DAY 1. HEADING TO ROME.
We were traveling with 50L backpacks. If it didn't fit... we couldn't take it. We packed about 5 outfits for the entire 18 day trip. We bought "quick dry" type clothing that we could wash and hang dry in the hotel rooms.
We found our driver, holding a sign with our name on it. He was courteous and fashionable... and extremely quick! we had a hard time keeping up with his fast stride. Even though our bodies felt like it was 3 in the morning, we were energized by excitement. I'm glad that we had the whirlwind tour. Some of our better pictures at the Trevi fountain were thanks to this early morning tour.
We hired private tour guides for 3 full days in Italy. The first day with our tour guide we spend most of the time looking at ruins. We both really enjoyed the Colosseum. The benefit of the private tour guide is a wealth of information on the history and use of all that we were seeing. We went from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. I think what was most intriguing to me was knowing I was in the place and buildings that stood at the time of Christ. I walked to same road that Paul and Peter walked in Rome. That's amazing.
My prayer was that of gratitude. Humility. Submission. As well as petition for Vanessa's health and a family. I reflected that a few years ago, I couldn't even imagine that Vanessa's health would resume to a point where doing a trip like this was even contemplated. God's goodness felt palpable. I also reflected on the anxiety I experienced prior to departure for this trip which was a result of my lack of faith in God the good father and provider. Tears began to make their way down my cheeks. I don't want to doubt God ever again. He has provided at every turn. I also felt this trip was almost a gateway into the next phase of our lives. Just the thought of becoming a father and the uncertainties of life and the knowledge that I am to simply trust God with it all felt big and scary. But I knew that I don't want to live a life full of anxiousness and fear... nor do I want to avoid the risk of really living life and embracing all that it has to offer. I could wall myself away from all risk... But if I avoided all risk... I wouldn't experience the fullness of the life that God has for me. I must submit to God and go where he leads. I want to take steps forward in life, trusting that God will provide, no matter what uncertainties I fear... no matter what trials may come.
Pompeii was sobering. To see a town we know was almost instantly incinerated and covered with ash. Thousands losing their lives. But I also found it quite amazing and enlightening. Where many of the Roman ruins were quite destroyed. Much of Pompeii was intact. And there were no modern things in sight. I could more easily imagine ancient peoples walking around conducting business and living their lives here.
We had a short stay in Positano. This is a coastal resort town on the Amalfi coast. As we ate our lunch seaside in near perfect weather we felt deep gratitude for God's blessing in our lives to bring us to this point. It almost didn't feel real to us. Like we were in a dream. A very very good dream.
We arrived in Riomaggiore and while it was beautiful. It was still quite crowded and cramped feeling, complete with a fair amount of body odor and cigarette smoke. That's unfortunate. Leandro, a local who was to guide us to our room and introduce us to the area met us via facial recognition based on the photo we had emailed him. He guided us through narrow hallways and tunnels to a little staircase and up to our room. It was very clean and had modern plumbing etc. It wasn't fancy but it was quite adequate. No real view of which to speak. I decided if I ever go back, I would splurge for an ocean view. The street leads to a beautiful view, but not a beautiful view unshared.
We found some great food that night. Lobster gnocchi. and a view of the little harbor, cobble stone streets, sunset, and little wooden colorful boats. It was fantastic. After eating we walked a bit around the waters edge on a series of paths and staircases. It felt a little bit like a dream, just couldn't believe the wonderful pictures that we had seen on the internet that enticed us to come... were now wide open real life vistas before our eyes.
DAY 7. Hiking the Cinque Terre
The afternoon included a glass of vino bianco on a cliffside cafe hanging precariously over the Mediterranean. I remember thinking this killer view was even more amazing as you didn't have to fight crowds, and the wine was made on the hill right behind us!
DAY 8.
We strolled around Manarola, it was very beautiful. But more of the same. Some local touristy knick-knack shops, cafes and amazing views. We snapped a few great pics and headed back Rio to pack up.
Overall, the old hotel was really quite charming. Though, it needed some new carpeting to make it look fresh again, it was quite clean. And the breakfast was more than adequate and the staff was extremely helpful. I wouldn't mind staying there in the future.
It was time to fly out for Rome. I had a mix of excitement and anxiety. Though through much prayer and truthful thinking my anxiousness was diminishing. The planning of this trip had been going on for so long, that it made the actual event seem almost unreal. "Is this really happening?"
