The previous night I shouted K and P to an Indian dinner at the Gandhi restaurant. After that I met up with the Dutch couple I had met in Gibara in Cuba, who lived nearby, for a nightcap in a cafe near Haarlem's cathedral. We exchanged travel stories.
In the morning I caught the bus to P's place and gave her a quick slide show of my travels. I also had enough time to quickly check my email. Then I said my goodbyes and caught the Zuidtangent to Schiphol Airport. I didn't find anything I wanted in duty-free so I had 400€ left over. That was a problem because I didn't think I would be back soon because old Europe was so familiar to me now. I thought next time I would visit Asia or South America instead. (Note from the future: In 2007 I decided to visit the Adriatic coast, so that money came in handy after all.)
It's now 2011 as I finish this blog. Reading my diary from a distance of 7 years, I notice that it feels like 3 separate trips, one to Western Europe, one to Cuba, and one to the Canary Islands; so different were the environments. But when I was on the road, it didn't feel that way. Each part of the trip was a natural progression from the last. Perhaps that's a model for life. In hindsight, a given period of your life will bear little resemblance to the previous. Sometimes the transitions are obvious: graduating from school, getting married, etc. These are the occasions for celebration. Sometimes the changes are strokes of fate. Sometimes after a small change, you imagine things will be as before, but they really won't.
I still had uncertainty hanging over me. When I got home I had to find a job. But after what I had been through in my travels, it would be just another detail on the road of life. And that realisation was the journey's gift to me.
The train arrived at Gare de l'Est a few minutes ahead of time. Gare du Nord is just walking distance from there but I got a little lost and asked at a cafe for directions. In my opinion, Parisians are only human too; they are helpful if one doesn't commit the solecism of launching into a question in English. Even if your French is basic, if you make some effort, they will help you. I mean how would you like it if tourists came to your country and insisted on asking questions in their language without first checking?
There was a long line at the ticket counter, but I eventually got a reservation for the Thalys with a breakfast but no guaranteed seat due to the short notice. I found a place with no problem. I only had to pay the supplement as the base fare was covered by my Eurailpass.
At Brussels Midi there was chaos and services were delayed because a storm system was passing through Benelux and their train systems weren't coping well. A group of schoolkids on excursion was not helping. The departure platform was changed and eventually the service left for Antwerpen at 0930. As the train headed towards the Dutch border, I decided that trying to visit both Delft and Leiden would be too hard and opted for the latter only.
Leiden is a pleasant university city with handsome historical buildings.The previous photo was of the Koornbrugsteeg. This is the Hooglandse Kerk.
An Australian in Leiden?
Clever way of increasing seating capacity.
One of the many drawbridges that you will see all over the Netherlands.
I had lunch in a Subway shop there. As I sat eating my sandwich, it started pelting cats and dogs. After it had stopped, when I stepped outside, the cold wind cut into my jacket, so I decided to call it a day even though I could catch trains all day with my Eurailpass.
And of course what trip to the Netherlands would be complete without a picture of a windmill?
I hopped onto the train to Heemstede and soon was glad to be "home" even though it was my last night in Europe.
My last day in Switzerland. I was catching a night train to Paris and then changing to a train back to the Netherlands. As it was an overnight train, I only needed one day of my Eurailpass.
I had promised to cook dinner for my hosts, their sons and girlfriends. First order of business in the city was to get my old Swiss banknotes changed at a bank. It had been 8 years since my last visit and Switzerland had changed the paper currency in the meantime. When I tried to pay with an old note, cashiers either refused it or had to check with management. At the bank counter the employee looked at me quizzically and said: Sir, these are not Swiss Francs, they are Euros. Oops, hahaha, silly me, I had pulled out the wrong bunch of notes from my wallet and pushed them under the screen without looking.
The selection of Asian groceries at Globus was pathetic so I went to Bellvue to look in the Co-op. Not a great selection either so I decided to buy jasmine rice, some veges and make sang choy bow. At 1700 I started preparation and with T's help, was finished by 1900. The food was a bit too dry, maybe Swiss air dries groceries out faster. Both sons and their girlfriends came for dinner. All the food was consumed, as was all the desert, so they can't have been too bad.
We chatted until 2200, then they accompanied me to the bus stop. The elder son, A and his girlfriend were going home so they accompanied me on the tram. At the platform group of noisy young USAns got onto the train. It seemed that they were planning a drinking party once the train got going. The train looked a bit old. My compartment companions were I think one French and four Swiss. I slept well with my eye shades and ear plugs.
It was good to meet old friends and sad to part but I was beyond nostalgia now. There are pieces of me all over the world. I had to travel this long to realise that I should neither look backward nor forward, that I should embrace timelessness. Like the wild geese in the Zen koan, the universe had always been there, it was only my mind that discriminated between past and future.
I was a bit grumpy at breakfast as I related to H a telephone call from reception. Apparently some misunderstanding on their part or ours. But I didn't record in my diary the exact nature of the mixup, so I must have got over it quickly.
This is the St. Moritz Library overlooking the Plazza da Scuola.
What town in Switzerland would not have a prominent clock tower? However I did not find the town especially attractive, just normal. I think it's famous simply because of its association with rich people.
The town overlooks the eponymous lake and because of that, the path around it is flat, which I appreciated, in my weariness from hiking.
This is the Waldhaus am See, a posh hotel at one end of the lake.
