Hiking in La Palma

Tyler and I are not resort people. We are not joiners and we are not the kind of people who make friends quickly or easily. So it was very off-brand for us to decide to spend Christmas at a resort last year. Normally we try to find a remote island cottage with no neighbors and proximity to sand and sun. These are hard to come by in Europe in December. The previous year we researched “where is the hottest place in Europe in December”. We came up with The Canary Islands, Spanish islands off the coast of Western Sahara. It was a fantastic destination but it wasn’t exactly hot, hot. The food was amazing and we hiked in paradise but the weather was unpredictable. We only braved the sea once. Contrast this to our previous Christmases in Mexico, Hawaii and The Caribbean where we lolled around on the beach and snorkeled crystalline waters. La Palma was beautiful but windy, cold, rocky and formidable.

This past year we realized we wouldn’t be finding our winter island paradise in Europe so we pivoted in the opposite direction. We said “Let’s do to Finland!”. Lapland in December is not for independent travelers because it will kill you. You will freeze to death in the dark and be dead and your frozen body will be eaten by wolves. We knew doing our own thing was not going to be an option. So we did the thing we’d never done before; we booked a resort package… DUNDUNDUN!!!

We chose Nellim Wilderness Lodge based on an exhaustive internet search. Plus they had the Aurora bubble we really wanted to try! We chose a 4 day package that included snowmobiling, dog-sledding, snow-shoeing and a visit to a Sami reindeer farm. We had two nights in a hotel room at the lodge and then two nights in the bubble.

We spent a couple of lovely days exploring Helsinki before heading north to the great unknown. Helsinki was a fun city with great food, interesting architecture and a plethora of holiday charm. Fortified with a fun new winter hat purchased at an open air market, we headed off to the great white north.

We went in blindly not really knowing what to expect in terms of climate, landscape and overall “resortiness”. Our tiny plane landed in Ivalo and we found the person that was supposed to pick us up among the representatives from the 3 or 4 different resorts, one of them claiming to be the “Official” Santa’s Village. After waiting a short while, all of the remainder of the Nellim guests made themselves known to the driver. There was a middle-aged American couple, a middle-aged gay couple from England and a mother and her teen-aged son, also from England. Little did we know that these folks would become very familiar faces over the course of our stay. That’s resortin’ for ya!

At around 2:30 pm, just as the sun was setting, our driver escorted us to the van and we headed off to the resort. I snapped this first picture as we pulled out of the parking lot.

The quality of light was completely alien and there was a hushedness in the air that was almost palpable. As soon as settled into my seat I got really sleepy, finding it hard to stay awake on the 40 or so minute ride. In fact, everybody grew quiet and most began dozing soon after we got on the road; collective narcolepsy had overtaken the van.

Upon arrival at Nellim we were ushered into the main lodge and offered a late lunch as each group got checked in. The lodge was about as quintessential “rustic wilderness cabin” as you might imagine complete with animal skins, vintage skis, dusty taxidermy woodland critters and plenty of log cabin flair. Plus it was Christmastime so there was décor in the form of tinsel, lights and Santa tchotchkes. Lunch was served buffet style with a hearty mystery meat stew (later we learned it was reindeer, which was served in some form or another at nearly every meal), bread, salads and cold-cuts.

A woman in fancy traditional Finnish dress came over to check us in and give us waiver forms for all the dangerous activities they were going to let us do. We were also offered the opportunity to rent an “aurora phone” from the lodge, a tiny flip-phone that the staff would text whenever there was an aurora sighting.

After dropping our bags in our room we headed over to the equipment building and got fitted with snowsuits, boots, balaclava and gloves that we were to keep for the duration of our visit. Temperatures normally hover around zero degrees F during peak winter but throughout our stay it averaged around 30F, the lowest reaching 14F. We were extremely lucky with the weather. It was cold enough to feel “extreme” (at least to this California girl) but never painfully cold when we were all geared up.

Snow gear and aurora phone at the ready we headed to out lodge room to relax before dinner and the first evening’s activities. Soon after we started unpacking, the aurora phone beeped. With great excitement we ran outside to see what we could. People had gathered on the porch of the main lodge and stared into the sky in amazement. We joined them and I looked up and didn’t see a thing. That is until I saw a thing: A nebulous, undulating light shimmering in greens and purples. Watching there with the people gathered together it was like watching a fireworks show in slow motion with both hushed and shouted “oohs and ahhs”. The lights were showing in a couple of different parts of the sky, dissipating quickly and reappearing in another spot. Eventually the show slowed and the people dispersed.

I tried to get a picture. Stupid me neglected to learn how to use my DLSR camera before arriving and turns out you really need a tri-pod as well and some special lighting stuff. I spent way too much time dicking around with my camera instead of just experiencing the actual event. Once I realized I wouldn’t get any kind of perfect shot I was able to let go and live in the moment. We would see the lights two more times on the trip but they were never as strong as on that first night. This was the best I could do. Not too shabby, right?!

And so began our resort holiday. It reminded me so much of summer camp. We had our bunk assignments, we all ate together in the canteen three times a day, we consulted the schedule posted daily to see which activities we were assigned to and with which guide, we assembled and answered roll call when meeting for activities and the staff were a young, attractive international group who were all dating each other in some combination or another.

Here are some of the highlights and odd moments that stuck with me.

