I've been here in Switzerland for six weeks now. I am pleased to report that I am now used to it. It's nice to be comfortable, but I hope I'm not missing some experiences by being desensitized.
When we hiked to Silleren the other day, we stopped and ate a snack by a beautiful mountain stream which was only about 30 feet from the road. If I had been sitting by that stream in Idaho I would have been awestruck, but here in Switzerland it's run-of-the-mill-every-day-average-scenery. I was a little disappointed when I started thinking about the stream that way. I think sometimes that places are more beautiful when they are hard to get to. Nearly every mountain peak, pass, stream, waterfall and glacial lake in the area near the Chalet can be reached by a moderately strenuous day's hike. It's not easy--but it doesn't take weeks of planning either. I try to keep in mind how amazing everything is, and how in the past I wasn't able to look out the window and see a 600 meter waterfall and about a hundred mountains.
Despite all I've just said... Bunderspitz still eludes me.
PS: I can't buy deodorant here. I found something similar to what I buy in the States but it's 21CHF for a travel sized stick.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Cow Parade
We got up at 4:45 to hike to the bottom of Enstligen Falls--the waterfall I can see from my apartment window. When we got there around 6:30 the parking was full and there was a massive crowd of people waiting to get on the gondolas up to the Enstligen alp--a wide meadow on top of the waterfall. We weren't taking the gondola up--no! As we waited for Karl the Cheese Maker many other groups of cows and their swiss-cheese-maker-owners passed us.
Karl finally showed up around 7:30. We were all on the verge of hypothermia. I thought it would be somewhat like a hike: relaxed, jovial and 32% miserable. Instead, Karl handed us all long sticks. Cow poking sticks. What? I had no idea that the cow parade would involve wrangling. It was not a real parade. The cows were not dressed up. They had their bells on but I expected more ribbons.
We got off to a rough start with the cows--mostly because we were given no instruction and not a one of us had any experience with real live cows. After a few near-death-being-pushed-off-the-mountain-by-a-cow experiences we all got the hang of when to poke, when to firmly tap, when to grab a leather neck-strap and when to stay the heck out of the way. It took us two hours to get the cows up the mountain to the meadow. There was a huge crowd up people up there watching us walk by and they took many pictures--hey maybe I'll be on the next Adelboden postcard! Our Chalet manager was up there too. That was pretty exciting, we felt like celebritys. Though, looking back on it now, it seems fairly ridiculious. Everyone pays 20 CHF to stand on top of a waterfall and watch the farmers hit cows with sticks so they'll walk up a horrendeously steep mountain.
So we made it to the meadow and we were exhausted. The cows scattered a bit and we thought we were done. Unfortunately, we were not done. We had to drive the cows up over another pass into the next valley. After 3 and a half hours of cow poking we made it to Karl's abode.
Karl's barn had no electricity but he did have a small gas stove and he made us cheese in a pan (which I think is all he eats) and offered us powdered ice-tea in incredibly dirty glasses. We were awfully thankful for it too.
Laura and I ate lunch on Karl's back porch and headed down the waterfall--after I sat in a nettle. On the way up, I was so preoccupied with keeping the cows from falling off a cliff that I didn't realize how steep the trail actually was. I think going down was much much more difficult than going up. We took a different route for the first quarter of the way down--I think it was more of a dry stream bed than a trail though, because it was just large slag. Large slag that was wet from the mountain mist. I've been making fun of those walking stick/ski pole things people use, but I would have paid quite a bit to have had one while I was walking through that slippery slag.
So we made it down, alive and totally exhausted around 3:30. Around 6:30 Jen came to my window to inform me that the rest of them had made it down the mountain and were on their way to Bunderspitz for the night. Seriously? I can't keep up with these kids.
And now, a photo journey through the cow-wrangling day.
First. This is a cow. They have horns.
This is our cow-driving party moving the cows over the second pass after we got through the meadow.
Laura and I in Karl's meadow. See our cow poking sticks?
Our cows, in their summer grazing range. If you look carefully, you can see Adelboden way below.
Karl's barn/house.
My neighbor, Jen.
Laura and I stopped in the meadow before heading down the mountain again. These are the mountains you can see behind the waterfall.
They let the cows roam free up on the Enstligen alp meadow.
These are the horrible bells they make the cows climb mountains in. The smaller brass ones are much heavier than the dark ones, still it must suck for the cows. I'm not sure why PETA isn't all over this one.
We met a friendly goat.
This is a picture of the trail we hiked down...can't see it? It's there, I swear, somewhere.
The waterfall.
Karl finally showed up around 7:30. We were all on the verge of hypothermia. I thought it would be somewhat like a hike: relaxed, jovial and 32% miserable. Instead, Karl handed us all long sticks. Cow poking sticks. What? I had no idea that the cow parade would involve wrangling. It was not a real parade. The cows were not dressed up. They had their bells on but I expected more ribbons.
We got off to a rough start with the cows--mostly because we were given no instruction and not a one of us had any experience with real live cows. After a few near-death-being-pushed-off-the-mountain-by-a-cow experiences we all got the hang of when to poke, when to firmly tap, when to grab a leather neck-strap and when to stay the heck out of the way. It took us two hours to get the cows up the mountain to the meadow. There was a huge crowd up people up there watching us walk by and they took many pictures--hey maybe I'll be on the next Adelboden postcard! Our Chalet manager was up there too. That was pretty exciting, we felt like celebritys. Though, looking back on it now, it seems fairly ridiculious. Everyone pays 20 CHF to stand on top of a waterfall and watch the farmers hit cows with sticks so they'll walk up a horrendeously steep mountain.
So we made it to the meadow and we were exhausted. The cows scattered a bit and we thought we were done. Unfortunately, we were not done. We had to drive the cows up over another pass into the next valley. After 3 and a half hours of cow poking we made it to Karl's abode.
Karl's barn had no electricity but he did have a small gas stove and he made us cheese in a pan (which I think is all he eats) and offered us powdered ice-tea in incredibly dirty glasses. We were awfully thankful for it too.
Laura and I ate lunch on Karl's back porch and headed down the waterfall--after I sat in a nettle. On the way up, I was so preoccupied with keeping the cows from falling off a cliff that I didn't realize how steep the trail actually was. I think going down was much much more difficult than going up. We took a different route for the first quarter of the way down--I think it was more of a dry stream bed than a trail though, because it was just large slag. Large slag that was wet from the mountain mist. I've been making fun of those walking stick/ski pole things people use, but I would have paid quite a bit to have had one while I was walking through that slippery slag.
So we made it down, alive and totally exhausted around 3:30. Around 6:30 Jen came to my window to inform me that the rest of them had made it down the mountain and were on their way to Bunderspitz for the night. Seriously? I can't keep up with these kids.
And now, a photo journey through the cow-wrangling day.
First. This is a cow. They have horns.
This is our cow-driving party moving the cows over the second pass after we got through the meadow.
Laura and I in Karl's meadow. See our cow poking sticks?
Our cows, in their summer grazing range. If you look carefully, you can see Adelboden way below.
Karl's barn/house.
My neighbor, Jen.Laura and I stopped in the meadow before heading down the mountain again. These are the mountains you can see behind the waterfall.
They let the cows roam free up on the Enstligen alp meadow.
These are the horrible bells they make the cows climb mountains in. The smaller brass ones are much heavier than the dark ones, still it must suck for the cows. I'm not sure why PETA isn't all over this one.We met a friendly goat.
This is a picture of the trail we hiked down...can't see it? It's there, I swear, somewhere.
The waterfall.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Silleren, not Slytheren
27.june.08 Silleren
Today I made my first alp ascent. I wanted to go up Bunderspitz but it was cloudy when I got up. I don't see the point in climbing a vertical kilometer to see a cloud. The clouds had burned off a bit by 9, so we decided to go up Silleren instead. (Not Slytheren). Silleren is neat because once you get up to the top you can take a scooter-like contraption back down.
First I had to get some money--because I wouldn't have been surprised to find that the scooter hire was in the neighborhood of 20 francs ahead. We went to the bank first, but my card didn't work in the machine. I took a chance and went inside to tell them that the machine would not give me any money. The man took my card, looked at it, told me the strip was probably not working and asked me how much money I wanted. He didn't ask me for ID or any proof of actual ownership of the card, just forked over the money I asked him for. Real secure Swiss banks.
