Second day in Barcelona! Andrea and I took a quick nap last night after getting all settled into our room, then headed down stairs to find internet and let Mommy know her little ones are together and safe. We left her a message and we have yet to talk to her. We did get a hold of Nany, so I hope she was able to relay the message. Internet is not free here, but we have a few 20 minutes free, se we have to use it sparingly.
We signed up for the Disco Tech that the hostel gets us into for free and without waiting in line. Andrea and I were shocked to see that they were not going to leave the hostel until 1:45am!!!! I had heard that everyone eats dinner around 11:00 at night and doesn’t go out till one in the morning and they party through the morning. Some clubs don’t even close till 6 or 7am. Some clubs never close. It is crazy. After I took a shower later in the night, I went back down stairs to have a couple brews at the hostel bar and take a peek at the sign up list. There were 120 other people from our hostel on the list!! Andrea and I played a few rounds of drinking games, waiting for 1:45 to come around. It came faster than I expected. It was one helluvan experience walking the streets of Barcelona 120 deep. We all corralled into taxis and made our way to the club. There was no line and most of us walked right in. One guy from our group wasn’t too lucky though. He was too drunk and had to wait outside. This place was huge and there were loads of people already cutting up the rug tough. Everyone was dancing! It was loads of fun. Andrea and I got home at 4 in the morning. We crashed hard and had to get up at 10:30 in order to check out by 11. We were both exhausted. From 11-12 we waited down stairs and I ran over to get me a “Dirty Burger” from “Mackers.” Lol We checked in at 12 and went back to sleep for another two hours. I have showered and am now about to post this blog which will get me completely caught up on my blogs. Andrea and I plan on walking the strip of Barcelona and going out again tonight. It should be loads of fun! Tomorrow I really want to go to the beach before going to FC Barcelona match. I am so stoked for this! I have been looking forward to seeing a Premier soccer match this whole trip. It should be a blast. I will try and write to you all tomorrow and let you know how it went. Till then, adios amigos!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Rome
Oh, when in Rome. Every time I think of Rome, I think of GGPP and her saying, “Every road leads to Rome.” I got the pleasure of finding out where this saying comes from. I saw the Coliseum, the Vatican, Tribute fountain, Spanish steps and a lot of the ancient ruins. I saw some other squares that I can’t remember the names of and this little island on the river that had a bridge spanning across it and connecting to either side. I walked around for half a day when I was stuck in Rome and had time to kill after getting my final plans set for Barcelona to see Andrea. For those of you who do not know, I will now give you a rundown of the disaster of a time I had trying to meet up with Andrea.
So……My plans were to fly out to Paris and meet Andrea on the 7th. We would stay there 2 nights and take an overnight train on the 9th to Barcelona. Welllllllll…on the night of the 6th, I received an email, notifying me that my flight to Paris had been canceled because of a French air traffic controllers strike. The strike was planned to last 2000 on the 6th-0800 on the 8th. I was screwed. I woke up early on the 7th and tried to figure everything out. I got my flight refunded because I couldn’t figure out how to change it to a following day without them charging my card. From there I went to a hostel down the street to book a bed, just in case I couldn’t get out on the 7th. When I was looking for flights on the 8th, one particular site gave me a three day window of flights. On the 7th, there was an available flights. I immediately booked the flight. It wasn’t too expensive, and I was anxious to be with Andrea in Paris. She booked a shady hotel in a shady part of town, because it was cheap and she knew I would be with her. I thought there is no way that this flight could be cancelled to Paris on the day of the strike, if it is showing it available on the day of the strike. I booked the flight thinking that the strike did not affect all flights. I went back to the Hostel where I booked a bed a few hours earlier and tried to get my money back. They couldn’t do it and told me that it is just going to stay as it (Thank goodness for this). I went back to my original Hostel and printed my boarding pass and made my way to the Airport. I took the one hour shuttle bus and arrived with plenty of time to board my plane. When I walked through the door, I looked up at the monitor to see that my flight was cancelled. I was so pissed!! How could it be possible that I booked a cancelled flight? Why would they allow me to book the flight if it was cancelled. This infuriated me! There is no way they cancelled it in between the time I booed my flight and when I arrived at the airport. It was only a four hour window. I started o think about it more though and thought maybe this was the case, because a French girl in front of me said that she checked the flight in the afternoon and it was listed as on time. Either way, I was completely frustrated. I had just waited a whole day in Rome sitting on a computer trying to book an open flight just for it to be cancelled once again. Some might be wondering why I booked the flight in the first place if I knew of the strike and if I knew all of the flights were cancelled. Well, some flights did make it into Paris. Not all the flights were cancelled, but most. After I saw that my flight was cancelled, I waited another hour in the ticket office line to work out alternate plans or get refunded. Luckily I was there early enough and was in the front of a very long line. I did get the pleasure of watching a few fights. One of them was in English, which was awesome. Everyone was speaking with each other all around me. I am sure asking, “So what did they say? Are there any more flights available for tomorrow?” The lady behind the desk informed me that I can’t change my destination, I can’t fly out till the 9th and that I have to go online to get refunded my money. After our short chat, I headed back into Rome and check into the Hostel I booked earlier and who didn’t give me my money back. What a blessing. I spent the next two hours down stairs on the internet worried about Andrea. I tried to make it back as quickly as possible, hoping I could catch her on the internet before she left for the airport. I didn’t have such luck. Come to find out, she spent two hours getting to the airport and waited for me. After a while, she went to a McDonalds to use their free internet. She was a mess and in tears. She was alone and frightened. I talked her through how to find her way back the safest way. Apparently she had been chased by some creepy guy earlier and now it was dark and she had to go back to the hotel in the ghetto. I told her to get a taxi. I didn’t care how much it would cost her. But she didn’t have any money. I told her to get a taxi anyways and have him swing by an ATM. I left her with that and wished her my best. She didn’t follow my plan at all and took the Metro. Lol. She made it home safe though. The rest of the night we tried figuring out our plans for the upcoming days. We had many options. Do we meet in Nice, France the next day by train, then train to Barcelona? Do I get a flight? Do we both fly to Barcelona the next day? We were unable to come to a set plan that night and it was getting very late. I told her to get up early and meet me on skype to talk about it some more. We both got up around 7 before meeting on skype at 8:30. We finally decided that we would meet in Barcelona the next day, a day earlier than planned. I would stay one more night in Rome and fly out the next day and Andrea would take the overnight train to Barcelona. I booked the only bed available in Rome at some shady Hostel. It was ok though, because it was right down the street from where I was and across the street from the train station.
The next day everything worked out brilliantly. I made it to Barcelona and to my Hostel to find Andrea sitting in the common room waiting for me. When she saw me walk through the door, she ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug ever. I was so relieved to finally be with her. She cried some tears of joy and relief while I laughed as I held on tight. What a journey. But now we were set for the next 4 nights in Barcelona. Time to get the party started!!!!! Ahhhhh haaaaaaa!!
