Sunday, August 19, 2007
The "family"
Here is a picture of me with our "host family" -- well, at least the family at the place where we stayed. Marianne, Jolanda and Sebastian. Bryan had already left so he didn't make the picture.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Canton Flags
During our stay in Switzerland, we visited 21 of the 26 cantons. Interestingly, each of the five we did not visit borders France.
The flags are all square, just like the Swiss flag should be. They are shown in the order visited (in columns), I think.
The ones we visited (21 cantons, #2-22):
1. Switzerland
2. Zurich
3. Aargau
4. Solothurn
5. Bern
6. St. Gallen
7. Glarus
8. Fribourg
9. Vaud
10. Appenzell Ausserrhoden
11. Appenzell Innerrhoden
12. Thurgau
13. Lucern
14. Nidwalden
15. Uri
16. Schwyz
17. Zug
18. Ticino
19. Graubunden
20. Valais
21. Obwalden
22. Schaffhausen
The ones we did not visit (5 cantons, #23-27):
23. Geneva
24. Neuchatel
25. Jura
26. Basel-Stadt
27. Basel-Landschaft
If you got this far, you may be a nerd like me (Darin!). I think there are some very good flags. My favorite changes from day to day, but more days that not, the Bern flag is number one. As I told Bryan, some days it even surpasses the Swiss flag, but the Swiss flag is consistently my favorite.
But there are also some terrible ones. My least favorite is Ticino. Today Neuchatel is rubbing me wrong as well. I don't want to list all the others I don't really like because I'd love to read some other opinions. Follow this link for a better look, and a map, if you like.
The flags are all square, just like the Swiss flag should be. They are shown in the order visited (in columns), I think.
The ones we visited (21 cantons, #2-22):
1. Switzerland
2. Zurich
3. Aargau
4. Solothurn
5. Bern
6. St. Gallen
7. Glarus
8. Fribourg
9. Vaud
10. Appenzell Ausserrhoden
11. Appenzell Innerrhoden
12. Thurgau
13. Lucern
14. Nidwalden
15. Uri
16. Schwyz
17. Zug
18. Ticino
19. Graubunden
20. Valais
21. Obwalden
22. Schaffhausen
The ones we did not visit (5 cantons, #23-27):
23. Geneva
24. Neuchatel
25. Jura
26. Basel-Stadt
27. Basel-Landschaft
If you got this far, you may be a nerd like me (Darin!). I think there are some very good flags. My favorite changes from day to day, but more days that not, the Bern flag is number one. As I told Bryan, some days it even surpasses the Swiss flag, but the Swiss flag is consistently my favorite.
But there are also some terrible ones. My least favorite is Ticino. Today Neuchatel is rubbing me wrong as well. I don't want to list all the others I don't really like because I'd love to read some other opinions. Follow this link for a better look, and a map, if you like.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Vrenelisgärtli
The Last Trip. This was a bookend trip.
I made arrangements to meet Marianne, my host-mom of sorts, and her husband Daniel in Schwanden on Saturday afternoon because they’d been hiking the previous week. I took the train there via the Zürich HB, where there was some crazy festival with people wearing crazy costumes (or not wearing much of a crazy costume, if you know what I mean). We met as planned and drove to the trailhead. They loaded me up with a bunch of gear that I would need and we set off about 6pm.
We hiked for about two hours and reached a saddle maybe 800 meters above our start. Usually this summer, I was the map holder and guide. This time, for most of the way, I had only a basic idea of where we were and where we were going. For this reason, I don’t really know how far we went. But once we got there, we spent the night at the Guppenalp. This was a summer farm house for the Senn. The Senn are more prestigious than farmers (that’s what I was told Grandpa, I didn’t say it!) because they are the ones responsible for the cows. This is a big job because they have to move the cows up the mountains in the summer; they do this because the valleys don’t have enough grass for the whole year. There are three grass “tiers” and this hut was on the third tier. Huts like this are called “alps” – so we stayed at an alp in the Alps. Here is a picture of the alp and the myth, the legend, the wonderful Marianne.
From the alp there was a beautiful view of the sunset. I’m afraid that this may have been the worst weekend for the pictures though. Later that night I woke up and walked outside to the outhouse. On my way back inside I was a bit cold but I had to stop in my tracks. The sky was crystal clear. My stuttering fingers cannot begin to describe how the stars overwhelmed me. The sky was blanketed with every star that was ever created. It was marvelous. This was just one time of many this summer that I have been blown away by the Creator.