Then we walked up the hill. It was steep, the view was pretty. At the top we ate some lunch in the playground by the gondola and rented scooters. A note about Swiss playgrounds: They all have ziplines and concrete tunnels and various other equipment that would definitely not pass US safety guidelines. Therefore, they are more fun.
The scooter rental wasn't terrible--8 francs. To get the scooter all I had to do was write my name down on a piece of paper. No address, no phone number, no liability waiver. Just: "Hey, there are some helmets there if you like, they're a bit more safe, have fun" And those scooters went fast. Super fast. Scary fast. I wouldn't call it a family activity. Again: it's more fun that way.
When we got to the bottom we returned the scooters by propping them up inside a doorway--again no set system. We could have kept the scooters forever if we wanted probably. Hummmmmmm....
In an Alpine Meadow. 
I got thirsty on the way up. So do cows.
For the record: We're at two castle ascents (2.5 if the prison tower counts as half a castle) and one alp--Silleren.
Today I made my first alp ascent. I wanted to go up Bunderspitz but it was cloudy when I got up. I don't see the point in climbing a vertical kilometer to see a cloud. The clouds had burned off a bit by 9, so we decided to go up Silleren instead. (Not Slytheren). Silleren is neat because once you get up to the top you can take a scooter-like contraption back down.
First I had to get some money--because I wouldn't have been surprised to find that the scooter hire was in the neighborhood of 20 francs ahead. We went to the bank first, but my card didn't work in the machine. I took a chance and went inside to tell them that the machine would not give me any money. The man took my card, looked at it, told me the strip was probably not working and asked me how much money I wanted. He didn't ask me for ID or any proof of actual ownership of the card, just forked over the money I asked him for. Real secure Swiss banks.
Then we walked up the hill. It was steep, the view was pretty. At the top we ate some lunch in the playground by the gondola and rented scooters. A note about Swiss playgrounds: They all have ziplines and concrete tunnels and various other equipment that would definitely not pass US safety guidelines. Therefore, they are more fun.
The scooter rental wasn't terrible--8 francs. To get the scooter all I had to do was write my name down on a piece of paper. No address, no phone number, no liability waiver. Just: "Hey, there are some helmets there if you like, they're a bit more safe, have fun" And those scooters went fast. Super fast. Scary fast. I wouldn't call it a family activity. Again: it's more fun that way.
When we got to the bottom we returned the scooters by propping them up inside a doorway--again no set system. We could have kept the scooters forever if we wanted probably. Hummmmmmm....
In an Alpine Meadow. 
I got thirsty on the way up. So do cows.
For the record: We're at two castle ascents (2.5 if the prison tower counts as half a castle) and one alp--Silleren.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Washer Won't Open
That's right. The washer is once again not working. And this time all my kitchen aprons and chef-coats are in there. I have these really cute chef-coats now, with blue buttons. I'm looking quite smart while I'm covered in curry or tomato paste.
In other news, my days off are coming up and of course it's gotten cloudy. Guess Bunderspitz may not happen this weekend either. The cow parade is a definite though.
More exciting updates later. I had a frosting sandwhich for breakfast. For some reason I'm not focusing well.
In other news, my days off are coming up and of course it's gotten cloudy. Guess Bunderspitz may not happen this weekend either. The cow parade is a definite though.
More exciting updates later. I had a frosting sandwhich for breakfast. For some reason I'm not focusing well.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Karl the Cheese Maker and How My Thumb is Still Attached
Last night I joined Karl the Cheese Maker, Jen and Line for a late dinner party on the back lawn. Karl is exactly what I expected an old Swiss Cheese Maker to look like. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's been in National Geographic at some point. He's got bushy eyebrows, thick rough and dirty hands. He was wearing a bucket hat and an old plaid workshirt.
I am pleased to report that I understood about 35% of the conversation. The part I understood clearly was when Karl said that Americans are fat because they eat too much. I said "Hey!" and Line pointed out that I was in fact American. I'm not sure if he was embarrassed or not, but he did say that the young Swiss were the same way. Regardless, I will still walk his cows up the falls this weekend.
After dinner, Jen and I walked home together. She laughed aloud when I asked "Would you like to read Schnuffi with me?" I said "Hey! I've been trying to figure out how to ask that for a while, don't laugh at me". But she did come over and read the book with me. My own translation was pretty close, I'm awfully proud of myself.
In other news:
I had a terrible night in the kitchen last night. The food was fine but I nearly cut my thumb off. Luckily, my nail was there. I cut clean through the nail--but if I had been a milimeter over I would have cut the tip of my thumb much worse. And I burned myself.
I am pleased to report that I understood about 35% of the conversation. The part I understood clearly was when Karl said that Americans are fat because they eat too much. I said "Hey!" and Line pointed out that I was in fact American. I'm not sure if he was embarrassed or not, but he did say that the young Swiss were the same way. Regardless, I will still walk his cows up the falls this weekend.
After dinner, Jen and I walked home together. She laughed aloud when I asked "Would you like to read Schnuffi with me?" I said "Hey! I've been trying to figure out how to ask that for a while, don't laugh at me". But she did come over and read the book with me. My own translation was pretty close, I'm awfully proud of myself.
In other news:
I had a terrible night in the kitchen last night. The food was fine but I nearly cut my thumb off. Luckily, my nail was there. I cut clean through the nail--but if I had been a milimeter over I would have cut the tip of my thumb much worse. And I burned myself.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Swiss Nuggets
To me it seems that the Swiss take their holidays and games seriously, and that usually means that just about every thing and person is branded with the celebration of the week. The Eurocup 2008 is just about over here, so football craziness seems to be dying down a bit. The Hopp Schwitz* candy bars were on sale and the bakeries are no longer making breads shaped like little soccer balls. Now we're moving into Swiss Day season.
I went to the store this morning to get things for breakfast--chocolate museli, bananas, strawberry yogurt and about half a dozen chocolate bars. Swiss National Holiday is August 1st so they've started putting out all the Swiss-y stuff. Swiss candles, Swiss lanterns, fireworks, Swiss flags, Swiss hats and Swiss Chicken Nuggets. That's right, chicken nuggets in little cross shapes. Wish I could send some of those home.
*Hopp apparently can't be translated directly to English, but Hopp Schwitz means 'Go Swiss!!!' which is something you would yell at a football game. Hopp Schwitz is written on nearly Everything. Scarves, cars, food products, people.
I went to the store this morning to get things for breakfast--chocolate museli, bananas, strawberry yogurt and about half a dozen chocolate bars. Swiss National Holiday is August 1st so they've started putting out all the Swiss-y stuff. Swiss candles, Swiss lanterns, fireworks, Swiss flags, Swiss hats and Swiss Chicken Nuggets. That's right, chicken nuggets in little cross shapes. Wish I could send some of those home.
*Hopp apparently can't be translated directly to English, but Hopp Schwitz means 'Go Swiss!!!' which is something you would yell at a football game. Hopp Schwitz is written on nearly Everything. Scarves, cars, food products, people.
My Neighbor
Jen, the program assistant, is my neighbor here in the village. I'm currently sitting in my micro-flat writing my weekend updates so I can post them in the morning [[yes, I sometimes write several days' worth at once--but I don't haul my computer around with me when I travel and I only have 'net access at The Chalet anyway]]. Here I am, nearly 11pm, just typing away, minding my own business. I've got my windows wide open and I'm listening to the people speaking swiss german off the back kitchen patio of the resturant next door (ok not really minding my own business, I think I caught a few words "Ich bin da!"). And suddenly, there's a face in my window "hallo!" Woah! Scared the pants off me.
It was Jen of course, back from a 14 hour day of hiking to the top of nearly every mountain in the area. She wanted to tell me that she and a few other chalet folk met a local farmer named Karl who invited them in because Line fell in some cow poop and he felt bad (Do all my stories involve cows?). And here's the best part! The cow festival where they hike all the cows up the hill dressed in their finery is next weekend...and Karl has cows...and Karl invited all of us to walk with him! I'm going to walk in the cow parade with Karl's dressed up bossies! Isn't that exciting?
{Oh, and did I mention that Jen and the other chalet folk hike 14 hours on their days off and see more than one mountain and the waterfall? I have yet to make it to the top of a mountain or to the waterfall. I've been to the top of a prison tower but that didn't take much of a committment. I swear, next weekend I'm making Bunderspiz!}
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Worst Train Trip EVER in Europe!
I thought that falling down on the train in front of dozens of strangers was bad. That was bad. But today I had an even WORSE train trip.
