Follow Me Around the World

I woke up freezing cold in the train.  The air-conditioning system was broken and was stuck on cold and full blast the whole night.  Coupled with the fact that the bed was tiny even for me it was a very uncomfortable sleep to say the least.  We arrived in Prague at around 1140AM and was warmly greeted by Linda’s friend David.  Linda met David in Africa a year and a half ago on another Nomad trip through Mozambique.  David grabbed one of my backpacks and we were off.  We took two subways to get to his mother’s travel agency near a train station.  When we arrived at his mother’s travel agency we were warmly greeted by his mother.

She offered us a shot glass of Amarula and said that around lunch time it was customary to have a drink to stay warm.  I think she was joking but nonetheless I was two shots of Amarula deep before 1PM.  From the travel agency David drove us to his home.  The ride would only take about twenty minutes mainly because the speed limit was so low and the weather was bad.  The roads were filled with snow and it was very cold here in Prague.  A lot colder than Amsterdam and Switzerland.

David’s house was absolutely stunning.  Big rooms, including the one Linda and myself was staying in.  It was clear to me that by Czech standards his family was well off.  After relaxing and eating some nice fresh goulash that his mom made among other delicious eats, we had a bit of a rest and then we were off to see some of Prague.  First we drove back to where his mother parks her car near her office and then we hopped back on the metro.  After taking two trains and a tram we finally arrived at the famous Prague Castle.  By this time what was left of the sun was almost down and we were basically walking around in the dark.  The castle was well lit at night and also in this complex the President of the Czech Republic lived and Parliament also worked here.

After our short tour through the Prague Castle we walked down a long set of steps close to the a famous square in the Old Town.  I noticed walking around that most of the roads were cobblestone including the sidewalks.  I love cobblestone roads I think it just oozes history.  At the bottom after meandering our way through small streets we arrived at a place that was selling hot wine and an interesting form of sweet bread of which the name I cannot spell or pronounce.  Linda and I quickly realized that the Czech language was very hard and had no logic to it at all.  This language was unlike any other.  Anyway David said it was time to get some hot wine as it was very cold and Linda was very cold.  When she gets cold she gets a little cranky.  So we got some hot wine and this bread with sugar on it and before we knew it Karolina, David’s girlfriend was getting off the tram.  She warmly greeted us as well and we all chatted while standing drinking hot wine and eating some delicious home made bread.

From this square we walked across the famous Charles Bridge built hundreds of years ago.  Once across the bridge we walked up this huge tower in the center of the city.  It was many steps to the top but well worth the view.  From there went to the old town square to a nearby traditional pub.  All  beer in Czech is served in half litre glasses which are really big.  After two or three beers we moved on to a downstairs bar for a show.  The band was a Led Zeppelin revival band.  The show would last several hours and was very good.  The music was loud, the beer was cold and I was in great company, so it was a great time.

Soon though it was time to go if we wanted to make the last trains and bus back to David’s home.  We did and when we got off the train we had to walk at least a mile in the freezing cold.  This walk would also take us through woods and then we were at his home.  I was relieved to be at home, and before we knew it Linda and I were passed out.

Today was an extremely long day.  We got up at 830AM and was skiing by 930AM.  We ended up having a great day of skiing even though the weather wasn’t so great.  It was mostly overcast but since it was during the week and there was no holiday the slopes were open and free.  It was fantastic, the snow was like baby powder and we all felt like we had the entire mountain to ourselves.

At around 1130AM it was time to say goodbye to Belalp, return the skis and head home.  Once we dropped off our skis Linda and I had to climb all the way up the mountain to Sarah’s Chalet.  When we finally got there I thought I was going to through up.  I could definitely feel the thin air on Belalp and it was affecting my breathing.  Our stuff was already packed so we gathered everything up, and headed back down the cable car to where we parked Linda’s Mini just a few days ago.  Luckily this time it started and we were ready to go.

