A Storm This Way Comes

Sitting under the steely gray sky
Pregnant clouds hanging heavily in the heavens 
Waves crashing crashing into the shore
A dark horizon - what is coming? The storm, the storm
The sky lights up again and again and again
Zigging zagging streaks bright as fire
Blinding my eyes roaring in my ears CLAP CLAP CLAP
The earth and the sky and the air is pounding shaking flashing
Then....................................................silence.

Just Another Day in Switzerland

My posts have been sporadic at most in the past months and I apologize. I think the problem is that I feel like I need something VERY exciting to write about. The truth is, even though I live in Switzerland (which some people feel is very exciting in itself), I live a pretty normal life. I get up early -too early for my taste - go to work, work all day, come home, work a bit more, maybe run, make dinner, sleep. Repeat over and over again.  Then again there are the weekends, which can be a bit more exciting. A few weekends ago, Paul and I decided to go to Interlaken and Gimmelwald for our four day weekend. Here is a short recap if you missed it:

We arrived in Interlaken Wednesday evening without a problem. The train connections in Switzerland are amazing and I love being able to travel everywhere in the country in a reasonable amount of time. In just about 2 hours, we pulled into Interlaken West and jumped off the train. We ambled down the streets until we found the hostel. It turns out it was the same one we stayed in the last time we were in Interlaken together! It was a good night because the hostel is just above a lovely pub.

The next morning we set out for adventure. I really wanted to ride around a lake, so we found a bike rental place, and decided to ride an electric tandem. Although it took us a while to get used to it, we decided to give it a go. After taking an initial wrong turn and having to backtrack, we began our ride. The first hill was unbelievably hard, even with full assist. After a little break, we continued on and enjoyed the flat street and the beautiful views. An hour or so in, we passed a lovely restaurant and pulled in for lunch and a well earned beer (or two). After lunch we were too full to move, so we walked across the street to a little park on the lake and took a nap.



 

So after our little nap, we got back on our bike and kept going. There was a lot of up and down, with a nice stop at a beautiful waterfall.

 

This is the best part of vacation - you can do whatever you want!  Before we knew it, we had finished our ride. If you have never ridden on the back of a tandem, you should know it is a pretty fun experience. You don't have any control, which means you don't watch the road, change gears, or use the brakes. It also means you have to trust the person in front of you, and use good communication, especially with starting and stopping. Overall, our trip was great fun, but it was definitely a bit exhausting!

After returning the bike we headed to a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended in Interlaken West. It had delicious margaritas and great food, which is difficult to find in Switzerland. We headed back to the hostel for a well earned sleep. The next day, we packed up and did a bit of shopping in Interlaken and wandering around. We found many beautiful bridges, a big market, and of course, benches galore. We found a cozy bench and snuggled up to read and enjoy the nice weather for a while before heading up to Gimmelwald. The trip there took about an hour and included a train, a bus, and a gondola. From there it was minutes to the next hostel. We checked into the "Lovers Dorm" and ordered a few beers on the beautiful balcony. It was a nice rest before our hike the next day.

As a former girl scout, I firmly believe in being prepared. Unfortunately, on this hike, I was not living by my motto. I left with a lot of water but no first aid kit, and only my little Vibrams on my feet. It all started out well, thinking we were going for a little, 30 minute hike. After climbing over a few piles of snow, we were worried early on but kept going. We visited the beautiful valley I had seen in the previous summer, and it was not nearly as beautiful but still unique in its own way. We backtracked a bit and started on a different path up to a restaurant that looked quite close by. The several fallen trees in our path should have been a warning for us to stop and go back, but we didn't listen.

The path continued to get worse and worse as we got higher and higher. In places the path was completely washed out, and we had to hike across terrible icy avalanche areas. On the last traverse, I was fairly sure I was going to die, digging out footholds, and only holding on to the edge of a cliff with two sharp rocks. Paul and I are lucky we made it past that, and wanted to be back home immediately. Unfortunately, we had another 2 hours ahead of us. Oh, and did I mention that Paul broke his toe? By the time we arrived back at the hostel we were dirty and exhausted. We showered and joined some of the other hikers for beers and dinner. By 10pm I was too tired to keep my eyes open and I went straight to sleep.

