Last update before Oxford:
Sept 18 - Morning in Bruges, afternoon in Ghent, evening in Antwerp
Sept 19 - Morning and afternoon in Antwerp evening in Amsterdam
Sept 20 - Amsterdam: Reijksmuseum, Heineken Experience
Sept 21 - Amsterdam: Rembrandt's house, Van Gogh museum, and Anne Frank house
Sept 22 - Went to The Hague and Utrecht.
Planned...
Sept 23 - Haarlem and Zandaam with a final evening in Amsterdam
Sept 24 - Fly to England, travel to Oxford
Sept 25 - Orientation
Sept 26 - Class starts? Where the hell did the time go?
All the best, see you in England.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
The internet in Europe manages to get worse everywhere I go, pretty soon I feel like Im going to be sending smoke signals back to the states in lieu of email.
Im a bit under the weather and the real weather isnt helping. Its currently pouring rain in Bruges, Belgium.
Since I last visited you...
Sept 15 : Spent the morning in Nuremberg, afternoon in Cologne (jesus its big) and, after an hour long walk from the train station, spent the night in Aachen.
Sept 16 : Spent the morning in Aachen, seeing Charlamagne's throne and remains and the afternoon/evening in Brussels.
Sept 17 : Morning in Brussels, afternoon and evening here in Bruges.
Tommorow more Bruges and maybe off to Antwerp then onward to Amsterdam...
Im a bit under the weather and the real weather isnt helping. Its currently pouring rain in Bruges, Belgium.
Since I last visited you...
Sept 15 : Spent the morning in Nuremberg, afternoon in Cologne (jesus its big) and, after an hour long walk from the train station, spent the night in Aachen.
Sept 16 : Spent the morning in Aachen, seeing Charlamagne's throne and remains and the afternoon/evening in Brussels.
Sept 17 : Morning in Brussels, afternoon and evening here in Bruges.
Tommorow more Bruges and maybe off to Antwerp then onward to Amsterdam...
Friday, September 14, 2007
For memory purposes
It seems getting to the internet is harder than I first imagined it would be so Im making a list of what Ive done and hoping to fill in the rest when and if I get a chance. Ive bought a notebook to write when ont he trains so as to better remember.
Sept 9 - Woke up in Grindelwald, made my way to Bern, stopping in Thun. Slept in Bern.
Sept 10 - Woke up in Bern, travelled to Basel, Luczern, and finally Zurich. Slept in Zurich.
Sept 11 - Woke up in Zurich, travelled to Steim am Rhein, via Schoffhaussen. Slept in Schoffhausen in a castle overlooking the Rhinefall.
Sept 12 - Woke up at the Rhinefall, saw Schoffhaussen and Konstancz (+baden in Konstancz). Tried to get to Stuttgart, didnt happen, travelled for three hours pointlessly and ended up spending the night in a hotel in Konstancz.
Sept 13 - Woke up in Konstancz, travelled to Fussen. It took me 8+ hours to get there. Never ever EVER take the regional trains in Germany. Saw nothing but read my book for Oxford. Ended up sharing a hostel in Fussen with a Germany University student group who decided it would be fun to take the American to the bars. Stumbled home somehow and slept in Fussen.
Sept 14 - Woke up in Fussen, went to see `The Castles´ - Schloß Neuschwanstein and Schloß Hoffangau. Both beautiful, had a great time, but was quickly reminded why I hate groups of people so much. Got on a train to Munich. From Munich switched over to Nurnburg and am sitting and writing this from Nurnburg. Sleeping here, tommorow I see Nurnburg and get on the 5 hour train to Koln (Cologne) and Aachen. Then Belgium....
Hope the map updated - all is well but the internt is scarce, will write when I get a chance.
-Mark
Sept 9 - Woke up in Grindelwald, made my way to Bern, stopping in Thun. Slept in Bern.
Sept 10 - Woke up in Bern, travelled to Basel, Luczern, and finally Zurich. Slept in Zurich.
Sept 11 - Woke up in Zurich, travelled to Steim am Rhein, via Schoffhaussen. Slept in Schoffhausen in a castle overlooking the Rhinefall.
