Newton was right

I like the book the Little Engine That Could

     You remember:  I think I can, I think I can.
     Shel Siverstein did a take off, and the train ended up crashing.  His last line was "If the track is tough and the hill is rough,  thinking you can just ain't enough."
     Final blog entry on the mountain hut experience.
     We had the same table for breakfast as we did for supper.  But this time, it was an eat when you get there experience.  Bread, butter, cheese, coffee real milk, two types of cereal, tea.....pretty nice continental breakfast.
     We asked the man who ran the hut how supplies got there.  It seems at the beginning of the hiking season he gets a huge shipment via helicopter.  After that, he gets weekly helicopter drop offs of things like fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, and anything else that doesn't last a long time.
     This hut is on solid rock.  My other question, which did not get asked, was where does the waste go?  There can't possibly be a septic system, and I didn't see any holding tanks....and even if there were, they could never be pumped.
     I am always perplexed by that.
     Anyway, we had a good breakfast and packed to go.
     There was some thought of just wrapping me in all the sleeping bags and rolling me down.  But there was a concern I might not stop at the right spot.
     So we set off in beautiful sunny and crisp  weather.
     The little four year old girl was ahead of us, but they soon were gone from sight.  Turns out, I am just as slow going down!
     I was being careful not to slip on the wet rocks.  And whenever I stopped to look around, I really had to stop walking just to prevent a fall.
     Uphill muscles are different from downhill ones....and my downhills were not stronger than the others.
     The 90 minute hike down took us closer to 3 hours.
     The first time I fell, I had looked around as I walked.  I skinned my knee but didn't break anything.  I also realized, about 15 minutes later, that I lost my lens cap.
     We put the camera in my back pack, just in case.
     So when I fell the second time, nothing was damaged.  Actually, this fall was more a lay down.  I had stepped off a rock and rolled backward onto where I stepped off.  I started to laugh, but as I looked to the left, I realized how bad a fall could be.
     Much later a woman and her daughter caught up to us and I stepped aside to let them pass.  The lady stopped and said, "Do you have a Nikon camera?  I found your lens cap."
     The last leg (literally, not figuratively) was downhill through a cow pasture.  My fear there was I would fall and land in manure.  And being covered in manure is a no no for getting in the car.
     It was here that my legs turned to jell-o!  Seriously, they were so rubbery I had to sit for 10 minutes.
     I sat by the lake and rested while the boys frolicked....kids have a lot more energy than 66 year olds.
     We  stopped for ice cream, then headed  back to the gondola for the ride down.
     I would never consider walking up the stairs at Willis Tower.  Yet that is 412 meters high, and the walk I took was 609 meters....so in effect, I did hike Willis and a third in the four hours we were upward bound. But at Willis I could have taken the elevator down.
     Now it's Tuesday.  My legs are so sore, I could barely get up the hill to get to the patisserie for  a sugar cake.
     Which is OK, because it is going to be stormy here today.
     I am going to post a video on Facebook.  Hope you like it.
     Other than that,  for the next few hours, I think I'll just rub my legs.

and now, the rest of the story

I am not a good mountain hiker

     First off, the mountains in Switzerland are stunning.  Even on an overcast day, it is hard to not be impressed.
     We (nephew Mike and his sons Ben and Michael and me) took a gondola ride up to a small alpine community.  Lots of homes, a church, a couple of restaurants....very quaint and pretty community.  No cars...because there is no road there.
     We enjoyed the view of a small lake  then began the trek to the hut.
     At first, the climb was steep, but fairly easy.  It kept steep, but got harder because the footing became a little trickier.

We started at the lake .....way down below!

