Finally.... my last update/conclusion of our adventure to the other side of the Atlantic!
We have been home just over 2 weeks now, and are fully recovered from the trip. Sadly, it has taken me this long to sort, post and tag all of my pictures and videos - but they are finally complete! (the 2 weeks includes a long family weekend at the beach off from picture sorting... I have over 2500 photos alone). Anyway, we made it home safely to my very happy parents -- I think they were amazed we didn't strangle each other after 6 weeks!
All photos (albums are sorted by city) can be found here:
We have been home just over 2 weeks now, and are fully recovered from the trip. Sadly, it has taken me this long to sort, post and tag all of my pictures and videos - but they are finally complete! (the 2 weeks includes a long family weekend at the beach off from picture sorting... I have over 2500 photos alone). Anyway, we made it home safely to my very happy parents -- I think they were amazed we didn't strangle each other after 6 weeks!
All photos (albums are sorted by city) can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cestory
All video clips/movies that I have clipped together are here:
All video clips/movies that I have clipped together are here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/cestory08?feature=mhum#p/u
**if the above link doesn’t work, go to YouTube and search "cestory08" (my YouTube account name).
****Please note the bullfighting videos do show the bulls being speared/swords inserted/dragged around the ring (different stages of the bullfight performance), so if that bothers or offends you skip that video clip****
Picking up where I last left off... Madrid continued....
We neglected to see much of the city in Madrid during the daytime because of the extreme heat, so we made the most of our nights! Our second day was spent doing laundry and fun things like that, and then heading to a local Irish Pub to watch the third place World Cup match of Uruguay vs. Germany. I think most of the bar was cheering for Uruguay, but Germany prevailed 3-2. I met up with a friend, Adam, who was going to college in Madrid at the time, but who had worked at Deer Valley as a ski instructor with me a year earlier. He and his 2 friends offered to take us out to see a local's idea of the nightlife. Adam and his friends were able to buy us entry into JOY, a club just off Plaza de Sol -- we did have to go early to get in ...about 1am! It was a great night of dancing and fun (see pictures). The clubs are much like Vegas, Cancun, etc -- mini shows or performances between songs, and lots of people everywhere. Needless to say it was getting close to dawn when we left about 5am :)
After a short nights sleep, Skype call home, and a day of planning, repacking & relaxing, we were ready for the biggest day of all. The WORLD CUP FINAL! Netherlands vs Spain. Both teams have never won the world cup, and Spain had never even been past the quarterfinals before this year. The whole country was ready, and Madrid was the center of it all. They had already announced where the jumbo screens would be set up, and when a parade would be held for the team upon their return (if they won of course). I will not claim that I "planned" this occurrence of being in the right place at the right time... but I did want to be in a soccer-crazy place for the final. I chose between Spain, Germany and Netherlands - and got very lucky :) Though the game did not start until 8:30pm that night, we headed to the main viewing street, just south of Plaza de Colon around 6pm. We literally stood and sweated from 6:30 until game time in about 100 degree heat, with nowhere to go. It was ridiculous how tightly packed with people the area was... if you watched the game on TV from the USA, you saw the huge street they kept showing… a long street filled with people. That is where we were, right below the panning TV cameras. The view is deceptive from the broadcast -- that street is about 2 miles long, had 3 Jumbo screens, and about 1.5 MILLION people on it!!!
As much as I complain above, we did have some bottles of water, some snacks and a decent view of the screen from our place in the crowd. We knew we were there for the experience, the people and the atmosphere more than to have an unobstructed view of the game. Once gametime arrived, the Spanish fans began chanting, singing and fervently watching the game. Each foul by a Netherlands player resulted in every Spaniard (guys, girls, everyone) pointing and yelling "El Punta" (translation: "B*tch") because of Netherlands obvious plan to foul or "play physical" rather than beautiful passing play like Spain. The singing was my favorite thing.... some were as simple as "Yo soy Espanol, Espanol, Espanol!" (Translation: "I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish!") We learned the songs quickly and joined in with everyone around us. Adam and his friend Andrew joined us for the second half of the game -- and what a game it was. Every shot, corner kick or half-chance to score meant everyone raised their arms high and stood on tiptoes to watch the best they could. This went on through regular time, then the first overtime with Spain obviously having the greater number and best scoring chances, but Netherlands getting a few chances as well. Closing in on the end of the second overtime, rumblings about PKs (Penalty Kicks) can be heard throughout the crowd. As suspenseful as PKs are, no one wants to see this game end that way.