Sept 12 - Woke up at the Rhinefall, saw Schoffhaussen and Konstancz (+baden in Konstancz). Tried to get to Stuttgart, didnt happen, travelled for three hours pointlessly and ended up spending the night in a hotel in Konstancz.
Sept 13 - Woke up in Konstancz, travelled to Fussen. It took me 8+ hours to get there. Never ever EVER take the regional trains in Germany. Saw nothing but read my book for Oxford. Ended up sharing a hostel in Fussen with a Germany University student group who decided it would be fun to take the American to the bars. Stumbled home somehow and slept in Fussen.
Sept 14 - Woke up in Fussen, went to see `The Castles´ - Schloß Neuschwanstein and Schloß Hoffangau. Both beautiful, had a great time, but was quickly reminded why I hate groups of people so much. Got on a train to Munich. From Munich switched over to Nurnburg and am sitting and writing this from Nurnburg. Sleeping here, tommorow I see Nurnburg and get on the 5 hour train to Koln (Cologne) and Aachen. Then Belgium....
Hope the map updated - all is well but the internt is scarce, will write when I get a chance.
-Mark
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Sept 8 - Jungfrau and das Alpes
After spending a none too restful night in a hot and cramped Balmers Herbage, I was more than ready to get on my way. Finishing the free breakfast I headed to the train station to buy my supplementary tickets to go up into the mountains.
There was quite a crowd next to the train station and, as I realized, also in the hostel. It turns out that the annual`Jungfrau Marathon was being held that day. The marathon begins at the base of the mountains, in Interlaken and winds its way up through the mountains up to Kleni Scheidegg, a run of 25 miles and a few thousand meters. In a word, nuts.
I began my trip up into the town of Lauterbrunnen. There were two big waterfalls I was supposed to see so I set off hiking to the first one, about five minutes outside of town. It was a very beautiful set of falls that consisted of a cliff about a thousand feet up and a creek litterally running straight off of said cliff. The water floated down to the bottom ever so gently, looking like a group of clouds more than anything else.
The other waterfall was a 30 minute hike out of town and since no busses were running due to the marathoners, I started the walk. I was instantly happy that I hadnt taken the bus. The view was absolutely breathtaking and the hike took me through the proverbial postcard Swiss village, cows, houses, and mountains.
Eventually I reached the Traubesfallen. These waterfalls were supposed to be very special in that they were the drainage point for about 12 square miles of Alpine glaciers. What made this point all the more impressive was that the waterfall was actually a series of about 10 falls INSIDE the mountain. After paying my entrance fee, I hopped on a lift that took me up about 500 feet into the mountain. From there I had to climb through the drilled caves and damp cramped tunnels. On the way, there were points built in that overlooked the 10 different falls. It was truly impressive, seeing the way that the water had shaped the rocks over thousands of years.
From Lauterbrunnen I hopped on a rickety old train that took me higher up the mountain to the town of Wengen. Little more than a tourist trap, I had lunch in Wengen (my 3 B's of eating; beer, bread, and bratwurst) and hopped on the long train up to Kleine Scheidegg.
To call Kleine Scheidegg a town would be to give it far too much credit. All it consists of is 4 buildings and a train station. The reason being that 99% of the people visiting KS just do so to hop on the final train up to the Jungfraujoch, the roof of Europe. However, since I wasnt too excited about seeing a glacier (not for 120 bucks at least) I just took in the absolutely breathtaking view at the base of the big three - the Eiger, the Jungfrau, and the other German name which I forgot how to say. Names be damned, the mountains were absolutely stunning and I found myself just sitting and staring at them for a few hours.
Furthermore, thanks to the marathon finishing in KS, the small town had turned into a bustling pack of thousands of people - the marathoners, their families, and their friends all crowded up to KS to celebrate the finish. Most of the marathoners, in true German Swiss fashion, celebrated finishing running 25 miles up a mountain by draining every beer in sight.
On the train down the other side of the Jungfrau region to the town of Grimmelwald, I had the fortune of sitting with two British gentlemen in their 50's who had both just finished the marathon. They provided quite a solid dose of entertainment (as only British dry humour can) as well as some important information about marathon running. Turns out that that had been their 4th marathon of the year and 'was harder than they expected'. Nuts.
