JonMarc – Page 8

A Quiet Swiss Weekend

August 13, 2012August 13, 2012JonMarc

Itinerary: Saturday: bike ride through peaceful farmland to Thun and back

Sunday: hike an Alpine meadow with friends

Sounds like a quiet weekend, getting in touch with nature? It certainly started that way. The route we planned to Thun was not the shortest, for it took us through the Valley of the Gurbe River, renowned for cabbages and sauerkraut.

Gliding over the rolling hills, we passed classic Swiss scenery and paused in an ancient and amazingly serene rock church in Amsoldingen.

Amsoldingen Church — Difficult to show in a picture is the feeling of peace 'in your bones' that I experienced in this church in Amsoldingen.

Then we rolled on down to Thun where the quiet ended. Thun was in festival mode. Streets were lined with booths and packed with people, amusement rides hard at work, and rock bands blaring as though they all wanted to be heard at the other end of the lake. We chose to leave Thun’s castle for another day and followed the edge of the Thun See to Schloss Oberhofen (Schloss is German for palace, more than a home, less than a fortress, usually pretty elaborate residence).

It was a beautiful day for a wedding—we saw at least 3 in progress, including in the courtyard at Oberhofen.

Our return route was more direct and that meant, unfortunately, quite a bit of time within earshot of the heavily trafficked A6 freeway. But we had clocked another 84 km on the bike and ticked off a few more Swiss sights.

Sunday, ah, that will be peaceful, yes? Our friends picked us up at the all-too-early hour of 7:15. We drove (via the A6) back south beyond Thun to Engstligenalp where Jon risked life and limb to try Klettersteig (aka via ferrata). This is climbing with a harness along a permanently-installed cable line. I took the easy way up in a gondola.

Edelweiss — Edelweis 'in situ', spotted along the Via Ferrata

I arrived at the top at 9:30. It was just me and maybe 6 other people in view in the whole meadow. After a short nap atop a hillock, I woke to see a line of people walking the trail, including quite a few in wheelchairs! Switzerland believes in access: this meadow includes 5 km of wheelchair-accessible trails so everyone can get their dose of Alpine air. Climbing down from my perch, I started hiking with the crowd, passing the two restaurants, one of which had live music. It took walking almost an hour to the other side of the bowl to find ‘quiet’. There I could hear only the rippling streams and cowbells, the latter rather noisy in their own right. Jon and friends completed their climb and we pic-nic’d by a cold mountain stream.

Engstligenalp picnic — Picnic at Engstligenalp

We all walked down via the same path used by the cows when they come up in June for their summer pasturing. Please check out the video of the cow climb: http://www.adelboden.ch/en/page.cfm/NewsEvents/SommerEvents/Alpaufzug

MC on the Engstligenalp trail — Amazing views on the 2 hour downhill climb from Engstligenalp

This path was not as steep as Jon’s climb, but my toes still ache from being constantly pushed into my shoes!

86’d Burgdorf

August 5, 2012August 5, 2012JonMarc

Weather was iffy: Saturday looked probably good, but Sunday was given a high chance of rain. That and high hotel rates led us to make our ride yesterday round-trip. We knew that if at any point it was too difficult, we could head to a train station and get home easily and cheaply. So, off to Burgdorf, an 86 km. route on Swiss Regional bike trails. With a new rear bike rack and case holding our emergency gear (those rains might come early), even riding on gravel paths was easy. Heading toward Langnau and the Emme River (Emmental means valley of the Emme and yes, that’s where the cheese comes from), was a bit of a climb. Then we had a gradual downhill from Langnau through and beyond Burgdorf, ending with a smaller uphill climb to home. In Burgdorf itself we were entertained by a typically high-priced Swiss café and a lovely little castle, where we learned a little about antique ceramics, the Swiss gold rush and making linen.