The next morning we awoke before the sun. At breakfast I was served a saucer of fresh milk – like a cat – and enjoyed it. We set off at 5:45 because we had a big day ahead of us. On the way up we did a lot of “scrambling” which is somewhere in between hiking and rock climbing. There were a few difficult, steep spots where I was a little nervous.
Near the peak we got to a small snowfield. I put on the cramp-ons (spikes for my boots – yes I wore boots this weekend) and the harness. I was instructed how to use the ice axe. Then we uneventfully hiked up a snow trail. A bit closer to the summit we tied the rope between us and did something that more closely resembled climbing than scrambling.
Finally (maybe 10am) we reached the Vrenelisgärtli. The summit was 2900 meters, about 2200 above where we had started the afternoon before and 1400 or so above where we started that morning. The beauty of this peak is that we could see it for much of the summer. It is visible from our room on a clear day and it was visible on a number of our other hikes. We had lunch at the top and Marianne supplied me with some Pistachio nuts and yet another Schoci Stanli. Unfortunately, there were many clouds at the summit, but much of the day was clear, so I cannot complain.
Almost immediately after starting our descent down towards the glacier, I promptly slipped and cut my hand. Ugh. I never did feel comfortable in the rigid boots and had a hard time feeling the ground. But I was being a bit careless too. It was just a wide scratch but it bled for a while.
Not far from the top we reached the Glärnisch Glacier. We walked about 30 feet apart with the rope tight, in case one of us would fall into a crevice. I saw one or two crevices but this was thankfully an uneventful stroll through the snow field. After we walked about a mile we reached the end of the glacier. We sat down to remove the cramp-ons and heard the whirring of a helicopter. Dani got out his binoculars and we watched as a rescue crew was unloaded. Later we found out that a man, hiking alone, had fallen 30-40 meters. He was airlifted out to safety.
A little farther down the trail we arrived at the Glärnischhütte. In my mind I had been thinking of this moment for a few hours. This was my intermediate goal. I knew once I got to the hut, my feet would sing for joy because it was time to take off my boa constrictor boots and put on Icarus’ shoes. We took a much-needed extended break at the hut, because we had only taken a few short ones up to that point. Then we hiked down the valley.
I won’t describe the rest of the trip to the Klöntalersee because you’ve heard it before. What I mean to say is that we wrote about it on our first weekend hike. This weekend was a bookend trip because the first hike Bryan and I did was to go up this valley to the Glärnisch hut and then to the glacier. This time, thanks to my guides Daniel and Marianne, we reached the hut from the other side, after summiting the highest peak in the Glarnerland. I also had the opportunity to use the cramp-ons, ice axe, and rope for the first time. It was a fun trip.
As I sit overlooking Winterthur on this cool, peaceful evening, I realize that there will be a lot to miss about this place. But I am also looking forward to going home as well. I hope to do a little more summarizing yet this week, but we’ll see how that goes.
I made arrangements to meet Marianne, my host-mom of sorts, and her husband Daniel in Schwanden on Saturday afternoon because they’d been hiking the previous week. I took the train there via the Zürich HB, where there was some crazy festival with people wearing crazy costumes (or not wearing much of a crazy costume, if you know what I mean). We met as planned and drove to the trailhead. They loaded me up with a bunch of gear that I would need and we set off about 6pm.
We hiked for about two hours and reached a saddle maybe 800 meters above our start. Usually this summer, I was the map holder and guide. This time, for most of the way, I had only a basic idea of where we were and where we were going. For this reason, I don’t really know how far we went. But once we got there, we spent the night at the Guppenalp. This was a summer farm house for the Senn. The Senn are more prestigious than farmers (that’s what I was told Grandpa, I didn’t say it!) because they are the ones responsible for the cows. This is a big job because they have to move the cows up the mountains in the summer; they do this because the valleys don’t have enough grass for the whole year. There are three grass “tiers” and this hut was on the third tier. Huts like this are called “alps” – so we stayed at an alp in the Alps. Here is a picture of the alp and the myth, the legend, the wonderful Marianne.