The nearly nine hour flight to Rome went by surprisingly easily. I watched a few inflight movies. Stayed surprisingly comfortable. Though I had hopes of sleeping, I didn't. Deespite the inflatable neck pillow that I purchased on Amazon. I had purchased an inflatable neck pillow so I didn't have to carry around a big bulk as we packed minimally.
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| This is Vanessa's total luggage for the entire 18 day trip! So proud of my wife!! |
One of the fears of traveling abroad is negotiating the language barrier. Every step that involved this... felt stressful. Yet I hadn't even arrived. One of my safety net plans was that instead of hiring a cab, I hired a VIP airport transfer service that not only had an english speaking driver, but would give us a highlight tour with brief stops at key sights all while traveling in his comfortable Mercedes Benz. This service also helped me live out a little dream of arriving at the airport and having a driver in suit and tie holding a sign with my name on it. You see it in the movies all the time, but I rarely have seen it in real life.
We landed. We waited through a long line at customs. We noticed that one side was moving quickly, we duck into the other line. We had our passports out and ready... but as we approached a very indifferent man with a flat affect raised his hand and waved us through. He appeared as though this was his last day of work after being fired... and he just didn't care anymore.
We found our driver, holding a sign with our name on it. He was courteous and fashionable... and extremely quick! we had a hard time keeping up with his fast stride. Even though our bodies felt like it was 3 in the morning, we were energized by excitement. I'm glad that we had the whirlwind tour. Some of our better pictures at the Trevi fountain were thanks to this early morning tour.
We arrived at our hotel, expecting the usual 3 am checkin time to come to us like Christmas to a 6 year old child... but to our surprise they let us to our room by 10 am. Thank goodness... because we were tired.
Our room was near the Piazza de Popolo so for lunch we ventured to a restaurant facing the piazza. This was going to be our first real test of negotiating the language barrier. I had noticed a few people approach the outdoor seating and finding their own seat. So, I followed suit. Eventually a waitress provided us with menus.
We ordered with english words and a few points at the menu. We ate... it wasn't very good. Pizza was tremendously disappointing. Van likened it to cheap frozen pizza. After, I asked for the check. "Il conto, prego." and... it worked! They understood what I said! I realized I hadn't googled what to do about tip... So I tipped as though I was in America. Turns out... that was way too much.
DAY 2-3. TOURING ROME.
Our first day to wake up in Rome started at 1:30 in the morning! Our bodies and minds were still running on Central Standard Time. So, when you awake at 1:30 in the morning... what do we do? Walking around outside didn't sound good. So... we raided the mini-bar! Champagne and wafer cookies! We felt giddy as we threw caution to the wind and said "Who cares how much it costs! We're on vacation!" We really had a lovely time curled up in bed, toasting different things with our champagne glasses and eating wafer cookies. It turned out to be a very powerful time of emotional intimacy. Even in the excitement that the sight seeing brought us later that day, we remembered the feelings during our mini-bar raids very fondly. During all of the sight seeing, our attention was focused outward. Whereas during our raids, our attention was focused on one another. These raids continued the next three days as well.
The Vatican City was also really impressive. The Sistine Chapel is interesting. You see all the grand paintings and they are quite amazing. But the room itself is pretty plain. No ornate details in the actual structure. The room was larger than I had expected as so many people had told me how small it was. I much preferred the St Peter's Basilica to the Sistine Chapel. I believe the goal of the architecture was to draw your eyes and thoughts upwards away from one's self in the basilicas. Their goal was achieved. There was a side chapel that was in St Peter's that they were not letting tourist go into to reserve it for prayer. I wanted to see it. I also wanted to pray there, as arriving in Rome felt like the accomplishment of God's leading in my life.
My prayer was that of gratitude. Humility. Submission. As well as petition for Vanessa's health and a family. I reflected that a few years ago, I couldn't even imagine that Vanessa's health would resume to a point where doing a trip like this was even contemplated. God's goodness felt palpable. I also reflected on the anxiety I experienced prior to departure for this trip which was a result of my lack of faith in God the good father and provider. Tears began to make their way down my cheeks. I don't want to doubt God ever again. He has provided at every turn. I also felt this trip was almost a gateway into the next phase of our lives. Just the thought of becoming a father and the uncertainties of life and the knowledge that I am to simply trust God with it all felt big and scary. But I knew that I don't want to live a life full of anxiousness and fear... nor do I want to avoid the risk of really living life and embracing all that it has to offer. I could wall myself away from all risk... But if I avoided all risk... I wouldn't experience the fullness of the life that God has for me. I must submit to God and go where he leads. I want to take steps forward in life, trusting that God will provide, no matter what uncertainties I fear... no matter what trials may come.
