remember those ancient trees we used to study on Pelion? You used to love those.”

Patroclus follows him as he rushes forth to examine them. These trees here are shorter and more slender than the ones on Pelion, but they still stir fond memories in him, of long summers spent idling in their shade.

“These gardens are great,” Achilles says enthusiastically, after his lengthy explanation of the trees’ properties and their specific characteristics. “Much better than the gardens in Zurich, I should say. Maybe London, too. I was there for a photoshoot for a brand collab a few months ago and they weren’t half as extensive or rich as these…”

He lets his sentence trail off, sneaking a shy glance at Patroclus. His throat bobs as he swallows, and he looks away.

“What’s wrong?” Patroclus asks softly. He gives his hand a gentle nudge. “Keep going. I want to hear it.”

“It’s just… you never like it when I talk about… you know. Travelling, being abroad, doing photoshoots and all that. So… I’ve been trying not to.”

Patroclus stares at him, taken aback. Achilles didn’t seem to have the same inhibitions a year ago, when he’d shamelessly send him photos from whatever club, restaurant or continent he’d find himself in. Patroclus wonders if Achilles knew it was bothering him, even then. Knowing him, it was probably to rile him up and get a reaction out of him rather than innocently sharing moments of his day with him. The implication stirs that particular brand of annoyance that only Achilles can get out of him.

But another part of him is mournful for all the little moments Patroclus has missed from Achilles’ life. Travelling and brand collabs have been taking up an increasingly big chunk of his time it seems, and Patroclus has been there for none of it, has stubbornly never shown the slightest interest in it. Not that Achilles had shown any interest in his own work until yesterday, when he helped him with his presentation. But that’s more than he’s done in years. And Patroclus is still so grateful for that. He wants more of it.

“I don’t mind,” he tells him finally, after a short pause. “I’d still like to hear it. Anything you have to say.”

Achilles beams at him, his eyes lighting up with so much joy that it makes Patroclus ache. Any reservations he had about learning more about Achilles’ life evaporate as he listens to him talk about his work the last few months, the modelling gigs he’s been juggling on top of buckling down for his last round of exams. Patroclus smiles at that; if anyone can do all of those things and still ace his exams, it’s Achilles.

“...I even got an offer to work with this new online platform for musicians,” he says, as they’re walking down a quiet lane lined with baobab trees. “They somehow found out I used to play the violin and they asked me to advertise it on my page.”

“You didn’t just use to play the violin,” Patroclus chuckles, strangely delighted to hear about Achilles’ recent endeavours. “You placed first in the string competition in Vienna in eleventh grade. I’d be surprised if someone hadn’t dug that up.”

“Yeah, that was fun, wasn’t it?” Achilles grins at him. His entire countenance seems to be glowing in the amber sunset light. “We used to train for hours every day but it was worth it.”

“Phoenix had us practising those pieces for months. I can still see myself playing them in my sleep,” Patroclus groans.

“I still think we should have gone for a duet. Then we would have both won.”

Patroclus chuckles under his breath, ducking under a low hanging branch. Achilles had needled Phoenix for months to let them play together, but the old man would never relent. Patroclus was good for his level and for the work he put in, but he was never exceptional like Achilles; he wasn’t born a virtuoso. In the end, he had been disqualified at the finals, missing the third spot by a hair with his rendition of Chopin’s Mazurka in A Minor, while Achilles had swept the crowds away with Bach’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1 in G minor. As long as he lives, Patroclus will never forget how Achilles had walked on the stage, a slender boy of seventeen, and had held a massive concert hall captive while he played and for several moments after he’d finished; and then the audience had erupted in cheers and applause, tears standing in some of their eyes, including Patroclus’ own.

That has always been Achilles’ gift: changing things wherever he might be, down to their molecules. Shining so blindingly bright that the world around him can't help but be captivated by his light.

“I think perhaps it’s better that Phoenix never changed his mind,” Patroclus says. “I might have dragged you down with me because of some stupid mistake. Or I would have stolen your spotlight. We can’t have that.”

He says that with a smile, without envy or malice. A simple acknowledgment of facts, with a little bite of humour perhaps. But Achilles stops walking and turns to him, his features completely serious.

“You could never do that,” he says, very firmly. “You’ve never once dragged me into anything. Any mistakes I’ve made have been my own. As for the spotlight—there’s no other person I’d rather share it with, Pat. None.”