With about 5 minutes left till the end of overtime, Spain maneuvers into another attack and scores with a beautiful finish by Iniesta!!!! The entire crowd erupts with celebration -- smoke bombs and fireworks, mosh pits, and general screaming & singing. I am getting goose bumps just thinking about it right now.... obviously Spain held onto the lead till the end of overtime, and the final whistle prompted yet another celebration with singing, hugging, and more. We celebrated and sang along, taking pictures of the crowd, ourselves and Spaniards celebrating in their own ways. We watched as every Spaniard took such joy and pride from this win -- celebrating in a care-free way... as if every person had just won the lottery and wanted to share that moment with anyone and everyone around. It hit Thomas and I especially hard what a momentous event this was for Spain.... Thomas saw a nearby Spanish guy, one he had talked to during the game, literally fall down on his knees, tears in his eyes and everything when the match had finally ended. He was in the middle of the crowd, but it did not matter -- he was so happy for his country & this team that he did not care. Everyone's celebration was completely spontaneously -- it was such a strong feeling of total national pride and love that I have never seen before. I related it to my first year in Chapel Hill when UNC won the NCAA basketball tournament in 2005 -- over 70,000 people wandered the streets, singing and celebrating. This time in Madrid was similar, but on a different scale... every family, old people, young people were walking the streets -- singing, dancing, and joining in with one another. Over 1.5 million watched in the square, but over 5 MILLION came out to celebrate and walk the streets in every part of Madrid that night. We joined in and walked through the streets for a couple hours, had a celebratory beer or two while watching Spaniards carry on... it was definitely a night none of us will forget for as long as we live. (Note: If you have Facebook, check out Adam's video/slideshow from that night here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=466885655897 )
After a quick 1 or 2 hours sleep, we caught a shuttle to the airport, and managed to make our 7am flight. Unfortunately, there was weather in Paris so we had a 2-hour on-runway delay to catch up on sleep... not fun, but well worth it for our previous night's experience! After arriving in Paris, we managed the huge metro network and dropped our backpacks off at the studio apartment where we would be staying about 5 minutes walk from the Lourve Museum. Our afternoon was spent doing a quick tour of the Lourve. We were all maxed out on museums, so we focused on only 1 wing of it, highlighting da Vinci's paintings (including the Mona Lisa and Madonna on the Rocks) and the Greek and Roman statues. We also did a self-tour of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which was stunning even in such gloomy, cloudy weather. We took the long way back, walking along the left bank for several blocks before crossing back over the Seine River on our way to the apartment. After checking in, we went to the local grocery market to get breakfast foods, and some dinner supplies. I know.... we are in Paris with its amazing food... but we were so exhausted from Madrid and tired of eating out, that we elected to make spaghetti with marinara, and paired it with a fresh French bread and bottle of Bordeaux. It was a perfect night to watch a movie and go to bed early. The following day was rainy in the early morning, but cleared considerably as it went on. We spent most of the day at Versaille and its surrounding gardens. Personally I enjoyed the gardens over the palace itself, but both were stunning. At the end of our wandering in the gardens, we stopped for a delicious snack of a crepe and glass of beer or wine. That evening we visited the Eiffel Tower under clear skies, just after dusk. Unfortunately, the top level (900 feet up) was filled to capacity, so we only made it to the 2nd level (400 feet) -- but I have been told that is where the views are best anyway! After taking in a view of the city, we grabbed a couple of bottles of cheap champagne from the local vendors and sat on the grass covered Champ de Mars below the tower -- anxiously awaiting the "sparkling lights" of the tower that occurs every hour after dusk. While waiting we took silly pictures, drank our not-cold Andre-quality champagne, and met more people from Atlanta, GA sitting just behind us. The tower was stunning while it was "sparkling" for its 5-minute show, and we stuck around to enjoy some people watching and the rest of our champagne. A great end to the night :)