     This was listed as a 2 hour hike up.  But the time estimate was based on people who have actually hiked and are physically fit....not a 66 year old from Illinois who thinks a 30 foot rise in the road is a hill.
     At about the 2 hour point, when we were taking yet another break for someone to catch his breath, a hiker passed and said hello in English.  I asked him how far the hut was and he said, "Oh....about an hour and a half."
     I had thought if the hike proved too tough, I would just turn around, go back, find a hotel and spend the night.  But at the 2 hour point, that did not seem realistic.  Funny thing is, I thought we were making great time!
     So we trudged on.   Well not we, exactly, I trudged.  They hiked.
     The vistas were beautiful.  You could stop and hear the waterfalls across the valley as they crashed down the sides of the mountain.  I was glad it was the waterfalls crashing down and not me.
     And the hiker was right.  At about the 3 and a half hour point, we hit the trail marker which gave directions and times.  The hut was a 25 minute hike.  (However, the guide book says it's only 15.)
     You could see it from the trail marker.  25 minutes.  Nearly straight up.  Over rock.  The hut moving in and out of the mist.
      I believe I said, "Holy crap!!  That's the hut??"  Which made the boys laugh like crazy.  I think they repeated that several times, breaking up each time they said it.

Holy crap!  Is that the hut??  Red strip on white field marks the route.

     Forty (40) minutes later, the boys had clambered up the final steps are were waiting for Uncle Terry, who was slowly picking his way up the rocky path.
     It was an amazing view.
     After resting for a few minutes and checking to see that I still had a heart, we went into the hut.
     Now folks, it wasn't what I was expecting.
     We stepped into a big open room with shelving for shoes, because you could not wear hiking shoes into the sleeping areas. So we were given some crocks.
     And there must have been close to 70 other hikers there!
     Our room was big enough for a set of bunk beds and a small window.  No straw bedding, but a thin mattress and a comfy duvet plus a pillow.

Just follow the marks!!!

     We arrived in time for dinner, which is served at 6:30.  It is family style, and we sat with 6 strangers at a big table.  They were not strangers for long.  All of them spoke English, even though they were all native Swiss.
     And I may have fallen in love with one girl, who, along with her dad, had taken the harder route up.  She was 4.
     I looked around and realized the oldest person in the hut, and the youngest, were sitting at the same table.
     Food was family style.  A huge pot of beef broth with shaved pumpkin and carrots was brought out and bowls passed around, filled, and passed back.
     And because water was scarce, the soup bowl became the salad bowl which became the meat and potatoes bowl.
     The attractive woman across from me served salads.  When the plate of mashed potatoes came, she served those and I served the boiled beef chunks and gravy.

Ready for our first hut meal!!

     The man and woman next to me were going rock climbing on Sunday.  She was a doctor, and when Mike mentioned I had had a heart attack, she asked me if I remembered my nitro pills.  I assured her it was OK, but I was touched by her concern.
     The father of the 4 year old lived near Mike and they seemed to discover they had a mutual acquaintance.
     After the meal we  bussed the dishes, and enjoyed a vanilla and chocolate mousse.  (Ben did not like his, but I did!)  Then I wiped the table down and decided to go outside to look at darkness.
     Seriously, I was looking forward to that!  We don't get to see dark very often, especially in our homes, with all the electronics, ambient lights, street lights.....but it was raining by then, and it was a cold rain.
     Back inside, groups had gotten out games, or books, or were just sitting around the tables talking.
     This hut had two different types of rooms... private and sleeping.  We had a private.  Across the hall were some sleeping rooms, which were long platforms that held 8 people.  I don't know if they were separated by sex.  I am glad Mike got the private room.
     Communal bathrooms were downstairs....no showers, no hot water.
     Everything was clean.
     Friends, I don't remember the last time I went to bed at 8:15......but I was one tired puppy!
          I'll finish my tale tomorrow!

The hut and sitting patio

Our room

Store your hikers and wear some inside shoes!

I too have been to the mountain top

I scratched an item off my bucket list

     Ever since Julia came to Switzerland, I have wanted to hike in the Alps.
     I did that this weekend.  And I am crazy sore right now.
     My nephew Mike and his two sons, Ben and Michael went on the trip too.  Mike planned it.  Ben is 5, Michael turned 9 while we were hiking.
     I figured I could keep up with a five year old.
     Wrong, leg cramped old guy!
     The hike is listed as a two hour hike with a distance of two miles.  It has a listed climb of about 2,000 feet.  Now, I don't know much about elevations living in Rochelle, but I now realize 2,000 feet is a freaking huge incline in a two mile stretch.
     We started out at about 2...which means by about 4 we should be at the mountain hut  for which Mike made reservations.
     Hut to hut hiking is pretty popular in the Alps.  Huts are small buildings, some with straw beds, meals may range from cheese and sausage with a loaf of bread to a cooked meal of some sort.
     Here's from the hike description:  Though short, every step of the way is a delight of steep flower filled hillsides.
     I missed the word steep at first reading.  And I did not take every step of the way literally.  I should have.
     Or this:  ...the trail forks and you bear left for the final steep climb.......about 15 minutes from the trail junction you will reach the hut.
     We were still hiking 40 minutes later.
     Not only was it steep, it was on the mountain, which means it was solid stone.
     Did I mention the mist which eventually turned to a downpour?  Luckily, we were in the hut by that time.
     I have plenty of pictures, but I am only posting one  or two tonight.
     If you know me well, you know I have a fear of heights.
     You also know I can put up with primitive accommodations, if I have to.