Once again, Patroclus stares at him, aghast. He doesn’t know where all this is coming from, why Achilles is speaking so seriously and earnestly all of a sudden. He has never known Achilles to lie to him—on the contrary, Achilles has always bluntly told him the truth even when it hurt—but hearing this from him now, after everything, makes it impossible to believe.

Another part of him though, the part that always ran back to Achilles after every heartbreak, that always yearned for him despite it all, wants desperately to believe him.

“You should start playing the violin again,” Patroclus says quietly, his voice thick with emotion he can’t quite hide. “You were always… so good at it.”

Achilles smiles, and the waning light falls so sweetly on his golden hair, his eyes, his beautiful skin. "You should take it up again too. Maybe one day we can play Handel’s Passacaglia together, like we always wanted.”

The fantasy is so potent, impossible to resist. He and Achilles playing together again, practising for hours every day just like they used to, the thrill after mastering a particularly difficult piece… Patroclus’ heart clenches with painful longing.

The path they're on is empty, and they’re shielded from view by the thick foliage. Before he knows it, Patroclus is stepping closer, reaching out to wrap his arm around Achilles' waist.

“I’d like that,” he whispers, leaning down to capture his lips in a kiss. "I really would."

Achilles sighs, melting into him, pulling him close to kiss him deeper.

[three-headed-monster]

the sabres, at summer development camp in switzerland

[just-anka]

And the final two days of our little trip in the van ❤ still can't believe we built this thing sometimes. Makes me so happy to spend time out in it.

[alwayshappyhoursomewhere]

[Translation] SPUR September 2023

Exclusive Interview with Stéphane Lambiel "About Love"

Stéphane Lambiel invites us into his beautiful musical world with his smooth skating and graceful ballet-like movements on the ice. He talks about his love and passion for skating, and everything in his life.

Looking back on his remarkable season as a coach.

Stéphane Lambiel came to Japan to perform in "Fantasy on Ice," the most prominent ice show in Japan. In the 2022-23 figure skating season, Japan's Shoma Uno, whom he coaches, won his second consecutive World Championships, and Koshiro Shimada won a silver medal at the All-Japan Championships. Latvia's Deniss Vasiljevs has also distinguished himself in the Grand Prix Series, so it has been smooth sailing for the coach.

"Shoma, Koshiro, and Deniss are not the only young talents sprouting up one after another. I want all the students at Champery (Switzerland) to grow. I hope my teaching will have a positive impact on their careers and lives. That's my number one goal right now."

After the Corona disaster, the international sports scene is slowly returning to its original state. This year, Stéphane organized a joint training camp in Kyoto with students from the Kinoshita Academy in Japan and Champéry.

"This is a good opportunity for the students to experience a different method from the one they are used to," said Stéphane. This time, we also made time for them to learn physical performance that is different from skating, such as yoga and dance lessons, not only on the ice. By learning new ways to use their bodies, they can feed back to their skating and improve their artistry. They were able to motivate each other, so I felt it was beneficial to share practice.

Today, Kinoshita is home to an elite group of figure skaters who are the future of figure skating.

"I was amazed by all the students. They are able to practice very meticulously while also maintaining their focus. If I had to name a few players that I personally pay attention to, I would say junior players Mao Shimada and Shunsuke Nakamura. I feel something special about them. Hana Yoshida knows her body well and has the ability to use it well."

About the challenges to tackle for the new season

During the training camp, Stéphane also choreographed new programs. He also said it was an opportunity to see the response from Uno, Shimada, and Vasilijevs.

"As for Koshiro, he will continue with his SP "Sing Sing Sing". For FS, he will perform a piano version of "Danse Macabre," choreographed by me. Denis performed his new SP "Hallelujah" for "Fantasy on Ice". This was his first time working with choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne. It was a very innovative piece, and it took him some time to understand what she was trying to achieve. Then he practiced a lot, and made it his own. I will be choreographing the FS, which will be different from the atmosphere of the past. Please look forward to it.

Shoma has two programs for SP, and I think he is considering which one to use for the competition.One is by Shae-Lynn, and the other one is my creation. I think he will decide after skating both of them at the summer ice show. The SP I made will have a pretty challenging content. It will be divided into several parts, with a short intro to present the outline of the story, followed by a romantic and lyrical part, and then a dynamic change at the end. The unfolding is quite extreme, and I think it will be a very intense performance. I'm looking forward to seeing it at the show, too. For FS, I have proposed some songs, and the choreography will be done by Kenji Miyamoto."