I left Delemont at 6:20. The car I got into smelled like urine. I had flashbacks of the Metro in Miami. I settled in though and figured that as long as my seat wasn't wet I was okay. Then I heard a loud marching band playing some sort of sport theme/fight song. Then that music got closer and closer. A group of boys marched onto my car with great fanfare (and a large flag) and settled in. I think they must have been some sort of track team because they were wearing track suits but carried no other equipement with them. Unless you count the giant speakers they were carting around. Huge speakers, speakers you see at a concert. They had theirs on a cart with wheels so they could be obnoxious with greater ease. They were playing what sounded like a German Garth Brooks and they sang along loudly.
I wish that had been the worst part of my trip.
When I got to Bern--and finally got rid of the track team--I hustled to my next platform and got on the train. The train didn't seem right, but it was at my platform at the right time so I figured it must be okay.
It wasn't. Turns out that the train I got on was the previous train that had been delayed about 10 minutes. That train did NOT stop in Fruitigen and I went about 40 minutes out of my way before I could get off and go back the right way. Damn my luck. It was probably the first late Swiss train in 10 years and I wasn't paying enough attention and got on it.
The best part about my trip is that I did not vomit on the bus from Fruitigen to Adelboden, but it was really close. I meant to ride the bus all the way up the hill into the village but I had to get off in the valley because I didn't want to vomit in my lap. Mom you're going to have a Great time visiting the Alps. The roads are wonderfully curvy.
But, I made it back. 2 hours later than I expected but mostly alive.
I left Delemont at 6:20. The car I got into smelled like urine. I had flashbacks of the Metro in Miami. I settled in though and figured that as long as my seat wasn't wet I was okay. Then I heard a loud marching band playing some sort of sport theme/fight song. Then that music got closer and closer. A group of boys marched onto my car with great fanfare (and a large flag) and settled in. I think they must have been some sort of track team because they were wearing track suits but carried no other equipement with them. Unless you count the giant speakers they were carting around. Huge speakers, speakers you see at a concert. They had theirs on a cart with wheels so they could be obnoxious with greater ease. They were playing what sounded like a German Garth Brooks and they sang along loudly.
I wish that had been the worst part of my trip.
When I got to Bern--and finally got rid of the track team--I hustled to my next platform and got on the train. The train didn't seem right, but it was at my platform at the right time so I figured it must be okay.
It wasn't. Turns out that the train I got on was the previous train that had been delayed about 10 minutes. That train did NOT stop in Fruitigen and I went about 40 minutes out of my way before I could get off and go back the right way. Damn my luck. It was probably the first late Swiss train in 10 years and I wasn't paying enough attention and got on it.
The best part about my trip is that I did not vomit on the bus from Fruitigen to Adelboden, but it was really close. I meant to ride the bus all the way up the hill into the village but I had to get off in the valley because I didn't want to vomit in my lap. Mom you're going to have a Great time visiting the Alps. The roads are wonderfully curvy.
But, I made it back. 2 hours later than I expected but mostly alive.
Off Trail Switzerland
I got up late this morning. We didn't get back from Neuchatel until nearly 1 am. We slept on the train, and then I had to nearly push/pull Laura up the hill. Dead tired. I decided that I am too old for such shenanigans and that I would rather get up early in the morning and enjoy fresh air of a new day than drag my sorry, sleepy, half drunk self home at 1 am. I didn't get out of bed until nearly 10 am, which doesn't feel good at all. I was worried about being able to get to bed early enough tonight to get enough sleep to catch the 6:20 am trail, so we went for a run today.
We ran out to CABI and checked our email--I was supposed to be scouting out the CABI kitchen to give Laura some advice for her lunch-cooking-day, but it doesn't matter because she won't listen to me anyway. Seriously Laura, 5 liters of sauce PLUS potatoes and carrots and apples will be more than enough. Sorry, I've digressed. We ran to CABI, and checked our email--turns out I scared some people with my 'I've been attacked in the dark' post. Sorry Mom, Sorry Laura. It was just a game. Damn, there I go again.
On the way back from CABI, we cut through the woods and ended up coming out on a road that looked familiar. When we hiked up to the castle ruins several weekends ago we hiked along a road that lead more or less to Laura's house. We were fairly sure that that same road was perpendicular to where we were. We jogged up the road and took the first right, it FELT right at least. The road started out as two fairly well used wheel ruts, though the grass between them was about waist high. Eventually those ruts were overgrown and we were running through a barely perceptible break between a wheat field and a corn field. That ended also and we were simply walking through a corn field trying to find a break in the hay field beyond. Of course we found it but not before Laura's chorus of "Why do we always go off the trail? Isn't Switzerland adventurous enough for you?" It wasn't MY fault. It was all Laura's idea to catch up with the road that cuts through the fields. Naturally we found that road shortly after the finale of "I'm miserable, I hate everything" And all was good. Until we met the cows.
The trail that the road connects to cuts through a cow field. Well, it does now apparently. Last time we came down the trail it was roped off and the cows were a comfortable distance away--though all that separated the cows from us was a thin ribbony thing (which is supposed to be an electric fence but it doesn't look like it would be much of a match for a thousand pound animal) This time, there was no ribbon. We jogged around the bend and realized that we were surrounded by surly looking bovines. We walked slowly and quietly and tried to give them wide berth. For large vegetarians that spend 20 hours a day chewing grass they certainly looked Fierce. I admit, I was scared. They had this crazy glint in their eyes. I do not make eye contact with cows. Isn't that dangerous? They had tons of flies buzzing around them and all I could think about was Simon talking to the Beast in Lord Of The Flies...
My first real run since the 1/2 marathon in January. Whew! I can't wait to find a nice route around Adelboden. I'll have to run with the mountain rather than against it. Hopefully I can find a cow/field free route also.
We ran out to CABI and checked our email--I was supposed to be scouting out the CABI kitchen to give Laura some advice for her lunch-cooking-day, but it doesn't matter because she won't listen to me anyway. Seriously Laura, 5 liters of sauce PLUS potatoes and carrots and apples will be more than enough. Sorry, I've digressed. We ran to CABI, and checked our email--turns out I scared some people with my 'I've been attacked in the dark' post. Sorry Mom, Sorry Laura. It was just a game. Damn, there I go again.
On the way back from CABI, we cut through the woods and ended up coming out on a road that looked familiar. When we hiked up to the castle ruins several weekends ago we hiked along a road that lead more or less to Laura's house. We were fairly sure that that same road was perpendicular to where we were. We jogged up the road and took the first right, it FELT right at least. The road started out as two fairly well used wheel ruts, though the grass between them was about waist high. Eventually those ruts were overgrown and we were running through a barely perceptible break between a wheat field and a corn field. That ended also and we were simply walking through a corn field trying to find a break in the hay field beyond. Of course we found it but not before Laura's chorus of "Why do we always go off the trail? Isn't Switzerland adventurous enough for you?" It wasn't MY fault. It was all Laura's idea to catch up with the road that cuts through the fields. Naturally we found that road shortly after the finale of "I'm miserable, I hate everything" And all was good. Until we met the cows.
The trail that the road connects to cuts through a cow field. Well, it does now apparently. Last time we came down the trail it was roped off and the cows were a comfortable distance away--though all that separated the cows from us was a thin ribbony thing (which is supposed to be an electric fence but it doesn't look like it would be much of a match for a thousand pound animal) This time, there was no ribbon. We jogged around the bend and realized that we were surrounded by surly looking bovines. We walked slowly and quietly and tried to give them wide berth. For large vegetarians that spend 20 hours a day chewing grass they certainly looked Fierce. I admit, I was scared. They had this crazy glint in their eyes. I do not make eye contact with cows. Isn't that dangerous? They had tons of flies buzzing around them and all I could think about was Simon talking to the Beast in Lord Of The Flies...
My first real run since the 1/2 marathon in January. Whew! I can't wait to find a nice route around Adelboden. I'll have to run with the mountain rather than against it. Hopefully I can find a cow/field free route also.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Switzerland is Safe
Really Mom. Switzerland is safe. We're just having fun at Our Chalet. We run around in the dark all the time. No one has Ever Disappeared. Ever. Don't worry.
Neuchatel
Laura and I are learning a lot about being proper tourists. This morning we decided to go to Neuchatel because a friend of hers from work was playing a free show later tonight. How hard can visiting a new town be? We figured we'd do some hiking, see some castles, find something to eat and then go to the show. Problem is, when we got off the train we didn't know where we were going and without a plan it's easy to waste lots of time and put in extra miles on foot.
