Glacier Express

                                        What a Train Ride!

     It’s pretty much an all-day train ride  on the Glacier Express from Davos, Switzerland to Interlaken. Knowing that, we all carried a book along to read for the  day. It was a surprise to see none of us even cracked the cover of a book, much less read it. The spectacular scenery absolutely captured all of our attention. It was the most awesome train ride I’ve ever taken. Our reserved coach  was most comfortable.

     Non of was was prepared for this spectacular day. In places the   train trestle literally overhung the side of the mountain or stretched over a gorge between two mountains. The train chugged along so slowly on one very steep climb that I thought it might actually stop or start running back downhill!  The slow ride down on the other side of the pass offered wonderful views of wild flowers in bloom all along the train tracks and down into the alpine meadows.

     At lunchtime the steward came to our car to inform us it was our turn in the dining car. We moved forward to the dining car where we were seated at our booth. Our delicious lunch was served on china plates with real silverware. There were no paper plates, plastic or short cuts here. Serving sizes were more than ample and seconds were allowed on anything but the meat (beef).  Wine even accompanied the meal served in an actual crystal wine glass. Lunch was leisurely with no feeling of being rushed. After dessert a funny thing happened. The dining steward appeared at the end of our table, standing erect he said, “Thank you, bye.”  We just listened and then he repeated, “Thank you bye. Thank you. Bye.”  Then we got the message: our time in the dining car was over!  Being careful not to pull the table cloth as we got up in the small quarters, we thanked the waiter and returned to our coach.

    After six hours on the train we arrived in Brig with a half-hour layover and  change of  trains. Shortly after pulling out of the train station we went through the longest train tunnel in the world; then it wasn’t too long before we arrived in Interlaken.

     It had been a wonderful gorgeous  ride. It was some sort of a Swiss holiday and we were able to watch fireworks from our hotel balcony—what a way to end  a great day!

HAUNTED HOTEL

                                               Haunted Hotel

     I had never been anywhere where there were supposed to be ghosts---until I stayed in a haunted hotel in Sydney, Australia.

    I found the story framed on the wall of my hotel room. It  explained that the second part of the building had been constructed of sandstone with Georgian flattened brick arches over the windows. Built as six terrace houses, they were known as Scarlett’s Cottages. Scarlett, a well-known lady of the night, lived and died in the area.

   The story continued that Scarlett was Eric’s one true love.  In a moment of thoughtlessness, she declared her love for him also, even though she did not mean it. However, Eric died before learning of Scarlett’s lie. It is said that to this day Eric wanders the halls and cottages of the hotel searching and calling for Scarlett, who also met a tragic and untimely death. On occasion Eric has appeared in front of the surprised hotel staff questioning of Scarlett’s whereabouts.

    I asked reception for a copy of the story/legend which she happily gave to me.

    The 170-year old building was built on the site of Sydney’s first hospital. After the hospital was moved, the terrace houses were added and the building was turned into a hotel.

    Each evening we kidded about Eric’s ghost, and each morning questioned each other to learn if anyone has seen or heard him. No one encountered Eric during our Sydney stay, and I doubt anyone lost any sleep  worrying about it. It was a fun stay and an interesting story.

FRENCH DINING

                                  Dining the French Way

     After biking all day dinnertime was a time to relax. The French dinner hour tends to be late, most often after 7:00 PM. For them dining is an event. We never had a dinner that lasted less than  two hours, and often it approached three hours at the table.

    Normally drinks, including water, are never included with  a meal overseas. If one asks for water chances are it will be a $3  bottle of water. So it was a pleasant surprise the first evening in Bordeaux to have wine served with our duck dinner.

    As it turned out we had plenty of wine every evening!  Of course we were in wine country where wines are extremely reasonable. But we also had the big boss along as our guide.  He came as a temporary sub for an injured guide, but after a couple of days the driver was emphatic that he must remain for the entire two weeks so as not to traumatize us—ha!  It turned out to be a great advantage. I guess the small boutique hotels we stayed in were just taking care of the boss  or were saying thank you for all the business he brought them. I’m guessing he never even saw the rather large bar bills.