Our final day in Paris was the 14th of July -- known as Bastille Day, It is France's Independence Day... and has many traditions. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, as it poured rain from morning till almost 4 pm that day. There is the oldest modern military parade in the world held on the Champs de Elysse every year on this day, but because of the weather we did not make it out to watch. We did however, go out late that afternoon and walk the entire length of the Champs de Elysee, all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. The French flag was everywhere along the way, and a military ceremony honoring veterans was taking place at the Arc de T. as we arrived. We climbed up the inside and up to the top for another beautiful view of the city and the Champs de Elysee below.... and of course, watched the crazy traffic below on Place de l'Étoile, the roundabout surrounding the Arc de Triomphe where 12 streets come together and cars travel around as many as 10 deep -- crazy. We walked from there to the Champs de Mar to stake out a place to watch the Eiffel Tower celebration & fireworks later that night. We had an excellent picnic dinner of crackers with cheeses and dried meats, and a couple of bottles of red wine - drunk out of plastic Dixie cups, classic Story/Kulynych family-style! There was a very festive atmosphere as French locals mingled with tourists, enjoying the nice evening and waiting for the show to begin. The fireworks were spectacular and went on for almost 30 minutes time and we had an excellent unobstructed view from our airline blanket on the grass. We all agreed that Paris and all the Parisians we met were very nice, and we needed more time to see & experience the city fully.... another city to add on to the "next trip" list of course :P
We were packed and ready to hop on the metro at 5:25am the next morning to catch our train to Switzerland, only to discover that the line we were riding didn't start until 5:50 - oops! We still made our hi-speed train out of Paris with several minutes to spare, so all was well. After a couple of transfers, we were finally on the Zermatt Rail headed south through the mountain passes. It was a sunny day and the views from the train alone were breathtaking. There was immediate agreement that Switzerland was the most naturally beautiful place we had been. Upon arriving in Zermatt, we went off to explore the town. It is a no-cars-allowed town (only electric mini-taxis and small electric delivery trucks in the streets). There were many tourists from France, Germany and the US to be found. In terms of size and mountain-resort personality, it quite reminded me of Park City, Utah. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk all of downtown, and there are serious hikers, bikers and shoppers everywhere you look. We rode up the Gronergrat Railroad early that evening, which takes you up to just over 10,000 feet to a great view of the Matterhorn (top elevation: 14,692 feet), and about 10 other nearby peaks that are over 4,000 meters (13,100 feet). It was beautiful and surprising to see so many peaks piercing the clouds around them. Our evening was concluded with a perfect dinner of Raclette cheese, local white wine, and bread dipped in black truffle or herb Fondue - yummy! The next day we awoke early to pack our bags and rent some mountain bikes for the day. After riding up the Gronergrat the day before with several mountain bikers, we decided to give it a try. After taking in more beautiful views, snapping a few photos and wading through a several groups of Asian hiking tours, we found our trail and headed down. It was an adventure to be sure!!! Alex doesn't have that much experience going downhill, and I am very cautious so it was slow going on the steeps at first. Thomas' bike actually broke several hours into the ride (Thomas' derailleur literally snapped off the back wheel/gear transfer), so he had to catch a ride to the nearest tramway down. That left Alex and I to find the most direct "ride-able" way down. This was complicated because of the lack of signs and Thomas dropping our main trail map at some point during the ride. About 2 hours or hiking and biking later, we made it back into town covered in dirt and with just a few ugly, bloody cuts to show for it. We found Thomas, and grabbed lunch & Swiss Chocolate souvenirs, before catching the train toward Interlaken.
