The Glacier Express to Awesome

I am so blessed to have amazing friends. If you are reading this, I consider it a blessing that you would take time out of your day to get a preview of my life abroad. However, one friend in particular has greatly exceeded my expectations and flown all the way from Los Angeles, California to spend 10 days with me in my world. So this blog is dedicated to a Miss Nynette Marceth. Without her I would have taken the Galcier Express to the Matterhorn, but instead we took the Glacier Express to Awesome.

Saturday morning Nynette and I boarded a short train to Chur, Switzerland where we had a 30 minute layover (including a quick photo op of a Denver Broncos Banner randomly hung in the street) before the departure of the Glacier Express. As Nynette's travel book puts it, there is nothing "express" about the Glacier Express. The train crawls at a top speed of probably 30-40 mph and travels through one of the most picturesque treks in the Swiss Alps. It daparts from St. Moritz/Davos and 6 hours later arrives in Zermatt, Switzerland, the famous town at the base of the Matterhorn.

The Matterhorn at Noon

For obvious reasons, this particular train ride is a popular experience for tourists (such as Nynette and I). But no highly touristic experience is complete without the token Asian tourists (excuse the racist generalization, but don't pretend you don't know what I am talking about). For some reason Asian tourists, with their mega zoom lenses and baseball caps purchased at the local souvenier shop, somehow make everything more entertatining. I don't know if it is because they take pictures of everything and thus the rest of us are able to notice things that we may have missed otherwise or if it is because they travel in multi-generational herds, but no tourist experience is complete without these fabulously interesting people. This train ride was no excuse. About two hours into the ride, Nynette and my train cabin, which originally was virtually empty, was invaded by a family of Asians. At first, the kid playing video games on his iPad with the volume on blast-out- your-eardrums made these new travelers a nuisance, but after the concept of headphones was discovered Nynette and I spent the remainder of the train ride trying not to pee our pants laughing at an Asian man who was singing along out loud to his iPod without a care in the world. Another Asian man we are sure was randomly taking pictures of us throughout the ride and finally mustered up the courage to ask to take a picture of us...with the sequential picture setting that ended up being a dozen picture montage of us awkwardly smiling for the camera. Not to worry though, because I got revenge by returning the favor when the man was napping. Nevertheless our tourist experience on the train was completed by our fellow travelers. Between the scenery, great conversation (7 months of catching up to do), and comedic relief of the Asian tourists the ride was well worth the 54 Swiss Francs.

We arrived in Zermatt at around 4pm which was pleanty of time to check into our hotel before exploriing the ancent town. I had previously booked the hotel online soley based on the price and comepletely ignored the location so with the help of Google Maps via my Blackberry I was pleased to discover that it was on the side of the town closest to the mountain. However, I think Nynette and I can both agree that we could have gone without the Level 4 vertical ice pick climb we had to endure to get to the place. Ok, that was a giant exageration, but for two girls who constitute exercise as the distance to and from the snack cabinet, the hike was definitely a butt burner. After discarding our backpacks in the hotel room we headed back down the cliff to explore Zermatt.

The Matterhorn at Sunset

The first order of business was to eat dinner so we stopped at the first restaurant that had Racklette on the menu for only 7 Swiss Francs. We shared our meal, which was d-e-licious and then continued on to the center of town. We wandered past old chalets, wheat storage structures that have since been abandoned, and of course a million souvenier shops. We came to discover that the preceeding week was "Zermatt Unplugged" which was a compilation of performances by various upcoming artists as well as a few famous artists such as Seal, OneRepublic, and David Grey. Unfortunately the showcased artists performed earlier in the week, so instead of paying 67 Swiss Francs to watch a no-name band, we decided to sit outside the paper thin tent, listen to the music for free and play "Your Team, My Team."

Nynette and me

If you are with a good friend and have time to waste I highly recommend this game for endless entertainment. There is no winner, there is no loser, just hypothetical teams. You begin by people watching for a while and then you start accumulating your "team." You can add people to your own team as well as place people on your opponent's team. The rating scale is completely objective and there is no score keeping. The goal of the game is to estimate that you have more awesome people than lame people on your team. For example, if you see a tall dark and hansome man walking down the street with an irresistable swagger (refer to previous blog), it might be a good idea to snag him onto your team before you opponent snatches him up. Adversely, if that same man were to, say, trip over a crack in the sidewalk and roadrash his face upon impact with the concrete, it might be a good idea to force him onto your opponent's team before he ends up on yours. Here are some unfortunate souls who ended up on my team that night:


