Weekend adventure...
Zurich, Switzerland
Well it's been a busy past few days here in Switzerland. Brendan and I met up on Thursday afternoon after he got all his university registration stuff done. We headed back down to the old part of Geneva, had crepes at a local creperie, then visiting St-Pierre Cathedral again, this time taking the tour up to the observation ledge. Thankfully the weather was a bit better on Thursday and I was able to take a few panoramic pictures of Geneva.
From the cathedral, we headed back to Brendans to cook dinner at home, stopping along the way at the local grocery store to pick up some food and some questionable alcohol, more on that later. My home-made fondue, which consisted of a melted block of raclette cheese, got a few odd stares from his roommates, but I didn't mind because for some reason, melted cheese on fresh bread is just so damn good over here...
Since drinks are so expensive over here, Brendan and I decided to do the classic "drink before going out" routine, this time with some rum called "Green Harbor". Now, all sorts of warning bells should have gone off in both our minds when we noticed that it was the largest bottle of rum available and yet it was still the cheapest, not to mention the fact that it's called "Green Harbor", but for some reason we still chose it, along with a case of Coke. Well, we sure felt the "Green Harbor" experience later in the evening. Lets just say that Brendans place was definitely the place to party in Geneva on Thursday night, we even had his roommates in on the fun!
The other neat thing about drinking "Green Harbor", is that you start coming up with all sorts of great weekend adventures, all of which seem very possible when you have a map of Europe spread out on the floor. Since we had decided not to go to Solden Austria for the world cup ski races, we were looking for a new weekend adventure. Around 8pm ,we were within minutes of running out the door to catch a train to Amsterdam. Luckily, Brendan called the station to see if we could make the connection in Zurich for the overnight train, but apparently we'd arrive just over an hour late, so no dice, Amsterdam was out. The "Green Harbor" kept flowing and before long we had discussed just about every major city in Europe, but still hadn't decided what to do, so we headed out of the apartment to find some local club called "Shackers", which is apparently the place to be (other then Brendans) on a Thursday night...
First things, Geneva is a pretty quite town, certainly when compared to Barcelona, London, New York, Montreal, etc... On a Thursday night, there aren't many people walking around on the streets. Sadly, there are even fewer people on a club called "Shakers". Since the bouncer (no idea who he was actually bouncing) still wanted to charge on 20 Francs each, we ditched that place and looked for an alternative. Nothing, the town was dead, that sort of "is there something we don't know" kind of dead. So we wandered the streets of Geneva, trying to burn off some of the Green Harbor, before heading on the night on the front steps of Brendans apartment, eating fresh bread dipped in Nutella. (For some reason, there is a bakery right beside his flat that is only open in the early morning and really late at night, it's sort of the late night pizza joint for Geneva, only it's a bakery, go figure...)
So Friday morning we wake up a little groggy and vow to stay clear of Green Harbor in the future. We still don't really have a plan for the weekend, but we pack our bags and head to the train station. First we stop at an internet cafe along the way, where thanks to some encouragement from Shaun Webb, we decide to see if we can get to a town called Lugano, near the Italian border. Apparently, Brendan had been recommending that all night the previous night, but I don't remember, must have been the Green Harbor again. We find a hostel in Lugano and book some rooms for Friday and Saturday night.
Next stop, is the post office so that I can mail some clothes home that I didn't need to pack. For some reason, my bag is still just as full, but my wallet is 40 Francs lighter thanks to Swiss Post. Anyways, after what seems like forever (does anyone ever quickly get in and out of a post office anywhere in the world?), we finally head to the train station and inline to talk to a ticket agent. Turns out there's a train to Lugano leaving in like minutes, no joke. We grab the tickets from the ticket lady, then do the classic "train station run" (along with someone else who we didn't know but was running in the same direction, so I raced her). It's so exciting running in a train station because you know exactly how much time you have. It's not like the train might leave at 2.13pm, or maybe 2.15pm, or even 2.20pm, it is leaving at 2.13pm, whether you're seated or still running. Regardless, we made the train with about 60-90 seconds to spare (which for Swiss trains is like an eternity) and settled in for the ride to Lugano, via Zurich.