After arriving in Interlaken via train and walking 20 minutes across town, we checked into our hostel, Balmer's, for the night. It is the best known hostel (and bar!) in town, so we were able to stay in for the evening. We cleaned up, ate dinner in the beer garden and met some fellow Americans before going to sleep after an exhausting day. The next morning was an exciting one, as we had all agreed upon and booked this canyoning trip in Interlaken several weeks before. The focus was on adventure, fun and the scenery, not the difficulty of the route like in rock climbing (see Wikipedia for more info). Unfortunately, the rain from the night before & incoming storms made the biggest canyon too dangerous, so we drove to Grimsel Canyon east of Interlaken. It was cold water, but fun people, great jumps and slides through the canyon and an awesome trip all around -- make sure you check out the pictures on my Picasa site taken by their professional photographer (link at top)... the rappel at the beginning is about 150 feet, and the largest jump (with the side view) is about 30 feet to give you an idea of the scale. That night was spent reminiscing on canyoning, our trip overall, and trying to help Alex talk his way out of trouble with some girls he had met. (It goes a little like this... "I'm 22", "Christina is 24, my brother Thomas is 22 but we aren't twins." Girl says, "How does that work?" ... use your imagination from there, a couple of beers later he "explained it away" so he says!) For the next day, we did some research and decided with all of the adrenaline sport offerings in Interlaken, that we wanted to try something we couldn't do anywhere else, as it was our last "real" day of the trip.
We decided to go Ice Climbing on a nearby glacier. We set out early that morning with 2 other American guys and our guide Ano. It was again stunning and amazing to hear Ano tell stories about how the landscape changes both with the seasons and from the storms, and how global warming is affecting the area's glaciers. After driving and hiking up to the ice, we donned our crampons and Ano led us weaving our way onto the glacier, hopping over crevasses at their narrowest points. We made our picnic/bag lunch on the glacier atop the crevasses we would be climbing that afternoon. After setup and a demonstration by Ano, we discovered how easy he had made it look! It was quiet and beautiful at the bottom of the crevasses (as deep as 40-50 feet below the surface), but it was quite the challenge to coordinate the crampons and ice axes into the ice to pull yourself out. We took turns on several routes of varying difficulties, with the most difficult ones having only clear, smooth blue ice to dig your toe points into... and the occasional overhanging ice ledge to make it interesting. After thoroughly exhausting ourselves, we headed back to Interlaken and grabbed a celebratory beer to enjoy while discussing our trip, or whatever came to mind. It was a great note to finish on, and one that made me smile on the whole train ride that night to Zurich for our flight back to London the next morning. I will admit it was nice to get some well-deserved sleep in our quiet, private Air-conditioned room.
The next morning we caught our flight from Zurich to London with no problems, other than it flew into a different airport (City) than our flight back to the US on the following day. We caught the train, checked our bags into storage, then explored Piccadilly Circus area for some lunch and more World Cup merchandise. After a nice late lunch, we headed south toward Gatwick Airport, from which we would fly out to Atlanta the next morning. We stayed inside the airport again, this time in the Yotel -- which is a variation of the Japanese "sleeping pods" you can rent for a couple of hours of sleep. The rooms are no bigger than 8 by 8, but have a small bed with flat screen tv, flip-out table & stool, and full bathroom. (They are opening a location in JFK in 2011, so check it out if you're there.) After a good night's sleep, our flight was long but uneventful. We talked a bit about what was our favorite place, where we would want to live, and where we want to go the next time we get back to the Continent. Needless to say, my parents were there at the arrivals area and my mom was especially excited to see us after 6 weeks away.
All in all it was a successful trip, with many funny memories, a few unplanned adventures, and enough memories and photos to (hopefully) last a lifetime. Not that we did not have our arguments and disagreements as siblings are prone to do, but we realized early on how uncommon it was & how lucky we are to have this opportunity to travel together. I will gladly expand on the places, quotes, etc. for you (email me) -- but this email is long enough as it is! Thanks so much for all of your well wishes, emails and comments... they were much appreciated, and will be acknowledged/responded to as soon as I can. I will be in Atlanta until Labor Day, then back to Park City for the fall and winter, so please let me know if you will be around town too.
