Swifterland- A European Adventure
Do you know that feeling when you’re on the plane and the flight attendants come down the aisle with pretzels, cookies, essentially nothing you can eat (if you’re gluten free like me)? It’s times like these when Tucker & Co Paleo granola comes in clutch- providing food that will actually nourish and fuel you until you touch back down. Another great time to have our granola on hand is while waiting in line for hours securing your spot in line for the Taylor Swift Eras tour concert- maybe slightly less relatable– but, this is exactly how I spent my “typical tuesday night” this week in Zurich!
Unlike shows in the US, at Taylor’s Europe shows, floor seating is general admission, meaning someone like me- who ordinarily wouldn’t dream of paying for front-row tickets- has the potential for securing a spot “on the barricade” so long as you’re at the front of the line. For my sister and I, this meant getting to the stadium at 8:30 am, which seemed like no problem after flying across the ocean for the show! I can confirm it did in fact pay off- despite the 87 degree full-sun day (apparently the hottest day of the summer in Zurich); the 9 hours of wait-time went surprisingly quickly with fellow swifties being fantastic line buddies- trading bracelets, sharing shade umbrellas and snacks, and holding spots. In no other fanbase would I have been comfortable letting a stranger watch my phone and wallet! We were allowed to enter the stadium at 2:30 pm and thankfully, the staff coordinated an extremely calm and smooth procession to our section. We were one of the first hundred people in the door, giving us a pick of spots- but honestly there is no bad spot at Thee Eras Tour. I went to the Boston show last year, sat in the nose bleeds, and still had a life-altering experience. Being front row, though, brought an entirely different perspective. It brought the reality of Taylor’s humanity into focus- someone who I have up-to-now seen almost-exclusively on screens. But there I was, at times no more than 15 feet away, dare I say even making eye contact at times with the Taylor Swift. My level of respect sky-rocketed (something I didn’t know was possible) once faced with the immediate reality that this super-star icon is also a person, in fact a regular girl like me from Pennsylvania- who had a dream she didn’t ever stop pursuing. She has somehow managed to build one of the biggest legacies in music history. Wow. “Taylor Mania” as the Swiss were calling it has the ability to be not only a major unifying force, but a source for bonding over shared human experiences. Her artistic catalog is an outlet for emotional triumphs and pitfalls, her fan-first persona, wholesomely authentic, and her lyrics- poetry (aside from being a motivator for expanding one’s vocabulary). If you have the opportunity to see Taylor live, you too will experience her contagious aura, during the course of some 44 songs that span 18 years of her music. Friends were made, snacks were shared, voices were lost, and inspiration tanks were left full to brimming.