Alpine Vacation Part 4: City of the United Nations

On Monday morning, we awoke to giant snowflakes falling outside of our hotel room window. Although they were pretty sight against the slopes, we were a little concerned about how the drive would be back through the mountains. Fortunately, the roads were not too slick, and the only problem we encountered was the difficulty keeping the windshield clear after our car ran out of windshield wiper fluid. 

Realizing that we needed to stop for lunch between the hours of 11 and 1, we pulled off at the McDonald's on the highway. We were surprised to find out that the $12 Big Mac meal (with small fries and a small drink) did not come with ketchup. Instead it was an extra charge! After lunch, we continued on to Geneva and checked into the hotel in the early afternoon.

I picked up a map of the public transportation system, and Mr. Traveler plotted out a plan for the rest of the day. We grabbed some free transportation tickets from the hotel desk and caught a bus to the U.N. building.

Giant Chair w/ Broken Leg in Front of U.N.

U.N. Building

From there, we took a long walk down to the lake and around the city.

Duty Free Shop Just for Diplomats

Swan and Lake

Chess and Checkers Games in the Park

We stopped for coffee, and then later, dinner. Most of the restaurants in the area were pretty nice. (After all, Wikipedia claims that Geneva is the 4th most expensive city in the world.) So, we ended up at another pizza place.

The following morning, when Mr. Traveler flicked on the lights, I couldn't believe it was time to get up. I repacked the suitcases, we had breakfast in the hotel lobby, and then it was time to return our rental car and hop on the plane back home.

It was amazing how much it felt like coming home, returning to our little place in Holland. It's nice to have more of our stuff now (from our shipment), and I think I'm now starting to get more comfortable in my surroundings. It is certainly a nice feeling in this holiday season.


If you missed parts 1-3, check out:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Alpine Vacation Part 3: On the Slopes

On Saturday morning, it was time to pack up and head to the German-speaking side of the mountain. Switzerland has 4 national languages (German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch), and so far on our adventure, we'd only visited the French portion.

The drive around the mountains was beautiful. Tiny villages dotted green hillsides, framed by the snow capped mountains in the distance. Around lunch time, we arrived at our destination, Adelboden. We followed the directions from Google Maps up a narrow road through the town. Once we started up, we realized it was probably a bad idea to take such a narrow road, but there was no turning back. At the top of the hill, the tires started spinning, and we couldn't go forward at all. We got out and kicked the snow and ice out from under the front of the car and tried again. (Okay, I admit it... this was mostly my husband. I supervised.) After a few tries, we finally made it onto the next road and to the Bristol Hotel. After checking in, we grabbed a very pretty lunch at a restaurant at a neighboring hotel.

Lunch

After lunch, we decided we didn't have enough daylight left to start skiing, but we could at least start the process of getting our lift tickets and our ski gear. After that was taken care of, we walked through the town and had a cup of hot wine at the festival that was going on for the beginning of the ski season.

Gathering Crowd at the Opening Day Festivities

The next day, we started with a fairly large breakfast at the hotel buffet. It was a good thing, too, because somehow we forgot to bring any cash or credit cards to the lifts, which meant no lunch for us.

There is an interesting system of lifts and gondolas, with the area being relatively large, so we tried to map out a plan. Since Mr. Traveler had never been skiing before, we thought we would start at the "baby slopes", as the man at the hotel so nicely called them. We planned to take a couple gondolas and then a bus to the area with the beginner slopes. However, when we got to the stop on the gondola where we were supposed to get off, the man riding with us told us that it was the wrong stop. We stayed on and the gondola rose further and further into the clouds until we could see nothing around us. When we got off at the top, we saw everyone putting on their skis and heading into the fog. We couldn't even tell where each slope went. Quickly, we got back on the gondola and headed back to our original destination.

When we arrived at Gelis, the location of the baby slopes, however, we couldn't find a small slope anywhere. We hiked up a little hill to see what was on the other side. At the top, I shouted down to Mr. Traveler, "You're not going to want to do this", seeing a ski lift below. Not seeing any other options, though, Mr. Traveler agreed to try the lift. As we got further and further up, however, we could both tell that we'd made a big mistake. We were now even further up in the clouds, had no visibility, and when we finally got to the top, there were only Red (medium) and Black (hard) slopes. Mr. Traveler looked incredibly scared and started backing toward the lift, "No, no. No!" I didn't see any options other than down the slope, but he went and talked to the guy running the lift, and he let us ride back down on the lift. I'm sure everyone at the lift got a kick out of our stupidity, but it was better than ending up with a broken leg.