Hope all is well back home,
Kurt
So……My plans were to fly out to Paris and meet Andrea on the 7th. We would stay there 2 nights and take an overnight train on the 9th to Barcelona. Welllllllll…on the night of the 6th, I received an email, notifying me that my flight to Paris had been canceled because of a French air traffic controllers strike. The strike was planned to last 2000 on the 6th-0800 on the 8th. I was screwed. I woke up early on the 7th and tried to figure everything out. I got my flight refunded because I couldn’t figure out how to change it to a following day without them charging my card. From there I went to a hostel down the street to book a bed, just in case I couldn’t get out on the 7th. When I was looking for flights on the 8th, one particular site gave me a three day window of flights. On the 7th, there was an available flights. I immediately booked the flight. It wasn’t too expensive, and I was anxious to be with Andrea in Paris. She booked a shady hotel in a shady part of town, because it was cheap and she knew I would be with her. I thought there is no way that this flight could be cancelled to Paris on the day of the strike, if it is showing it available on the day of the strike. I booked the flight thinking that the strike did not affect all flights. I went back to the Hostel where I booked a bed a few hours earlier and tried to get my money back. They couldn’t do it and told me that it is just going to stay as it (Thank goodness for this). I went back to my original Hostel and printed my boarding pass and made my way to the Airport. I took the one hour shuttle bus and arrived with plenty of time to board my plane. When I walked through the door, I looked up at the monitor to see that my flight was cancelled. I was so pissed!! How could it be possible that I booked a cancelled flight? Why would they allow me to book the flight if it was cancelled. This infuriated me! There is no way they cancelled it in between the time I booed my flight and when I arrived at the airport. It was only a four hour window. I started o think about it more though and thought maybe this was the case, because a French girl in front of me said that she checked the flight in the afternoon and it was listed as on time. Either way, I was completely frustrated. I had just waited a whole day in Rome sitting on a computer trying to book an open flight just for it to be cancelled once again. Some might be wondering why I booked the flight in the first place if I knew of the strike and if I knew all of the flights were cancelled. Well, some flights did make it into Paris. Not all the flights were cancelled, but most. After I saw that my flight was cancelled, I waited another hour in the ticket office line to work out alternate plans or get refunded. Luckily I was there early enough and was in the front of a very long line. I did get the pleasure of watching a few fights. One of them was in English, which was awesome. Everyone was speaking with each other all around me. I am sure asking, “So what did they say? Are there any more flights available for tomorrow?” The lady behind the desk informed me that I can’t change my destination, I can’t fly out till the 9th and that I have to go online to get refunded my money. After our short chat, I headed back into Rome and check into the Hostel I booked earlier and who didn’t give me my money back. What a blessing. I spent the next two hours down stairs on the internet worried about Andrea. I tried to make it back as quickly as possible, hoping I could catch her on the internet before she left for the airport. I didn’t have such luck. Come to find out, she spent two hours getting to the airport and waited for me. After a while, she went to a McDonalds to use their free internet. She was a mess and in tears. She was alone and frightened. I talked her through how to find her way back the safest way. Apparently she had been chased by some creepy guy earlier and now it was dark and she had to go back to the hotel in the ghetto. I told her to get a taxi. I didn’t care how much it would cost her. But she didn’t have any money. I told her to get a taxi anyways and have him swing by an ATM. I left her with that and wished her my best. She didn’t follow my plan at all and took the Metro. Lol. She made it home safe though. The rest of the night we tried figuring out our plans for the upcoming days. We had many options. Do we meet in Nice, France the next day by train, then train to Barcelona? Do I get a flight? Do we both fly to Barcelona the next day? We were unable to come to a set plan that night and it was getting very late. I told her to get up early and meet me on skype to talk about it some more. We both got up around 7 before meeting on skype at 8:30. We finally decided that we would meet in Barcelona the next day, a day earlier than planned. I would stay one more night in Rome and fly out the next day and Andrea would take the overnight train to Barcelona. I booked the only bed available in Rome at some shady Hostel. It was ok though, because it was right down the street from where I was and across the street from the train station.
The next day everything worked out brilliantly. I made it to Barcelona and to my Hostel to find Andrea sitting in the common room waiting for me. When she saw me walk through the door, she ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug ever. I was so relieved to finally be with her. She cried some tears of joy and relief while I laughed as I held on tight. What a journey. But now we were set for the next 4 nights in Barcelona. Time to get the party started!!!!! Ahhhhh haaaaaaa!!
Hope all is well back home,
Kurt
Florence
Florence
Florence was great! I have to admit that I didn’t see a lot of the city, but did see the essentials. I met two Ozzie Blokes and spent a lot of time socializing and drinking. We had many conversations of language and what words we use for certain things. There are surprisingly a lot of terms I had no idea the meaning of.
I saw the Duomo and the David statue. The 3 of us walked to the lookout point of Florence, which is a fantastic view of the entire city. It is the view that you would see on most post cards. We walked to the market most nights and made dinner. Spaghetti one night and pizza another. The first day I was there, I did some walking around the city and sat to watch the best street performer. He had wires in all of his clothes and bent back away from him to make it look like they were blowing in the wind. He would then pose as a statue for a while to look like he was a picture, frozen, but walking in the wind. It was great. He would move around a lot as well. Making balloon animals for kids and busting out wigs from his brief case to throw on anyone who posed for a picture with him. He performed for close to an hour and I enjoyed every bit of it. The best part is that I was kind of on the outskirts of the crowed and watched the whole thing for free. That is basically the gist of my Florence trip. There are a lot of English speaking students in Florence. Florence is a great city.
I had such a great time with Tom and Tim. Tim and Tom. However you wish to call them, that I stayed an extra night so we could all go to Rome at the same time the following day. So we did.
Kurt
Florence was great! I have to admit that I didn’t see a lot of the city, but did see the essentials. I met two Ozzie Blokes and spent a lot of time socializing and drinking. We had many conversations of language and what words we use for certain things. There are surprisingly a lot of terms I had no idea the meaning of.
I saw the Duomo and the David statue. The 3 of us walked to the lookout point of Florence, which is a fantastic view of the entire city. It is the view that you would see on most post cards. We walked to the market most nights and made dinner. Spaghetti one night and pizza another. The first day I was there, I did some walking around the city and sat to watch the best street performer. He had wires in all of his clothes and bent back away from him to make it look like they were blowing in the wind. He would then pose as a statue for a while to look like he was a picture, frozen, but walking in the wind. It was great. He would move around a lot as well. Making balloon animals for kids and busting out wigs from his brief case to throw on anyone who posed for a picture with him. He performed for close to an hour and I enjoyed every bit of it. The best part is that I was kind of on the outskirts of the crowed and watched the whole thing for free. That is basically the gist of my Florence trip. There are a lot of English speaking students in Florence. Florence is a great city.
I had such a great time with Tom and Tim. Tim and Tom. However you wish to call them, that I stayed an extra night so we could all go to Rome at the same time the following day. So we did.
Kurt
Bari
Hey everyone. So it has been very long since I have wrote a blog. I wrote one on the 27th about the 26th, so I will take you from there.
BARI-
I love Bari!! Not because there are tons of Amazing things to see, although there are some, but because there are tons of amazing people! I can now call Betta, Elana, Enrico and Germani my best friends! They are great people who are very interested in the United States. When I arrived in Bari, the four of them were there quickly to pick me up, even though I got in to the station an hour later than I had told them. I missed ma connecting train back in Switzerland that caused me to miss my overnighter and a bed to sleep in. Instead, I had to sit upright, touching knees with 5 other dirty Italians, for nine and a half hours! I was so thankful that Elana picked up her phone when I dialed her from a strangers phone. Very thankful the stranger let me use his phone, because I had no internet and had no idea where to find any. I gave them all huge hugs when they jumped out to greet me. It was so nice to see them all again. I threw my pack in the back and we were off to Enrico’s Hotel for breakfast and to check me in….FOR FREE! Breakfast was awesome and we all had some good laughs. The man serving us was new and had no idea he was serving the owners son and his friends. Once he found out, I could tell, because he shook his hand for a long time while jabbering in Italian. Elana translated for me…..The best English speaker of the group. Enrico, you are very good as well, along with the rest of the group when they actually tried to speak English to me. After breakfast, they all escorted me to my cool and elegant room that was steps from the pool. I literally took 3 steps from my door and was in the pool. -I made the mistake of jumping in the pool one day without a head cap and got yelled at for it. I learned my lesson and now realized why every single person wore the silly things with their speedo bottoms. Lol. I had no head cap, so it was strictly pool side from there on out.- After a rest and finally getting some sleep after the grueling train ride, the crew piced me up for a pool party.