**if the above link doesn’t work, go to YouTube and search "cestory08" (my YouTube account name).
****Please note the bullfighting videos do show the bulls being speared/swords inserted/dragged around the ring (different stages of the bullfight performance), so if that bothers or offends you skip that video clip****
Picking up where I last left off... Madrid continued....
We neglected to see much of the city in Madrid during the daytime because of the extreme heat, so we made the most of our nights! Our second day was spent doing laundry and fun things like that, and then heading to a local Irish Pub to watch the third place World Cup match of Uruguay vs. Germany. I think most of the bar was cheering for Uruguay, but Germany prevailed 3-2. I met up with a friend, Adam, who was going to college in Madrid at the time, but who had worked at Deer Valley as a ski instructor with me a year earlier. He and his 2 friends offered to take us out to see a local's idea of the nightlife. Adam and his friends were able to buy us entry into JOY, a club just off Plaza de Sol -- we did have to go early to get in ...about 1am! It was a great night of dancing and fun (see pictures). The clubs are much like Vegas, Cancun, etc -- mini shows or performances between songs, and lots of people everywhere. Needless to say it was getting close to dawn when we left about 5am :)
After a short nights sleep, Skype call home, and a day of planning, repacking & relaxing, we were ready for the biggest day of all. The WORLD CUP FINAL! Netherlands vs Spain. Both teams have never won the world cup, and Spain had never even been past the quarterfinals before this year. The whole country was ready, and Madrid was the center of it all. They had already announced where the jumbo screens would be set up, and when a parade would be held for the team upon their return (if they won of course). I will not claim that I "planned" this occurrence of being in the right place at the right time... but I did want to be in a soccer-crazy place for the final. I chose between Spain, Germany and Netherlands - and got very lucky :) Though the game did not start until 8:30pm that night, we headed to the main viewing street, just south of Plaza de Colon around 6pm. We literally stood and sweated from 6:30 until game time in about 100 degree heat, with nowhere to go. It was ridiculous how tightly packed with people the area was... if you watched the game on TV from the USA, you saw the huge street they kept showing… a long street filled with people. That is where we were, right below the panning TV cameras. The view is deceptive from the broadcast -- that street is about 2 miles long, had 3 Jumbo screens, and about 1.5 MILLION people on it!!!
As much as I complain above, we did have some bottles of water, some snacks and a decent view of the screen from our place in the crowd. We knew we were there for the experience, the people and the atmosphere more than to have an unobstructed view of the game. Once gametime arrived, the Spanish fans began chanting, singing and fervently watching the game. Each foul by a Netherlands player resulted in every Spaniard (guys, girls, everyone) pointing and yelling "El Punta" (translation: "B*tch") because of Netherlands obvious plan to foul or "play physical" rather than beautiful passing play like Spain. The singing was my favorite thing.... some were as simple as "Yo soy Espanol, Espanol, Espanol!" (Translation: "I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish!") We learned the songs quickly and joined in with everyone around us. Adam and his friend Andrew joined us for the second half of the game -- and what a game it was. Every shot, corner kick or half-chance to score meant everyone raised their arms high and stood on tiptoes to watch the best they could. This went on through regular time, then the first overtime with Spain obviously having the greater number and best scoring chances, but Netherlands getting a few chances as well. Closing in on the end of the second overtime, rumblings about PKs (Penalty Kicks) can be heard throughout the crowd. As suspenseful as PKs are, no one wants to see this game end that way.