Snow topped peak behind the town.
Looking back at the town from the other side of the lake.
We had an uneventful journey back to Zürich. T cooked a gnochi and we had a good dinner before calling it a night.
After breakfast we started our hike. Our destination was the monastery of San Romerio which predates the village of Brusio. This is a look back at the village.
As we ascended we gained good views of the lake.
And the valley.
It took us nearly 4 hours, with 10 minute stops every hour, but we finally reached the monastery. I wonder what made monks seek out such solitude, bearing in mind that it would have been even more isolated 1000 years ago. The grand landscape is good for reflection perhaps.
A resident pleased to see us.
And some who weren't very fussed at all.
The monastery is perched rather precariously on the edge of a precipice so the views were fantastic. Here I ate my müsli and yogurt for lunch.
Then we continued on the path.
The hike got more difficult due to the narrow path, tree roots and rocks.
Eventually the path flattened out and became gentler.
We reached Poschiavo and checked into our hotel. I had a nap and watched a reprise episode of Inspector Rex. When I came down, H was having a beer in the bar. I had a dinner of a Milanesa there. The room was starting to fill with cigarette smoke due to the football fans gathering to watch the game so I left. In my room I watched France beat Switzerland 3-1. I was rather tired and had an incipient cold so I went to sleep quickly.
H is a very methodical person. In the days preceding my arrival he had monitored the weather situation, poring over maps, and come to the conclusion that we had a chance of passable weather for our hike in the Poschiavo (Puschlav in German) Valley. This is a finger of Italian speaking Switzerland that protrudes into Lombardy.
To get there we had to change trains a couple of times, and finally to the Bernina Express. You can see that the landscape around Ospizio Bernina, the highest station on the line, was snowbound even though it was midsummer.
The Rhaetian Railway company runs services in this region of Switzerland. From the comfort of the panoramic coach, I could marvel at the magnificent mountainscape, albeit a bit misty through the glass.
We went past the town of Poschiavo and then the lake, Lago di Poschiavo. Notice the characteristic milky cyan of alpine lakes that receive rock flour.
Looking back at the snowy heights we descended from.
Our destination was the small village of Brusio, where we would spend a night before a hike the next day.
After we had settled into our quarters and rested a bit, we took an afternoon walk down the valley. The Brusio Spiral Viaduct is a singular piece of railway engineering that almost certainly attracts train buffs and is even highlighted on tourist maps. It exists purely to allow the track to have a gentler gradient than the terrain. Unfortunately I could only manage a ground level photo. You'll have to follow the link to see a birds eye view.
Some local residents, young and old.
A couple of km down, we entered Italy without any fuss. The city of Tirano is just across the border and is the terminus of the Rhaetian Railway line we had come on. Another line, of Trenitalia, passes through the city. This is the outstanding landmark of the city, the basilica.
A view of the Swiss mountain ranges from the piazza in front of the basilica.
We decided to dine near the station. We first bought our return tickets, then had beers at a bar. H asked for a toasted sandwich. It was slow coming. Eventually we got up and found the staff watching TV, so we paid and left. We went to a nearby restaurant and I ordered a pizza. The minutes ticked away and enquiries got "it's coming" in reply. It arrived with 5 minutes to spare so we asked for a takeaway box and rushed to the train. Even on a small outing, Italians were manifestly Italian.
I ate the rest of my pizza on the train. As soon as we had passed Campocologno, the first station of the line in Switzerland, the conductor came back to ask why my ticket was only to that station. The reason was that I was on a Eurailpass which was still valid for the day in Switzerland but not in Italy, so only needed to pay for the Italian segment. Very sharp and diligent, that conductor.
There was still a bit of daylight left as it was midsummer and the last rays of the sun bathed the mountain peaks when the village was already in shadow.
I was woken in the morning by the early light and the aforementioned aircraft noise. I had a sore neck from the low pillow which lasted all day. I will change the pillow tonight to alleviate the problem. After breakfast, I accompanied T to the supermarket where I bought for some cereal and yogurt for the hike H and were taking the day after. I also bought some food to cook a dinner for the family on our return. I will have to get the rest of the Asian ingredients from the deli section of Globus later.
My hosts had invited me to join them in T's family reunion at Vitznau, on Lake Lucerne, one of the most gorgeous of the Swiss lakes. To get there first we crossed Lake Zürich by ferry, to avoid going through the city, since their suburb is east of the lake.
After about an hour of driving through forested roads, we arrived at Vitznau. It was raining a little when we got there.
The rack railway up to Rigi starts in Vitznau. The carriage sheds are impressive.
The reunion event was dinner so we had several hours to pass. The relatives chatted amongst themselves and I opted to take a walk along the lake. Here you are looking back at the hotel and dining room for that evening.
A sundial in the gardens.
A clock tower and church behind this building.
Lone duck.
A marina and the formidable mountains in the background.
I got quite far in about 45 minutes.
Warm yellow for a grayish day.
More flowers.
Even better in closeup.
These mushrooms were huge. I wasn't tempted to try them though; I am no expert.
Back at the hotel; a ferry sets out.
A most elegant hotel. Notice the steep angle of the roof.
The view from the dining room just before dinner. I had some coffee and chatted with H while waiting.
The dinner was a formal affair with a fixed menu. After the dinner, H said his farewells and we drove back to Zürich. T was overnighting in the hotel, while we would set out on our hike the next day.