DAY 4. POMPEII
We boarded the white Mercedes van to head to Pompeii and Positano. Constantino, our driver, entertained us with many stories about driving famous people over his years as a chauffeur. He drove the likes of Ben Afleck, Leonardo di Caprio, and some different rulers from the middle east. He told us about driving 150 mph in a Ferrari. He also told us about his daughter. He's a big teddy bear of a guy. Quite funny too.
The technology of Pompeii was also interesting. I never would have guess them to have hot and cold water piped in to their buildings. Yet several buildings were complete with these. They had a sauna, swimming pool, Laundromat, fast food restaurant. I also found it very peculiar that they used urine (both imported camel urine and human) to do the laundry.
Day 5.
Day five was reserved as a "free day" to do anything we felt like doing. Including taking it really easy and relaxing if needed. We walked to a modern art museum and look around there. We went to lunch at a great vegetarian restaurant. We really were needing a break from pizza and pasta. Our friends parents had gone to Italy and basically said, "you go for the sights, not the food." I think we are just spoiled in America. Not that every where you go in America is amazing food... but Americans are so into food, if you want to find amazing food, you can... and we do. Going to Laguna Beach CA several times a year has really proven to spoil us when it comes to food.
We were also growing tired of the lack of ease we enjoy in America. At home, free of language and cultural barriers, going to a restaurant is easy and relaxing. Doing this abroad can almost seem taxing and difficult. It just means more brain power has to be devoted into paying attention to what is going on... how to order, how to get their attention to say, "il conto, prego."
On this free day we also walked to a coffee shop. It was supposed to be Rome's best coffee. At least this is what our driver told us, and this was backed up by Yelp.com. Turns out, it was the best coffee we had in Rome. But it was not an enjoyable experience. It felt tiny and dirty as it was completely overrun by smelly locals. There is A LOT of body odor in Rome. If that wasn't enough... there is A LOT of smoke too. We took our coffee outside and sat at a table. Then an employee came out and told me I didn't pay to sit outside so I'd have to come inside. ???? WHAT??! The Americano was good, but not amazing... but still far and away better than my coffee experience so far.
Our next attempt to relieve ourselves of italian food burn out was at dinner. We found a German restaurant. We retired to bed fairly early as we were still trying to adjust.
This seems an appropriate time to mention, that traveling with only a moderate sized backpack meant we were doing laundry in the room. We had bought a fair amount of quick drying clothing articles so we could simply wring it out and hang it up. I was really enjoying this method, I felt self-sufficient and clever. I felt inspired to live more minimally at home. Why do I need 30 shirts?! Let's simplify life. Make it more about the experiences and relationships. Less about the material things. It led me to ponder why and how we as Americans get so caught up in the material pursuits. Why do we care so much about impressing others with our clothes, cars, and homes? While on this trip, all I cared about was whether or not my clothes kept me covered and comfortable and if my shoes were keeping my feet happy.
By this fifth day, I felt quite ready to move on. The tightness of the streets. The closeness of strangers. The craziness of the drivers, the smells of body odor and smoke. All these things... these things made me long to experience a slower way of life. Open air. Nature and relaxation. I had high hopes for the Cinque Terre.
DAY 6. The Cinque Terre
The journey to Riomaggiore included learning how to use the italian train lines. There was a delay on one of our trains... I thought. Nothing like an abbreviation in a foreign language. You can't look it up like a full word. So, I found the most hospitable appearing local and said, "Parla Inglese?" and... it worked! She understood me and spoke broken english back. We got it figured out. Our train was delayed as I suspected. I felt sort of accomplished having navigated the language barrier successfully.
We arrived in Riomaggiore and while it was beautiful. It was still quite crowded and cramped feeling, complete with a fair amount of body odor and cigarette smoke. That's unfortunate. Leandro, a local who was to guide us to our room and introduce us to the area met us via facial recognition based on the photo we had emailed him. He guided us through narrow hallways and tunnels to a little staircase and up to our room. It was very clean and had modern plumbing etc. It wasn't fancy but it was quite adequate. No real view of which to speak. I decided if I ever go back, I would splurge for an ocean view. The street leads to a beautiful view, but not a beautiful view unshared. We found some great food that night. Lobster gnocchi. and a view of the little harbor, cobble stone streets, sunset, and little wooden colorful boats. It was fantastic. After eating we walked a bit around the waters edge on a series of paths and staircases. It felt a little bit like a dream, just couldn't believe the wonderful pictures that we had seen on the internet that enticed us to come... were now wide open real life vistas before our eyes.DAY 7. Hiking the Cinque Terre
Though the Cinque Terre is coastal, it was still fairly warm. Getting up to the mid 80's. So, knowing Vanessa really doesn't like to get hot, we started our hike at 7:30 or so in the morning. We took a train from Riomaggiore, the southern most hamlet, to Monterosso, the northern most. We hiked a short two miles, but it felt like a long two. There were a lot of stairs! Starting at sea level and rising high above the sea looking down on little sail boats and back down to Vernazza.