We all headed over to Elana’s parents’ vacation villa for a swim. She had told me that there were some of her friends coming over to meet me, because they are very interested in “The American Boy.” About 10 minutes later, there were about 10 Italian girls all laughing and trying their best at their English. We swam for a while and had a great time playing chicken and other pool games. After we all showered off pool side, we jumped right into a drinking game. All day they had been asking me about what opther drinking games there are and what they needed to play beer pong. I introduced them to a game called Wingman, a common game we played at college. Some loved it and others hated it. Italians don’t ever play games while drinking. Italians are not very big on drinking in the first place, so this is all very new to them. They were introduced to beer pong in Dublin when Enrico and I dominated, and ever since have wanted to play again.
The next 3 days were fantastic, filled with more drinking games, clubs on the beach and visiting some of the sites in Bari. One of my favorites was the Trullis and this spot we visited where the houses were built on cliffs and everyone had sheets flying from their balconies to dry. It is common to cliff jump and go swimming down below the cliffs in the ocean, but the waters were way too rough for all three days I was there. The views were fantastic though. What surprised me the most about these 4, “Porn Star Stache, Ron,” Giovanni and Davide is how generous they were. Elana did not let me pay for a single thing, until the last day I begged her if I could pay for our Italian desert (Grinitas), which she finally accepted to.
Some highlights were me teaching everyone big boots and them teaching me a game called “Don’t show your teeth, don’t move a leaf.” It is a game played were everyone is in two single file lines, parallel and facing each other at 2 feet apart and their hands held high next to their ears. These people can not show their teeth and can not allow player B see them move. Player B is volunteered by the group to go first. He has to say the name of the game and then proceed through the gauntlet of people trying to catch them showing their teeth or moving. Here is the catch. When player B has the back of their head to the players in line, it is freegame to give him a good whack on the back of the head. It is hilarious to watch and difficult to now show your teeth. It takes a certain technique by player B of moving both slowly and quickly and moving his head around constantly to catch someone slapping his head or spotting a set of pearly whites. A little hard to explain, but the game is simple and hilarious!!
I also introduced them to “The Fruit Basket” It is along the lines of Mooning someone, but better. If you don’t know what it is, ask any 19 to 25 year old and they will be sure to tell you the answer. Or you can just ask me when I get home and I will show you. Lol.
On the day I had to leave, it felt unreal. I couldn’t believe I was leaving these amazing people. I really wanted to stay forever, but we all know , that just isn’t possible. The last day there was one of the most memorable nights in my entire life! We all went to this pizzeria place to have a dish that is special to Bari. (Sorry Guys, I have no idea what that hot bread filled with cheese was called. I do remember the specific directions on how to eat the thing, given to me by Giovanni to: stand feet wide apart, bent at a 45 degree angle at the hips, elbows pointing out to each side and chin stuck out straight ahead while enjoying this mess of a treat.) I also had a classic pizza and took a group picture with the chef, before Giovanni and I rolled to a shots-bar for a couple drinks with everyone and a few last games of “Don’t show your teeth, Don’t Move a Leaf.” It was getting close to the departure time of my train, 11:50pm, and I needed to head out! I figured Elana and maybe the other three would take me, but everyone made the journey to the train station with me! I felt like a celebrity with my entourage of at least 15. We all chanted and yelled on our way through the train station before my train arrived. As it was arriving I exchanged many hugs (with a kiss on each cheek. A greet to a good friend in Italy) with some of the greatest people I have ever met. It was a very emotional experience for me and the others. Enrico couldn’t wait his turn (I was saving him for last) and he stepped through a couple people to give me a huge long hug. It was a good little bro moment shared by, at this point, very good friends. The train rolled in behind me and I had to get on without giving everyone a hug, but I said my thanks a million times and jumped on. I found my bed in the 2 bed cabin and saw everyone outside my window. The train was still stopped and I pulled down the window to exchange some last minute words and a last minute Fruit Basket! Lol. As the train pulled away, I had my head out the window and everyone started to follow the train. It was so awesome, words can’t describe. They started off walking next to the train, then to a run. The quick sprinted as fast as they could and as long as they could, until the train and I were moving away too fast to keep up. Everyone was yelling their last words to me and when I was far down the platform from them, I yelled as loud as I could, “Gratzie Famiglia!” The train picked up some serious speed and I situated myself in the cabin, not believing what had just happened. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie. I remembered the advice Giovanni told me…..”If there is no lock, wrap your belt around the handle and sleep with anything valuable.” The door had a lock on it and my computer was in my pack tucked under my bed. Everything else valuable was on me in my money pouch. I was set and laid down for bed. It was hot in the cabin and few drinks didn’t help any. I sat awae for a while thinking about what had just happened and the past 3 days. I thought about if I will ever see these guys again and remembered Giovanni’s promise to me that he will find me in Seattle some day and knock on my door asking for me. I eventually got some sleep and was on my way to Florence.
I hope to see and host anyone of my Bari friends anytime they like. Thanks for everything guys. I will miss you all!
Sincerely,
Kurt
BARI-
I love Bari!! Not because there are tons of Amazing things to see, although there are some, but because there are tons of amazing people! I can now call Betta, Elana, Enrico and Germani my best friends! They are great people who are very interested in the United States. When I arrived in Bari, the four of them were there quickly to pick me up, even though I got in to the station an hour later than I had told them. I missed ma connecting train back in Switzerland that caused me to miss my overnighter and a bed to sleep in. Instead, I had to sit upright, touching knees with 5 other dirty Italians, for nine and a half hours! I was so thankful that Elana picked up her phone when I dialed her from a strangers phone. Very thankful the stranger let me use his phone, because I had no internet and had no idea where to find any. I gave them all huge hugs when they jumped out to greet me. It was so nice to see them all again. I threw my pack in the back and we were off to Enrico’s Hotel for breakfast and to check me in….FOR FREE! Breakfast was awesome and we all had some good laughs. The man serving us was new and had no idea he was serving the owners son and his friends. Once he found out, I could tell, because he shook his hand for a long time while jabbering in Italian. Elana translated for me…..The best English speaker of the group. Enrico, you are very good as well, along with the rest of the group when they actually tried to speak English to me. After breakfast, they all escorted me to my cool and elegant room that was steps from the pool. I literally took 3 steps from my door and was in the pool. -I made the mistake of jumping in the pool one day without a head cap and got yelled at for it. I learned my lesson and now realized why every single person wore the silly things with their speedo bottoms. Lol. I had no head cap, so it was strictly pool side from there on out.- After a rest and finally getting some sleep after the grueling train ride, the crew piced me up for a pool party.
