CONCERT IN BERN

17 Mar, 2026

Choir performance day 2.

I slept really poorly after my first show. My left leg and arm were burning in pain. I didn't think to take painkillers nor ask for any. On top of that, it rained all night and I could hear the raindrops fall onto the window sill; the irregular pattern of the drops kept me up all night as well. I pretty much woke up once every hour, and I probably got 2 hours of solid sleep, complete with intense dreams.

Despite this, I woke up the next morning mentally bright but physically still tired.

K's apartment = goals!

I took some pictures because I love the dark academia theme. While our styles aren't the same, I like how she decorated her space and it inspires me to be much cleaner. (In fact, I had wanted to ask her how often she cleaned, but we talked about more interesting topics instead.)

K's living room. I love how she framed patterns.
K got this old Ikea couch for free and bought the made-to-fit fabric covering.
The guest bedroom/office, where I slept.
This giant, twisty stick has traveled with K from Germany to Switzerland. She found it in the woods when she was a teenager.

We had a calm breakfast in her sunny kitchen nook and chatted about being queer and how nice it was to find such a community here. We didn't have to meet for rehearsal until 13:30, so we took our time getting ready.

Unfortunately, spending the night in Zürich didn't save me much money at all! A direct train from Zürich to Bern is CHF 26.50, and that's with half tax! It's usually ~CHF 18.90 for a direct train from Lucerne → Bern.

A digression

Ok, now I'm curious—let's calculate how much money I actually saved (if at all):

Start	End	Cost
Lucerne	Affoltern am Albis	CHF 8.40
Affoltern am Albis	K's place in Zürich	CHF 5.70
K's place in Zürich	Zürich HB	CHF 3.30
Zürich HB	Bern	CHF 26.50
Bern	Lucerne	CHF 18.50
	TOTAL	CHF 62.40

If I had gone home:

Start	End	Cost
Lucerne	Affoltern am Albis	CHF 8.40
Affoltern am Albis	Lucerne	CHF 9.70
Lucerne	Bern	CHF 18.50
Bern	Lucerne	CHF 18.50
	TOTAL	CHF 55.10

So rather than save money, I spent CHF 7.30 extra by staying in Zürich overnight. BUT I did save on time. Unless...

(It's ok. I don't need to know.)

MOST IMPORTANTLY, staying in Zürich made it feel more like a proper trip: I got to know K and also treat myself to the yummy coffee and bougie baked goods that Zürich has to offer.

Onwards, to Bern!

We took the tram to the main station where we randomly met up with another choir person. I wanted my second cup of coffee, so while the others looked for a seat on the train, I went to Miró—the aforementioned bougie coffee shop + bakery—for an Americano and coffee bun. I should've taken a pic because it was pretty. The bun had a light and airy texture to it, and the center was filled with vegan coffee cream. I didn't like that part as much, because it was actually a bit tangy. Still, a nice experience to try something I wouldn't normally have.

The train ride was 1 hour and 30 minutes. This is why I dislike traveling to Bern. The commute feels TOO LONG compared to other major cities in the central region.* However, the ride was pleasant. We chatted mildly while K looked over some choir notes and L snacked on a hunk of smoked tofu straight from the package (in an adorably Swiss way too, by slicing off pieces of it with a Swiss army knife).

*And now we know that even commuting from Zürich, with its supposedly great connections, doesn't save time or money.

We were performing at Grosse Halle Reitschule, an old building covered in graffiti and known for hosting leftist cultural events. Based on the name, it used to be a horse-riding school, which explains why the main hall is so massive. I think it's been used as a cultural/event space since the 1980s.

A photo from the 1980s, maybe. (Source)
What it looks like today.

We arrived a little before 13:30, but to save costs, everyone pitched in and helped set up our performance area, from putting together the stage to setting up all the chairs. So we didn't start rehearsing until over an hour later.

