Jun 2007

Switzerland thus became the next destination for a chance to see beyond myself. I spent almost three weeks in this country of limited proportions but found each location I visited to contain its own special features which placed Switzerland among my top 3 favorite countries. The culturally and artistically inclined city of Basel was my first stop; my accommodation was a comfortable mattress in the loft of a swiss architect´s apartment (a recent member of coucsurfing.com). The small city has some great architectural features and is home to the two famous architects, Herzog and de Meuron (my couchsurfing host took some classes with them). I spent the day exploring the town, which was fairly quiet and empty as Sundays most shops and museums are closed, getting a feel for the city, crossing back and forth over the bridges spanning the Rhine, and eventually meeting up with my couchsurfing host in the evening. We had some great conversations about European politics, swiss culture, and traveling. Since it was raining out we decided to stay in and eat chocolate, drink tea, and have some guitar duet sessions which turned out to quite melodious and complimentary to the solitude of the falling rain. The next day I spent some more time visiting the picturesque corners and alley ways as well as some museums and art galleries before catching my the train to the largest city of Zurich.

A friend of a roommate in college named Jonas, who visited with us for about two weeks in Santa Barbara, lives in Zurich and was more than happy to host me for a few nights. We enjoyed each others company in Santa Barbara and looked forward to spending some time together again. His flatemate and the two fo us all got along so well. While they were in classes at the university I would stroll through the rain contemplating life and soaking up all of the feelings that arose while walking around this moderately sized modern yet antique-like city that was statistically found to provide the best quality of life anywhere in the world. When my hosts would return from class we would meet up for a beer and they would show me around some of their favorite parts of the city. At night we would relax in their apartment and Jonas and I would talk about art, intentionallity, film, and music - it was quite a pleasant stay. One of the days while they were in class I went to visit my aunt who lives about an hour south of Zurich. It was both a satisfactory and sobering experience because her husband was sick with cancer in the hospitable and I could tell it weighed heavily upon my aunt Maria. It is always a pleasure to meet new family members but I was also glad it was only for one day - after a while the stories of old and the pictures of friends and family can exhaust one´s interest - namely, my interest.

And so from Zurich I purchased a train ticket to Lucerne. Why Lucerne you might ask? Well I´ll tell you: I heard it had a nice lake and a big mountain, a combination that always awakens my senses and reminds me there is a reason for living. Upon arriving I stored my belongings in a train station locker, got the lowdown at the tourist information office, bought some cheap sandwiches for my hike, and hopped on the first ferry that would take me across the lake to Mt. Rigi. My ferry ticket also included a ticket on the train that went the steep mountain side to the peak of the hill. Since I loathe hiking to the same locations people can reach by car or train, I decided I would enjoy the peak by train and find a remote spot to venture by foot. The view was stunning from the top: large dark blue lake below, endless snow covered alps in the background, small mountain towns in the distance, a small isolated moutain in the near distance I would conquer - happiness was guaranteed. From the peak I set off towards the pasture land that would lead me up to a small snow covered mountain top that was free from the other tourists wayed down by cameras and nordic walking poles. I enjoyed my packed lunch on this pristine peak, with the warm sun on my back, and my feet cooling off on a grassy patch bare from snow. It was a great reminder of why I travel. It was this moment that I knew happiness in its purest form; the feeling of being alone in nature, the straining fatigue that the peak rewards, that blissful knowledge there has to be more than just physical matter, the taste of bread, meat, and lettuce, the chorus of the cow bells below, the fusion of the green hills topped by the frosting of white snow - it is a sweetness that can almost be tasted.

After getting down the mountain and heading to meet my couchsurfing hosts I suddenly realized, upon finding my hosts not at home, that I was day off. I had arranged to meet my couchsurfing hosts the day before and this day I had a hostel reservation in Interlaken that I had made several weeks earlier. Woops! After my profuse apologies to my hosts, via phone, I booked it to the train station to make sure I could make it to Interlaken before my hostel reception closed and they would charge me for a room regardless of me getting a bed. After several hours on the train and wandering through the city by the light of street lamps, I finally arrived at my hostel Interlaken dead tired and ready for bed. After trying the local brew and chatting with the bar tender and two of my roommates from Wisconsin, I was off to bed.