• Dogsledding day was amazing. I could not believe the casual freedom they gave us. Our guide basically showed us how to work the brake on the sled and instructed us to follow him. Before we even know what was happening we were in our own sled with a team of 6 dogs and off to the races! That would NEVER happen in the U.S. Never in a million years. It’s one of my favorite things about Europe. Personal responsibility means something here. It was exhilarating. I had to pee about an hour in and had to find the bank on the frozen lake for a little cover and try to pee while wearing an enormous snowsuit while everybody waited. I did not fall over or wet myself so I count that day well spent.
• Dining with the nice couple from Texas. We avoided politics but did talk about rodeo and too hot saunas.
• The daylight was a persistent blue/gray moving into inky blackness at about 4 pm each night. Anytime we weren’t actively moving or eating we’d get so, so sleepy. If we weren’t kept busy and on a schedule I imagine everybody would sleep all day and night. The human hibernation instinct is real!
• Enjoying Last Christmas on heavy rotation in the dining room all week and then to wake to the news that George Michael had died on Christmas day. I wanted to share my grief with somebody but was too shy to strike up a conversation with the 50 something gay couple that were there for fear of being presumptuous.
• Finally moving into our aurora bubble for the last two nights. It had grown cloudy by then so we never saw the lights from inside it but it was magical nonetheless.
• Being in the dining room when an aurora was sited and everybody’s little phone went off. A young boy running into the room shouting “aurora alert! aurora alert!”. Everybody leaving their dinners and rushing outside.
• Johnny the guide from Manchester by way of Sydney where he met his Finnish girlfriend who was also working at the resort. He took us out on to the frozen Lake Inari for a bonfire and his hands were painfully wrecked from having to start fires, cut wood and handle a white-hot iron tea kettle all season. He explained the difficulties of starting a fire in -20 degree weather.
• The young couple from Hong Kong who were super excited about their ongoing journey; a stay at the official Santa’s Village which turns out is most popular with Asian tourists.
• Taking the big bus back to the airport at the end of our trip and being greeted by elves hanging from the road sign for the airport, representatives of said Santa’s Village. Five more or so were working the inside of the airport, stealing hats, making mischief and chortling in ridiculous voices to delight or irritation of all.

Here’s a link to my full album

The continuation of my trip with Sam to Austria for Krampusfest led us next to Vienna. Vienna was just as shiny, glitzy and over the top in real life as it was in my imagination. We ogled the silverware at Hofburg Palace and even watched the famous Lipizzaner stallions at their morning workout. We ate Sacher torte at the Sacher hotel with all the other sucker tourists, saw the gold-gilded work of Klimt at the Belvedere Palace and made a pilgrimage to Freud’s home and office. Vienna was extremely clean, grand and opulent. Contrast that to our next destination, Prague which was bitterly cold, grimy and oh so gothic. We loved it!

The gloomy menace of Prague suited our sensibilities better than showy Vienna. Within an hour of arriving we got caught in a blizzard as we shared an enormous hunk of ham under the shadow of 11^th century Powder Gate.  We toured all the usual tourist highlights including the Charles Bridge, the Prague Castle and the Peace Wall but my favorite experience was one we lucked into by chance and that was a private tour of the Czech National Marionette Theater. Sam and I were walking through the Jewish quarter admiring all the wonderful art deco architecture when we passed an unusual doorway decorated with creepy wooden carvings. A sign indicated that this was the National Marionette Theater and that tours were conducted twice daily, the next one starting in about an hour.  Sounded cool. We decided to come back and see if there was a long line or what the deal was since the theater was closed at that time.

We came back at the appointed time and walked down a very narrow steep stairway into a little lobby. There was one gentleman at a kiosk but the rest of the theater was empty except for some workers with survey equipment in the lobby. We thought we were surely in the wrong place or that the schedule had changed but when we asked about the tour the man seemed open to the idea and sold us two very inexpensive tickets and asked us to wait in the theater. Oh, maybe we were late and everybody else was already in there. Nope! We entered the small 100 person art deco style theater (built in 1929) and took a seat. You can probably guess that the theater was completely empty. Sam and I looked at each a bit confused but definitely intrigued. After a couple of minutes an older gentleman came in and told us they were going to show us a short movie about their current production of Don Giovanni. Sounds great we said. The lights went down and a very funny little movie of Don Giovanni and his jester sidekick, in Marionette form naturally, gave a little tour of the city.

After the film the gentleman came back in and guided us backstage. Still not sure what we’d signed up for we were thrilled to have a private tour of backstage workings of the theater. We were given an opportunity to handle the marionettes and shown some basic techniques. The “actors” were carved from wood and surprisingly heavy! Our guide had been a member of the troupe for over 20 years and told us all about the history of the art in Prague. He then led us to the workshop where they build and restore the marionettes, some of them being over a hundred years old. We also saw their collection historic marionettes and set pieces. The tour over, we thanked our host and left out of the same empty lobby. What a strange and unique slice of Prague! We were so delighted to have stumbled upon this little gen in the heart of the city. It reminds me of the importance of wandering, eyes open and with no particular purpose, when traveling. It’s always the little surprises that stick with you in the end. The castle was amazing but giggling with my friend in the little underground marionette theater will be with me longer.

Here is the full album from my trip to Austria and Prague.

