Switzerland

I said Au Revoir to France on Saturday, and crossed into Switzerland. My first stop was Geneva. Geneva seems to be a very pleasant place - not too exciting to visit, but it looks like it would be a good place to live.

I arrived via bus, and had a long walk to the area where I'd be staying. I stopped to chat & get directions from a British woman, who explained that there was a huge festival going on & I might have trouble finding a place to stay. Fortunately, I was able to get a spot in the City Hostel. This was the first hostel that I'd stay at in Europe, and I was a little skeptical. But it turned out really great. It was very clean, very cheap (I'd heard Switzerland was expensive, but I was surprised to see how expensive everything is), and I was looking to meet people. I hadn't met many people so far, and I figured that it would be easier in a hostel. It worked out really well. I met a guy from New York City in my room. He's a high school teacher for at-risk youth, and was very nice to talk to.

The first night in the hostel was anything but quiet. There were fireworks being set off over Lake Geneva. They were the loudest fireworks I'd ever heard! The guy from NYC & I both thought it sounded like we were in a war zone.

The next day I got up & went for a walk down to Lake Geneva. There's a really cool display to promote astronomy down at the lake. There are several dozen huge posters on display, with incredible images from space (taken from Hubble or land-based telescopes). I spent some time admiring the images, and reading about the science behind them.

Then I walked around to the other side of the lake to see Jet de Eau. It's a huge water fountain that shoots water 140 meters in the air. The water exits the nozzle at 200km/hr (120mph). Of course I had to touch it - it was incredibly powerful!

After that, I grabbed a kebab for lunch & headed up to the United Nations. They offer free tours, so I joined & learned some really interesting stuff.

Geneva was enough for a day, but I was ready to move on. I took the train up to Interlaken, where I'm staying at another hostel. Again, this one is super clean & a great price. And, just like Geneva - I've met some really cool people here. The first night I went out with an Italian guy, and Danish guy, and an Austrian woman for some drinks.

Today I woke up & found that the weather was teetering on the brink of rain. I decided to go for a 'short' hike up one of the mountains nearby. Well, I kept going "a little further", and then decided to go to the top of the trail. My 'short' hike turned into 6 hours, and I came down the hill in a slight drizzle feeling very tired. But, it was a lot of fun & it gave me a great view of Interlaken.

Again tonight, the hostel did it's magic. I met another guy from NYC - a CSci professor. I had dinner w/ him & we might do stuff together tomorrow.

Weather permitting, I plan on going paragliding tomorrow. I hope I'm able to - it looks incredibly fun!

After that - it's off to the small mountain village of Gimmelwald... recommended strongly by everyone who's been there. I can't wait.