Burgdorf castle textile museum — Textile museum in Burgdorf castle

Ooh Paris, Aah France

August 2, 2012August 2, 2012JonMarc

The friends who visited with us in Switzerland then went on to La Raincy, a suburb of Paris, where they had a house exchange. We followed on Friday the 27^th and stayed through 8/1, which is Swiss National Day and a holiday for Jon. Although the house was a ways out of Paris, they had chosen this exchange because it included the use of a car. Well, folks, after one day re-visiting Paris (I had been there in 1997, Jon and I in 2005), we were deeply grateful for that car. Our first day we took the train into Paris and spent most of the day touring the Louvre. Yes, we loved the museum again. But getting there and back, through filth and trash and smells and crowds, including a pickpocket attempt, left us wanting no more.

Patels home in Paris — At 'home' with the Patels in La Raincy

So for the next 3 days we did what we couldn’t do when we were there before with the bike: toured the countryside in every direction: Giverny (totally loved it), Rouen, Vaux le Vicomte (the lesser-known inspiration for Versailles with much smaller crowds) , Fontainebleau & Chartres (the last two have seen recent improvement and we expect will get better with each year).

Giverny - Jon and MC — Jon & MC in Monet's garden

Giverny lily pond - Monet planned and built his gardens

Rouen gargoyles — Rouen Cathedral gargoyles at sunset

Vicont bedroom — Vaux le Vicomte - amazing luxury

Vicomte ceiling — Vaux le Vicomte - ceiling detail

Vicomte canal — Canal at Vaux le Vicomte-far beyond the gardens is a man-made 800m canal

Fontainebleau stairs — The horseshoe staircase at Fontainebleau where Napoleon gave his goodby speech

Fontainebleau hallway — Hallway in Fontainebleau palace

Chartres - cathedral window — Stained glass windows in Chartres were removed during WWII

Chartres - cathedral restorations — Chartres interior restoration - the cathedral is dedicated to Mary

Our final day we again walked through Paris, visiting the Rodin Museum and a map store we had discovered on our last visit, Au Vieux Campeur, finding two of the maps we will need for our sabbatical next year.

We arrived home in time to watch a Swiss Day parade, bonfire and fireworks, then we ran home in a sudden downpour.

Swiss National Day bonfire - we worried the nearby corn field would get roasted!

Switzerland in 10 Days

July 23, 2012July 23, 2012JonMarc

Our guests left this morning after a very full 10 days of Swiss touring: they walked Bern, rode the Golden Pass Train, toured Chillon and Lausanne, visited Murten and Avenches, hiked to Kleine Scheidegg, snow-tubed on the Jungfrau, hiked in Zermatt, toured Neuchatel and Lucerne. And most evenings found them eating very well: either they were making Indian-style food for us or were invited out for BBQ.

Jon knew Anil from working together in San Rafael. But neither of us knew his family: wife Beth and sons Zachary and Austen. They have traveled a lot, including trips to India and China that were decidedly not luxurious. So having a home base to work from made it a relaxing vacation for them. And they are easy to be with, consistently agreeable and considerate making it a relaxing visit for us.

Anil and Jon outside Autodesk in Gumligen

Jon and I were able to join our guests on the weekends:

Typical Swiss Farmland, taken from the Golden Pass Train

Chillon - Kitchen — At Chillon, Jon & I consider the benefits of a larger kitchen

Lake Geneva from Lausanne — Vineyards above Lausanne by Lake Geneva

Laussane - Orienteering — We happened to arrive at Lausanne at the end of a World Orienteering Race

Lucerne bridge — Lucerne's Kapellbrucke "Chapel Bridge"

Lucerne bridge painting — Lucerne's famous covered bridges are decorated inside with 16th cen. paintings

Lucerne Lion Memorial — Lion Memorial commemorating Swiss Guards massacred during the French Revolution

After a week and a half of guests and touring, we enjoyed a brisk 20 km on the bike through Swiss countryside.