Earlier this week I returned from an amazing journey with my dear friend Sam who came to visit from California (more on that journey in a subsequent post). She had been planning a special trip for us since before Tyler and I even made the move to Zurich. She’s a twisted lady and she wanted to spend the holiday season with this guy!

This is Krampus and he’s Yin to Santa’s Yang (OK, St. Nicholas if you’re nasty). He’s part of an Alpine/Bavarian tradition that evolved as heathen elements synthesized with Christian Christmas customs and winter ceremonies. He’s been associated with the Christian devil (hence the chains and goat-like features). Krampus carries a birch branch switch to hit naughty children, sometimes stuffing them in a bag and taking them away to eat them, drown them or take them to Hell. So, naturally Sam wanted to meet this guy.

Sam researched the apex of Krampusness and found it was located in a small village in Austria called Klagenfurt so that’s were we set our sights. Happily, my Zurich friends Tracy and Shona also wanted to join in on the adventure! For months we had heard warning that things might get a little crazy. We heard about roving gangs of drunken young men who might be dangerous. We were also told that the Austrians were unfriendly and resentful of tourists. Where we about to jet off to some meth fueled hick town in the Austrian alps with the hope of meeting some monsters? Turns out that was only half true…

Sam and I arrived in Kalgenfurt in the dead of night. Our frighteningly small prop plane from Vienna coasted to a landing into a night so dark and foggy we couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of us. A bus transported us across the tarmac to the 2nd tiniest airport I have even been in (Chios, Greece wins 1st prize there). From there we hopped into a cab and set off to meet our friends at the hotel. Slinking through the suburbs in the dark of night we wondered what we would find when we got to town. What we found was a compact, tidy and charming as hell old Austrian town replete with cobbled pedestrian zones, twinkling Christmas lights, dramatically lit statues and monuments, warmly glowing shop windows selling beautiful hand-crafts and lots of cozy looking restaurants. Our hotel was right in the center of it all. So, not a drugged out small town with a chip on it’s shoulder and a taste for mayhem? Again, only half true…

We arrived on Friday, the Krampusnacht (the night the beasts come out to play) was scheduled for Saturday evening. That first night we had a lovely dinner of delicious Wiener Schnitzel and good local beer at a sweet little place called Der Magische Hut (The Magic Hat). After, we wondered around town a bit enjoying the lights and architecture.

The next day we enjoyed some shopping and gluhwein (hot, spiced wine sold everywhere during the holidays in Europe) at the Christmas market.

As we were wondering around we had our first monster sighting. It was a juvenile, perhaps 6 or 7 years of age. Despite its relatively small size it was nonetheless horrifying. It carried a horsehair switch and with some encouragement from its handler, beat me with it mercilessly.

Now that we had seen one of these monsters up close we knew we had better steel ourselves both physically and spiritually for battle. We headed back to the hotel to prepare ourselves for the battle ahead.

We lined up along the parade route quite early to be sure we got a good spot up front. We packed ourselves against the rail at an intersection and waited with the growing crowd, taking the occasional nip from some pocket booze to keep warm. Almost the entire crowd, save ourselves, appeared to be Austrian and relatively local. We stood next to a couple from Kalgenfurt with their young son who was about 5. Lucky for us they spoke English very well and we were able to bombard them with questions. We asked if the boy was going to be afraid. The mom told us that they had been gradually exposing him to Krampus to get him ready; reading stories and looking at pictures and videos. He was also able to handle a Krampus mask and even try it on in the days before. Both he and his parents were quite excited! After a time, the crowd (about 10 people deep behind us at the barricade) hushed and we could hear bells from afar. The firemen on patrol cleared the street and the parade began with a procession of young men wearing enormous bells around their waists. After they passed by, we looked up the now empty street which was slowly filling up with an ominous cloud of smoke…

From that moment on it was wall to wall monsters. The Krampus’ are all part of a club or guild and each has its own dedicated style and look. As they passed by, each beast more ferocious than the last, they gnawed and gnashed their terrible teeth and interacted with the crowd by shaking at the guard rail, stealing hats, plucking small children from the fence and carrying them on their shoulders all the while lashing out at people with their switches. One Krampus reached out with a long, black talon and marked my cheek with his devil’s soot. They also gave out candy to the kiddos. Because of the monstrous and macabre theme, it’s easy to forget that in the end, Krampus is for the Children. Though there were many more adults in attendance, the Krampus’ made special efforts to include and encourage the youngest in the crowd. And there were no tears from our small Austrian friend. He was having the time of his life. That twinkle we see in the eye of young American boys and girls as they sit in Santa’s lap at the mall was magnified ten fold in the eye of our young Austrian friend. He was seeing true magic and artistry at work. The costumes were elaborate and beautiful and the energy from the crowd and procession was palpable. We asked the Austrian couple if the parade was the same when they were kids and they said absolutely not. When they were little it was much scarier. There were no volunteer firemen doing crowd control, no barriers along the route and the Krampus’ were much freer with their switches and chains. They sounded wistful and reverent of the old days (this would have been no more than 20 yours ago; they were but young after all). It was extraordinary to be a part of this centuries old tradition and I felt especially thankful to be able to participate so fully as an outsider. The fears of a cold shoulder or roving bands of drunken youth with malice on the mind were wholly unfounded. We found a warm welcome there on the streets of Klagenfurt, surrounded by monsters and the screams of the young.

