20070528

So much has happened in the last week, it's hard to remember. I was headed to Gstaad last week (and misspelled it). Chris and I rented bicycles and biked over to a nearby town where we made a picnic of wine, cheese, bread, and some fruit. Then we headed up the trail to Iggli, a climb of 600m, with 30 degree grades for a large part of the climb. On the way up, we found a restaurant where some locals were having a meeting in traditional Alpine dress. After having a Coke, we finished the 2-hour ascent to find an amazing panorama of snow-capped peaks, with the sound of cow bells and birds, and the smell of long cool grass. The photo I've taken could never capture all the beauty of the scene, but such fact only provides better excuse for future vacation. After our long ascent, Chris and I were quite happy to enjoy the 15 minute descent which I would love to try again on a familiar bike with a helmet.
We ended the evening in Gstaad, an upscale tourist town, by ordering drinks in the outdoor seating of a restaurant. It was a refreshing slap in the face to be reminded, by the intentionally poor service at the restaurant, that many people are denied the luxuries I currently enjoy.
On Tuesday our group was shown around the city of Bern, and we met with a member of the Swiss Parliament. Among other things, I learned that Switzerland has a $2M cap on CEO salaries. Also, they have a direct democracy and vote 4 times each year. This regular exercise of democracy, aided by Switzerland's unique history and geography which promote their love of diversity, make for a political world which is open to intelligent discourse, and which suffers from neither the tyranny of the majority nor the political neglect caused by our two-party system, remote federal government, and monocultural majority.
We also toured a brewery and enjoyed some fine beer.
On Wednesday our class covered Swiss federalism. I learned much from Professor Nicolas Schmitt about the complex geographic, historical, and political processes which support Swiss federalism. I have personal fears that the processes underlying globalization are at work in modern Switzerland, eroding the geographic and social borders which for centuries have ensured that people from each municipality within each canton have spoken slightly differently, and eaten different styles of cheese, beer, and wine. It is these differences which have ensured that the cantons jealously guarded their independence, for fear that the development of a majority in any single area would erode their rights as minorities in other areas. The result of this historical diversity has been that no majority in any single area has been willing to value their majoritarian status more than they valued freedom of all to do as they please. But today, the cantons have been willing to give more power to the nation, and there is even talk about teaching English as a universal language in all the schools which have until now taught either French, German, or Italian, depending upon region. Also, Switzerland is now having to face difficult questions of majority power regarding immigrants from Eastern European nations. This Catholic nation will also soon face questions of religious freedom. But they have endured in various forms for the last 800 years, and may endure for many more if they show their usual skill in problem solving which is clear from every piece of ancient architecture standing in this mountainous paradise, and from their watches which are works of high mechanical art.
Speaking of high works of mechanical art, Thursday brought our group to Geneva where I saw a gorgeous sundial which reported both the time of day, and the day of year. Searching the internet for more information about sundials and solar timekeeping, I found information about "the equation of time" which describes the irregular difference between true time and solar time caused by the Earth's tilted and elliptical orbit around the Sun. This reminded me of a Swiss watch, Jaeger-LeCoultre's Gyrotourbillon. The watch features both a 3-d rotating escapement, and a hand which displays the current solar time. Check out this video of the rotating escapement, and these articles for the engineering-minded, which describe how they fit these features into such a small watch as the gryotourbillon and the equation of time. Anyone looking for a gift for my next birthday should keep this watch in mind.
Our tour of Geneva on Thursday was great, as our hosts showed us many hidden parts of the city by foot, and bade us picnic at a park after a trip to the grocery. Unfortunately, my very American companions complained about the amount of walking we did, and that the trip was unstructured. Too bad for them; after they left, Chris and I remained and did more unstructured touring. We found some great graffiti, a punk bar, and a bar situated on the steep grassy river bank populated with students and bicycles. We also discovered that Gerbils in Switzerland cost $30.
On Friday I went to a local park in Switzerland and spoke to a drunk ex-methadone-addict and a current heroin addict about life in Switzerland. I also managed to meet a young didgeridoo player living off his street earnings and social welfare. From my limited experience here, it seems like Switzerland does a much better job than America at keeping these people safe, and that they in turn are much safer for the rest of society. Businessmen walked past us with neither fear nor reproach. People in Switzerland seem to have a fundamental rule, "don't bother those who don't bother you," and it seems to work very well toward establishing social order. But they are aided by their geography which forces rich to live among poor, and keeps cities small enough that people do not expect anonymity if they misbehave.
This weekend I have enjoyed taking my laptop to the BelleVidere cafe which overlooks all of the old lower BasseVille in the canyon below, and working on engineering problems which come like puzzles; gifts to be solved presently.

