We arrived in Zurich after a pleasant flight from New Delhi and took a glorious train-ferry-train ride to Germany. The trains and ferry arrived where and when they were supposed to, thus removing all the uncertainty and excitement that comes with travelling in Asia. We stayed with our friends Uwe and Anita, and their children Annemarie and Leon, in Zweifalten for a few days. Their house has wonderful views of a picturesque church, creek, forest, and green fields. We slept for 15 straight hours upon arrival (must have been the cool air). Everything in Germany is so clean, organized, and tranquil. Quite a culture shock after India! We lounged, took walks, talked, and fullfilled food fantasies we had had in Nepal and India. Our stomachs took a few days to adjust to western food again; at this point, we were willing to endure mild diarrhea bouts to have some real, creamy ice cream! So nice to get recharged!
Took a train to Freiburg and stayed with our friends Margrit, Joseph, and Helmut. Continued to eat a lot of really nice food; Joseph and Margrit took us to a couple of very, very nice restaurants. One day Helmut took us with him to a friend's birthday party and on another day, Joseph and Margrit showed us around the beautiful university town of Freiburg.
We also rented a tandem bicycle and rode in the rain over to the Alsace region of France where we visited the Unterlinden Museum (Hunter actually liked this museum) and had lunch. It was pretty fun to be able to cruise from Germany to France and back in a day.
After Freiburg, we went back to Switzerland where Stephan showed us around Basel, a beautiful and clean town. Had drinks at a classy café that Stephan started up with some other businessmen. We then browsed the booths at an African American Festival while having Sangria. Afterward, had a delicious Italian dinner at the restaurant of a friend of Stephan's. Finally ended the night by having some wine at Stephan and Gabby's place outside of Basel. Their home can only be described as a warm, wonderful modern art museum that you can live in! The next morning, had a nice breakfast then took a brisk walk through the countryside forests. So nice and fresh. Bought brot and wursts (bread and sausages) from a booth at another festival happening in Stephan's neighborhood before heading out to the airport to catch our flight to Finland.
|
|