Guests and Plans

July 12, 2012July 12, 2012JonMarc

This week we’re preparing for guests. We borrowed an air mattress. Which then necessitated borrowing a transformer to pump it. We’ve sent emails back and forth about what to bring us (Jon’s choral clothes) and what they want to do while here (cheese, chocolate, Alps). We finally took the last of the suitcases and bike boxes to the basement storage unit. And Jon, through much struggle, installed the dining room chandelier!

I had a full day at last: filled with cleaning everything in the house, setting up beds, and grocery shopping (two visits, couldn’t carry it all in one). It felt good to have a clear and physical function. Even though my ‘job’ as ‘vacation planner‘ is theoretically always there to be done, it’s elusive and frustrating with many dead-ends and lots of sitting. So, we’re ready.

Well, we’re ready for the coming two weekends with our guests. Then there’s all the weeks and weekends beyond that. In the last two days we’ve finalized travel plans for our Paris trip (7/28-8/1) and gone through 14 permutations of possibilities for a trip to Scandinavia (potentially August or September). Somehow the planning has not, as I had hoped, become easier.

Soccer

July 9, 2012July 9, 2012JonMarc

It has been a soccer summer with the European games going on. For weeks it was everywhere. You pass a bar and hear a game. In the restaurant in Konstanz (an otherwise elegant place), the game was showing on a big screen TV. At Turnhalle, a bar in the courtyard of an old gymnasium where Jon’s co-workers like to go on Thursdays for a beer or a ‘Cuba Libre’ (rum and coke), a tent was set up with a TV and waves of cheers and moans washed over those outside. So it seemed fitting that Autodesk held its annual Soccer tournament in Switzerland this year and we were able to attend. The Neuchatel AD office is quite large and fields two teams. Gumligen is quite small and has no one who is even interested. Thus it was that Jon and I were able to borrow the company car and drive by ourselves to Neuchatel for the all-day event Saturday 7/7.

Once again, the theme of the year played out: things foreign may be interesting but they are also stress-inducing. After a week of facing minor everyday foreignnesses like not knowing what someone is saying to you or whether the change you’re getting back is correct, driving a strange car to a new place on roads with different signs wasn’t exactly a fun time. The games themselves were fun. We’ve begun to understand the rules a bit and although we knew almost no one there, we managed to meet a number of people and have some nice conversations.

Sunday was bike repair day. The tandem’s front tire had gone flat from a slow leak, the result of a failed old patch thus requiring a new tube. And it was caked with dirt from the muddy paths we’ve been on. All 3 bikes needed cleaning and oiling. And we needed a bit of body repair as well, a quiet at home day was definitely due.

Das Weindorf

July 3, 2012July 3, 2012JonMarc

Our 2^nd weekend being driven into Germany by our friends Simon and Michaela, this time to stay with their parents and go to the local ‘Weindorf’ or ‘wine village’. This is somewhat different from an American style wine event. We are accustomed to tastings where you take a small sip of each wine to see if you like it. Here they sell small glasses–1/10^th liter—of their latest vintages for 2 Euros ($3). By each of us getting a different variety, we could each sample 4 wines at a time. However, it’s hard to throw out wine, so it was more like going out drinking, than like sampling to find what you want to buy. Unfortunately, none of the wines were very impressive, although Jon did find a varietal he had never heard of which he liked: Muller-Thurgau.

Saturday I stayed in bed with a sore neck, while Jon ventured out shopping with our friends. Prices are generally lower in Germany, so a lot of people try to stock up while there. Unfamiliarity with the stores and the products proved a major hurdle, but he did find me a yoga mat (so I can take better care of my sore body).

Saturday night it was back to the Weindorf (which carries on for 5 days) for Jon and the others. But the weather gods were not in a good mood and they all got soaked by a classic Iowa thunderstorm. The entire area, with its rolling hills of corn and heavy humidity has reminded Jon of his home in Iowa, so this just capped off the experience.

