The Real Matterhorn and a Terrific Dinner

One last post before we leave... we actually saw the Matterhorn! We were headed out to dinner, and stopped to talk to the man running our hotel. We were telling him about our hike and how we had only wished for better weather and to catch a glimpse of the Matterhorn. He told us to look out the window, and sure enough, the clouds had cleared long enough for us to see it. We ran upstairs and grabbed our camera and snapped a few pictures. Do you know that just a few minutes later, the clouds had covered it up again? But we saw it, and that made us both so happy. It looks just like the Matterhorn at Disneyland! ;-) Hopefully we will be able to post pictures again soon. The computers we've run into lately are sealed inside boxes, so we have no access to the necessary port.

After our elation at viewing the Matterhorn, we went for our final Swiss dinner... at a Japanese restaurant! :-) And it was another fabulous meal. We laughed at howour two best meals here were the pizza in Bern, and now the Japanese food in Zermatt. I don't know if we mentioned that we did have the traditional fondue on our last night in Lauterbrunnen, and that was also a very delicious meal.

I think the best part of this trip has been the time spent together, just laughing and having fun together. We always say that we work hard, so we play hard, but it is amazing what a toll our jobs have taken on us the past two years. Today I said that I think we should write to Rick Steves and see if we can go work for him. Eric can lead the adventure tour group (mountain climbing, crazy death-type sky diving stuff) and I could lead the more mellow tour. We could move to Seattle, which is still cheaper than California, and just make a living off of traveling. Eric said to go for it. So I will have to think on how to compose that letter.... :-)

Eric's Thoughts from Zermatt (part two)

Today was another amazing, although cold and wet, day. Jenny and I did another mountain hike which had some amazing views even though it was rainy and cloudy. I was actually pleasantly surprised how far we could see given the weather. For a while there, we thought we could see at least part of the Matterhorn. I think one of the highlights of my day though was coming back to a warm hotel room and changing out of some very wet clothes.

I think the other highlight (although it made me wish we had better weather on the hike) was when we went out for dinner (which by the way was some of the best sushi I have had period, including Japan), and we could clearly see the entire peak of the Matterhorn. Jenny and I were both amazed at how close and clear it was considering we had not really seen it for most of the day. We will post pictures when we get a chance

Well, That is all for now. I am looking foward to our next leg of our trip in Cinque Terre. Amazingly enough even though we are staying in a very small town, they still have an internet cafe. I just hope we are able to post pictures. Take care everyone.

The Secrets to Good Hot Chocolate and The Return of Adventure Girl

Ah, so we've finally figured out what makes Swiss hot chocolate so yummy. First of all, it must be made with milk, never water. And the secret ingredient..... you add a little square of swiss chocolate, a bit larger than a postage stamp, to the bottom of your mug and stir until it is melted. It makes the cocoa richer and sweeter. And, if you're feeling really adventurous, you can try flavored chocolates, like mint chocolate of toffee chocolate - it gives an extra little kick. Yummy!

And now for the return of Adventure Girl... as you know, we arrived in Zermatt to the rain. It continued to rain all evening. Before we went to sleep, I said to Eric that if it was raining in the morning, I didn't want to go hiking. His response was, "What? Where's the Adventure Girl that I married." He was just playing when he said this. But I thought about it, and after all we did hike Mt. Fuji in the rain at night, no less, and a much higher altitude, so this couldn't be so bad....could it?

Well, of course it was raining buckets this morning. But we decided that we were here, and we had to at least try to go hiking. So we bundled up in all our layers (which was most of the clothes I brought) and headed for the mountain. We took a furnicular train car through a tunnel up the mountain, and arrived up top 6 minutes later. (This was not on top of the Matterhorn or anywhere near it. It was to the top of the area where we were going to hike.) When we walked out of the tunnel, it was raining even more than when we started.

Have you ever had an umbrella that got so wet it stopped repelling water? Have you ever had a water proof jacket get so wet that it stopped repelling water? Are you getting the picture? Despite the cold rain, we had a fun time and laughed the whole way down the mountain. The trail was beautiful - on top of fallen pine needles (oh the fragrance was heavenly!) Unfortunately, the pines were a bit skimpy and didn't help to shelter us much from the rain. But there was one brief moment, where the haze disappated the tiniest amount and we think we saw part of the Matterhorn (and as far as we're concerned, that counts!) :-)

I have to emphasie that we truly had fun on this adventure, and even though the mountain blasted freezing cold wind at us, and dumped gallons of water on our heads, we couldn't stop laughing because it was just silly fun. (And it's even easier to laugh about now that we are warm and dry.)