 

Our next day was slated to be a hiking day, but with Paul's broken toe, and all of our muscles ached more than they had in a long time. So instead of hiking, we found a nice cafe in the town one gondola ride away. We settled in for a good day, with beer on tap, a gorgeous view, and interesting books. Time creeped by as we enjoyed each others company and relaxed in our last day of vacation. Finally, we decided it was time to make our journey home. We picked up our suitcases and caught the gondola, bus, and two trains and another bus home. Finally I was home sweet home.


Since then I have been enjoying quiet weekends, with a week of being sick in between. I loved the Caves Ouvert Saturday where all the wineries were giving samples for $12! This weekend has been a quiet weekend with Paul. Like I said, there is not much to tell in my boring, day-to-day life.

Waves of Flowing Sand

I promised a "Desert Part 2" but never delivered. Things moved so fast that there wasn't really the time to write it. So let me sum it up for those interested parties (hey there mom and dad! I am surprised you are still reading!)

We took our good old mini bus to the edge of the desert where our camels awaited. And by "camels" I mean 2 camels. There were 10 people on our trip, which meant we were two camels short.

The leaders of our trip didn't seemed concerned at all, but one of our trip mates who spoke Arabic fluently could understand them talking about how they couldn't get any more camels. After another 30 minutes of watching the sun sink lower and lower in the sky, we were getting agitated. This whole trip revolved around a sunset camel ride through the Sahara. So where were our camels?

Instead of taking the time to explain whatever the problem was, they ordered us into a car. I refused and asked for my money back. Many this is a very American move, but I spent well over a day and a half in a car (almost non-stop!) and the last thing I wanted to do was GET IN A CAR. After more arguing it was clear they didn't care at all (who is surprised here?) The next bit of fun news is that eight of us, plus a driver, were getting in a 5 passenger car - 2 lucky people got the camels while we were crammed in like sausages. I will admit, my mood was not the best at this time. I tried to see the positive side, but being in the middle and not able to sit upright, it wasn't the most comfortable journey.

Eventually, we got close enough the the camp we would be staying at that they could meet us with the camels. The angry driver dropped us off, threw our things out of the car, and left. There were no camels in sight and we were stranded in the desert. So what did we do? Take pictures of course! The sun was about to set, and I sure as heck wasn't going to miss it.

            

After a picture session, we waited around, hoping for camels. After another 15 minutes or so, we saw a camel line coming in from the distance. Once they arrived we hopped on and headed in for the camp. It was dark very quickly after the sun went down, and we could soon see stars appearing in the sky. After a while I could make out the big dipper and a million other stars. Without light pollution it is incredible to look at the sky at night. I sang a bit to myself, and one of our Moroccan travelers sang a beautiful song in Arabic. By the time we arrived in camp we were all in a much better mood, but still quite tired.

They gave us a delicious meal that they would normally eat as Berbers - a bit like Ethiopian because it was a communal meal, but less spicy and more meaty with rice. It was a nice way to finish a long day and it was already getting quite cold. We wrapped up and started a bonfire, listened to music, and watched the Moroccans dance. Eventually Emily and I were too cold to stay outside any longer so we snuggled onto our not-so-comfortable mattresses and put on every piece of clothing we had, and pulled on the 6 blankets before falling into a difficult sleep. 

 

The next morning, I woke up and was a bit confused. We were supposed to have been roused by the staff, but it was the other people staying in our tent who woke us. Apparently we had been forgotten about, and everyone else was awake and running around. Emily and I blearily packed our things (but left most of the layers on) and went directly to our camels. They put us back on and we marched out - we had already missed the sunrise! Luckily we still got some lovely pictures, and enjoyed the hour and a half back to our van. We then got to look forward to over 12 hours in a van to get back to Marrakech. The highlight was the snow on the pass! We were soon back to our destination, jumped on a train to Casablanca, slept for 4 hours before flying out. What an adventure!