A Well Kept Man

Experts Only

2010-03-08T20:42:00.004-06:00

Alli and I spent another ski weekend in Breckenridge. On Saturday, we skied with a coworker of Alli's whose wife was out of town, so he and I skied all of the tough runs and Alli tried to keep up (rather successfully I might add). Prior to this previous Saturday, I never ventured on a double-black diamond run...

For the ski neophytes out there:

Green circle runs are "easiest" and have names like "Cub's Way" or "Rosebud" or "Flap Jack";

Blue square runs are "intermediate" and sport names like "Cappuccino" or "Volunteer";

Black diamond runs are "difficult" and have names such as "Cimarron," "Shock," and "Boneyard";

Double-Black diamond runs are "expert only" and have names like "Devil's Crotch," or "Check Your Pants," and have lots of warning signs that are meant to prevent you from suing the resort if you happen to injure yourself.

Well, Alli's coworker convinced me we should try a double-black run (Alli opted to cruise down a familiar blue run) and it didn't start out too bad...but then we got to "Mustang." When one describes a mustang they tend to portray them as wild, or rough, or maybe you would describe the type of horse you see cowboys riding at the rodeo. I concur...

I think the drop was roughly the same vertical slope and height as the Washington Monument (not quite, but the drop was around 300 vertical feet)...somehow I survived which was a little victory in itself, until I turned the corner and wound up at a run named "Trinity." I assume it was appropriately named so at this point I decided to connect with God before continuing...just in case.

After a couple bumps (and by bumps I mean moguls the size of VW Beetles, covered with ice), my snow pants started ringing...worried that it might be the Big Guy calling me to tell me to take a different path, I stopped to answer. Instead it was the wife to see how I was doing because her coworker had apparently arrived and wondered if I was requiring the services of a mountain rescue team. After assuring her I was ok, I continued the rest of the way down and rejoined the crew at the lift.

I'm not sure I'll be jumping over any cliffs next time out on the slopes, but after this weekend I'm up for just about anything. In fact, the following day we skied with another coworker of Alli's and her family, including their five-year-old son. Towards the end of the day he wanted to take a run through the terrain park (the kiddie terrain park), so we all skied over to do a run on the course. The first obstacle was a horizontal rail about a foot of the ground that I jumped on and rode like a pro...realizing that I was now on the same level as Shaun White, I decided to up my game. After landing on the rail, I attempted to turn my skis 90 degrees on the rail which turned into me over-leaning and finishing the rail on head.

After everyone finished laughing I decided that would probably be the last time I "ride the rails." So much for my new-found confidence. Thankfully I wasn't seriously injured, and we had a great time (it's tough to have a bad time when you're up in the mountains on a beautiful, sunny day).

Sorry I don't have any pictures, we didn't bring the camera and some things are better kept as a memory, or a blog post I guess...

Ski-time in Colorado

2010-02-22T20:14:00.007-06:00

After some careful thought and consideration, it appears that I need to get back on the blogging wagon. I suppose now that things are quite settled in Colorado, I really have no excuse. I imagine the blogging experiences won't come nearly as frequently as they did in Switzerland, but I shall try my best to bring you some of the more enjoyable ones.

We have managed to ski a few times so far this winter, a week (almost) in Breckenridge, a day at Keystone, and a long weekend in Vail. As it has been snowing more and more lately, hopefully the days will rack up a little quicker...although with a minimum of two hours to the mountains (instead of one to the Alps) it makes it a bit more complicated when you have a dog at home waiting impatiently for your return. The ski resorts in Colorado are very different from Switzerland, both topographically and vegetatively (I think I made up those words)....

In Switzerland, most of the skiing is above the tree line (where the trees can't grow), whereas here in Colorado, there are lots of Aspens and pines. Also, the Swiss runs were much wider and more meticulously groomed, whereas the Colorado runs can become a bit precarious in the afternoon after the skiers have pushed the snow around making unfriendly bumps. Either way I'm spoiled as I get to play on the weekends in the great outdoors. I also seem to wipeout more often here in the States, but that might be due to an increased risk tolerance...as in if I get hurt I don't need to worry that the medics won't speak English and I'll be subject odd-ball European medical procedures involving leeches and moldy cheese.

Don't Call it a Comeback...

2009-06-27T11:25:00.004-05:00

Well, after almost two months back in the US, I have a lot to talk about. First, thanks to all of those who have suggested I make a more earnest effort to continue writing. I must say that I have missed this venue, and look forward to continuing to write as often as I am able. I am back at work (never even missed a beat), but I am missing a key person in the equation. My darling wife is now in Colorado, working for Medtronic in Louisville meaning I am here in the Cities all by my lonesome (with the dog of course). Our house went on the market about two weeks ago (www.4708-10thave.com) and while there was some early interest, that didn't really pan out (ask me about it over a beer sometime...

So I am here working, looking for a job in Colorado, and holding down the fort until it sells...not quite the life of luxury I left behind in Switzerland, but I'll take it. Today I am enjoying the world's largest caramel, pecan, cinnamon roll with extra frosting washed down with a large vanilla cappuccino (oh America, how I missed you!). I have some errands to run but mostly my days (since the house went on the market) have consisted of going to work and then sitting around with the dog enjoying American beer (strangely the dog isn't interested in the beer so much...her loss). I am currently working my way through the Rockies and Northwest, trying to see what awaits me in the Boulder/Denver area (early research is showing promise).

Later this summer I hope to have the house sold, utilizing the proceeds towards a new house in Colorado (or perhaps semi-retirement once again). Feel free to keep your eyes open for new posts, I can't promise the hilarity that you experienced with my European adventures, but surely I will be able to provide tales of fun and excitement, and if nothing else, pictures of the Rockies once I make it out there (we hope that we are able to build upon our momentum from Europe where people came to visit us...that is a not-so-subtle hint...we will be sure to have a big enough house for lots of visitors, so start planning your ski vacations and mountain adventures). Until then, go outside and have a lemonade (the bigger, the better)....

