Begining of the Travels Part 2

Sorry about the abrupt ending to the previous post. Although the program said we would have a computer, we still have yet to recieve one in our Flat so I have been using the computers at the IES Study Abroad center in Dublin, that closes at 5:30. Now let me continue.

So Paris was touristy and expensive, and with no one to show us around, we didn't get to do that much off the beaten path, and thank god for Matt who speaks better French than he lets on. So, when our departure day arrived, we were pretty ready to move on to our next destination Switzerland. We had booked an early train before we left the states to take us to Switzerland, and although we woke up on time, we misjudged how long it would take us to get to the Train Station and in a big heap of bags and stress, we arrived on the platform just in time to see our train pulling out of the station. We dejectedly walked to the ticket counter and in a confusing interaction in which a language barrier was clumbsly climbed over, we ended up having to buy 2 new tickets at 70 euro each for the next train that left in 4 hours. We spent said 4 hours in the train station determined not to run the risk of missing our train. (Note for if you are traveling abroad. Sometimes you miss trains and its sad. I would say that one should get a EurRail Pass or buy your tickets at the station to avoid missing trains). Needless to say, we were a little down trodden after our ordeal, but we made it on the train with no problems after that.

If you haven't heard yet, Matt Jackson and I are working on a two man play together about the conflict in Northern Ireland. And much of our travel and down time was spent talking about the play and bouncing ideas off of eachother. This train ride was no different, but I ended up finishing the book on Nothern Ireland I had bought and I gave it to Matt to read because the Book (The Belfast Diaries) really helped educate me about the conflict. We will be premiering the show on the University of Puget Sound campus in the spring of 2009, so be sure keep an eye and ear out for advertisements.

With some confusion at a transfering stop we finally made it to Fribourg, Switzerland. We arrived a little later than we had planned, but after we checked into our hostel we went out and saw what Fribourg had to offer.

Fribourg is absolutely gorgeous with a huge cathedral and tons of old buildings and those cute narrow streets you always see when you think of a small european town. It was beautiful and magnificent and as soon as I get a cable for my camera, some pictures will be up here. The sun set and after sight seeing until dark we spent 2 hours finding our way back. We had hoped that things would be cheaper in Switzerland because the Swiss Franc is about 1 to 1 with the US dollar, but we were wrong. It may be even with the US Dollar, but the Franc doesn't go very far. For example, a meal at McDonalds cost 11-16 Francs. Matt and I fell back on our popular and cheap food establishment, a Kabob/Kabab place.

Since Annie's last meal, we had to take care of our own food. The staples of our diet were bread and cheese, and Kabab places. In Switzerland, every Hostel served us breakfast, and the other meals were up to us. He also bought a can of beans and some rice-like couscous stuff that tasted aweful and made up one dinner as well. We also picked up some vegetables, when we had the chance.

The next morning in Fribourg, we checked out of our hostle, went into the tourist center by the train station, got a map, and put our bags in a train station locker. From there we decided to go on a hike in the area surrounding Fribourg. The hike was incredible, I'm not sure how far we went, but it was quite a ways and much of it was through rolling countryside as well a ravine cut by a small but quick river. On this hike we decided on a name for our 10 day exodus, Wanderweg. On the trail we were hiking on, we kept coming across signs with a backpacker on them with the word Wanderweg underneith them, we assume it is German and means something along the lines of Trail, or Backpacker, but we believe that this word is a great name for our Travels we had together. We also learned on this hiking trip, that Fribourg and Freibourg are the same place after a baffeling junction that could have sent us in multiple wrong directions. In the end we got back alright and bought a ticket for Bern, Switzerland.

We arrived in Bern after about a 20 minute ride and since had thought ahead and had our previous hostel receptionist book us a place in Bern, there was very little hassel. Matt and I checked in and then wandered around for a while until we came back that night to eat some of the horrible food we had that I mentioned earlier. Two British girl who were staying in the same dorm as us, and commented on the strange yet humourous interactions between Matt and I and in the end they came down and talked to us for quite a while while we slowly ate our not so good dinner. The two british girls Becky and Sarah are not very far into their two month adventure in Europe and when they get back they will most likely get in contact with Matt (who was very Popular with them) in London.

The next day the girls woke us up for breakfast and after saying goodbuy they boarded a train for their next destination and we set out to explore Bern. Bern is in the German speaking part of Switzerland so this time Matt and I were on the same level, but that didn't seem to matter much, because it turns out that most Swiss people speak English, and it may be taught in school. Matt and I did some exploreing but we were both pretty worn out and after a little while we decided to just head to Geneva a little early and take it fairly easy. On the way to the Train station we saw the only street performer of the entire trip and he was incredible, he spoke in French and German and seemed to tell a story and then sang along with an interesting instrument that sounded and looked like an inverted steal drum. It sounded incredible and he could also hum and whistle at the same time which Matt and I continued to try for the next few hours and on the train.

We then bought train tickets to Geneva and we arrived there in one piece. After some wandering we found our hostel and set up camp. We then set out to see some of the sights and we walked past this huge fountain that is set up in the middle of the bay that shoots a single stream straight up at least 150ft. We continued our wandering and then came to a park with chess and checker boards on the ground with chess pieces that stand as tall as your knee. Matt and I started up a checker game and since I am not very good at strategic games Matt soon had me backed into the corner. About that time a man came over and sat on the bench next to our board and started saying things in French. He started directing me and telling me I needed glasses, all in French, and I ended up giving in to Matt and taking my loss. The man, who we call Marc (because it is really hard to understand a man who speaks French with an Italian Accent), then challenged Matt and I both to a game. We ended up playing two games with him and he swept the floor with us. It turns out that Marc grew up in Italy and in his 20s we think he moved to Switzerland and worked as a mason though he is retired now. He is a great guy and it really made Matt and I happy to talk to him. That night Matt and I bought a bottle of wine to go along with our bread and cheese.

We went back and crashed that night and the next day we set out with a plan. We saw the United Nations, the Botanical Gardens, and the Red Cross museum which was really interesting and quite the learning experience. We then wandered some more, and we were both pretty beat. We had been traveling for 9 days and had walked just about everywhere. Matt however, being the beast that he is, was fine with continuing our trek at just a slower pace. I however was dead. We walked along Lake Geneva and when I realized we had walked all the way back to the Botanical Gardens I broke into an exhaused laughing fit and layed on the ground and refused to get up. Matt finally coaxed me to find a softer spot af grass and once we did we both layed down for a nap.

About 2 hours after I started my nap I was awoken by a security guard telling me that the Botanical gardens were closing. Matt was no where to be found. On a small piece of paper I saw written, "Be right back." and as the guard went about telling other people they were closing I waited for Matt. Turns out he had gone to the bathroom and he showed up not too long after and we were not locked inside the Botanical Gardens.

After that we went and checked to see what bus we had to take to the airport the next day and then we went back and went to bed.

The next day was uneventful, we caught our bus to the airport and Matt was the first one to fly out. We said our goodbyes and wished eachother luck on our programs, and then he was gone, headed for London. I killed 4 hours by walking up and down the terminal. (Yeah, I know. Now I can walk for hours.) I then caught my flight for Dublin with no hiccups and that was the end of our 10 days of european travel.