The trail cut through terraced vineyards, olive groves, and unspoiled natural countryside. The stone walls of the terraces were built by hand some 600 years ago. The narrow path is how people used to travel between towns for hundreds of years.
The trail cut through terraced vineyards, olive groves, and unspoiled natural countryside. The stone walls of the terraces were built by hand some 600 years ago. The narrow path is how people used to travel between towns for hundreds of years.
Just when you're getting tired, you go around a turn and down below you see the town of Vernazza jutting out into the sea. It was like a reward for your hard work. Some of the hard work included dodging bees. Vanessa really doesn't like them and is afraid of getting stung. I believe they don't want to sting me, and they sting when they feel threatened. So, if you move slow around them, there won't be any problem. But unfortunately Vanessa didn't see a bee floating around a little cluster of wild flowers right next to the path, so when she walked by and brushed the plants... she got stung. She's okay though. No anaphylaxis. We continued on. Upon reaching Vernazza we found a little breakfast and coffee and a view of the beautiful harbor. I think Vernazza is one of the more photogenic of the towns.
The afternoon included a glass of vino bianco on a cliffside cafe hanging precariously over the Mediterranean. I remember thinking this killer view was even more amazing as you didn't have to fight crowds, and the wine was made on the hill right behind us!
DAY 8.
Half a day in the Cinque Terre. What to do? We took a train to Manarola and Corniglia the remaining two towns we hadn't really spent any time in. Corniglia was perched up atop a tall bluff above the ocean, but lacked great views. It seemed an isolated community. Fewer travelers. Very quiet. A few cafe's in the middle of town. A very hungry dog that Vanessa desperately wanted to feed, but feared feeding him at the table as we were sure the cafe owners wouldn't appreciate us training a dog to beg from all their customers. There wasn't much for us there.
We crossed the train track one last time to have a glass of vino bianco on the cliffside cafe before heading to Milan for the night en route to Swtizerland.
Milan really surprised us. I guess we were expecting other major cities in Italy to feel like Rome. But it didn't. It felt more modern, clean, friendly, orderly, and hospitable. We had read somethings on TripAdvisor about the neighborhood around their central station and our hotel. It sounded like we probably shouldn't be out after dark. However when walking to find dinner we were surprised at how nice it looked and felt. Nice cars. Nicely dressed young women walking unaccompanied and not looking as though they were fearful. This appeared very normal. Honestly, it was a refreshing change. And... I was shocked when I was standing at the curb at an intersection and the car stopped for me to cross. That NEVER happened in Rome. In Rome, they practically accelerated to hit pedestrians. Crazy.
We weren't too picky trying to find a restaurant. We simply walked by one that looked nice enough so we went in. After we had ordered, Vanessa saw, much to her amazement, two microwaves on the counter! We watch "Kitchen Nightmares" occasionally and Gordon Ramsay bad mouths, appropriately, the use of microwaves at a restaurant. We pay money to have food made freshly for us... not reheated. So, seeing Vanessa's pasta dinner being microwaved right in front of us... IN ITALY... was just hilariously ridiculous! George Pearson was right... you go for the sights. Not the food. I'm sure there's amazing food to be found, but its not everywhere. On average, the U.S. wins the prize for food.
DAY 9.
Arriving in Lauterbrunnen was like stepping out of a ordinary life into a tranquil dream. The town truly seems like a dream, or painting, or a storybook come to life. Just unreal beauty, tranquility, and a quaintness that feels like a big warm blanket wrapped around your soul. Any possible bad day would be wiped away by this idyllic town. The green is greener. The cliffs and waterfall taller. The mountains are so beautiful, it makes the Colorado Rockies look like gravel piles. I no longer needed anything to do... All I needed was to sit and gaze upon nature's beauty. Vanessa and I felt we had arrived to the real vacation!
