Last Day in London

Today was our last day in London with Pet and Claude. After breakfast, we drove to Epping forest for a leisurely walk and Sunday brunch. Along the way, we passed West Ham stadium for a quick photo op. Claude grew up near West Ham, and he remains a passionate fan of his hometown football (a.k.a. soccer) club. In fact, I would say Claude is as passionate about West Ham as I am about my beloved Patriots. Sadly, major news broke over the weekend that the team's primary sponsor -- XL Airways -- suddenly shut down and immediately ceased all operations.  Wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that XL Airway's logo is so prominantly displayed across the front of the team's jersey. On the bright side, I guess that makes it a collectors item now.

Anyway, Epping forest was beautiful. It is a large woodland (6,000 acres) between north-east Greater London and the county of Essex -- not too far from where Pet and Claude live. It was a great day for a walk through the woods. Afterward, we enjoyed a "proper" English brunch before heading off to London City Airport for the flight back to Switzerland. 

It was a great visit with Pet and Claude. They were such great hosts. Thank you guys!!  Look forward to seeing you again soon! In the meantime, enjoy the slide show of our last day in London.

Stonehenge and the City of Bath

Pet, Claude, Pam, and I took a bus tour to stonehenge and the city of Bath (of Canterbury Tales fame) on Saturday. It was nice to get outside the City and see the beautiful English countryside. Some people have dismissively referred to Stonehenge as a "just bunch of rocks in an open field." Others consider it the "eighth wonder" of the world. I guess I fall somewhere in between. I must admit I am a little intrigued by its mysterious origins. But the cynical side of me can't help but wonder if it is all just a scam carried out by some local farmers looking to boost tourism. Remember the famous crop circles - those mysterious huge circular patterns that first started appearing in wheat fields in southern England in the 1960s -- which were later proven to be an elaborate hoax? Well, I kept wondering while I was looking at stonehenge if it might be something like that. Who knows.  See slide show of stonehenge.  

After stonehenge, we walked back to our crowded tour bus and patiently waited for an hour while our guide frantically searched for a couple that had gone missing from our group. Given that we were at stonehenge, I suspect they may have been abducted by aliens. :) Anyway, we didn't stick around to find out. We eventually left for Bath without them. Hey, we had a schedule to keep!

Bath is a charming city with a lot of history. We drove by Jane Austen's former house, the Royal Crescent building, and a circle of Georgian townhouses known as the "Circus."  The Circus is a pretty posh area of town; Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt all apparently own townhouses there. After the short bus ride through town, we got off and toured the famous Roman baths. That was amazing, if not a bit smelly (sulfur). Afterward, the four of us picked up some sandwiches and scones and headed to a gorgeous park along the river. A little shopping for delicious fudge afterward and then it was back to the bus for the 100-mile ride back to London. It was another great day.  See slide show of Bath.

Videos:

"I think I'll go for a swim."

The Roman baths

"It's hot down here!"

Video of lunch in the park.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Today we decided to go to St. Paul's Cathedral for the tour. It's the church Diana and Prince Charles were married in so I saw it on TV decades ago. Once again, I did not see this on my last trip as we went to Westminister's Abbey then. St. Paul's an enormous church with great views from the top (I climbed the 500 plus steps). After the tour, we decided to head to Canary Wharf where Brian was having his meetings. We sat outdoors for drinks with his co-workers then we headed back to Pet's house then headed out to dinner at Rodizio Rico for some Brazilian bbq where we stuffed our faces with meat and more meat then waddled home. See slide show.

Video:

From the top of St. Paul's

Arrive in London

(Pam) Brian and I arrived in London last night to stay through Sunday. Brian is here for work, but we decided to stay through Sunday to spend some time with my cousin Pet and her family. Pet took Thursday and Friday off from work so I was really happy and it was so good to be around family. We decided to go to the London Eye as it did not exist the last time I was in London. Even though it was cloudy there were some really good views. It took all of 30 mins on the eye itself so there was not enough time to get dizzy. I guess it only does a half rotation.

After the London Eye, I wanted to hit some shops on Oxford St. I got a great jacket at this new store, Primark which is like H&M (discount shopping!!). When we got on the tube there were Primark bags everywhere. I was exhausted though, Oxford St. reminded me of NYC - hectic! After being in Switzerland it was a nice change though. We headed back to Pet's place for some dinner and then I left to meet up with Brian. I spent about an hour on the underground because I got lost but all ended well and Brian and I had a drink at a bar near the Victoria station. It was a relief to ask directions and not have to worry if the person speaks English as is usually not the case in Switzerland. See slide show here.

Blathering and other Thoughts

We've been through the routine several times, but it doesn't get any easier seeing visitors head home. We had such a wonderful time with Terry, Sherry, and Bree. They were so eager to explore and experience this wonderful country. We were just happy to be along for the ride. Terry did an amazing job with the blogs. His posts were a perfect mixture of description, humor, and sentimentality. Who knew "Mr. Fussy-Pants" was such a talented writer?

I won't attempt to rehash all our journeys, but one of the highlights for me personally was accompanying Terry back to Fribourg after 40 years. Surprisingly, he didn't collapse into a pathetic heap of tears like we all expected/hoped. But his calm demeanor and stiff upper lip belied a flood of emotions bubbling up on the inside (or was that the fondue I heard rumbling?). Anyway, his semi-delirious mental state became plainly evident the moment he opened his mouth. He started spewing a series of non sequiturs. The "blathering" continued as we walked passed the administration building at his old college dorm. Fortunately, I just happened to have my video camera rolling (sorry, Terry). See video of Terry blathering. The "chief monk" line cracks me up every time.