Au Revoir Suisse - La Fin

2009-05-20T11:49:00.002-05:00

The Swiss experiment is now over, after 10 months of getting the opportunity to live in an absolutely gorgeous place we are headed back to America (by the time you read this, we will already be back). We both decided that we will miss our evening walks down to the lake the most, followed closely by skiing in the Alps and the chocolate. The high cost of living conversely will not be missed, nor will the inability to communicate with the locals...

Thank you all for sharing this part of the adventure with us, and I hope you stick around to hear about all of the adventures to come. I can't promise they will be as exciting, humorous, and photogenic, but hopefully they will continue to give everyone out there a glimpse of how you too can live the life of A Well Kept Man (or Woman if that's your style)....

Last Few Days in Switzerland

2009-05-19T12:15:00.011-05:00

As the days in Switzerland became numbered, we decided to basically sit back and relax while savoring the last few days we had in our foreign home. We ventured to Morges for their annual tulip festival, we had dinner with our friends Tom and Sarah (Indian food...yummy!), and dessert with our other friends Jennifer and Jeff (but not on the same night, that would have been crazy!). We even had time to go out for a $90 per plate three course dinner (we decided our wallets needed to remember Switzerland as well).

Lausanne was host for the time trials of the Tour de Romandie (basically our geographic area's version of the Tour de France) so we checked that out one afternoon/evening. But our favorite way to remember our time here was to take our nightly walks down along the lake...très romantique!

Our goal was to go leave Switzerland with no regrets, and I can honestly say we achieved our goal. We didn't necessarily get to every nook and cranny of Europe, but we did see quite a lot of it (her?). Here are some stats and figures to help put into perspective what we were able to do over the last ten months...

1. Number of European countries visited between the two of us: 11 (that's a different country every month since I included Switzerland, which we visited every month)

2. Number of Swiss cities we visited: 40 (trust me, that's a lot)

3. Days of skiing: 15 (prior to Switzerland we skied a total of 10 days in the previous 9 years we've been together)

4. Number of free refills: 1 each (at a Subway sandwich shop in Germany)

5. Number of ice cubes consumed: 18 (at the same Subway)

6. Distance driven in ten months: 20,000+ km/12,400+ miles (this is a conservative estimate)

7. Cow-related festivals attended: 2

8. Department store item returns conducted in French: 2

9. Swiss customs violations: 1

10. Number of times the check was voluntarily brought to my table at the end of a meal: 0

Helpful Hint for My Readers

2009-05-18T01:00:00.000-05:00

For those interested in going on a tour of a water bottling facility, I strongly encourage you to not drink two cups of coffee, a bottle of juice, and a bottle of water before the two hour tour begins. You would think that there would be plenty of facilities along the tour, but there weren't. Which isn't good when everything the tour guide is pointing out is water related: the bottle washer, rinser, the bottle filler, the fruit juice storage tanks, mineral water, still water, soda, lemonade...(you get the point). The best part of the trip (after the post-tour visit to the water bottling plant's lavatories) was the generous amount of free drinks...I even got a backpack with a selection of some of their products. So to recap, the water bottling plant was pretty cool but in the future I plan to dehydrate myself before visiting as I have a hard time saying no to free stuff.

Causing Trouble with My Cousin

2009-05-15T01:00:00.013-05:00

My cousin Joel and I are the same age (well, within a year anyway...but we grew up together and manage to cross paths a few times a year so we always try to make interesting stories), which makes for fun times as we are pretty much at the same place in life (except for the whole being married thing, otherwise, two peas in a pod). Our first day together was spent heading up to the village of Grandson to see a castle. Inside the castle were various period artifacts such as armor, weapons, furniture, stag's heads, tapestries, and other chateau stuff that seems to blur in my mind now as I've been in so many of them I've lost count. The castle did however have some unique treasures in the basement...classic cars (classic, old, same difference). The was an Austin Limousine belonging to Sir Winston Churchill, a 1906 Ford Type N, and even a car once owned by Greta Garbo (I guess she was some kind of a movie star or something according to Wikipedia). The castle wasn't the most exciting tourist attraction in the world, but that didn't prevent us from having a great time. After the castle we stopped for lunch to have the European equivalent of a burrito...Doner Kebab (truly one of the top food stuffs I've encountered on this adventure).

We followed this exciting day up with a trip to Berne, the capital of Switzerland. We spent some time looking for a Jack Wolfskin store as my cousin likes to have exclusive fashionable items that aren't sold in the US (something about striving for individuality...). Anyway, we explored Berne from the train station up to the hill overlooking the city. We stopped in the humongous Münster of Berne (the large Gothic church with a 100m tall tower) and climbed up to the top (254 steps) where we were treated to a sudden fear of falling, as well as the church bells (the largest bell in all of Switzerland is in the tower, thankfully when the noon o'clock bells went off, this one didn't as my ears would probably still be ringing. The bell weighed something like 20,000 pounds, but even the smaller bells were well into the 10,000 pound range and required us to cover our ears).

After the church, we decided to try a local beer (remember, I haven't found Swiss beer I enjoy yet) and surprisingly enough we found something drinkable at the Altes TramDepot (even though we didn't have seconds, I mean...how much beer are you supposed to drink before 1 pm anyway?). We checked out the lone, last resident of the bear pit (his name was Pedro, unfortunately Pedro is no longer a resident of the pit as he died about a week after we left...RIP Pedro), and made our way back to the apartment for Joel's last evening in Switzerland before he was off to his next adventure in France and Spain. It was nice to have Joel visit, although in the future if anyone desires to visit us wherever we may be living, please schedule your departing flights for later than 12 pm if possible as 7 am flights are no fun for the host...