We went down to the lake first thing after getting on the train. We walked around for about an hour after that trying to find a tourist center. When we did, we realized that we had gone in the wrong direction from the train station--hence adding several miles of walking to our hot and sweaty day. We were getting sunburnt and the sunscreen was at least 15CHF in the pharmacy. Ugh. Luckily, there was a castle nearby.
Seeing all the old stuff in town is exciting but it really only took about an hour. The rest of the day we spent wandering around, trying not to get sunburnt too terribly. Staying hydrated was not hard because putting up fountains every 50 yards was apparently a popular thing to do in the 16th century and they all have drinkable water--assuming there are no large fish in them.
As for eating, we're not very good at ordering food yet--and vegetarian fare is nearly impossible to find--so we bought a loaf of bread, a tube of mustard and a chunk of cheese. We sat on the stairs outside some government building and ate it, ravenously. I'm sure we looked positively scraggly, but everything is so expensive in Switzerland that we can't afford the proper restaurant food anyway.
In summary I can offer this advice to the poor-tourist. Get a map first, read the weather forecast and a tube of mustard and a loaf of bread goes a long way.
And now for a photo essay of our delightfully cranky trip to Neuchatel:
We put on long pants and boots. We were planning on hiking. But when we got down the hill to the lake, we saw people swimming. Jeans and boots and wool socks are definitely inappropriate swimming attire. We rolled up our pants and dangled our feet a bit, which was a sorry excuse for swimming.
The castle at Neuchatel was not terribly impressive, but there was one open room (the ancient kitchen) and free bathrooms. The church near the castle was pretty cool. The Count's tomb inside the church was built in 1349 and is the oldest art-y thing in Neuchatel. The knight on the left side is my favorite knight statue I've ever seen. He has two dogs at his feet and is frozen in the middle swinging his hips in praise of the Lord (clearly), how cute!
After the castle and church we walked up the prison tower. At the top we took in the view--you can see the Alps across the lake--and played Yatzee.
If you look carefully, you can see the Alps on the horizon. This is the view from the church/castle wall.
Laura in front of something Old. Castle #2 for us. This arch was built in the 13th century
13th century carvings (the brochure calls the grotesque) on the outside of the church.
14th century tomb with figures of the Neuchatel counts and countesses. This is inside the church.
The Swishy Knight!
There are no figures standing on the bottom left hand side of the tomb--but this is painted there. Creepy!
The bridge leading away from the castle and church, the dungeon is down there too I think.
Then we went up the Prison tower. It was castley. It's like castle 2.5 I think.
An old cell in the prison.
The castle and church seen from the top of the prison tower.
The city of Neuchatel from the top of the prison tower.
Laura packing her bag. She spends 10% of every day doing this.
Then we played Yatzee on top of the tower. The end.
We went down to the lake first thing after getting on the train. We walked around for about an hour after that trying to find a tourist center. When we did, we realized that we had gone in the wrong direction from the train station--hence adding several miles of walking to our hot and sweaty day. We were getting sunburnt and the sunscreen was at least 15CHF in the pharmacy. Ugh. Luckily, there was a castle nearby.
Seeing all the old stuff in town is exciting but it really only took about an hour. The rest of the day we spent wandering around, trying not to get sunburnt too terribly. Staying hydrated was not hard because putting up fountains every 50 yards was apparently a popular thing to do in the 16th century and they all have drinkable water--assuming there are no large fish in them.
As for eating, we're not very good at ordering food yet--and vegetarian fare is nearly impossible to find--so we bought a loaf of bread, a tube of mustard and a chunk of cheese. We sat on the stairs outside some government building and ate it, ravenously. I'm sure we looked positively scraggly, but everything is so expensive in Switzerland that we can't afford the proper restaurant food anyway.
In summary I can offer this advice to the poor-tourist. Get a map first, read the weather forecast and a tube of mustard and a loaf of bread goes a long way.
And now for a photo essay of our delightfully cranky trip to Neuchatel:
We put on long pants and boots. We were planning on hiking. But when we got down the hill to the lake, we saw people swimming. Jeans and boots and wool socks are definitely inappropriate swimming attire. We rolled up our pants and dangled our feet a bit, which was a sorry excuse for swimming.
The castle at Neuchatel was not terribly impressive, but there was one open room (the ancient kitchen) and free bathrooms. The church near the castle was pretty cool. The Count's tomb inside the church was built in 1349 and is the oldest art-y thing in Neuchatel. The knight on the left side is my favorite knight statue I've ever seen. He has two dogs at his feet and is frozen in the middle swinging his hips in praise of the Lord (clearly), how cute!
After the castle and church we walked up the prison tower. At the top we took in the view--you can see the Alps across the lake--and played Yatzee.
If you look carefully, you can see the Alps on the horizon. This is the view from the church/castle wall.
Laura in front of something Old. Castle #2 for us. This arch was built in the 13th century
13th century carvings (the brochure calls the grotesque) on the outside of the church.
14th century tomb with figures of the Neuchatel counts and countesses. This is inside the church.
The Swishy Knight!
There are no figures standing on the bottom left hand side of the tomb--but this is painted there. Creepy!
The bridge leading away from the castle and church, the dungeon is down there too I think.
Then we went up the Prison tower. It was castley. It's like castle 2.5 I think.
An old cell in the prison.
The castle and church seen from the top of the prison tower.
The city of Neuchatel from the top of the prison tower.
Laura packing her bag. She spends 10% of every day doing this.
Then we played Yatzee on top of the tower. The end.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
With a Hoover in the CarPark
It was a dark and (not)stormy night. The mountains were out and I was walking down the stairs on the outside of the Staff House late last night. I had been doing laundry and I just wanted to fold my laundry so I could hike home. I paused to peer into Marjolein's window and wave Hello. Next thing I know, I'm jerked violently from behind and a struggle ensues. My unknown assailant drags me backwards a few steps and hits me with something. I managed to break free and stumble into the building.
In a moment, Heather appeared out of the shadows holding a vaccum. I asked her why she would do something like that? Why would she hit me with the vacuum? She told me that I was dead.
We're playing an all staff game of Murder. I guess I had forgotten. Every staff/volunteer got a sheet last week detailing the person place and thing required for their murder to take place. Heather's sheet must have said "Kat in the carpark with a vacuum". I can't describe how disorienting it was to be drug violently backwards in the dark and then hit with a hard object. Because the game wasn't anywhere near the front of my consciousness I was utterly confused. And now I'm dead. I didn't even get a chance to walk around suspiciously not trusting anyone. Humph. And! A few people must have 'kitchen pots' as their objects because mine keep disappearing. How am I supposed to cook for 100 people if my pots are gone. Seriously. Maybe the staff just won't eat that night.
In other news: I made a mountain shaped cake for the birthday girl yesterday. Pictures are forthcoming.
Tonight I am off to Delemont. It's independence day festivities or something. I hear I can get a free t-shirt with a Jura Flag on it. Woooooo
In a moment, Heather appeared out of the shadows holding a vaccum. I asked her why she would do something like that? Why would she hit me with the vacuum? She told me that I was dead.
We're playing an all staff game of Murder. I guess I had forgotten. Every staff/volunteer got a sheet last week detailing the person place and thing required for their murder to take place. Heather's sheet must have said "Kat in the carpark with a vacuum". I can't describe how disorienting it was to be drug violently backwards in the dark and then hit with a hard object. Because the game wasn't anywhere near the front of my consciousness I was utterly confused. And now I'm dead. I didn't even get a chance to walk around suspiciously not trusting anyone. Humph. And! A few people must have 'kitchen pots' as their objects because mine keep disappearing. How am I supposed to cook for 100 people if my pots are gone. Seriously. Maybe the staff just won't eat that night.
In other news: I made a mountain shaped cake for the birthday girl yesterday. Pictures are forthcoming.
Tonight I am off to Delemont. It's independence day festivities or something. I hear I can get a free t-shirt with a Jura Flag on it. Woooooo
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I like mail, das gefällt mir!
Here's some german I've learned:
Die Post ist da? Hast du etwas für mich?
>>The Post is here? Do you have something for me?
That's right. Send me letters please. To Here:
Hohliebeweg 1
CH-3715 Adelboden
Switzerland.
Bisou Bisou
Die Post ist da? Hast du etwas für mich?