The next day, as planned, I met a good friend and future housemate, Cameron Sublett, and his girlfriend Jamie, who were also traveling in Switzerland. We spent the rainy day talking about our lives, recent experiences, some of the lack of comforts that come with the travelers lifestyle, and made some plans for the next few days. In the evening I met an Austrlian traveler who I hung out with whenever I wasnt with my friends from home. Come the morning we were off to go walking in a pristine valley visiting several waterfalls and enjoying the solitude only that fresh alpine mountain air can provide. The day was mellow but stunning, lots of walking, and lots of good chatting. The following day we took a train high up into the mountains to look upon one of my favorite views of this trip. Green hill sides with scattered swiss mountain houses topped by dominating rock cliffs on all sides and snow covered mountain in every vertical direction. Breathtaking. Its the sort of view the keeps a smile on your face and a sigh in your lungs. Superb. No more words necessary, it will only hinder the imagination that such a sight should instill in our hearts.

It was sad to leave Interlaken because I almost felt like a local by the end of my time there. We had our favorite cafe where they would recognize us, all the people at the bar of the hostel knew me because I had to keep changing rooms every night because they were so full, and we had a favorite kebab place we ate a few times. Alas. From Interlaken I was off to stay with a girl I met Australia in the lakeside town of Thun. She spend the day teaching in school while I procured one of the free bikes that many swiss cities will provide and rode all over the perfectly small and story-book appearing town and into the country side. It was a day when I heard the voice of truth speak to me of the adventures to come and they were thus revealed in a fashion that reminds one that the mind is not the only one worth listening to. I met my friend Julie and her boyfriend in the evening, we talked for a while, went to bed, and I slept in and met Julie again for lunch the next day before I was off to the capital city of Bern.

And my goodness this is turning into one damn long blog. I apologize for my verbose disposition at this moment. I shall limit my words for now on!

Bern. Just grand. Old town was beautiful in its own medieval villiage type of manner. Stayed with two fun couchsurfers guys. My highlight with them was a BBQ we had on a big hill that was over looking the city. We laughed a lot. We knew how to transition from serious conversation topics to laughing about ridiculous subjects, good times.

Lausanne. French part of Switzerland. (There are four parts of Switzerland, the German part in the north, the French part in the West, the Italian part in the South East, and the Romansh part in a few eastern parts). Makes for quite the diverse country, each part is very unique, and has its own culture. I met up with a couchsurfing girl who couldnt host me but offered to show me around a little while my host was at school - very friendly and interest. I really got along well with my couchsurfing host though. She was a phd student in robotics and we had some great conversations about ethics, biotechnology, cultural relativism, anthropology, and on and on. That evening we went out with her boyfriend, flat mate, and a few other guys to go see some bands that were playing at the university campus. It was a jolly good time. Slept in late the next day, I was given a friendly reminder why I dont like drinking a lot of white wine, enjoyed the sites of the town that overlooked lake Geneva, and then met up with my hosts and their friends for a traditional dinner of cheese fondue on my behalf (cheese fondue is reserved for the winter time but they consented for the sake of a foreigner such as myself).

Next stop, Zermatt, the town closest to the Matterhorn - practically right below it. Obviously lots of big mountains all around. I made my own trail up a quite steep mountain side and found joy overlooking the valley and town below. Sore legs and knees kept me from hiking again the next day so I was off to the Italian part of Switzerland - Locarno. Small town, quiet lake, a place for middle aged tourists, but pleasant enough to visit for a day. Next day on to Chur in the Romansh part of Switzerland. I didnt do too much site seeing here, mostly just hung out with my couch surfing hosts. The town wasnt anything too exciting and I was a little tired from being on the go so much. We went out for dinner at one of my hosts friends house and then for a few drinks after. Fun but nothing to toot the horn over.