With about 5 minutes left till the end of overtime, Spain maneuvers into another attack and scores with a beautiful finish by Iniesta!!!! The entire crowd erupts with celebration -- smoke bombs and fireworks, mosh pits, and general screaming & singing. I am getting goose bumps just thinking about it right now.... obviously Spain held onto the lead till the end of overtime, and the final whistle prompted yet another celebration with singing, hugging, and more. We celebrated and sang along, taking pictures of the crowd, ourselves and Spaniards celebrating in their own ways. We watched as every Spaniard took such joy and pride from this win -- celebrating in a care-free way... as if every person had just won the lottery and wanted to share that moment with anyone and everyone around. It hit Thomas and I especially hard what a momentous event this was for Spain.... Thomas saw a nearby Spanish guy, one he had talked to during the game, literally fall down on his knees, tears in his eyes and everything when the match had finally ended. He was in the middle of the crowd, but it did not matter -- he was so happy for his country & this team that he did not care. Everyone's celebration was completely spontaneously -- it was such a strong feeling of total national pride and love that I have never seen before. I related it to my first year in Chapel Hill when UNC won the NCAA basketball tournament in 2005 -- over 70,000 people wandered the streets, singing and celebrating. This time in Madrid was similar, but on a different scale... every family, old people, young people were walking the streets -- singing, dancing, and joining in with one another. Over 1.5 million watched in the square, but over 5 MILLION came out to celebrate and walk the streets in every part of Madrid that night. We joined in and walked through the streets for a couple hours, had a celebratory beer or two while watching Spaniards carry on... it was definitely a night none of us will forget for as long as we live. (Note: If you have Facebook, check out Adam's video/slideshow from that night here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=466885655897 )
After a quick 1 or 2 hours sleep, we caught a shuttle to the airport, and managed to make our 7am flight. Unfortunately, there was weather in Paris so we had a 2-hour on-runway delay to catch up on sleep... not fun, but well worth it for our previous night's experience! After arriving in Paris, we managed the huge metro network and dropped our backpacks off at the studio apartment where we would be staying about 5 minutes walk from the Lourve Museum. Our afternoon was spent doing a quick tour of the Lourve. We were all maxed out on museums, so we focused on only 1 wing of it, highlighting da Vinci's paintings (including the Mona Lisa and Madonna on the Rocks) and the Greek and Roman statues. We also did a self-tour of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which was stunning even in such gloomy, cloudy weather. We took the long way back, walking along the left bank for several blocks before crossing back over the Seine River on our way to the apartment. After checking in, we went to the local grocery market to get breakfast foods, and some dinner supplies. I know.... we are in Paris with its amazing food... but we were so exhausted from Madrid and tired of eating out, that we elected to make spaghetti with marinara, and paired it with a fresh French bread and bottle of Bordeaux. It was a perfect night to watch a movie and go to bed early. The following day was rainy in the early morning, but cleared considerably as it went on. We spent most of the day at Versaille and its surrounding gardens. Personally I enjoyed the gardens over the palace itself, but both were stunning. At the end of our wandering in the gardens, we stopped for a delicious snack of a crepe and glass of beer or wine. That evening we visited the Eiffel Tower under clear skies, just after dusk. Unfortunately, the top level (900 feet up) was filled to capacity, so we only made it to the 2nd level (400 feet) -- but I have been told that is where the views are best anyway! After taking in a view of the city, we grabbed a couple of bottles of cheap champagne from the local vendors and sat on the grass covered Champ de Mars below the tower -- anxiously awaiting the "sparkling lights" of the tower that occurs every hour after dusk. While waiting we took silly pictures, drank our not-cold Andre-quality champagne, and met more people from Atlanta, GA sitting just behind us. The tower was stunning while it was "sparkling" for its 5-minute show, and we stuck around to enjoy some people watching and the rest of our champagne. A great end to the night :)