20070519

At the end of my last entry on Wednesday, I met a traveler from Spain known only as "Pollo," (Spanish for "Chicken") and had much opportunity to practice my Spanish, and inquire about the parts of Spain most interesting. I am told that Barcelona is a great place to go, ("much better than Madrid" is what everyone says), and that sleeping on the beach is popular. Also, I am told to visit Cadis.
Wednesday evening was amazing, as the guys from the fraternity took me to their weekly hang out and introduced me to their beer games. Cardinal is the local brand of beer, and it flows like water. After spending some time at their regular restaurant, which has a table inscribed with their names, we went to a couple local bars to enjoy the night life. The Rodensteiner have shown me the most amazing hospitality, and have been both hosts and guardians. I am told by the coordinators of the trip, and I believe, that I am the most fortunate of the exchange students for my living situation.
On Thursday, after waking a bit late, I walked about Fribourg, discovering parts of the city on my own, and happening upon some very pastoral scenes as well as some sublime moments. One of the most striking was the end of a walk down a long stairwell into the back-end of Basseville, the lower town, cradled among ancient homes and passing through capillary streets. I spent Thursday evening in a small tea room that reminds me of the movie Amelie, drinking my Earl Grey while trying to learn French from a book.
Yesterday, Friday, I spent with Chris Neff. In the morning, one of our hosts, Muri, took us to several stores to obtain pre-paid cell phones. After only several hours of waiting for the service people we had our phones. But they did not yet work. So we headed to the local hill to explore, and found a sign which read of some danger of d'eboulement for French or steinschlag gefahr for Germans. Whatever that means. Apparently their hills are bigger in the Alps. And much more treacherous. And there exists stinging nettle. Oh, and d'eboulement and steinschlag gefahr mean danger of falling rocks. Luckily we were neither French nor German, so we were at least safe from d'eboulement. And our cell phones still did not work. Later that night we went to the local Irish pub to listen to an English singer cover some English language songs, such as Johnny Be Good and Stupid American. It was sublime. We also met a couple Swiss girls who explained to us all of the places we should visit, and Chris led an engaging discussion with the singer about the current state of American politics. Only by both of our efforts did Chris and I manage to get our cell phones working by calling first the operator, who told us to dial a phone and "four hash," then us calling a pay phone and pressing 4#. Perhaps it was funnier at the time because it required both of us all day, and two calls to the operator, to understand enough of what was going on to complete our task.
Today we ride the train to Gstaad. We are passing beautiful Alpine mountains, which look like they have some amazing climbs, and a blue lake which sits below the Alps. The dock is littered with sail boats for a reason: this is the place to sail.

20070516

1800 (Fribourg)
I return at the end of this fourth day in Switzerland from a Lausanne / Geneva daytrip to my home in Fribourg. As it turns out, I'm staying in a fraternity. But this is not just any fraternity; it is a sword-fighting fraternity, and they actually sword fight one another. I have not yet seen their practice, but I am sure I will. So far, I have had the enjoyable experience of being shown the whole of Fribourg by a member, Nikola, whose English is better than he will admit. The city is as beautiful as it is old.

20070514 - With Luggage!

0830 (Geneva)
I extend my most hearty congratulations to British Airways for finally forwarding my luggage from London to me. Last night was well spent in Geneva; walking around at night, I was able to see the riverwalk, which features gorgeous architecture, sailboats, and what looks to be a 100' water spout in the middle of the river. I can only guess what this financial capital spends for that beautiful waste of energy, but I know it's worth the expense.

The weather here is very fair. I do not believe my hostel was air conditioned at all, but it was remarkably comfortable. I slept well for all 7 hours I was in bed, save the momentary disturbances from my roommates entering, and periodically coughing and sneezing. I believe I got slightly unlucky to be bedmate of 5 plague-stricken individuals. Hopefully my immune system has not been too shot by all the traveling and sleep deprivation over the last couple days.
Most remarkably, despite my lack of familiarity with the most basic aspects of life here, like walking across a street, I feel more at home than I have for the last 2 years in Alabama. I'm not as comfortable here in Geneva as I was in Austin, but I have the same feeling I had upon arriving at New York several years ago before deciding to live there, that this place could easily become a great home. Bicycles flow with the traffic. Signs everywhere indicate that restrictions upon cars, like one-way streets, stops, and no-turns, exempt bicycles and motorbikes. Busses have their own lanes, as do bicycles on many roads. Pedestrians have their own light which is just as prominent and important as the lights which direct vehicular traffic. Simply put, public transportation is a real priority. And the city is much more beautiful for it. I believe all the busses and trains operate off electric lines, making the city very clean.
I am headed now on a train to Fribourg to meet my hosts at noon. I should have some time before hand to catch a little of the city scenery, and perhaps have a snack.

20070513 - In Geneva

1600 Hours, Geneva time. 9AM Birmingham Time. I got up at 6AM yesterday, so it's been 27 hours of mucking with airports, and I didn't get much sleep last last night either. Nor did I sleep well in the airports or planes. Somehow my watch reset itself 15 minutes past midnight flying over the Atlantic. Until I found that the date was wrong, I was scratching my head trying to figure out exactly how I could have lost 15 minutes moving so much slower than light. Did I mention that my transatlantic flight was an hour late to depart and to arrive, and that I consequently missed my scheduled flight from London to Geneva? Perhaps this is why I'm here typing, waiting for my underwear to show up so I can shower here in the airport before bumbling about the streets in search of a better place to sleep than I've had for the last 27 hours. Oh . . . for the curious, it's now 4pm local time.

20070504 - Bad Hair Day

Uggh.

20070502 - Preparations

Getting ready for my Swiss travels, I've been realizing more and more that Alabama is a foreign country in its own. Why haven't I strapped a pack to my back and gone about the Southeast in search of adventure, while living here? Perhaps it's the cars.

Something tells me I'm not safe here. Perhaps its the signs?

20070418 - Preparations

My excitement builds as I make all my preparations for Europe. I have new shoes ready for walking, a new camera for sending pictures back home, I am reading Stuart Little en espanol to improve my spanish, and most excitingly I have lived the last week and a half out of my backpack. I have acquired and honed for myself the knowledge of vagrants, and with the benefit of my own shower, I have done so without causing offense.
As I write this entry during Products Liability class, I remark to myself how difficult it is now to focus on school. I have sat in these class rooms for two years now, listening to professors remind me for hours of the painful readings they required; but now I have something to look forward to. Just as in elementary, I look forward now to the warm summer of play and cannot be burdened to think of the school that yet remains.
As such, I spent last night writing sample code for my blog in HTML and JavaScript, and thinking of how I want to lay out the site to make the most interesting parts of my trip readily accessible.