Into the wild

As I hiked my way up the Swiss Alps, I looked down below on a huge glacier field. In awe, at the same time I couldn't help but think of home, just a little bit. What, I wondered, is the difference between these beautiful, impressive mountains to those of the Sierra Nevadas? Why is it that I marvel at something so far away from home, when I could see almost the same thing a few hours from where I grew up?

Well of course, you have the excitement of greeting people in another language. But then again, I think the most amusing difference is a silly one. As a child, I used to complain constantly when we went hiking. To convince us that it was worth getting to the top, my dad always said, "Come on everybody! At the top of the mountain there's A&W rootbeer floats!" (For those of you who don't know what a rootbeer float is, just imagine a beer instead, although it has nothing to do with rootbeer....anyway). We'd always walk to the top, knowing, and then discovering of course, that his logic was flawed.

However, I discovered that this is not necessarily the case in Switzerland. As I trudged for 3 and half hours to the top of a peak, passing up weary backpackers right and left, I finally made it. To my amazement, in the horizon, there it was, a refuge (where this photo was taken)! But not in the sense that we have in America, where it's a stone shelter for emergency situations, with nothing much to go with it. No, this refuge not only had indoor seating and flush toilets, but you could order hot "rusdie" (think hashbrowns, American readers, except better), and to my amazement, BEER. I guess Dad had to be right sometimes. I have to admit the view was quite amazing, as I sipped at my beer, watching the hikers put on their ice clamps and grab their axes, heading up towards the glacier. As I finished the last little bit of what was in my mug, I thought, wow, this sure doesn't happen too often in Cali!

St Moritz - er, Sankt or San?

So now we are back in St Moritz, Switzerland. The classy, world famous ski resort/ celebrity hang out....so they say. It is beautiful, if you wander through the forests and manage to avoid other people, somehow. It's nicknamed "The top of the world," because of elevation, both physically and reputation wise.

Even on top of the world, however, you can have bad weather. I can't believe it, but it's actually snowing in St Moritz...in August. Well, up high in the mountains at least. And worse, down here, it's raining, a cold, miserable rain, which never seems to end. One of the girls' tennis instructors, Donato told me that anything is possible in St Moritz. Even snow isn't unusual for this time of year. It used to always snow in the summer, he told me.

The nature is still beautiful, if you ignore how cold it is. While we ride our bikes around, I like to play my favorite game: guess the language of the tourist. It's always kind of a challenge to decide what language to use to say, "Watch out," or "Coming up on your left!" It's easy to resort to Italian, since half the people here are either from Italy or speak the language as their native tongue. However you also always have to weigh in the potential for a Swiss German to walk by, which more than 50% of the time this happens. Then you have the handful of Swiss French, or Swiss that speak Romantsch, that language that nobody seems to know about, hidden in the mountains somewhere. In the end, it takes me so long to decide what to say, I just ring my bell, and hope they get the point.

Milan in August

It's only logical that I write about Milan too, since I wrote about Vienna and Zurich, although admittedly I've been to Milan even more times than I've been to Zurich.

There are unique moments that can happen in Milan, however. For example, Milan is very different in August, when everyone magically disappears to go on vacation. Although it is the ultimate concrete jungle, filled with business men and well to do upper crust, in August the place is practically a ghost town. You can walk on one of the biggest streets in the city, and feel like you own the place, walking by all of the closed stores and shops. In a way it's a rather peaceful feeling, since you feel unique, and individual.

The problem with Milan in August is that it's usually really HOT, which is an understatement in a way. I've never seen such a hot an humid non-tropical location in my life, and that's saying something. Well, I suppose Budapest is pretty bad too. At any rate, that may be the other reason why people hide away in August, because they all have air conditioning in their offices and homes, and to walk outside in the heat is a less enjoyable experience than normal. They hide away, or run to the beach as fast as they can.

Despite the emptiness, it's still a treat to see Milan and the area in the summertime. Everything is so bright, and it couldn't feel more like summer anywhere else. I went to Monza, a city near Milan, for the first time, and to my surprise it was very beautiful. What the city lacks in size and sheer massiveness, it keeps its quaint town style, as well as an impressive castle and huge public park that dwarfs any of the parks in Milan. It's surprising how places that seem so insignificant become actually interesting once you go there.

