Hold on tight, and enjoy your ride.
Recap: Wengen to Berlin.
12/23/2005-
Met Tim, Pascale, Jen, and Lynda (all Australian) in Zurich airport (Flughaufen) and quickly hopped a train to Wengen, via Bern-Interlaken. The swiss train system is amazing, best, most efficient, cleanest in the world (so far), and all for a reasonable price. Swiss perfection. The airport was also immaculate, modern and efficient. Everything has its place and its multiple purpose in Swiss-land. We got into Wengen and were floored, it was even better than we had hoped, and was looking its best after a fresh dump of pow. Our chalet, 'millennium,' was on the top of a building, huge porch, living room, fireplace, big modern kitchen, exactly what you'd want in a ski place. And in the freaking alps.
Wengen is all resort town, no compromises, tram runs straight into it, which had been wiped out by an avalanche in 1999. So that's all new, and you can see fancy avalanche barriers high up in the hills. Trains bring people and everything else up to Wengen, and then onto the slopes and over the mountains to Grindlewald, the next valley over. We skied the resort Jungfrau.
12/24/2005-
Christmas Eve:
Woke up early completely jet lagged, worked out with John and Matt (must keep fit for KILI!), got breaky, made it in our own Kitchen! First time in 3 months i've had a kitchen with a full on fridge, with food in it! Washed my toothbrush under the faucet without fear for giardia, cryptosporidium, and all our other favorite intestinal friends causing havoc. Drank glassfull after glorious glassfull of tap water! oh how i love trusting tap water again. Oh, and did I mention EVERY bathroom has plush toilet paper, flush toilets, toilet seats, and running water! Welcome to the future.
Went with the boys to check out rental equip and lift passes, walked out with a 6 day pass, and a hot pair of all mountain Rossi's. John (Aus), brought his ski boots which fit me, and he was planning to board all week. So I saved a bit of money on renting boots, nice one John. While the others were getting settled John, Marielle, and I headed up mountain to check out the trails mid morning, glad we did. Blue bird day, perfect conditions, took more runs than I should have then headed downtown to try and find my parents hotel. As previously explained, I ran into them on one of the paths, had a grand reunion, fit for the big screen. They came back to the chalet and I introduced them to everyone. They got on like old friends with all, as usual. We, (Tim, Matt, and I) eat an awesome meal at their place that night, went to midnight mass at a funky little church and crashed out quickly, it was Christmas.
12/25/2005-
Christmas Day:
Got up, went for a ski, another great day, some low cloud had a nice inversion. Mom, Lynda, Jono, and Pas cooked our feast. We had a great Christmas dinner and opened presents late. I got all sorts of good stuff: London Underground boxers, socks, Superfeet insoles (feet are loving them), and to top it off Mom and Dad hooked me up with a mini swiss army knife/ 1 Gig USB thumb drive. Matt picked up the guitar and we all sang along a bunch of songs, it was great, great fun.
12/26-28/2005-
Alpinlife:
Ski, Ski, Ski, Jungfrau is among the best ski resorts I've been to. It sports an amazing lift, tram, train network, and it's a bargain compared to skiing out West in the US. Lots of different terrain, all you need. Skied with Jim and Kath a lot, got cloudy for a few days, had some poor vis, but the snow came too. All would meet for lunch everyday at the top restaurant, Eiger always present in the distance. Dinners at the Berghaus (J&K's haus) became the norm, trips to the Co-Op had me stocked up on supplies, all hanging out each night at millennium and drink, drank, drunk. Got called out on Buffalo club violations many a time. Jono, Pas, and Lynda cooked up some good food all week.
12/29/2005- Jungfraujoch
Mom, Dad, and I got up early and took the highest railroad in Europe to the Jungfraujoch, on the Eigergletscher train through the massive Eiger. Insane engineering, which was all done around 1900. Observatory, shopping area, restaurants, museums, ice caves through the glacier, research station, these swiss just out did themselves. While on the observatory deck, we heard, then saw an avalanche, it was nuts.
