Switzerland - Grindelwald

Later in our trip, we moved to up into the mountains to stay in Grindelwald in order to do some mountain biking. Below are the views from our room in the mountain hotel.




We we didn´t realize it, (and found out later), that all the trails in Grindelwald go UP--and not just with a little incline. Apparently, like, UP--at a complete vertical.

We were told by a professional biker, (who was also the woman who ran our hotel) that unless we were used to biking in the mountains, we had "NO chance. Absolutely none."

It´s nice to know that Swiss people never sugarcoat the truth.

So, we stayed at the base of the mountain and road around the paved paths and enjoyed the scenery before we were overtaken by the Perfect Storm.



The Perfect Storm.

Switzerland - The Swiss Know How to Travel in Style

Besides, their crazy super-efficient train system--that really puts any other countries´ rail systems to shame--the Swiss also have a few other clockwork forms of transportation that really show off their propensity for traveling in style.

Case in point: the funicular.



The ferry yachet.



The apline gondolas.


And last, but not least...the paraglider.

Below, is Dan taking it easy during an afternoon glide.

Okay, not really. But there was much discussion about whether we should or shouldn´t try the paraglide.

In the end, time and a lack of sufficient euros won out, but it was amazing to watch these guys soar around and then land on the edge of the mountain.

Barcelona - First Impressions

Reflections on Barcelona: after hearing about how great Barcelona is my whole life, and after traveling to Spain over a dozen times, and still never having the chance to visit the Promised Land until now...I have to say, that in the end, I still very much prefer Madrid.

Dan, on the other hand, preferred Barcelona (which, I did NOT tell my Spanish family when Dan finally met his future in-laws at the end of our trip. Considering the huge rivalry between the people who live in Madrid vs. the people who live in Barcelona--(which is not unlike the rivalry between the people who live in Minnesota vs. the people who live in Wisconsin ((okay, maybe it´s not exactly the same, but still...)), I figured there was no need to bring it up, or else risk subjecting Dan to some authentic Spanish debasing. At least, not yet...

This is Dan, in front of a Gaudi lamppost (Gaudi´s first commission in Barcelona). If you don´t know who Gaudi is, then see below blog posts for the "Who in the Heck is Antoni Gaudi" tutorial.

This is me, in front of the Mercado, off of Las Ramblas.

These are the narrow, dark streets of the Gothic Quarter. Barcelona, I have to say, has a seedy underworld feel about it that I was NOT anticipating. I got harrassed by a drunk homeless man while Dan was standing right next to me. We popped into the Raval district and discovered prostitution row within the first 2 minutes of exploring the neighborhood. And Dan boasts that he´s pretty sure that he felt someone try to pickpocket him. Like it´s a badge of honor.

Dan says there's an "edge" to the city--which he likes. (This is Dan saying this, the oh-so-edgy boy from Minnesota). I don´t think it´s an edge. I think it´s just the sleazy side of a city that attracts way too many tourists and too way too many slim-shady characters who prey on them.

However, I must say that we did see an awesome hip-hop jazz band the first night we were in the city, and Barcelona definitely has a young, hip, urban, international flare to it.

This is the Port Vell, and the spectacular weather that followed us our entire vacation.

Barcelona - Day at the Beach

Apparently, there were no beaches in Barcelona, just ports, until the Olympic Commission waved their magic wand and said, "Voilà!" (or, at least, the Catalunyan version of "Voilà") and created them in 1992 for the summer games. Gotta love them Olympic Games.

This is me, trying to seduce Dan away from his mistress--his internet phone--with the help of some chocolate malt balls. It didn´t work. Damn that mistress internet phone.

Barcelona - Gaudi´s Parc Güell

We had the most amazing weather our entire trip--from everyday in Barcelona, throughout Switzerland (minus one rainy day, which turned out fun nonetheless) and onwards to Munich.

But this day in Gaudi´s Parc Güell was my favorite. This day was our first introduction to Gaudi´s work, and honestly, I really had never heard of the man before.

Before visiting Barcelona, I had no idea that Antoni Gaudi was this great architectural genius--one of those names that inevitably gets tossed around fancy hoity-toity dinner parties, and you´d just have to smile and nod your head, or else risk looking like an uninformed dork if you betrayed you had no idea who Gaudi was.

Gaudi is to Barcelona what Bernini is to The Vatican/Rome and Erasmus is to Rotterdam (as Paco was sure to inform me a few weeks ago when I betrayed that I had no idea who Erasmus was, and I was promptly made to feel like an uninformed dork).


Anyway... if you aren´t familiar with Antoni Gaudi and Barcelona, (and dare betray it), you will be familiar with him by the end of this blog entry, gosh darn it.

Okay, now, onto more important things, like cute pictures of Dan!

These are examples of two Gaudi houses in the Parc Güell. He only finished two before his rich patron, Eusebi Güell, ran out of money. The park used to be part of Güell´s private residence, but later, the city of Barcelona acquired it in the late 1920s. (somebody back then sure had some touristic foresight).

Are we there yet, Papa Smurf?

Barcelona - Gaudi´s Casa Batllo

This is one of the many private houses that was gutted in the late nineteenth-century, and fully redesigned by Gaudi (probably to the horror of his patron, but oh well!)

This particular house, Casa Batllo, was really impressive, and it really gives you a good idea of how much Gaudi liked to use elements in nature as inspiration for his architectural designs.

This is a ceiling light with the ocean´s wave as the ceiling´s pattern. (I really wanted to lay right on the floor to take this photo, in order to get the full effect, but I refrained...begrudgingly).

This staircase railing was designed in the shape of a whale´s spinal column.

These are chimney stacks, made pretty and aquatic. Just because pretty is good.

This is Dan, dutifully listening to the audioguide and relaying the highlights to me.

Barcelona - Gaudi´s Sagrada Familia

To finish off our Gaudi tour of Barcelona, Dan and I visited the requisite Sagrada Familia, Gaudi´s famous unfinished masterpiece. They started construction on the church around 1897 (I think?) and didn´t finish it...not even thirty years later, even though Gaudi dedicated the rest of his life to overseeing its construction. Gaudi even went so far as shacking up in the bowels of its underground crypt, so he could work day and night on it.

Gaudi died in the late 1920s, and they only finished construction on a tiny fraction of his original vision for the church. Something like 4 out of the planned 18 towers.

Unfortunately, for Gaudi, he met the ill-fate of being run over by a tram. Dan heard me say over and over the whole trip...how the heck do you get run over by a tram?

Then, while we were in Zurich, which has about a bajillion trams, I was carelessly NOT paying attention while taking photographs of the main train station. Dan crossed ahead, while I hung back to let one tram pass by before stepping out into the street, only to turn at the sound of the "I´m going to run you over if you don´t get the hell out of my way," bell from the second tram, coming the other way.

Yeah, that´s how you get run over by a tram.

Above is an example of some of the intricate work on the facade of the original church. Apparently, Gaudi was a deeply religious man, so working on Sagrada Familia was like a calling for him.

This is Dan atop the original towers--see below.

After we finished climbing the original towers, we went down to the base and decided that we should be good tourists and climb up the newly-constructed, theme-park version of Gaudi´s Sagrada Familia--which is what you see below.

I´m definitely in favor of leaving the church alone, as it was when Gaudi died, instead of "finishing it" for the sake of tourisim. Dan was more on-the-fence. He liked the fruit tops on the new towers.

Oh Dan. You and Augustus Gloop.