From the alp there was a beautiful view of the sunset. I’m afraid that this may have been the worst weekend for the pictures though. Later that night I woke up and walked outside to the outhouse. On my way back inside I was a bit cold but I had to stop in my tracks. The sky was crystal clear. My stuttering fingers cannot begin to describe how the stars overwhelmed me. The sky was blanketed with every star that was ever created. It was marvelous. This was just one time of many this summer that I have been blown away by the Creator.
The next morning we awoke before the sun. At breakfast I was served a saucer of fresh milk – like a cat – and enjoyed it. We set off at 5:45 because we had a big day ahead of us. On the way up we did a lot of “scrambling” which is somewhere in between hiking and rock climbing. There were a few difficult, steep spots where I was a little nervous.
Near the peak we got to a small snowfield. I put on the cramp-ons (spikes for my boots – yes I wore boots this weekend) and the harness. I was instructed how to use the ice axe. Then we uneventfully hiked up a snow trail. A bit closer to the summit we tied the rope between us and did something that more closely resembled climbing than scrambling.
Finally (maybe 10am) we reached the Vrenelisgärtli. The summit was 2900 meters, about 2200 above where we had started the afternoon before and 1400 or so above where we started that morning. The beauty of this peak is that we could see it for much of the summer. It is visible from our room on a clear day and it was visible on a number of our other hikes. We had lunch at the top and Marianne supplied me with some Pistachio nuts and yet another Schoci Stanli. Unfortunately, there were many clouds at the summit, but much of the day was clear, so I cannot complain.
Almost immediately after starting our descent down towards the glacier, I promptly slipped and cut my hand. Ugh. I never did feel comfortable in the rigid boots and had a hard time feeling the ground. But I was being a bit careless too. It was just a wide scratch but it bled for a while.
Not far from the top we reached the Glärnisch Glacier. We walked about 30 feet apart with the rope tight, in case one of us would fall into a crevice. I saw one or two crevices but this was thankfully an uneventful stroll through the snow field. After we walked about a mile we reached the end of the glacier. We sat down to remove the cramp-ons and heard the whirring of a helicopter. Dani got out his binoculars and we watched as a rescue crew was unloaded. Later we found out that a man, hiking alone, had fallen 30-40 meters. He was airlifted out to safety.
A little farther down the trail we arrived at the Glärnischhütte. In my mind I had been thinking of this moment for a few hours. This was my intermediate goal. I knew once I got to the hut, my feet would sing for joy because it was time to take off my boa constrictor boots and put on Icarus’ shoes. We took a much-needed extended break at the hut, because we had only taken a few short ones up to that point. Then we hiked down the valley.
I won’t describe the rest of the trip to the Klöntalersee because you’ve heard it before. What I mean to say is that we wrote about it on our first weekend hike. This weekend was a bookend trip because the first hike Bryan and I did was to go up this valley to the Glärnisch hut and then to the glacier. This time, thanks to my guides Daniel and Marianne, we reached the hut from the other side, after summiting the highest peak in the Glarnerland. I also had the opportunity to use the cramp-ons, ice axe, and rope for the first time. It was a fun trip.
As I sit overlooking Winterthur on this cool, peaceful evening, I realize that there will be a lot to miss about this place. But I am also looking forward to going home as well. I hope to do a little more summarizing yet this week, but we’ll see how that goes.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Reflection
Today is already Tuesday, which means we are at least two days late posting our weekly weekend blog. The reason behind this is simply that we chose not to create an adventure this weekend, so there is nothing epic to write about. However, it would be a travesty to deprive our loyal readers of a passage to read, so I want to write something. And, since my remaining time in Switzerland is now being counted in hours rather than days, weeks, or months, I thought this would be a good opportunity to jot down some of my reflections on this summer.
Now that I sit down to write my reflections though, I seem to be at a loss. We travelled quite a bit, hiked on a fair share of mountains, and saw a fair share of nature. I lived with my brother for the first time in probably eight years, I worked full time from my apartment, and I read more than a handful of books. I did some common things and I had some new experiences. But still, I can not say that I feel any different or that there are any huge life lessons that I will take away from this place. Or maybe I should say, there are no huge life lessons that I can take away from this place right now. What I discovered after my trip to the Netherlands is that, after living there for a couple months, I simply became accustomed to most things, and it was not until I was home again that the things I learned an experienced began to manifest themselves in various ways. I hope things will be similar this time around.