>>The Post is here? Do you have something for me?
That's right. Send me letters please. To Here:
Hohliebeweg 1
CH-3715 Adelboden
Switzerland.
Bisou Bisou
Good Days and Better Days, Right?
Last night's chili went much better--even the staff got to eat. I've got a system now to better deal with the poorly designed kitchen and the disastrous mix of over-enthusiastic and sometimes too many volunteers in the kitchen.
It's been hard to develop procedures and figure out how to run the kitchen best because myself and the volunteers all arrived at the same time. I wasn't able to train them on kitchen protocols because I was still trying to develop them. The effect has been like letting a puppy run the house and deciding to train it later on. For example, when it jumps up on small children? (Mom, how is Scott doing with his new anti-jumping training?). They work really hard and they're a great team but they sort of got to make their own rules up for the first 2 weeks and now I have to break them of annoying habits, like putting things away in the wrong places, or walking in and out during meals.
Clean up is especially difficult because most kitchens have two hatches and two doors. Mine has one of each and it's not practical to move any food or dishes in or out through the door. I'm nothing if not competitive and looking for a challenge--the Our Chalet kitchen certainly fits that bill.
Now that I know more about moving dirty dishes, clean dishes, and food all through one window, I can make serving and cleanup move about 15% faster. In fact, we were done by 8:15 last night as opposed to 8:45 the night before (I think that's more than 15% but we didn't have desert dishes to do so I'm being conservative in my estimate).
In other news: I managed to delete about 1/4 of my iTunes music library! No more Decemberists or Belle and Sebastian for me (and other things I haven't realized are missing yet I'm sure). Nobody panic though, I can replace it.
France won the Euro Cup game last night.
Yesterday I made: about a thousand gallons of Chili, 6 kilos of rice and 240 chocolate chip cookies.
It's been hard to develop procedures and figure out how to run the kitchen best because myself and the volunteers all arrived at the same time. I wasn't able to train them on kitchen protocols because I was still trying to develop them. The effect has been like letting a puppy run the house and deciding to train it later on. For example, when it jumps up on small children? (Mom, how is Scott doing with his new anti-jumping training?). They work really hard and they're a great team but they sort of got to make their own rules up for the first 2 weeks and now I have to break them of annoying habits, like putting things away in the wrong places, or walking in and out during meals.
Clean up is especially difficult because most kitchens have two hatches and two doors. Mine has one of each and it's not practical to move any food or dishes in or out through the door. I'm nothing if not competitive and looking for a challenge--the Our Chalet kitchen certainly fits that bill.
Now that I know more about moving dirty dishes, clean dishes, and food all through one window, I can make serving and cleanup move about 15% faster. In fact, we were done by 8:15 last night as opposed to 8:45 the night before (I think that's more than 15% but we didn't have desert dishes to do so I'm being conservative in my estimate).
In other news: I managed to delete about 1/4 of my iTunes music library! No more Decemberists or Belle and Sebastian for me (and other things I haven't realized are missing yet I'm sure). Nobody panic though, I can replace it.
France won the Euro Cup game last night.
Yesterday I made: about a thousand gallons of Chili, 6 kilos of rice and 240 chocolate chip cookies.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Birthdays are Special at Our Chalet
or: How I almost killed someone with my Meatloaf.
More kitchen disasters. This learning curve is brutal.
Before I get to the near-death part I will tell about my birthday cake. Yesterday I made a delicious yellow cake with chocolate frosting. There is a boy here with his sister/mother (I presume) and yesterday was his birthday. I made him a sad-looking but recognizable Lego cake. I hope he liked it.
Now, to the more interesting part:
Last night, I made meatloaf. It was tasty, but due to the fact that hauer flockli is NOT anywhere near the same as Quaker Quick Oats, the loaf was sort of crumbly. The oats sort of balled up and made the meat almost airy inside what should be a dense greasy chunk. I got a few good pieces out of it, but mostly it was an abstraction of meatloaf. Perhaps I am an edgy cook somewhere deep down.
Because the loaves didn't hold together as well I got less pieces of loaf than I anticipated and there were no pieces left for the staff. No food for the staff! There were left overs sure, but mostly they were hanging around my back kitchen window looking mighty pitiful while Ben tried to nuke them all some left overs in a timely manner. They ended up eating left over spaghetti noodles with meatloaf chunky crumbles on them with a bit of gravy. Whateves, food is fuel, right?
I wasn't too concerned about What they ate because I was awfully busy trying to make sure no one Died in the dining room. There are people on site with a horrible allergy to Tomatoes this week. Meatloaf has tomatoes in it. I thought Everyone Knew That. Apparently not the people who really should know that. When all the loaves had gone out the window no one came up for the Special Diet loaf. (Which incidentally, was the best loaf I made all night. Next time I will make the loaves with bread soaked in stock...that was delicious).
So, I ran out of the kitchen and tried to not look horribly panicy though I was imagining the tomato-contaminated fork of meat getting closer to lips it should not touch. After about a minute of looking calmly I yelled out 'Kate!'. The woman who I was looking for was in mid-bite and understood immediately.
The mother and daughter bolted out of their seats--which was quite a feat in the dining hall as it is at MAX capacity--and I believe said something to the effect of 'Oh God get this away from me'! I feel awful. These special diets are bringing me down.
This is the second time this has happened...last time it was milk allergy girl on curry night. A similar scene ensued--me running through the dining room snatching a plate of food from a young girl in mid-bite. At what point do these people will allergies start taking responsibility? The nut allergy people are very good about asking about nuts, but seems like everyone else is happy to just eat unless there are big red warning flags for them.
I know the easy solution is to make announcements every night. That's fine, I don't mind at all. I'm a bit annoyed that the staff on the other side of my kitchen hatch haven't given me an opportunity to do it before they send people scrambling in a mad dash for food. Tonight though. I can't have this on my conscience.
Birthdays are very special at Our Chalet, unfortunately it seems like everyone has a birthday all at once. This week I have a birthday every day but Thursday. I'll still be making a cake on Thursday though because Friday is my day off and the volunteers don't have time to do such things.
I've set a precedent of serving the birthday-guest a shaped cake. Last week I made a bunny shaped cake, last night I made a lego shaped cake. I'm not sure what shape of cake I will serve tonight. Suggestions?
In other news: Yesterday I made: 11 meatloafs, 6 birthday cakes, about 20 pounds of mashed potatoes and 100 bratwursts.
More kitchen disasters. This learning curve is brutal.
Before I get to the near-death part I will tell about my birthday cake. Yesterday I made a delicious yellow cake with chocolate frosting. There is a boy here with his sister/mother (I presume) and yesterday was his birthday. I made him a sad-looking but recognizable Lego cake. I hope he liked it.
Now, to the more interesting part:
Last night, I made meatloaf. It was tasty, but due to the fact that hauer flockli is NOT anywhere near the same as Quaker Quick Oats, the loaf was sort of crumbly. The oats sort of balled up and made the meat almost airy inside what should be a dense greasy chunk. I got a few good pieces out of it, but mostly it was an abstraction of meatloaf. Perhaps I am an edgy cook somewhere deep down.
Because the loaves didn't hold together as well I got less pieces of loaf than I anticipated and there were no pieces left for the staff. No food for the staff! There were left overs sure, but mostly they were hanging around my back kitchen window looking mighty pitiful while Ben tried to nuke them all some left overs in a timely manner. They ended up eating left over spaghetti noodles with meatloaf chunky crumbles on them with a bit of gravy. Whateves, food is fuel, right?
I wasn't too concerned about What they ate because I was awfully busy trying to make sure no one Died in the dining room. There are people on site with a horrible allergy to Tomatoes this week. Meatloaf has tomatoes in it. I thought Everyone Knew That. Apparently not the people who really should know that. When all the loaves had gone out the window no one came up for the Special Diet loaf. (Which incidentally, was the best loaf I made all night. Next time I will make the loaves with bread soaked in stock...that was delicious).
So, I ran out of the kitchen and tried to not look horribly panicy though I was imagining the tomato-contaminated fork of meat getting closer to lips it should not touch. After about a minute of looking calmly I yelled out 'Kate!'. The woman who I was looking for was in mid-bite and understood immediately.
The mother and daughter bolted out of their seats--which was quite a feat in the dining hall as it is at MAX capacity--and I believe said something to the effect of 'Oh God get this away from me'! I feel awful. These special diets are bringing me down.