Next day I was off to Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is the sixth-smallest independent nation in the world, population of about almost 34,000 people. Its on the eastern border of switzerland next to Austria. Its small and full of money. It has more registered companies than citizens - there are great tax benefits, so consider starting your business there. Also, open a bank account there if you get a chance, its even better than switzerland because they dont withhold 34% of your interest like the swiss do. Its almost like a little utopia town. Clean streets, nice modern buildings, artistic modern sculptures about, some few small parks, a big castle where the Prince lives overlooking the town. Funny little place. The evening was enjoyable. There were four californians, including myself, and an austrlian girl; we all went out for some drinks and found we had a whole room to our selves in one bar so we could pretty much do and say as we pleased. The other kids wanted to make a real night out of it while I knew I needed to wake up early to go visit my aunt the next day in Innsbruck in Austria. So at about 2 am or so I wandered back through the rain to the hostel that was on the outskirts of town.

And that was that.

Thanks for reading. I have no more words. I am very hungry and wish to keep the acids from eating through the walls of my stomach. So enjoy the truths you find and dont hurt the environment or animals or other people.

Cheers!
Karl

The Story

After having my eurail pass stolen while I was on my way to Denmark, everything was changed. I planned to use that pass to travel all over scandanvia and then back down to central europe but alas, it would not be so. I was kicked off the train in a small town in the north of Germany near the larger city of Hamburg. I decided to make my way to Hamburg and check in to a hostel there to mentally sort things out. I was expecting to spend a little time site seeing and trying to make some sort of plan for the rest of my time in Europe. But as soon as I checked in I met an Australia girl who was on the last few days of her trip throughout Europe. She too was also a little low in morale, tired from her long trip, and ready to return to normal life in Australia - we agreed it was a mutual comfort to be with each other in our current dispositions. We spent two days going for walks throughout the city, taking long coffee breaks in cafes, eating lots of bratwurst and pasteries, and our highlight of going to see a show at the newly built planetarium (a little hard to follow at times as it was all in German). As I didnt know where I was going next, I decided to join her on her way to Lubeck where she would be flying out of the next day. It was a quaint little town with a few historical buildings; my highlight was hanging out with a california guy who was playing at an open mic in an Irish bar that I was able to accompany on percussion. I still had not had any time to myself to think my travel plans over but Bel, my Australia friend, helped convinced me I should just leave for Berlin the same time she leaves for her plane, which turned out to be a great idea!

My time in Berlin was fantastic. I felt so at home there, mostly from the experiences I had with people I knew there. I stayed with a couchsurfer I contacted at last minute who was so friendly, welcoming, and quite interesting - we could certainly relate on many topics. My first day there my couchsurfing host and I enjoyed a long afternoon picnic, some enjoyable dinner conversation with her boyfriend and housemate, a house party hosted by another couchsurfer who was a really fun guy, and then some late night life. The next day, after some morning valley ball with my couchsurfing host, I met up with a girl I had met in Australia and planned to see again in Berlin. We had a rather pleasant day walking all over Berlin and then relaxing during the evening in a hookah bar with a friend of hers. The next day I met up with another couchsurfer who offered to show me around with her guests and saw some different places in east Berlin and learned more about the history of the city. It was so fascinating to hear about the stereotypes of the east that the western Berliners held even years after the wall fell. Even today there is still much higher unemployment in the east than in the west; the problem is also only being exacerbated by the many students who leave east berlin and go to work in west berlin where there are better paying jobs leaving the infrastructure of the east still to be fully developed. While walking about the city, I would seemlessly pass from east to west never really knowing which side I was on. The primary signifier are the cross walk lights which display different walking icons in the eastern part and in the western part. I also had another friend who I had stayed with in Australia but was originally from berlin and she had just moved back to the city. We really felt a close bond between us while in Australia and were overjoyed to meet again and share the stories of our travels together. One of my highlights was a night a group of us all met to see a Lithuanian jazz band play in a very alternative bar/lounge. I could have stayed in Berlin for the rest of my trip and been completely content. I felt so close to all these new people I had met and had such a wonderful time with each person. Many of them were as sad as I was when I had decided to move on.