I do know this, though. Living in a different country, experiencing different cultures and attitudes, seeing new sights, and all of the other wonderful things about travelling are great and I am truly thankful for the chance I had to live in Switzerland this summer. At the same time, coming home after a long trip is also an awesome experience. Even though my time in Switzerland has been awesome and I will miss this place dearly, I am still overjoyed to be counting my remaining time in hours rather than days, weeks, or months. I hope to see you really soon!
Now that I sit down to write my reflections though, I seem to be at a loss. We travelled quite a bit, hiked on a fair share of mountains, and saw a fair share of nature. I lived with my brother for the first time in probably eight years, I worked full time from my apartment, and I read more than a handful of books. I did some common things and I had some new experiences. But still, I can not say that I feel any different or that there are any huge life lessons that I will take away from this place. Or maybe I should say, there are no huge life lessons that I can take away from this place right now. What I discovered after my trip to the Netherlands is that, after living there for a couple months, I simply became accustomed to most things, and it was not until I was home again that the things I learned an experienced began to manifest themselves in various ways. I hope things will be similar this time around.
I do know this, though. Living in a different country, experiencing different cultures and attitudes, seeing new sights, and all of the other wonderful things about travelling are great and I am truly thankful for the chance I had to live in Switzerland this summer. At the same time, coming home after a long trip is also an awesome experience. Even though my time in Switzerland has been awesome and I will miss this place dearly, I am still overjoyed to be counting my remaining time in hours rather than days, weeks, or months. I hope to see you really soon!
Nüenchamm
Travis thought we should write at least a little something about our August 1 (Swiss National Day) trip last Wednesday.
All along we've been saying, "The pictures say it better than we can describe it," so this time I'm going to subscibe to that, which means this post basically serves as a link to the pictures.
All along we've been saying, "The pictures say it better than we can describe it," so this time I'm going to subscibe to that, which means this post basically serves as a link to the pictures.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Blüemlisalp
This week we made a return to Berner Oberland. We drove to Kandersteg and began from there. The first hour of our trek we passed about thirty members of Troop 101, as we called them. This was a disjointed group of kids, maybe 14 years old or so, evidently on a camping/hiking excursion. About an hour into our trek we reached the Oeschinensee. There was a restaurant/hotel there and this was, thankfully, also the final destination for the Troop. We continued along the path to get away from the crowd of kids, many of whom already had reached the lake. We walked on the north side of the lake from west to east and took in the magnificent view. The lake was fed by numerous waterfalls and had a stunning shear cliff making up its east bank.
After we climbed out of the valley we found that we were in another, but we could no longer see the lake. Here we could more clearly see one of the sources of the lake: the Blüemlisalp Glacier. The glacier had some loud waterfalls coming from its melting edges. A few spots were a wonderful blue color, but most was a dirty color because it is the middle of summer.
After a few more hours we reached the pass. We climbed a little farther and stopped to rest at the Blüemlisalphütte. Fortunately, we filled up our water at that restaurant because there was no potable water here (then we questioned the potabitality of the water at the restaurant too). We felt a little out of place at the hut. Let me explain. First, the high temperature for Kandersteg was supposed to be 23° C. The temperature drops about 1 degree per 100 meters of elevation change. The hut was 1600 meters above Kandersteg, making it about 7° C (~45° F) max. We (well, thanks to our fearless leader, me) foolishly did not bring any long sleeves or jackets and our hands were a little numb when we reached our goal. Everyone at the hut was wearing their waterproof, windproof hiking gear. We had hiked in cotton t-shirts and shorts. Second, we have noticed that if you hike, you have to wear 3 pound hiking boots, otherwise you can't walk over rocks. Bryan and I both feel much more comfortable and stable in our running shoes. But we did see a pair of tennis shoes on the rack where we got our indoor, hut footwear! They must have been packed along by one of those staying at the hut for the evening. We got a bowl of hot soup and a chocolate bar and warmed up slightly before our descent back to Kandersteg.
About 15 or 20 minutes from the hut, we were already down far enough to be warm again. To that point we had passed a number of other descenders. It was probably because they were bogged down in their hiking boots. (In fact, on the whole day, other than our rest breaks, only at the end when we were marveling at some cool tree carvings did we get passed by someone.)