This is the second time this has happened...last time it was milk allergy girl on curry night. A similar scene ensued--me running through the dining room snatching a plate of food from a young girl in mid-bite. At what point do these people will allergies start taking responsibility? The nut allergy people are very good about asking about nuts, but seems like everyone else is happy to just eat unless there are big red warning flags for them.
I know the easy solution is to make announcements every night. That's fine, I don't mind at all. I'm a bit annoyed that the staff on the other side of my kitchen hatch haven't given me an opportunity to do it before they send people scrambling in a mad dash for food. Tonight though. I can't have this on my conscience.
Birthdays are very special at Our Chalet, unfortunately it seems like everyone has a birthday all at once. This week I have a birthday every day but Thursday. I'll still be making a cake on Thursday though because Friday is my day off and the volunteers don't have time to do such things.
I've set a precedent of serving the birthday-guest a shaped cake. Last week I made a bunny shaped cake, last night I made a lego shaped cake. I'm not sure what shape of cake I will serve tonight. Suggestions?
In other news: Yesterday I made: 11 meatloafs, 6 birthday cakes, about 20 pounds of mashed potatoes and 100 bratwursts.
Eating in Hellandgone
Or: Every night is a Picnic!
The dining hall is Full. We have 80 guests eating in a space that should fit 60 comfortably. When the tables are empty, it looks like a cozy but inviting eating space. However, when all the girls are seated for dinner I'm pretty sure that their backs touch. See this diagram I made?
The dining hall has built in benches along two sides. That's the heavy grey line. There are eight tables in 4 rows--the yellow boxes. These all have their own benches--the pastel colored skinnier boxes. The turquoise box in the bottom left corner is my kitchen hatch.
There are 4 rows of tables in the main dining room and one more set on the back veranda--which used to be an open porch but now has walls. So all in all at max capacity I can fit 94--with people sitting on the ends of the tables and several extras on the back veranda it's possible to squeeze another 14 in.
Because the dining room is full, the staff have to eat on picnic tables on the porch outside my kitchen. It's a sad arrangement because being in the dining hall is a lot of fun, and also because it's been so miserably cold and rainy. It was about 40 degrees outside last night.
Monday, June 16, 2008
More Americans
Today our first large group of the summer arrived. We're running at full capacity in the kitchen now. I cooked for 80 people tonight and 11 more will arrive tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I know that once we get the hang of handling such crazy amounts of dishes we'll get more and more efficient at clearing up dinner and getting the kitchen clean at a decent hour.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Glad I didn't go to Bunderspitz
At the fair yesterday I bought a game called "Bohnanza". It has a bright yellow box with crazy looking cartoon vegetables on it. (Bohne is the german word for Bean, so Bohnanza is a silly play on that) I thought it wouldn't be a big thing to translate the directions and learn how to play. Then we'd have something to do, since the weather has been so crummy. It's about 45 degrees and foggy out. Laura hasn't seen the mountains yet.
I was very wrong about the game. I could not for the life of me figure out how to play the game, besides: a player must have 5 cards in their hand. We tried for about an hour to figure out how to play, or to make up some passable rules for ourselves, but the barometric pressure was dropping, and the apartment was getting smaller by the minute. At about 7 minutes to 5 I said "I saw UNO at the co-op. If we run, we can get there before it closes" We ended up getting Yatzee (or Yatzy in German) and for the record: I am the (unofficial) reigning Yatzee champion of Adelboden.
Yup, pretty exciting times in the Alps when the mountains are not out.
Jen, my Chalet-neighbor, ended up going to Bunderspitz today. She came home around 8:30 and reported that she made it to the top but only by climbing through snow and hail. When she got to the top she discovered that the trail to the other side of the mountain was impassable so she had to slide back down the mountain on her butt. I think Yatzee was a good choice today.
Jen is the program assistant and she's from Finland. She's also a very good sport. She translated the Bohnanza game instructions for me. It wasn't very easy for her (since neither german nor english are her first language) and there was lots of head scratching and at one point she said "What possessed you to buy this?" Laura said "At least it wasn't a 2000 CHF coffee machine". Humph.
The game isn't as exciting as the deranged cartoon green-bean on the cover makes it look. The object of the game is to collect the most money by "growing" and "harvesting" crops of beans. It's my new favorite game though, because I've invested so much in learning to play it.
In other news: I joined the Adelboden Library. It costs (COSTS!) 40 CHF a year. But, I've already spent more than that on books since I've gotten here. I don't get much of a return on that investment either since I can't read them yet. I'm making progress with my german though and I'm currently working on a delightful book with large print and pictures entitled Hase Schnuffi--Schnuffi the Bunny.
I was very wrong about the game. I could not for the life of me figure out how to play the game, besides: a player must have 5 cards in their hand. We tried for about an hour to figure out how to play, or to make up some passable rules for ourselves, but the barometric pressure was dropping, and the apartment was getting smaller by the minute. At about 7 minutes to 5 I said "I saw UNO at the co-op. If we run, we can get there before it closes" We ended up getting Yatzee (or Yatzy in German) and for the record: I am the (unofficial) reigning Yatzee champion of Adelboden.
Yup, pretty exciting times in the Alps when the mountains are not out.
Jen, my Chalet-neighbor, ended up going to Bunderspitz today. She came home around 8:30 and reported that she made it to the top but only by climbing through snow and hail. When she got to the top she discovered that the trail to the other side of the mountain was impassable so she had to slide back down the mountain on her butt. I think Yatzee was a good choice today.
Jen is the program assistant and she's from Finland. She's also a very good sport. She translated the Bohnanza game instructions for me. It wasn't very easy for her (since neither german nor english are her first language) and there was lots of head scratching and at one point she said "What possessed you to buy this?" Laura said "At least it wasn't a 2000 CHF coffee machine". Humph.
The game isn't as exciting as the deranged cartoon green-bean on the cover makes it look. The object of the game is to collect the most money by "growing" and "harvesting" crops of beans. It's my new favorite game though, because I've invested so much in learning to play it.
In other news: I joined the Adelboden Library. It costs (COSTS!) 40 CHF a year. But, I've already spent more than that on books since I've gotten here. I don't get much of a return on that investment either since I can't read them yet. I'm making progress with my german though and I'm currently working on a delightful book with large print and pictures entitled Hase Schnuffi--Schnuffi the Bunny.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Am I able to drink that?
Laura came in on the late bus last night. We had grand plans for the weekend that involved lots of hardcore hiking in the alps. I had hoped to climb to Bunderspitz today, but mountain climbing isn't quite as exciting when it's cloudy.
Instead, we decided that it would be a good day to do some shopping and find her some new hiking boots. She's been wearing my old Vasque boots that I bought in about 1997 for $50. It's about time. Adelboden is a good place to do that sort of shopping because every other store is an outdoor store, and they're all called Intersport. Intersport Roesti, Intersport Oester and so on (There are even two Oesters with slightly different inventory). You can select from 80 different kinds of mountaineering boots, but you can't buy a book in this town.
We left my mini-flat and headed up the hill to main street. It became apparent very quickly that Adelboden has a fair too. The street was lined with booths selling all sorts of candies, breads, socks, shoes, cowbells, work pants...they even had rides. They don't have as many rides as Delemont, but I did see a small, rickety looking carousel in the parking lot behind the hardware/kitchen supply store.
Laura did find her hiking boots. I think it took two hours and we only had to go to three different stores. Not terribly bad for someone who typically makes spreadsheets to thoroughly consider all her options before making decisions such as buying a new raincoat.
We tried to hike to the waterfall after that, but we only made it a few kilometers out of town before we decided that we didn't have enough water to carry on, I think secretly we were being lazy. The waterfall is actually more like 4 miles away. Distances are quite deceiving around here. Maybe some day I will actually hike somewhere, instead of getting half way there and turning around.
When we made it back to town we walked back through the fair. Licht Strom Wasser (the appliance/electronics store) had a 2000 franc coffee machine on the street and they were giving away free espresso. We milled about for a few minutes without being offered coffee before we gave up and walked away because we didn't know how to ask politely without pointing and playing charades. But I really wanted the coffee. So we went back and I said "Darf ich das trinken?" Which I understand to mean something like "Am I able to drink that?". The man at the counter looked at me and laughed and said "Cappuccino?" And we got our coffee. Laura had to then talk me out of buying a 179 franc espresso maker. I settled on a 30 franc 6-cup stove top espresso maker. Sigh. When I'm rich I will own the 2000 franc machine that makes cappuccinos, espresso, and will knit you socks if you ask nicely enough. I think that was one of the options, but my german is still pretty bad.
