Vogelperspektive

My ipad is marking the following word as an error, but I am taking the liberty to create this past tense verb, because I just spent the last half hour up in the crisp air right next to the Matterhorn. We came, we saw, we paraglided!

 Anne had mentioned wanting to paraglide somewhere in Switzerland, but we weren't sure we would have the opportunity to do so. We had made plans yesterday at the chocolate factory for Kuno to meet Miryam, Anne, and I at the train station to head down to Zermatt.  Upon arriving to the touristy town, however, we looked up information from various places and quickly settled on one. We were told to return in 45 minutes, so we walked around, trying to mask our hunger and promising each other not to be nervous. When it was finally time to go back, we were quickly ushered by our pilots into the tram leading the way to one of the higher peaks close to the Matterhorn.  Anne was excited but nervous; Miryam was excited and nervous, and me? I was nothing. I wasn't letting myself think anything regarding what I was about to do. I had thought about it objectively when I made my decision, tons of people have done this, there are safety concerns but you cannot choose not to do this. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you have to remember what your friends told you back in Köln: take every adventure you can! Once I made my decision, I told myself there no going back. And so I didn't think about it, didn't think how nervous I was, didn't let myself ask myself how I was. 

Suddenly, there I was, standing at the edge of a mountain, with gear strapped all over my torso and limbs, with my instructor and co-pilot, Phil, giving me instructions about take-off. "We're going to do some walking steps, then some jogging, and then we'll just jog off the mountain." Easy enough I thought, imagining us taking a great leap off the sturdy ground and into the air. "Take no leaps. Don't think about jumping, because we'll be in trouble then," Phil cautioned. So no jumping then, got it. 

In less than two minutes, we were strapped in and checking the gusts. At one point, Phil gave the ropes a small tug and managed to get the glider up in the air. I was pulled back as the glider caught a wind gusts drifting us backwards, and for a second I thought about what it would feel like to be in the air, unprepared. Then, that thought was stripped from my mind as Phil yelled, "Now!"

We walked a couple of feet, and then I followed his instructions to run. For a second I thought about how Anne and Miryam were still on the ground sitting, listening to instructions being repeated multiple times, talking about take offs and landings, talking about what each of the ropes managed to do. The. I realized I was about to run off a cliff straight into mountain air, and I figured I best pay attention. As we covered those last few feet running, I took a look at the scenery before me and was just floored. The mountains stretched out before me in beautiful and strong hues: blinding whites, sea blues, the green of the trees as they rose up from the side of the mountain, and the jagged edges of the mountain cliffs offering up dark browns, grays, and even blacks. "I'm running into that," I thought. "I'm running into the air," I quickly corrected myself. 

Before I knew what was happening, my feet were no longer hitting the ground as they ran, they were simply pedaling the air. I had now become just like a bird, working with my co-pilot to use the gusts of wind to propel us up into higher altitudes. I suddenly felt as if I weighed very little, but the force of the the wind left me speechless, and I simply took in the sounds of the rushing air as it collided with our glider and moved us up and forward. Phil was great at explaining the different gusts and how we were using them to keep us moving upward and moving forward in general. We circled our mountain and I saw that we were the only gliding pair. 

As we circled the mountain and took several dips down, I suddenly became very aware of the fact that besides the glider, nothing was keeping me from colliding with the ground. I was completely dependent of the wind gusts and how we were planning on manipulating them to give us enough force to stay in the air. I was afraid for a minute, I will admit, as this realization came to me, but then I surprised myself yet again when I decided to concentrate on the fact that this vulnerability only made me even more like a bird, and I recalled one of my favorite words from my first semester of German a few years back: Vogelperspektive. This is exactly what I was experiencing just now, and the worry that had tried to creep into my mind was expelled with the rush of this feeling of freedom I suddenly felt. 

"Take the reigns!" Phil shouted. Reaching upward, I took hold of the handles that control the glider, and it was my turn to decide where we would go. Pulling downward in the right handle, we slowly began turning to the right. "It's coming up I can feel them; is this is yes or no?" Phil asked, and I knew exactly what he was talking about. We had mentioned no big dips on account of my getting dizzy easily, but I knew Phil was tempting me with some other form of thrilling adventure. 