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
We ate lunch and headed to the hotel to get checked in. To my surprise, their cumbersome online reservation system had tricked me into reserving "the attic room"... It had very low ceilings. It made me feel like I was visiting an old farm house... and the lack of A/C and Vanessa's reluctance to leave the windows open for bees to fly in (flower right outside the window) left us sweltering in the heat. This was my mistake. I should have paid more attention to the fine print! I half expected Vanessa to react with a great deal of complaints, but she was extremely gracious. She knew it was a simple mistake on my part, and she made the best out of it. She didn't even let the one bathroom shared by four rooms bother her! I was so proud and thankful for her amazing attitude towards it!
The first night there was so hot! It must have been mid-80's in the room. I slept with a wet bath towel as my blanket. That made a huge difference! It provided complete escape from heat. After that first night, we had two more to go in these conditions. Vanessa suggested we call the next hotel to see if they could accommodate us early. They were able to get us in one day early, thank you God. We knew we would lose our 125 SF for Hotel Staubbach's third night reservation, but when you take a $13,000 vacation... what's another 125 Francs?
The shared bathroom ended up not being too big of a deal. There was one moment when it was awkward for me though. I was walking to our room and an older lady came out of the bathroom in nothing but her towel. I thought the least awkward thing I could do was to pretend I didn't see her because I was so focused in getting to our room. All was going as planned until she said, "hello." Great... now I had to acknowledge her but pretend like it wasn't weird to see her in her towel. Thanks lady.
Overall, the old hotel was really quite charming. Though, it needed some new carpeting to make it look fresh again, it was quite clean. And the breakfast was more than adequate and the staff was extremely helpful. I wouldn't mind staying there in the future.
Day 10-11
We continued to enjoy Lauterbrunnen and the amazing beauty. You really didn't need much to do to be happy. We walked to the Trummelbach waterfall that had carved itself through the rocky cliff of the mountain. The clever Swiss had engineered a lift car that tunneled up into the mountain to the top of the waterfall which was basically in such a deep crevasse that it was more or less a cave. There were a series of stairs that lead even higher up into the cool damp cave with very intimate proximity to the waterfall. It was amazingly loud. You could just sense the power. And it smelled of pre-rain ozone. It was very worth the admission cost and long walk. But hey, the long walk through the valley farms and adjacent glacial water river was reward enough.
Walking to the Trummelbach Fall.
Day 12-16
We traveled up 1200 feet in altitude and then took a train (in photo below) 3 miles from a lauterbrunnen to the idyllic town of Murren.
(Above: The town of Murren as seen from above. On the far side of the buildings is the 1200 foot cliff.)
(Towards the center of the photo above, on top of the rocky cliff, is Murren. Now look in the extreme bottom right corner. Those little dots are the buildings in the town of Lauterbrunnen.)
Murren is Amaing. As you walk down the main road, you notice there are no cars! I think we saw one automobile a day. Usually a service type vehicle or construction vehicle. The main road is literally a hundred feet from the sheer 1200 foot drop off. Just about half a mile across from this drop off was an identical cliff and shooting almost verticle from the rocky faced cliff was mountain. Initially mix of grass rock and trees. Gradually the trees become sparse and the grass is replaced by ice and snow. These mountains almost from a bowl around Murren. I would like to say pictures could represent this to the viewer... But they cannot. The photos still look amazing. But they are a fraction of the awe inspiring real life view.
(Above: The town of Murren as seen from above. On the far side of the buildings is the 1200 foot cliff.)
(Towards the center of the photo above, on top of the rocky cliff, is Murren. Now look in the extreme bottom right corner. Those little dots are the buildings in the town of Lauterbrunnen.)
Murren is Amaing. As you walk down the main road, you notice there are no cars! I think we saw one automobile a day. Usually a service type vehicle or construction vehicle. The main road is literally a hundred feet from the sheer 1200 foot drop off. Just about half a mile across from this drop off was an identical cliff and shooting almost verticle from the rocky faced cliff was mountain. Initially mix of grass rock and trees. Gradually the trees become sparse and the grass is replaced by ice and snow. These mountains almost from a bowl around Murren. I would like to say pictures could represent this to the viewer... But they cannot. The photos still look amazing. But they are a fraction of the awe inspiring real life view.
The View from the edge of the main street in Murren.
Once inside Hotel Eidelweiss we were relieved. Super clean new and luxurious! And the mountain facing wall was floor to ceiling glass. You stand in the room and you cannot see the valley floor or the mountain tops. You have to go out on the balcony and look about 60° down angle to see the valley floor complete with toy appearing houses below. Then from the horizontal position you must lift your head about 30° to visualize the summit. The balcony comes so close to the cliff. A few times I was on the balcony and I got to call out to Vanessa, "hey come look at this paraglider BELOW our room!"