I decided to spend the night in Grimmelwald and enjoy the quiet of the mountains rather than go back to the boisterous party house in Interlaken, especially on a Saturday night.
It ended up being the right decision. While I was cooking dinner I met a nice young man from Germany named Benny. Benny was a 25 year old German who worked in Switzerland year round. The reason this was strange was that he had a 9 month old son back in Germany (with an ex-girlfriend no less) but said that the money was too good in Switzerland not to work here.
And then Benny and I got to drinking, when the fun really started...
To be continued....(read: internet time running out and I'm out of money)
-Mark
There was quite a crowd next to the train station and, as I realized, also in the hostel. It turns out that the annual`Jungfrau Marathon was being held that day. The marathon begins at the base of the mountains, in Interlaken and winds its way up through the mountains up to Kleni Scheidegg, a run of 25 miles and a few thousand meters. In a word, nuts.
I began my trip up into the town of Lauterbrunnen. There were two big waterfalls I was supposed to see so I set off hiking to the first one, about five minutes outside of town. It was a very beautiful set of falls that consisted of a cliff about a thousand feet up and a creek litterally running straight off of said cliff. The water floated down to the bottom ever so gently, looking like a group of clouds more than anything else.
The other waterfall was a 30 minute hike out of town and since no busses were running due to the marathoners, I started the walk. I was instantly happy that I hadnt taken the bus. The view was absolutely breathtaking and the hike took me through the proverbial postcard Swiss village, cows, houses, and mountains.
Eventually I reached the Traubesfallen. These waterfalls were supposed to be very special in that they were the drainage point for about 12 square miles of Alpine glaciers. What made this point all the more impressive was that the waterfall was actually a series of about 10 falls INSIDE the mountain. After paying my entrance fee, I hopped on a lift that took me up about 500 feet into the mountain. From there I had to climb through the drilled caves and damp cramped tunnels. On the way, there were points built in that overlooked the 10 different falls. It was truly impressive, seeing the way that the water had shaped the rocks over thousands of years.
From Lauterbrunnen I hopped on a rickety old train that took me higher up the mountain to the town of Wengen. Little more than a tourist trap, I had lunch in Wengen (my 3 B's of eating; beer, bread, and bratwurst) and hopped on the long train up to Kleine Scheidegg.
To call Kleine Scheidegg a town would be to give it far too much credit. All it consists of is 4 buildings and a train station. The reason being that 99% of the people visiting KS just do so to hop on the final train up to the Jungfraujoch, the roof of Europe. However, since I wasnt too excited about seeing a glacier (not for 120 bucks at least) I just took in the absolutely breathtaking view at the base of the big three - the Eiger, the Jungfrau, and the other German name which I forgot how to say. Names be damned, the mountains were absolutely stunning and I found myself just sitting and staring at them for a few hours.
Furthermore, thanks to the marathon finishing in KS, the small town had turned into a bustling pack of thousands of people - the marathoners, their families, and their friends all crowded up to KS to celebrate the finish. Most of the marathoners, in true German Swiss fashion, celebrated finishing running 25 miles up a mountain by draining every beer in sight.
On the train down the other side of the Jungfrau region to the town of Grimmelwald, I had the fortune of sitting with two British gentlemen in their 50's who had both just finished the marathon. They provided quite a solid dose of entertainment (as only British dry humour can) as well as some important information about marathon running. Turns out that that had been their 4th marathon of the year and 'was harder than they expected'. Nuts.
I decided to spend the night in Grimmelwald and enjoy the quiet of the mountains rather than go back to the boisterous party house in Interlaken, especially on a Saturday night.
It ended up being the right decision. While I was cooking dinner I met a nice young man from Germany named Benny. Benny was a 25 year old German who worked in Switzerland year round. The reason this was strange was that he had a 9 month old son back in Germany (with an ex-girlfriend no less) but said that the money was too good in Switzerland not to work here.
And then Benny and I got to drinking, when the fun really started...
To be continued....(read: internet time running out and I'm out of money)
-Mark
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Sept 7 - Catheux de Chillon, Sion, and das Leukerbad
Bright and early I packed up and left my noisy little hostel (located right next to the train tracks) and started the 20 minute walk to the Chateux de Chillon.