Enjoy these videos!

Here are a few more shots from the parade. It was hard to get good ones of the Krampus’ since they were constantly in motion. As usual, I will include a link to my online album which has much better photo quality than this blog.

Today the weather is gray and foggy; threatening rain. It’s time for me to dig out my sweaters and thick wool socks. It’s hard to believe October is already gone! The fall here is glorious but it doesn’t last very long. I’ve been trying to capture the season as I take my walks around the city.

This year I was lucky to be invited to my first ever Oktoberfest celebration! In these parts, Oktoberfest parties actually start in mid to late September. We attended one the second week of October and it was the last one of the year. It was located in a smallish village about 45 minutes down the lake from us in Zurich. Now get that “quaint village” image out of your head. The party took place in a giant outdoor tent located next to a very modern business hotel. Yes, the band were wearing lederhosen but played electric guitars instead of tubas and no alp horns were to be seen. Even so, centuries of tradition were clearly being honored at this party!

To get into the spirit I bought myself a drindle, a traditional farm-woman’s dress. I was so surprised to learn that EVERYBODY wears traditional clothes at Oktoberfest and that all my friends already owed drindles! Never one to let a chance to play dress up pass me by I made sure I was ready. My turn for a little cultural appropriation!

A drindle is a really fun thing to wear and is super practical! It’s extremely comfortable, offers good coverage with just a little bit of sass up top and it has roomy pockets! It is built to suit a day’s hard work on a farm or a night of dancing and drinking beer with friends. I chose the latter occasion to put mine to the test. I really wish there were more occasions for me to wear my drindle. I know that if I ever go on that Sound of Music tour in Austria I’m bringing it so I can twirl the hills in style.

The evening started off with a round of giant beers and some tasty food, all included in our ticket price. I know it looks like an impossible amount of beer but its volume is matched with a very low alcohol content. This is a good thing, a very good thing! I soon learned the true joy of Oktoberfest; Ein Prosit! Every ten minutes the band strikes up with the song Ein Prosit. It’s a first class drinking song complete with a call and response section, curse words and ending with everyone taking a drink!

Awe, look how fresh-faced and wholesome we look! Remember when I said the beer was weak? It is! It really is! But eventually it does the things that beer is known to do and as the evening progressed we ended up making a lot of new friends. And dancing on the benches. And taking many bathroom breaks where we’d make even more new friends!

The beer hall was filled with surprising diversity! Young and old alike, all dressed in traditional clothing. Most of the crowd was Swiss but like our own group (Kiwi, Aussie, Finnish and American), lots were from all over the world! We met Folks from Germany, Brazil, Serbia and India. One guy heard us speaking English and got excited and so ran over to talk to us. He had a German accent but he was wearing  ridiculous red alligator cowboy boots. He asked us to guess where he was from. I guessed Texas based on said boots and he said yes with a tear of joy in his eye! His mom is Swiss but his dad is from Texas and he spent time there as a child. He was ecstatic that I had guessed correctly, bless his heart. Those boots were so over the top “look at me I’m from Texas” but I think you need to be American to identify that very specific cultural indicator. At any rate, he was super stoked and a grand time was had by all. What a great celebration!

October wasn’t all about beer drinking (a fact Tyler can attest to). We also made time to enjoy the glorious fall weather.This past Sunday we took a few trains, a bus and a very sketchy looking cable car in order to take a hike along the Wildmannlisloch trail, located in the northeast near St. Gallen. We were rewarded with stunning views resplendent with fall colors bathed in hazy slanted light and shadow. Simply stunning!

The next day, Halloween was overcast, gray and cold. And if this year is anything like last, it will stay this way for quite a while. Oh well, at least now it’s officially fondue season!

As usual, the photos here don’t look so great. Have a look at this album for better quality!

I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be smarter or more sophisticated than I actually am. Until recently my only association with Croatia was Goran Visnjic who played hot doctor with a troubled past Luka Kovac on ER. Through his character I learned that there was a bad war and that bad things happened after the fall of the soviet empire. Seriously, woefully ignorant here. In the 90’s I was too preoccupied with our own involvement with the first Gulf War to be aware of global politics elsewhere. Plus there was all the flannel to consider and raves to discover!

Last year my aunt suggested a trip to Croatia as she’d heard it was an inexpensive Mediterranean destination with great beaches. That was the first time I’d considered visiting. So when Tyler told me his team would be having an off-site in Dubrovnik I jumped at the chance to tag along for the weekend.

Tyler was already in town so I flew in and met him at our hotel. All afternoon it stormed and thundered and deluged. We stayed cozy in our room reading and napping until  finally venturing our for a lovely sushi dinner at a restaurant nearby. We never eat Sushi in Zurich because its not very good here and costs almost as much as a mid-sized car. It’s always a treat eating out elsewhere because it feels like we’re getting away with something. “EVERYTHING IS SO CHEAP” we scream! Since the forecast was for good weather the next day, on our way out we booked a boat tour of three nearby islands for Saturday morning.