After a few hours, we took the train back down to Wengen and said our goodbyes. Jim and Kath were heading off to Lucerne. Their visit was excellent, we had tons of fun together and everyone adored them. It was however, far to short. They loved Wengen and I loved the week with them, very lucky to have them come over.
I skied a little bit that arvo, took my last run down the world cup downhill course and then back to the chalet for the last time. Very sad to leave that place, it's been a trip highlight for sure. We started packing up and getting ready to hit Berlin.
12/30/2005-
Cleaned house, took out the heaps of empty bottles to the recycler, walked into town and got the train to Lucerne. Had a quick stop for lunch in Interlaken, about four hours in Lucerne, saw the lion, old bridges, etc. Ate some McDonalds, all we could afford, thats when i put some photos online, and headed for the aeropuerto/flughaufen/airport. It was snowing quite heavily in Zurich and we were unsure if we'd take off or not, but those swiss had it dialed. Took off a little late in half a foot of snow, no drama. Got into Berlin pretty late, got slick Merc cabs to our Hotel "Comet" and hit the sack.
12/31/2005-
Woke up in Berlin, the hotel had a great breaky, went on a long, frigid, walking tour of the city. It was a great tour that pretty much covered everything. Brandenburg gate, Reichtag, Checkpoint Charlie, the Wall, holocaust memorial, museum island, churches... We got some tasty kebabs, went back to the hotel to warm and wash, then hit New Years in front of the Brandenburg gate. It was snowing, then raining, but still a good time. We ran in the new year listening to an odd mix of euro, Spanish, American pop. Just about perfect.
1/1/2006-
Museumed and walked around East Berlin with Jen, Lynda, Jono and Janet. The boys and Pas were on a more intense museum marathon, and we all met up later that evening for a beer hall dinner somewhere in the city. The Checkpoint Charlie museum was especially cool, there were so many insane ways people got across the border, very clever.
12/23/2005-
Met Tim, Pascale, Jen, and Lynda (all Australian) in Zurich airport (Flughaufen) and quickly hopped a train to Wengen, via Bern-Interlaken. The swiss train system is amazing, best, most efficient, cleanest in the world (so far), and all for a reasonable price. Swiss perfection. The airport was also immaculate, modern and efficient. Everything has its place and its multiple purpose in Swiss-land. We got into Wengen and were floored, it was even better than we had hoped, and was looking its best after a fresh dump of pow. Our chalet, 'millennium,' was on the top of a building, huge porch, living room, fireplace, big modern kitchen, exactly what you'd want in a ski place. And in the freaking alps.
Wengen is all resort town, no compromises, tram runs straight into it, which had been wiped out by an avalanche in 1999. So that's all new, and you can see fancy avalanche barriers high up in the hills. Trains bring people and everything else up to Wengen, and then onto the slopes and over the mountains to Grindlewald, the next valley over. We skied the resort Jungfrau.
12/24/2005-
Christmas Eve:
Woke up early completely jet lagged, worked out with John and Matt (must keep fit for KILI!), got breaky, made it in our own Kitchen! First time in 3 months i've had a kitchen with a full on fridge, with food in it! Washed my toothbrush under the faucet without fear for giardia, cryptosporidium, and all our other favorite intestinal friends causing havoc. Drank glassfull after glorious glassfull of tap water! oh how i love trusting tap water again. Oh, and did I mention EVERY bathroom has plush toilet paper, flush toilets, toilet seats, and running water! Welcome to the future.
Went with the boys to check out rental equip and lift passes, walked out with a 6 day pass, and a hot pair of all mountain Rossi's. John (Aus), brought his ski boots which fit me, and he was planning to board all week. So I saved a bit of money on renting boots, nice one John. While the others were getting settled John, Marielle, and I headed up mountain to check out the trails mid morning, glad we did. Blue bird day, perfect conditions, took more runs than I should have then headed downtown to try and find my parents hotel. As previously explained, I ran into them on one of the paths, had a grand reunion, fit for the big screen. They came back to the chalet and I introduced them to everyone. They got on like old friends with all, as usual. We, (Tim, Matt, and I) eat an awesome meal at their place that night, went to midnight mass at a funky little church and crashed out quickly, it was Christmas.
