Bern

Today I headed up to Bern (capital of Switzerland), which is about hour from Lausanne by train. The city’s geography is very unique – its center (basically the city’s “Old Town”) sits high atop an effective peninsula that was carved by the u-shaped flow of the river Aare.

As the city developed, it spread out in all directions from the peninsula, but the primary points of interest for visitors are definitely within the Old Town area. (Disclaimer: I can't claim this aerial shot as my own -- complements of Google.)

The Old Town is lined with cobblestone streets and buildings dating back to the 15th century. There are a large number of fountains (all of which have different wooden carvings) as well as a few sizeable clocks that are nearly five hundred years old.

My favorite sights (aside from the views of the river) were the Bundeshaus (the seat of Swiss Federal Assembly) and Münster St. Vinzenz, a gothic cathedral whose construction began in 1421 and wasn’t “completed” until 1893 (they’re still working on it).

The banks of the Aare are very beautiful, with lots of greenery that complements the crystal blue color of the river itself very well. It turns out that a popular summer activity in Bern is jumping into the river from one side of the peninsula and taking the scenic (and lengthy) journey downstream to the opposite side.

With clear skies and temps in the high-seventies, it definitely would have been the perfect way to cool off and see the town at the same time. Unfortunately, I hadn't come prepared but I definitely want to go back before summer is over and try it out.

French Lessons

Today I had my “evaluation” for the French classes that I’ll be starting next month. After nearly three months immersed in the language, I was somewhat confident going in. I’m definitely understanding a lot more these days when watching tv or listening to others on the train and feel like my speaking has improved as well. The evaluation knocked me back into reality, though – it was pretty tough.

I look forward to starting the classes, which will be twice a week during the evenings. I’m not expecting any short-term miracles, but at least they'll force me to spend some additional time on the language in a formal setting.

Blending in

During my travels I try my best to blend in and not stand out as the annoying American tourist. Overall, I think I’m fairly successful – aside from when people try to speak to me in German and I proceed to stare back with eyes glazed like a deer caught in the headlights.

As you can see from the picture, these tourists don’t seem to share my sentiments. I cannot think of a more awkward way to explore a new city than on a Segway scooter. And if the scooters themselves don’t attract enough attention, the fluorescent orange vests definitely do the trick…

The honor system

For the most part, all buses and metros in Switzerland (or at least the ones that I've been on) are based on the honor system. You buy your ticket from an automated machine before you board (or already have a weekly, monthly, etc. prepaid pass) and then hop on without showing it to anyone. This is very different from the strict pay-in-advance policies of the subway in New York City, BART / the buses in San Francisco, and pretty much every other public transportation system in the U.S. that I've ever used.

During my first couple of rides, I actually felt kind of weird after getting on...almost as though I felt compelled to show someone...anyone...my ticket just to prove that I had, in fact, paid my fair share. For whatever reason, I felt that I had to be one of the few poor saps actually buying a ticket while many of the others boarding alongside me were quite literally getting a free ride. It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that I learned what drives the high level of voluntary compliance (beyond greater mankind's staunch moral character, of course): Fines and public humiliation

It turns out that if you're ever caught riding sans billet, you get a CHF 80 fine (about $75) and become a public spectacle in which the undercover transportation official submits you to a humiliating public interrogation / scolding. And make no mistake about it...the "dog ate my homework" (err...ticket) excuse earns you no sympathy points. Either you have the ticket on your person or you don't. No excuses.

And thus the mystery of how the Swiss make money on their honor system-based public transportation network was solved. For those who are gamblers out there, the break even for riding for free but getting caught once is about 40 "successes". Feel free to roll the dice during your visit, but beware...

Interlaken / Wengen

Despite the joint soreness and general fatigue resulting from Friday’s day-trip to Zermatt, I decided to follow it up with an equally ambitious day-trip to the mountains above Interlaken.

Based on some advice from Erin, who had done the same trip a couple of weeks prior during her visit, I decided to take a train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and then another up to Wengen, which I ultimately used as my starting point.

When I arrived in Wengen, I spent a little time in the town itself as there were some celebrations going on for the holiday. There was definitely a 4th of July-type feel, with lots of national pride and a very festive atmosphere.

I ended up having lunch with some of the locals in the central plaza. One of the nearby restaurants had prepared a ton of traditional Swiss food and drink for the occasion and it tasted great. There were even some traditional Swiss music performances, which were fun to watch.

After lunch I headed up into the mountains. The countryside above Wengen is beautiful -- very lush with both open meadows and dense forests. There are even a number of very small dairy farms in the area and the cattle are allowed to roam free in the hills.

As a result, every so often you find yourself face-to-face with a massive dairy cow (with horns, yet not a bull). You actually hear a constant ringing throughout the hills as all the cows are fitted with huge bells around their necks so the farmers can keep track of them.