We broke up the long drive home by touring the Schloss at Ludwigsburg and having dinner in Konstanz by the Bodensee. This palace was modeled after Versailles, but is in much better condition with grounds to match. While pictures are not permitted inside, Simon managed to sneak a few. But they only hint at the phenomenal decorations. I asked in particular about some of the vases I saw and was told most were authentic 16^th/17^th cen. Chinese and Japanese. Many exquisite pieces of furniture, wall coverings, embroidered chairs, etc. One of the places you never hear about but are so glad you got to see.

Weekdays

July 2, 2012July 2, 2012JonMarc

Perhaps you have read our earlier blog entries: our wonderful weekend adventures. Our weekdays, however, are not so exceptional. Jon is working as he would back home, with all the challenges and frustrations that has always entailed. I (Mary Carol) am living the quiet life, where the nearly daily trip to the grocery store is my big thrill. I have begun to accept the high prices of food. Of course, I try to shop carefully, but when I get to the counter, I just stick Jon’s credit card in the slot and press “ok”, barely looking at the total. We have TV, mostly watching either BBC or recorded shows from our home set via slingbox.

Jon has joined two choruses so some nights he’s off to Bern to rehearse. Occasional Thursdays he or we join a few Autodesk employees who hang out in Turnhalle, a cafe-bar in downtown Bern.

I water my few veggies on the balcony, spend some hours every day researching possibilities for our trips, listen to a little German TV or translate part of the newspaper, and often partake of that most popular Swiss activity: walking. Jon and I are starting to say the Swiss drive and ride bikes like they have no place to go but walk like they do. Nordic walking—with poles and a sense of determination—seems quite common.

Fear of Footpaths

June 28, 2012June 28, 2012JonMarc

Today’s success? I got lost. Now, I know you’d think the success part would be I found my way back to my computer and can write in the blog again. But to get lost, you have to dare to go farther than you have before, to take unknown paths. Our neighborhood forest (search the map for Grossholz, Muri Bei Bern, Schweiz) is not terribly large, but the trees are tall, the underbrush dense, and the paths windy. Sense of direction is hard to maintain when it’s noon and shadows give no clue. It became a good long walk in the woods, and through a subdivision, along a construction zone….

Kein Mozart

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012JonMarc

The weeks are beginning to float by. We have now been in Switzerland for longer than any of our other Europe visits. This past weekend was a chore to set up, but turned out fine. First, we were going to take a train to Wurzburg to visit a friend and hear a concert during their Mozartfest. Back and forth went the emails. Research on the web for concert times and availability, for train arrangements, etc. Whoa, Nelly—did you know how far Wurzburg is from Bern? Far if you’re looking at train prices—almost $400. Add a symphony in the Residenz and you’ve got yourself a pricey weekend. Still, we’re thinking so much of what we are choosing to do here is based on the once-in-a-lifetime value, that okay, if that’s what it takes, we’ll do it.

Step in the generous German, Simon. He works with Jon and when we were first here, he drove us to a large shopping center so we could load up on groceries with the aid of his car. The car to our rescue again, this time since he and his wife would be going into Germany for a wedding that weekend, they would drive us most of the way. He also checked the train possibilities and helped us with purchasing tickets when we got to the station. So from $400 down to $85 for train tickets. And the Mozart concert? Well, late as we were in making arrangements, we didn’t luck into any tickets, BUT our friend Marisa had looked around for “what’ll I do with my visitors” and came up with a gypsy/tango trio playing for free in the midst of a forest bedecked for a wild art show!! On Sunday we topped off the weekend with a fun concert in Stuttgart put on by Simon and Michaela’s old choral group, love songs with a humorous twist, albeit mostly in German. A once-in-a-lifetime experience and free besides. Our weekend cost about as much as pizza and a movie in Bern!

Gypsy/Tango music in the midst of a forest art show