Switzerland.

Having only one full day to spend in Switzerland, I'd say we made the best of it. We arrived at night like puzzle pieces of our own flesh and blood, entirely clueless to where we were and what the hell we were doing there. Thankfully, through the almighty powers of Facebook, I was able to connect with an old friend, Bryn Martin who just so happened to be living in Lausanne with his wife Rachel. Bryn met us at the train station on a downhill slalom not ten minutes from his apartment and we wormed our way back up the hill.

We were welcomed with a plate of homemade Ravioli and a buffet of the three Swiss necessities: Chocolate, Cheese and Wine. It's as if we were homeless, taken in by Royalty and offered three sticks of gold a piece. That's how smelly and head-pounding I felt. The "gold" gave us enough energy to take a quick stroll through the town and briefly experience the literal ups and downs of the city and the offset architecture it had to offer. For example; A glass-walled bathroom placed conveniently in the middle of a busy walkway. In this bathroom is a little red button, that when you push it, a thin, glossy layer clouds over the walls giving you all the privacy in the world to get down to business. I must have hit that button four or five times in complete disbelief.

Bryn and Rachel not only offered us a roof, a place to rest our heads and two back-to-back home cooked meals, but they also graciously entrusted us with their bikes for the day. This allowed us to blindly navigate our way through the city and down to the silhouette mountains stretched endlessly along the lake. We took a few wrong turns and paid the uphill price for it, but we eventually pedaled our way to a sparkly sight I won't soon forget. Boats scatter like toys in a bath and the Alps stand merely a shade apart from the crystal water at its feet. We rode our bikes as if chasing it. Like if we ride fast enough we can catch it and bring it home and share it with our friends and family. We eventually hit the end of our path and slumped over a concrete wall; gazing as if we'd both just fallen in love with the same woman.

At this point in the trip, I have managed to somehow tip-toe my way across the boundaries of language and communicate in a variety of hat-trick expressions. You'd be surprised how far the "thumbs up" will get you. Anyhow, among all the fluster of miscommunication, I still managed to collect these subtle understandings with people. Everyday things that we all recognize and experience on an everyday basis without saying a word. It was this idea that brought lyrical attention to a song Bryn had written the music for. So, that night after a hearty bowl of homemade chili, Bryn and I recorded a song together in his living room.
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Things We Understand
Written by Bryn Martin and Kevin Andrew Prchal

The walk of a bass,
The cut of a drum,
The plea of an empty hand
The shrug of a penny,
The smell of a deli,
There are things that we understand

The raise of a thumb, of a hand, of an eye
The head hang of a man,
Daredevil lovers in a runaway summer,
There are things that we understand.

Like two feet in the sand,
There are things we understand.

A wind,
And a hammer of a wave or a wash,
Two wings that will never land
The push of a bully, or a wish in a well,
There are things that we understand.

Child to a bubble,
Or a subway tunnel,
Where the beggars spit to the fan,
The Lord on his feet and the Devil on his knees,
There are things that we understand.

To hear this song go to:
http://pinklemusic.com/mp3/pinkle_prchal_things_we_understand.mp3
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Bryn writes and records music under the name, Pinkle and he deserves your attention. He is truly making some of the most beautiful music you've never heard. So do yourselves a favor and not only listen to the song we recorded together, but take a few minutes to browse his endless library of songs.
www.pinklemusic.com

I'd also like to Congratulate both Bryn and Rachel on the birth of their baby girl, Noemi. Seeing how you cared for us is only a fractured example of how you'll care for her. Thanks again for everything, guys.