July 21, 1999

Hi everyone,

Well today is my first day back to work after my trip to Switzerland with Amelie.  
The trip was amazing and the Swiss scenery is absolutely beautiful.  Here's the 
story of the week:

I met Amelie at Heathrow Saturday morning at around 9am.  Our flight to Geneva 
left at 10:40, so we had a bit of time to grab a drink and catch up on the last 
two and a half months.  As soon as we landed in Geneva, we hopped the train to 
Martigny in the Valais region (French Swiss).  We went out for Chinese food that 
night and realized that all main courses in Switzerland are about $30 each.  At 
this point, we knew it was going to be an expensive trip.  Considering Amelie was 
a little jet lagged, we called it an early night.

The next day we toured around Martigny.  It was pretty cool since it used to be 
colonized by Romans and they just (~1990) unearthed a bunch of ruins.  There were 
bath houses and an amphitheatre, etc.  Then we hiked up to the castle which is on
a hill overlooking the town.  We looked through the castle and climbed all the 
way up the tower to the top overlooking the valley, which was between large mountains.  
In the afternoon, we took the train to Zermatt, which is a town at 1640m in elevation, 
at the foot of the famous Matterhorn.  We got to our hostel, but were unimpressed as 
the room was tiny and it didn't have any locks on the doors.  When someone walked 
in on us changing, we decided that we would move to a better place.  We ended up at 
the Tannenhof hotel, which was only $6 more expensive and a much nicer place.  All 
hotels and hostels in Switzerland offer free breakfasts, which are usually bread, 
butter, and juice, etc.

The following day, we started early on our trek up the Matterhorn.  We took the 
cable car from Zermatt to Furi to Furgg, and then to Schwarzee.  From there, we 
hiked up for about three to four hours to the highest point on the Matterhorn that 
you can hike without mountaineering equipment.  There's a hut there with a tiny 
restaurant for hikers and people attempting the summit.  The weather wasn't too 
bad that day.  We were either above, below, or within the clouds, but all in all, 
the views were pretty spectacular when the clouds weren't in the way.  We even saw 
a pretty cool avalanche on the side of the Matterhorn.  Once up at the hut, Am took 
a breather and I hiked about a half mile farther to about 11,000'.  I stopped once 
the climb became completely vertical and the snow was too much.  Once back at the 
hotel, I was reading about the hike and it said that the hut is the highest spot for 
hikers and that 500 people have died in the 1 mile above the hut.  It's a good thing 
that I read that after my hike!!!

The following day was my birthday (Tues, the 13th), and for the first time, we had 
perfect weather.  We took the train up to Sunnega that morning to do a little more 
hiking.  The view of the Matterhorn that morning was perfect as there were no clouds 
in the sky.  That afternoon, we packed up and took the train to Interlaken.  Most of 
the train ride was in a tunnel under a mountain.  Once in Interlaken, we checked in 
to the Backpackers Villa and then wandered around Interlaken.  Amelie took me out for 
Ribs for my birthday.  Of course, I had the chicken sandwich.

On Wednesday, the weather was cloudy and a bit rainy.  We slept in and then after 
breakfast took the train to Grindelwald.  From Grindelwald, we hiked up to Alpiglen 
at the foot of the infamous Eiger North Wall.  This wall is famous for being one of 
the most difficult climbs in the world.  That's because it is almost 6000' of vertical 
face in a concave shape.  Apart from avalanches, the shear size and near 90 degree 
grade makes it very difficult to attain the summit.  The view from the bottom was 
amazing.  During the hike, we kept coming across these little gates, which consist of 
a long black rubber stick about waist high, which can be pushed out of the way.  Not 
speaking any German (there were signs), I opened the first gate and pushed my way 
through.  Feeling a strange sensation, I decided not to proceed.  I turned to Amelie 
and said "I think these gates are electrified".  She had been looking at the sign and 
was about to tell me as I went through.  I guess many mishaps in the electrical lab 
have dulled my sensation to electrical shocks.  We were a little more careful on the 
next gates.  That night, we decided to make our own dinner and then played a game of  
ping pong, where I kicked Am's butt, although she sees it the other way around (silly girl).