We all headed over to Elana’s parents’ vacation villa for a swim. She had told me that there were some of her friends coming over to meet me, because they are very interested in “The American Boy.” About 10 minutes later, there were about 10 Italian girls all laughing and trying their best at their English. We swam for a while and had a great time playing chicken and other pool games. After we all showered off pool side, we jumped right into a drinking game. All day they had been asking me about what opther drinking games there are and what they needed to play beer pong. I introduced them to a game called Wingman, a common game we played at college. Some loved it and others hated it. Italians don’t ever play games while drinking. Italians are not very big on drinking in the first place, so this is all very new to them. They were introduced to beer pong in Dublin when Enrico and I dominated, and ever since have wanted to play again.
The next 3 days were fantastic, filled with more drinking games, clubs on the beach and visiting some of the sites in Bari. One of my favorites was the Trullis and this spot we visited where the houses were built on cliffs and everyone had sheets flying from their balconies to dry. It is common to cliff jump and go swimming down below the cliffs in the ocean, but the waters were way too rough for all three days I was there. The views were fantastic though. What surprised me the most about these 4, “Porn Star Stache, Ron,” Giovanni and Davide is how generous they were. Elana did not let me pay for a single thing, until the last day I begged her if I could pay for our Italian desert (Grinitas), which she finally accepted to.
Some highlights were me teaching everyone big boots and them teaching me a game called “Don’t show your teeth, don’t move a leaf.” It is a game played were everyone is in two single file lines, parallel and facing each other at 2 feet apart and their hands held high next to their ears. These people can not show their teeth and can not allow player B see them move. Player B is volunteered by the group to go first. He has to say the name of the game and then proceed through the gauntlet of people trying to catch them showing their teeth or moving. Here is the catch. When player B has the back of their head to the players in line, it is freegame to give him a good whack on the back of the head. It is hilarious to watch and difficult to now show your teeth. It takes a certain technique by player B of moving both slowly and quickly and moving his head around constantly to catch someone slapping his head or spotting a set of pearly whites. A little hard to explain, but the game is simple and hilarious!!
I also introduced them to “The Fruit Basket” It is along the lines of Mooning someone, but better. If you don’t know what it is, ask any 19 to 25 year old and they will be sure to tell you the answer. Or you can just ask me when I get home and I will show you. Lol.
On the day I had to leave, it felt unreal. I couldn’t believe I was leaving these amazing people. I really wanted to stay forever, but we all know , that just isn’t possible. The last day there was one of the most memorable nights in my entire life! We all went to this pizzeria place to have a dish that is special to Bari. (Sorry Guys, I have no idea what that hot bread filled with cheese was called. I do remember the specific directions on how to eat the thing, given to me by Giovanni to: stand feet wide apart, bent at a 45 degree angle at the hips, elbows pointing out to each side and chin stuck out straight ahead while enjoying this mess of a treat.) I also had a classic pizza and took a group picture with the chef, before Giovanni and I rolled to a shots-bar for a couple drinks with everyone and a few last games of “Don’t show your teeth, Don’t Move a Leaf.” It was getting close to the departure time of my train, 11:50pm, and I needed to head out! I figured Elana and maybe the other three would take me, but everyone made the journey to the train station with me! I felt like a celebrity with my entourage of at least 15. We all chanted and yelled on our way through the train station before my train arrived. As it was arriving I exchanged many hugs (with a kiss on each cheek. A greet to a good friend in Italy) with some of the greatest people I have ever met. It was a very emotional experience for me and the others. Enrico couldn’t wait his turn (I was saving him for last) and he stepped through a couple people to give me a huge long hug. It was a good little bro moment shared by, at this point, very good friends. The train rolled in behind me and I had to get on without giving everyone a hug, but I said my thanks a million times and jumped on. I found my bed in the 2 bed cabin and saw everyone outside my window. The train was still stopped and I pulled down the window to exchange some last minute words and a last minute Fruit Basket! Lol. As the train pulled away, I had my head out the window and everyone started to follow the train. It was so awesome, words can’t describe. They started off walking next to the train, then to a run. The quick sprinted as fast as they could and as long as they could, until the train and I were moving away too fast to keep up. Everyone was yelling their last words to me and when I was far down the platform from them, I yelled as loud as I could, “Gratzie Famiglia!” The train picked up some serious speed and I situated myself in the cabin, not believing what had just happened. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie. I remembered the advice Giovanni told me…..”If there is no lock, wrap your belt around the handle and sleep with anything valuable.” The door had a lock on it and my computer was in my pack tucked under my bed. Everything else valuable was on me in my money pouch. I was set and laid down for bed. It was hot in the cabin and few drinks didn’t help any. I sat awae for a while thinking about what had just happened and the past 3 days. I thought about if I will ever see these guys again and remembered Giovanni’s promise to me that he will find me in Seattle some day and knock on my door asking for me. I eventually got some sleep and was on my way to Florence.
I hope to see and host anyone of my Bari friends anytime they like. Thanks for everything guys. I will miss you all!
Sincerely,
Kurt
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
August 25th, 2010
August 25th, 2010
I was up early this morning at 6am to start my day. I told Ellie I would video skype her since it was only 9pm her time. I was tired and in my pajamas, but what a great invention. We talked for about an hour before I got dressed and headed for the train station. On my way, I grabbed some Swiss chocolate knowing I would be taking a break at Grandpa’s Statue. It only seemed right to enjoy some Swiss chocolate at his statue, because when he was staying with us, he always had some chocolate chilled in the fridge and ready to break a piece off for us. Besides the significance to Grandpa Karl, chocolate is a good source of energy to keep me going.
When I got to the train station, a train was leaving for Kusnacht 3 minutes later. I jumped on the first 2nd class car and started to get excited. I am not exactly sure why I was so determined and extremely excited to see the statue. Maybe because it is one of the best memories I have of when we traveled Switzerland in 99 as an entire family, or maybe that the last time I was standing next to it, Grandpa was still alive. In 99, I also couldn’t really comprehend or appreciate the fact that we had traveled vary far to see the town Grandpa was raised in and had left for a new life in the United States. Of course everything is going to have more meaning now that I am older. It definitely has more meaning this time, because I am doing it for me and not because the family was dragging me along. Grandpa has now passed and I see it as something I HAVE to do. There is no question. I could not travel to Switzerland and not pay my respects to the man who has given me the opportunity to celebrate many great years of being a Swiss. Also the man who I have had spent many special moments with and who was always over joyed to see his grandchildren. I am glad to say I have some Swiss in me, even if it is only one quarter, and he is the one to thank.
When I arrived in Kusnacht, I had no idea where I was supposed to go. I saw the ticket office and headed inside to ask in my best Swiss German, “hello, speak Englsh?” (Gruitzi, sprekin English) lol. She replied, “Yes, of course.” Haha. So I was off to a good start. I asked, “Do you know where Seebodenalp is? She explained to me where it was and which bus and stop I needed to take. This was great. It even got better when a different woman who was in the ticket office walked on to the bus for a second to tell everyone I was American and which stop I needed to get off at. This was quite embarrassing. When I got to my stop, an elderly woman came up to me and tapped me on my shoulder to let me know I needed to get off. Thank goodness, because I thought I still had one more stop. I guess getting embarrassed for 2 seconds wasn’t so bad after all. Better than being lost for, who knows how long.