This will be his third (sic) season as Uno's coach. Stéphane says he will do his best to support Uno, who has expressed his desire to improve his expressive side.

There are two wonderful things about Shoma," said Stéphane. One is the rich expressive power of his eyes and of his body movements as a whole. The other is his passion to control everything by himself. When he learns something new, his willingness to practice and make it absolutely his own is second to none. These two virtues have already made him a unique, one-of-a-kind skater. If he is looking for something more on top of that... from me, I think I can help him in terms of musicality. Of course he has musical sense, but I think he can deepen it even more. by refining his sensibility, he will be able to add more "umami", as they say in Japanese, to his performance, a taste that only he can bring out. I believe that the audience too will be able to sense something special from his performance.

Putting his love for his soulmate into his dance on the ice

Thirteen years after retiring from professional skating, Stéphane is now in his mature stage as a professional figure skater. The two performances at this year's Ice Show were truly musical works that moved the audience emotionally.

The first piece performed at Fantasy on Ice was the fourth movement of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5, Adagietto. My friend Beatrice Belieu(?), a musician, played the piano and made the arrangement. The second is "Simple song" from the soundtrack of the movie "Grand Finale" (2015). Adagietto was choreographed by Salome Brunner. In fact, the performance presented here is only a part of the whole. Champéry has a festival called "Rencontres Musicales de Champéry" (Encounters with Music), and next year I will be skating Adagietto with Beatrice, who will play live.

The adagietto by Maher, known in the 70's for the film "Death in Venice" and more recently as the key piece in the film "TAR" (2022), is a classic. The sweet and dramatic tune is linked with a personal story.

Mahler's Adagietto was written with love as its theme. Through this song, I wanted to express the various stages of love that I have experienced. It begins with the meeting of two people, the period of burning love that brings them together as one, and then the period when there are discrepancies in the relationship. After overcoming these difficulties, they feel comfortable with each other, and then they rediscover each other as if they had met anew, even though they are the same person. The first meeting and the last meeting have different meanings, and their love evolves. When I skate to this song, I envision in my mind's eye a very rich relationship with the person I am now living with, my soulmate. There is actually a subtle twist to this performance. I thought of it with Salome, it has the same movement at the beginning and the end, but in reverse. With that movement, I expressed the evolution of the relationship and the sense of distance that is created.

He devised the choreography for 'Simple song' with his colleagues at Champéry. It is an insert song for the movie, sung wistfully by Korean opera singer Sumi Jo.

I had heard this song by chance before I saw the movie, and I thought it was a great song. I rediscovered it after watching the film, and then chose it. The personal theme of this film is growing older. Considering my own career, I am slowly approaching the limits of my physical capabilities, and I don't think I will be able to skate for much longer in the future. Still, there is a part of me that wants to skate forever. So when I am skating to this song, I express myself to the fullest as my performance, and I hope that it will be forever. *Adagietto and Simple Song both incorporate movements that require quite a bit of physical endurance, since I have to stand on one point of the edge of my skates and hold it for a long time. The goal is to achieve a noble movement despite being forced to exert that kind of control. Although I feel pleasure in being able to be in control, there are also times when I feel fragility and danger in front of the audience. It's a very lovely moment."

At this year's Fantasy on Ice, fellow skater Johnny Weir retired.

We get together every year in early summer for the show, and the performers are like family. I've talked about that with Johnny, too. It's sad to retire from the ice show, but I think it's also a positive thing. I can't speak for him, but I think he would like to do another project in his life. We have promised that we will spend time together again somewhere. Maybe a private vacation! Sometimes I think about my last show myself. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Despite being involved in a variety of activities, you are still passionate about skating. What is the source of your motivation?

I think it has something to do with the fact that I have matured, and when I aim for my best performance, I want to express myself in the most natural way. My personality is lyrical and romantic, so I often get inspiration from watching that kind of movies or from stage music. Music shakes up emotions from a deep place inside of me, and pushes to the surface the life force within. I can skate by borrowing the energy of the song. As I feel that, I guess that maybe I can perform better, with a sense of unity."

[ladylooch]

can you pls write about hiking/camping with the hischiers?

So this isn’t all of them together… but I had this idea and had to run with it!