From Berlin I went to stay with a couchsurfer in Dresden. Upon arriving he was nice enough to feed me lunch and then show me around the city and country side on his motorcycle. I was surprised by how old the city still looked, knowing that most of it was all rebuilt after the war because America and England bombed it to the ground. It is so sad to see that it is so often covered up by the holocaust statistics. For those who are not familiar with the history of it, the number of deaths (uncertain because of the large number of refugees in the city) was estimated anywhere in the 30,000s to 100,000s - horrific. Besides learning about the morbid history of what happened in world war II, I had a great time. The first night we met up with some other couchsurfers and went out to a few clubs and bars. The next day I slept in pretty late, explored the city for a little while, and then found a great jazz/blues/funk band playing in a hip jazz club in the more alternative part of town. I met a piano player there who I started chatting with about music and then found that his uncle is in actor in LA - one of his more famous roles was as the German pilot that brought the guns to El Guapo in Three Amigos. (Oh the joys of the random people you meet traveling...I also met a girl who's great grandfather invented cellophane).

Something I must mention is that I found the German people to be incredibly hospitable and kind. They were so friendly and always willing to help me out whenever I had a question. For example one evening I was looking at a bus time table and an old couple came up and were asking in German if I needed any help. Some fun cultural differences is that everyone drinks beer on the streets. Beer and Germany go hand and hand. There are also some other funny different things like in the same vending machines you can buy candy and soda you can also buy condoms and cigarettes as well as beer (or at least nonalcoholic beer in the ones I have seen); I always enjoy those different sights. Another thing that I was impressed with was how many Germans speak English fairly well.

From Dresden I moved on to the small town of Offenburg right near the Black Forest in the south of Germany. Yet another wonderful experience with a local couchsurfer. Out first day we went for a bike ride and a picnic at the local lake that was certainly one of the most relaxing days I had in a long time. We walked around the town, went for some dinner, had a few drinks, and called it a night. The next day we went to Strasbourg which is right over the border into France. It was a lovely little town that fit many of the stereotypes of cute european towns. In the afternoon her mother picked us up and gave us a ride to her fathers house that was out in the countryside near Freiburg. Even though only her younger brother could speak a little english, I really enjoyed spending time with her family. Her dad and I got along quite well, regardless of the language barriers. After a night of bar hopping in Freiburg with my host and her friend, I was off the next day to the much anticipated land of Switzerland.

I feel that Germany is a country I gained the most authentic experience of in Europe due to spending so much time with locals. Even my transportation was often with locals as I used an online ride sharing service for most of my transportation throughout Germany. Many times the people giving me rides were surprised an American even knew about it. I met so many people I hope to stay in touch with, the friends I made while traveling in Germany cultivated such a meaningful experience. While in Berlin I finally arranged my plans for flying back to the states, as I didnt know when I would even be ending my trip. On July 4 (kind of ironic) I fly from Munich, Germany to New York to spend a few days with a friend who lives there. I will then fly to Maui to see a very good family friend getting married as well as meet my parents there for a few days. I then will fly back to California, spend some time getting my things together, and then take about two weeks to slowly make my way down to San Diego, seeing friends along the way, where I will be moving for graduate school. I am currently in Bern, Switzerland and am absolutely in love with everything about this country. I will try to update you soon on the swiss travel. I will spend about another week in switzerland, go back to Austria to see some extended family and some friends there, hopefully make it down to Slovenia, then up to the south of Germany where I will meet a friend to take a road trip to the Czech Republic and back before I fly out of Munich.

The Reflection

The people I spend time with mean more to me now than the sites of the cities. I love the environments I am immersed in but am progressively starting to miss the settled life. I miss being able to have order in my life and the capacity to do what I want when I want. While traveling, especially while staying at other peoples houses, I dont have the same freedoms I would have if in my own flat, to come and go as I please, to go to bed when I want or stay up as late as I want, etc etc. But this is an important opportunity for me to let go of my desires, to instead be present to the here and now, and live without focusing on the past or present. I recognize more and more how vital these experiences are for the growth of my character. One will not be transformed unless they place themselves in challenging environments. One must change their perspective to see each challenging moment as a way of dealing with their own inadequacies and as a means of self improvement to embody our potential as an enlightened being free from the restraints of desire and misconceptions of time. There are parts of this trip that have been a complete breeze and others that have really stretched me. I am so happy that I decided to take this journey alone because it has forced me to reconsider my perspectives and identity. I have learned so many things about the world on this journey but also realize, humbled by my many limitations, it is a mere glimpse so beyond my ability to truly comprehend its myteries.

Karl

PS - sorry if there are typos, I had to write fast and no time for proof reading.