Tourism is Croatia’s #1 industry at the moment and you certainly get the vibe that the service industries (66% GDP) are working very hard to accommodate the incredibly large numbers of tourists that pass through Dubrovnik each year. The service staff (hotels, tour operators, servers etc) we spoke to were all super helpful, gracious and friendly. They also didn’t mind talking about the way things used to be. Our front desk guy at the hotel told us how lucky he was to be working for a Swedish company (turns out the hotel is run by a Swedish chain, which explains the brand new sauna we christened). He said many of the Croatian companies were still quite corrupt and were having a had time adjusting to the new free-market economy. Croatia has had tourists for decades but prior to independence in 1991, the majority of visitors were wealthy Russians. He told us things are improving and there are increasing opportunities but that the old folks will tell you it was better under communism. We got the impression that Croatia was still working out its national identity as it rushes towards full integration within the E.U. (it’s only been an official member since 2013 and their currency is the Kuna, not the Euro). This all to say that tourism is booming and the city of Dubrovnik is a bustle with tourists from all over Europe, Asia and North America. According to one cab driver, much of the recent boom is due to an increase in cruise ships docking in the marina (which was getting a complete rebuild on our visit). However, he thought the biggest reason for the influx was the popularity of Game of Thrones and Star Wars (episode VIII), both of which have filmed on location in Dubrovnik. I believe him! In the city center there a countless GOT and SW themed souvenir shops hawking everything from t-shirts to life-sized replicas of The Iron Throne. You can also choose from a plethora of GOT themed walking or boat tours to all the film locations.

The weather was indeed better on Saturday and our non-GOT themed boat tour left early the next morning. We chose a small outfit and shared a little boat with two other parties, a retired couple from Scotland and a mother and son from Israel. We had sun and a gentle breeze as we tootled around the bay visiting the Elafiti islands; Lopud, Sipan and Kolocep.

The first of the three islands, Lopud, had a great big old monastery that was closed for restoration and a wonderful sandy beach. No cars are allowed on the island so your choices are to walk or to rent a golf cart. He hiked to the beach and had a swim in the perfectly clear and bath-water warm Mediterranean sea. What a treat! The other two islands each had their own charm. Sipan was home to a charming fishing village of about 500 residents and was lush with citrus, olives and bougainvillea.

Kolocep was dominated by an upscale resort hotel (I tried to sneak in and use their bathroom to change into my swimsuit and was stymied by security. I changed in nearby bushes because I am class act, what?) and lively beach-front bar scene.

At each stop of our island tour we kept running into the same tourists on their own island tours confirming a brisk tourist trade with little operations making the same routes day after day. However, we caught the very tail end of the season. All reports are that after mid-October things drop off significantly. I’m sure it’s quite a different scene during the off-season. Our day on the high seas was capped with a lovely harborside meal of whole grilled fish for me and seafood pasta for Tyler where we enjoyed the company of the local cat population and a spectacular sunset.

The next morning we were awoken by driving rain and more thunder. Our plan was to go into the old town and walk around the city walls. Thankfully, after bit of a lie-in and late breakfast, the rain had died down to a steady drizzle and we decided we could walk the 4 miles from our Lapad Island hotel to the city center. Fun fact! There are no sidewalks on Lapad island! We played a fun game called “Will This Car Slow Down or Splash us With a Puddle?”. Well, we won that game and made it to our destination sprinkled not soaked. On our way we passed by this beast, used during the most recent war for independence.

A colorful reminder of how recent these events were!

As we neared the entrance to the old city the sun came out as did the hoards of slow walking zombiesque tourists. This made navigating the narrow wall that encircles the city challenging. There were lots of bottlenecks and people being dumb and doing ALL my least favorite pet peeves (stopping at the top or bottom or a staircase to look at your phone or tie a shoe or whatever, stopping abruptly to take selfies with your stupid stick or simply picking the absolute worst spot to stop and gape when there are 30 people behind you just trying to live their lives). I admit it, I got stabby. I had to check myself: What an amazing place to be! The old city is beyond majestic. I was reminded of the medinas of Morocco as well as the medieval hill towns of Italy. High up on the wall you can look down into the morass of the city below. Narrow, twisty alleyways, grand boulevards, plazas teeming with cafes and shops, ornate cathedrals, quiet gardens and rooftop terraces as far as the eye can see; all surrounded by an aquamarine sea dotted with lush green islands. Once I found my center I ceased to feel stabby and was able to go with the (OH SO SLOW) flow, taking it all in as it came (a short break for a beer and some shade from the hot sun didn’t hurt my mood either).

After walking the wall and poking around inside the city we decided to take the (Swiss built!) cable car to the top of the hill overlooking the city. Wow! What a treat. At the top we were treated not only to spectacular views of the city below but also of the mountains and foothills to the east. The hilltop is also home to Fort Imperial, a strategic fort constructed during the French occupation of the early 1800’s and used more recently in the 1991 Serbian invasion. With all the walls and forts everywhere you get a real sense for how besieged this city has been over the centuries. While I took a much needed rest, Tyler checked out the Homeland War museum located inside the fort. This prompted Tyler to do a good deal of research on the war so if you have questions you know who to ask (HINT: it’s not me).

After a long day of sightseeing, we returned to our hotel for a rest before heading out to a lovely final dinner at a trendy and delicious bistro not far from our hotel.