“Okay, LuLu, what are the rules?” Nico asks, tightening the laces on her hiking boots. She wrinkles her nose at how tight they are, but does not protest out loud.

“Stay on the trail, no throwing rocks, and have fun!” Lucie cheers. Nico grins up at his 6 year old from his knee, so proud of her excitement and attentiveness. 

It’s their first hike together, just the two of them. Mama, Mack, and Sophie are at home, giving Nico time with his oldest in his favorite place: the outdoors. Nico has been waiting for this moment since he first held Lucie in his hands. He wants to share both the outdoors and Switzerland with his oldest daughter so she understands more of what is a part of her. 

“Good. What is the most important rule?”

“Have fun!” Lucie giggles. “I always have fun with you daddy.” Nico almost breaks down into tears at the trailhead. 

“Me too, Luc.” He pats her tan, bucket hat head. “Ready?”

“Yeah!” 

With their backpacks of snacks and water on their bodies, they head off onto the gravel trail in the Swiss alps. All along the way, Nico points out birds and trees and creeks far down below. They even see a deer bounding through the valley by the lake.

“Whoa!” Lucie exclaims loudly. “Are we gonna see a bear, daddy?”

“Hopefully no.” Nico murmurs. “If we keep talking, I doubt it.”

“Okay, I don’t wanna see one.”

“Well, we are in their home, baby. We might. If we do, listen to what I say, okay?” Lucie nods seriously. The trail is relatively populated this morning, so Nico is not worried about any sudden bear encounters. 

It takes 90 minutes before they get to the top of their hike. Lucie is being so patient and good.

“Almost there.” Nico murmurs, looking back to his daughter. She has her eyes on her feet, careful of her steps as the trail gets harder to see because of overgrown brush. “You’re doing great!” Lucie smiles and bites her lip at her dad’s praise. 

At the top of the trail, they look out at the vastnesss of the Swiss Alps. Stray clouds touch the highest peaks in front of them that are still slightly snow capped despite the summer season. Lucie stares out in awe at the scene in front of her. Nico looks down at her, beaming with pride at her appreciation for his home country.

“This is yours too, Lucie. You, Mack and Soph will always have a home here.”

“Why don’t we live here all the time?” Lucie wonders.

“Because daddy’s job. But maybe we can live here when I’m done playing, yeah?”

“Will we go on hikes every day?”

“Probably not. You’ll have to go to school.” Lucie sighs. “But we can go a lot.” Nico offers. His daughter nods in agreement. 

“Can I have a snack?”

“Yeah, do you want apple sauce or a granola bar.”

“Both.”

“You got it.”

Nioc distributes the snack, then settles with his daughter on a flat rock. Lucie slumps agains this arm, eating her fuel in the quiet wilderness with her favorite person: her dad.

[preet-01]

In 2023, I wrote We've Never Hooked Up during the Lewis/Merc contract negotiations and a reporter asked if Lewis and Toto had hooked up about the contract. Now, what was originally a one-shot is a story told in three parts. This is part 2 and part 3 will be out in about a week

Word Count: 1555

The plans to spend the summer break together fall through before early July. 

It isn’t because Lewis is annoyed by how bad the car was and how no matter what he did the team barely seemed interested in listening to his feedback. And it wasn’t due to the continued fights they’d been having about his contract – or how Toto refused to advocate for him with the team in Germany. They’d agreed ages ago to not let work interfere with their relationship. 

Not to mention that  Toto has meetings that he should focus on. The German headquarters business didn’t stop just because Formula One was on a summer break. As CEO, Toto needed to work and Lewis didn’t want to spend the few weeks he had off fighting for some time with Toto. 

So Lewis decides to make his own plans. 

Maybe he’ll do some traveling with Miles, Spinz, and all the others. They had talked about a trip to Brazil. Or he could go island hopping with Daniel, chasing the warm sun and sandy shores. He had been meaning to spend more one-on-one time with Daniel after everything that had happened last year – it was bad when both Seb and Fernando were concerned. Maybe he could take up Seb on his offer to visit him in Switzerland and see his animals named after drivers. As great as his current friendship was with Fernando, he did miss seeing Seb every weekend and bitching about all things FIA-related. 

“Will you be attending Google Camp this year?” John asks. The older man had offered him a ride to England on his private jet after the Austrian Grand Prix and with most of the Mercedes team leaving Sunday night, Lewis had taken him up on the offer without hesitation. He hadn’t had time to catch up with John in a long time, so it was as good an opportunity as any. Just the two of them and their respective security on the private jet — Seb would probably chastise him about it. 