So tomorrow we leave Switzerland very early and head to Italy. I can't believe that the Swiss portion of our trip is drawing to a close. We've loved it here, and we've learned so much about how we would travel here next time. For example, I think we would come later in the summer to have better weather, and we would definitely bring more layers of clothing (although, you know the problem with layers, once they get wet, it doesn't matter how much you have on!)

We will have about an 8 hour travel day tomorrow to get to Cinque Terre. But we are stopping in Milan for lunch (hee hee - do you like how that sounds?) and to see the Duomo (no, not the Duomo from Florence, but the one in Milan). And then we have to make a couple of different train transfers to get to the coast. Ah Cinque Terre.... and hopefully more adventures to come.

Eric's Thoughts from Zermatt

Well, we are here in Zermatt, and it is beautiful here. The only downside is that this place is like Disneyland compared to the sleepy little town of Lauterbrunnen, but we are settling down nicely. The surprising thing is that the town is much more relaxing in the evening. We just got back from a nice dinner and walk around the town. The views around this town are spectacular. I am really looking forward to hiking tomorrow. I just hope the weather cooperates. It has been raining most of the afternoon.

That is all for now. Sorry no pictures; we are using the hotel computer. Hope everyone is well. Take care.

Hi From Zermott and the Matterhorn

Quote of the day: "Eric, our toilet doesn't have a seat on it!" This is what I said when we walked into out bathroom, and then I realized what I was looking at. I've heard of bidets before, but I think it's funny that we are 16 days into our trip and this is the first time we've seen one.



So, here we are in Zermatt. I don't know yet if I hate it or love it. It's just that kind of a crazy place. It didn't help that we left Lausanne, where the weather was nice, only to get up here to the hot, hot humidity (I know - who would expect that in the mountains?) But I've lived in Houston long enough to know that that unbearable heat and humidity equals a big rainstorm coming, and sure enough, just as we literally got off the train, the rain started to pour, freezing cold rain.



Now, the ironic part is this is the time when we didn't have any reservations for a place to stay. This was the time when we were going to be wild and kookey and go with the flow. We didn't know if we would stay in Switzerland or head to Italy early. We just wanted the freedom to do whatever. Apparently, a billion other people felt the same way, because this place is crazy crowded.



But you know me, I'm not a complete free spirit. I am not able to completely turn off the control freak. So we had our Rick Steves' guide in hand, and figured out where we would try to find a room. So we walked in the rain to that hotel, only to discover that they are completely closed until tomorrow! We also discovered that the lifts to the hikes we wanted to do are closed until the day we leave! Oh frustration! had I known this (had I planned) we would have planned our time differently. But, we didn't. Live and learn.

Well, we ended up finding a very cute and affordable place to stay (which is saying a lot, because I think this must be Europe's equivolent of Vail, Colorado.) And we walked around the town - one big long street filled with hundreds of shops. Picture Carmel by the Sea, on its most crowded day, take away all the side streets, and add about a thousand people, and you've got a picture of Zermatt. (So Dad, I don't recommend this place for you). But the mountains are pretty, and we are having fun, none the less.

We are hopeful that the rain will stop and we can do a couple of the smaller hikes tomorrow, which will enable us to see the Matterhorn. If not, we seem to have fun just wandering around the grocery store and looking at all of the different products they sell here.

The other funny thing... so after we checked in and got unpacked, it was about 3 pm and we were starving. We wandered all over this crazy place and NONE of the restaurants were serving food (they stop serving between 2pm and 6:30 pm). Thankfully (at least I hope we won't be unthankful in a few hours) we found a guy on the street corner selling bratwurst. They were the best bratwurst we've ever had (we must have been uber hungry!) No - it wasn't as shady as I'm making it sound - he had a grill and an umbrella, so he must have been legit.

Anyway, the clock is ticking and I'm out of time. Eric is in the room, vegging out. Hope you are all well.

Us Having Fun

Jenny: "Come on Eric, let's visit the gift shop."

Eric: "No thanks, I think I'll just stay here."

Chateau de Chillion Pictures

Eric's Thoughts from Switzerland (der sechs)

Well, another great day in Europe. Initially, I was a little bummed about leaving the mountains and coming to a city (Lausanne, pop. 150,000 to 300,000 (greater Lausanne area), but Lake Geneva is a beautiful area. Today was much clearer and we could actually see the mountains across the lake. We took a lake cruise (sounds spoiled doesn't it? especially since we were in first class) which was simply amazing. We could see little towns scattered all around the lake side, and the views of the hills, mountains, and other interesting areas were simply impressive.

We took the lake cruise to another castle, which if you read my earlier blog, I have a strong liking for. This castle was amazing. It sat on the lake shore and was simply a beautiful example of medival architecture. I will post some more pictures in a separate blog.

The other highlights of my day were taking a pedal boat out on the lake and walking around the old town of Lausanne. The boat ride was fun and relaxing, and this is yet another European town filled with history.