I was fortunate enough to hit the Chateux right as it opened, and therefore was the only one in the castle along my tour route. On scale with the Alps surrounding it, the Chateux looked quite small, but inside it blossomed. The pillar on which the poet Byron engraved his name was especially powerful in terms of historuical context. It took me a solid 1.2 hours to traverse the whole complex - and that was rushed in order to make train. I'm sure it would have been very easy to spend 2+ hours there. From the Chateux, I made my way to the local train station and had the first - and likely last - experience of this kind. A train was late. In Switzerland. I couldn't believe it.
Eventually it came and carried me south from Montreux to the town of Aigle. There it ended and one had to hop a bus to the down of St. Moritz in order to get on the train to Martigny and beyond. However, due to the unfortunte happening of a trian being late, I ended up missing the bus.
Hearing some Americans converse nearby about a similar situation I inquired as to where they were headed. We were both en route to Martigny so we joined forces in trying to figure out how to get there. To our benfit, an older Canadian man was also trying to get further south and due to the blessings of him being Canadian, he fenagled a taxi on the cheap and we all hopped in.
Driving down the 15 minutes to St. Moritz I learned that the couple was from Spokane, WA. The husband, Ira, taught photography at the community college. I didn't quite catch what his wife Mya did. Regardless, we had a wonderful conversation on the way down to St. Moritz and on the ensuing train down to Martigny. There we parted ways as they headed into France to take the train around Mt. Blanc and I headed further east towards the Alps.
I made my primarz stop in the Alpine town of Sion. Expecting fantastic mountain ranges I was dissapointed to find nothing of the sort. However, I did discover that Scion had a pair of hills straddling the city centre on which sat a castle and a basilica, respectivelly.
Making my way through the town I stumbled upon a grand street market in full swing. Luckily for my wallet, I had no money and was not able to spend thousands of francs on wine, cheese, and beer.
Eventually escaping the street market, I began the uphill trek to the twin hills and the ruins on top of them. My firsz excursion was to the left, up to the remains of the Chateux de Tourbillon. The 'Lonely Planet' book said it was a rough climb and they weren't kidding. Combining the altitude with the steep cliff I was pouring sweat and very much out of breath when I finally reached the top.
The ruins were just that, ruins, with nothing but the outer foundations remaining, but the view of the basilica across the valley and thw town below were more than worth it. The view was absolutely breathtaking.
On the way down from the castle, the world got a little smaller. An elderly gentleman, likely in his 60's was quickly making his waz up the hill. I was standing and admiring the view at the steps of the castle gate and upon seeing me he stopped. He eyed me 'Stanford - Track and Field' shirt wearily and the asked...
'So you're a student at Stanford?'
'Yes, sir'
'I got my master's from Stanford'
'No kidding'
From there, we had a quick little conversation during which I learned that not only did he have a degree from Stanford but also that he had friends and had spent quite a lot of time in dinky old Olympia, WA. Small world indeed.
We parted paths and I headed up towards the basilica. From the outside it was fantastic, inside it was nothing too particular. The truly unique feature was the fact that it still had a wall in the centre that was meant to seperate the lowly folks from the elite. The pope had decreed these walls ungodly in the 17th century, but apparently the citizens of Scion resisted the decree. The church also contained the oldest playable organ in Europe which, while small, was still very impressionable.
Heading out of Scion I decided to make a stop and an excursion to Leukerbad. Leukerbad is the highest thermal spring in Europe (and I believe the world). One has to take a bus from the town to Leuk up to Leukerbad which, while being only 6 miles, takes about 45 minutes as you climb into the belly of the upper Alps. Once there - a million bath complexes vie for your attention. The town is, basically, one big spa. According to the travel guide and local advice, I went and bought a ticket at the 'Burgerbad', the biggest of the bathhouses. It was roughly $15 for 3 hours and it must have been the best $15 I ever spent.