We got to Naters and dropped Sarah off at home.  It was sad to see her go, but I am hoping that she will come to New York with her family and visit real soon!  She also owes me a CD of all the photos from skiing as she was too quick with her camera and snapped all the great photos.  Sarah’s mom again tried to get us to stay for lunch,  but we politely declined and instead she handed us both a bottle of water and a special desert made from nuts.

From Sarah’s house Linda and I drove back to Goppenstein and on to the car train.  I forgot to mention this before.  But basically going to Belalp we drove on to this train and basically it is like a cattle car where you drive right into a compartment, open air and get taken to another place through a very long tunnel (takes about 15-20 minutes) and to the other side.  So going back to Linda’s we did the same and it was fun.

Before arriving back in Sugiez, Linda decided that we should stop in Bern (Bernie) for a short visit to the train station where there are a lot of nice shops.  Here we exchanged money for Czech Kronas, got chocolate and pasteries for Linda’s mom as it was her birthday, some drinks for the train and snacks.  After about an hour and fifteen minutes it was back in the Mini for the rest of our journey to Sugiez.

We arrived in Sugiez in the early evening.  I immediately crawled into bed and relaxed.  We had several hours until our 840PM train left from Ins, Switzerland starting our long journey to Prague.  At around 630PM we headed over to the hotel attached to Linda’s home that her parents own for her mother’s birthday celebration.  I wasn’t dressed so nicely and was even wearing flip flops since my feet hurt from skiing and I was a little embarrassed compared to how everyone was dressed but after several glasses of nice champagne I was over it.

For the  next few hours I chatted mainly with Linda’s father, brother, mother and Linda herself.  The rest of the guests didn’t speak English and it was tough to have a conversation with Linda translating on both sides.  Her father is really cool and introduced me to two great bottles of wine.  One red and one white both seemed very nice and probably very expensive.  Linda’s family owns vineyards in Switzerland that produce anywhere from 500-600 bottles of wine.  They even make champagne.  As a parting gift her father gave me two huge bottles of champagne and a bottle of red wine from their collection.  Also downstairs in their home was a pretty extensive wine cellar and apparently Linda said that her father had much more in other cellars around.

Before we knew it, it was getting late and Linda’s brother driving very fast got us to the train station with one minute to spare.  We jumped out of the car grabbed all of our stuff and ran to the train.  This would happen again when we got to Bern as we only had a few minutes to catch the second train.  Catching the third train wasn’t so bad and then we were on the train in Zurich on the way to Prague, Czech Republic.

When we first got on the train the berth looked real small.  In fact it is supposed to fit 6 people and Linda and I could barely fit with 2.  I must admit I have a lot of crap with me, none of which I bought in Europe but all stuff I brought with me from back home to wear.  It has been very cold so far on my trip and I have worn it all.  What was weighing me down was all the alcohol in my second backpack!  After rearranging some things we finally got settled in the berth.  I hooked up my mini speaker to my mp3 player and started playing some tunes.  The rest of the night was very nice.  We chatted, had some drinks and listened to music.  Very relaxing

Last night the three of us decided to wake up at 9AM and get the day started.  I thought that we should have woken up earlier, but I wasn’t going to fight them on this one.  I got up around ... [Continue reading this entry]

I woke up feeling refreshed after having a nice sleep in the guest bedroom on the top floor of Linda’s home.  I was really excited that I would have a chance to ski in the Swiss Alps.  Back home the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Today was our final day in Amsterdam.  I was ready to move on.  Three times in 5 years is plenty in my mind as it is a very expensive place to visit and after you have seen the sights becomes ... [Continue reading this entry]

Today I woke up and did not feel like doing anything.  So I didn’t.  I ended up going with Linda, Sarah and Liz to the Cinema so they could buy ticket to a movie.  I wanted to see a movie ... [Continue reading this entry]

Today many of my friends wanted to go to see Anne Frank’s house.  I had already been there three times before so I wasn’t very keen on it.  I decided to go to the Van Gogh Museum, because that was ... [Continue reading this entry]