Visitor Overlap

2009-05-14T01:00:00.009-05:00

My cousin Joel arrived in Switzerland as we were completing our Provence vacation, so for a day and half Chez Seeber had two guests (thankfully my dad and Joel have no problem getting along, and neither really complained about having to share a bedroom...although for some strange reason the couch had what appeared to be an imprint of a full grown male in the cushions). I opted to take the two of them on the standard Switzerland visitor tour, which included walking through the streets of Lausanne to show everyone where we live, followed by a trip up to Gruyeres for lunch, then the chocolate factory for treats. After the chocolate buzz wore off we drove back into Lausanne and made a stop at Lac Sauvabelin, which is basically a park in the city with farm animals, a lake, and a wooden tower that overlooks the city.

Nobody seemed to be impressed by the animals (although I suppose the park caters more to those under the age of 12), but the view afforded by the tower provided ample photo opportunities. Surprisingly the highlight of the day wasn't any of these things, nor was it the field of cows that they begged me to stop at for pictures...instead the memory burned in my head of that day will forever be a fire hydrant along the road near Bulle. Why? Because it was painted like Harry Potter, that's why! The remainder of the day was devoted to my version of a Swiss dinner on our terrace (basically a few different blocks of Swiss cheeses, fruits, veggies, dried meats, baguettes, bread, wine, and mineral water) and a walk down by the lake. Our visitor overlap sadly ended the next day when my dad returned to the States and Joel and I were left to cause trouble on our own.

Traveling Companion on Provence Trip

2009-05-13T01:00:00.001-05:00

As we usually do when we have guests, here is a picture of our traveling companion from our trip to Provence. It's my Dad for those of you who don't recognize him (usually he has on a black shirt with one of those white collar thingies that pastors wear...sorry Dad if I ruined your secret identity). I don't really have anything witty to say about the photo except that if it weren't for him holding the camera, I might not recognize him (saying he enjoys photography is like saying I miss the United States).

Interesting fact: My dad is the record holder for most pictures (1,366 photos), as well as the per day record holder (171 photos per day) by a visitor of ours to Switzerland.

Roman France - Avignon

2009-05-12T01:00:00.009-05:00

Our final stop in Provence was the town of Avignon, which from the early 14th to the early 15th century was the de facto center of the Catholic church (think Vatican City, but in France). Apparently things in Italy were getting a little rough during this time so the Pope decided to pack up and move to a less hectic place. As a result, Avignon became the center of the Catholic church and was until in the end of the 1300s when the Pope returned to Rome causing the Great Schism. From 1378 to 1415 there were actually two Popes, one in Avignon and one in Rome (although the Avignon Pope wasn't officially recognized as Pope by the Roman Catholic Church). History lesson over.

The Palace of the Popes is the main attraction in Avignon (a rather large city actually) and was the main reason for our visit. It is quite the impressive structure, and contains many unique items which assist in retelling the story of Papal Avignon. The Palace takes about two hours or so to walk through, and when you add in the adjoining church and gardens expect to spend about three hours. We all decided to stop for a treat as well (one of us had a crepe, one had ice cream, and the other had Diet Coke...guess which one had which) which allowed us to enjoy the garden a little longer (wouldn't want to drip ice cream inside the church now would we?). We then spent the remainder of our time walking through the streets of Avignon making our legs extraordinarily tired, one of us throwing a temper tantrum (yea, that would be me...I was hungry, exhausted, and tired of being the Official Translator of the Lutheran Emissary from Michigan, USA and his daughter-in-law...but I eventually quit being a grouse and we managed to enjoy the rest of the time in Avignon), and ending the evening with a nice meal while watching yet another deluge outside. We managed to stay mostly dry although we had umbrellas so that helped (although the streets resembled small rivers so I can't say our feet made it out unscathed).

In summary, Avignon is a large town with a big castle built for the Popes. It is well worth the time to stop and check it out, but stay outside of the city (or in nearby Arles) if you ever plan on visiting this area. (For some reason this blog is starting to sound more like a travel book...intriguing idea, but then I'd have to actually edit my entries and add more details, which is something I won't have time to do once my time as a man of leisure expires in a few weeks).

Roman France - Les Baux-de-Provence

2009-05-11T01:00:00.009-05:00

A unique feature in this part of Provence are the hill towns which are basically fortified villages built in the hills to enable the villagers to see the bad guys coming. This makes perfect strategic sense as you will always be aware of what is going on before it happens. Les Baux spent the better part of hundreds of years building this fortress and developing the community within. We were somewhat amused at how they seemed to think of everything to protect themselves except for the small item of food, as most of the fields and livestock were kept in the valleys below. Basically, the village had about a month (maybe a month and a half) of reserves so if they were attacked, all the enemy had to do was wait them out until they were so hungry they just gave up. This only happened once (at least that is what the audio tour said) but the village survived other invaders for the better part of 300 years.

The fortress had a display of medieval siege machines (catapults and trebuchets), and we were able to watch them fire water balloons across using some of them (it would have been more fun if they used pumpkins, but since a major road runs below the hill, they were probably worried about hitting a passing car). At its peak, the village housed over 4,000 people but apparently that population is now below 30. Its jagged rocks below the plateau are said to have inspired Dante's description of Purgatory in the Inferno. The stop was completed with some fresh baguette sandwiches from the city, which we ate a turnout alongside the cliffs which provided a dramatic view of Les Baux from below.