The complex contained 10 baths, 8 of them outdoors, staring at the Alps surrounding them. They contained everything from your typical pool and hottub to a purely European occurance, the 'Tratenbad'. Translated roughly, this is the 'Walking Bath' where, if it isn't quite obivous yet, you walk. There are two oval-like circles, one with 40 degree water, the other with 140 degree water. You take turns walking circles in each in order to give a quick hot/cold treatment to your feet. I must say, it felt fantastic.
After three wonderful hours in the baths, I had to make my way back to Leuk and get on the train to Brig. From Brig I transferred north to Interlaken and finallz arrived at about 11:00pm. It was a long walk to my hostel, supposedly the most famous one in Switzerland, the Balmer's Herbage.
Basically, the reason it was famous was because it was A. Old and B. A huge frat house. Underneath it was located the biggest night club in the city and beer dispensors were scattered throughout the house. After 5 minutes in the club I realized I was far too tired to do anything and conseuqntly, passed out.
-Mark
I was fortunate enough to hit the Chateux right as it opened, and therefore was the only one in the castle along my tour route. On scale with the Alps surrounding it, the Chateux looked quite small, but inside it blossomed. The pillar on which the poet Byron engraved his name was especially powerful in terms of historuical context. It took me a solid 1.2 hours to traverse the whole complex - and that was rushed in order to make train. I'm sure it would have been very easy to spend 2+ hours there. From the Chateux, I made my way to the local train station and had the first - and likely last - experience of this kind. A train was late. In Switzerland. I couldn't believe it.
Eventually it came and carried me south from Montreux to the town of Aigle. There it ended and one had to hop a bus to the down of St. Moritz in order to get on the train to Martigny and beyond. However, due to the unfortunte happening of a trian being late, I ended up missing the bus.
Hearing some Americans converse nearby about a similar situation I inquired as to where they were headed. We were both en route to Martigny so we joined forces in trying to figure out how to get there. To our benfit, an older Canadian man was also trying to get further south and due to the blessings of him being Canadian, he fenagled a taxi on the cheap and we all hopped in.
Driving down the 15 minutes to St. Moritz I learned that the couple was from Spokane, WA. The husband, Ira, taught photography at the community college. I didn't quite catch what his wife Mya did. Regardless, we had a wonderful conversation on the way down to St. Moritz and on the ensuing train down to Martigny. There we parted ways as they headed into France to take the train around Mt. Blanc and I headed further east towards the Alps.
I made my primarz stop in the Alpine town of Sion. Expecting fantastic mountain ranges I was dissapointed to find nothing of the sort. However, I did discover that Scion had a pair of hills straddling the city centre on which sat a castle and a basilica, respectivelly.
Making my way through the town I stumbled upon a grand street market in full swing. Luckily for my wallet, I had no money and was not able to spend thousands of francs on wine, cheese, and beer.
Eventually escaping the street market, I began the uphill trek to the twin hills and the ruins on top of them. My firsz excursion was to the left, up to the remains of the Chateux de Tourbillon. The 'Lonely Planet' book said it was a rough climb and they weren't kidding. Combining the altitude with the steep cliff I was pouring sweat and very much out of breath when I finally reached the top.
The ruins were just that, ruins, with nothing but the outer foundations remaining, but the view of the basilica across the valley and thw town below were more than worth it. The view was absolutely breathtaking.
On the way down from the castle, the world got a little smaller. An elderly gentleman, likely in his 60's was quickly making his waz up the hill. I was standing and admiring the view at the steps of the castle gate and upon seeing me he stopped. He eyed me 'Stanford - Track and Field' shirt wearily and the asked...
'So you're a student at Stanford?'
'Yes, sir'
'I got my master's from Stanford'
'No kidding'
From there, we had a quick little conversation during which I learned that not only did he have a degree from Stanford but also that he had friends and had spent quite a lot of time in dinky old Olympia, WA. Small world indeed.
We parted paths and I headed up towards the basilica. From the outside it was fantastic, inside it was nothing too particular. The truly unique feature was the fact that it still had a wall in the centre that was meant to seperate the lowly folks from the elite. The pope had decreed these walls ungodly in the 17th century, but apparently the citizens of Scion resisted the decree. The church also contained the oldest playable organ in Europe which, while small, was still very impressionable.
