I'm very much enjoying the hiking in Switzerland. The rocks and cliffs are dramatic, the paths are relatively safe, and the sky is big and blue. And the children and elderly people hopping along on the same paths that leave me completely out of breath and soaking with sweat have given me something to strive for, eh?
At the suggestion of the lady at the front desk, I took a hike commencing at Schynige Platte , a train station and tourist area up in the mountains near Interlaken. While Schynige Platte itself is not terribly dramatic (only 1970 meters above sea level), the trail I took led me through some incredible scenery, and gave me a perfect view of the major mountain peaks around Interlaken, including the Jungfrau. The train trip up (which I purchased using the half price pass I also purchased that morning -- which evidently also allowed me to retroactively get half my money back on my expensivo trip from Zurich to Interlaken!), was a tourist attraction in itself. Super steep, cogwheel train (not quite as dramatic as the one going up Pilatus, near Lucerne) ascending slowly through forest, views of the snowcovered mountains appearing around halfway up. Of course, everybody on the train was either a child or old. I don't really understand why, because the stuff on the top was great.
I walked for a total of about three hours, looking down on Interlaken, at the mountains across the valley, and the steep rocks above me. Every once in a while I would see a cow with a bell on its neck. Every once in a while, I would avoid stepping in cow manure. Or the flies feasting upon it. I listened to Glenn Gould's "The Idea of North" again in its entirety. I was somewhat surprised to notice that, although I consider it one of my favorite recordings, there was SO much in there that I had never noticed before. This probably has something to do with the fact that I often put it on before I take a nap, and fall asleep to the soothing sounds of Canadian voices discussing life in the tundra, which the quiet clacking of train on rails in the background. I wish I had more "talk" recordings for this trip. Sometimes they are preferable for the hikes over music.
After walking for about half an hour, I stopped, sat on the ground and listened to the birds, and the wind, and felt the sun on my face, and thought that it felt good. I did this for maybe 15 minutes, played a game of solitaire on my iPod and walked back. Here is a picture of the snowy mountains I was able to see throughout most of the hike:
Here is a picture of Interlaken, which was on the other side of the ridge along which I was walking. If you look around the middle of the big green patch in the middle of the picture, you can see the top of the funicular that I used to descend the mountain after my hike up Harder Kulm.
After completing the walk, I stopped at the Schynige Platte restaurant for a Wurst and some French Fries, along with a coffee. This was somewhat delicious, but it was very bright up there without sunglasses, and everybody was either very old or very young.
At the Wilderswil train station (connection between Interlaken and Schynige Platte), I noticed that clouds were starting to appear. By 7:00 p.m., when I was enjoying the Balmer's happy hour, the sky opened up and rain poured down so hard on the plastic roof of the outdoor bar, that it was nearly impossible to carry on a conversation.
It was also at this time that I noticed the second celebrity of the trip (the first being Michael Cera): Finch from American Pie! He was sitting outside at the hostel bar, chatting with the other guests (I later learned from one of those guests that he had no clue that he was speaking to a major, Hollywood celeb). Seemed like a reasonably nice guy, and definitely was friendlier to his fans than that Michael Cera.
I had Thai food next door for dinner, and decided to be macho and order the dish with three chili peppers next to the description, assuming that, it being Europe, nothing is THAT spicy. I was wrong, and it was like eating burning fire. I finished it though, and it was actually kind of delicious.
Back to the Night Club, which was far less crowded than it had been the previous two nights. One of the patrons got so drunk that he fell over, hit his head, and was unconscious for about 5 minutes, while his friends attempted to save him. He eventually woke up and the ambulance was canceled, but it was unsettling to watch. I'd never seen anything like that happen before.
After returning to my room, I chatted with my fellow roommates for about an hour. To a Canadian from Toronto with a masters in literature about Darwinian natural selection, to a young Australian, trying to convince him that he COULD in fact be friends with a gay person, despite his own prejudices, and two Saskatooners who were shocked to meet an American who could name 2 cities in their province.
The Orb -- Little Fluffy Clouds
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