Once you’re above the countryside, the forest continues for a while before opening up to alpine and mountain views. Perhaps most impressive are the views of both the Jungfraujoch (a mountain range with three peaks – the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau – over 13,000 feet) and the Lauterbrunnen valley (the world’s deepest u-shaped glacial valley). As with the hiking above Zermatt, the scenery varies considerably depending on where you are on the hike.

I ended up hiking to Kleine Scheidegg, which is the departure point for trains going to the top of the Jungfraujoch. I didn’t make the additional trek, but I’ve heard that the train ride up is pretty incredible as it goes through steep tunnels blasted through the core of the mountain. After hiking all day I was pretty exhausted and going any further would have required staying the night. The trip to the top of the Jungfraujoch is definitely on my to-do list for next time, though.

Zermatt / Matterhorn

August 1st is Swiss National day, so with Friday off for the holiday weekend I decided to head down to Zermatt, which is in Southwestern Switzerland near the border with Italy.

Zermatt is best known for being a small resort town (skiing in the winter; hiking in the summer) at the base of the Matterhorn. I didn’t have much of a plan for the day and instead just hopped on the three hour train from Lausanne and figured I’d play it by ear.

The town of Zermatt was very nice and indeed had a clear resort-type feel. After walking around for a little while, though, I was ready to get away from the tourist crowd and check out some of the natural beauty in the mountains above. The hiking was pretty incredible – particularly when you get up to the base of the Matterhorn.

The hills not far above Zermatt are nice as well, as they’re populated with small log cabin-type farms and restaurants that look like they’ve been around for centuries.

During the course of the day it felt like I had hiked through a number of different geographies. At the lower levels, there was a distinct forest feel (almost like in the Sierra Nevadas in California), while higher up there was more of an alpine feel with glacier and snow-capped mountain views.

And as you got up to the base of the Matterhorn, the scenery was much more barren with a lot of rock and snow. The views were great throughout, just very different depending where you were. Here's a view of the Zermatt during the return hike.

The train ride as you’re departing Zermatt is also very impressive, as the train hugs the edge of the mountain and at times you overlook nothing but sheer cliffs and a long way down. For those with height issues, it’s probably best not to take a window seat if you ever make the journey. For everyone else, though, definitely grab a seat by the window and enjoy the views.

Une coupe de cheveux, s’il vous plaît

I’ve found that it’s the little things that seem to pose the biggest unexpected challenges when living in a foreign country. Take my first haircut here in Switzerland, for example. Though the typical male haircut doesn’t require much instruction beyond “a little shorter please,” things become much more challenging when there’s a language barrier.

Upon arriving at a nearby “coiffeur” and seeing a guy getting what can only be described as a “Euro club-scene” cut, I definitely became a little nervous. I actually wondered if I should just go to the haircut by numbers place (“give me the number two, please”) that I saw down by the train station.

Apprehensions aside, I ultimately decided to go for it and just made sure to keep a very close eye on how things progressed so that any potential disasters could be averted. It all ended up working out fine, but it wasn’t without 20 minutes or so of outright fear.

Évian Masters

Today I went back over to Évian to see the Évian Masters women’s professional golf tournament, which is held at a course up in the hills above Évian. The course itself was very scenic, with great views of the town and Switzerland across the lake.

The most impressive part of the day, however, was seeing in person how good the golfers really were. Though I’ve seen a lot of golf on TV, I was really struck by the level of talent. Anyone who has played golf knows how difficult of a sport it is, and these women were making it look so easy. That said, I did see a couple of shots during the day that looked like they could have definitely come from your average weekend foursome. Apparently, the golf gods don’t discriminate.

For most of the day, I just followed a couple of specific groups and explored the course. The weather was beautiful, so it was nice to just walk around. Towards the end of the day, though, I found a nice spot overlooking the 18th fairway and watched the final pairings coming in.

It ended up being an exciting finish as the two leaders both birdied the final hole and had to play a sudden-death playoff to determine the champion.

Aigle / Évian-les-Bains

Today Erin and I started off the day taking the train to Aigle, which is the heart of the Chablis wine growing region.

We were actually in Aigle for another reason, though. As luck would have it, the Tour de France was passing through Aigle on its sole Switzerland stage today. Thus, we took the 45 minute trip from Lausanne and found a nice spot along the course to take in the race amongst the locals.

Though what we saw of the race itself didn’t last very long (perhaps only a couple of minutes for all the riders to pass through), the atmosphere was very festive and had somewhat of a 4th of July celebratory-type feel with people camped out all day along the course.

After the race, we headed back to Lausanne and took the ferry across the lake to Évian-Les-Bains (of bottled water fame) in France. The ferry takes about 30 minutes and provides great views of both Switzerland and France.

The weather was great, so it turned out to be a perfect day to be out on the lake. The people with the sailboat in the picture below definitely had the right idea.

We spent most of our time in Évian walking around the lakeside promenade and the main avenue where there was a street fair going on. We didn’t make it to see the Évian springs, unfortunately, but we did see the public fountain from which Évian water flows non-stop and the locals come with empty jugs to fill up for their weekly drinking water supply.