The Seebodenalp cable car was right across the street from the bus stop. This cable car would take me to the restaurant Bobby told me about, and where the statue sits near. But I wanted to hike to the statue. I let the people there know this and they gave me a map. The lady inside even walked me to where she could point and explain where the trail started. -Geeze they are helpful here. Even when I speak, uhhh….NO Swiss German. Lol- Bobby taught me a couple words, like Wonderwag, pronounced, Vonder Veg. This was a key to know since random spots would have a sticker that said wonderwag. This means trail. I hit the first pole that had a little yellow sticker with a man hiking on it. I followed the sidewalk to the next sign that had an arrow pointing through someone’s yard and had Seeboldenalp on it. I made my way up through the dew grass and next to cows. The sun was still low and I was the only one on the trail. It was the perfect feeling. There was a cool breeze with the sun shining and serenity. It was perfect for the type of journey I was on. I found myself turning around every so many hundred yards to take in the great view. There were a couple times where I literally had to open a gate to someone’s cow pasture to follow the trail and again through one at the other side. The first one I came up to was just a rope slung across from one post to another. I lifted the looped end off of one post and walked through, placing it back again. As I did so, I saw the other rope across the pasture. I kept my eye on the gate and made my way through the pasture. After I passed through the gate and turned around to place the rope back on the post, I was facing the way I had just come. To my surprise, about 10 meters to what would have been my left as I walked through, was a bull with 2 very large horns taking a break from his meal to stare at me. I would have freaked if I would have saw him as I passed him. I didn’t even think to take a picture, but just turned and walked away letting out a deep breath. I stopped a few times on my way up to take videos and pictures of the view and get on film how excited I felt and capture the amazing views I was witnessing. I video blogged some of my feelings since there was no one with me, and so I could remember what exactly was going through my head. I had a lot of thoughts.
I thought a lot about how my Great Grandfather, Karl would be proud to know little Kurtie was making long journey and small hike to see his town and statue. All grown up I thought a lot of when I was little and when we were at the statue last. I was wondering if more memories would come back after revisiting the site. I thought a lot about Dad and the hikes we have done. The little sayings he blurts. Wondering how far behind he would be. Lol. I remembered the time I finally beat him up a trail and what an awesome feeling that was. I thought a lot about hiking in general and understand why so many people enjoy it. Why so many old men hike and hike. It felt good to be alone and have the cow bells in the background of my thoughts. The smells and sounds made it a very good experience. The silence and the faint sound of an alp horn in the distance. Thought a lot about Grandpa Karl and what he would think of me making the trip. How I would love to bring him back something, even if it was a story or two of me in his home town and how everyone was very friendly, just like he was. Did a lot of thinking how much farther of this thigh burning I had left. Lol. Wondering if I was ever going to make it up there. Lol.
The trail became well marked once I got into the trees and I put my head down and marched. I stripped my outer layer and felt the burn. It was great. I made it to a paved road where there was a cable hanging above. I thought at this point, I have to be close. I walked on the road for a little bit, looking for the trail to continue up into the trees. There was none. I kept walking and saw t restaurant and cable car booth. YES!! I am very close. I busted out the video camera and documented me looking and finding the statue. I said hello to a man who was carrying a shovel doing yard work and kept looking. Looking to the left of the restaurant. Nothing. I walked in front and aver to the right side like Bobby told me. I saw some trees that looked very familiar. I moved closer and past the line of trees to see the back side of them, and there it lay! I found it!
A rush of emotion filled my body and I felt Goosebumps all over my body. For me it was an accomplishment. It was not the longest or hardest hike, but the one with the most significance. It meant a lot for me to see his statue. To hike it and take in every aspect of the Swiss culture and atmosphere.
I quickly moved towards the statue and immediately found Ulrich, Karl on the base. A huge smilecame over me and I steped back to see the statue in the foreground of a very beautiful view of green hills spotted with houses up high and densely arranged in the town, an open lake to my right continuing far into the distance and a lake to my left with sailboats and it bordering beautiful mountain peaks beyond Luzern. It was a breathtaking view.
I sat down on the bench next to the statue and busted out my chocolate and water. The raspberry filling was delicious. I took my time to reflect and have a moment at the same time sipping on my water and enjoying the chocolate. I thought about Grandpa as a kid and what it was like when he was here. What I would be doing if I grew up here. How I would love to live here. It was a great feeling. It was an emotional time at the same time having a smile on my face looking out at the view. I had A man who was sitting on the bench down a ways take a photo of me next to the cross. I was eager to tell him my story of why I was there and what the statue meant to me. He was intrigued and asked me a few questions and went on his way. A few moments later as I was packing up my stuff, he came back to ask me some more questions. He asked me exactly who it was that put the statue there. I told him my great grandfather and I think his brother donated it after he had moved to the states. I am not sure exactly how true that is, but I saw two Ulrich names and Puyallup Washington under them. Gave it my best guess. He was very impressed that I had come from the Stated to Visit Kusnacht. When I was talking with him, I saw the higher peak of the Rigi behind him. I saw a huge antenna and asked if there was any way to get up there. He said,” Of course there is. Do you want to hike up there?“ I replied, Well I wasn’t planning on it, but I have hiked this far and have no idea when I am going to be here again.” HE told me it would take me 2 hours max….I was convinced. I made my way to the trail head and saw that there was 2 ways up. I approached a man who was putting on some boots and asked him which the best way was. There was the 4 hour route and the 2 ½ hour route. I chose the 2 ½ hour. He told me that there is a hotel and trains at the top. I told him I had no idea. I think he got a little affended andsaid something along the lines of “We are modern, ya know?!” I laughed and told him I new that, but didn’t see any cable car or train on the mountain. The peak was far to far away to tell if there was a hotel on it. He told me there are two trains that run up the other side of the mountain and the hotel is out of site from our vantage point. With that, I thanked him and headed up.
It started off the same as the first leg through pastures and what not, then quickly led to switchbacks. As I approached the switchbacks, I slowly passed three Swiss Gents. One of them had very god English and told me, “You sound English!” I told him I was American, but I will take English any day. He said “Oh, hell. Same thing.” I laughed as he continued to interrogate me of why I was in Kusnacht on the Rigi. I shared my story and he quickly responded “Ahhh, A home sick Swiss!” I laughed again and he said he is doing the same thing, but for 3 weeks in Switzerland. He now lives somewhere on the east coast, I can’t remember.
I made my way to the top while taking more photos and saying hello to everyone who passed in the opposite direction and those I passed. I was very surprised to see the age, size and shape of the people on the trail. It really made me think of myself as a puss for experiencing the aches and pains I was. Lol. I made it to the top though, and the views were stunning. I took lots and sat down in the grass to enjoy a song of three men on their alp horns. It was a great sound. I don’t think I have ever heard multiple alm horns harmonizing before. It was great. I then treated myself to a lunch off fries and a bratwurst outside and gazing at the amazing view of the alps. After walking around for a bit, it was time to make my way back. On my way back I saw a sign that had the profile of the alp’s skyline. I saw that one of the peaks was the Matterhorn. I had no idea it was visible from where I was and thought it was pretty cool. I trucked it down and on my way got passed by two old timers. This got to me a little but and from there on, I ran all the way down. It was a lot of fun and took me no time to get to the cable car by Grandpa’s statue.