The train ride past Zurich is spectacular. Classic Swiss mountain passes, and if you've never done switchbacks on a train, it's pretty cool. (You go in a tunnel, essentially do a huge 360 degree turn while in the tunnel, and come out going the same direction but higher up the valley walls.) After a few hours of this, we rolled into Lugano around 8pm Friday night. Since Lugano is so close to the Italian border, everything becomes Italian. It's funny to go from Geneva, which is all French, to Zurich which is all German, then to Lugano which is all Italian, while never actually leaving Switzerland. (It would be one thing if we had traveled the equivalent distance of say Los Angeles to New York, but in this case we only went a few hundred kilometers... Wild).
We checked into our hostel, Hostel Montarina, which was just behind the train station, showered and then headed into town. Lugano is like a mini Rio de Janeiro, built on a hill, with steep, lush green mountains surrounding it. Thankfully, Friday night in Lugano is much more happening then Thursday night in Geneva. We found a great Italian restaurant right in the city square for dinner. Of course, as luck would have it, we just happened to sit beside a Canadian couple from Canada! As they were getting up to leave, they said "Excuse, but I detect a Canadian accent." Well, sure enough Brendan knew where they lived in Montreal. They were traveling half on business and half for leisure, at least that's what I could make of it. We didn't chat long, but it was kind of ironic...
After dinner, we checked out some of the local bars in Lugano. Turns out the in piece of fashion among the women is boots. I mean serious, stiletto style boots, with the jeans either tucked IN or just bunched up at the top of the boot... I guess this is Italian fashion or something. Brendan and I have a few drinks at a local bar, it's nice, nothing to intense but we decide to head back to the hostel shortly after midnight to get some sleep. Unfortunately, one of the things of staying in a hostel is sharing the room with others. In this case, about 17 other people, it was like a huge dorm room with bunk beds. The beds were fine, the place was clean, but the person across from Brendan was snoring, and someone else who we never identified had the weirdest breathing pattern I've ever heard. It was kind of like a blow whale or something. I had to pull out the ear plugs that night, but Brendan was out of luck and by morning neither of us had really gotten all that much sleep.
On Saturday, we basically just wandered all around Lugano. The city was pretty cool, but again the weather was overcast and it definitely felt like it was the off-season. We spent some time trying to find a place that rented scooters (Italians love scooters), but no luck. We had some coffee and hot chocolate and some local cafe, then went back up to the train station to book my ticket from Lugano to Vienna for Sunday night. That turned into a big ordeal since all the overnight trains were booked. Somehow when it was all said and done, I left with a ticket on the overnight train from Zurich to Vienna. No idea how this train became available during the hour I spent with the ticket agent, but I've got a reservation. One concern is that this train is 3 hours longer then the normal Zurich to Vienna train. Brendan thinks it might be because some tracks got washed out in a recent flood. Regardless, I'll know in about 12 hours what the problem is.
After getting the train tickets booked, we started walking towards the funiculair that takes you up Monte San Salvatore and supposedly provides amazing panorama views. Unfortunately, we got there just after 4pm. The next train up was at 4.30pm and the last train down was at 5pm, so that didn't really seem to make a lot of sense, so we skipped it. I'd probably have been more up for it if the weather was nicer, but with the low hanging clouds and overcast skies, it really wasn't worth the 20 Francs to me...
So now, after spending most of the day doing other things, we walked along the water back towards the hostel. Brendan bought a pair of jeans along the way, and I got a mini tripod for my camera. We picked up some Vodka and Red Bull, then headed back to the hostel. At this point, I was feeling somewhat ill, probably because I'd eaten 5 sugar coated donuts from some local vendor earlier in the day (they were sooo good... Hot, fresh, etc... Almost as good as a Tim Hortons Maple Dip donut). Feeling guilty, I went for a short jog while Brendan caught up on his reading. Since we weren't allowed to drink alcohol in the hostel, we showered quickly and headed back into town, this time drinking cans of Red Bull along the way while carrying a plastic bag that had a suspicious looking shape to it that resembled a bottle of Vodka. After trying to be discreet about drinking in public, we finally found a restaurant for dinner, though sadly there were no other Canadians at this one.
After dinner, we went back to the bar from the previous night for drinks, this time staying until closing time around 1am. From there, we wandered around looking for a place called "Club Desperado", which had been recommended by the hostel. Along the way, we found another club called "Underground" (as in the London Underground). Since the bouncer was a lot nicer at the Underground, we went there instead. (It also helped that a girl that Brendan asked earlier for directions to Club Desperado said she was going to Underground... Always listen to the girls when being told which bar to go...)