    The service was generally slow in comparison to US standards. The food was generally good, and the company and conversation were most pleasant. Those evening meals were a great way to wind down after a busy and full day of biking and sight-seeing.

    A bottle of wine just about fills four glasses. The fellows on the trip were not a bit hesitant about holding up an empty bottle in the air  to be replaced. The wines were excellent and flowed freely the entire trip---without costing us bikers a single penny!

LAKE TITICACA

                                             A High Altitude City

  Puno, located on the Andean plateau is dominated by Lake Titicaca, sacred place of the Incas and home to natural and artificial islands. Titi means puma and caca means stone.   The Incas thought Lake Titicaca was shaped somewhat like a puma, but after looking at a map, I thought that took a lot of imagination. The highest navigable lake in the world is 100 miles long and covers 3200 square miles. The depth ranges from 15-20 to 900-feet deep with the northern end of the lake  the deepest. The altitude and hot sun cause a tremendous amount of evaporation.  Titicaca, located between Peru and Bolivia, is the largest lake in South America.

     Spanish founded Puno in 1668 because of its closeness to the colonial silver mine of Laykakota. The altitude is 12,565-feet above sea level and the greater  area population is 102,800. Its inhabitants are proud of their Quechua and Aymara past. Many inhabitants, especially women, daily wear colorful traditional dress

    Puno is a small port city where the main industry is tourism.  Agriculture and cattle raising are important and the area is well known for its herds of llamas and alpacas. The main crops are potato, quinoa  and other tubers, but limited access to fertilizers and seeds means low yields allowing only for subsistence farming.

    Smoke from unvented fires wafts through Puno’s streets, along with edgy waves of traffic with constant  honking horns including taxis and three-wheeled cycles that urge pedestrians to the narrow slivers of sidewalks. It is not a pedestrian friendly city.  Puno’s churches are characterized by their distinctive colonial architecture. Several plazas provide shops and restaurants.

    Rural population struggles with poverty where surviving is the main priority, illiteracy is high at 22% and higher among females than males. Health and malnutrition are related to extreme poverty, lack of clean water and sanitation infrastructure..

    The big attraction for tourists visiting Puno is the Eros people and their floating islands which were once their homes. More about them on another day

GONDOLAS in VENICE

                                          A Must-do Activity

      Before I left for Europe the first time I was determined to have a gondola ride in Venice—one of those must to do things—and I didn’t care what it cost. My travel partner felt the same way about getting to the Moulin Rouge in Paris. So we made a deal: we  would  accompany each other on each other’s to do list—tit for tat, if you will!

    The  gondoliers are all native sons and often the job is passed on from father to son. However, they all have to pass several tests, among them swimming, driving and language tests. They are easy to spot in their navy and white stripped tee shirts.

    Many times of the day the  canals are crowded with gondolas—of many kinds—so one of the best times for a ride is during the dinner hour when most people are eating. To be serenaded costs extra.

     We hopped on a gondola one evening and ventured down much of the seven miles of the canals. Actually the  Great Road of Water consists of 170 canals and connect the 180 islands making up Venice. Our gondolier had a marvelous voice and serenaded us all evening. Of course the songs were in Italian, but one could understand they were love songs. They have their own repertoire and do not take requests, or at least ours didn’t.

    Our hotel was off the mainland ,on an island so our room faced  the canal. Every night after retiring I lay in my bed with the window open and listened to the boat traffic and the  wonderful serenading going on below.

     For most just the name Venice conjures up visions romance, canals, art and palaces. There are no roads, so no cars. All traffic is by boat or on foot. Although flat the many alleyways and bridges in the city make it easy to get lost.

    Besides the popular gondolas, there are canal taxis, which is how we got to our hotel, and  canal barges to transport goods, produce and luggage, Venice is a  fabulous city to visit and we had a wonderful time.