I walked inside the booth, and there was no one manning the booth. I saw a schedule of running times that was in all German, but I was able to figure out that one list of times was for week days and the other for weekends. The time table listed that the next time the car would leave was in 5 minutes. The cable car was open for anyone to go into. I was the only one there and took a couple steps inside. The thing moved a bit and I was completely unsure if I was supposed to be inside it or not. I really didn’t want to walk the rest of the way down. I spooked myself out and left the car. As I did I saw a sign that said doors close automatically. I thought to myself outside, “If I am in the car resting and the doors close, it wasn’t my fault” lol. I sat back down inside and waited a bit to see if the car was even operating, since there was no one at the booth. Exactly 5 minutes later, the doors shut and closed me inside. Haha. I was like, NO WAY! I hope I didn’t have to pay or anything. I enjoyed the ride down and couldn’t believe what just happened. When I got to the bottom I was greeted by an old fart who spoke no English. I told him hello in German and acted like I knew what I was doing as I walked off. He quickly stopped me to see my ticked. Of course I had none. He called me over to the ticket booth and asked me for 13 Eurose. I only had my Debit card. Silly me. He told me to take a bus to the bank and come back. The direction of the bank was conveniently in the direction of the train station where I needed to catch my train back home. I jumped on the bus and contemplated just heading home and saving myself the 133 eurose. I think anyone would. But, I of course did not do that. I didn’t want to be “That American.” I know Grandpa would not be proud of that, plus the fact that it would fill my conscience. I took the man his money and headed home. I was very tired and made the walk back to my hostel.
I ended up eating dinner and having an early night to bed. Of course today was gorgeous! Tomorrow is is supposed to cool down a bit. Thanks Grandpa for my amazing day. You are very missed by us all.
Kurt
I was up early this morning at 6am to start my day. I told Ellie I would video skype her since it was only 9pm her time. I was tired and in my pajamas, but what a great invention. We talked for about an hour before I got dressed and headed for the train station. On my way, I grabbed some Swiss chocolate knowing I would be taking a break at Grandpa’s Statue. It only seemed right to enjoy some Swiss chocolate at his statue, because when he was staying with us, he always had some chocolate chilled in the fridge and ready to break a piece off for us. Besides the significance to Grandpa Karl, chocolate is a good source of energy to keep me going.
When I got to the train station, a train was leaving for Kusnacht 3 minutes later. I jumped on the first 2nd class car and started to get excited. I am not exactly sure why I was so determined and extremely excited to see the statue. Maybe because it is one of the best memories I have of when we traveled Switzerland in 99 as an entire family, or maybe that the last time I was standing next to it, Grandpa was still alive. In 99, I also couldn’t really comprehend or appreciate the fact that we had traveled vary far to see the town Grandpa was raised in and had left for a new life in the United States. Of course everything is going to have more meaning now that I am older. It definitely has more meaning this time, because I am doing it for me and not because the family was dragging me along. Grandpa has now passed and I see it as something I HAVE to do. There is no question. I could not travel to Switzerland and not pay my respects to the man who has given me the opportunity to celebrate many great years of being a Swiss. Also the man who I have had spent many special moments with and who was always over joyed to see his grandchildren. I am glad to say I have some Swiss in me, even if it is only one quarter, and he is the one to thank.
When I arrived in Kusnacht, I had no idea where I was supposed to go. I saw the ticket office and headed inside to ask in my best Swiss German, “hello, speak Englsh?” (Gruitzi, sprekin English) lol. She replied, “Yes, of course.” Haha. So I was off to a good start. I asked, “Do you know where Seebodenalp is? She explained to me where it was and which bus and stop I needed to take. This was great. It even got better when a different woman who was in the ticket office walked on to the bus for a second to tell everyone I was American and which stop I needed to get off at. This was quite embarrassing. When I got to my stop, an elderly woman came up to me and tapped me on my shoulder to let me know I needed to get off. Thank goodness, because I thought I still had one more stop. I guess getting embarrassed for 2 seconds wasn’t so bad after all. Better than being lost for, who knows how long.
The Seebodenalp cable car was right across the street from the bus stop. This cable car would take me to the restaurant Bobby told me about, and where the statue sits near. But I wanted to hike to the statue. I let the people there know this and they gave me a map. The lady inside even walked me to where she could point and explain where the trail started. -Geeze they are helpful here. Even when I speak, uhhh….NO Swiss German. Lol- Bobby taught me a couple words, like Wonderwag, pronounced, Vonder Veg. This was a key to know since random spots would have a sticker that said wonderwag. This means trail. I hit the first pole that had a little yellow sticker with a man hiking on it. I followed the sidewalk to the next sign that had an arrow pointing through someone’s yard and had Seeboldenalp on it. I made my way up through the dew grass and next to cows. The sun was still low and I was the only one on the trail. It was the perfect feeling. There was a cool breeze with the sun shining and serenity. It was perfect for the type of journey I was on. I found myself turning around every so many hundred yards to take in the great view. There were a couple times where I literally had to open a gate to someone’s cow pasture to follow the trail and again through one at the other side. The first one I came up to was just a rope slung across from one post to another. I lifted the looped end off of one post and walked through, placing it back again. As I did so, I saw the other rope across the pasture. I kept my eye on the gate and made my way through the pasture. After I passed through the gate and turned around to place the rope back on the post, I was facing the way I had just come. To my surprise, about 10 meters to what would have been my left as I walked through, was a bull with 2 very large horns taking a break from his meal to stare at me. I would have freaked if I would have saw him as I passed him. I didn’t even think to take a picture, but just turned and walked away letting out a deep breath. I stopped a few times on my way up to take videos and pictures of the view and get on film how excited I felt and capture the amazing views I was witnessing. I video blogged some of my feelings since there was no one with me, and so I could remember what exactly was going through my head. I had a lot of thoughts.
I thought a lot about how my Great Grandfather, Karl would be proud to know little Kurtie was making long journey and small hike to see his town and statue. All grown up I thought a lot of when I was little and when we were at the statue last. I was wondering if more memories would come back after revisiting the site. I thought a lot about Dad and the hikes we have done. The little sayings he blurts. Wondering how far behind he would be. Lol. I remembered the time I finally beat him up a trail and what an awesome feeling that was. I thought a lot about hiking in general and understand why so many people enjoy it. Why so many old men hike and hike. It felt good to be alone and have the cow bells in the background of my thoughts. The smells and sounds made it a very good experience. The silence and the faint sound of an alp horn in the distance. Thought a lot about Grandpa Karl and what he would think of me making the trip. How I would love to bring him back something, even if it was a story or two of me in his home town and how everyone was very friendly, just like he was. Did a lot of thinking how much farther of this thigh burning I had left. Lol. Wondering if I was ever going to make it up there. Lol.
The trail became well marked once I got into the trees and I put my head down and marched. I stripped my outer layer and felt the burn. It was great. I made it to a paved road where there was a cable hanging above. I thought at this point, I have to be close. I walked on the road for a little bit, looking for the trail to continue up into the trees. There was none. I kept walking and saw t restaurant and cable car booth. YES!! I am very close. I busted out the video camera and documented me looking and finding the statue. I said hello to a man who was carrying a shovel doing yard work and kept looking. Looking to the left of the restaurant. Nothing. I walked in front and aver to the right side like Bobby told me. I saw some trees that looked very familiar. I moved closer and past the line of trees to see the back side of them, and there it lay! I found it!
A rush of emotion filled my body and I felt Goosebumps all over my body. For me it was an accomplishment. It was not the longest or hardest hike, but the one with the most significance. It meant a lot for me to see his statue. To hike it and take in every aspect of the Swiss culture and atmosphere.
I quickly moved towards the statue and immediately found Ulrich, Karl on the base. A huge smilecame over me and I steped back to see the statue in the foreground of a very beautiful view of green hills spotted with houses up high and densely arranged in the town, an open lake to my right continuing far into the distance and a lake to my left with sailboats and it bordering beautiful mountain peaks beyond Luzern. It was a breathtaking view.