Roman France - Nîmes

2009-05-08T01:00:00.009-05:00

After leaving the Pont du Gard, we headed to the city of Nîmes which is very similar to Arles in terms of architecture and feel. Nîmes however, has many more Roman buildings which are in much better condition. The arena (colosseum) in Nîmes was more complete than the arena in Arles, and Nîmes also has an ancient Roman temple, a Pantheon-like structure, a tower, and the remains of gate that marked the entrance to the city which dates from sometime in the early first century BC.

There are also canals running through the city which begin near the Roman Temple of Diane as a result of a naturally occurring spring. The exact purpose of this temple is unknown, but the ruins are part of what was most likely a much larger area of buildings, gardens, and monuments. Seeing such ancient buildings truly makes you stop and ponder just how long people have been running around on Earth.

As we sat in a park outside the arena eating some market food (hot sausages on a baguette for the boys, Mediterranean salad for the lady), we marveled at the awesome events that must have transpired within the arches of the arena (not the actual arches, I'm just attempting to wow you with my poetic skills). We were able to see a few more churches as well as more old stuff as we walked through the city on a pleasant Sunday afternoon (which meant pretty much everything was closed so all of our activities occurred outside). Although the picture doesn't do the scene justice, there was this dog resting his head on a window sill in one of Nîmes' squares. It just seemed to capture the mood of the day, a lazy Sunday in Spring. Our favorite sights here were the gardens (where the Temple of Diane and the Great Tower reside), as well as the arena/amphitheatre (at least from the outside it looked good...kind of hard to justify spending money to go into another arena when you were just in one the day before). Next stop, Avignon...

Roman France - Pont du Gard

2009-05-07T01:00:00.005-05:00

What trip to Provence wouldn't be complete without a stop at an engineering marvel? So to make sure our trip was complete, we took a morning to go check out this Roman aqueduct from the 1st century AD (although this is slightly disputed, it could have been built earlier). This aqueduct was built without mortar, which is fairly impressive considering it is still standing (although some of the largest stones weigh around 6 tons a piece, so it would take quite the effort to move this monumental structure). It is the second highest standing Roman structure remaining besides the Colosseum in Rome. It's largest arch is 22 m high (just over 72 feet), which means you could drive somewhere between five and six semi trucks stacked on top of each other through the arch (except they'd need pontoons or something to float them as trucks don't drive too well on water). The Pont du Gard was designed as a piece of a greater aqueduct to help ferry water some 50 km (31 miles give or take), with the Pont carrying the water about 275 m (~300 yards) of the way (about 5 million gallons of water made it over the Pont du Gard each day). The level of the river below it was fairly insignificant, but that is not always the case as it has seen several major floods that have tested its abilities (and thankfully survived). Parts of the aqueduct on either end have been pillaged over the years to help build other structures, but the central span still remains and now will stand unharmed (except for the occasional graphic artist) as it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Roman France - Arles

2009-05-06T01:00:00.000-05:00

We stayed just outside of Arles in the town of Barbegal for three nights to finish our trip in Provence. Our lodging was a working farm about ten minutes from the city, which had plenty of chickens and feral cats (well, at the beginning of the stay there were plenty of chickens, by the end the cats decided there were too many). The city of Arles was settled by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, before being taken over by the Romans in 2nd century BC. We arrived on market day and wandered around seeing the various sights while snacking on some fresh strawberries from the market. Some of the more noteworthy sights include the Colosseum and the amphitheater; the former which remains one of the best preserved in Europe, the latter which has been ravaged by time but still evokes a picture of the greatness of Rome.

As luck would have it, we were able to get into the arena free of charge as they were practicing for a bullfight later that evening. It was interesting watching the matador dance with the young bull (probably no more than a year old), and thankfully, they were just practicing so there was no sad ending (although later that night, we caught a glimpse of the real thing through the open arches and decided that bullfights weren't really our thing). A funny item of interest was it was fairly evident when the matador did something well as the crowd's cheers were easily heard in the streets around the arena, which elicited cheers from passerbys as well. We laughed a bit when two ladies who obviously could not see a single thing other than the wall of the arena applauded with great fervor at the sound of the cheering crowd inside (¡Olé!).

Arles narrow streets had many vibrantly colored homes and storefronts, and provided a wonderful sensory experience. The main square is home to a cloister and the St. Trophime Church, with a fine example of Romanesque sculpture on the portal entrance. Nearby to Arles are various other sights, such as Daudet's windmill, and an abbey up in the hills. The fields surrounding Arles are mostly utilized for olive and grapes, although lavender is grown here as well. Arles is a very quaint city, and small enough to provide ample respite for those searching for a quiet adventure.

A Rendezvous in the Rain

2009-05-05T01:00:00.001-05:00

One of the obligations of a pastor is tending to his sheep no matter where they happen to be...in this case, the town of Aix-en-Provence. After much debate as to the pronunciation of Aix (without resolution as far as I can tell...is the "x" pronounced or not??), we headed off to this university town (no less than 15 universities here) to meet up with a family from my dad's congregation that happened to be in Aix while we were touring through Provence. The objective was to meet up with them for dinner at a local French restaurant, but the objective was complicated due to a precipitation event (also known as heavy rain). We arrived early to check out the town as we otherwise would not have seen this place. Aix is a university town which reminded me a lot of Boulder, Colorado, but without the mountains and hippies. As we were walking around waiting to meet up with our French connection we decided to dive inside a hotel bar next to the rendezvous point to avoid what began as a sprinkle and turned into a two hour deluge. While consuming our pre-dinner drinks, the roof in the bar began leaking water onto an unsuspecting patron (which was somewhat humorous I guess), but I was quickly repaid for my schadenfreude. While waiting outside for the rain to let up, an elderly French woman berated me for failing to go inside the hotel and call a taxi for her (I tried to explain to her my French wasn't that good, but she didn't seem to care...but then she went back out in the rain and walked away, so maybe she didn't really want a taxi and my French really is that bad).