Heading out of Scion I decided to make a stop and an excursion to Leukerbad. Leukerbad is the highest thermal spring in Europe (and I believe the world). One has to take a bus from the town to Leuk up to Leukerbad which, while being only 6 miles, takes about 45 minutes as you climb into the belly of the upper Alps. Once there - a million bath complexes vie for your attention. The town is, basically, one big spa. According to the travel guide and local advice, I went and bought a ticket at the 'Burgerbad', the biggest of the bathhouses. It was roughly $15 for 3 hours and it must have been the best $15 I ever spent.
The complex contained 10 baths, 8 of them outdoors, staring at the Alps surrounding them. They contained everything from your typical pool and hottub to a purely European occurance, the 'Tratenbad'. Translated roughly, this is the 'Walking Bath' where, if it isn't quite obivous yet, you walk. There are two oval-like circles, one with 40 degree water, the other with 140 degree water. You take turns walking circles in each in order to give a quick hot/cold treatment to your feet. I must say, it felt fantastic.
After three wonderful hours in the baths, I had to make my way back to Leuk and get on the train to Brig. From Brig I transferred north to Interlaken and finallz arrived at about 11:00pm. It was a long walk to my hostel, supposedly the most famous one in Switzerland, the Balmer's Herbage.
Basically, the reason it was famous was because it was A. Old and B. A huge frat house. Underneath it was located the biggest night club in the city and beer dispensors were scattered throughout the house. After 5 minutes in the club I realized I was far too tired to do anything and conseuqntly, passed out.
-Mark
Sept 6 - Lasaunne, Montreux and the Swiss Riviera
I started out my day in Geneva, heading to the Isle de Rosseau for breakfast and to wait for the famed Jet d'Eau to start up in the morning. To my dissapointment, it never did (something about the wind being too strong) and I packed my way to the train station and started the trip to Lasaunne.
I arrived in Lasaunne fresh and ready for the day, but upon seeing the extreme hills of the city, my confidence wilted away from me. The town was at a solid 45 degree angle from the train station and my legs were none to happy with me from my previous ventures in Geneva.
The two main attractions of downtown (old town) Lasaunne are the castle and the cathedral. Since the castle is at the top of the town, I figuered I would make my way to the top and work my way down. No such luck. Turns out, I could never find the damn castle. Ended up walking around it at least two to three times, all the while getting stuck in random residential neighborhoods. Eventually, I gave up and went on to the cathedral.
The cathedral was apparently a pretty big deal, at least according to the history books. The Pope and all of his buddies came down for the opening of this cathedral and for good reason - the church is absolutely enormous. The southern rose window is especially unique, featuring all of they zodiac signs amongst some complex geometric configurations, especially for the time given. However, for me, the pull was the stained glass at the rear of the church. It was masterfully done and in a much different style than one would find at the majority of gothic churches in the area.
After my visit to the church I started my long treck down to Lasaunne's beach town of 'Ouchy'. Think of it like Tumwater is to Olympia or Menlo Park is to Palo Alto. Same town, 15 minute walk.
It turns out, a fact that I forgot, that the modern Olympic Games were born in Lasaunne. Because of this, the modern IOC (International Olympic Committee) is still station in Lasaunne. Therefore, Lasaunne also has an expansive Olympic Park and Museum. I made my way to the museum, paid the entry fee, checked my bag and started my journey.
I ended up spending 2+ hours in that museum. To me, sport is one of the few things that, in my opinion, brings out the truest of emotions in people, the truest of character, and that museum, with its videos, pictures and Olympic stories really brought up a lot of emotion. I was very very happy I made the time to visit.
I caught a bus back to Lasaunne and continued my trip around Lake Geneva to Vevez and Montreux. My stay in both was limited at best. Both are merely towns for the rich and powerful to take a vaction on a lake in Switzerland. Not much to see, but very expensive to live. So I made my way around the lake from Montreux, found my hostel, and made camp for the night.
- Mark
I arrived in Lasaunne fresh and ready for the day, but upon seeing the extreme hills of the city, my confidence wilted away from me. The town was at a solid 45 degree angle from the train station and my legs were none to happy with me from my previous ventures in Geneva.