After playing "Your Team, My Team" until the moon rose well above the mountains, we decided to make our way back to the hotel for the night. Something you may have noticed in looking through my travel pictures is that I strongly believe that you can't express how much fun you are having in a photograph unless you are jumping. So when Nynette and I discovered the thermometer reading 6 degrees celcius, it was only natural for me to want a jumping picture below. Unfortunately, Nynette is, let's just say, an amature. After teaching her how to properly jump for the photo I got a goodie on the third take. Taking a jumping photo is somewhat of an art because you have to time it perfectly when the person is airborn or you get a lot of pictures of the person looking constipated. When it was Nynette's turn behind the camera all hell broke loose. I was jumping so many times with failed lense captures that there came a point when Nynette and I were sprawled out on the sidewalk laughing so hard everyone walking by thought we were both wasted drunk. A few people (pictured above, as they ended up on my team) stopped to inquire about our strange behavior. Finally, after a half decent picture was taken, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning Nynette and I woke up at the ungodly hour of 6:40am to take pictures of the sunrise on the Matterhorn. It turned out to be well worth it:

The Matterhorn at Sunrise

We went back to sleep until about 9:00 when we woke up, ate breakfast, showered, and started our day. One thing I would like to mention about European adventures in general, is that there are things that happen in Europe that would never happen in the USA. For example, building codes don't really apply to buildings built in the 1800s and are converted into hotels at a later time. So in Zermatt, it was no big deal to cram a bathroom in the atic of the building with ceilings so low that I literally had to shower on my knees because I couldn't stand up. Oh Europe, how I love you.

After the interesting shower experience, we packed up our things, checked out of the hotel and decided to go shopping. We wandered around Zermatt taking pictures, ducking into shops that caught our interest here and there, and buying a few things. Mainly postcards. At about 3:30pm we had seen enough of the little town and decided to head back to Zurich. On our way, we realized that we could hop off the train at any city on the way home and just catch another train back to Zürich at a later time. So that is what we did....

Zürich International Pillow Fight

So I apologize that I am posting about this a month late but in my defense I have just been too lazy. Lame but true. March 20 was International Pillow Fight Day. All over the world (yes, probably including your city) flash mob pillow fights broke out at 2:00pm in each respective time zone.

I initially heard about the phenomenon from my good friend Daniel and immediately did a quick Google search to find out if Zurich had such a thing...and what do you know, it did! A non-profit organization called "Urban Playground" plans different events throughout the year for adults to participate in turning the city into a playground. In February they planned the "Pants off Tram Ride" where participants would board various trams across the city of Zurich, only they wouldn't be wearing pants. When other inquired about the odd attire (or lack there of) the pant-less adventurer would simply reply that they "ran out of time" that morning. Pretty funny but a little extreme for my tastes.

However, hundreds of strangers partaking in a pillow fight? Absolutely. Fortunately it was a beautiful Zürich day with temperatures in the high 70s. I went to the meeting place, purchased my pillow for a mere 5 Swiss Francs, and marched my way with 500+ other participants along the Limatt River to the Grossmünster church in Niederdorf Old Town Zürich. I couldn't have asked for a cooler location to pummel people with a goosefeather sack.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of a "flash mob" let me explain. Flash Mobs are ordinary people that gather in a specfic location, appearing to be regular pedestrians. At a certain time or with a specific cue, the people all gather together quickly, do a dance, performance, or this case have a pillow fight, and then after it is finished, go about their business like nothing unusual happened. Here is a fun youtube video of an example of a Flash Mob:



So at 2:00 in the afternoon a pillow fight involving 500+ people in Zürich broke out at the base of one of the most famous cathedrals in all of Switzerland. It lasted 30 minutes and left a layer of feathers that covered the ground. Inhaling the dust of the feathers was unavoidable. And every second was worth it.

The Mob

My Weapon of Choice

Feathers in the Air

The Aftermath

Stalked, Scammed, and Robbed

Last Tuesday I headed into the city for a morning playdate with two other Au Pairs at Coop City (local grocery and department store chain). Coordinating a two year old to get on a train for a day in the city is difficult enough with all the snacks, toys, diapers, etc. that need to be brought along, not to mention the kid loves trains, hates following directions, and didn't feel like staying seated in his stroller. So while I was juggling a thousand different things and not trying not to lose someone else's kid in the chaos of the city, I was apt to accept all the help I could get...even from complete strangers. So when a nice middle age man asked me if I need help carrying the stroller off the train my response was promptly "Yes please!"