After waiting the requisite time (and realizing the rain wasn't letting up) we ran through the puddles while dodging the rain drops with the family in the tourism office. We promptly put the kibosh on any notion of wandering the streets looking for a place to eat and instead ventured a couple blocks back to their apartment (they rented a flat for a week instead of a hotel, which seemed to be a great idea as price wise it tends to be cheaper than hotels if you are staying for any length of time longer than a few days). This turned out to be a wonderful idea as we ordered some pizzas, noshed on local specialities (tapenade, cheeses, breads), and enjoyed local wine while discussing the various virtues of our Swiss experience and traveling in Europe (the family lived in Europe as well, which made for great stories and lots of laughter over shared experiences). Their daughter is currently studying in Aix for the semester so we were able to hear about her experiences as well (click here to check out her blog).

Traveling abroad tends to have a lot of ups and downs, but we have found that taking the time to make unique memories has made this adventure all the better. We had a great time visiting with the Jenkins family and are very thankful to them for giving us a taste of their experiences as well. Plus, I think my dad can now deduct the expenses of his trip as work-related (just kidding, although if he could I'm sure he would encourage his congregation to include him in their travel plans more often).

(If you've noticed I was able to snap a couple photos before it started to rain, but unfortunately I didn't manage to take any after that, so you'll just have to imagine the rain looked like...)

Les Villages des Pêcheurs and Les Calanques

2009-05-04T08:28:00.014-05:00

The next stop on our Southern France vacation took us along the coast to the small fishing village of Sanary-sur-Mer (Sanary on the Sea). This most beautiful city in Provence was one of our favorites. The boat lined harbor provided ample photo opportunities, and the quaint streets housed little shops (I think this is where my dad declared he could live on French baguettes for all of his meals...they were certainly tasty, but perhaps not inhabitable...). Anyway, we walked up to top of the city for a tremendous view of the harbor and town below, wandered through a 16th century seaside church, and strolled through the weekend market where we purchased some delicious cheese to go with our sandwiches from the bakery (most of the time a bakery will have sandwiches, but they are seldom adorned with much besides a few slices of ham and some butter).

After leaving Sanary, we headed to a series of geologic formations made of limestone called Les Calanques. These inlets from the sea are basically high cliff walls that go down into the sea and are remnants of ancient river mouths that were further "enhanced" by passing glaciers (the water level, not the land), thus creating deep valleys. The Calanques are very well known along this stretch of French coastline roughly between Cassis and Marseilles, and provided a nice stopping point for us to enjoy the scenery, get some exercise, and take in the warm spring day. It was somewhat peculiar to see trees basically growing out of rocks, but apparently these trees have quite the root system that dives down deep into the various cracks and crevasses to find the water it needs to survive.

From here we continued to Marseilles where we would stay for two nights. Marseilles is the oldest city in France (most populous after Paris), and its history dates back over 30,000 years (it was founded in 600 BC by the Greeks, but paintings in underwater caves date it between 27,000 and 19,000 BC). This coastal town has a huge harbor which is flanked on either side by a fortress, one of which is now a history museum, and the other was under construction so who knows what it inside. Every morning the harbor hosts the morning fish market that starts around 7 am and runs until the catch of the day are sold (usually around noon). The fishermen were exactly how I imagined them: rough, salty, and sun-wrinkled. I think we all enjoyed this experience immensely (although it did start to get a bit smelly once the sun started to beat down on the dying fish).

Throughout the city were many ancient churches (at least 50, probably many, many more), and I don't have an exact tally but I am pretty sure we went inside roughly 63% of them (did you know 82% of all statistics are made up?). The sea-faring heart of this town was evident in many churches as they were decorated with nautical themes, anchors, boats, fish, etc. The most overt was one of the most opulent, the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde, a 19th century church which towers about 200m above the city (1/8 of a mile). A statue of the Virgin Mary watches the sea, protecting (at least in theory) the sailors as they go out to earn their living on the mighty waters of the Mediterranean. Inside little boat ornaments and paintings of ships remind the parishioners of the men and women at sea providing for their families. The massive Saint Marie Majeure (originally built in the 4th century, enlarged in the 11th century, and completely rebuilt in the 19th century) provided another stunning example of Roman architecture. There is also an old abbey, as well as a newer Gothic style churches (newer meaning 17th and 18th century).

We stayed in a newly renovated bed and breakfast in the city which looked like a rural farmhouse on the inside (exposed wood beam ceilings, hand-cut stone wash basins and showers, country style furniture - un Mas en ville). The city of Marseilles is very big (about 2 million people in the metro area...about the size and feel of Baltimore, MD) and the inhabitants seem to be on the go all the time. The city is quite loud and chaotic (we even saw a traditional French workers protest) but offers a lot of charm and warmth if you are able to get passed the noise. We enjoyed people watching from street-side cafes, and managed to avoid getting totally soaked in a downpour (although if the restaurants would open for dinner before 7 pm, this wouldn't have been a problem as we were ready to eat at 5 pm and the rain didn't start until 7:30 or so...). It was a wonderful stop as we had the opportunity to see a different side of France, yet still felt like we weren't in a gigantic place (Marseilles is very walkable, in fact, I recommend you avoid driving once in the city as it will have you trying to rip off your steering wheel and throw it at someone). If you've been to Paris but are looking for something a bit different, I suggest Marseilles as a nice change of pace (plus you'll be close to the southern coast which is never a bad thing).

