30 octobre 2009

Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways… Ernest Hemingway

This is just what I witnessed today, the up’s and down’s of the Swiss Alps. This morning, Jen, Vincent, Kaitlyn, Yohannaliz, and I decided we wanted to see some snow – some real Swiss snow. So, we got tickets to Interlaken! None of us had ever been and were anxious to see the “extreme sports capital of the world.” We left around 11:00 and started in to the center of Switzerland. Our ticket was not for any specific time so we jumped off in Thun and then again in Spiez. Thun and Spiez were beautiful! I can’t believe this is the first time I had visited them! We saw the top sites of any Swiss village – the lake, the cathedral, the chateau, the Alps, the café, and then back to the train station. Both Thun and Spiez were so laid back. We didn’t see anyone our age – only those way younger of way older. In Spiez, we made our way down to the harbor and made ourselves comfortable sitting on the edge of the clearest water I have ever seen. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relaxed. We had no agenda or schedule and were so happy to just sit on the water and watch the sailboats go by. It’s difficult to tell where the mountains and water meet – they almost seem like one. The sharp contrast between the towering, snow-capped Alps and the clear blue lake is breathtaking. Fall is in full bloom here, even though I believe it’s technically winter. The colors and piles of leaves around the Spiez Cathedral were beautiful, reminding me of a fall, football Saturday in Oxford. I tried to explain Oxford/Southern/Ole Miss/Grove culture to the Arizonians, Peruvians, and Cape Codian today… it’s very difficult to do. I so take for granted how wonderful of a place it is and must have assumed everyone else could understand the greatness of a football Saturday on the Grove, a TCBY cone from Chaney’s, sweet potato casserole from Ajax, and sweet tea that’s really just sugar water J We play Auburn tomorrow – hotty toddy! With daylight savings time, the sun starts to set here around 4:30… By the time we started the last leg of our trip to Interlaken, it was beginning to get dark. Even with the darkness, the ride into Interlaken was beautiful! Alps the whole way! When we got into Interlaken, we bought tickets for the mountain train up to Gimmelwald.