Back at the bottom, we decided we needed to ask someone where to find an easier slope. The woman at the gondola pointed out a slope that we could ski down from the top of the gondola. It was a Blue (easy) slope, according to the map. We realized by this point, that the baby slopes were actually closed, so we figured this was our only chance to ski. At the top, I tried to tell Mr. Traveler everything I knew about skiing. The slope was a little steep, so I encouraged him to go back and forth instead of straight down. I've only been skiing a few times, myself, however, and I don't think my explanations helped too much. Soon, Mr. Traveler was face down in the snow with his arms and legs sprawled out around him. He picked himself up, and repeated the process over and over. Some of the falls were pretty spectacular, and I'm glad he didn't end up with anything worse than bruises on his body and his ego.

Mr. Traveler Skiing

By the time we made it to the bottom, Mr. Traveler was definitely wishing he had taken the advice of his coworkers, the people at the ski rental shop, and the employees at the hotel, and gone ahead and taken lessons. To be fair, the slope was quite challenging (I would compare it to a harder medium slope in the States), and had I known that the slopes were going to be so much more difficult than those I'd skied before, I probably would have insisted on lessons for both of us. Luckily, I ended the day with only a single fall on the skis (and one more walking with the ski boots down a hill).

Mr. Traveler's Response to Skiing

After a few times down the very long slope, Mr. Traveler decided to sit it out, while I made one last run down the mountain.

Pic from the Top of the Mountain (After the Fog Cleared)

We headed back into town and dropped our rented gear off at the hotel, since the rental place didn't open until 6pm for returns. On our way in, the lady at the hotel asked if we would be interested in having dinner at the hotel. Since we had no other plans (and had eaten pizza for 2 nights in a row), we said, "Sure." She told us that we would get a special price of 25 Swiss Francs a piece (on the way back to our rooms, I noticed the normal price was 50 per person). We thanked her, grabbed some tokens for the jacuzzis, and spent some time warming up in the saunas and hot tubs.

We had just enough time to shower and return the skis before dinner, which ended up consisting of a 5 course meal. The first course was an appetizer of a pepper-filled puff pastry with a green sauce. Then, we had a salad, followed by a carrot and coconut soup. Our main course consisted of a veal steak with stuffed potatoes and a pouch of green beans and cauliflower wrapped with bacon. Finally, we had a crepe with ice cream and whipped cream for dessert. Even without considering how much our other meals had cost, it was an amazing dinner for a good price.

Next, we head back to Geneva and finish up our trip.

Alpine Vacation Part 2: Taking a Hike

After leaving the castle in Montreux, we made the drive to Sion. When we got there, it was about 2 in the afternoon. We checked into the Ibis Hotel, where Mr. Traveler's company had made our reservation. Part of the reason we took this trip was because he had a business meeting on Friday in Sion at the hospital. Conveniently, this meant that his company paid for his plane ticket and the hotel for the nights we were in Sion.

Unfortunately, the hotel was no longer serving lunch, and by this point, we were getting pretty hungry. We headed into the city centre, where we had to wait for a place in the parking garage. Then, we started walking around and looking for a place to eat. Most of the kitchens at the restaurants were closed, and we found several places that were only serving drinks. Finally, we came upon a pub that had a sign for "non-stop service". We decided to give it a try. After looking at the menu, however, we realized we didn't have enough cash and the place didn't take credit cards. Even though the exchange rate of Swiss Francs to Dollars is almost 1:1, things in Switzerland are much more expensive. While you might pay $7.00 for a burger and fries at a bar in America, the equivalent was about $22.00 in Switzerland. Mr. Traveler ran down the street to the ATM while I examined the menu. We ended up ordering a crepe filled with potatoes, cheese, and ham to share.

After our late lunch, we walked around the city and window shopped at the expensive shops. When it started to get dark, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R before dinner.

View from Sion City Centre

The next day, Mr. Traveler had his meeting, so I decided to take a long walk towards the castle ruins on the hills in the middle of town. I wasn't sure if I could get up the hills or exactly how far away it was, but I figured I would walk for a little while until I got tired. An hour later, I was at the top, enjoying the amazing views.