Well, that is all for now. It is getting late here. I am looking forward to tomorrow; we are returning to the mountains. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. Take care everyone.

Life Styles of the Rich and Famous

OK, maybe Robin Leech wouldn't consider our day so luxiourious, but we sure felt like a king and a queen! First, I have to say to anyone headed to Europe, get a railpass. There are a confusing amount to choose from, but it is worth it to have one. Like, for example, being able to take a boat cruise on Lake Geneva for 3 hours and not have to pay anything for it, because it's covered by your railpass. And being able to ride on the First Class deck because you have a First Class railpass....tres bien!

So, we boarded our boat at 9:30 a.m. This proved to be the perfect time, as there were only 7 other people on the First Class deck with us. We had a choice of lounge chairs on the deck, or tables and chairs in the middle. We tried all the different options, and settled on the lounge chairs in the sun. This is when Robin Leech popped into my mind. I felt like a queen (which is even more extravagant than the princess that I already am!) There was even a waitress walking around, asking if we wanted drinks. (Not quite my Mom's Raul, but still quite nice.)

Cruising around the lake was wonderful, and both Eric and I agree that Lausanne has really grown us. I think it was a culture shock to come from the peaceful mountains to this crazy big city, but we are adjusting (and tomorrow we leave for the mountains again.) Our cruise ended at Chateau de Chillion, a really cool castle. You know Eric was heaven ( 2 days in a row of castle exploration!) and we had a relaxing time wandering through the castle. They had a very helpful pamphlet which enabled us to learn a lot, while going at our own pace.

Then we cruised back. This time it was much more crowded and it really made us appreciate our morning voyage. Eric got a crazy idea while we were headed back. He wanted to go swimming in the lake!!! (Crazy because it's so cold!) But it was a gorgeous day. So we rented a pedal boat, and pedaled around a bit. The water ended up being too cold to jump in, but we had fun dipping our legs in (with me screaming the whole time because it was so cold.)

Then Eric had another great idea to walk up hill (I tell ya, everything is up hill!) to the old town of Lausanne. It was incredible and we saw a lot of historical buildings and cathedrals. Lots more pictures to add to our collection.

I will sign off now, so Eric can write. But I will end with an answer to my Mom's question: yes - we are bringing home chocolate for everyone! We already shipped some home from Bern, and will ship some more home before heading to Zermatt. (Picture that MasterCard commercial... cost of shipping home a box of chocolate.... x amount of dollars..... cost of not having to lug it around Europe... priceless!)

Other Castle Pictures (Enjoy)

Eric's Thoughts from Switzerland (der fünf)

I am not sure if five is the right number, but who is keeping track besides me. Another wonderful day full of unexpected surprises. When Jenny first proposed the idea of going to a cheese factory and a chocolate factory, I wasn't entirely certain what to expect, but I must say it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed them both immensely.

But the highlight of my day today was exploring the medival castle in Gruyeres. When I was a kid living in England, one of the things I clearly remember was exploring the numerous castles that can be found all over Europe. Although I have never been to this particular castle, this brought back feelings of nostalgia for me.

The picture is of me climbing up onto the ramparts of the castle. I will have a separate post with a few other castle pictures.

Hope everyone is doing well. Take care.

Cheese and Castles and Chocolates, Oh My!

Well, we've lost track of the days, so I can't say "Day such and such was amazing!", but whichever day this was was quite an adventure for us. We traveled to the town of Gruyeres, where they make the delicious cheese. (We learned that the reason the cheese is so delicious is because the cows eat over 75 different kinds of plants and grasses, including the vanilla orchid.) We learned this from our cow guide, Cherry. I highly recommend a visit to Gruyeres. The cheese factory is fun, and we learned a lot. There is a very cool medival town to walk around, complete with a castle, which we had fun touring.

From Gruyeres, we took the train to Broc, which is home of the chocolate factory. As soon as you get off of the train in Broc, you can smell the chocolate. I don't know if it's naturally that way, or if they are pumping the smell into the train station, but it made me drool! We walked to the chocolate factory. Now this place was amazing because it was FREE. And the best part of the tour was that we got to sample as many different kinds, and as many pieces of chocolate as we wanted. (I thought this was marketing genius because the chocolate is sooo rich, that really you can only stomach about 4 pieces. Well, OK, Eric had 6, but you see what I mean.) There must have been 25 - 30 different kinds of chocolate to sample. It's a bummer that we felt so ill after only a couple of pieces.

From the chocolate factory, we went on a long walk uphill, which prompted me to ponder these two questions: Why is it that everything we visit in Switzerland is up a steep hill? And why is it that the sun is always shining directly on us as we hike up these hills? But I digress...