Well I don't know if this guy is completely unaware of the scientific laws of balance or has never helped a damsel in distress unload a stroller from the train, but the dude tipped the entire stroller forward causing my giant survival kit and purse (sitting on the seat of the stroller) to tip over and spill out. Luckily my cat-like reflexes stopped the bulk of the avalanche of, well, frankly everything, from spilling onto the train track below, but alas, a small pack of tissue took the dive onto the lanes of destruction below. It was a small casualty for to magnitude of what could have happened...or so I thought.

The man apologized and I could tell he wanted to escape the situation the moment he saw my slightly annoyed expression. I said it was ok, and decided to just get on with my day. We headed off in quite a hurry to catch our tram to Coop City, and just as I was encouraging the toddler to make a dash for the tram that was about to leave us behind, I heard someone call out my name (which in a foreign country is a foreign occurance). I whipped around to see a guy from my old German class. At that point, I could hear the tram beeping to indicate its departure and I made a quick decision to cut my losses and just make smalltalk for the next 4 minutes until my next tram arrived. When it finally did, the guy from my German class (I couldn't remember his name) offered to help me on the tram. Again, "Yes please!" One stop later I was finally at my destination and I got another offer to help me get off the tram. Fantastic! ...until I realize that the dude was following me into Coop City to crash my playdate...awkward.

I finally met up with the other Au Pairs, let the kid loose in the children's play section of the restaurant, and introduced Havier (as I learned was his name) to my friends. Awkwardly, I invited him to sit down and join us still puzzled as to why he was even there. I thought maybe if I ignored him he would say he had to go, but instead he stayed. And stayed. And never went away. Finally, he said quietly to me so the others couldn't hear that he had been looking everywhere for me because he had something he wanted to tell me. This is the point when "awkward" turned into "downright uncomfortable." Regretfully, I took the bate and asked what he wanted to tell me. With tears in his eyes, the dude says "I love you." Buuuuuuuuhhhhhhh.....'scuse me?

I sat across the room from this guy twice a week for 8 weeks in a class in which we only spoke German. The class ended in November. It was April 29. I don't know if people see me as a walking dual passport and a secure future, but there is nothing romantic about a complete stranger confessing his undying love in a department store food court. And if that isn't disturbing enough, he confessed that he had waited for me outside of the old classroom building, looked all over Zurich for me, and was about to go visit the teacher to ask her if she knew where he could find me. Oh, did I mention that he said he couldn't eat or sleep without me? So after some uncomfortable rejections, the other Au Pairs finally caught onto what was happening and decided to help bail me out by asking him to leave. Eventually he left, but not before he begged me to tell him where he could find me. Yeah, nevergonnahappen.

Fast forward 30 minutes of three creeped out Au Pairs discussing all the defenses against Senor Stalker and it was eventually time for lunch. The other Au Pairs had to go their separate ways, so into the stroller went the kid and onto the streets of Zurich went I to find lunch. Upon arriving at the Bratwurst place I realize that the second to worst thing in the world had happened. My wallet was missing. (The first worst thing would have been my cell phone in case you were wondering). I searched through the multitude of bags I had brought and nothing. Without panicing (ok maybe a little panicing), I convinced myself I had accidentally left it at home and quietly crossed my fingers that my poor Geldtasche hadn't met the same fate as my tissues.

With no money clearly there would be no lunch, so off to the bank I was going to do. Just as I was about to excuse myself from the lunch line, at the worst possible time, Senor Stalker showed up again from out of nowhere. I don't know if he secretly followed me or I just happen to stumble on where he went after he left, but I stared him straight in the eyes and said firmly and loudly (so other people in line would hear) "You need to leave me alone!" Awkwardly, he looked side to side and wandered away. Luckily I haven't seen him since.

So now that I have accepted the fate of the lost wallet that I never found at home, I have slowly taken steps to replace my credit cards, IDs, etc. that was in the wallet. Luckily there wasn't any cash inside and the only irreplacable thing I lost was a stick of Spearmint Chapstick I stole from a friend that you can only buy in the USA. Unfortunately, everything else costs money to replace. In addition, to replace my Swiss ID and Swiss drivers license I had to fill out a police report. After filling out the paperwork to the best of my ability (in German) I explained the story to the police officer. What do I come to find out? That the stroller tipping was a scam to get my wallet to fall out. Fantastic. I look like a young single mother and I get scammed and robbed at the train station. Seriously, who does that?!

The moral of the story: I am overly trusting of complete strangers and should learn to keep my guard up and my purse zipped. Lesson learned.