"Let's do it," I whispered. Even with the strong gusts of wind we were lost in, Phil heard me and yelled, "Go, go!" I pulled with even greater force on the right handle, seeing how the gusts were coming from the left. In a matter of seconds we had pulled from a calm stream into the rush of circling gusts by the side of the mountain. Our glider slowly went from being above us to almost achieving a parallel horizontal plane with us, and off we went, into dizzying but quite thrilling spins right above the river that flows near the banks of the Matterhorn. The colors of the landscape had now become a blur; and all I could see was the bright color of our glider against colorful flurry of color. The feeling of being lightweight and being carried by the wind was just enough for me, while I knew that at any moment I could pull back on the left handle to get us out of the rushing winds. I laughed and shrieked in amazement at letting myself experience this rush of adrenaline. I was no longer controlling the glider against the wind, I was using it and taking up space within the gusts just like a bird would. The feeling was freeing on so many levels, and I found myself not thinking anything again, just feeling. 

"Yes!" Phil shouted as after I happily followed his instructions to pull back, "You are amazing! No one has held control for that long in a flurry for that long!" Phil seemed quite pleased with his student, and I have to say I was quite surprised by the student. Never, ever, in a million years would I have thought I would be flying in the air on this last day of June. I told myself this month would be filled of me taking on new challenges and adventures, embracing any opportunity I had to experience something different. I had hoped it would be more along the lines of tasting new food (check, with the octopus), being calm and reasonable with plans abruptly changing (one word: Düsseldorf), dealing with my own fatigue and speaking up more for myself, all things I have done up to this point in our trip. Never would I have thought to simply nod my head and casually mutter an "ok" in response to Anne's, "Let's go paragliding!" Being kind and being brave doesn't come easily to me at times. Today, however, as I ran into the air with a glider on my back, I thought of my doubts and worries, those that I've carried with me for years, for months, and others that have become heavier within the last couple of days. I thought about them for a split second, left them up on that mountain cliff, and never once looked back. 

My friends from DF Mexico now relocated in Freiburg. Their move does not mean they felt yesterday's loss any less. As devastated as they were to have their country out of the running, they were all smiles to meet me and tell me we had picked the perfect day to come to Zermatt. 

One of my many horse sightings in Europe. 

Delicious pastries so nicely decorated. I don't know that I'd be guilt free if I tore into these--I mean, if I had the chance to nibble on them. They were so pretty to look at! 

The Matterhorn. 

Alpine Adventures Zermatt. Our before shot. Perhaps we wondered at this moment whether or not we'd all make it to an after shot? 

 

Our co-pilots! This is us attempting to make small talk while really looking for an excuse not to go up. 

Once on the tram up the mountain, Anne looking out into the vast nothingness we would jump into just a few minutes later. 

Right before takeoff, meine Herren und Damen, ich gebe ihnen das Matterhorn. 

Me up in the air! 

My view as I cruised the air with my new pal and co-pilot Phil. 

I saw an entire field of these flowers while up in the air, and I was very excited to find a small patch of them back down on solid ground. I bought a packet of seeds to plant in my garden and have them to remind me of being brave. 

Schokolade und Kirschen

We woke up Sunday morning to the sound of rain pitter-pattering and I smiled as I realized we had finally met the Switzerland everyone speaks of. We were in for a day of unpredictable weather and we were looking forward to it. Chocolate, that was the only thing on my mind as I got ready for the day. 

Miryam treated us to breakfast, courtesy of her family's yogurt endeavors and Swiss bread. Once finished, we headed over to meet Kuno, a relative from Anne,s in Buchs (AG). Thank you to Miryam for including the Kanton name to make sure I am not referencing another town. As we approached the factory and the museum, I began to notice the chocolate aroma beginning to filter into Kuno's car, and I tired my best not to jump out of the car as soon as the engine had been turned off. We walked to the sales counter and were given headphones to wear as we listened to each of the demonstration stations inside. The museum consisted of a walk-through describing how chocolate is made. First the cocoa nuts are harvested, then they are taken from their shells and mixed with either sugar or "secret ingredients" to create a sweet and rich flavor. I tasted the cocoa beans right as they were stripped off the their shell and the taste was bitter but tasty. We got to see a mixing machine that keeps the chocolate in constant motion for hours at a time so that each batch becomes creamy and is on its way to becoming the chocolatey goodness that we all love. This got me thinking, does anyone not like chocolate? I have types of chocolate that I prefer and types that I won't go near, but overall I like it. Chocolate fans out there, what are you favorites?