The next morning, as the clouds and rain came back with a vengeance, we headed to the tiny airport for our flight back to Zurich. We got there ridiculously early thinking we’d spend the time looking around at the shops and getting a bite to eat but there was not much too see. We were so surprised at how small it was considering the numbers of tourists that flock to Dubrovnik every summer. Another reminder that the country and economy are in transition. I was out of high school before Croatia declared independence! Our cab driver pointed out a new terminal that was under construction and I got the feeling that in 5 or 10 years time, Dubrovnik will be a much changed place. Maybe then you’ll be able to get a hot meal at the airport but for the time being, be content with a pre-made sandwich. And bring a book!

And that’s my Croatian weekend: Short and sweet! I got to swim in the Mediterranean sea, the locals we interacted with were gracious and welcoming, the weather was glorious when it was glorious, wet when it was wet and the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik was truly a world class attraction (and it is a UNESCO world heritage site). From the little of it I’ve seen, Croatia is a beautiful country working hard to become a major player in the European Union as it moves away from it’s recent and historic struggles for independence and its communist past. I would love to visit Croatia again and explore some of the less trodden towns and countrysides. Even from the short glimpse I’ve seen I can say without hesitation that its a beautiful country and I highly recommend visiting it!

Here is an album of my photos from the trip. I’m bummed that the in blog WordPress photo quality is so low. I took some amazing shots, you gotta believe me!

I’m disappointed in myself for letting the blog go un-updated for so long. I had all intentions of writing an in depth post about my time volunteering in Greece yet found myself unable to put into words what I wanted to convey. As such I got stuck, life moved on and nary a post was made. What I can say (ever so briefly) is that my eyes and heart were opened and the relationships, experiences and observations made during those whirlwind two weeks still shape and inform my perspective of Europe, the world and my own life every day.

Here is a summary of the trips, events and visits I’ve had since I got back from Chios in early March:

• I made chicken mole, there is still some in my freezer. It took me three days to source the ingredients. It was delicious.
• At the end of March, Tyler and I took a wonderful trip to Amsterdam and Dublin. In Amsterdam we stayed on a funky little houseboat and met up with our Cali friends Dave, Darien and their daughter Annika. We went to karaoke where we realized the Dutch are absurdly tall. We took out a boat and puttered through the canals in the rain. We ate a lot of french fries. Beers were also consumed. In Dublin Tyler and I had the chance to meet up with an old friend, Rachel, who has been living there for a number of years. I had forgotten how great it is to have a local guide! In town we ate some great food and stayed in a really cool hotel that is a converted 19th century schoolhouse. We took a day trip to Galway via the Connemara countryside. Tyler had to return to work and I stayed on to meet up with some
  

  Tyler and I looking for my pony in Connemara.

  other friends from California. Teresa and Mike are both musicians and I had the incredible opportunity to watch them play a gig and meet a few wonderful Irish musicians to boot. I even sat in and sang Jolene! It was an exciting and exhilarating experience. Rachel and I also made a day trip to the fabulous Castletown House, an early 18th century manor house. I finished off my Dublin adventure by taking a cross-country horseback ride with a lot of thrilling galloping and jumps before I popped over to London for a mini-reunion of volunteers I met while working on Chios.

  

  Chios volunteers in London.

• We had a visit from Pam, Tyler’s mom, in April and took some fun day-trips from Zurich. We visited Liechtenstein (can cross yet another country off my list!) where we saw the crown jewels (so. many. Fabrege. eggs.), the National museum and the postage stamp museum. On our way back to Zurich we swung by HeidiDorf village, the setting for Swiss author Johanna Spyri’s 1881 classic. During Pam’s
  

  Oldest biggest cuckoo clock in the Black Forest

  visit we also made a trip to Germany’s Black Forest where we sampled some of the famed cake, checked out a surprisingly intriguing clock museum and saw both the “World’s Biggest Cuckoo Clock” and the “World’s OLDEST Biggest Cuckoo Clock”. The Black Forest; keeping Guinness on the ball since 1986 (date of the latter clock). Pam was lucky enough to be in town for the bonkers Swiss tradition of Sechseläuten, an annual festival and parade that is capped with the burning of The Böögg. The Böögg is a snowman set atop a giant pyre. the Pyre is lit and men on horseback gallop around its base. Everybody waits to see how long it will take before The Böögg is consumed by fire and his head (which has been packed with explosives) blows up. This is a live televised event. Bets are placed as to how long before the head goes up. The longer it takes, the longer we have to wait for spring.

  

  Picture perfect covered bridge in Lichtenstein

• May brought more family to us with a visit from my Aunt Dee who I met in Amsterdam. We had a wonderful time visiting the museums, eating giant pancakes and soaking up the spring sunshine. Dee returned with me to Zurich and we were met with more love as my auntie from another mantie (sorry, that was hella sweaty) Patrice and her son Jessie came to visit. My grand plan to show off our glorious Swiss Alps with a day trip to Luzerne and Mt. Pilatus was stymied by rain, snow and zero visibility. We had a lovely time all the same sipping wine out of coffee cups and staring out into the white abyss. After bidding adieu to Jessie, Dee, Patrice and myself hit the rails and took a train to the South of France to visit our dear friend Christine. Christine, who is French, recently moved back to France after having lived in the U.S. for many decades. Her house is in the breathtaking medieval village of Pujols. Again I was so glad to experience a place with a local guide! It makes such a difference and gives one the feeling of superiority over the lowly “tourists”. Christine’s amazing hospitality had us dining al fresco on her balcony, enjoying the best of the village market produce, traipsing across fields of wildflowers in the countryside and sipping locally made moonshine. It was utterly magical. And should you think the adventure ends here, you’re very wrong!

