Friday, 31 July 2009
Glacier Rivers are Cold
The river we rafted in actually runs down from Grindelwald. It is called the Black Lütschine. The reason for this is that sediments settle in the glacier and give the water a dirty, greyish colour. The white Lütschine flows from Lauterbrunnen and is quite clear and lovely. Where they meet they become the Lütschine river. Anyway, the rafting trip begins with some class 3 rapids. You then have to get out of the river and take a bus to the next section lower down on the river. This is because a nature conserve begins, and only fishing is allowed there. Just below the nature conserve is a class five rapid, and it is illegal for anyone to raft, or even kayak there. Anyway, the next section is a 3.5 or a 4. That section is followed by some easy crusing, with a bit of fast water through to the lake. It's actually really cool because where the river meets the lake the water gets really clear. That's because the water stops moving and the sediment settles to the bottom where it is collected with a machine and then processed for roads and other things. Also, the water gets instantly warmer in the lake because it is still and the sun heats it. It's gorgeous.
I actually don't have much more to say about today. It was really fun, but there's not much to tell. That has been the case for the majority of my time here. I have just been relaxing and having a nice time. Tomorrow I am off to Salzburg, so I'm sure I'll be less lazy and have more adventures to relate to you all. I'm going to go attempt to be social now, even though I'm pretty tuckered. Maybe I can convince someone to play asshole.
Quick update
Monday, 27 July 2009
Hiking alone is neither cool nor fantastic...
The ride up to first is about 30 minutes and I was pretty much white knuckling it the entire time. I don't know what it is, but anytime I am in a gondola (and sometimes on chair lifts as well) I can't help but think about what would happen if the cable were to snap. It's much worse when I'm riding alone, and I happened to be alone this time. Needless to say, I was pretty happy with my decision to walk down.
I was a really nice walk. When I got bored of being by myself I listened to Fleet Foxes and the Flaming Lips on my ipod. I couldn't figure out why the path was so empty, and I started to get kind of worried. I really had no other option than to keep going.
View from the top of First.
Wow! What a looker!
Like my father before me, I took many pictures of waterfalls (streams?).
A magical ending!
Sunday, 26 July 2009
In Grindelwald... the village in Switzerland, not the character from Harry Potter
Tanya and Devinn are disgusted by something... wish I could remember what...
Yes, I did take this picture upside-down on purpose. It seemed like a fantastic idea at the time.
Because we had umbrellas and it rained we were the most popular girls in all the land. This young chap was still in his teens, and his friends were deeply disturbed to discover that Tanya was a teacher (they used to opportunity to ask her for relationship advice). Anyway, this guy's style was inspired by Harry Potter (note the Gryffindor colours on his sweater... or jumper, if your British).
Clearly, I felt it necessary to steal his glasses and have a photoshoot.
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Bern promotes baby eating... Thomas Swift would be pleased
Today was my only full day in Bern. I had a leisurely morning, and headed into town on foot for about 11 o'clock. As I walked I noticed I was heading downhill, so you can imagine how much I was looking forward to the walk home. In town I decided to just wander the streets. Bern’s Old Town is really pretty. The streets are mostly cobblestone, and there are lots of fountains and statues all around the town. There is also a clock that has little figures that move around on the hour. My favourite site, however, was the Ogre fountain, which is a fountain with a statue of an ogre eating babies. Lots of children were disturbed by this (okay, just one that I saw), but I thought it was pretty magical. I spent most of my time in town walking the streets and trying to resist the urge to go shopping (I was successful!).
At around one I was pretty hungry so I went to the grocery store and bought some cheese, bread, and water (my typical lunch for the past month) and found a picnic table overlooking the river to eat. I was actually starving at this point (it took me at least half an hour to decide what to do for lunch) but I always find that the more hungry I feel the less I can actually eat. I ate half the bun, and about a quarter of the cheese, and the water was frizzante (I really need to learn to check that) so I ended up sharing the bun with some birds and then carrying the cheese and water around with me for the rest of the day.
