12/8/10 - 13/8/10

Today I had the day off! Thank goodness, because it has been ages since I have slept in. Alex departed this morning for France, but I am sure glad she got to visit me! We camped in a tent for 4 nights, it was alot of fun. I slept in until 2pm, it was wonderful. Then, I made myself some Ravioli for lunch, well I just heated it up on the stove since it came in a can. I then packed my backpack for Bunderspitz, hoping that the rainy weather would clear and we would be able to reach the peak. I watched some episodes of the unit and just relaxed all day until dinner. After dinner, we started out our hike for the cheesemakers. We arrived at the cheesemakers just after nine pm. The plan for the Bunderspitz overnight hike is we sleep at the cheesemakers then get up at 2:30am and start hiking to reach the peak by sunrise. So, once we arrived we enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate and then headed for bed. I did not get much sleep as there was the sound of constant cow bell ringing in the distance, and sleeping in close quarters with people made it difficult for me to fall asleep. We then woke up at 2:30am, the sky was somewhat clear and somewhat cloudy, but we decided to give hiking a go. We made it all the way to the cow hut, which is half way to the peak. Some of the girls were really exhausted, sick, scared of heights or whatever and wanted to turn back. This made it difficult for staff to decide what to do next. We took about a 15 minute break and another thick cloud came rolling in and we couldn't see anything. We then decided that we should head back. I was really disappointed that we couldn't go all the way to the top, because I really wanted to see the sun rise. But, I guess the weather conditions were not right for hiking. And, Friday the 13th brings bad luck. It was about 6am by the time we reached the cheesemakers hut. We made our beds and gathered the rest of our stuff. The owner of the cheesemakers wanted to play his alpine horn for us, so we enjoyed the sound of an early morning horn. We heard cow bells ring all the way down until we reached the chalet. It was a little after 8am when we finally made it home. I finally became really tired, I went straight to bed and slept until 3pm. I woke up and I was still tired. I made myself maccroni and cheese for lunch and then hung out in my bed all day. We had a staff night in, movie watching spree as well. It was a good 2ish days off. I did lots of sleeping which is good, since my 6 day working streak begins tomorrow. Yippee.

11/8/10

Adeventure day, destination: woodcarvers and abseiling in the gorge. We had a lovely walk to the woodcarvers. I took lots of photographs of the flowers around the woodcarvers and around Cafe Blatti. There were so many, it was unreal. The weather was nice, it was sunny, but not too hot. We hiked with a group of girls from Montana (US) and Tokyo (Japan). They were lots of fun, and I was teaching the Japanese girls a few campfire songs. We sang a song about a moose, they did not know what a moose was, so one of the girls drew a picture so they could understand. It was neat. We then hiked to the river to have lunch. It was very crowded by the river and I sat on a rock, listened to the river rush down and heard children play and splash rocks in the creek. Next stop, was abseiling. I brought my camera into the gorge and took tons and tons of pictures. I even discovered new options to my camera, so I was having fun. We finally finished repelling and then it was time to head back to the chalet. On our hike back, the sun came out and it was alot warmer than the morning. I took a nice refreshing shower, uploaded my blog and some photos and then it was dinner time. It is Alex's last night in Switzerland, she went to Basel for the day to go to lots of art museums, but we are going out in Adelboden tonight. She will get a taste of my nightlife scene I have been experiencing this summer. Emma, Alex, Elaine and I all went out and it was tons of fun! Ciao. (I am pre-posting my adventure out, but none the less, this blog post is done!!!) I am finally caught up on all of my blogging.

10/8/10

I woke up around 8am in the tent with Alex. I was on guest services for the day since it was on-site day. I am on program for this event. We had the opening ceremony this morning by the flagpole, then we finished in the kitchen and then it was morning meeting time. I helped out with the BBQ lunch and I even helped Christoph with the actual barbequeing of the bratwurst. We had a staff lunch together to gather to say goodbye to Megan, since she is leaving in the morning. After lunch I had a break to hang out with Alex and catch up on my blog updating. I finally completed all of my blogs from the last five days. I have been on the go and very busy since I left for Venice and I have a visitor at the chalet which is tons of fun! Renee and I made a cake for Megan during/after dinner and we had a miniature party in the Music room to say goodbye again. It is becoming more of a reality to me that I am leaving soon since she is leaving tomorrow. It is crazy to think that this summer has flown by and I am leaving in 15 days! After our gathering, I was off to bed in our tent with Vietti!