(Below are several views from the balcony of our room. Click any photo to enlarge)
Another aspect that we really enjoyed about these quaint towns were that the only presence of a large corporate owned business was the grocery store. The restaurants, hotels, shops were all owned by local families. The first night at Hotel Eidelweiss we ate at their restaurant. I noted a family celebrating a birthday of a youngster at a large table at the end of the restaurant. This family ended up being the family that owned and operated the hotel. They had dinner in the corner of the restaurant every night. Many a night the kids were doing their home work at that table as well. By morning, the husband and father of the family would make us our breakfast and would talk with a nice German accent and laugh a lot. Everything about him, his appearance, jovial laugh, and accent all reminded me of a German doctor I was in residency with.
We spent our days in Murren hiking. We hiked as far as we comfortably could, knowing our legs needed to last for 5 more days. The hikes were beyond amazing. I wish I could hike forever. Even though you may see the same mountains, the clouds and light moved so fast that the scene was completely different every 5 minutes. The clouds would literally come up from the valley 1200 feet below and move at a visually rapid pace. The sunlight was silver. Clouds and fog. Glow. Shimmer. Silver mountain majesty!
Our favorite trail was the North Face trail. It was also our first coming out of Murren. We made friends with a lady a few years older than I and the three of us hiked for hours. She was a pediatric anesthesiologist from Denver. One thing we really enjoyed about the trip was the quick connection between travelers. Especially with finding fellow Americans, but we also had some great conversations in the hotel lobby with a retired English couple.
On the North Face trail, and most trails, you are going through one farm, then another. You simply open and close the gate behind you. Simple latches keep the cows where they belong. Along this trail there was a house. It appeared to be a dairy farm who makes cheese. They also have a restaurant out of their kitchen. There were no other ways to get to this restaurant other than a 2 mile hike. Of course I had dreams of retiring to such a location and setting up a coffee shop.
It was cool in Murren. Mainly stayed in the 50's. Down to the 40's in the morning, and a few times it peaked to the mid 60's. So, when it rained, which was often, it felt down right cold! We had to wear layers. I was REALLY happy I bought a really nice rain jacket. Anyways, we weren't going to let a little rain stop us! We planned to walk down to Gimmewald for some hot coffee at Pension Gimmewald. We were walking through the foggy streets of Murren and heard a hundred ringing bells. These bell sounds were quite different than the cow bells we were used to hearing. My interest was really piqued. What was I going to see around the corner?! Well… I've never seen this before. May never see it again. We saw a shepherd herding his sheep through the streets of Murren on his way to some other pasture. This place is almost like traveling back in time. Gimmewald is supposed to be one of the poorest towns in Switzerland. This may be, but they may be the richest in beauty.
We hiked most of the main areas around Murren. So, it was time to explore the opposite side of the valley. The first real exploration this direction that wasn't completely hindered by rain was a trip to the glacier at the top of Jungfrau. This train track was laid through the mountains up to a peak nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. The most amazing fact… it was accomplished prior to 1900. It blows my mind what people can do. Having hiked to the top of a 14,000 foot peak last year I was thrilled to be able to share the experience of being near the top of the world with Vanessa. She has never really had any interest in putting herself before such a tremendous physical task, but getting to share these epic views along with a world covered in snow and ice in the middle of the summer was a really special thing. At the top of this train track was an observation center. They also had some underground ice caves and other attractions as well. The rapid ascent left me feeling a little light headed. It was a very bizarre feeling. We started our day at around 6,000 feet, now almost 12,000. We also found it very interesting that on the train ride back down almost everybody seemed completely drained and there was virtually no conversation. It zapped me too. I guess our brains just felt overwhelmed by changing pressure.
Our last day of hiking in this magical place was back on the mountain opposite of Murren. There's a easy hike of 3 miles and mostly flat that heads right towards the three snow capped peaks. A very large gondola brings you up to the proper elevation. We hiked the 3 miles, had lunch outside on a deck with the most beautiful view I will ever have for a meal… and then, with a little persuasion, we decided to hike another 3 miles down to a train station before calling an end to all of our Swiss mountain hikes. I felt a real sadness. I did not want to leave. I can recall many points through out the day where my mind fantasized about ways that I could make this place my home. Or at least buy a house and come here every summer. But I just don't think its in my cards. But I do know… I will be back. Someday. (Below are pics from this last day's hiking.)