After the learning part of the museum came my favorite part. We got to taste test about 15 varieties of Frey chocolate, presented in a conveyor belt and refilled as soon as pieces went missing. I say went missing because I must have looked like a thief snatching pieces as they came near me. I will be honest, I parked myself at one end of the the conveyor belt, right next to the milk chocolate fountain, and sampled piece after piece, for about 45 minutes. No, I did not want to go sample aromas; I didn't feel like putting on the chocolate vests and taking funny pictures; I also did not want to take a chocolate quiz. I wanted the chocolate and I wanted it right then! In my defense, I also sampled the dried apples and apricots; granted, they were on skewers, and I dipped them in chocolate, but it was fruit nevertheless. 

Afterwards, we visited with one of Anne's cousins at her apple and cherry farm. We went outside to her cherry orchard and picked cherries to sample. Her farm is beautiful! Cows were grazing out in the fields in front of the main house, and behind her house were the plentiful orchards with trees lined for as long as I could see into the woods. The rain of the morning had decided to take a break from falling and we had a lovely afternoon reaching up to the branches to pick out the ripest and non-protein cherries. Kuno made that reference to mean that if any of the cherries had holes in them, they likely had been already "sampled" by another creature, and the creature might still be inside the cherry, thereby providing you with your protein fix for the day. I'm not going to lie, I ate some cherries that may have had protein, but I didn't really care. They were delicious! 

Also, I really don't know how this came to happen, but at some point I decided I was going to try and stuff as many cherry pits into my mouth. Europe is turning me into quite a refined lady: cherry seed spitting, stuffing my face with cherries, yes, my grandmother would be very proud. (Although I bet Brigitte's mom Gertrude would probably high-five me.) I will take guesses as to how many cherry seeds I held. Hint: It is less than 100, and I stopped short because while I was having fun, I think everyone else was done sampling cherries and I could have gone on for hours stuffing my face. 

On the drive over to dinner with Miryam's family, I thought to myself, "Should I be worried that my stomach is already full with chocolates and cherries?" I had no idea how I was going to get to dinner, and I was getting a headache from all the sugar, although I will remind you that half of the sugar came from natural sources! I planned on getting something light for dinner, just to make sure I didn't explode halfway through. 

We picked up Miryam's brother, Lukas, on the way to dinner in Engelberg, her parents, Daniela and Sepp met us at the house we were staying in, and then we all drove to dinner. We were graciously treated to a lovely meal at the Alpenclub, a quaint wooden cabin that was transformed into a restaurant. I started with a crêpe consommé, a soup served very hot and warming every part of me as I slowly sipped it. Next was Alpenclub Pfändli with rösti, a dish consisting of pork and potatoes. It was a big serving, but I managed to finish it without much complaining. The fact that it was delicious made it very easy to finish. I also tried the Pizza Portugal that Lukas ordered, which seemed more like a chicken pot pie: a mountain of dough covering a variety of meats inside. 

We all then ordered dessert and made sure we got something different so that we could share. This also made me think of my family back home, we make sure and let everyone try our dish and this makes for a great time during meals as we get to talk about the food we enjoy so much! Dessert consisted of: crème brûlée with lavender (Miryam), apple pie and vanilla ice cream (Anne), iced coffee (Miryam's mom Daniela), homemade and prepared at the table side chocolate mousse (Sepp), Süssmostcreme (yours truly), and strawberries (Lukas). I have to say I was a little guilty being served such a rich and scrumptious dessert while Lukas to my left was enjoying such a healthy option. My guilt passed quickly as I got to taste each of the desserts, and Lukas was even nice enough to share his strawberries with me. 

Also fun at dinner was getting to speak Portuguese, Spanish, and French! It was a language mix at the restaurant. Our waitress was a native Portuguese speaker who had learned Spanish in school, so I ordered most of my food in Portuguese, although I was relieved that her "para la guapa de los ojos misteriosos" was kept between us two! Lukas and I spoke some French during dinner too, but I will admit it took effort to keep the different languages in check. I think I turned to Anne once and started saying something in French, before quickly realizing my mistake and asking her in English. I don't know that I have laughed during my stay in Europe as much as I did during dinner with the Barmettler family. They remind me of my own family, always thinking of something to say that will have everyone laughing for minutes at a time. I also had the opportunity to practice my Swiss German listening skills and my German speaking skills. It's becoming easier to understand Swiss German; I'm learning to recognize the patterns of the dialectal variations and while I will find myself wide-eyed and responding "Ich habe nichts verstanden" at times, I am more comfortable having a conversation with someone who speaks the Swiss dialect. I'm generalizing here, because there are so many dialects within Switzerland itself, and I have likely been exposed to more than 10 in the short time that I have been here. This country is linguistic heaven for me, and I have to be careful at times that I don't just listen to the sounds and prosody of the language and actually engage people in efficient communicative exchanges. Woah, that sentence sounded like a speech-therapist wrote it. ;)

