Exotic Switzerland!

Hi everyone! I apologize that it's taken me so long to post photos of my adventures in Switzerland. Here are some trip highlights.

First, here are the Switzerland photos that I submitted for my photography project this week. The first photo is a shot of the Rhine river, taken in Rhinefelden. The second and fourth photos were taken from the train I took to Zermatt. The third photo is the Matterhorn, taken in Zermatt. No one can argue that Switzerland is beautiful, right?

On Thursday, November 12, Ashley and I left our apartment at 5:30 AM for Gare de l'Est, and our train left at 6:24. We arrived in Basel around 10:20, where Rene (a dear family friend) was waiting for us at the station. He took our bags and gave us tram passes so that Ashley and I At 4 PM, we met up with Nicole (his eldest daughter, who is close to my age), and we took a commuter train home with her. We had a delicious raclette dinner with the whole Roux family Thursday night. Potatoes, apples, pineapple, onions, pickles, and bananas... all covered with a sharp melted cheese.

On Friday, we biked into Rhinefelden with Isabelle, the younger daughter, and explored the quaint riverside town. We also biked across the border into Germany, just to get ice cream.

One of the things that I love most about Switzerland are the drinking fountains. They are, well, fountains!

On Saturday, Ashley and I visited Zermatt with Rene and his wife, Priscilla. Our one-way travel time, including changing trains in Visp, was around three hours. We made good use of our morning on the train by sitting in the dining car, and we ate a delicious breakfast of croissants, cheese, jam, tea, and yogurt.

While on the train to Zermatt, I met a man who collects postcards from all around the world. I promised to send him a postcard from Paris and San Francisco. If anyone would like to become this man's pen pal, I'd be happy to share his address (Ruth Workman!).

The train ride to Zermatt was just as cool as being in Zermatt. Outside my window, I had a clear view of the Alps, fall colors and the crisp blue sky. Once we finally arrived in Zermatt, though, there was an added bonus-- we could see the Matterhorn!

We took the Matterhorn Glacier Express gondola to the top of the Alps, where there were several hard-core skiiers braving the cold wind. Since I didn't have skis or a snowboard with me, I engaged in a snowball fight with Rene and Ashley instead. Check out the glacier in the photo below. If you look closely, you'll see that the tiny specks are people skiing on the glacier.

We were able to climb down inside the glacier, which really felt like an underground ice palace. It was spectacular!

When we emerged from the frigid belly of the glacier, we found out that the mountain-top wind was too strong, and the gondola would no longer be running. I thought, "Hey, that's fun... We're stuck in the Alps. In the snow." We waited on the mountain for thirty minutes, hoping that the winds would calm... but no luck. So, the resort pulled everyone off the mountain and packed us all into one gondola. When I saw the red car climbing out of the fog, it was a happy sight.

However, once that gondola started moving... I didn't want to be on it anymore! As we were lowered down from the mountain, the car was rocking back and forth, bouncing up and down on the wire. When large gusts of wind would hit the car, the doors would shake and snow would blast in through cracks in the windows. As you can see, I survived... but I will never forget Priscilla saying, "Just look at something far away, and you won't notice that we're being flung around hundreds of feet in the air."

We also had a great time ice skating with Nicole and Isabelle. Ashley is an ice skating pro, and she gave me a few essential pointers. I am feeling prepared for the Holidays, now!

It was a wonderful trip, and I am so grateful to the Roux family for being such generous and fun hosts. They are such kind friends.

Anyway, that's all for now. Look for my photos from Rome later this week!