9/8/10-Evian/Geneva!

I went to two countries in one day! First, we arrived into Lausann,e which is a city located on Lake Geneva or Lac Leman (French version). We then hopped on an underground metro to take us to the lake so we could take a steamer boat across the lake to France. We went to Evian, which is famous for its mineral water and it also has a famous masters golf course. We walked around and saw many gardens and flowers; we even walked around the centre ville. We were hungry so we decided to stop and have a crepe to eat. I had a banana caramel crepe. We were trying to hurry and pay since we wanted to catch the next boat. But, as we were running to the boat station, we heard the boat’s horn and saw it depart form the port. Darn, we missed that boat. And the next boat was leaving in an hour and a half. So, we decided to lay in the park and sleep/sun bathe. It was actually very nice to sit still and relax. We did make the second boat, thank goodness. And our next destination was Geneva! We arrived in Geneva, got lost around the train station and then finally found the trams. We went to go see the United Nations headquarters. It was closing when we arrived, but it was still cool to see the building and take some photos. Our next stop was the Jardin Botanique (Botanical Gardens.) I really enjoy walking through such pretty gardens, as where I live they are few and far between. I even got to do some reading. I then realized as we were walking that Alex’s jacket that I had 


attached to my purse was gone (it probably fell off somehow). So, we got back on the bus and went back to the last bus stop and walked backwards. Luckily, since we are in Switzerland someone picked it up off the sidewalk and left it hanging in the bushes. Horray, we found it. We even got questioned by a French lady asking, in French, if it was my jacket, it was kind of hard to explain what happened, so we continued walking. We then took the tram over to the old town part of Geneva, the oldest part of the city. The architecture and gray-toned buildings convey Geneva’s history, a severely punitive Calvinist past. It was in 1535 that the Protestant Reformation arrived in Geneva. We also walked down to the lake to see the premier sight of Jet d’Eau, the world’s second largest fountain about 140m, which is Geneva’s premier symbol. We also saw the Flower clock in the Jardin Anglais that has around 6,500 flowers. It was fun to ride the tram around the old town as well as walk the sights. On our way to see the fountain, we even saw a really cool church, with golden domes. Geneva is Switzerland’s second largest city; I read that it is the world’s healthiest city because of the prevailing north winds that blow all the air pollution away. It is also a very international city as it has around 250 international organizations based here. And, the International Red Cross started in Geneva. How cool is that? Well, we then hopped on a bus to take us back to the train station. We did not want to get back to the chalet at midnight, because then I would be tired for the next few days. We actually missed the train stop while we were on the bus, because we couldn’t see the station. We got off at the next bus stop and ran to the train station, and made it to our train just in time. It was a good day =).

8/8/10- Staff day out.

It was staff day out today!!! And, we did not know where we were going until we arrived. We were instructed to bring warm cloths, a swimsuit, water proofs, money, a packed lunch and random stuff like balloons, rubber bands and colored paper. We had staff breakfast and the senior staff made croissant rolls and other fun breakfast treats. We then were transported to Kandersteg. Hooray. We went up the gondola to the Glacier lake, it was very cold outside when we arrived so I was not very interested in actually getting into the lake. But I did lay on the shore, next to the lake. After we relaxed and had lunch by the lake, it started to rain so we went to the restaurant for shelter. After the short rain shower passed, we walked to the alpine toboggan slide. We each had three runs. We sat on a scooter type machine, which lifted you up to the top of the slide and then you rode all the way down. It was so much fun!! After our gondola ride back down, we headed over to the Kandersteg International Scout Center for an official tour. Although I had seen the outside of KISC, it was nice to get a tour and see all of the buildings and facilities. The outdoor campsite was huge, it was very lively and loud, the campfire circle was also very big too. We got the chance to see doors and windows of the top secret Switzerland military base. It is located within the mountain and is best accessed through the tunnel by a train. It was pretty cool spotting a door in the mountain. We then headed back to the chalet, we met up with Alex along the hill up to the chalet. Her phone did not have service and she wanted to get to the chalet before it was dark, thank goodness I ran into her. We then walked up the hill to the chalet. We relaxed for a bit and our surprise dinner was BBQ! We had burgers and spiced chicken that was on a stick, it was so yummy! It was fun relaxing and conversing with everybody. Alex and I are going to stay in a tent for the next 4 nights. Luckily, there are tents at the campsite that are already built! We are sleeping in a red German tent that resembles a tee-pee. Christoph was very nice and drove us over to the campsite, we pulled mattresses from camp house and we had bedding, blankets and pillows galore. It was very high-class camping if you ask me. Christina slept over with us as well, so it was a slumber party! We are traveling on the 9^th so I went to bed after I packed my bag and got clothes ready for the morning! Goodnight all.