“I hadn’t intended on attending,” Lewis replies – he had declined the invitation weeks ago when the plan had been to be on some remote island with just Toto and a skeleton staff as company. “I already declined the invite before my original plans fell through,” he adds. 

‘Hhm,” John nods, “come with me. I have a plus one and those events tend to be dreadful without good company.” 

Lewis can’t help the laugh that escapes him. John had been downright miserable at Google Camp the year they had met. Stuck in some pissing contest conversation between Zuckerberg and Musk, John had jumped at the opportunity to pull him into a separate conversation when their eyes met across the ruins. 

Google Camp hadn’t happened in 2020 for obvious reasons. Lewis didn’t know about 2021, but he’d been busy with other stuff. And in 2022, he’d gotten a few calls from John about the event. Most of them complaining about the lack of good company with a mind for racing beyond just “fast cars go vroom.” 

He doesn’t commit to going but does tell John that he’ll think about it. 

It wouldn’t be the worst way to spend the summer break. Lewis quite liked John’s company and he liked Sicily. They’d had a grand old time during the few days they’d spent at Google Camp together in 2019.

____

He goes to Sicily. 

Of course, he goes to Sicily. 

He goes and he lets John plan their entire trip. He lets the control slip out of his own hands and into John’s — trusting that he wouldn’t be a disaster at planning. 

They have a private villa at the Verdura Resort that is probably much too big for just two people, but it has a pool and is one of the more beautiful places he’s stayed at during his life so far. There’s of course a lineup of Ferraris there just for their use and private chefs well versed in cooking vegan food. 

Google Camp is well not so different from how Lewis remembers it and it quickly turns into an Italian vacation with John taking him to places Lewis had never thought of visiting before. Whisking him away from Sicily in one of the many Ferraris until they reach the harbor where a boat awaits to take them to mainland Italy. 

He doesn’t think of the missed calls between himself and Toto or the short messages exchanged. Neither of them seemed to catch the other at an opportune time. Instead, he focuses on John and attempts to tell the man that there are better ways to have a sweater hanging from one’s shoulders than how John tends to have them. However, he does admit that it is an endearing idiosyncrasy. 

And in the coming months, he does his best to not think about the promises that John had whispered in his ear as they lay under the blazing Italian sun. Or the taste of fermented grapes and ripe strawberries as a million stars shined down on them. Or how he’d laughed more in those few days with John than he had with Toto in the past few years. No, he doesn’t think of that at all…

Lewis ignores it the best that he can, for as long as he can — he’d always been very good at compartmentalizing and pushing forward. 

Just as plans for the summer break spent on some remote island fall through, so do the plans for winter break. They don’t go to Toto’s home in the Austrian countryside or visit the Christmas markets. Well, Lewis doesn’t go, Toto does. 

Lewis instead flies out to Brazil with Miles, Spinz, and all his other friends. None of them mention that the private jet they use isn’t the one that Lewis would usually rent or the one he’d occasionally borrow from Toto, but borrowed from one John Elkann. 

Brazil is everything he’d needed after the season, after fighting with his car time and time again. It’s a necessary break that he had needed to decompress and just think. 

It’s an eye-opening vacation, to say the least. 

Things need to change because as Lewis had told Toto months ago, he didn’t have years and years to keep fighting. 

Just as he’s about to call Toto so they can talk through everything like they normally do, a different billionaire is calling him. 

“Hi,” Lewis answers, unable to help the smile that breaks out when he answers John’s call. 

“Hello, Lewis,” John replies, “how is Brazil?” 

Lewis goes into the details about the vacation. Everything that they have done so far and everything that they plan to do in the coming days. John, ever so attentive, makes his own recommendations and tells Lewis about the places that he loved growing up. “You lived in Brazil?” Lewis questions, he had not been aware of that. How it hadn’t come up in their many conversations, he doesn’t know. Just as he’d thought that he’d learned everything about John, the man reveals something new – some new avenue to take their already hours-long conversations. 

“Briefly when I was young. I attended primary school in England and then Brazil before we moved to Paris when I was in my teenage years,” John answers. “But it has always been somewhat of a home as many of my earliest memories are from there and I have gone back to explore the country many times since,” he explains. 