• After leaving Patrice and Christine in France (don’t judge, I know for a fact that Patrice eventually made if back to Berkeley!) Dee and I embarked on a bigger adventure. Taking the train to Toulouse, we flew to Casablanca to begin a Moroccan excursion. Travel in Morocco was challenging and rewarding. We got a taste of both ancient and modern Morocco and witnessed a country struggling to balance both. We witnessed poverty and generosity, beauty and squalor, Western aspirations and aversions. We rode camels through the Sahara desert and had dinner under the stars with a Bedouin guide. Lest our reverence be too earnest, we also saw the heavily guarded mines just over the hill and heard about the devastating environmental degradation of the desert caused by unrestricted and rampant use both private and commercial. We also learned that two single gals driving around Morocco isn’t for the faint of heart but can be extremely rewarding, especially in hindsight! Dee and I capped our Morocco trip with a horseback ride through the countryside and ended our wonderful visit with a cocktail in Montmarte, Paris. Where is Tyler all this time you ask? Poor man has been working tirelessly back home in Zurich. He needed a break so he joined me in Paris for a long, well deserved weekend. We ate, we walked, we looked at stuff, we ate some more.

• Finally home for more than a week at a time we enjoyed the fine early summer weather of May/June in Zurich. A visit from Rachel up from Dublin for the weekend found us day-tripping to Gruyere, you know, like the cheese. Adorable town, lovely castle and incongruously, crazy smutty H.R. Giger museum (the designer of the Alien creatures from the movies, Swiss born Giger once lived in the village of Gruyère).

• Comes June and Tyler and I’s 5th wedding anniversary! We booked a remote cottage in Umbria for the week. Tyler got to read an entire book! We visited the ancient walled city of Orvieto and the stunning hilltop village of Civita di Bagnoregio. We ate fresh truffles brought to us by the kindly groundskeeper of our cottage and picked our own veggies out of the garden. Finally we had dinner in the town of Macerino in the shadow of the villa we were married in. I had forgotten how glorious the air smells in that region, heady with the sweet smells of jasmine and broom brush and the herbal notes of rosemary and wild sage. Truly magical.

• July brought Swiss national day where there was an airshow and carnival followed by fireworks. I also took myself to see Beyonce in concert on her Zurich stop of the Formation Tour. She slayed.

• Late in July I made my first journey back to the U.S. since we arrived in Zurich  in August of 2015. I can’t believe it’s been a year already yet it also seems like it’s been much longer given the amount of traveling and number of random adventures we’ve had! Since I probably saw most of you at some point during that trip I’ll keep it brief. My book club is still better than your book club. Our Tahoe offsite #2 was beyond compare. My niece is still cuter than your niece. The Bay Area is still my favorite place to eat in the whole world (sorry Paris, ya tart!).

• Returning home was a very special experience as was returning home from returning home. This fall Tyler and I have been concentrating on work and participating in various social events (thank you to everybody who miraculously keeps inviting us to things!) here in town. Wanting to invest more of myself here in Zurich, I started taking an intensive German class in September. I also started an English Conversation workshop for Spooglers (spouses of Googlers) with the help of my good friend Tracy. In addition, I’ve made an earnest promise to myself to write every day. Not necessarily on the blog but I mention it here in an effort to keep myself honest. I will be updating regularly though so don’t unbookmark it just yet!

So… good lord! You’re still here? What a long and convoluted post. But it’s been a long and convoluted year so I suppose it’s fitting. As our second year living abroad charges forward I have so much to look forward to and to be thankful for.

Last week a fellow spoogler posted a little video of a steel drum band dressed up like weird mushroom clowns on Facebook. The caption read ” the Fasnacht fun begins!”. Something like this happening in the streets of Berkeley would be unremarkable but in the usually staid Zurich I was very curious! I looked up “Fasnacht” and found out that it is Switzerland’s version of carnival (think Brazil and New Orleans). A Christian celebration proceeding Lent, Fasncacht incorporates many of the same rituals as those found in other countries. A week of celebration, music and parties are capped with a colorful parade. Just in time I noted that Zurich’s parade would be the on Sunday of that week. Zurich is a bit more secular/Protestant than some of the other more Catholic cites (Basel and Bern really do it up) but still let’s her hair down for the parade.

On Sunday Tyler and I bundled up against the cold and drizzle and headed out to the parade route in the center of the Old City. We had no idea what to expect but it was fun to speculate as other parade watchers began to line the Munsterbruke that connects two of the city’s grandest churches on either side of the Limmat river.

The parade began and the first group was a band of hippes! Huh? Maybe this was Berkeley after all?

Next came a gaggle of witches, the first of many. These witches wore elaborate wooden masks and carried brooms. We soon found out why they had the brooms; they also carried bags and bags of confetti and straw to throw at the spectators. After mercilessly confetti bombing people the witches would comically sweep confetti onto peoples feet or tap people on the bottom with their brooms.

Here’s what happened to me! Check out the lady at the end of the video telling me I need to wipe the confetti from my glasses. No duh, lady. I was totally covered!