This hike this week was a particularly big one. If you are familiar with the metric system you may have caught I mentioned the magnitude of our ascent: 1600 meters (if not the number didn't mean anything to you). Actually, it was 1660 meters. For those of you who aren't familiar, 1600 meters is 1 mile. If you're from South Dakota or Wisconsin on the Great Plains, every square foot of the plains is exactly 1100 feet. Well, Sioux Falls is about 1400 feet and Madison 900 feet. Denver, the Mile High City, is 5280 feet. The elevation change of our hike was more than the difference between the plains and the base of the Rockies. Because of this, I was a little surprised by the people that we saw in the hut, those who looked down at us foolish kids for wearing tennis shoes and t-shirts. There were a few people of retirement age. A number of others were, well, maybe I should just say that there weren't too many people in their 20s as I would have expected after such a climb. I guess that means we're not so special.
Today we have been paying the price for the hike because we have been hobbling around. But the trip was worth it because we feel a little sense of accomplishment after such a big hike. A better reason that it was worth it was because the lake and glacier were brilliant. Again, it's so hard to describe and it's even better than the pictures can show.
After we climbed out of the valley we found that we were in another, but we could no longer see the lake. Here we could more clearly see one of the sources of the lake: the Blüemlisalp Glacier. The glacier had some loud waterfalls coming from its melting edges. A few spots were a wonderful blue color, but most was a dirty color because it is the middle of summer.
After a few more hours we reached the pass. We climbed a little farther and stopped to rest at the Blüemlisalphütte. Fortunately, we filled up our water at that restaurant because there was no potable water here (then we questioned the potabitality of the water at the restaurant too). We felt a little out of place at the hut. Let me explain. First, the high temperature for Kandersteg was supposed to be 23° C. The temperature drops about 1 degree per 100 meters of elevation change. The hut was 1600 meters above Kandersteg, making it about 7° C (~45° F) max. We (well, thanks to our fearless leader, me) foolishly did not bring any long sleeves or jackets and our hands were a little numb when we reached our goal. Everyone at the hut was wearing their waterproof, windproof hiking gear. We had hiked in cotton t-shirts and shorts. Second, we have noticed that if you hike, you have to wear 3 pound hiking boots, otherwise you can't walk over rocks. Bryan and I both feel much more comfortable and stable in our running shoes. But we did see a pair of tennis shoes on the rack where we got our indoor, hut footwear! They must have been packed along by one of those staying at the hut for the evening. We got a bowl of hot soup and a chocolate bar and warmed up slightly before our descent back to Kandersteg.
About 15 or 20 minutes from the hut, we were already down far enough to be warm again. To that point we had passed a number of other descenders. It was probably because they were bogged down in their hiking boots. (In fact, on the whole day, other than our rest breaks, only at the end when we were marveling at some cool tree carvings did we get passed by someone.)
This hike this week was a particularly big one. If you are familiar with the metric system you may have caught I mentioned the magnitude of our ascent: 1600 meters (if not the number didn't mean anything to you). Actually, it was 1660 meters. For those of you who aren't familiar, 1600 meters is 1 mile. If you're from South Dakota or Wisconsin on the Great Plains, every square foot of the plains is exactly 1100 feet. Well, Sioux Falls is about 1400 feet and Madison 900 feet. Denver, the Mile High City, is 5280 feet. The elevation change of our hike was more than the difference between the plains and the base of the Rockies. Because of this, I was a little surprised by the people that we saw in the hut, those who looked down at us foolish kids for wearing tennis shoes and t-shirts. There were a few people of retirement age. A number of others were, well, maybe I should just say that there weren't too many people in their 20s as I would have expected after such a climb. I guess that means we're not so special.
Today we have been paying the price for the hike because we have been hobbling around. But the trip was worth it because we feel a little sense of accomplishment after such a big hike. A better reason that it was worth it was because the lake and glacier were brilliant. Again, it's so hard to describe and it's even better than the pictures can show.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Rheinfall
Bonus midweek blog!
A few times this summer Marianne has suggested we go to see the Rheinfall and I heard Mariana say that it was worth seeing. Finally, we decided that it was a good evening to go. Marianne and family went to Italy for a few weeks and left us the car again. We tried to find anyone else who wanted to ride along on the half hour drive to Neuhausen am Rheinfall, but nobody at our place wanted to go.