I am still amazed at the fact that just last week we were leaving France and heading to Italy, wearing shorts, sandals, and light shirts, shielding ourselves from the sun. Now we are bundled up on a train to Zermatt, Anne's favorite place to visit in Switzerland. We are hoping to see snow, climb some mountains, and something else, but I'm keeping that to myself for a while. Until then, I leave you in suspense as there are too many views to take in from the train to be writing on my electronic device like the 21st century traveler I am. 

Bis später!

These are the chocolate packages on display.  So many of them were vintage, I wanted to take them for my scrapbook! 

The rotating conveyor belt and the woman who earned her pay today all thanks to this little chocolate thief. 

The chocolate mice in action. Seriously, we were so good at being sneaky and taking chocolate. 

On my tiptoes trying to steal a kiss. He wasn't into it as much as I was. 

We had to, apparently, wear these chocolate costumes. It was fun for two seconds, and then it got really warm!

The view from the top. 

Cherry ice cream at the farm!

It started to rain while outside. Three natives and two tourists, can you spot them?

Cherries!

Anne checking my capacity. I hadn't maxed out yet. 

No more cherries for me. That was my last one. 

The flowers of Europe. I added to my collection at the farm. 

A pretty farmhouse on the property!

A little kitty at the farm. He spoke Swiss German. 

Cherries again!

The restaurant we dined in. 

My crepe soup! 

Dinner. Oh it was very delicious. I think the chocolate and cherries scurried away to make room for such a yummy meal!

Lukas' pizza. He was so kind and shared some with me, even after he was the bearer of bad news telling me Mexico had lost to Holland. 

I

Oh I lied! There was a cherry in my dessert. 

A nice lamp stand at the restaurant. I might want to design my room around this one piece. 

Win, Lose, and Cry...

...but don't throw yourself a lifetime pity party! 

I just finished watching Brazil win a ticket onto the next round of the World Cup, hence the title. I couldn't help but think that as much as big wins are fun to watch and celebrate along, there is always another side to the field where the losing team has to endure all that losing entails. It's times like these, watching the Chilean players crying on the field, I'm reminded that sometimes there really are no words to cheer someone up, but it's more about just being there for them and have them know that no matter how messed up life is at that very moment, you remain by their side. Exhibit A: I made sure to stay quiet back in Venice while I cleaned up Anne's hair after a pigeon left her a slimy surprise. Friends make sure the bird poop dries before flaking it off. My how close she and I have become. Alright, I'm working on about four hours of sleep and have an early morning tomorrow, so I'll keep my tangent in check and try to keep this entry short. 

 

Our last full day with the Scheuber family went by too quickly. We started the day off with Flavia and Alpine slides in a small town by hers. She is such a sweet girl; we listened to one of her mix CD's in the car and were happily surprised when we heard so much country music on it. The Alpine slides were fun, although I'll admit I didn't go as fast as Anne (or the other eleven-year-old boys with day passes). I'm so thankful we got a chance to hang out with Flavia, she spent her morning off with us. She works at a hospital, so I do appreciate her making time for us. 

We got back to the Scheuber home in time for lunch and in time for Flavia to get to work. Then we headed off to the other side of the sea, where Brigitte's mom lives. Brigitte and her daughter-in-law Adriana were our tour guides as we crossed over the calm waves and made our way to Gertrude's house. Once there, we spent quite a while dipping our toes in the water and talking to Gertrude. Being by the sea made me miss home and my time at the lake, either during a run where I get to think about nothing and just relax while my legs propel me forward or when I get treated to a picnic or walk (courtesy of SC). We had a picnic of our own when Gertrude brought out sweets and drinks for us. She is by far the coolest person I have met on my trip. Maybe I am biased to individuals of that generation, but I could have sat on her porch and talked to her for hours!