We spent our days in Murren hiking. We hiked as far as we comfortably could, knowing our legs needed to last for 5 more days. The hikes were beyond amazing. I wish I could hike forever. Even though you may see the same mountains, the clouds and light moved so fast that the scene was completely different every 5 minutes. The clouds would literally come up from the valley 1200 feet below and move at a visually rapid pace. The sunlight was silver. Clouds and fog. Glow. Shimmer. Silver mountain majesty!
(Hiking the North Face trail with fellow American traveler we met minutes before the hike.)
On the North Face trail, and most trails, you are going through one farm, then another. You simply open and close the gate behind you. Simple latches keep the cows where they belong. Along this trail there was a house. It appeared to be a dairy farm who makes cheese. They also have a restaurant out of their kitchen. There were no other ways to get to this restaurant other than a 2 mile hike. Of course I had dreams of retiring to such a location and setting up a coffee shop.
(Small farm along the North Face Trail.)
It was cool in Murren. Mainly stayed in the 50's. Down to the 40's in the morning, and a few times it peaked to the mid 60's. So, when it rained, which was often, it felt down right cold! We had to wear layers. I was REALLY happy I bought a really nice rain jacket. Anyways, we weren't going to let a little rain stop us! We planned to walk down to Gimmewald for some hot coffee at Pension Gimmewald. We were walking through the foggy streets of Murren and heard a hundred ringing bells. These bell sounds were quite different than the cow bells we were used to hearing. My interest was really piqued. What was I going to see around the corner?! Well… I've never seen this before. May never see it again. We saw a shepherd herding his sheep through the streets of Murren on his way to some other pasture. This place is almost like traveling back in time. Gimmewald is supposed to be one of the poorest towns in Switzerland. This may be, but they may be the richest in beauty. |
The last days.
Zurich is a big city. After being in paradise, we found the big city uninteresting. It was just a place to navigate on the journey homeward. I remember feeling a freedom while in the mountains. There was little regard for fashion in the mountains. Clothing was about functionality. In the city, I felt that both of us stuck out. Highly fashionable people were everywhere. I felt some mild insecurities about not being dressed right… or needing to shave. Vanessa's hair was looking particularly windblown. Do you think people notice us? I didn't like this feeling. I think living in the city and growing up around people of varying concerns for fashion, hygiene, and fitting in become the normal way you think and feel. "What should I wear?" to this and that function… etc. In the mountains… you are free. I liked it.
In addition to this rejuvenated self-consciousness… we finally got to eat something different than the usual Swiss cuisine. We found what is reported to be one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in the world. They had a buffet with 50 or so choices. We loaded up our plates! It was amazing!
The next morning we headed out very early to get to the train station. Though it was 5 AM, there were a ton of young people still out from the nocturnal activities of the previous Saturday night. Beer bottles by the hundreds were strewn about the streets. It was a gross filthy mess. Drunken people in their teens and twenties wondered around. Some of them paired up, arms around each other, kissing, touching… Some looked a bit sketchy… thuggish almost. I moved my wallet to my front pocket and kept Vanessa close. I later read of a very serious and growing epidemic of alcoholism in the youth of Switzerland. Well… it seemed quite apparent that morning.
Flying out of Zurich was fine. Arriving in Paris was not. The customs line took forever! I booked the flights with the longest layovers do to my concern of this… but it wasn't a long enough period of time. We checked our watches frantically as thought it was going to speed things up. I was praying. "God… PLEASE… help us get to America. Don't let us have to spend the night in this airport! PLEASE!!!"
People began to band together in complaint… There's comfort in sharing each others suffering and anxieties I suppose. Many were sharing stories of previous travel. One gentleman said, "You should avoid Charles De Gualle any time its possible." and went on to explain how poorly coordinated this place is. When we finally got through customs, we had to WAIT AGAIN!!! This time waiting on a bus to get us to a different part of the airport. More waiting. Maddening.
When we finally got to the right place, we had to run! We had to run so far and so fast that Vanessa's legs having hiked more than they were ready for could not keep up. She kept yelling at me to slow down.
Eventually… I said I must run ahead, come as fast as you can, I will try to stall the Delta personnel. Running towards the gate but still 5 or so gates away was a Delta personnel holding a sign with our flight number. She saw me running and radioed down to the gait, "Hold the gate, I have them!" Vanessa caught up as they were cranking through my ticket and passport. We got on!!! People applauded and cheered! Others gave us dirty looks as they most likely supposed that we delayed the plane a few minutes. I didn't care. I was just ecstatic that I didn't have to spend the night or multiple nights in Charles De Gualle. My next stop…. AMERICA!