Overlooking Sion

Castle Tourbillon (taken from Castle Valere)

The hills meet in the middle, and on one side is Château de Valere and on the other side, Château de Tourbillon. I climbed to Valere first, and was greeted by the presence of a history museum. The guide must have been excited to see a vistor during December, because he chatted on and on about the exhibits. The museum was very modern, with motion detectors which switched on the lights when a person came into each room. All of the exhibits had explanations in French, German, and English. It was great to learn a little bit more about the area's history. According to the museum pamphlet, "traces of human presence have been found at sites high in the mountains that were left untouched by the last Ice Age, such as the Paleolithic caves of Tanay in the Chablais (-50,000 to -30,000)." One of my favorite exhibits was a audiovisual presentation that showed how the landscape had changed from about -25,000 to the present.

When I finished viewing the museum, I stopped in for a bite to eat at the cafe. The lady working there was very friendly, and I ran into the guy from the museum who went out of his way to say hello again. Although the area is known for people being a little snooty, every single person we came into contact with on our trip was amazingly kind and helpful.
After lunch, I made one last stop on the same side of the hill, to visit the church. It is home to the world's oldest playable organ, dating from 1390.

World's Oldest Working Organ

I then headed back down to the center and up to the other side. The Tourbillon ruins were closed for the winter, but I was able to walk around the outside and see the views from even a higher vantage point.

From the Ruins of Tourbillon

Right when I was headed down the hill, Mr. Traveler gave me a call to let me know that he was done with work. I headed back to the hotel, and we took off on a mini driving adventure in the mountains. One of the villages we stopped by, Vex, was composed of almost all wooden buildings. It was interesting seeing the different communities in the mountains.

Taken on Our Evening Driving Adventure

When it started to get dark, we headed back into town and stopped at the Giroud winery, where we tasted a couple of local wines. They were both new styles for us, and very tasty. The city of Sion is well known for their wines.

Barrels of Wine at Giroud

Afterwards, we grabbed a couple pizzas at a local pizzeria. We tried to order a pizza to share, but the waiter would have none of it, insisting that the pizzas were not large enough. We ended up both finishing everything on our plates, so I guess he was right.

It was a pretty full day, and I was definitely tired when we got back to the hotel.

Next up, we travel to Adelboden and begin our ski adventure.

If you missed the first part of our adventure, see Part 1.

Alpine Vacation Part 1: Swiss Cheese and Christmas Lights

I know that it's been a little while since my last post. You have probably all been sitting on pins and needles anxiously awaiting for a new blog entry, right? Well, you are in luck! See, for the last week, my husband (from here on out, referred to as Mr. Traveler) and I have been vacationing in Switzerland. The internet situation was a little sketchy (one place had a paid internet kiosk, which was actually a closet with a small window). So, for the next couple days, I'll be playing catch up and posting about our trip.

Last Wednesday, we flew to Geneva, Switzerland. We had previously considered getting a hotel room in the city for the night, but it turned out that there was a large conference going on and "there was no room in the inn". Our plan, then was to fly into the city and then drive to our next stop, Montreux. Our flight was scheduled to land in Geneva at about 3:30. However, a flight delay put us in the city an hour later. We headed straight to the car rental desk, where we were told that the car had actually been rented from the French side and pointed to the other end of the airport. (The airport sits on the border between Switzerland and France.) Once we reached the French Hertz desk, the lady working there told us that the man at the other desk had made a mistake and the reservation was for Switzerland. (I guess there was confusion with the phone and fax numbers on the reservation, as they belonged to opposite sides.) Back across the airport in Switzerland, we successfully obtained the car and headed on our way. Unfortunately, by this time, it was dark, so our drive to Montreux was not as picturesque as we had hoped.

In Montreux, we stayed at a cute hotel (Villa Toscane) near the lake. We were surprised to find that our room actually had two bathrooms, both with a sink, toilet, and shower. It also had an interesting punch card -like key.

Room Key

Once we were checked into the hotel, we ventured out to the Christmas market (Montreux Noel). Most of the non-food vendors were closed, but there were plenty of food and drink stands to light up the place. A large Ferris wheel also brought an air of festivity to the event.

Montreux Noel at Night

After taking a few pictures, we settled on a fondue restaurant in the center of the festival for dinner. The restaurant had a small menu consisting of cheese fondues and a couple other local dishes.