The witches were part of a guild as are each parade contingency. They work on their costumes and presentations throughout the year in anticipation of carneval (German spelling) season. There were many bands of witches as well as demonically dressed guilds, politically satirical groups, marching bands and various animals. Here’s a taste:

Throughout there was much joviality and crowd interaction. Colorful confetti throwing was a major component and so was the pulling of pranks on the audience. Many a lady was kissed on the cheek (myself included!) by frightfully masked creatures, some had hats and scarfs stolen (and returned) and lots and lots of candy was thrown to the eager children lining the route.

I was most impressed by the intricate masks that called to mind folklore of old. I’m sure some of these costumes and traditions have been passed drown through many generations.

The tail end of the parade brought the South American contingents. There were representatives from Bolivia, Peru and The Dominican Republic. Those groups wore colorful national costume, danced and played music.

I’m so glad we found out about Fasnacht in time to enjoy the parade! Otherwise we would have missed out on a uniquely Swiss cultural celebration.

Here’s a link to my full photo album.

Now, somebody has to go clean up all that confetti!

Tyler had two full weeks off over Christmas and New Years (he had to take the time or lose it). We were on La Palma for just the week of Christmas so the following week we had a staycation. We went to the movies, enjoyed some lovely hikes around town and made a good start on watching the Making of a Murderer documentary on netflix! However, with cabin fever starting to set in, at the last minute we decided to explore a bit further afield.

Since the weather had been so mild I was jonesing to have my Swiss alpine fantasies realized. These fantasies are rooted in my childhood memories of spent at Long Barn (Tuolumune County) or Lake Tahoe. Those were my formative snow experiences. My mom and aunt would, some Christmases, haul us girls and and all of our gifts and embark on a 3 plus hour car ride to the snow so we could have a white Christmas. We’d usually rent a lodge room or a cabin and search out a Charley Brown tree (a fallen pine branch) to decorate with tinsel and a string of colored lights we brought along. Both Long Barn and Tahoe featured lots of faux Swiss chalet chic architecture and decor. Living in Switzerland is weird for me because I understand intellectually that Swiss alpine architecture is not inherently kitschy but it always has the look of artifice to me. I imagine that inside every Heidi looking facade there is a cozy room decorated with birch wood framed cross stitch scenes of bear, fish or moose, vintage snow shoes on the wall and plush shag carpeting underfoot. Traditional Swiss architecture delights me and triggers wonderful memories.

The Hannas at Long Barn

And so with these visions of holidays past I looked for a nearby ski village for us to explore. Since there had been so little snow this year, many of the resort areas were hurting for trade. I figured we could get a good last minute deal. And so we did. I booked us a room at a place called The River House Hotel in the town of Andermatt, about a 2 hour train ride from Zurich for the next night. Not really knowing what to expect we packed an overnight bag and headed to the train station the next morning. To my delight, the weather report said to expect snow overnight and into the next day. Just the frosting on the fantasy I wanted!

There was no snow to be seen for most of the train ride up into the mountains. Not until we changed trains and ascended on small part of the famed Glacier Express route did we see a marked change in the terrain.

We got off at the little train station and walked into town. What a delightful surprise! It was just as I had hoped. Andermatt is a small, high alpine village (population 1,200) in the canton of Uri. A river runs through the center of town which our hotel abutted. The hotel is in a beautifully restored 250 year old house in the village center.

The red building is our hotel.

Our room retained it’s original wood floors and ceilings and even had antique skis on the walls to give it that extra kick of kitsch and nostalgia. Once we arrived we put our things away and went for a short hike around to get our bearings just as a light snow began to fall.

Andermatt from above:

After our walk we had a rest as the snow continued to fall. Before heading out for dinner we stopped in the town’s little museum. We didn’t expect much from the size and description. It seemed very random. Here’s the description:  “The museum hosts various permanent exhibitions. These include everyday domestic living during the period 1780/1800, the history of the valley and its culture, the skiing legend Bernhard Russi, tourism, the military, mountain agriculture, Alpine animals, mule transport, and a natural history collection. In addition, temporary exhibitions are displayed in the basement.”

Well, this museum turned out to be delightful and excellently curated. The building itself was a marvel; an fine restored house built in 1786. For most of our visit we were the only guests. Each room housed a different type of exhibit and in front of each room was a basket of absurdly large slippers to put on so as not to damage the original parquet floors. And as advertised it had it all; geodes, Olympic medals, arrowheads, army cots and beautiful antiques.

That night we had a splendid dinner at a Ticino restaurant (Ticino being the Italian speaking region of Switzerland which we were bordering). The waiter encouraged us to try the rigatoni with marmot ragout, the chef’s specialty. How could we say no?

The snow kept falling softly through the night.

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast and took one last walk through town (mostly so I could get use of the snow boots I bought but had not yet gotten to use). We also peeked into the big fancy new luxury resort they have on the other side of the village. It was super tacky and oh so “fancy”. A lot of foreign investors wanting to cash in on the ski trade here but it seemed like much of the new construction was vacant. We weren’t sure if the boom was just ramping up or slowing down. At any rate, Switzerland is very protective of it’s heritage so our last impressions of Andermatt were decidedly old fashioned, and romantic. In the case here, the modern resort hotel held all the kitsch and the Heidi alpine chalets of my memories held all the charm.