I had heard claims that the Rheinfall is the biggest waterfall in Europe. When I first heard that statement I wondered what it meant exactly. Tallest waterfall? Nah, Schmadrachfalle (from our last trip) was definitely taller. Most water? Widest? I'm not exactly sure, but I bet it means it is the waterfall with the most volume of water.
The waterfall, or series of falls, occurs at a bend of the Rhein River. The Rhein begins in Switzerland and makes up part of the border between Switzerland and Leichtenstein, Austria and Germany. Later the Rhein makes up about half of the border between Germany and France. Finally it flows through the Netherlands and into the North Sea. In the Netherlands it splits and one part becomes the IJssel [sic], which separates Zwolle and Hattem. These seemingly insignificant towns are where Bryan used to live and went to school, respectively, during his semester in the NED. But enough geography that few beside me really care about.
Back to the falls. I was not expecting them to be quite as big and I was quite impressed. After a little bit of research, we found that they are approximately half as tall with 10% of the volume as Niagara Falls. But I've never seen that and Bryan and I agreed that these were easily the biggest we've ever seen. To add to the experience, the evening was very calm and the peaceful warm weather contrasted nicely with the roaring falls. There was a time where we stared into the falls, mesmerized as if they were a fire.
There isn't really much to write about our quick trip to the falls. Sometimes I think maybe we should just post a link to the pictures instead of writing, because really, they tell the whole story.
A few times this summer Marianne has suggested we go to see the Rheinfall and I heard Mariana say that it was worth seeing. Finally, we decided that it was a good evening to go. Marianne and family went to Italy for a few weeks and left us the car again. We tried to find anyone else who wanted to ride along on the half hour drive to Neuhausen am Rheinfall, but nobody at our place wanted to go.
I had heard claims that the Rheinfall is the biggest waterfall in Europe. When I first heard that statement I wondered what it meant exactly. Tallest waterfall? Nah, Schmadrachfalle (from our last trip) was definitely taller. Most water? Widest? I'm not exactly sure, but I bet it means it is the waterfall with the most volume of water.
The waterfall, or series of falls, occurs at a bend of the Rhein River. The Rhein begins in Switzerland and makes up part of the border between Switzerland and Leichtenstein, Austria and Germany. Later the Rhein makes up about half of the border between Germany and France. Finally it flows through the Netherlands and into the North Sea. In the Netherlands it splits and one part becomes the IJssel [sic], which separates Zwolle and Hattem. These seemingly insignificant towns are where Bryan used to live and went to school, respectively, during his semester in the NED. But enough geography that few beside me really care about.
Back to the falls. I was not expecting them to be quite as big and I was quite impressed. After a little bit of research, we found that they are approximately half as tall with 10% of the volume as Niagara Falls. But I've never seen that and Bryan and I agreed that these were easily the biggest we've ever seen. To add to the experience, the evening was very calm and the peaceful warm weather contrasted nicely with the roaring falls. There was a time where we stared into the falls, mesmerized as if they were a fire.
There isn't really much to write about our quick trip to the falls. Sometimes I think maybe we should just post a link to the pictures instead of writing, because really, they tell the whole story.
Monday, July 23, 2007
this weekend's non-adventure
are you ready for this
we wrote you a rhyme
we’ll make this quick
it won’t take much time
we thought we should ‘splain
why we have nary a pic
why we didn’t go adventuring
or follow guidebook Rick
the forecast called
for clouds and some rain
so here in our room
we thought we should remain
the dark angry clouds
began their Saturday pour
the hall window was open
you shoulda seen the wet floor
someone forgot it
he wasn’t using his head
but he paid the price
with some saturated bread
we stayed in our room
and were quite content
watching the clouds
as projectiles were sent
thunder shook the house
and bright lightning flashed
by then our hopes for a hike
had long since been dashed
we might have been fine
on Sunday afternoon
but after the rain
we felt it was too soon
one weekend at home
is considered a rest
but if there are no more
that would be best
t&b
we wrote you a rhyme
we’ll make this quick
it won’t take much time
we thought we should ‘splain
why we have nary a pic
why we didn’t go adventuring
or follow guidebook Rick
the forecast called
for clouds and some rain
so here in our room
we thought we should remain
the dark angry clouds
began their Saturday pour
the hall window was open
you shoulda seen the wet floor
someone forgot it
he wasn’t using his head
but he paid the price
with some saturated bread
we stayed in our room
and were quite content
watching the clouds
as projectiles were sent
thunder shook the house
and bright lightning flashed
by then our hopes for a hike
had long since been dashed
we might have been fine
on Sunday afternoon
but after the rain
we felt it was too soon
one weekend at home
is considered a rest
but if there are no more
that would be best
t&b
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Schmadribachfall
"That's a nice picture." Yep, that's what I just heard while Travis was uploading the pictures today. And once again, this week the story is in the pictures. Go ahead, go and look at them right now if you'd like, I won't be offended. The blog will still be here when you return.