(In case you are wondering what the title says, it basically says "The Fishing Villages and The Inlets")

The French Riviera

2009-05-01T03:55:00.001-05:00

My father arrived in Switzerland the day after the day after Easter (that's not a typo, just me being clever) for a week and half of getting some much needed rest, as well as providing us with a travel companion to the South of France. Our plan took us down into the Cote d'Azur/French Riviera via Italy (through the Swiss/Italian Alps, around Milan, through Genoa, and over into France) where we would spend one evening and explore the surrounding area. After first driving through Monte Carlo (Monaco) just to say we'd been there, we made our first stop in Nice (pronounced the same as you would say your siblings daughter...niece). Nice is a very large city with a seafront drive which reminds one of Miami in many aspects (although sadly I couldn't find any decent Cuban, Mexican, or other Latino cuisine), from nice cars and beautiful people to the lovely beach (except instead of sand they had rocks...oh well...maybe not so much Miami).

Since we had been in the car for about six hours, we all opted for a walking break as we strolled through the city taking in the various old buildings, gardens, and occasional church. On the highest hill in the city stands a park which used to contain a castle, but sadly it was sacked and demolished many years ago. We probably should have stuck around longer and spent more time in Nice but the combination of still having about an hour to our hotel and sleepiness of the driver and passengers led us out of the city before rush hour. After leaving Nice, we drove along the coast en route to our first overnight stop, Saint Raphaël. This would be one of the more memorable experiences of our trip...but not in a good way.

I had a great deal of difficulty finding lodging in this area due to the inflated prices created by the French Riviera, but for reasons that elude me I chose to stay at this particular bed and breakfast in Saint Raphaël. My first clue should have been the middle aged male owner's precious little purse dog which upon me trying to pet, I was scolded in French accompanied by hand gestures that could only be construed as European. After this, we were shown our rooms which were very obviously decorated by the same type of man who would carry around a dog in a purse (I mean European carry-all). The floors perhaps were covered with linoleum, the kind that starts peeling up around the edges, and the decor made me feel like I was in some seedy truck stop motel (my favorite was the framed "art" in our room, which consisted of four sticks hot glued to a piece of cork board, with a frame...I am wondering if maybe the dog was the artist and that's why I couldn't touch it...). None of us were quite sure we would make it through the night for fear of being carried away by rats, spiders, or little dogs that ride in purses.

Nevertheless, we decided to go grab some pizza and beer to try and turn our fortunes which made the evening much more memorable. Saint Raphaël is a lovely little fishing town with lots of restaurants, a casino, and a few churches, but we didn't stick around long the next day to explore them as it just seemed a bit overwhelming to stay given our experiences with the rooms and the dog the night before. I sensed my dad was comfortable with skipping breakfast at the B&B that morning when I went to knock on his door and there he was sitting patiently on his bed, suitcase packed and ready to go like he was Raymond Babbitt (from the movie Rain Man)...I agreed and we eventually found some nice pastries at a local bakery. The B&B owner again scolded me for not wanting to stay for breakfast as he had to do so much work to get up at seven in the morning to go buy bread and croissants and whatever, but at that point we didn't care. I apologized, paid our bill, and we left. I can't say this stay was a highlight on our adventure, but at least it provided some interesting memories.

Cuckoo for Cuckoo Clocks

2009-04-30T15:00:00.001-05:00

After spending an evening in Stuttgart waiting for Alli to return from the U.S., I met her at the airport and we drove down to the Black Forest to meet up with our neighbors from Minnesota (now living in Germany...Katie and Tom in case you forgot). We managed to convince the desk clerk to keep the bar open late so we could catch up over a beer. The next morning after a delightful German breakfast, we toured a clock museum in Furtwangen which provided a historical perspective of the development of the cuckoo clock industry in Germany, as well as the various other clock making aspects that developed concurrently around the world. After the sun was a little higher up (we needed warmth) we went off on a hike to the highest waterfall in all of Germany.

As winter was taking it's sweet time retreating, we had to take a different path to get to the waterfall due to snow/ice covering the normal route. This wasn't a big deal until it came time to head back to the car and we realized we all would have to climb back up the way we came (not a quick walk, nor an easy one). I made the brilliant decision of going back to the car myself taking an unmarked route to avoid about 400 meters of roadway. I am sure I created quite the amusing photo opportunity for those watching below as I scaled the hillside (it was quite treacherous, had Alli been so against walking back herself she surely would have scolded me for even trying). Anyway, I made it back in one piece, and picked everyone up and we made our way to a lakeside lunch (by lakeside I mean a small pond). I had a well-deserved Radler (pilsner mixed with lemonade) and we enjoyed a great Spring afternoon.

The rest of the day was spent seeing more of the sights of the Black Forest, including an old water mill, eating Black Forest Torte, and walking the German countryside. As the next morning was Easter, we attended Easter Sunday mass at a local Catholic church which proved to be interesting as the entire service was in German and none of us really know much of the language. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile experience visiting these old European churches and participating in worship in buildings many hundreds of years old. While we didn't pick up an souvenirs (except maybe a German sugar buzz), it is always nice to see friends no matter how far away you are from home.

Germany Heritage Tour - Eisenach

2009-04-29T04:35:00.000-05:00

My final official stop on my German Heritage Tour was Eisenach, with the Castle Wartburg perched above the city watching the valleys below. I parked my car in the castle parking lot and proceeded to climb the roughly 200m to the castle above, often taking two steps at a time (all that biking and walking in Lausanne's hilly streets finally paid off). The other American tourists were easy to spot as they were taking full advantage of the benches and plateaus every 30 steps on the climb up the hill. The castle is where Martin Luther hid out under the assumed name Knight George and translated most of the Bible into German...he also managed to get into a fight with the devil which apparently resolved by throwing ink at said Devil. The castle contains the room where these activities occurred, although previous treasure seekers have managed to chip away all of the ink-stained stone. Nevertheless, it was an interesting place to visit.