Full of cheese, we headed back outside. By this point, it had started to rain, so we hurried back to the hotel room and settled in for the night.

On Thursday morning, we grabbed breakfast at the partner hotel across the street. Right on Lake Geneva, the breakfast area had some amazing views.

Taken from the Breakfast Area

Reflection with Mr. Traveler

After breakfast, we took a long walk so that we could see the sites in the day light. The combination of the lake and mountains was absolutely breathtaking, as can be seen above.



Home of the Montreux Jazz Festival, the area had a garden dedicated to jazz legends. Here, Mr. Traveler was able to capture this amazing shot:

Jazz Garden

Pretty soon, it was time to head back to the hotel and check out. The plan was to head to Sion, where Mr. Traveler had a meeting for work the following day. We wanted to allow plenty of time to make the trip in the day light, but leafing through the tourist pamphlets at the checkout desk, I soon found one more stop I wanted to make, Chillon Castle. Luckily, it wasn't out of our way, and we were able to make a stop at the castle and still make it to Sion at a reasonable hour.

Chillon Castle

Next up, our adventures in Sion!

Is It Christmas?

Yesterday, our shipment from the U.S. finally arrived. At first it was a little overwhelming. The movers brought in box after box and stacked them in our very small living area. (I actually think this picture makes the room look larger than it is.)

Hubby by the Boxes

We immediately started unpacking. It felt like Christmas because it had been so long since we packed the stuff, we forgot exactly what we had sent. It also felt like we had just been hit by a tornado, considering the amount of packaging that was soon strewn around the room. Nothing was broken, though, and we only had one minor disaster:

Apples to Apples Avalanche

I guess that when the movers were packing, they must have dropped this game. The box for the game was completely sealed shut, and all of these cards were scattered outside of it. This actually took my husband quite a bit of time to sort out because the cards were all mixed together and stuck between the folds in the box. While he did that, I tried to find some room in the kitchen cabinets and found some interesting items left by the landlords or a previous tenant.

Really... why would someone still have a phone this size?

The phone and some similar things found their way into the trash, and we made some room for more relevant items. All of the boxes are empty now, and we just have a few more things to put away. Once it is all in place, it should definitely feel a little more like home. As a mini-celebration, I already used many of the kitchen items (measuring cups, measuring spoons, cookie sheet, mixing bowls) to make Christmas cookies this afternoon.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow Some More

It has been snowing all day, so I brought my camera along for our shopping trip. I thought I'd share a few pictures of the snow with you.

Street Near Our House

Interesting Artwork in Front of the Opera House

Snow and Lights ... Really Makes it Feel Like Christmas

Taken at the Park Along the Canal

Other than that, we put up our own little Christmas tree to get ourselves in the holiday spirit.

Small Christmas Tree

I hope you are having a great holiday season so far!

Beauty in Different Places

The nice round of snow that we had for the past 2 days has started to melt and refreeze. This made my ~5 mile round trip bike ride to the gym a little interesting. (I chose this gym because an entire year costs the same as 2 months at any of the other gyms.) While most of the bike paths are completely dry, the streets and paths near our home and near the gym are still covered with a combination of ice and snow. Luckily, I managed to control my bike even when it slipped a couple of times and still have no falls to report (hopefully I'm not jinxing myself)!

Since the ride to and from the gym wasn't too interesting besides that, I thought I'd share a few photos that we've taken recently.

The other day, I took a walk in the park and played around with our SLR camera a bit. The result was a  bunch of pictures of ducks and other birds, varying in quality. Here are a couple of the better ones:

Taken at Wilhelmina Park

Another Duck at Wilhelmina

In contrast, the following pictures are from a more urban setting. During my hunt to find the disc golf course a few weeks ago, I had ridden through a tunnel of graffiti. The images on the wall were so amazing and colorful, that when my husband and I were in the area again, I insisted that we stop to ride through the tunnel again. We were on our way back from a long bike ride (to a canceled rugby game) and were freezing cold. I think it was worth the small, detour however. My favorite part about the tunnel is that the bright colors contrast so much with the so often gray skies.

Graffiti Tunnel

Image from Tunnel

I love how different the duck images are from those of the tunnel filled with graffiti but how they both, in their own way, represent beauty and the city of Utrecht.