Thursday morning, we took the train up to Kleine Sheidegg, where we switched trains 
and proceeded up the track, inside the Eiger, to the Jungfraujoch.  This is Europe's 
highest train station at 11,333'.  As I just mentioned, the train tracks are in a 
tunnel inside the mountain itself (a 40 minute ride).  Being near the top of the 
mountain was really cool.  At the top, they built this complex with an ice palace 
(carved into the glacier), a few restaurants, a theatre, souvenir shops (of course), 
and an observatory.  Taking a flight of stairs was interesting.  You wouldn't be tired, 
but you'd start to breathe heavier.  At 11,768' the air is pretty thin.  Outside the 
complex, you can hike along the glacier, take a dog sled ride, or go tobogganing on 
snow disks.  For those of you who know me, I've always wanted to crazy carpet down 
Everest, so this is the next best thing.  Of course, at the end of the toboggan hill, 
there's a snow ramp to stop you, unfortunately with the speed that I got, I flew right 
over it.  Luckily the end of the mountain wasn't on the other side of the ramp.  Am 
and I also wrestled in the snow while people looked at us like we were crazy.  They 
were in parkas and boots, etc, while we were dressed in fleeces (our Canadian thick 
skin).  Once we got back to Interlaken, we cooked dinner, played ping pong (where I 
kicked Am's butt again).  Then we met up with a few Americans and Canadians and went 
to a party at the Funny Farm (another hostel).  It was a lot of fun.

Friday morning we were picked up at our hostel by Haril, our guide, who drove us up 
to the Steingletcher, a glacier about an hour away from Interlaken.  We were going 
ice climbing. At the bottom of the glacier, we strapped on our crampon, put on our 
harness, roped in, and hiked up the glacier for about an hour, admiring the mountains, 
crevasses, ice holes, and amazing blue colour of the glacier.  After an hour, we 
stopped for a picnic, while our guide setup the climbs on the sebacs (glacier blocks 
about 2 or 3 stories high).  The climbing was really cool.  You had your crampons, 
plus an ice axe in each hand and had to climb up 30' vertical walls of ice.  It takes 
a while to trust your equipment.  Haril said that Amelie was a natural.  There was even 
an overhang, which is strange to climb, since most of your weight is on your hammers.  
The last climb, Haril lowered us into a crevasse about 40' high and made us climb our 
way out.  It was a little claustrophobic, but it was fun.  At the very end of this climb, 
my feet slipped out of the wall and I was hanging by my wrist in the strap to one of the 
ice axes.  Once I got free of the strap, I was pretty much hanging by holding onto the 
other axe before I got my feet into place.  A little nerve wracking, but a rush none-
the-less.  That evening, Am and I realized that our bodies were in pain, since we used 
muscles that have never seen the light of day.  We were also black and blue from all 
the bumps against the ice.  I had also kicked the back of my knee with a crampon and 
gave myself a little gash.  I know, I'm an accident waiting to happen.  When we got 
back to Interlaken, we went out to a nice Thai restaurant for dinner.

Saturday morning, Amelie and I got picked up at our hostel and driven to the top 
of a mountain overlooking the valley and Lake Brienzersee.  We were 1100m off the 
valley floor, when we strapped in and ran off the side of the mountain.  We were 
hang gliding.  It was wild.  We were in the air for about 20 minutes or so.  Towards 
the end, we started doing tricks... spins, wingovers, loops, etc.  Of course we had 
instructors with us.  If it was just me, I'd would have gotten us both killed.  That 
afternoon, we took the train to Geneva and went on a really nice dinner cruise around 
Lake Geneva, or as they pronounce it in French, Lac Leman.  We had one stop along the 
cruise in Yvonne, France.  It was a cute little medieval town.  We saw a beautiful 
sunset over the mountains.

Sunday morning we caught the train to Cornevain airport and were off back to Heathrow 
airport.  That evening we got together with my Czech friends to give out postcards, 
chocolates, and tell all the stories of our travels.  And finally, Monday, I gave 
Amelie the grand tour of Maidenhead, which lasted about 12 minutes.  Then I drove her 
to Heathrow, and with a tearful farewell, she was off back home.

Oh, and the highlight of my week...  I finally saw Star Wars yesterday.

Cheers all,

Rob