Last Days
AMERICA!!!…… Notice I didn't say "home"…. We flew into Minneapolis… again… we ran into the same custom's problem. They give you 90 minutes for your layover, but it takes 90 minutes to get through customs. So… despite running as fast as I could…. we missed the plane. AND. There were NO flights till noon the next day. Heartbreak. Just thinking about staying in a hotel then wading through all the security to get back into a claustrophobic fuselage to fly to ATL and then wait three hours and then fly to Tulsa all to arrive home in the evening was just TOO much to bare.
We chose our own option. We rented a car and started driving. I cannot tell you with big enough words just how freeing this was, to be in control of our own destiny and to see the wide open spaces of that Minnesota farmland. Driving never felt so good!
We ran out of energy by 9pm, got and got a hotel. The dude behind the counter at the hotel was AMERICAN. We could talk to him with comfort and familiarity. Not only did we speak the same language, we spoke the same culture and the same friendliness to fellow man. God bless America!
After waking spontaneously at 1am. We hit the road and by 10:30AM… WE WERE HOME!
Zurich is a big city. After being in paradise, we found the big city uninteresting. It was just a place to navigate on the journey homeward. I remember feeling a freedom while in the mountains. There was little regard for fashion in the mountains. Clothing was about functionality. In the city, I felt that both of us stuck out. Highly fashionable people were everywhere. I felt some mild insecurities about not being dressed right… or needing to shave. Vanessa's hair was looking particularly windblown. Do you think people notice us? I didn't like this feeling. I think living in the city and growing up around people of varying concerns for fashion, hygiene, and fitting in become the normal way you think and feel. "What should I wear?" to this and that function… etc. In the mountains… you are free. I liked it.
In addition to this rejuvenated self-consciousness… we finally got to eat something different than the usual Swiss cuisine. We found what is reported to be one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in the world. They had a buffet with 50 or so choices. We loaded up our plates! It was amazing!
The next morning we headed out very early to get to the train station. Though it was 5 AM, there were a ton of young people still out from the nocturnal activities of the previous Saturday night. Beer bottles by the hundreds were strewn about the streets. It was a gross filthy mess. Drunken people in their teens and twenties wondered around. Some of them paired up, arms around each other, kissing, touching… Some looked a bit sketchy… thuggish almost. I moved my wallet to my front pocket and kept Vanessa close. I later read of a very serious and growing epidemic of alcoholism in the youth of Switzerland. Well… it seemed quite apparent that morning.
Flying out of Zurich was fine. Arriving in Paris was not. The customs line took forever! I booked the flights with the longest layovers do to my concern of this… but it wasn't a long enough period of time. We checked our watches frantically as thought it was going to speed things up. I was praying. "God… PLEASE… help us get to America. Don't let us have to spend the night in this airport! PLEASE!!!"
People began to band together in complaint… There's comfort in sharing each others suffering and anxieties I suppose. Many were sharing stories of previous travel. One gentleman said, "You should avoid Charles De Gualle any time its possible." and went on to explain how poorly coordinated this place is. When we finally got through customs, we had to WAIT AGAIN!!! This time waiting on a bus to get us to a different part of the airport. More waiting. Maddening.
When we finally got to the right place, we had to run! We had to run so far and so fast that Vanessa's legs having hiked more than they were ready for could not keep up. She kept yelling at me to slow down.
 |
| Shot this pic while running to the gait… pointed phone Behind me to see Vanessa quite a distance behind. |
Last Days
AMERICA!!!…… Notice I didn't say "home"…. We flew into Minneapolis… again… we ran into the same custom's problem. They give you 90 minutes for your layover, but it takes 90 minutes to get through customs. So… despite running as fast as I could…. we missed the plane. AND. There were NO flights till noon the next day. Heartbreak. Just thinking about staying in a hotel then wading through all the security to get back into a claustrophobic fuselage to fly to ATL and then wait three hours and then fly to Tulsa all to arrive home in the evening was just TOO much to bare.
We chose our own option. We rented a car and started driving. I cannot tell you with big enough words just how freeing this was, to be in control of our own destiny and to see the wide open spaces of that Minnesota farmland. Driving never felt so good!
We ran out of energy by 9pm, got and got a hotel. The dude behind the counter at the hotel was AMERICAN. We could talk to him with comfort and familiarity. Not only did we speak the same language, we spoke the same culture and the same friendliness to fellow man. God bless America!
After waking spontaneously at 1am. We hit the road and by 10:30AM… WE WERE HOME!
David
Awesome job capturing our trip through our pics and your words! That was such an amazing trip and miss it so much. We will do it again!
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