All laughs aside, I have so many great memories from their visit: floating down the Aare with Bree, riding a zip line over the Aletsch Glacier, peering down on lake Lake Thun from atop Berchtold's castle. How can I choose just one? 

Reflecting further, I am reminded of a quote from Lord Byron, who said: to have joy one must share it. And so too I have come to realize that what makes all these moments special for me is not where I was, or what I was looking at, but who I was with.  Sharing the dream with those that mean the most to you makes it so much more rewarding. 

So, thank you Terry, Sherry, and Bree for coming to Switzerland.  Thank you for sharing in this wonderful experience with us.  

Look forward to seeing you on the "other side"....

Videos:

See "hand it over" video.

See video of Terry, Sherry, and Bree saying "goodbye."

So Long, Farewell...

While tomorrow would technically be our last day in Switzerland, we left Bern today to head to Zurich where we would stay overnight for a morning flight out. With that, we considered this our last day here.

You know how Father Time is always yanking living experiences from us and shoving in our hands those ever-fading receipts with “Memory” stamped on them. I understand that those exchanges are not always to be rued, but giving up this Swiss experience for a “Memory Receipt” was going to be painful, and we knew it.

We began the day with our last trip to that delightful bakery around the corner from Pam/Brian’s apartment. We packed like we were under water - deliberate-like slow-motion - until we could put off the train no longer. Brian had started work early so he could join us for dinner in Zurich and Pam was left to deal with our sullen (in my case, probably surly) mood.

The hour train ride to the airport, the shuttle to the hotel to check in, confirmation of the flights the next day and a short walk to the Rumlang train station nearby to return to Zurich had us eating a small bite in the early afternoon at the city Bahnhof.

After that we set off on a small walking tour (any other kind in this place?) of the Bahnhofquai and the city. We went to Fraumunster cathedral with its stunning stained glass windows by Marc Chagall and across the river to Grossmunster where Zwigli reigned in the Reformation. (No pictures allowed inside so they could charge for their postcards.) The Swiss have no shortage of history but this was another beautiful day and we were by the river that had its sidewalk cafes calling us to enjoy their contributions to Swiss culture as well. We succumbed to sit and watch the idyllic scene until we started walking back to meet Brian for dinner. Again, we found an outdoor restaurant and we feasted. To be honest, I’m not sure what we talked about. The end was near. We all walked back to the station, Brian wanting to come with us back to our McHotel (not a joke - it really was!), we saying no, we had to try to get some sleep for the ordeal the next day.

And like that, Brian and Pam were gone. Twelve hours later, so were we.

For all these months - even years, I looked forward to returning to “The Place” I had come to love. My expectations were exceeded, and further enhanced because I could show off my past to Sherry so she could understand why I am, in part, as I am, and to Bree, so she can come back without us and finish this place off right! Even Dave got to be a part of the Act!

But I learned, as travel often teaches, that the highlight of my trip “home” was watching the adventure unfold through the eyes of others - especially Brian and Pam. Their appetite to experience everything this wonderful country has to offer is contagious. And for those out there who have not yet experienced their hospitality in Bern, you may rest assured that you wouldn’t remember so much how gracious they were (though they are) nor how funny they were (though they are) nor how accommodating they were (and, OH, they ARE!) You’d take away the sense that they truly want you to feel the excitement of this special time they are having. They want to Share!

To you, Brian and Pam, we can only say, “Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!” We offer the following as token remembrances, to make reading that fading print on the “Memory Receipt” easier in the future:

Blathering
Chief Monk
More Cow Bell!
Water Slides for Mice
Swiss Killer Swans
5-10 minutes. . . MAX!
Blinders

Lock and Load!
“At least you don’t snore!”
“They don’t give me responsibility.”


Thank you both so much.

See slide show of last day in Switzerland.

Basel & Last Night in Bern

Being a non-Labor Day work day, Brian came up with some lame excuse to bail out of our activities for the day - Work! But he cheerfully threw Pam under the bus to commit her to accompany us on our trip to Basel. We were going in spite of the iffy weather forecast to just see what trouble we could get into. We arrived around noon and Pam led us to the tram that took us directly to the Marktplatz, the central square that holds all the city's festivals. In fact, it was the very square that held the Fastnacht celebration in 1971, which a contingent of Fribourgois and I attended. Hard to believe, to be sure, but the Platz was recognizable to these 40-year-older eyes.  It was a party that lasted all night and through the day for us. For the Swiss, it is a Three Day Binge that allows them to keep their austere exteriors for the remainder of the year without snapping from the stress of being Swiss.

We had lunch at an airy cafe on the Platz and just as we were beginning our walking tour of the Rathaus and old town, the skies opened up, forcing us to slog our way dutifully around the prescribed route to the Munster cathedral, basking in our grit, if not the sun. After we came out of Munster, the skies had dried up but I think we were drained. Foreswearing the zoo and the art museum, we meandered our way back to the Bahnhof to return to Bern so Pam could go to her class.  See slide show of Basel.

Had it been earlier in the week, I truly believe we would have forged ahead, but with only 2 days to go to return home, neither the legs or the spirit were willing. It worked out that Brian could join us as Pam was starting into class (like our being alone would violate our alien permit or something) and we shopped for different things on the way home to await Pam's arrival.

Being our last night in Bern, we went to the Kornhaus -- a huge subterranean palace of a restaurant with a 600-year history we won't go into.  It was a festival of gourmet delights! We walked home a new way, down the steps of the big bridge, and made it back in time to collapse and think of the morrow. Zurich is awaiting us in the morning as we get ready to leave this fairy land.  See slide show of last night in Bern.