The Underground was well, underground, pretty small and started off just like any other small dance club. Typical North American music was playing, with the odd Italian song thrown in for good measure. Things started heading south though when songs from Grease came on, then the Beach Boys. By the time we were dancing to "Surfing USA", Brendan and I knew it was time to go home. It's actually kind of funny to see a bunch of Italians singing along to Surfing USA, they got so excited when the song came one... Must be a locals thing or something...
Along the way back to the hostel, we came across some German girl who was apparently looking for a cell phone along some dark path. Of course, I recommended that we just call it, but apparently the batteries were dead or something. She really only spoke German but from what Brendan could make of it, she was looking for her cell phone before trying to hitch a ride to some party 30 minutes outside of town. We declined the invitation and wished her luck. I highly doubt she found her phone, let alone made it to any party.
Just before heading to bed, Brendan was compelled to check out the hostel swimming pool. So over the fence we went, trying to be kind of quiet around 3.30am. I stood guard while Brendan went for a swim in the rain. By 4am or so, it was lights out.
Sunday morning, Brendan was out around 9.30am to catch his train up to Zurich to meet up with another friend. I had planned on staying in town until around 7pm, but it was raining and even foggier then the previous day. Also, for those used to North American cities, Swiss cities are basically deserted on Sunday's. Nothing is open other then a few cafes, it's like a total ghost town. (Though the local Casino was open, but I resisted the urge to go gamble...) So I decided to catch an earlier train to Zurich, hoping to find better weather or at least some more life.
The weather is only marginably better, and by that I mean it's not raining as hard. Just about everything is closed in Zurich as well, expect this internet cafe and some restaurants. The train station is of course a hub of activity. So I've got a few more hours till my overnight train to Vienna. I'll be in Vienna Monday night through Thursday night, at least that's what my plan is so far. I've got a reservation at the Wombat Hostel, some classic Auzzie joint in Vienna. Brendan stayed here before and said it was decent, so I'll go on a recommendation for my first few hostels rather then trying to go all local and cultural.
In a certain way, the real adventure begins now. It's been awesome hanging out with Brendan for the last two weeks. Crazy how quickly things have gone by. He starts school tomorrow morning while I'm pulling into Vienna. From here onwards, it pretty much becomes a solo trip. Next stop is Vienna Austria...
Kenny
Well it's been a busy past few days here in Switzerland. Brendan and I met up on Thursday afternoon after he got all his university registration stuff done. We headed back down to the old part of Geneva, had crepes at a local creperie, then visiting St-Pierre Cathedral again, this time taking the tour up to the observation ledge. Thankfully the weather was a bit better on Thursday and I was able to take a few panoramic pictures of Geneva.
From the cathedral, we headed back to Brendans to cook dinner at home, stopping along the way at the local grocery store to pick up some food and some questionable alcohol, more on that later. My home-made fondue, which consisted of a melted block of raclette cheese, got a few odd stares from his roommates, but I didn't mind because for some reason, melted cheese on fresh bread is just so damn good over here...
Since drinks are so expensive over here, Brendan and I decided to do the classic "drink before going out" routine, this time with some rum called "Green Harbor". Now, all sorts of warning bells should have gone off in both our minds when we noticed that it was the largest bottle of rum available and yet it was still the cheapest, not to mention the fact that it's called "Green Harbor", but for some reason we still chose it, along with a case of Coke. Well, we sure felt the "Green Harbor" experience later in the evening. Lets just say that Brendans place was definitely the place to party in Geneva on Thursday night, we even had his roommates in on the fun!
The other neat thing about drinking "Green Harbor", is that you start coming up with all sorts of great weekend adventures, all of which seem very possible when you have a map of Europe spread out on the floor. Since we had decided not to go to Solden Austria for the world cup ski races, we were looking for a new weekend adventure. Around 8pm ,we were within minutes of running out the door to catch a train to Amsterdam. Luckily, Brendan called the station to see if we could make the connection in Zurich for the overnight train, but apparently we'd arrive just over an hour late, so no dice, Amsterdam was out. The "Green Harbor" kept flowing and before long we had discussed just about every major city in Europe, but still hadn't decided what to do, so we headed out of the apartment to find some local club called "Shackers", which is apparently the place to be (other then Brendans) on a Thursday night...