After leaving the castle, I headed down to my hotel which is perched on a different hill within the city...my room opened up to a view of the Wartburg Castle across the valley (I highly recommend the Haus Hainstein for those staying in Eisenach). After taking a quick nap, I walked down into the city to check out the sights and avoid the rain drops. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in this city, so his house is now a museum. I walked through the church where he was baptised and thought how cool it would have been to hear him play his music in a church like this...Eisenach also had its own Luther statue, and quaint pedestrian mall where one could pick up a tasty wurst for a couple euros and people watch until it was ice cream time.

The town of Eisenach has an old automobile factory from the Cold War that now sits in a state of ruin much like many of the old factory buildings in this part of Germany. In spite of this, Germany is making many strides to redevelop areas like this in hopes of bringing new economic growth to the country. It is encouraging to see this, and for visitors from the States, it gives one a chance to see the remains of an era past without having to travel all the way to Eastern European countries.

Germany Heritage Tour - Lutherstadt Wittenberg

2009-04-28T04:00:00.010-05:00

The second city stay on my Germany Heritage Tour took me to the university town of Wittenberg, where Martin Luther lived a majority of his life. It was here that he raised his family with his wife Katharina, and it is here that he was finally laid to rest in the Castlechurch of Wittenberg. The church is also the church of the 95 Theses fame which helped to spark the Protestant Reformation (which in turn spawned Lutherans and as a result, sauerkraut suppers in church basements across America, as well as sitting in the back row of church). While in Wittenberg, I toured the Castlechurch and the amazing museum which once housed Luther and his brood (as well as his pupils, employees, and whomever else was hanging out...the place was huge). The Luther residence had previously been a monastery and thus had tons of space. Some of the highlights of the museum included the pulpit Martin Luther used to preach, as well as many paintings and sculptures of Luther. There was also a library on the top floor dedicated to preserving many original manuscripts and documents penned by Luther himself, as well as his contemporaries.

I also amused myself by realizing the more German beer I drank, the better my German became. I am sure the waitress was less amused, although she seemed to laugh anytime I said anything so apparently my German isn't as good as I think. Another favorite spot in Wittenberg is a tree, the Luther Oak, where Luther supposedly burned his Papal Bull of Excommunication (sort of like a predecessor to a non-binding UN resolution). The town itself is in the Saxony region of Germany so the food is more reflective of its East German past (lots of potatoes and simple dishes featuring cheap sausages...but all very tasty).

A nice side trip was in order as I needed some country scenery so I drove about 25-30 minutes out of town to a place called Wörlitz which is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz. This place is a 50 square mile park created in the late 18th century by Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau (falling asleep...must not turn into History Channel...go to Wikipedia for more details...). Anyway, I walked around the garden grounds for a few hours enjoying the magnificent weather with a delicious Coca-Cola Classic (have I ever mentioned how thankful I am that Coke dominates the international soft-drink market? Seriously, I love Coke, as do many Americans (or Pepsi if that's your preference)...but this experience would have been so much harder without Coke). The garden grounds had various buildings that evoked images of other landmarks from across Europe (which is evidently part of the story of how the buildings came to be in the first place), as well as a nice sized lake with many little islands and inlets. If I ever were to live inside a cheeseball romance novel, this would probably be what I would picture when the author begins to describe a summer romance which blossomed in a palatial European garden.

I would have to encourage anyone looking for a day trip from Berlin to stop in both of these places to capture both the essence of Martin Luther's life, as well as to appreciate a hidden gem in the German countryside. And if anyone from the Coca-Cola corporation wants to send me a welcome back to America gift basket, I'll be happy to forward you my home address.

Germany Heritage Tour - Lutherstadt Eisleben

2009-04-27T05:00:00.005-05:00

The first overnight stop on my German Heritage Tour was a stop in the birthplace (on subsequently death place) of Martin Luther, Eisleben. It was quite obvious that I was now in what was formerly East Germany due to the deteriorating buildings and lack of charm. Most of my time was spent in the streets wandering about looking for the various sights, but being a small town I was able to find everything quite easily. Although the house we he was born burned to the ground many years ago, it has been rebuilt in what they assume to be an indicative style of the time as no original plans exist of the house. A rather large museum adjoins the home which is dedicated to his life and the reformation (very well presented).

Across town is the home he died in, which is a little less exciting except for those who are a bit morbid and like such things. A death mask sits in a glass case at this house to show that he died here (I don't think they had CSI Miami in Germany back then so they made the mask to prove to everyone else that he actually died I guess). I tried to get into the various churches in town where he either was baptised, parishioned (I think I made up that word), and preached before his death but they were all locked up. For the diehard Luther fans out there, this town is worth the visit, but for those who just want to see one Luther site while in Germany this is probably not your place (Wittenberg is much better).

A recurring item of interest is that every town that Luther is associated with in Germany seems to have a statue in the town square of him. I've included a snapshot of this as well as a curious picture of a Soviet cemetery near my hotel (definitely Eastern Germany).

Pop, Pop, Pop

2009-04-26T14:20:00.006-05:00

Quick story, and I promise a flurry of posts in the next several days as I have been entertaining visitors, as well as visiting on my own the past few weeks...