Our final day in Paris was the 14th of July -- known as Bastille Day, It is France's Independence Day... and has many traditions. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, as it poured rain from morning till almost 4 pm that day. There is the oldest modern military parade in the world held on the Champs de Elysse every year on this day, but because of the weather we did not make it out to watch. We did however, go out late that afternoon and walk the entire length of the Champs de Elysee, all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. The French flag was everywhere along the way, and a military ceremony honoring veterans was taking place at the Arc de T. as we arrived. We climbed up the inside and up to the top for another beautiful view of the city and the Champs de Elysee below.... and of course, watched the crazy traffic below on Place de l'Étoile, the roundabout surrounding the Arc de Triomphe where 12 streets come together and cars travel around as many as 10 deep -- crazy. We walked from there to the Champs de Mar to stake out a place to watch the Eiffel Tower celebration & fireworks later that night. We had an excellent picnic dinner of crackers with cheeses and dried meats, and a couple of bottles of red wine - drunk out of plastic Dixie cups, classic Story/Kulynych family-style! There was a very festive atmosphere as French locals mingled with tourists, enjoying the nice evening and waiting for the show to begin. The fireworks were spectacular and went on for almost 30 minutes time and we had an excellent unobstructed view from our airline blanket on the grass. We all agreed that Paris and all the Parisians we met were very nice, and we needed more time to see & experience the city fully.... another city to add on to the "next trip" list of course :P
We were packed and ready to hop on the metro at 5:25am the next morning to catch our train to Switzerland, only to discover that the line we were riding didn't start until 5:50 - oops! We still made our hi-speed train out of Paris with several minutes to spare, so all was well. After a couple of transfers, we were finally on the Zermatt Rail headed south through the mountain passes. It was a sunny day and the views from the train alone were breathtaking. There was immediate agreement that Switzerland was the most naturally beautiful place we had been. Upon arriving in Zermatt, we went off to explore the town. It is a no-cars-allowed town (only electric mini-taxis and small electric delivery trucks in the streets). There were many tourists from France, Germany and the US to be found. In terms of size and mountain-resort personality, it quite reminded me of Park City, Utah. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk all of downtown, and there are serious hikers, bikers and shoppers everywhere you look. We rode up the Gronergrat Railroad early that evening, which takes you up to just over 10,000 feet to a great view of the Matterhorn (top elevation: 14,692 feet), and about 10 other nearby peaks that are over 4,000 meters (13,100 feet). It was beautiful and surprising to see so many peaks piercing the clouds around them. Our evening was concluded with a perfect dinner of Raclette cheese, local white wine, and bread dipped in black truffle or herb Fondue - yummy! The next day we awoke early to pack our bags and rent some mountain bikes for the day. After riding up the Gronergrat the day before with several mountain bikers, we decided to give it a try. After taking in more beautiful views, snapping a few photos and wading through a several groups of Asian hiking tours, we found our trail and headed down. It was an adventure to be sure!!! Alex doesn't have that much experience going downhill, and I am very cautious so it was slow going on the steeps at first. Thomas' bike actually broke several hours into the ride (Thomas' derailleur literally snapped off the back wheel/gear transfer), so he had to catch a ride to the nearest tramway down. That left Alex and I to find the most direct "ride-able" way down. This was complicated because of the lack of signs and Thomas dropping our main trail map at some point during the ride. About 2 hours or hiking and biking later, we made it back into town covered in dirt and with just a few ugly, bloody cuts to show for it. We found Thomas, and grabbed lunch & Swiss Chocolate souvenirs, before catching the train toward Interlaken.
