Where am I now?

The Alps, St. Bernards, chocolate, nordic walking, bier, specialty knives, cows, bells, cheese, parasailing, sky gondolas, quaint villages, lotion....

If you guessed Switzerland you would be correct! The interlaken to be more specific. This trip was a 6 hour drive away, and iI slept for most of it. By the time I opened my eyes we were high in the clouds with great mountains and glaciers towering over us, staying in a village that looked as if it had been trapped in time, despite the tourists that were drawn to the place.

Sounds of English, German and French voices filled the air along with the river of rushing ice melt.


I ate quite a bit of food for a weekend trip... a lot of Italian dishes (oddly), some fondu, pastries, yogurt, fruit, eggs, croissants, panna cotta and even some french toast. But there is no worry for any weight gain. We walked most places and we decided to do a bike ride up a mountain range. It seemed like a smart, achievable idea at the time.

I am no slouch. I ride my bike at home for seven miles almost on a daily basis since school got out. I've got a core muscle structure in place and scoffed at the warning for the "intermediate" bike route that was "hilly". I was too tough for the "easy" course...but I was also with Dad and Meg, who could probably kick my butt at running, but I figured I had them on biking. So, for them, I would be willing to do "easy". I didn't have too big of an ego, right? Meg though was up for the more difficult course and we went and got our bikes.

The bikes were in top notch condition. Even my helmet was state of the art. It was so advanced I needed the help of the two bike shop owners to put it on for me. Imagine me, out on the street, with two ladies adjusting a helmet while I was wearing it.

With our bikes we set off and quickly discovered that the course we took was all uphill. No downhills. Rarely any flat parts. Everything was inclined, up, up, up, up and more up. We literally biked our way up the Alps for 4 hours. Now, we aren't as tough as that sounds. We had to stop often..like every 5 to ten minutes, and I was right at the front of the line saying, "Break time!" It took us four hours to climb up 1,500 meters, and each push of the petal was a test of willpower. What made it worse was when the obviously pro-bikers labored past us (it wasn't easy for them either) but they didn't stop and rest or get off their bikes and push them up the steep parts. Ouch my pride!



We went through a farm at one point with cows everywhere. Each of them had a bell tied around their neck and the jangling and ringing filled the area. It was remarkably magical, especially for cows.


I was the one who called it. Me. The tough-girl, who bikes everyday and figured we should do the easy course for her "less tough" parents. The "less-tough" parents were ready to put one more hour in, and I reluctantly agreed, but my legs were screaming, my body ached and there was another big, damn hill in front of me. The only thing keeping me going at this point was ego, and despite my arrogance, I have no problem letting that go and laughing at myself.


The ride back down literally took less than thirty minutes.

We got back to the hotel apartment and I crashed. I didn't even shower, missed lunch and loved every single sleepy moment.

Miniscule vignettes worth remembering:

Dad trying to make the tv work. We were sitting, watching him struggle, watching the tv screen for a change when the eurotica station turned on. That's right...eurotica. Amazingly, there were quite a few "sex-stations" on the Swiss tv.

My red cowboy boots wouldn't draw a glance back home, but lots of attention was paid to them in Switzerland, where everyone else was wearing hiking boots.

Metal rods stuck throughout the ground. Guesses for what they were: lightening rods, ski slop poles, satellites, gnome markers, lawn decorations, wind indicators...We still don't know.

Amazing cannelloni that maybe had ginger and onions in it.

The BBC world news station program.