So my cousin Joel just spent the last several days with us and as a result accumulated a few mementos from Switzerland. As he is traveling without a lot of spare room in his backpack, he opted to mail his new two liter beer stein back to the U.S. along with a jacket that has now been replaced by a much cooler Swiss version. One might guess this story will be mostly about the trials of attempting to communicate this to the Swiss Post Office, but one would be wrong (now that I am more comfortable speaking French, communicating the intent wasn't the problem). One might also imagine humorous circumstances such as parking outside the Post Office in a 30 minute zone, and taking more like 45 minutes to complete our task causing my car to be towed, ticketed, or otherwise detained as a result of Swiss Parking Cop aggressiveness, but one would again be wrong. (Although to be honest we did take 45 minutes to do something that should have taken 5-10, and I was illegally parked for 20 minutes or so which could have made a better story).

One could even imagine the cost of shipping the box to the States costing well more than either of us had on our person and the clerk not accepting credit cards, forcing us to abandon the package in a frantic search for an ATM, getting money, and still not having enough to pay the bill as one of us managed to misunderstand the amount...but one would be wrong yet again (but only because I remembered I had a spare twenty in my pocket).

Instead, I will regale you with a tale about the most minor aspect of this story, which is now a funny story (at least for the three of us who know it so far). As Joel and I were communicating to the Postal worker the need to ship a delicate, glass beer stein to the U.S., we realized we would need some sort of cushioning inside the box to prevent the glass from breaking. Unfortunately we didn't not cover packing materials in French class, so I tried to get creative. I asked for papier (paper), cacahuète du boîte (box peanuts, aka packing peanuts)...as you could see I may have been causing more problems than I was solving. At this point, Joel decided to try the universal expression for bubble wrap by saying "Pop, Pop, Pop" while making a motion that he was popping the little bubbles on the bubble wrap. I am pretty sure she thought we were a few corners short of a square...but all of the sudden she said "Voila!" and ran over to a shelf were she produced bubble wrap and said "Oui! Pop, Pop, Pop!"

Problem solved, and bubble wrap will forever remind me of the Swiss Post Office with my cousin Joel, whom has since entered into the 23rd annual International Charades & Signs Contest which will be held in Geneva next August.

German Heritage Tour - Genealogy Stop

2009-04-15T05:05:00.001-05:00

While Alli was off in the U.S., I decided to make the most of being so close to Germany (the land of my people...my people being White Anglo Saxon Protestants). After spending some time reading through my Great Uncle Chuck's research on our family history, as well as spending some time on Ancestry.com I found out that my Great, Great, Great Grandma and Grandpa came from an area in Germany which is now known as Oehrenstock (in the Thuringen region of Germany).

Using my trusty GPS, I was able to navigate to this small town (maybe 200-300 people still live here) where I soon realized nobody spoke a lick of English. Using my logical skills of deduction, I figured I could confirm my lineage by finding the town cemetery and finding old tombstones with my family name on it. Unfortunately my GGG Grandma and Grandpa's tombstones where not to be found having died sometime in the late 1800s, but I was surprised to find many, many, many others with the same last name as me.

This proved exciting for many reasons, but mostly because I always assumed we were one of those families who changed the spelling of their last names upon arrival in America to make themselves fit in better...but each tombstone contained the current spelling of my last name (Seeber, which translates roughly to Sea Bear). Even though I didn't really talk to anyone, I am pretty sure these people were all somehow related to me, even if only because we have the same GGG Grandma and Grandpa (although it appears it would be their G or GG Grandma or Grandpa judging by their ages). Anyway, I though it was pretty cool....

Monkey Mountain

2009-04-14T08:18:00.007-05:00

As you can probably tell from the lack of blogs, we have not been in Switzerland for the last week or so...we are also leaving tomorrow for a week in Provence so who knows how many posts I can crank out in the next few hours (don't set your hopes too high). Two weekends ago, we drove up to Lake Constance (or the Bodensee) for the day to meet with Alli's sister and her beau. The highlight was a visit to Affenberg, also known as Monkey Mountain. This nature park contains a habitat for Barbary Macaques which anxiously await the arrival of visitors to feed them. Upon arriving, you get a giant handful of popcorn and then you begin your adventure...

The monkeys are trained to sit on the railings where they will gently take all the popcorn you have in your hand and eat it. For fun, I kept my hand closed which proved no challenge as they simply pried my hand open to get to their treat. It was very cool yet creepy to interact with the monkeys...they are just a little too similar to humans in their mannerisms and abilities. Either way, we enjoyed the stroll through the "mountain" feeding the various monkeys. The park also has other animals such as deer, frogs, ducks, swans, and storks, but the monkeys are definitely the draw.

After we left Monkey Mountain we thoroughly washed our hands (I don't think the monkeys use hand sanitizer between meals), had lunch, and strolled along the lake en route to some delicious ice cream (it's just not a perfect day without a double scoop!). Springtime has definitely arrived which allowed us to enjoy a our dinner outside overlooking the Bodensee while enjoying our visit with Felix and Susie (such a cute couple, especially when they speak German gobbly gook with each other). We then drove to Stuttgart to check out Felix's apartment, and spent the night in a nearby hotel as Alli departed the next day from the Stuttgart airport (she had to go to Memphis for a work event), while I went off on my German Heritage tour.

A Wheely Good Time

2009-04-02T09:21:00.016-05:00

I received a telegram (maybe I should have said email to make this a little more believable, but if you think people still receive telegrams than perhaps I am not the one needing a brain exam) last night from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency absolving me of any wrongdoing (you know, from my meat importation incident), provided I agree to one simple request. I obliged, considering I don't want to live in Switzerland much longer. My penalty required that I become an eco-warrior and help reduce the scourge of global warming. I chose to demonstrate this by powering the country of Switzerland using my own two feet...how you may ask? By converting my amazing running speed into electricity through a giant hamster wheel (I'd explain to you how this works but I'm afraid of losing my last four readers). I must say I enjoyed myself and learned my lesson...which is "hamsters are easily amused."

P.S. Thanks for playing along with my April Fools...I suppose I should get outside more.