Back at the Scheuber's, our last family dinner included a variety of wursts, bell pepper and corn salad, as well as Swiss bread. I think I will miss bread from Europe the most out of all my meals here. It's so delicious, I can (and do) take as many slices as I can get away with. I'll miss having dinners with lovely families that I get to meet. I have gone to bed each night at the Scheuber's with a happy tummy and a happy heart, mostly because the love and laughter at their home is quiet contagious. After dinner, we walked to the top of the mountain where they live and we appreciated a nice evening view of Stans. I finally found a ledge to sit on, and although the quality is blurry given the time of day, I still think it's one of my best "ledges" yet. 

The next day we were picked up by Miryam, another of Anne's relatives. Her family has a cheese factory and also owns a specialty shop complete with regional products. She lives just a few minutes away by car, and she is our next host in Switzerland. She invited us up to one of the bigger mountain peaks in the area, the Stanserhorn. We took a tram up and then a very fancy gondola, which left me breathless as we quietly but rather quickly made our way up the nearly eight thousand feet climb to the top. I can't figure out how to add video to entries from my iPad, but it's a very complicated gondola and involves a lot of elements to make it work as seamlessly as it does. 

Once at the top, we walked around for a bit before heading back down. I'm not sure whether the ride down was even more impressive than the ride up the mountain. We made our way by train to the neighboring city of Luzern, where a cityfest was being held. Luzernerfest is a charity event to promote care for the less fortunate residents, and I was happy to walk around and enjoy all the music and yummy food the city had to offer. Being there reminded me of the music festival in Nice, but I'm glad to be back in the quiet town of Engelberg, where we will spend the night in Miryam's flat before heading off to another adventure tomorrow. I heard something about a chocolate factory, so I will definitely go to bed early tonight and be ready to go first thing tomorrow morning. 

Swiss chocolate, komm zu mir! 

  

Flavia was kind enough to spend her morning off with us! I really like how we are all smiles here. We had just seen the castle where Flavia wants to get married one day. Nele wanted a castle wedding, too, now that I think about it. I wonder if Anne wants a castle wedding now?

The metal slide which I flew over! Ok, maybe I was not going as fast as Anne. 

This is the way back up, before you head down on the ride of fun. 

At one point, the slide worker felt like he wanted to get to know Anne better, so he decided to ride in the car she was on. I really think they've hit it off. Kidding!!

Being the protective friend I am, I rode with her so that the ride attendant wouldn't ask her out during one of their romantic rides down the slide. 

Sisterhood of the traveling sunglasses, scarves, t-shirts, jeans, and burlap shoes. 

This map of the village reminds me of the one my dad and I made for my niece's birthday party. It's crazy how random things bring to mind my loved ones at home. 

This is the view from the car ferry. So calm. 

This is a little cabin right on the water. It had my name written all over it, can you guess why?

Anne with Adriana, who is having her baby in August. She's going to be such a great mama!

The traveling duo with our host mom, Brigitte Scheuber. She was a big part of my feeling right at home in Ennetmoos. You can just tell by her smile, she has such a loving heart!

Can you guess what we are getting ready to do? I was the newbie of the group, as I have only had one lesson and you can ask SC, but I don't think I was very good at it...

Flowers outside the home of Brigitte's mom, Gertrude, right by the lake. 

Cookies that Gertrude served us. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Gertrude, the loveliest woman in all of Altdorf, who also gets very upset at the youngsters across the lake with their loud music on the weekends. She has called the police on them, I'll have you know. Such a sassy lady, I only wish I can be as cool as her if I ever get to live as long as she has. 

This is our first adventure with Miryam, Anne's third or some other distanced cousin. Whatever the relationship here to Anne, she is really really nice. This is the little tram we took part of the way up the mountain. 

The second leg of our journey up the mountain was in this technological beauty. 

Notice how the signs in Switzerland point to locations in terms of how long it takes to get there, not in distance. 

On the way down. There are switch-backs you can take to hike up the mountain; we would rather take the fancy thing. 

#21stcenturytourist

I like the water fountains in Switzerland. They aren't that common around Europe, so I'm happy to see them here and make use of them. 

A little rain never hurt anyone, except Anne's hair. I promise she didn't wear it like this all day. 

 

I found Mexican food in Europe!

And was quickly disappointed. What is that in the picture??

Good thing I'm not in Europe for Mexican food. Here I give you, Älpermagronen and Rivella, a Swiss drink consisting of minerals that are only found in Switzerland. I'll take that over fajitas, danke.