I sat down on the bench next to the statue and busted out my chocolate and water. The raspberry filling was delicious. I took my time to reflect and have a moment at the same time sipping on my water and enjoying the chocolate. I thought about Grandpa as a kid and what it was like when he was here. What I would be doing if I grew up here. How I would love to live here. It was a great feeling. It was an emotional time at the same time having a smile on my face looking out at the view. I had A man who was sitting on the bench down a ways take a photo of me next to the cross. I was eager to tell him my story of why I was there and what the statue meant to me. He was intrigued and asked me a few questions and went on his way. A few moments later as I was packing up my stuff, he came back to ask me some more questions. He asked me exactly who it was that put the statue there. I told him my great grandfather and I think his brother donated it after he had moved to the states. I am not sure exactly how true that is, but I saw two Ulrich names and Puyallup Washington under them. Gave it my best guess. He was very impressed that I had come from the Stated to Visit Kusnacht. When I was talking with him, I saw the higher peak of the Rigi behind him. I saw a huge antenna and asked if there was any way to get up there. He said,” Of course there is. Do you want to hike up there?“ I replied, Well I wasn’t planning on it, but I have hiked this far and have no idea when I am going to be here again.” HE told me it would take me 2 hours max….I was convinced. I made my way to the trail head and saw that there was 2 ways up. I approached a man who was putting on some boots and asked him which the best way was. There was the 4 hour route and the 2 ½ hour route. I chose the 2 ½ hour. He told me that there is a hotel and trains at the top. I told him I had no idea. I think he got a little affended andsaid something along the lines of “We are modern, ya know?!” I laughed and told him I new that, but didn’t see any cable car or train on the mountain. The peak was far to far away to tell if there was a hotel on it. He told me there are two trains that run up the other side of the mountain and the hotel is out of site from our vantage point. With that, I thanked him and headed up.
It started off the same as the first leg through pastures and what not, then quickly led to switchbacks. As I approached the switchbacks, I slowly passed three Swiss Gents. One of them had very god English and told me, “You sound English!” I told him I was American, but I will take English any day. He said “Oh, hell. Same thing.” I laughed as he continued to interrogate me of why I was in Kusnacht on the Rigi. I shared my story and he quickly responded “Ahhh, A home sick Swiss!” I laughed again and he said he is doing the same thing, but for 3 weeks in Switzerland. He now lives somewhere on the east coast, I can’t remember.
I made my way to the top while taking more photos and saying hello to everyone who passed in the opposite direction and those I passed. I was very surprised to see the age, size and shape of the people on the trail. It really made me think of myself as a puss for experiencing the aches and pains I was. Lol. I made it to the top though, and the views were stunning. I took lots and sat down in the grass to enjoy a song of three men on their alp horns. It was a great sound. I don’t think I have ever heard multiple alm horns harmonizing before. It was great. I then treated myself to a lunch off fries and a bratwurst outside and gazing at the amazing view of the alps. After walking around for a bit, it was time to make my way back. On my way back I saw a sign that had the profile of the alp’s skyline. I saw that one of the peaks was the Matterhorn. I had no idea it was visible from where I was and thought it was pretty cool. I trucked it down and on my way got passed by two old timers. This got to me a little but and from there on, I ran all the way down. It was a lot of fun and took me no time to get to the cable car by Grandpa’s statue.
I walked inside the booth, and there was no one manning the booth. I saw a schedule of running times that was in all German, but I was able to figure out that one list of times was for week days and the other for weekends. The time table listed that the next time the car would leave was in 5 minutes. The cable car was open for anyone to go into. I was the only one there and took a couple steps inside. The thing moved a bit and I was completely unsure if I was supposed to be inside it or not. I really didn’t want to walk the rest of the way down. I spooked myself out and left the car. As I did I saw a sign that said doors close automatically. I thought to myself outside, “If I am in the car resting and the doors close, it wasn’t my fault” lol. I sat back down inside and waited a bit to see if the car was even operating, since there was no one at the booth. Exactly 5 minutes later, the doors shut and closed me inside. Haha. I was like, NO WAY! I hope I didn’t have to pay or anything. I enjoyed the ride down and couldn’t believe what just happened. When I got to the bottom I was greeted by an old fart who spoke no English. I told him hello in German and acted like I knew what I was doing as I walked off. He quickly stopped me to see my ticked. Of course I had none. He called me over to the ticket booth and asked me for 13 Eurose. I only had my Debit card. Silly me. He told me to take a bus to the bank and come back. The direction of the bank was conveniently in the direction of the train station where I needed to catch my train back home. I jumped on the bus and contemplated just heading home and saving myself the 133 eurose. I think anyone would. But, I of course did not do that. I didn’t want to be “That American.” I know Grandpa would not be proud of that, plus the fact that it would fill my conscience. I took the man his money and headed home. I was very tired and made the walk back to my hostel.
I ended up eating dinner and having an early night to bed. Of course today was gorgeous! Tomorrow is is supposed to cool down a bit. Thanks Grandpa for my amazing day. You are very missed by us all.
Kurt
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Today Today
Hello Everyone.
Sorry so much for not keeping up. I am in rome now and saw the Colliseaum, the Ancient Ruins, the Vatican, St. Petersburg Cathedral (insanely huge), and the Sistenth Chapple. Good ol Mike is Brilliant!
After Switzerland I went to Bari Italy to meet some friends I met in Dublin. Stayed there for free at one of their parents Hotel. It was amazing. From there I went to Florence. Now here in Rome and flying out tonight to meet up with Andrea. Very excited. It has been a rough day of flights being canceled. Booking Hostels when I didn't need to and spending a lot of Money! It is a bummer.
Stay tuned though. I am going to finish my blog of my trip to Grandpa's statue on the plane tonight and post it when I get internet. It was a fantastic Hike.
Sorry again. Talk to you in Paris!
Love you all and miss home,
Kurt
Sorry so much for not keeping up. I am in rome now and saw the Colliseaum, the Ancient Ruins, the Vatican, St. Petersburg Cathedral (insanely huge), and the Sistenth Chapple. Good ol Mike is Brilliant!
After Switzerland I went to Bari Italy to meet some friends I met in Dublin. Stayed there for free at one of their parents Hotel. It was amazing. From there I went to Florence. Now here in Rome and flying out tonight to meet up with Andrea. Very excited. It has been a rough day of flights being canceled. Booking Hostels when I didn't need to and spending a lot of Money! It is a bummer.
Stay tuned though. I am going to finish my blog of my trip to Grandpa's statue on the plane tonight and post it when I get internet. It was a fantastic Hike.
Sorry again. Talk to you in Paris!
Love you all and miss home,
Kurt
August 23rd, 2010
August 24th, 2010
Today I slept in a little till 10am and got ready for the day. I had a hard time eating the last serving of my left over spaghetti for breakfast, but I knew I would need it, if I wanted to avoid the high prices for food. My plan was to head up to Pilatus, via the steepest cogwheel railway in the world. I had a couple different options. I could either take a ferry boat or train to the cogwheel and then the cable car back down, or in the reverse order. I enjoyed a nice ride on the ferry as my first set of transportation to get me to the cogwheel. There were a couple different spurts of rain when we were on the boat, but the awesome views made up for it. We made multiple stops on either side of the lake, which gave us multiple points of view on the mountains. Along the way I started talking to this couple from Dubai, because I saw the husband was staying inside during the rain, but looked like he wanted to be outside to get some good shots. I told him he better stay inside to protect his camera. I told him that I used to have a SLR and sometimes wish I would have brought one on the trip. He then asked me some questions about the brightness of his photos and what not, so I did the best I could do to answer them. I probably just confused him, but his photos were looking a little better, and none the less….I had someone talk to. He had me take some photos of him and his wife and he snapped some of me. I told him it sometimes sucks being the camera man, because you’re never in any of the photos. We took a bunch of photos and talked about school and jobs before we finally arrived at the cogwheel. It was pretty darn steep going up this thing. I was facing backwards and the slow chugging of the train put me to sleep. I know there are a lot of great views, and shame on me, but I dozed off a couple times anyways.