“Tell me more,” Lewis says, getting comfortable on his bed as all thoughts of Toto and his future fly out the window. 

If Lewis spends the rest of the day on the phone with John, just talking and definitely not flirting, then that’s no one’s business except his own. And he certainly doesn’t invite John to join him in Brazil. He just so happens to have business in Brazil obviously, nothing to do with Lewis. 

As John Elkann makes declarations of unconditional devotion and presses kisses onto the most intimate parts of Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff is in the company of his other driver.  

It is a far cry from how Toto had expected to spend his winter months ago when Lewis had joked about the two of them never hooking up during a press conference. Then he’d imagined a shorter man with tattoos on dark skin and a gap-toothed smile in his bed. He’d imagined Lewis curled up around him as they sought relief from the cold Austrian winter. He’d imagined a quiet vacation spent in one another’s company and visiting the Christmas markets that Lewis had fallen in love with. 

Instead, his winter is spent in the company of George who is nothing like Lewis. Instead of a private vacation with visits to Christmas markets, he’s at karting tracks, ski charity events, and public places where people easily recognize them both. Instead, his winter is spent with someone who is still not fully sure of his position with Toto. 

George is still staying at his place in Oxford when Lewis finally calls him about their usual pre-season coffee. Toto doesn’t kick him out, can’t find it in himself to do so. Not when George had looked so lovely and had taken so long to get comfortable. 

No, George has an event to go to that morning anyway. It would be fine. 

[black-arcana]

Ex-NIGHTWISH Members TARJA TURUNEN And MARKO HIETALA Announce September 2024 European Tour

Following a triumphant series of performances in South America with several sold-out gigs where Marko Hietala joined Tarja Turunen as a special guest, the two former NIGHTWISH members are set to captivate European audiences with their enthralling collaboration.

The European trek, which will kick off in September in Germany, promises to be an unforgettable experience as these two familiar voices reunite on stage once again.

Tarja recently released her first greatest-hits album "Best Of Tarja - Living The Dream". Her live show will feature a selection of songs from her career, also found on "Best Of", including fan favorites and her own personal picks.

Adding to the excitement, Marko and Tarja recently collaborated on the duet single "Left On Mars", which received widespread acclaim.

Marko will perform his own songs with his band before joining Tarja on stage for a night that promises to be nothing short of memorable.

Expectations are high as the duo continues to delight fans with both old and new songs, building on the success of their South American tour.

Tarja and Marko's "Living The Dream Together Tour 2024" European dates:

Sep. 08 - DE Berlin - Huxleys Neue Welt Sep. 09 - DE Bremen - Aladin Music Hall Sep. 10 - DE Saarbrücken - Garage Sep. 12 - DE Leipzig - Hellraiser Sep. 13 - DE Hamburg - Grünspan Sep. 14 - DE Herford - Kulturwerk Sep. 16 - NL Groningen - De Oosterpoor Sep. 17 - NL Utrecht - Tivoli Vredenburg (Ronda) Sep. 18 - DE Bochum - Matrix Sep. 20 - DE Ulm - Roxy Sep. 21 - DE Obertraubling - Eventhall Airport Sep. 23 - DE Frankfurt - Batschkapp Sep. 24 - DE München - Backstage Sep. 25 - CH Pratteln - Z7

Earlier this month, Hietala was asked by El Planeta Del Rock if there is any chance of him and Turunen launching a new project together. He responded: "I won't close that option off. We haven't talked about it, putting up a group together or anything like that. But at the moment, it seems that we've got a different kind of connection than it was [in the] past. Because then the camps were really divided already when I stepped into [NIGHTWISH]. And it was hard to find the truth of things, because a lot of it was like a managerial turf war where we got told certain things by one side and told certain things by the other side and lots of confusion — blah, blah, blah — and in the end, yeah, what we already realized a few years back when we were all together there doing the Christmas shows in Finland that after all the hassle has died and the noise has died and everything, you still find out that you lost a friend. And that was the main [reason] why we are basically doing this together again."

In a recent interview with Thiago Rahal Mauro of Brazil's Metal Musikast, Tarja spoke about what it was like to team up with Marko to perform a cover of "The Phantom Of The Opera" during their special open-air concert in July 2023 at Z7 Summer Nights in Pratteln, Switzerland. Tarja and Marko both played individual sets at the event, with their rendition of the main theme from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical coming during Turunen's portion of the show.