7/8/10-Venice.

It was bright and sunny in Venice when I opened the curtain of the hotel room. After breakfast, Alex and I set off to St. Mark’s Square because we wanted to see St. Marks Basilica. We only had to wait in line for about 20 minutes, which I thought was kind of shocking. I brought a cover up since I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and Alex and I didn’t have backpacks so we were allowed to enter, I felt so prepared. St. Mark’s Basilica is often referred to as the Chisea d’Oro (church of gold) and the inside of the church was richly decorated. The entire ceiling had figures with a gold background made of individual mosaics, it was phenomenal to even think of how long it took to construct and how they even completed the basilica. Its had a Byzantine style and it is decorated iwith gold or mosaics in every corner. We paid extra to see the Pala d’Oro, a golden altar screen, that is located behind the altar. On the screen it has emeralds, sapphires, garnets, amethysts, rubies and pearls. It was absolutely beautiful; it is a rare treasure in my opinion. We also paid to go into the treasury which houses skulls and bones underneath glass, pkus there is chalices, goblets and Gothic candelabra. The floor of the church was immaculately designed as well. The mosaic combinations were beautifully combined, each very unique and different. Out next stop was Museum Correr that was located just across the square. It was a very diverse museum, it had a Civic/army exhibit, an antique exhibit, an archeological exhibit, a historic exhibit and a contemporary exhibit. It has paintings and the history of Venice from the 14^th and 16^th centuries. There was even a place with sculptures and robes once worn by the doges (chief leader of Venice). The museum was very nice. Next, we rode the ferry over to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. When we arrived at the boat stop, Alex and I got a slice of a coconut and the fruit juice had been dripping on it for hours, it was yummy. The museum was very comprehensive, yet a brilliant modern art museum. I have never been to a museum quite like it. The collection of art was located in the former house of Peggy. She loved contemporary art and was given and collected a number of paintings and sculptures throughout her life.  Once her collection was large enough, she wanted to showcase it and she decided on Venice. My favorite artists were Pollock, Picasso, Dali and Ernst =). We then wandered the streets around the museum. We found a traghetto stop and decided to ride the gondola across the canal, it only cost 50 euro cents. We then wandered our way back through the small alley ways of Venice, we had lunch on the go as we were ‘window shopping.’ It was time to go back to the hotel to get our bags and head to the train station. We got on the infamous ferry boat and 40 minutes later, we arrived to the St. Lucia train station. We grabbed dinner to go, since we were not arriving to Switzerland until after 9pm and train food is very expensive. I got my last piece of pizza before we finally departed from Italy. We made it to our train on time and we were off toward Switzerland. We stopped in Brig and Alex stayed in a hotel their and I went back to the chalet. The chalet was not taking visitors that night because the next day is staff day out. Horray, I made it back to the chalet around midnight and I was so tired I went straight to bed.