No, I don't like heights.....but this was not a bad ride!

This is taking primitive too far!!


I will post more pictues on Facebook tomorrow......and will continue with the hut part of my story tomorrow.

scuse me while I miss a day

I won't be making a post Oct. 4

     I am going on an overnight, and I won't have Internet access.
     Hopefully, I will be back on Sunday.  Hopefully.
     We learned something today:  Jackie can not make it up the driveway.  She got half way, and couldn't go any further, so we went back to Julia's apartment.
     Two years ago she could do that, with a little effort.  Ten years ago she didn't have any problem.
     Funny how something like MS can change lives, and you don't even notice until it's changed.
     Went for a walk and saw some grapes being unloaded.  Harvest is in full swing, and the grapes are making their way to the wineries.
     The one down the street from Julia's is in the basement of the family home.  I have been down there and seen the four huge stainless steel vats they have for the wine.  I have watched the entire family labeling bottles as vino came out of the bottling machine.
     Today I watched the grapes, grenache, I was told, as they were put into the hopper, squeezed and the juices sent downstream and the vines get spit out.
     Yesterday I watched some workers in the fields.  The grapes are hand harvested.  I watched a woman carefully clip off a bunch, then she rolled them over and over in her hand, looking for bad grapes, bare stems, leaves.  She then carefully cut them off and gently laid the grapes in a yellow plastic box.
     It truly is a labor of love.
     Anyway, here's a little sample of my day.

Grapes on their way to the vats....this is the winery near Julia

As far as we got....at least it was sunny.

Grenache grapes ready to be dumped

The hopper has an auger and grapes are piped to the lower level winery

 .

Believe it or not, this is a Ford with a sliding rear door!

We ate at a local place....the stones are heated to about 500 degrees.  Then raw meat is flopped on top and served.  You slice to size and cook to the degree of done that you want.  Three sauces for dipping, wine for sipping, good food.  The bibs protect clothing from splatters as the meat sizzles.  The stones are really, really, really hot!!

I guess I should check off the check list, huh?

I can't believe how much I forgot

     Not about Switzerland, or French, or quantum mechanics.....but how much I forgot to bring.
     I have a great sweatshirt, fleece lined, zip up the front, looks clean.  Would have been great for the chili nights here.  Still in my closet.  My connecting cord from the pc to the camera, someplace in Rochelle, but not here.  And where is that second bag of candy?  Not in the suitcase where I thought it was.
     And I had a checklist!  Emily saw it.  John saw it.  OK, they may have noted nothing was actually checked off on it and my suitcases were packed, but mentally I went over the list.
     I thought I might buy a sweatshirt.  I am wearing one of Julia's, a Georgetown Hoya shirt.  So I went to look for one....cheapest one I found was 79 Franc, which is about $81, for a sweatshirt!!  I did not buy it.
     Since I was in town, I picked up supper at the carry out counter in Manor, which is a huge department store/food mart.  Think Walmart with a Bloomingdale's line.  I ordered three medium dishes and one large rice.  80 Swiss franc!  I about crapped!!
     I went into town, which means I had to ride the funicular.  But the funi is closed for repairs, and a bus runs the route.  6.60 franc to go down.  It's another 6.60 franc to come up.  So I bought an all day pass at 15 franc and went down, took the train to a little town called Chexbres, walked back to Julia's, had lunch, rode the bus down to the store and rode it back up to Chardonne.
     Living in Switzerland is expensive.  That's why salaries are so high here.  Besides the mountains and the stoners, everything is high here!
     Anyway, some pictures from my day.