"I got a call from a promoter to take part in one festival in Switzerland last year in a European summertime in July," Tarja said. "And then I got to know, when I had accepted to be the artist of the evening, then I saw that they had also invited Marko and Marko's band to perform in the same festival. So I thought, 'Hmm.' And I was actually sending a message that I wished to reach Marko, because I didn't have his contact any longer, to ask him to perform with me 'The Phantom Of The Opera' in my show. And he responded 'yes.' So, after 18 years [laughs], we were about to sing the song together. And it was super exciting. It was really beautiful. The people got very emotional about this.

"We had met already before — we had been singing on a few occasions in Finland a few years before — so we kind of cleaned the table on that occasion already," she explained. "So we were in good terms, so to say, but now singing 'The Phantom Of The Opera' together after all these years was amazing."

Tarja also elaborated on her friendship with Marko, saying: "It's a new relationship with him, because he's not the same person anymore than he was in the band. He has changed a lot, and many years have passed by. I've changed myself. Life has changed us. So it is a new relationship, let's say. And it had made me very happy to get to know him better after all these years."

Last November, Tarja admitted to Chaoszine that she was "nervous" before performing "The Phantom Of The Opera" with Marko at Z7 Summer Nights. "I believe that he was nervous as well to meet up with me, but we were both very excited to go back to the stage and to sing the song," she said. "We sang 'Phantom Of The Opera' in Switzerland for the first time. Then we went over to Finland to perform it again, did a show together there — he with his band and me with my own. Wow. It was pure emotion. I think it was really beautiful, but it made me kind of… I was, like, 'I'm in peace,' sort of. The feeling was great. I think it was even more for Marko, because I saw him standing there after my concert, when I finished my set, and he came like almost in tears, saying that this was important. We reconnected, and it's great."

Turunen was fired from NIGHTWISH at the end of the band's 2005 tour by being presented with an open letter which was published on the NIGHTWISH web site at the same time. In the letter, the other members of NIGHTWISH wrote: "To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions have become much more important."

NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen later called the decision to part ways with Turunen "the most difficult thing I ever had to do." For her part, Tarja said the way she was kicked out of the group proved that her former bandmates were not her friends. "Maybe one day I'll forgive, but I will never forget," she said.

In 2019, Turunen dismissed Internet chatter about her possible return to NIGHTWISH after her December 2017 onstage reunion with the band's then-bassist/vocalist Hietala during a "Raskasta Joulua" concert in Hämeenlinna, Finland.

"I know a lot of fans would love to see something happen, but it's a very long distance away," she told Kerrang! magazine. "Personally, I don't see anything happening with me and them, to be perfectly honest. Marko came a little later into the band; he wasn't there since the beginning. He was always a guy I was close to. Me and Tuomas Holopainen, however, haven't seen each other in a long time… but we have been in touch. It's not bad. The past is what it is; we can't change that. We can only change the future."

NIGHTWISH's authorized biography, "Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996-2006", was published in Finnish in 2006 and in English three years later.

Turunen's husband, Marcelo Cabuli, and his business partners later sued the parties behind the book for defamation. Named in the lawsuit were the publishing house Like Kustannus Oy and the author of the book, Marko "Mape" Ollila. Cabuli and his Brazilian business partners argued that the book includes false accusations and insinuations that have caused them suffering and financial problems.

The book blamed Cabuli for the events leading up to Turunen's dramatic expulsion from the band in late 2005.

In 2011, the Helsinki District Court dismissed Cabuli's lawsuit, ruling that the book — which criticized Cabuli on only a few of its 380 pages — did not detrimentally affect his work or reputation in South America. In addition, the court determined that Ollila did not maliciously portray Cabuli in a negative light.

Nearly two years ago, Tarja was asked in an interview with Top Link Music manager and concert promoter Paulo Baron and music critic Regis Tadeu if she would consider doing a tour with NIGHTWISH if all of her former bandmates apologized to her about how their split happened and invited her to share the stage with them again. She responded: "It is very, very hypothetical that all what you said will happen, first of all — it's very, very hypothetical.

"I'm living in a world, like we are all living in a world, that things happen without us noticing," she continued. "I mean, I can't really close any doors in that sense; I'm not that kind of person any longer. I learned so many things in this life already. I take them as they are.

"So I don't know. It would be very hypothetically possible," she added. "It would be unlikely to happen."