After arriving in Interlaken via train and walking 20 minutes across town, we checked into our hostel, Balmer's, for the night. It is the best known hostel (and bar!) in town, so we were able to stay in for the evening. We cleaned up, ate dinner in the beer garden and met some fellow Americans before going to sleep after an exhausting day. The next morning was an exciting one, as we had all agreed upon and booked this canyoning trip in Interlaken several weeks before. The focus was on adventure, fun and the scenery, not the difficulty of the route like in rock climbing (see Wikipedia for more info). Unfortunately, the rain from the night before & incoming storms made the biggest canyon too dangerous, so we drove to Grimsel Canyon east of Interlaken. It was cold water, but fun people, great jumps and slides through the canyon and an awesome trip all around -- make sure you check out the pictures on my Picasa site taken by their professional photographer (link at top)... the rappel at the beginning is about 150 feet, and the largest jump (with the side view) is about 30 feet to give you an idea of the scale. That night was spent reminiscing on canyoning, our trip overall, and trying to help Alex talk his way out of trouble with some girls he had met. (It goes a little like this... "I'm 22", "Christina is 24, my brother Thomas is 22 but we aren't twins." Girl says, "How does that work?" ... use your imagination from there, a couple of beers later he "explained it away" so he says!) For the next day, we did some research and decided with all of the adrenaline sport offerings in Interlaken, that we wanted to try something we couldn't do anywhere else, as it was our last "real" day of the trip.
We decided to go Ice Climbing on a nearby glacier. We set out early that morning with 2 other American guys and our guide Ano. It was again stunning and amazing to hear Ano tell stories about how the landscape changes both with the seasons and from the storms, and how global warming is affecting the area's glaciers. After driving and hiking up to the ice, we donned our crampons and Ano led us weaving our way onto the glacier, hopping over crevasses at their narrowest points. We made our picnic/bag lunch on the glacier atop the crevasses we would be climbing that afternoon. After setup and a demonstration by Ano, we discovered how easy he had made it look! It was quiet and beautiful at the bottom of the crevasses (as deep as 40-50 feet below the surface), but it was quite the challenge to coordinate the crampons and ice axes into the ice to pull yourself out. We took turns on several routes of varying difficulties, with the most difficult ones having only clear, smooth blue ice to dig your toe points into... and the occasional overhanging ice ledge to make it interesting. After thoroughly exhausting ourselves, we headed back to Interlaken and grabbed a celebratory beer to enjoy while discussing our trip, or whatever came to mind. It was a great note to finish on, and one that made me smile on the whole train ride that night to Zurich for our flight back to London the next morning. I will admit it was nice to get some well-deserved sleep in our quiet, private Air-conditioned room.
The next morning we caught our flight from Zurich to London with no problems, other than it flew into a different airport (City) than our flight back to the US on the following day. We caught the train, checked our bags into storage, then explored Piccadilly Circus area for some lunch and more World Cup merchandise. After a nice late lunch, we headed south toward Gatwick Airport, from which we would fly out to Atlanta the next morning. We stayed inside the airport again, this time in the Yotel -- which is a variation of the Japanese "sleeping pods" you can rent for a couple of hours of sleep. The rooms are no bigger than 8 by 8, but have a small bed with flat screen tv, flip-out table & stool, and full bathroom. (They are opening a location in JFK in 2011, so check it out if you're there.) After a good night's sleep, our flight was long but uneventful. We talked a bit about what was our favorite place, where we would want to live, and where we want to go the next time we get back to the Continent. Needless to say, my parents were there at the arrivals area and my mom was especially excited to see us after 6 weeks away.
All in all it was a successful trip, with many funny memories, a few unplanned adventures, and enough memories and photos to (hopefully) last a lifetime. Not that we did not have our arguments and disagreements as siblings are prone to do, but we realized early on how uncommon it was & how lucky we are to have this opportunity to travel together. I will gladly expand on the places, quotes, etc. for you (email me) -- but this email is long enough as it is! Thanks so much for all of your well wishes, emails and comments... they were much appreciated, and will be acknowledged/responded to as soon as I can. I will be in Atlanta until Labor Day, then back to Park City for the fall and winter, so please let me know if you will be around town too.
I will leave you with a quote that was written on the wall in our hostel in Florence, and a good one to consider each day:
“There is in truth no past, only a memory of the past
Blink your eyes and the world you see next
did not exist when you closed them.
Therefore, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise.
The only appropriate state of the heart is joy.
The sky you see now, you have never seen before.
The perfect moment is now.
Be glad of it.”
- Terry Pratchett
Much love and safe travels,
Christina, Thomas and Alex
Christina, Thomas and Alex