Zurich

Ah Zurich.....after having been there for at least 8 times, I feel like this city merits a post or two, at least.

There's something about Zurich that's very appealing. Even though the people have a reputation for being somewhat...."apathetic," (my great aunt loves telling me the story of how she fell on a sidewalk in Zurich and nobody helped her up....)I disagree. As a matter of fact, I find Swiss people, even in Zurich to be rather friendly folk. Admittedly the few times that people have attempted to talk to me, they don't get very far before they realize that my German is what we would call nonexistent.....I've still had a surprising number of laughs with people on trains, or in stores, those few times I've attempted to buy chocolate on my own....

Nevertheless, whether or not the people are polite, or shy, or too stressed about being on time, I hold judgement. As for the city itself, it is like magic. Everything works, clocks are always set to the right time, and trains always arrive on time, or early. Somehow everything is clean, and the public restrooms are really stylish.

Yet, once you get past the touristy "old town," or the scenic viewpoints of the lake, where there are always mobs of tourist, there are always things to see. The best part is finding those hidden places that you didn't know existed, because they aren't publicized for the tourists, and the locals don't always tell you about them. Everytime I've been, for example, I've always found a green house, large parks, and hidden odd places. Everything is so neat, green, and very "natury," you know, the kind of stuff I like.

There's never a shortage of greenery or forests, and sometimes you just wonder how the Swiss got it right. Is it all that money they have from the banking that makes them want to show off their wealth in some "green, environmentally friendly" style, or do they just have some connection to nature that would exist, regardless of how expensive their standard of life is? Is Zurich pretty because of its wealth and cleanliness, or is it all the room they have for nature? I'll go with the latter, because I've never spent time with the wealthy and powerful in Zurich, and instead have friends of more reasonable standards of living. And I have to say, the best times have been kicking back in the large green lawn, in the summer heat (well, not this summer), drinking a beer and just talking.

Vienna

Before I left for Vienna, I heard different comments from almost every person who had been there. Some people really loved it, others absolutely hated it. I could not wait to test it out for myself. And finally, a moment to go back to old traveling techniques of what I fondly call the "wander and conquer" approach. For a person like me who completely lacks what we call "sense of direction" but is pretty good with a map if enough time is allowed, this technique is probably the most efficient.

So I finally made it to Vienna, to the 19th century apartment of my relatively new friend and fellow couch surfer Sophie. Admittedly I dont know very many Austrians, but the ones I do know make me wonder if there are common trends in the overall population. For example, the funny sense of humor, the mountains of stories to tell, and the ability to talk??? Who knows, but that is definitely Sophie in a nut shell. We spent most of the evenings talking about traveling.

So today I just woke up, grabbed my map, and ten minutes later was walking around in some sort of loosely defined direction that my relatively new friend Sophie advised. Somewhat to my surprise, it seemed like almost any direction I chose ran me into a sort of perfectly groomed palace garden, or huge marble statues. The boulevards were so green and it seemed like I couldn´t find a place that didn´t have something interesting. Perhaps travelers who don´t like Vienna find it too groomed, or too clean? I guess I´m not one of them.

I took the metro to the palace, wondering if I could maybe peek in through the gates without paying, but to my sheer joy and amazement the palace gardens were all free, and I wandered around for hours, photographing the huge fountains and walkways that I stumbled upon. I think Marie Therese was pretty impressed by the French when she started vamping up the gardens, because it almost seemed like something out of Versailles. And, like Versailles in August, it was sweltering hot.

Although it´s pretty hot in Vienna in the summer, at least it seems cooler than Budapest. It´s surprising how different Vienna is from other places I have been. Admittedly I didn´t meet very many locals aside from Sophie, but then again I was only here for a day. Despite what people say, I think the city is very authentic, with quite the history. Tomorrow I´m going to visit Beethoven´s grave (sadly he´s not an Austrian). I´m so excited.