Wine press in Chexbres

Chexbres street view

Leaves are turning...that is yellow, not sunlight!

Grapes ready to harvest...hand cut, put in yellow boxes.  Nets are to keep birds away.

A view along the walk.  The route from Chexbres to Chardonne follows one lane roads through the vineyards.

Flowers growing out of the walls

The first land projection is where the Nestle headquarters are in Vevey

The fight against bird grape thieves is ongoing!

Lake Geneva...not sure what the yellow ribbons are for, maybe another attempt to keep away birds.

Sheri K.......your door!  Still there

This bush was full of orange berries.

Vines, roses, the lake, a boat....doesn't get better than this!

Local wildlife...they are everywhere!!

Yes, they are all over the world!!

sorry hon, I'm taking a coffee break

I wish I had learned French long ago

    Oh sure, I took it in high school.  But I was lazy and unmotivated.  Now I am lazy and old.  Studies prove it is easier for a young person to learn a language than for an older person.
    So I ask this question:  Who put the parley in vous?
     I have had several conversations with people in French/English.
     Julia's neighbor speaks English, but she prefers French.
     In French, she asked how I was.  In French, I replied I was fine and hoped she was too.
We both laughed.  Last time, she called me "the professor" and has given me a couple of pointers on how to say something over the years.
     That fairly competent moment was followed by a conversation with a woman who owns a winery down the street from Julia.  I have gone there several times.  I know she speaks English, but her husband does not.
    So I saw her on the street and said, "Bonjour....how are you?"  My combination French/English greeting confused her.  She answered, in French, "I am fine, thank you."  I then came back with the amazing response, "Merci."  And I bowed!  She still does not know what I am thanking her for, or why I bowed.  Hell, I don't even know what I was thinking.
     At least I understood her, unlike the truck driver who asked me for directions.  Or for money.  Or offered to buy me lunch.  He talked so fast, I had no idea what to say.  So I bumbled out, in slow motion:  I don't speak French; I speak French not; Merci! and finally, I don't understand you, I am American.  At which point he thanked me, probably for his morning laugh, and drove on.
     At the bakery, I managed to buy one loaf of bread and a butter croissant, ordering in French.  When the lady asked me which baguette, something or blanc, I went with blanc because I know that is white and I wanted white bread.
     So I have started listening to podcasts of Coffee Break French.  The lessons are about 15 minutes long, hence the coffee break tie in.  They are free and fast paced.  I am on lesson four.  If I had done this six months ago instead of playing spider solitaire, perhaps I could parley vous with the best of them.
     And now, for some exciting pictures.

The croissant was still warm

Julia's downstairs neighbor is blaming this on us...has been beautiful for two weeks!

The funicular is closed....cement and tracks replaced, again.

Chardonne funi station ... a little messy with the construction, love the wood building

Julia's apartment building....notice the sun is out, just not over the lake!!

Pinot noir in the making

Grapes are being harvested now....these beauties look ready

All the times I have been here, don't think I have ever taken this picture!

Au revoir!

Rip van winkle awakes

I take a while to adjust to time changes

     I fell asleep about 8 last night, woke up at 9, went to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 3 a.m., all Swiss time.
     To say I don't adjust quickly might be an understatement.
     However, I did get sleep....just not at the normal times.
     I also set off to explore a little of Chardonne.
     This is a small village.  A couple of restaurants, a bakery and coffee shop, small grocery store...and lots of vintners.  They have lots of wine here.
     It was a misty, cloudy, drizzly type of day.  But the village is lovely, no matter what kind of weather.
     (Sherrie, if you are reading this, no funi!  The semi-vertical elevator is under going major repairs.)
     As happens in many Swiss villages, the grocery store closes from about noon to 2, so if you need supplies, go early.
     I have walked these streets several times.  (No, I am not a stranded American taken to hustling for money to return home.  Walked the streets as in being a tourist.)
     And I always find something interesting.  So, not many words today....just some pictures.

 It was not exactly a sunny day!

 Flowers are still in bloom....

 These figures are on the fence of a playground.  Just thought it was cute.

Self service flowers.... always love walking past this hut!