Instead, we decided that it would be a good day to do some shopping and find her some new hiking boots. She's been wearing my old Vasque boots that I bought in about 1997 for $50. It's about time. Adelboden is a good place to do that sort of shopping because every other store is an outdoor store, and they're all called Intersport. Intersport Roesti, Intersport Oester and so on (There are even two Oesters with slightly different inventory). You can select from 80 different kinds of mountaineering boots, but you can't buy a book in this town.
We left my mini-flat and headed up the hill to main street. It became apparent very quickly that Adelboden has a fair too. The street was lined with booths selling all sorts of candies, breads, socks, shoes, cowbells, work pants...they even had rides. They don't have as many rides as Delemont, but I did see a small, rickety looking carousel in the parking lot behind the hardware/kitchen supply store.
Laura did find her hiking boots. I think it took two hours and we only had to go to three different stores. Not terribly bad for someone who typically makes spreadsheets to thoroughly consider all her options before making decisions such as buying a new raincoat.
We tried to hike to the waterfall after that, but we only made it a few kilometers out of town before we decided that we didn't have enough water to carry on, I think secretly we were being lazy. The waterfall is actually more like 4 miles away. Distances are quite deceiving around here. Maybe some day I will actually hike somewhere, instead of getting half way there and turning around.
When we made it back to town we walked back through the fair. Licht Strom Wasser (the appliance/electronics store) had a 2000 franc coffee machine on the street and they were giving away free espresso. We milled about for a few minutes without being offered coffee before we gave up and walked away because we didn't know how to ask politely without pointing and playing charades. But I really wanted the coffee. So we went back and I said "Darf ich das trinken?" Which I understand to mean something like "Am I able to drink that?". The man at the counter looked at me and laughed and said "Cappuccino?" And we got our coffee. Laura had to then talk me out of buying a 179 franc espresso maker. I settled on a 30 franc 6-cup stove top espresso maker. Sigh. When I'm rich I will own the 2000 franc machine that makes cappuccinos, espresso, and will knit you socks if you ask nicely enough. I think that was one of the options, but my german is still pretty bad.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Another Beautiful Day in Switzerland
Except that Fitzer is obscured by clouds this morning. They are benign cumulus mediocris and they roll by quickly so I can see the spitze every few minutes.
Last night we had an impromptu housewarming in Jen's place. Pretty mild. We discussed hiking plans and Chalet life. Everyone decided that my house smelled bad and that Jen's was much better appointed for such a gathering. In attendance were nearly all the senior staff of the Chalet. Office, Program, General Assistant, Maintenance and Kitchen.
I will be heading up to Bunderspitz tomorrow if the weather permits. I'd like to go on an overnight hike, but camping is not allowed anywhere around here. That takes some getting used to. I like the idea of heading out into the woods, being alone, and sleeping where I want. Ben says that if you just happen to have a sleeping bag, and a tarp, and you just happen to put the tarp on the ground and sleep on it, you're probably not going to get arrested. Still. In any case, Bunderspitz is probably a 4 to 5 hour hike from town and my bed is probably much more comfortable than cold damp swiss ground. There may even be snow up there still.
And now I'm off to work. I pretty sure that I left 2 pots of left overs out on the back porch last night. Actually it kept me up, I had nightmares. I guess they're not left overs anymore. How sad. Gotta pay more attention to what I put in the Big Fridge.
Last night we had an impromptu housewarming in Jen's place. Pretty mild. We discussed hiking plans and Chalet life. Everyone decided that my house smelled bad and that Jen's was much better appointed for such a gathering. In attendance were nearly all the senior staff of the Chalet. Office, Program, General Assistant, Maintenance and Kitchen.
I will be heading up to Bunderspitz tomorrow if the weather permits. I'd like to go on an overnight hike, but camping is not allowed anywhere around here. That takes some getting used to. I like the idea of heading out into the woods, being alone, and sleeping where I want. Ben says that if you just happen to have a sleeping bag, and a tarp, and you just happen to put the tarp on the ground and sleep on it, you're probably not going to get arrested. Still. In any case, Bunderspitz is probably a 4 to 5 hour hike from town and my bed is probably much more comfortable than cold damp swiss ground. There may even be snow up there still.
And now I'm off to work. I pretty sure that I left 2 pots of left overs out on the back porch last night. Actually it kept me up, I had nightmares. I guess they're not left overs anymore. How sad. Gotta pay more attention to what I put in the Big Fridge.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Great Hand of Michigan
Well, the weather has finally cleared.
We've got a group of American Girl Scouts here this week. They're interesting because they're
on a Destinations trip, and so they only just met each other a few days ago. (Destinations, which used to be called Wider Ops--I prefer the old name, so from now on, they're the Wider Ops girls). They all apply separately to go on big trips as a group. It's fun for them because they get to meet lots of new people and see new places. Two of the girls from my troop will be heading to Wyoming for one this summer. Pretty exciting. It's something I always wanted to do when I was their age. Though, I suppose I'm doing alright for myself now as far as travel is concerned. Thanks Girl Scouts!
It's nice to have kids at the Chalet. Our first group of guests for the season were all over 50, from England, and called me Cookie. The adults are interesting, but they don't quite stomp up and down the stairs like the kids do.
I made a delicious and vegetable dense Jambalaya last night. (we can get really awesome bell peppers here) I'm always the last one out of the kitchen, so there's not much room by the time I get out but I managed to wedge myself in between a few of them to eat. They picked out the vegetables and we played the "Name-the-state-I'm-trying-to-approximate-with-my-hands" game. Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Iowa, and Arkansas can all be made fairly easily. The challenging ones are Texas, Idaho, Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, New York and Maine. It's fun to play along at home--now you try!
They're a fun group, and tonight is Spaghetti night so there will be no picking-out-of-things.
This is what my view looked like this morning: even better than yesterday, huh?
Above: This is Fitzer, it's my favorite mountain because it is Mountain-Shaped And Below: this is the view from the back porch of my kitchen. The picture doesn't show it well, but the mountain was extra pretty last night after dinner.
We've got a group of American Girl Scouts here this week. They're interesting because they're
on a Destinations trip, and so they only just met each other a few days ago. (Destinations, which used to be called Wider Ops--I prefer the old name, so from now on, they're the Wider Ops girls). They all apply separately to go on big trips as a group. It's fun for them because they get to meet lots of new people and see new places. Two of the girls from my troop will be heading to Wyoming for one this summer. Pretty exciting. It's something I always wanted to do when I was their age. Though, I suppose I'm doing alright for myself now as far as travel is concerned. Thanks Girl Scouts!
It's nice to have kids at the Chalet. Our first group of guests for the season were all over 50, from England, and called me Cookie. The adults are interesting, but they don't quite stomp up and down the stairs like the kids do.
I made a delicious and vegetable dense Jambalaya last night. (we can get really awesome bell peppers here) I'm always the last one out of the kitchen, so there's not much room by the time I get out but I managed to wedge myself in between a few of them to eat. They picked out the vegetables and we played the "Name-the-state-I'm-trying-to-approximate-with-my-hands" game. Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Iowa, and Arkansas can all be made fairly easily. The challenging ones are Texas, Idaho, Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, New York and Maine. It's fun to play along at home--now you try!
They're a fun group, and tonight is Spaghetti night so there will be no picking-out-of-things.
This is what my view looked like this morning: even better than yesterday, huh?
Above: This is Fitzer, it's my favorite mountain because it is Mountain-Shaped And Below: this is the view from the back porch of my kitchen. The picture doesn't show it well, but the mountain was extra pretty last night after dinner.
Monday, June 9, 2008
My Waterfall
This is the view from my window. The clouds have lifted a bit and the mountains are peeking through. Yay!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
America
I have hot water, I don't want to talk about it.
In other news: I feel bad. Apparently I've hurt Patrick's feelings (and perhaps the feelings of others) by saying that I'm embarassed about what people must think of Americans given their choice of president. I suppose I should not be publicly critical of my country. Is that right? I suppose it's unfair of me to make generalizations that are fueled by my own frustrations.
