Maberg: Music Venue in Eastern Switzerland

While in other contexts it might be considered sacrilegious, something about the blending of Virgin Mary and Marilyn Monroe icons to create the logo for a bar/music venue seems so right.

For a good time, check out Mariaberg. The venue boasts two small but full bars and hosts a variety of bands, including the Americans known as "Electric Six," who gave a great show on Friday (more on the bands later).

The atmosphere is very laid back with a diverse crowd. So diverse, in fact, that I befriended a Mexican-Swiss guy (mom is Mexican, dad is Swiss) and a Peruvian-Swiss girl (mom is Peruvian, dad is Swiss). I never thought I'd go out to a Swiss bar on a Friday night and spend the whole evening speaking Spanish!

The only downside of the evening is figuring out how to get home, since I imagine anything outside of Zürich City is quite the opposite of urban living and urban conveniences. Mariaberg is located several towns away from ours in Rorschach, St. Gallen. It's a quick drive by car, but tricky to manage with public transportation. We scratched our initial plan to take the S-Bahn train because it stopped running at midnight and I think Electric Six went on after eleven. On the other hand, the night buses run until around 2:30, but it's easy to lose track of time. Even though the bands stop playing, the party continues. With everyone drinking, the safest bet is a taxi.

P.S. What the heck is black vodka? Ordering a drink went a little something like this:

Me: Vodka Tonic, please.
Girl Behind Bar: (all in German) What kind? We have bla bla bla, Schwarz, bla bla, etc.
Me: (thinking "Schwarz" refers to a brand not a color and seems to be the only of my choices I could remember how to repeat) Schwarz, please.
What I got was a rather tasty, albeit black-colored, drink. Strange, but good.

The entrance

My dates having a beer before going inside.

Somehow, photos of me dancing always make it look like I am trying to sniff my armpit.

The stage and dance floor. Yep, that's it.