SWISS ALPS MEMORIES

            Years ago my first trip to Europe was an “If it’s Monday you’re in Belgium, Tuesday you’re in Italy.” At that time I thought that would be my only trip overseas, never dreaming how many more  times I’d be going across the pond.

            Each of my experiences in the Alps took me to different places and mountains. My first  left me with wonderful tender memories at 6000-feet. The first cable car took us about half way up to a platform where we changed into another car to reach the top of Strasserhorn. On a gorgeous sunny day the panoramic views at the top were awesome. We walked a short path to admire the wildflowers in bloom.

            From the large plaza we entered the gift shop/café where I spotted a hot plate with a carafe of coffee and another with hot water. I hadn’t had a cup of coffee for ten days or so as my palate finds European coffee way too strong.

            I asked the young man behind the counter for a ½ cup of coffee and then to fill it with hot water. Appalled he said, “No, no, this coffee we make to put liqueur in. It is good”

            I was insistent and finally he relented and did as I asked. Today, over twenty years later, I smile remembering carrying that cup of coffee out onto the patio, sitting in the sun and listening to the serenade of the cow bells tinkling in the meadow below. What a memory!

    A few years later I made a hiking trip to Switzerland where we rode cog trains, lots of gondolas, cable cars and other conveyances.  Our first hike on a drizzly day was to Mt. Pilatus where the mountain was named after a holy man who had slayed a dragon living on the mountain.

            The cog railway, built in 1889, with a 48% incline, is the world’s steepest. When we exited at 7000-feet we were completely fogged in. The original plan was to start down the path and eat along the way. Charlie didn’t want his ‘angels’ to eat in the rain so he approached the empty restaurant and talked the management into letting us eat our picnic lunch inside.

            They were most accommodating and most of us ordered soup or a hot drink. We also were very careful to take all our mess with us while offering heartfelt thanks.

            As we headed down the path 2-3 people popped up umbrellas. I started to giggle as the last thing I would have put in my pack was an umbrella and it seemed so crazy to me to hike with an umbrella. As it turned out the canopy in the wonderful scenery kept us from getting very wet plus we did have raingear. That was the only rainy day we had the entire two weeks.

            On another day we took a train to Grindlewald; then it was a ten-minute walk to the gondola station. This gondola is Europe’s longest and it was a half-hour ride for the 6 kilometer 300 meter ride to deposit us at 7317 feet. My travel companion and I shared our gondola with a young Japanese couple on their honeymoon. We conversed some, but we all wanted to listen to the cow bells as we passed over the meadows.

            It was a gorgeous warm sunny day. We stopped part way down at Kleine Scheidegg for a typical Swiss lunch. After lunch we continued our hike to Wegan and somehow as we started a cute little goat was determined to find what was in my pocket. He was not convinced there was no food. It was some time before I could shake him loose. Iit was awesome to be walking in the shadow of the famous Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

FRENCH REFLECTIONS continued

                                          Other Memories

 License plates were long and the last two digits designated the province or region.

Water was drinkable everywhere.

The lack of protective gear/devices/rules was noticeable and most prominent at the Cognac cooperage.

Most bike paths were about a meter wide and could be scary when meeting an oncoming biker.

In the French countryside we never saw a McDonald’s---had to get to Bordeaux for that.

On another trip to France I learned quickly how important it is to always greet someone with Bon Jour before any further conversation. It is considered very rude to just approach someone and start talking. Twice I forgot this courtesy, did get my answer, but in a very curt way.

Public transportation, especially the metro/ trains, are convenient, quick, clean and prompt and easy to follow. Doors on the train do not automatically open when stopped. One needs to press down the handle. Sure felt stupid the first time we went to get off standing in front of the closed door. An old-timer helped us out.

Site/museum tickets are easily obtained from cigar shops.

     We saw young people in jeans but older women were always in a skirt or dress even in the gardens or fields.

     One scarce item was toilets, and when we did find them they were not all that clean or well equipped. We ran into a couple male/female  water closets equipped with both male and female urinals in the same open spaced room. We learned early that female urinals are very common and there is a technique to flushing them!

    People outside the big cities who were involved in the tourist industry spoke enough English to get by, but others spoke little or no English. Generally the French were pleasant, helpful, friendly and honest. Often they were talkative with a desire to improve their English language skills.

    The people in the Normandie area are very pro American and never have forgotten what we did for them in WW II. They are very friendly to Americans. We ran into and talked to some really interesting people as we traveled around the area in our van