12/25/2005-
Christmas Day:
Got up, went for a ski, another great day, some low cloud had a nice inversion. Mom, Lynda, Jono, and Pas cooked our feast. We had a great Christmas dinner and opened presents late. I got all sorts of good stuff: London Underground boxers, socks, Superfeet insoles (feet are loving them), and to top it off Mom and Dad hooked me up with a mini swiss army knife/ 1 Gig USB thumb drive. Matt picked up the guitar and we all sang along a bunch of songs, it was great, great fun.
12/26-28/2005-
Alpinlife:
Ski, Ski, Ski, Jungfrau is among the best ski resorts I've been to. It sports an amazing lift, tram, train network, and it's a bargain compared to skiing out West in the US. Lots of different terrain, all you need. Skied with Jim and Kath a lot, got cloudy for a few days, had some poor vis, but the snow came too. All would meet for lunch everyday at the top restaurant, Eiger always present in the distance. Dinners at the Berghaus (J&K's haus) became the norm, trips to the Co-Op had me stocked up on supplies, all hanging out each night at millennium and drink, drank, drunk. Got called out on Buffalo club violations many a time. Jono, Pas, and Lynda cooked up some good food all week.
12/29/2005- Jungfraujoch
Mom, Dad, and I got up early and took the highest railroad in Europe to the Jungfraujoch, on the Eigergletscher train through the massive Eiger. Insane engineering, which was all done around 1900. Observatory, shopping area, restaurants, museums, ice caves through the glacier, research station, these swiss just out did themselves. While on the observatory deck, we heard, then saw an avalanche, it was nuts.
After a few hours, we took the train back down to Wengen and said our goodbyes. Jim and Kath were heading off to Lucerne. Their visit was excellent, we had tons of fun together and everyone adored them. It was however, far to short. They loved Wengen and I loved the week with them, very lucky to have them come over.
I skied a little bit that arvo, took my last run down the world cup downhill course and then back to the chalet for the last time. Very sad to leave that place, it's been a trip highlight for sure. We started packing up and getting ready to hit Berlin.
12/30/2005-
Cleaned house, took out the heaps of empty bottles to the recycler, walked into town and got the train to Lucerne. Had a quick stop for lunch in Interlaken, about four hours in Lucerne, saw the lion, old bridges, etc. Ate some McDonalds, all we could afford, thats when i put some photos online, and headed for the aeropuerto/flughaufen/airport. It was snowing quite heavily in Zurich and we were unsure if we'd take off or not, but those swiss had it dialed. Took off a little late in half a foot of snow, no drama. Got into Berlin pretty late, got slick Merc cabs to our Hotel "Comet" and hit the sack.
12/31/2005-
Woke up in Berlin, the hotel had a great breaky, went on a long, frigid, walking tour of the city. It was a great tour that pretty much covered everything. Brandenburg gate, Reichtag, Checkpoint Charlie, the Wall, holocaust memorial, museum island, churches... We got some tasty kebabs, went back to the hotel to warm and wash, then hit New Years in front of the Brandenburg gate. It was snowing, then raining, but still a good time. We ran in the new year listening to an odd mix of euro, Spanish, American pop. Just about perfect.
1/1/2006-
Museumed and walked around East Berlin with Jen, Lynda, Jono and Janet. The boys and Pas were on a more intense museum marathon, and we all met up later that evening for a beer hall dinner somewhere in the city. The Checkpoint Charlie museum was especially cool, there were so many insane ways people got across the border, very clever.
posted by Patrick Moloney at
1:26 PM
3 Comments:
Hey, just booked a flight to Zurich in Feb and have a week there! Stumbled across your blog, any suggestions?
By
Anonymous, at January 05, 2006 2:50 PM
We did a walking tour of Berlin when we there and they made us try Curry Wurst (Bratwurst covered in ketchup and curry powder). Name is quite appropriate.....
By
Anonymous, at January 06, 2006 4:32 PM
Woooooooowooooooooooooo! Nice pat. Nice.
- Timmay (DMS)
By
Anonymous, at January 09, 2006 11:31 AM
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