Schaffhausen

Today we took a day trip across Switzerland to the town of Schaffhausen, which is along the Rhine near Germany. The town definitely has a German feel and is known for its architecture (much of it Renaissance era), which is interesting and unique.

There is also a very large castle, the Munot, which is up in the hills above Schaffhausen and dates back to the Reformation. From the top there are great views of both the town and the Rhine; from the inside, the views of the internal architecture are quite impressive as well.

From Schaffhausen we also walked downriver along the Rhine to the Rheinfall, which is Europe’s largest waterfall. The walk along the river provides nice views, but the waterfall itself is definitely the highlight. While the waterfall itself is not very tall, the fall’s width coupled with the speed at which the water passes down it are what truly made it impressive.

For those who are somewhat adventurous (and don’t mind the tourist element) you can actually take a boat out to a rock formation in the middle of the waterfall. Erin and I decided to skip this part, though, as we preferred the view from afar where we didn’t have to deal with the crowds.

Got an apartment

Today I signed a lease so I’m now all set with my apartment. I found a nice one-bedroom in Ouchy (an area of Lausanne) a block up from the lake.

The location is great as it is also near the metro, which provides easy access to the train station, central Lausanne and work. I don’t move in until mid-September, though, so I’ve still got some time to get organized on my move and enjoy my remaining time in the temporary apartment.

Weekend trip to Paris

This weekend Erin and I headed to Paris. I took Friday off so we could make it a three-day trip and we caught an early train for the four hour journey from Lausanne.

As this was both Erin and my first real visit to Paris (we had both had layovers at CDG before, but had never actually seen the city), we were both very excited and ready to cram as many activities into our three day visit as possible. And that’s pretty much what we did. For three days straight we basically went non-stop, just slowing down to collapse from exhaustion each night.

Some highlights in no particular order included: the Louvre (the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo exceeded my expectations), the Jardin de Tuileries, the Catacombs (eerie yet interesting), the Notre-Dame Cathedral, Montmarte and the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (unbelievable views), the Eiffel Tower (touristy, but good from afar), the Champs-Élysées and L’Arc de Triomphe (very impressive), the Pantheon, Jim Morrison’s grave site at the Père Lachaise Cemetery, and the Latin Quarter (great cafés).

Perhaps our favorite part of visiting the city, though, was just walking around and checking out all the local neighborhood sights. The views along the Seine were beautiful and the architecture throughout the city was very impressive. Plus, it was great spending time at the neighborhood cafés, where you could relax for a couple of minutes – or a couple of hours, depending on your mood – before moving on to your next stop.

Geneva

Today we headed to the western end of the lake to explore Geneva. After taking the 30 minute train from Lausanne, we spent the day walking along the lake and touring the historic old town.

Given that we were visiting the city on a Sunday, most of the stores and restaurants were closed. Fortunately, the weather was great so we were able to enjoy a nice day outside and take in the impressive architecture and beautiful lakeside scenery.

One of the more interesting sights in Geneva is the Jet d’Eau, which shoots a plume of water nearly 500 feet above the lake at a speed of 125 mph.

It’s the world’s highest fountain and is accessible via a jetty from the south bank so you can walk out to see it up close (and get soaked if the wind shifts). It was also interesting to see the Cathédrale St-Pierre, where Calvin preached during his many years in Geneva.

Montreux and Chateau de Chillon

Today Erin and I went to Montreux, which is on the eastern end of Lake Geneva and is around 30 minutes from Lausanne by train. It is a picturesque lakeside town that hosts an annual international Jazz festival which bears its name.

The three week festival kicked off right before our visit, so we went at the perfect time. Though we didn’t see any of the main acts (B.B. King, Prince and The Dave Matthews Band were some of the headliners), we did take advantage of the numerous outdoor concerts, as well as the great food and miscellaneous street fair-type booths (a la The Old Hometown Fair in M.B.) that lined the lakeside promenade.

While in Montreux we also made the 45 minute walk along the lake to the Chateau de Chillon, a castle perhaps best known from Lord Byron’s poem “The Prisoner of Chillon.”

The castle itself was very scenic – it’s on an island near the shore of the lake – and the overall size, architecture and historical relevance made it a pretty interesting place to visit. Its origins date back over a millennium and it is definitely a must see if you ever find yourself visiting the Lake Geneva region.

My first visitor

I now have my first official visitor as Erin is taking advantage of her summer break from grad school to join me in Lausanne for three weeks.

While I didn’t think it would take very long before the arrival of my first guest, I’m definitely excited to already have someone here after only a month. We don’t have anything in particular planned out at this point, but I'll likely show her around Lausanne a fair amount and we'll hopefully take some weekend trips within Switzerland and to France as well.

Let's just hope her visit goes better than her initial attempt to boil some water for tea. Apparently electric tea kettles with plastic bottoms don't fare so well on the stove...