First things, Geneva is a pretty quite town, certainly when compared to Barcelona, London, New York, Montreal, etc... On a Thursday night, there aren't many people walking around on the streets. Sadly, there are even fewer people on a club called "Shakers". Since the bouncer (no idea who he was actually bouncing) still wanted to charge on 20 Francs each, we ditched that place and looked for an alternative. Nothing, the town was dead, that sort of "is there something we don't know" kind of dead. So we wandered the streets of Geneva, trying to burn off some of the Green Harbor, before heading on the night on the front steps of Brendans apartment, eating fresh bread dipped in Nutella. (For some reason, there is a bakery right beside his flat that is only open in the early morning and really late at night, it's sort of the late night pizza joint for Geneva, only it's a bakery, go figure...)
So Friday morning we wake up a little groggy and vow to stay clear of Green Harbor in the future. We still don't really have a plan for the weekend, but we pack our bags and head to the train station. First we stop at an internet cafe along the way, where thanks to some encouragement from Shaun Webb, we decide to see if we can get to a town called Lugano, near the Italian border. Apparently, Brendan had been recommending that all night the previous night, but I don't remember, must have been the Green Harbor again. We find a hostel in Lugano and book some rooms for Friday and Saturday night.
Next stop, is the post office so that I can mail some clothes home that I didn't need to pack. For some reason, my bag is still just as full, but my wallet is 40 Francs lighter thanks to Swiss Post. Anyways, after what seems like forever (does anyone ever quickly get in and out of a post office anywhere in the world?), we finally head to the train station and inline to talk to a ticket agent. Turns out there's a train to Lugano leaving in like minutes, no joke. We grab the tickets from the ticket lady, then do the classic "train station run" (along with someone else who we didn't know but was running in the same direction, so I raced her). It's so exciting running in a train station because you know exactly how much time you have. It's not like the train might leave at 2.13pm, or maybe 2.15pm, or even 2.20pm, it is leaving at 2.13pm, whether you're seated or still running. Regardless, we made the train with about 60-90 seconds to spare (which for Swiss trains is like an eternity) and settled in for the ride to Lugano, via Zurich.
The train ride past Zurich is spectacular. Classic Swiss mountain passes, and if you've never done switchbacks on a train, it's pretty cool. (You go in a tunnel, essentially do a huge 360 degree turn while in the tunnel, and come out going the same direction but higher up the valley walls.) After a few hours of this, we rolled into Lugano around 8pm Friday night. Since Lugano is so close to the Italian border, everything becomes Italian. It's funny to go from Geneva, which is all French, to Zurich which is all German, then to Lugano which is all Italian, while never actually leaving Switzerland. (It would be one thing if we had traveled the equivalent distance of say Los Angeles to New York, but in this case we only went a few hundred kilometers... Wild).
We checked into our hostel, Hostel Montarina, which was just behind the train station, showered and then headed into town. Lugano is like a mini Rio de Janeiro, built on a hill, with steep, lush green mountains surrounding it. Thankfully, Friday night in Lugano is much more happening then Thursday night in Geneva. We found a great Italian restaurant right in the city square for dinner. Of course, as luck would have it, we just happened to sit beside a Canadian couple from Canada! As they were getting up to leave, they said "Excuse, but I detect a Canadian accent." Well, sure enough Brendan knew where they lived in Montreal. They were traveling half on business and half for leisure, at least that's what I could make of it. We didn't chat long, but it was kind of ironic...
After dinner, we checked out some of the local bars in Lugano. Turns out the in piece of fashion among the women is boots. I mean serious, stiletto style boots, with the jeans either tucked IN or just bunched up at the top of the boot... I guess this is Italian fashion or something. Brendan and I have a few drinks at a local bar, it's nice, nothing to intense but we decide to head back to the hostel shortly after midnight to get some sleep. Unfortunately, one of the things of staying in a hostel is sharing the room with others. In this case, about 17 other people, it was like a huge dorm room with bunk beds. The beds were fine, the place was clean, but the person across from Brendan was snoring, and someone else who we never identified had the weirdest breathing pattern I've ever heard. It was kind of like a blow whale or something. I had to pull out the ear plugs that night, but Brendan was out of luck and by morning neither of us had really gotten all that much sleep.
On Saturday, we basically just wandered all around Lugano. The city was pretty cool, but again the weather was overcast and it definitely felt like it was the off-season. We spent some time trying to find a place that rented scooters (Italians love scooters), but no luck. We had some coffee and hot chocolate and some local cafe, then went back up to the train station to book my ticket from Lugano to Vienna for Sunday night. That turned into a big ordeal since all the overnight trains were booked. Somehow when it was all said and done, I left with a ticket on the overnight train from Zurich to Vienna. No idea how this train became available during the hour I spent with the ticket agent, but I've got a reservation. One concern is that this train is 3 hours longer then the normal Zurich to Vienna train. Brendan thinks it might be because some tracks got washed out in a recent flood. Regardless, I'll know in about 12 hours what the problem is.
