Email Home from St. Moritz: Watch Out for the Cows

Hello!

Am I having too much fun? I'm continuing my survey of vin rosé, but the summer's run out and I suppose I'll have to change with the season. I spent some time writing today, so I can't be having too much fun. 

Actually, we went by mountain train up the slopes of St. Moritz area today to take in the view. When off the train, we were almost run over by flocks of bicyclers, then some cows with bells, and even tourists with cameras while we just stood gazing out upon the irony of shrinking, melting glaciers and the seemingly unnecessary avalanche fences below them. 

A warning to stay away from cows and their calves posted on mountain side

The challenge was to enjoy the peaks, valleys and lake while the touring helicopter buzzed us. I wished that the music served with our hot chocolate had been some good Golden Oldies instead of that Euro-disco trash stuff.

I realized once again that the reason I don't take a lot of pictures is because I can't use the viewfinder with my glasses or without them. I wonder if there's a special prescription I can ask for just to take photos on vacation? 

Well, dinner tonight will be served by Italian-speaking waiters taking orders from Swiss and German customers. Both the waiters and us English speakers hope for descriptions on the menu using shorter than 46 letter words. 

It's amusing to listen to the various dialects of German; the differences are like putting Scottish, American, Welsh and Australians at one table and expecting them to communicate. My less than perfect sense of German makes my five years of studying the language all seem worthwhile.

We've got a lot of fun to pack in before we pack clothes tonight and clamber onto the Glacier Express again tomorrow morning. We leave at 10 AM sharp by Swiss clock time. I'm looking forward to seeing even higher mountain views as we progress to Brig, another famous Swiss village offering much gemütlichkeit.

Lots of love from both of us. We really are having a great time here. See you soon.

Suzan a.k.a. Mom

Buy the Swiss Watch that Fits You Best

I write while enjoying a view of the village and its surrounding mountain tops from our hotel room at the Steffani Hotel, St. Moritz, Switzerland. I’m still not quite past jet-lag but I’m awake enough to write on a caffeine buzz induced by Swiss-chocolate to keep me going.

Phil and I did a little shopping in the chic shops all around us in this very elegant tourist town. The last time I was here, thirty years ago, I bought down-filled leather mittens for skiing. I still have them and they are still the best mittens I've ever had for extreme cold.

My new Mondaine wrist watch posing with its family.

This time I was on a serious prowl for a watch. I will admit that my watches in the past few years have been purchased from Overstock.com. It’s pretty difficult to tell if a watch will fit me from product descriptions as I inherited “sturdy” bones and a lot of ladies’ time pieces are too small and not all that adjustable.

Well, Switzerland is no place to look for a bargain in a watch. People really do buy watches with an amount of money that could buy a car. However, my watch band began to fall to pieces in the past week from me stretching the band out a few too many times, plus it’s never really kept time that well.

There’s a watch for everyone here though. I found a ladies' Mondaine that’s totally adjustable and doesn't have “bells and whistles” that I won’t use. It cost more than I usually spend (which is to say I normally spend very little) but it’s definitely comfortable, adjustable, and easy to read.

Swiss Train Station Clock

I assure you that it’s easy to read! My proof is that virtually every clock in every Swiss train station has the same face, but a thousand times larger! Wherever I travel here I see this wonderful clock face. And whenever I check the time in the future I will be reminded of our exceptional Swiss rail trip.

Time Travel in 2014: Jet Lag Recovery Refined to an Art

Right up front, I apologize to all the fascinating cities around the world in which I've initially begun foreign travel in another time zone. I often sleep off and on through the first three days of every trip. Right now I'm apologizing to Paris... I'm not taking her for granted, I just can't keep my eyes open during the day and closed at night.

View of Montparnasse Tower, Paris from Jules Verne Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower

As a sample, I've stumbled half-asleep through Amsterdam, London, Munich, Paris, Lyon, Honolulu, New Delhi, Buenos Aires, and many more. About ten years ago I was finally diagnosed with a sleep disorder: a seemingly permanent jet-lag condition even while at home and not traveling.

No remedy seems to work as well as skillful use of sleep medication... but there are still no guarantees. The techniques offered in travel articles and from friends might work for normal people but I'm not normal. Personally, I think "sleepus interuptus" should be classified as a mental disorder because it drives one crazy if ignored.

So, despite much experience traveling for pleasure and business, I haven’t found the perfect personal solution that gives me that “ready-to-go”, alert consciousness everyone desires while taking in museums and cathedrals. My husband and I now make a point of making travel plans to include an initial three days recovery time before trying to follow an itinerary.

View of Montmartre from the Eiffel Tower during our anniversary dinner

As I write this, we are now leaving Paris after three days of recovery. But we have used the time well to meetup with old friends and celebrate our wedding anniversary. Following blog entries describe our trip.

Itinerary: Minneapolis to Paris, St. Moritz, Brig, Montreux, Zurich

From www.forwallpapercom

We are now on a trip that left Minneapolis, MN (USA) on a non-stop flight on Air France to Paris. 

• We stopped in Paris for a few days recovery time, then flew on to Zurich, Switzerland and immediately from there began a train tour of Switzerland: St. Moritz and Brig via Glacier Express and on to Montreux and again to Zurich via inter-regional Swiss train. 
• Finally we will return to Paris from Zurich by Swiss Air. Then fly non-stop on Delta Airline returning to Minneapolis.

Goals:

• A special trip to see the Alps and Switzerland for an extended period of time. Phil and I have been in and out of Switzerland before, but have never spent much time there.
• Relax. Write. Enjoy good food. Enjoy touring by train. Flexing our French and German language skills.
• Experiment with staying a few places and making day trips from those spots when we feel like it.