We went hiking again this weekend. This time, we went to central Switzerland to a place a little south of Interlaken, which we wrote about last week. Travis' boss Robert was taking his three-year-old son to Interlaken and so we hitched a ride with him, and Rick Steves (the author of our Switzerland guide book) tipped us off about a hike from a little non-touristy town named Gimmewald. We had to take a lift up to Gimmewald, and it did seem like a fairly down to earth little village; at least all of the houses were made of unpainted wood.
The first stretch of our hike was difficult. We walked up what seemed to be a 45 degree incline for about an hour, and to make matters worse there was very little of a view to make us feel better about our sweat-drenched shirts and complaining lungs. But after that first hour, we realized it was worth it. Well, more accurately, after we passed the bulls that were guarding the path, standing right on our path looking straight at us, and demanding that we answer them these questions three (I got one wrong and Travis rescued me from the Gorge of Eternal Peril, but that's a different story for a different time), we were allowed to pass and we realized it was worth it. And here's why: we reached a high point called Tanzebödeli where we could see out over the fertile valley with its quaint mountain villages and across the valley to three looming white-peaked mountans and two lively water falls, and it was breathtaking. Well, it would have been if the difficult climb hadn't already taken my breath.
Our trip down the other side of the mountain was much easier and we had a good view of Schmadribachfall nearly the entire way down. That's the big waterfall in the pictures. And that was our first trip to the Berner Oberland. We fully plan on going again soon, and you can be sure that when we do, we'll take even more pictures.
We went hiking again this weekend. This time, we went to central Switzerland to a place a little south of Interlaken, which we wrote about last week. Travis' boss Robert was taking his three-year-old son to Interlaken and so we hitched a ride with him, and Rick Steves (the author of our Switzerland guide book) tipped us off about a hike from a little non-touristy town named Gimmewald. We had to take a lift up to Gimmewald, and it did seem like a fairly down to earth little village; at least all of the houses were made of unpainted wood.
The first stretch of our hike was difficult. We walked up what seemed to be a 45 degree incline for about an hour, and to make matters worse there was very little of a view to make us feel better about our sweat-drenched shirts and complaining lungs. But after that first hour, we realized it was worth it. Well, more accurately, after we passed the bulls that were guarding the path, standing right on our path looking straight at us, and demanding that we answer them these questions three (I got one wrong and Travis rescued me from the Gorge of Eternal Peril, but that's a different story for a different time), we were allowed to pass and we realized it was worth it. And here's why: we reached a high point called Tanzebödeli where we could see out over the fertile valley with its quaint mountain villages and across the valley to three looming white-peaked mountans and two lively water falls, and it was breathtaking. Well, it would have been if the difficult climb hadn't already taken my breath.
Our trip down the other side of the mountain was much easier and we had a good view of Schmadribachfall nearly the entire way down. That's the big waterfall in the pictures. And that was our first trip to the Berner Oberland. We fully plan on going again soon, and you can be sure that when we do, we'll take even more pictures.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Fast-Forward Sightseeing
What a tour book writer could see in a week, Travis and I did in one whirl-wind tour of a day. In other words, if a normal trip through Switzerland is a movie played at normal speed; Travis' and my Saturday was the same movie in fast forward. Basically what I'm getting at is that we mananged to visit three of Switzerland's top attractions in one day: Zermatt, Interlaken, and Zurich.