Our concert was starting at 18:00, so we had a much shorter rehearsal and only practiced a few pieces, paying more attention to our encore song since a lot of people forgot the lyrics. I made sure to carve it into my memory, because the sopranos were led astray (apparently the tenors too). I normally don't sing louder than I need to, but I decided to sing a bit louder since I was confident about the lyrics and didn't want an encore of Saturday's performance.

We had to connect all these chairs by hand.
The container in the back is where the toilets were. Despite the grungy look of the place, the bathrooms were super clean.
Car for scale. The disco ball lighting was a nice touch, especially when we sang "Universe." ✨

At around 17:00 we had our "long break." I only ate a delicious egg sandwich for lunch and leftover chocolate wafers from the day before. I called Daniel to ask him to bring me something, but later changed my mind because I figured it would be safer to eat after the show. I decided to get ready early instead, which ended up being a smart move, because we only had a tiny area to get ready in. About a half an hour before we were to gather, the room was packed and slightly chaotic. But since I was ready, I just sat in a corner and did my breathing exercises, as the nervousness took ahold of me again.

Shortly before the concert, I had a look at the audience to see if I could spot Daniel and my other friends. I didn't see them in the crowd, and was about to be disappointed that they still hadn't arrived yet, until I saw them in the FRONT ROW, chatting excitedly. ʕ◕ᴥ◕ʔ I wanted to run out and say hi, but decided to wait until after the show to allow for more anticipation and mystique, since N and V hadn't seen my outfit or anything.

Our conductor gave us a pep talk before we went on.

"I know it's difficult to top such a great show from last night, so don't think about that. Just have fun and enjoy it."

That's the thing about stage presence—when you enjoy it, the audience enjoys it too, because they see you out there having fun. And these people (mostly friends and family), paid to see the show, so they want to see you succeed!

The concert went as flawlessly as it could.

We had to make some adjustments to our more theatrical movement piece for security reasons due to the size of the stage, but I was grateful because we got to sit down for that part! We only received one encore that night, and that's A-OK.

Photo by my friend, V. Do you see me? Also, peep our conductor's heels. When I saw them perform last year, he wore stilettos! Standing for 45 minutes is so uncomfortable, even in my Crocs!
While singing on stage, I saw someone painting us in the audience. Turns out I was one of the few who got painted. How cool is that! Check out the artist's website.

After the show, I went to find my friends. V came bounding towards me with the biggest smile on her face. "That was amazing!" she exclaimed, "My mouth was open the entire time."

"I can't believe how good you guys were!" N chimed in.†

† Daniel later told me that, before the show began, V leaned over and asked, "Can Peige really sing?" To which he replied that everyone in the choir could sing. I had to laugh, because they were in for a real treat!

We chatted for a bit, and then I left to change and help put away the chairs and stage. Later, I met my friends outside and we decided to have dinner in Bern before heading back to Lucerne. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, which meant most places were closed. Luckily, Nooch was still open, and I happily ordered drunken noodles‡ and a large glass of hibiscus iced tea.

‡ Drunken noodles is my favorite thai dish growing up, but it's not very popular in Europe. I rarely eat at Nooch because it's expensive, but I figured this was a cause to celebrate and not worry so much about money! Plus, it was my first proper meal all weekend.

Drunken noodles from Nooch. It's called something else on the menu.

We took the direct but SLOW train home. N immediately fell asleep. Daniel, V, and I chatted for the first half hour and then retreated to our preferred activity. (I wrote my Sunday reflection.) When we finally arrived in Lucerne, we gave each other a big hug and said good night before parting ways.

Upon entering the apartment, I immediately changed into pajamas and I laid on the couch for a bit before heading to bed at 1:00. I woke up at 8:00 the next day but slept well. This coming Saturday will be the final concert for this program before we enter pride season.

Earlier this year, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue on with the choir or take a break for a season or two. But on the train ride home, I filled out the participation survey and marked "yes" to every performance and rehearsal coming up this summer.