We were trying to find a restaurant to eat some real food, because at this point we only had cheese and chocolate in our bellies. (I forgot to mention that at the cheese factory, they give you a pack of cheese, 3 pieces of various ages. Yummy!) But we couldn't find a restaurant at all, so we got back on the train and headed to Bulle.

Bulle was another unexpected gem. From the train station we could tell that it was a larger town, and probably had a restaurant. But it wasn't until we got to the main street that we saw just how big a town it was, complete with its own castle. We had a wonderful, leisurely time, wandering around and getting a steak dinner. It started to pour rain (we are learning that the mornings are the beautiful time of day and that the rains come in the afternoon-early evening.)

We made it back to Lausanne and have found a place to upload our pictures. So if you didn't notice, we added pictures to our two blogs from yesterday. Hope all is well with everyone. Love and miss you!

Eric's Thoughts from Switzerland (der not sure)

Hey everyone! We have arrived in Lausanne on Lake Geneva. It is very pretty here although not as beautiful as the mountains. We walked around by the lake and had a nice dinner together. The lake is amazing. It is massive. We traveled by a lake we thought was large when we first entered Switzerland. When we went to Interlaken, there are two lakes (which you can see in at least a few of our pictures I believe) which made the first lake look small. Well, Lake Geneva makes those two lakes look like ponds.

I am looking forward to exploring the area around this lake more over the next few days. We are planning a bike ride and a boat ride as well as some good old fashioned walking (for a change). : )

I hope all of you are doing well. I am sure that I will write more later, and we will try to find a way to include pictures. The computer we are using doesn't have the capability.

Hi From Lake Geneva

We have made it to the city of Lausanne. It was so hard to arrive in a bustling city after being in the serene valley for 4 days, although we picked a good day to leave, as it was raining. So the weather made it perfect for a 4 hour train ride through the mountains, meadows and farm land. Lake Geneva feels like France again, the architecture is different and French is the primary language here.

On the train ride, I was able to reflect on why it was so difficult for me to write while in Lauterbrunnen... how many different ways can you say "amazing" or "breath taking"? It was truly beautiful behind words. My mom often comments that she doesn't know how we will ever want to come home from Europe, and this was the first place that I felt like I could stay at for awhile (not to live, but for at least a couple of weeks to enjoy all of the different hikes.)

The hike we went on yesterday was incredible in so many different ways. George, we thought of you quite often as there were so many different flowers and even cacti to look at. We lost count after noticing 10 different varieties of yellow flowers alone. At one point, we rounded a bend and heard what sounded like wind chimes. It was the sound of the bells of about 50 cows in a pasture far below us. Beautiful!

The hike was also scary. Eric likes to take the most challenging, scariest routes, where death is almost surely imminent. I prefer to actually enjoy the hike. So we compromised. Death hike to peaceful meadow trail, back to death hike, and back through the meadow. Although I will admit that the death hike was quite beautiful. Gorgeous tourqouise lake to the left, although the sheer rock cliff would kill you on the way down.... Gorgeous alpine mountains to the right and meadow down below, althought the sheer rock cliff would kill you on the way down... :-) But we made it, and now we're anxious to return again one day to try some of the other hikes.

(Subtle hint here: So if anyone would like to plan a trip to Switzerland, let us know and we can even be your personal tour guides!) :-)

I am glad to be seeing Lake Geneva, because it is incredible, but I'm even happier with our decision to end our time in Switzerland in Zermat, back in the mountains. To me, the mountains are what make Switzerland so incredibly amazing! Hopefully the weather will cooperate so that we can actually see the Matterhorn and get one last mountain hike in.

Eric's Thoughts from Switzerland (der fehr)

Well, I am at a loss for words to describe the beauty and wonder of this place as you can see from this picture. Come here for yourself to experience it first hand.

Take care everyone. We will be writing next from Lake Geneva.

P.S. Julie say hi to my students for me if you see them again.

More Pics from our Wonderful Hike

Us in front of yet another amazing view.

Jenny defying her fears to climb up to an amazing lake view. I am very proud of her for making it up to such a scary overlook.

Jenny's Post

I just told Eric that I feel too tired to type anything. He's been
at the internet cafe uploading the pictures, while I've been back
at the hotel taking a shower. The hiking today was amazing
beyond words, but also tiring. I did want to mention another
unexpected gem that we stumbled upon (much like the zoo in Bern.) While we were waiting for the train back to Lauterbrunnen, we heard all sorts of band music. We walked up the street just a bit and there was a marching band competition going on. All of these little tiny mountain villages have marching bands! Crazy! There was one band, wearing all different soccer jerseys, playing snipits of national anthems from many different countries. We figured they must be vying to host the World Cup? I'm not sure. But it was very fun and entertaining to watch these bands.