Hietala announced his departure from NIGHTWISH in January 2021, explaining in a statement that he hadn't "been able to feel validated by this life for a quite a few years now." He has since been replaced by session bassist Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN),who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences.

In an August 2022 interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Hietala revealed that he went through a dark period in his life, which included depression, insomnia, anxiety and an eventual attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. Speaking about how he eventually came to the realization that exiting NIGHTWISH was the right thing to do, Marko said: "It was a long process. Of course, the COVID year that was there, where I had a lot of time for soul searching, it obviously gave me the last incentive that I need something else, that if I just continue with this I'm just gonna get sicker and sicker. But, of course, it's a process.

"I've been chronic depressive since 2010 [or] 2011, so I've been on a permanent medication ever since," he revealed. "Sometimes you get used to the meds [and] you will need more. We did raise [the dosage] during the years also, but it just didn't work. And now that I started to do… I had psychotherapy for over four years now, and then I also talked to psychiatrists and some doctors and did that also in Spain. Then my psychiatrist here in Finland said that I should do these ADHD neuropsychological tests, which I then did in Spain. And, okay, I got it."

Hietala reiterated that he "had been thinking about" leaving NIGHTWISH "for a while" before making the final decision. "Because I had a lot of weight. And I tend to… With the attention disorder, it tells me that when there are lots of trouble, then the disorder makes it into a real chaos," he explained. "There's a shitload of stuff coming and going and no peace anywhere. And for a year or two, I was already waking up every night at three o'clock to bad dreams and anxiety. So I'd say that the whole process probably started already with my former divorce [in 2016]. That was a very sad time when you think about your kids and your broken homes and all that. And then, when I started to get clear from that, then there were, well, all kinds of things. I don't really wanna go any deeper to what kind of things I'd gone through, but I'd gone through enough."

Acknowledging that making NIGHTWISH's latest studio album, 2020's "Human. :II: Nature.", was a "difficult" experience for him, Marko denied that his mental state at the time resulted in a diminished role for him on the final LP. "I think the original idea was to have that… we'll do a couple of [solo vocal appearances], or one solo for me and Troy [Donockley], and the rest Floor [Jansen], and then the harmonies; that was the idea originally for that," he said. "So I don't know if it affected. I think it was sort of as planned. But at that time I already had serious trouble with concentrating and serious trouble with a constant black cloud over my head."

In July 2022, Hietala told Finland's Iltalehti that he had not kept in touch with NIGHTWISH since his departure or followed the activities of his former band.

In May 2021, Holopainen said that Hietala's decision to leave NIGHTWISH "came as a bit of a surprise." He told Finland's Kaaos TV: "Marko informed us in December [of 2020 that he was leaving the band]. And even though he has been very open about his state and problems during the past years, it still came as a bit of a surprise for us. So it was a really tough pill to swallow. And for a few days, I was actually quite confident that there's no coming back, that this is it. I remember talking to Emppu [Vuorinen], the guitar player, and we were, like, 'You think this is it?' 'Yeah, I think this is it.' I mean, enough is enough. So much has happened in the past. Something that broke the camel's back, as they say. Then, after some time had passed — a few days — we started to think that it's been such a ride of 25 years, with so many ups also, that this is not the way to end it."

Tuomas elaborated on NIGHTWISH's reasons for carrying on, saying: "I think we still have something to give, and that's the main point. The music is still there. We felt that there's still so much music that needs to come out from this band that, 'Okay, let's give it one more shot.' And then finding the new bass player was really easy."

He added: "It's not like we do this just because we need to do it and there's nothing else to do. On a personal level, I feel that there's still so many stories and melodies that I want to share with the world with one lineup or another, so that's why you want to continue and keep on going.

"I've said this a million times, that a lineup change is the ultimate energy vampire, and that's how it really felt and still feels."

In June 2021, Jansen spoke about Hietala's exit from the band in an episode of her "Storytime" YouTube video series. She said: "That was a very sudden surprise that, of course, was not fun at all. But we understand — I understand — it was a necessary thing for him to do. And from there, we had to think of how to continue without him, and that also, in preparations towards the virtual show, that was a huge challenge."

In December 2020, Hietala was crowned the winner of the fall 2020 season of "Masked Singer Suomi" — the Finnish edition of the popular masked singing contest. He was disguised as Tohtori — the Doctor.

Photo courtesy of Nuclear Blast Records