Cheese, Wine and Trains

I LOVE SUISSE-ER-LAND!!!

The mountains, the rolling hills of grass, cows dotting the land, barns, and flowers on porches. I love the open country, the trains, the shopping, the chocolate, the hiking, the cheese, wine and locals.

I am so sad that tonight is my last night in Zurich. Sad that tomorrow is my last night in Germany. And yet...I am excited to return home to La Ripa...back to broken showers and stoves, muddy floors, dirt, flies and good memory making experiences.

Today was fun...interesting. Well, let me start with last night...After a day on the top of Mount Pilatus (full of hiking, clouds, swiss cheese fondue and the longest tobaggon ride in Switzerland) we came back to the hotel for dinner. At this hotel free wine is available to our disposal...a dangerous situation for my fun loving family. So, with the idea to walk around town and go to a live music bier garten, we filled coffee cups...yes coffee...with wine, put on the lids and walked out the door. Needless to say it was very fun to walk through old town...comparable to New Orleans or New York with the restraunts, people, clubs and music. Some areas were less than appropriate, but overall a good time. I even rode the randomly placed Ferris Wheel!! In Switzerland, you can not ride with drugs in your system, duh. Fortunately, a tiny alcholic influence is no big. They even let you stand in it! I had a lot of fun. We strolled through the streets until midnight, laughing (or rather, I was laughing at them and at certain occasions joining in with them or walking ahead pretending to not know them, :)) and joking. I slept very well.

Now, today...
Appenzell Switzerland. Do you remember my comment if you can not beat em, join em? I think I am mastering the fine art of not being embarrassed by travelling with a loud crowd. A loud crowd is not a bad thing, it is an opportunity to laugh quite a bit (and turn blush red in between). So, today was basically a day of shopping. We boarded the train at 10:00, now only arriving about ten minutes early. We are getting a little better at this group train travel thing. No one was left behind, no one got on the wrong car (a miracle in itself!).

The train wound through green country side, the simplest way to describe the beauty I was blessed to see. On the way I played Spades with my dad, mom and Cathy and we
were laughing the whole time. See, my mom hates to lose and my dad loves nothing more than to give her a hard time and they both change rules to their advantage in a teasing (slighty very competitive way), it was just pure fun. When we got to Appenzell, we shopped. My mom and I browsed the stores for clothes, junk and random stuff. We skipped lunch to continue our shopping endeavors, planning to eat on the train. And a picnic on the train we had indeed (We also spent a lot of time shopping for this). We had precisely 5, yes FIVE bottles of wine, 3 hunks of cheese (very GOOD cheese), three loaves of bread, and about eight pastries for dessert to share among seven people. We consumed it on the train. It was a very...loud...ride back. Fortunately our car was empty. And I could not even tell you what or why they (I just laughed and took movies) were so stinking loud...I guess things are funnier with wine.

I don't know, words really can't express the experience. Its weird writing out such brief descriptions of experiences so culturally enriching. I was thinking today that I only have about a month left in Europe. And the longer I am away from the states, the more this area feels like home, even without a community for Church, even when I don't speak a word of Dutch or German or whatever the language is now. I just love it, I love travelling. I am glad and blessed that I have decided to stay. I am not sure about coming home...the uncertainties about my future there threaten to haunt me. Pressures of getting a job, starting my life as an adult is intimidating!

One of the best parts of travelling with aunts, uncles, parents and friends is that I have come to not be afraid of getting older (except the body aches), ("older" people are actually pretty fun, also confirmed by guests at La Ripa). I felt able to interact with them as an adult most of the time (not just a daughter) and that has been a huge blessing. My parents and I used to fight a lot (as most teens do), and it is comforting to know that I am growing not only spiritually and personally, but also into a real adult. AHH!! Fortunately I am a kid at heart and still like chocolate from the chocolate bin, stupid jokes, skipping down paths and eating ice cream at 3 am. I am a kid at heart learning to function in a grown up society.

Curently a party somewhere is playing love shack and I wanna go dancing!!!! I want to party, I want to go to a wedding!! I REALLY want to ride a camel and ski in Europe. I need a job.

I think every person should get the chance to come to Europe, and if they don't get the chance, I hope to share my experiences with them or lend a little bit of me that they too may have such an enriching experience. WHICH REMINDS ME!!! I am starting a food movement. I'll have to write about this in my next blog. Stay posted. Now, I need sleep.


Lessons overall (some now remembered and others:)

- Never seperate a Munchen from his beer
- Wine on an empty stomach can have a different effect than originally planned
- Europeans are overall very well dressed
- Have I mentioned that Italian stores sell a ton of purple and yet few wear it?!
- Most cities are MUCH cleaner than America's cities
- Americans take a lot of what they are given/have for granted
- History is COOL
- I like Appenzell, mild cheese and Riesling
- European vacation: $$$
- Swiss chocolate: $$
- Getting cheered at from a Bachelor party, eating Swiss cheese with your parents, and yodeling at the top of a mountain: priceless