Tracking the Zermatt weather for the past week, we were convinced that the weather would be pristene on our trip to see the famous Matterhorn. We had heard, and Travis had experienced, that often the weather around the Matterhorn is foggy and hazy and there is not really a good view of the mountain; however, while we sat and stared at the mountain, there was not even one cloud in the bright blue sky. I think the pictures are the best way for you to vicariously experience the mountain jutting straight up. After spending about two hours in Zermatt, we jumped on the train and headed back down the mountain toward a town called Interlaken.
Interlaken means "between lakes," so we made a point to see one. But Interlaken is also a very touristy area, so we made a point to browse a few souveneir shops on the way. After walking on the main shopping street for a kilometer or two, we veered off the main road and found the Aare River which connects the Thunersee and Brienzersee (the two lakes) and followed it to Brienzersee. We soaked in the scenery—the huge blue lake with a bunch of mountains in the background framed by the big blue sky—from a small dock. Actually, just go and look at the pictures for this one, too.
Zurich, although it was not on the original itinerary, has a great place to buy Doner Kabobs in the train station, so, since we were hungry and since Zurich is almost always on our way back to Winterthur, we decided to grab some of the seasoned lamb. Upon arriving in Zurich, Travis remembered someone telling us earlier that week that it was Zuri-fest, a huge festival. Since it was only 8:00pm, we decided to see what all of the hubbub was about. A few other people also decided to see what it was about, and pretty soon we were in the middle of a huge crowd and could barely move. There was some music, but none that really appealed to either one of us—it was much more fun just to dodge in and out of diverse mob of people present as quickly as possible than to listen to the techno that was blaring on the side streets or the German music on the main stage.
Eventually, we navigated the singing and dancing crowds back to the train station. But the day ended as the rest had gone, in fast forward. We made use of our people-dodging, through-crowd-weaving practice by sprinting through half of Switzerland's busiest train station to catch our Inter-City back to home-sweet-home Winterthur. On the train back we refelected on our wild day—we awoke before dawn, spent a total of 11 hours on trains (luckily we purchased day cards and got more than our money's worth out of them) and saw several of the major Switzerland tourist attractions. The sights made all the travel well worth it, and frankly, we wouldn't have it any other way.
Tracking the Zermatt weather for the past week, we were convinced that the weather would be pristene on our trip to see the famous Matterhorn. We had heard, and Travis had experienced, that often the weather around the Matterhorn is foggy and hazy and there is not really a good view of the mountain; however, while we sat and stared at the mountain, there was not even one cloud in the bright blue sky. I think the pictures are the best way for you to vicariously experience the mountain jutting straight up. After spending about two hours in Zermatt, we jumped on the train and headed back down the mountain toward a town called Interlaken.
Interlaken means "between lakes," so we made a point to see one. But Interlaken is also a very touristy area, so we made a point to browse a few souveneir shops on the way. After walking on the main shopping street for a kilometer or two, we veered off the main road and found the Aare River which connects the Thunersee and Brienzersee (the two lakes) and followed it to Brienzersee. We soaked in the scenery—the huge blue lake with a bunch of mountains in the background framed by the big blue sky—from a small dock. Actually, just go and look at the pictures for this one, too.
Zurich, although it was not on the original itinerary, has a great place to buy Doner Kabobs in the train station, so, since we were hungry and since Zurich is almost always on our way back to Winterthur, we decided to grab some of the seasoned lamb. Upon arriving in Zurich, Travis remembered someone telling us earlier that week that it was Zuri-fest, a huge festival. Since it was only 8:00pm, we decided to see what all of the hubbub was about. A few other people also decided to see what it was about, and pretty soon we were in the middle of a huge crowd and could barely move. There was some music, but none that really appealed to either one of us—it was much more fun just to dodge in and out of diverse mob of people present as quickly as possible than to listen to the techno that was blaring on the side streets or the German music on the main stage.
Eventually, we navigated the singing and dancing crowds back to the train station. But the day ended as the rest had gone, in fast forward. We made use of our people-dodging, through-crowd-weaving practice by sprinting through half of Switzerland's busiest train station to catch our Inter-City back to home-sweet-home Winterthur. On the train back we refelected on our wild day—we awoke before dawn, spent a total of 11 hours on trains (luckily we purchased day cards and got more than our money's worth out of them) and saw several of the major Switzerland tourist attractions. The sights made all the travel well worth it, and frankly, we wouldn't have it any other way.
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