6/8/10- Venice =)

I woke up early to take a shower, but our bathtub only had a door for half of it, so taking a shower was interesting. But, none the less it was accomplished, and we even had a bidet in the bathroom. We had complimentary breakfast at the hotel, so that was nice. They served fresh coffee and apricot croissants and nutella! Yum. We then departed for the day. We were going to visit the surrounding islands of Venice, aka be on a boat for a very long time. Our first destination was Murano, an island famous for glass blowing. All of the beautiful Venetian chandeliers and glass pieces are made on this island. We even went to a shop where we got to see real live glass blowing in action. The master that was there was a master in making animal glass pieces. We saw a duck and a fish that was created; it was really cool and mesmerizing. I even got a few glass pieces as well. Next stop, was Torcello, often referred to as the Mother of Venice. It was a very ancient town, with old stone bridges, grassy meadows, and a lagoon that runs right through the island. They even have a ‘Devils Bridge’ in Torcello, which was said to be built in one mysterious night, it has no barrier, it is just a bridge. We walked all the way down to the Cattedral di Torcella, which was founded in AD 639. It was a very old church, but it was also very pretty. There were even vineyards nearby the church, they had very interesting sculptures among the vines, and some sculptures had no heads. Next stop was Burano, we passed this island on the way to Torcello and decided to go since all of the buildings were brightly colored. Burano is world famous as a center for lace-making, but that is not the reason that I wanted to go there. It is a very charming island with houses of cobalt blue, sunset yellow, peach, grass green and barn read. We walked around, ate lunch by the canal and even had a gelato after that. It was a very cute island and I really enjoyed all the colors. Our next stop was Isola di San Michel, which was the former prison island, but is now Venice’s cemetery. It started in the late 1800s when Napoleon demanded that bodies be buried across the water, rather than on the Venetian island. The cemetery was laid out in a very precise manner, some areas were in alphabetical order by last name, the crosses were grouped together as well as the grave stones, there was a religious section and a military section, there were even walls of names with flowers, and it had individual rooms for families too. It had trees, plants and flowers all around and there was even a church, but it was closed by the time we reached that island. The weather could not have been better today, but as we were wandering through the cemetery, the sky starting booming. It was thundering quite loud and it was somewhat scary as we were on an island that was solely for burying the dead. We still were walking around, but it started to rain lightly, so we decided we should head back to the boat station. Thank goodness we started to head back, because in a matter of minutes we were experiencing a torrential downpour. We were under cover on the boat dock and the rain was going sideways. The boat dock was rocking back and forth, it was crazy. We hopped on the 3^rd boat and headed back to the main land. We even saw some crazy Italians that got into a yelling match and an older lady fell as she was trying to get onto the boat as people were pushing each other to get off, it was crazy mad. We walked around northern Venice, we saw a church and the area were Venetian residents reside, so it was cool. It was still sprinkling and the air was getting cooler. Alex and I were some what wet from the crazy wet boat ride to the main island. We decided to take the ‘tourist boat’ back through the Grand Canal, which is basically the main street (well river) of Venice. We passed by the Rialto Bridge, the Academic Bridge, the Ca’ d’Oro (the House of Gold), the city’s market, Ca’Pesaro (beautiful baroque architecture), the Punta della Dogana de Mar (it is an old customs landing stage from goods from the 16^th century onward), museums along the canal and lots of gothic architecture as well. The boat ride was a lot of fun. After we got off at San Marco, we went to the hotel to change for our evening attire, as we were slightly cold and still wet. I was sitting on the bed, and the room started rocking and I still felt like I was on a boat, it was a very weird feeling. But, it was only when I was sitting down or standing still that I felt this way, so I wanted to get walking again. We then road the boat over to the Castello area, we landed at a beautiful garden and watced the sunset and looked at the sky post-storm was phenomenal. We walked along the canal and finally found a street filled with cheap places to eat. We had a nice dinner and I had a yummy pasta dish. We even had a ‘Bacardi beer’ although it was just a sweet mixed drink, but oh well. We then walked along the canal to go back to the square. There are lots of people selling fake bags along the street and as we crossed over a bridge, they all quickly picked up their fake bags and ran off, probably before the police came. It was funny to watch. When we arrived at the square, it was a Friday night so there was lots of live music at all the cafes in the square. We watched three different bands perform and we even watched the bell ring by the statutes at the top. It was fun. It was a long day and we were both very tired and still feeling a little funny from the boat, so we wanted to go back to the hotel. We wanted to wake up early to see the church and some museums, so getting rest was nice. And during the day I got approached multiple times by random tourists asking directions to places or what not, I guess I look like a Venetian and not an American or something.