After getting the train tickets booked, we started walking towards the funiculair that takes you up Monte San Salvatore and supposedly provides amazing panorama views. Unfortunately, we got there just after 4pm. The next train up was at 4.30pm and the last train down was at 5pm, so that didn't really seem to make a lot of sense, so we skipped it. I'd probably have been more up for it if the weather was nicer, but with the low hanging clouds and overcast skies, it really wasn't worth the 20 Francs to me...
So now, after spending most of the day doing other things, we walked along the water back towards the hostel. Brendan bought a pair of jeans along the way, and I got a mini tripod for my camera. We picked up some Vodka and Red Bull, then headed back to the hostel. At this point, I was feeling somewhat ill, probably because I'd eaten 5 sugar coated donuts from some local vendor earlier in the day (they were sooo good... Hot, fresh, etc... Almost as good as a Tim Hortons Maple Dip donut). Feeling guilty, I went for a short jog while Brendan caught up on his reading. Since we weren't allowed to drink alcohol in the hostel, we showered quickly and headed back into town, this time drinking cans of Red Bull along the way while carrying a plastic bag that had a suspicious looking shape to it that resembled a bottle of Vodka. After trying to be discreet about drinking in public, we finally found a restaurant for dinner, though sadly there were no other Canadians at this one.
After dinner, we went back to the bar from the previous night for drinks, this time staying until closing time around 1am. From there, we wandered around looking for a place called "Club Desperado", which had been recommended by the hostel. Along the way, we found another club called "Underground" (as in the London Underground). Since the bouncer was a lot nicer at the Underground, we went there instead. (It also helped that a girl that Brendan asked earlier for directions to Club Desperado said she was going to Underground... Always listen to the girls when being told which bar to go...)
The Underground was well, underground, pretty small and started off just like any other small dance club. Typical North American music was playing, with the odd Italian song thrown in for good measure. Things started heading south though when songs from Grease came on, then the Beach Boys. By the time we were dancing to "Surfing USA", Brendan and I knew it was time to go home. It's actually kind of funny to see a bunch of Italians singing along to Surfing USA, they got so excited when the song came one... Must be a locals thing or something...
Along the way back to the hostel, we came across some German girl who was apparently looking for a cell phone along some dark path. Of course, I recommended that we just call it, but apparently the batteries were dead or something. She really only spoke German but from what Brendan could make of it, she was looking for her cell phone before trying to hitch a ride to some party 30 minutes outside of town. We declined the invitation and wished her luck. I highly doubt she found her phone, let alone made it to any party.
Just before heading to bed, Brendan was compelled to check out the hostel swimming pool. So over the fence we went, trying to be kind of quiet around 3.30am. I stood guard while Brendan went for a swim in the rain. By 4am or so, it was lights out.
Sunday morning, Brendan was out around 9.30am to catch his train up to Zurich to meet up with another friend. I had planned on staying in town until around 7pm, but it was raining and even foggier then the previous day. Also, for those used to North American cities, Swiss cities are basically deserted on Sunday's. Nothing is open other then a few cafes, it's like a total ghost town. (Though the local Casino was open, but I resisted the urge to go gamble...) So I decided to catch an earlier train to Zurich, hoping to find better weather or at least some more life.
The weather is only marginably better, and by that I mean it's not raining as hard. Just about everything is closed in Zurich as well, expect this internet cafe and some restaurants. The train station is of course a hub of activity. So I've got a few more hours till my overnight train to Vienna. I'll be in Vienna Monday night through Thursday night, at least that's what my plan is so far. I've got a reservation at the Wombat Hostel, some classic Auzzie joint in Vienna. Brendan stayed here before and said it was decent, so I'll go on a recommendation for my first few hostels rather then trying to go all local and cultural.
In a certain way, the real adventure begins now. It's been awesome hanging out with Brendan for the last two weeks. Crazy how quickly things have gone by. He starts school tomorrow morning while I'm pulling into Vienna. From here onwards, it pretty much becomes a solo trip. Next stop is Vienna Austria...
Kenny
posted by Kenny Carruthers at 10/23/2005 07:54:00 AM
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