The two main attractions of downtown (old town) Lasaunne are the castle and the cathedral. Since the castle is at the top of the town, I figuered I would make my way to the top and work my way down. No such luck. Turns out, I could never find the damn castle. Ended up walking around it at least two to three times, all the while getting stuck in random residential neighborhoods. Eventually, I gave up and went on to the cathedral.
The cathedral was apparently a pretty big deal, at least according to the history books. The Pope and all of his buddies came down for the opening of this cathedral and for good reason - the church is absolutely enormous. The southern rose window is especially unique, featuring all of they zodiac signs amongst some complex geometric configurations, especially for the time given. However, for me, the pull was the stained glass at the rear of the church. It was masterfully done and in a much different style than one would find at the majority of gothic churches in the area.
After my visit to the church I started my long treck down to Lasaunne's beach town of 'Ouchy'. Think of it like Tumwater is to Olympia or Menlo Park is to Palo Alto. Same town, 15 minute walk.
It turns out, a fact that I forgot, that the modern Olympic Games were born in Lasaunne. Because of this, the modern IOC (International Olympic Committee) is still station in Lasaunne. Therefore, Lasaunne also has an expansive Olympic Park and Museum. I made my way to the museum, paid the entry fee, checked my bag and started my journey.
I ended up spending 2+ hours in that museum. To me, sport is one of the few things that, in my opinion, brings out the truest of emotions in people, the truest of character, and that museum, with its videos, pictures and Olympic stories really brought up a lot of emotion. I was very very happy I made the time to visit.
I caught a bus back to Lasaunne and continued my trip around Lake Geneva to Vevez and Montreux. My stay in both was limited at best. Both are merely towns for the rich and powerful to take a vaction on a lake in Switzerland. Not much to see, but very expensive to live. So I made my way around the lake from Montreux, found my hostel, and made camp for the night.
- Mark
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Sept 5th - Geneva
So I woke up at the crack of 5:30 (thank you jet lag) and spent a few hours reading about the day ahead of me, taking a shower and waiting for things to open up/get going.
About 7:30 I strolled out back towards the train station. The immediate first thing I noticed, and this would turn into a theme throughout the day, was the abudance (read: saturation) of important men, in important suits, with important hair, talking on important cell phones, and smoking important tobacco. These guys looked like business, pure and simple - here was the efficient Swiss machine at work and it took the image of a slick-haired, well manicured French business man.
At the train station I found the ticket office in order to get my rail pass sorted out. Luckily, that was quick, painless and in English and I was quickly on my way.
It hadn't quite set in that I was in Europe. Geneva seemed like any other bustling European or American metropolis. People running to work, locals peddling their goods and fancy cars racing in between pedestrians. It wasn't until I hit the waterfront that it finally hit.
I don't want to use the word giddy, but I think it is the only one that truly describes how I felt when I saw Lake Geneva. I practically skipped along the foot bridge to the touristy side of the lake.
The Jet d'Eau, along with what seemed like everything else, didn't start working until later in the day (9am) and the famous flower clock in the Jardin Americain was under repair so, a touch dissapointed in the "big hits", I made my way further south into the Old Town.
Raised on a hilltop just South of downtown Geneva, the Old Town was an absolutely gorgeous modernized relic. Reminding me very much of Prague, the store facades belied their modernity and St. Pierre's Cathedral was absolutely breath-taking (from the outside, at least). I made it just as it opened up so was fortunately alone when I experienced it but, unfortuntely, it was nothing special as far as gothic cathedrals go.
I spent the rest of my morning wandering around the old city. I stopped in to visit the birthplace of famous Genevan philsopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau - his home was just on the corner of the main street in the old city. His birthplace was organized into a modern museum detailing his philosphy and his life, all in all I thought it to be very well done.
From there - I went to visit the University of Geneva and the surrounding park, including the world's longest bench (it's pretty long) and a monument to the leaders of the Christian reform movement, which is beautifully done. Wandering around I also stumbled upon the old Jewish Synagogue of Geneva. It's strange - I would have expected to see more synagogues in a city, not to mention a country, full of bankers.
I meandered into the bi-weekly flea market that was held nearby for the experience and was surprised to see the circus, quite litteraly, was in town, dancing around and making a scene throughout the market.