When we arrived at the top, it was very cloudy and we couldn’t see much of the surrounding sites. Maybe a peak or two closer in the distance. We decided we would hike up further along this short trail to get to the highest point of Pilatus. On our way up, the clouds began to magically disappear and we could see everything! We could see far off in the distance at further peaks and down to see most of Central Switzerland. The views were breathtaking. We snapped some pictures of each other and eventually made our way down to have a little treat at the ice cream stand. The couple had an ice cream bar, while I had a piece of some kind of apple pie. It was great and held me over till dinner. I learned a lesson today, though. You can’t feed crazy Swiss Crows. I tossed a little guy the crumbs off my plate as I held the remaining piece in my hand. As I did so, some old Swiss lady told me, “You shouldn’t do that. They will attack you for your food.” About 20 seconds later there were 50 or more of these yellow beaked crows flying very close to my head. I was starting to freak out, but luckily I received some of the best advice ever from an old Swiss…..”You better run for cover.” Lol. I quickly took her advice and B-lined it for the covered portion of the little ice cream stand. I was safe, thank goodness , and the crows slowly moved on to soaring around the mountain. After this whole fiasco, the couple and I headed over to the cable car and head down the mountain. I told them that I was going to stop half way down and ride the summer version of a one man bobsleigh. You sit on a plastic platform that has wheels and a little lever poking up through the middle of your legs that controls the break. The run is a winding aluminum half circle that is set into and flush with the ground. It looks just like a bobsleigh run, with raised corners to ride up on, but aluminum and in the ground. The couple didn’t want to do it, but I remember how much fun it was when I did it in 99’ with the fam. I enjoyed it so much the first time, I did it again. The best part is, the man working the tickets, who was the same man that ran the run, couldn’t run my card the second time to pay for my second run. With a line of people waiting to hit the run, he said to forget about it and have a nice day. You can never beat free. Lol. I took the smaller cable car down the rest of the way, and then hoofed it back into town. I swung by the grocery store to snag some pork chops at 8 bucks and small bag of chips for 3. It was cheap and already seasoned. I fried that up back at the hostel and had a couple pieces left over for breakfast or lunch. It will be my breakfast, since I plan on being on Mt. Rigi tomorrow for lunch. Tomorrow is supposed to bring some very warm weather. I made some phone calls to uncle Bob and aunt Karen to figure out where grandpa’s statue is on the Rigi. Uncle Bob gave me some pretty good directions, but still very vague. The plan was to ask where Seeboden Alp was when I got into Kusnacht. Then there should be a restaurant at the top and the statue is just to the right of it. I was up for the adventure and hit the sack so I could get an early start. I hope the weather is nice back home. Do some cliff jumping for me Andrea and Morgan. Iwish I could be watch you guys throw some steezy ished off turtle rock!
Best Regards,
Kurt
Today I slept in a little till 10am and got ready for the day. I had a hard time eating the last serving of my left over spaghetti for breakfast, but I knew I would need it, if I wanted to avoid the high prices for food. My plan was to head up to Pilatus, via the steepest cogwheel railway in the world. I had a couple different options. I could either take a ferry boat or train to the cogwheel and then the cable car back down, or in the reverse order. I enjoyed a nice ride on the ferry as my first set of transportation to get me to the cogwheel. There were a couple different spurts of rain when we were on the boat, but the awesome views made up for it. We made multiple stops on either side of the lake, which gave us multiple points of view on the mountains. Along the way I started talking to this couple from Dubai, because I saw the husband was staying inside during the rain, but looked like he wanted to be outside to get some good shots. I told him he better stay inside to protect his camera. I told him that I used to have a SLR and sometimes wish I would have brought one on the trip. He then asked me some questions about the brightness of his photos and what not, so I did the best I could do to answer them. I probably just confused him, but his photos were looking a little better, and none the less….I had someone talk to. He had me take some photos of him and his wife and he snapped some of me. I told him it sometimes sucks being the camera man, because you’re never in any of the photos. We took a bunch of photos and talked about school and jobs before we finally arrived at the cogwheel. It was pretty darn steep going up this thing. I was facing backwards and the slow chugging of the train put me to sleep. I know there are a lot of great views, and shame on me, but I dozed off a couple times anyways.
When we arrived at the top, it was very cloudy and we couldn’t see much of the surrounding sites. Maybe a peak or two closer in the distance. We decided we would hike up further along this short trail to get to the highest point of Pilatus. On our way up, the clouds began to magically disappear and we could see everything! We could see far off in the distance at further peaks and down to see most of Central Switzerland. The views were breathtaking. We snapped some pictures of each other and eventually made our way down to have a little treat at the ice cream stand. The couple had an ice cream bar, while I had a piece of some kind of apple pie. It was great and held me over till dinner. I learned a lesson today, though. You can’t feed crazy Swiss Crows. I tossed a little guy the crumbs off my plate as I held the remaining piece in my hand. As I did so, some old Swiss lady told me, “You shouldn’t do that. They will attack you for your food.” About 20 seconds later there were 50 or more of these yellow beaked crows flying very close to my head. I was starting to freak out, but luckily I received some of the best advice ever from an old Swiss…..”You better run for cover.” Lol. I quickly took her advice and B-lined it for the covered portion of the little ice cream stand. I was safe, thank goodness , and the crows slowly moved on to soaring around the mountain. After this whole fiasco, the couple and I headed over to the cable car and head down the mountain. I told them that I was going to stop half way down and ride the summer version of a one man bobsleigh. You sit on a plastic platform that has wheels and a little lever poking up through the middle of your legs that controls the break. The run is a winding aluminum half circle that is set into and flush with the ground. It looks just like a bobsleigh run, with raised corners to ride up on, but aluminum and in the ground. The couple didn’t want to do it, but I remember how much fun it was when I did it in 99’ with the fam. I enjoyed it so much the first time, I did it again. The best part is, the man working the tickets, who was the same man that ran the run, couldn’t run my card the second time to pay for my second run. With a line of people waiting to hit the run, he said to forget about it and have a nice day. You can never beat free. Lol. I took the smaller cable car down the rest of the way, and then hoofed it back into town. I swung by the grocery store to snag some pork chops at 8 bucks and small bag of chips for 3. It was cheap and already seasoned. I fried that up back at the hostel and had a couple pieces left over for breakfast or lunch. It will be my breakfast, since I plan on being on Mt. Rigi tomorrow for lunch. Tomorrow is supposed to bring some very warm weather. I made some phone calls to uncle Bob and aunt Karen to figure out where grandpa’s statue is on the Rigi. Uncle Bob gave me some pretty good directions, but still very vague. The plan was to ask where Seeboden Alp was when I got into Kusnacht. Then there should be a restaurant at the top and the statue is just to the right of it. I was up for the adventure and hit the sack so I could get an early start. I hope the weather is nice back home. Do some cliff jumping for me Andrea and Morgan. Iwish I could be watch you guys throw some steezy ished off turtle rock!
Best Regards,
Kurt
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