After lunch I walked along the river, before heading to the tourist centre to buy some more postcards and stamps (as well as some un-fizzed water). The tourist centre is located at the bear pits, which I had decided I did not need to see. I kind of ended up there accidentally. Basically they are just these concrete pits where they keep bears for entertainment purposes (like a zoo, minus any vegetation). None of the bears were actually out in the pits when I was there. Bear pits in Bern actually date back to 1441, and the name of the city, Bern, actually means bear (presumably in German, but don’t quote me on that). Supposedly the founder of the town (forget his name) said he would start his town on the site where he made his first kill while hunting, and he would name the town for that animal. That’s what a postcard told me anyway.
After the bear pits I decided to walk up to the rose gardens. It was actually quite a steep little walk, but it was worth it because at the top you got a view of the entire town. Also, the gardens were beautiful and they smelled great. I think I said I wasn’t impressed with them, but that was before I got to the main gardens. I stayed up in the gardens with the many old people and wrote post cards a wandered around. All in all it was quite a pleasant day. Tomorrow I am off to Grindelwald!
Friday, 24 July 2009
A video or two
In Bern
Anyway, it was a pleasant ride with really beautiful scenery. Switzerland's geography is 70% mountains, so you can imagine (if you haven't been here) how beautiful it is. When I got into the train station I got some money out. Switzerland is not part of the EU so my euros were no good here. I went to the tour desk, got some maps and brochures, and decide the hoof it to my hotel instead of taking the bus. In retrospect, this was probably a good idea because I got to enjoy some scenery, but at the time I thought I was going to die. I wore my jeans (or my travelling pants, as I like to call them) so I was sweating and I swear that my bag has taken on a life of it's own. Also, I was walking on a gentle incline that got gradually less gentle as the walk processed. In the end I was pretty impressed with my ability to navigate myself to my hotel without any wrong turns. Anyone who has ever driven with me and/or travelled with me should be impressed as well.
It was about a twenty-five minute walk, and I was pretty sweaty, thirsty, and tired when I arrived so I was pretty relieved that they let me check in right away. I went up to my room and took off my pants (in true Kristi style). Then it started to rain, so instead of going out to explore the city (as I should have done. I do have an umbrella) I did some emailing and took a nice long nap. Clearly I don't have much to tell about my Switzerland adventures thus far, but I plan to make tomorrow count, so I'll update then and let you know what I get up to.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Anyway, I spent the last five days in Dijon with Sophie Fasne, who did an English/French exchange to my highschool in 2000 (almost nine years ago. Wild!). She saw that I was in Europe via facebook and invited me to come visit if I was in France. I am so glad I did. For one thing, this is the first time I haven't felt like a tourist in a long time. My first day here she picked me up from the railway station. I did the old North American hug, which was awkward, because the French don't do that (and, anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not really a hugger anyway). Then she took me to her house, introduced me to her boyfriend Nicol, and fed me (avocados, tomatoes, mozzarella, and cheese in a salad... mmmmm). Then she showed me around Dijon.
Dijon is a gorgeous little town, with lots of medieaval architecture, and little villages with vineyards surrounding it. It is the home of Dijon mustard (although I've been told that the mustard is no longer made in Dijon, and even when it was most of the mustard seeds were imported, primarily from Canada). Also, all throughout the area are little villages with vineyards. They are beautiful, and the wine is great. Sophie took me on a drive through them on the way to her parents country house (which was huge and beautiful).
Anyway, on my first night here Sophie and her boyfriend had a barbeque with many of their friends, all of whom were extremely nice. I didn't understand most of the conversation, but I didn't mind. I'll go so far as to say it was pleasant. The next day I slept in and went into town to wander for a while in the afternoon.
Sunday, 19 July 2009
First post... but not my first day
Anyway, I don't really know what to post at the moment. It is my last day in Paris and I am tuckered out. I am currently waiting for the phone, but from the looks of things I could be waiting for a while. Today was not too interesting. I changed hostels (for the third time in Paris) and walked around the city. I went to the Musee D'Orsay, but I didn't get to see everything I wanted because it closed earlier than I had anticipated (Lonely Planet has lied to me for the last time). Tomorrow I am off to Dijon to visit Sophie, who I met when I was in grade 11 (I think). I'm pretty excited to see a familiar face (and I've only been on my own a few days... how does that bode for the next three weeks?). I'll let you know how it goes!
I promise my next post will be more interesting/informative and less stream of consciousy. Until then, enjoy some pics from the trip thus far.