But I've left out the good parts, I'm sorry. America is a great place, there's lots of stuff I love and miss about it. There are some very beautiful and very protected places in the States--I enjoy being out in the woods and not seeing houses around. I have limited experience with Switzerland, but from what I can tell the population is fairly dense here. America is a place where cultures mix--blend in and out of one another. I suppose this allows an exposure to many different cultures all at once and to a uniquely American take on what culture means.
Still, there's no need to compare. Each place is what it is, by itself. Give me a few more weeks and I'll be able to be more objective. I'm still trying to figure out what Switzerland means, and for the first time I have a view of my home country from the outside, it's hard NOT to compare.
In other news: I feel bad. Apparently I've hurt Patrick's feelings (and perhaps the feelings of others) by saying that I'm embarassed about what people must think of Americans given their choice of president. I suppose I should not be publicly critical of my country. Is that right? I suppose it's unfair of me to make generalizations that are fueled by my own frustrations.
But I've left out the good parts, I'm sorry. America is a great place, there's lots of stuff I love and miss about it. There are some very beautiful and very protected places in the States--I enjoy being out in the woods and not seeing houses around. I have limited experience with Switzerland, but from what I can tell the population is fairly dense here. America is a place where cultures mix--blend in and out of one another. I suppose this allows an exposure to many different cultures all at once and to a uniquely American take on what culture means.
Still, there's no need to compare. Each place is what it is, by itself. Give me a few more weeks and I'll be able to be more objective. I'm still trying to figure out what Switzerland means, and for the first time I have a view of my home country from the outside, it's hard NOT to compare.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
A cold foggy day.
Current Temperature: Approximately 42 F
Here's an update on my new life as a full fledged resident of Switzerland. I've spent time away from the Chalet--when I went to Delemont--but today was my first Chalet-Free day on my own.
I went out last night and didn't get home until 1:30. The advantages of living in town are numerous. A five minute walk home from the bar is the main perk in my mind. But the events leading up to that were:
I went up to the Chalet to cook dinner. True, it was my day off, but since there are no visitors at the Chalet currently (tomorrow that will end) I wanted to take advantage one more opportunity to experiment with the menu. I made a vegetable chili. Jen says that the kiddos won't eat it, I say they will if they're hungry enough. Everyone else said it was pretty good. However, I don't expect to get much in the way of personally delivered negative criticism though, so I don't put a lot of weight on the after dinner polls I take.
After dinner we all had a staff outing. We walked down to road to a food-shack run by a nice man named Ham. He calls it Ham's Bistro. It's not really a shack, he's got tables and chairs in there but it's still half way under construction In any event, it was warm and friendly and had that grass-roots-did-it-myself-atmosphere that one finds in diners in small towns. We all sat down and looked at each other awkwardly while Ham offered us various soft drinks from the cooler. I was waiting for someone else to ask for a beer, but apparently we were all waiting for someone else to order a beer on the Chalet's tab. So after a few minutes of hemming and hawing we all ended up with hot chocolate and ice cream bars. What a disaster. There was a lot of awkward staring and nervous laughter but after about 20 minutes everyone loosened up and we had a pretty decent time. Ham is an especially nice guy, he seemed pleased that "english people are so polite, they always say 'Yes, Please'"
To make up for the lack of spirits at the All-Staff-Outing Ben, three summer vols and I went to the Alpenrose. The last time I went to the Alpenrose, they wouldn't serve me a drink so Katie (the center manager) had to go up and buy one for me. How dirty is that? "Hey boss, they won't serve me booze, will you get me some?" She thought it was funny--especially since you only have to be 16 to buy beer in Switzerland. Seriously, I guess I'm getting a little too cocky thinking I can pass for at least 16. Anyway: this time I was served a drink by a cranky looking waitress. We had a good time--hence my late arrival home.
So I rolled out of bed at 11:30 this morning. I took a nice chilly shower and had some delicious Swiss-Granola cereal that comes with chocolate chunks, but I put a banana on it so it's healthy.
I went out around 12:30 to buy myself some spray-on-waterproofing for my rain coat since I discovered that my raincoat is not very much good at keeping me dry after 8 years and more than a few trips through the washing machine. But, of course this is Switzerland and all the stores are closed from 12 to 2. So I went for an impromptu hike. Since nearly every road here is a Wanderweg I started heading up a road I didn't recognize and I figured I'd end up back in town soon enough. And I went UP for an hour and 45 minutes before I decided that hiking in the fog with a headache isn't much fun, so I turned around and came home half frozen. I think I almost made it to the top of the mountain, but I'm not sure since I couldn't see more than about 20 feet up the road. Even if I had made the top, the summit wouldn't have afforded much of a view. Perhaps I'll make another summit push next weekend.
My apartment has no hot water. Did I mention my chilly shower? So when I came home half frozen it would have been awfully nice to take a hot shower.
I've had the heat cranked to the highest position for the past 2 days and I think I finally started to notice a difference around 9 tonight. I'm hopeful that perhaps the water heater just needed like 60 hours to really get going and I'll have a hot shower in the morning. Right. Here's to optimism.
Confidential to Hannah: Happy Birthday!!!
Visibility: none. We're in a cloud again.
Here's an update on my new life as a full fledged resident of Switzerland. I've spent time away from the Chalet--when I went to Delemont--but today was my first Chalet-Free day on my own.
I went out last night and didn't get home until 1:30. The advantages of living in town are numerous. A five minute walk home from the bar is the main perk in my mind. But the events leading up to that were:
I went up to the Chalet to cook dinner. True, it was my day off, but since there are no visitors at the Chalet currently (tomorrow that will end) I wanted to take advantage one more opportunity to experiment with the menu. I made a vegetable chili. Jen says that the kiddos won't eat it, I say they will if they're hungry enough. Everyone else said it was pretty good. However, I don't expect to get much in the way of personally delivered negative criticism though, so I don't put a lot of weight on the after dinner polls I take.
After dinner we all had a staff outing. We walked down to road to a food-shack run by a nice man named Ham. He calls it Ham's Bistro. It's not really a shack, he's got tables and chairs in there but it's still half way under construction In any event, it was warm and friendly and had that grass-roots-did-it-myself-atmosphere that one finds in diners in small towns. We all sat down and looked at each other awkwardly while Ham offered us various soft drinks from the cooler. I was waiting for someone else to ask for a beer, but apparently we were all waiting for someone else to order a beer on the Chalet's tab. So after a few minutes of hemming and hawing we all ended up with hot chocolate and ice cream bars. What a disaster. There was a lot of awkward staring and nervous laughter but after about 20 minutes everyone loosened up and we had a pretty decent time. Ham is an especially nice guy, he seemed pleased that "english people are so polite, they always say 'Yes, Please'"
To make up for the lack of spirits at the All-Staff-Outing Ben, three summer vols and I went to the Alpenrose. The last time I went to the Alpenrose, they wouldn't serve me a drink so Katie (the center manager) had to go up and buy one for me. How dirty is that? "Hey boss, they won't serve me booze, will you get me some?" She thought it was funny--especially since you only have to be 16 to buy beer in Switzerland. Seriously, I guess I'm getting a little too cocky thinking I can pass for at least 16. Anyway: this time I was served a drink by a cranky looking waitress. We had a good time--hence my late arrival home.
So I rolled out of bed at 11:30 this morning. I took a nice chilly shower and had some delicious Swiss-Granola cereal that comes with chocolate chunks, but I put a banana on it so it's healthy.
I went out around 12:30 to buy myself some spray-on-waterproofing for my rain coat since I discovered that my raincoat is not very much good at keeping me dry after 8 years and more than a few trips through the washing machine. But, of course this is Switzerland and all the stores are closed from 12 to 2. So I went for an impromptu hike. Since nearly every road here is a Wanderweg I started heading up a road I didn't recognize and I figured I'd end up back in town soon enough. And I went UP for an hour and 45 minutes before I decided that hiking in the fog with a headache isn't much fun, so I turned around and came home half frozen. I think I almost made it to the top of the mountain, but I'm not sure since I couldn't see more than about 20 feet up the road. Even if I had made the top, the summit wouldn't have afforded much of a view. Perhaps I'll make another summit push next weekend.
My apartment has no hot water. Did I mention my chilly shower? So when I came home half frozen it would have been awfully nice to take a hot shower.
I've had the heat cranked to the highest position for the past 2 days and I think I finally started to notice a difference around 9 tonight. I'm hopeful that perhaps the water heater just needed like 60 hours to really get going and I'll have a hot shower in the morning. Right. Here's to optimism.
Confidential to Hannah: Happy Birthday!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)