Trip 39: Faulhorn II and Zermatt

Trip date: June 21 & 22, 2012

Redemption! One of my last weekends in Switzerland - one of my last chances to hike Faulhorn. Unfortunately it was nothing but fog and rain the whole time. Oh well, continue on anyways.

All in attendance: Kristen and Eric


Faulhorn (again)

It just had to rain! Eric came to Baden by ride share on Friday night. All hostels in Interlaken were full so we hopped on to 5:47 am train connections on Saturday morning from Baden to Wilderswil.

Picking up food and looking like sleep deprived zombies, we headed up with the nostalgic train up to Schynige Platte. Fog and clouds were thick but denial was high. We hoped that just maybe we could get above them and get a view. No such luck.

Last time the trail was completely snowed out at the half way point. This time the views were next to nil. It makes you concentrate though on the nearby beauty of flowers and nearby meadows though. It was still a bit unfortunate though - remember, this is one of the most beautiful hikes in Switzerland!

I think the most disheartening part were instances where we would come across a bench which overlooked nothing but a view of bright white fog. I can only imagine the serene mountain views which can usually be seen.

We arrived at the mountain hut and went in for some much needed warmth and overpriced tea. Then it was back up up up in the wet and the fog while wearing gender appropriate rain coats.

We reached the peak of Faulhorn! Celebration included eating some of this Rote Hexe (Red Witch) cheese we had brought.

Anticipated view vs. Actual view

A Canadian lesson is that we can never win all our weather battles. It was still a good day nonetheless. On our decent to First, the fog did lift just enough for us to catch a glimpse of Brienzersee. Cue 147829 well deserved photographs.

Then it was a snoozy exhausted and soggy train ride to Zermatt. We bought a 1 day travel pass (68 CHF with our halbtax) to cover our trains to Interlaken and Zermatt. On the way to Zermatt, they put you in fancy different trains with large windows so you can see all the beautiful small Swiss towns as you zip by.

We stayed in Täsch, a small town a single train stop away from Zermatt in a guesthouse (30 CHF each). Highlights include a warm shower, a balcony with a clear night of stars and a wall with animal pattern carpet.

Zermatt

The next day we took the train from Täsch to Zermatt. We began our hike from there towards Sunegga. There is an underground funicular which runs from Zermatt to Sunegga but the steeper/more challenging parts of the hike were definitely between these two points. Once you reach Sunegga, things are mostly very level.

We were lucky for it to be a clear day (in majority). We hiked along the 5-Seeweg to see the 5 lakes in the region. I made vegetarian salad rolls and we ate delicious German spreads and flat peaches for lunch. Cue: beautiful views of the Matterhorn - supposedly the most photographed mountain in the world!

Clouds came in and we decided that it wouldn't be worth the hike up to Riffelberg. On our hike down I encountered curious coloured goats which I looked at for an unnecessary tourist amount of time.

An exhausted train ride home to Baden. A well deserved sleep.

Thing I will do next time:

• Go to Faulhorn on a clear day!
• Go to the rope parks in Zermatt

Thing I loved:

• Hiking!
• The crazy blue water in Zermatt
  

Swiss Franc

A curious thing about Swiss' colurful money - the Swiss-franc (sFr or CHF) - is that instead of past heads of state and monarchy, the faces which grace the bills are of composers, artists and sculptors. The bills feature their popular artworks and the typical holographic and perforated security features. In that small diamond at each of the portrait heads is also a small text of the person in the tiniest font.

This tiny font is counterbalanced by the size of the 5 franc coin. The 5 franc coin is the Goliath of all coin currencies. It is so large that you will surely do a double-take the first time you hold one. Here is a picture I took of a 5 franc coin which I put it next to a euro-cent for dramatic effect.

It's size is so crazy that I wouldn't blame you if you kept one as a souvenir. Or used one to kill enemies in a game of bloody knuckles.

If you have ever been to Switzerland, you would probably agree that part of the Swiss culture is "having cash". Sounds weird? Let me explain.

If you walked into a bakery and bought something for 1.75 and only had a 100 bill to pay with, Switzerland might be the only place I know of where there is a 100% guarantee that there will be sufficient change and that all bills would be accepted with a smile. Only have a 1000CHF bill for you 30CHF purchase? No problem!

In Switzerland, you never need to feel guilty by paying small amounts using big bills.

Maybe that's because few things here are cheap.

Trip 38: Melt Festival (Germany)

Trip date: July 12 - 16, 2012

Melt festival is held in Ferropolis in Gräfenhainichen Germany. Ferropolis is an open air museum of mining machinery/excavators. The general theme of the festival is hipsters music meets electronic.

All in attendance: Tom, Kristen, Felix, Eric

My best friend from Canada did a year abroad in 2010/2011 in Lyon. This year I was the one to go away. He made good on a promise to meet me for MELT festival in Germany.On Thursday night, I flew from Basel to Berlin and met him at the Goldmarie - the same hostel I stayed in last time. This time we got a private room for 16 euros a night.

The night was spent sharing drinks, sharing pizzas and sharing nostalgic conversation.

In the morning we got German breakfast (hard boil eggs, miscellaneous cold cuts and cheese, sliced fruit and vegetables) and drank enough coffee to feel weird. We went to the East Side Gallery (thankfully it was not as cold as it was last time) before heading to the trainstation and going of to Gräfenhainichen - the town closest to the festival.

The novelty of not needing to drive to a festival has not worn off.

It also took me the entire train ride to learn to pronounce Gräfenhainichen.

There is a bus shuttle service from the train station to the festival. The weather was a bit rainy and mud traps attacked with every miscalculated step.

Highlights include:

• Germans who prepare infinitely more than I do for a festival - 3 square meals a day?!
• M83 and Flux Pavilion 
• Indian food stall which sold first-nation theme food
• German hipsters dressed like Aboriginal people
• Partying next to huge excavators
• Learning that the "beach stage" at any festival is always a good time
• Not getting rained on as much as we thought we would.
• Entertaining the idea about starting a tumblr photo blog about "Friends brushing teeth together at festivals"
• Germans drink at festivals like how Canadians use substances
• Learning about Rummelsnuff
• Getting a ride back to Switzerland with my friend Paul and his girlfriend where I did nothing but sleep and each dark chocolate french cereal for 8 hours. Their kindness also made it so I didn't have to catch a 5 am flight out of Berlin.

European festivals provide you with a crazy amount of comfort and luxury such as selling you camping stools and pavilions upon arrival and  having running water.