Following a late lunch and a little break - I began the long walk to the United Nations building, roughly five miles across town. Originally built to house the ill-fated League of Nations, the former LoN temple and the new UN building were interesting to see. The added fun of going through a million layers of security and getting a custom ID pass just to be allowed to be put on a tour (which had a head count done at every checkpoint, of which there were many) added to the seeming importance of the location. The new UN building and everything inside was ramshackled and worn down at best, but the former League temple from the 1930's was as beatiful as ever. Done in the same architectural style as DC (Wilson's doing, I'm sure) it was a welcome little bit of the States in the middle of Geneva.
Finally, I dragged myself home, took a long shower and am currently counting the minutes until I can hit the sack.
Tommorow morning, bright and early, I'll be heading off to Lausanne and then further around the lake to Montreux, where I will likely spend the night.
Until then, I'm going to go and ignore all the whining my legs are doing after 10+ miles today and go see what's for dinner.
-Mark Kogan
About 7:30 I strolled out back towards the train station. The immediate first thing I noticed, and this would turn into a theme throughout the day, was the abudance (read: saturation) of important men, in important suits, with important hair, talking on important cell phones, and smoking important tobacco. These guys looked like business, pure and simple - here was the efficient Swiss machine at work and it took the image of a slick-haired, well manicured French business man.
At the train station I found the ticket office in order to get my rail pass sorted out. Luckily, that was quick, painless and in English and I was quickly on my way.
It hadn't quite set in that I was in Europe. Geneva seemed like any other bustling European or American metropolis. People running to work, locals peddling their goods and fancy cars racing in between pedestrians. It wasn't until I hit the waterfront that it finally hit.
I don't want to use the word giddy, but I think it is the only one that truly describes how I felt when I saw Lake Geneva. I practically skipped along the foot bridge to the touristy side of the lake.
The Jet d'Eau, along with what seemed like everything else, didn't start working until later in the day (9am) and the famous flower clock in the Jardin Americain was under repair so, a touch dissapointed in the "big hits", I made my way further south into the Old Town.
Raised on a hilltop just South of downtown Geneva, the Old Town was an absolutely gorgeous modernized relic. Reminding me very much of Prague, the store facades belied their modernity and St. Pierre's Cathedral was absolutely breath-taking (from the outside, at least). I made it just as it opened up so was fortunately alone when I experienced it but, unfortuntely, it was nothing special as far as gothic cathedrals go.
I spent the rest of my morning wandering around the old city. I stopped in to visit the birthplace of famous Genevan philsopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau - his home was just on the corner of the main street in the old city. His birthplace was organized into a modern museum detailing his philosphy and his life, all in all I thought it to be very well done.
From there - I went to visit the University of Geneva and the surrounding park, including the world's longest bench (it's pretty long) and a monument to the leaders of the Christian reform movement, which is beautifully done. Wandering around I also stumbled upon the old Jewish Synagogue of Geneva. It's strange - I would have expected to see more synagogues in a city, not to mention a country, full of bankers.
I meandered into the bi-weekly flea market that was held nearby for the experience and was surprised to see the circus, quite litteraly, was in town, dancing around and making a scene throughout the market.
Following a late lunch and a little break - I began the long walk to the United Nations building, roughly five miles across town. Originally built to house the ill-fated League of Nations, the former LoN temple and the new UN building were interesting to see. The added fun of going through a million layers of security and getting a custom ID pass just to be allowed to be put on a tour (which had a head count done at every checkpoint, of which there were many) added to the seeming importance of the location. The new UN building and everything inside was ramshackled and worn down at best, but the former League temple from the 1930's was as beatiful as ever. Done in the same architectural style as DC (Wilson's doing, I'm sure) it was a welcome little bit of the States in the middle of Geneva.
Finally, I dragged myself home, took a long shower and am currently counting the minutes until I can hit the sack.
Tommorow morning, bright and early, I'll be heading off to Lausanne and then further around the lake to Montreux, where I will likely spend the night.
Until then, I'm going to go and ignore all the whining my legs are doing after 10+ miles today and go see what's for dinner.
-Mark Kogan
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