Hello from Switzerland. My apologies for not being able to post during the last week. Without a personal computer I am finding it quite difficult to maintain the blog. My time has been stretched very thin and it often comes down to a choice between using the internet or getting the sleep I desperately need. Next time I will have to invest in a small laptop... this way I can get work done on the train. I have been editing pictures today and yesterday, but tonight I go to Bern so there is not time to put them up. But I will when I can :)
Today I am resting in Zurich while staying with a good friend from college who lives here. The peace and quiet of his home is wonderful for me. The last week has been absolutely crazy... On the 5th I left Turkey for the Greek island of Samos, where I spent the day. That night I took a 12 hour ferry to Athens. I spent two days in Athens, the first doing errands and the second seeing the sights. On the 8th I escaped the city during a transit strike... a miracle in its own right... took the train to Patras and then a night ferry to Bari, Italy. Later that day a train brought me in to Rome. Arriving after dark I found my 1st 3 hostel choices all full, so spent 2 or 3 hours running around a new city trying to find lodging. I did eventually get a place, but it was very late and I slept only a few hours. The next morning I tried to secure a bed for the following night, but finding practically every hostel in my price range booked, I opted to grab a ticket on the next night train to Venice. This gave me exactly 12 hours to see Rome....
One might make the case that Rome cannot be seen in 12 hours, but I would have to argue otherwise. I spent 2 hours in St Peter s Square and Basilica, 2 more in the Vatican Museum (I could write a book about my experiences at just these two places); walked the central downtown/old town Rome for 1.5 hours and saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and other major sites. Then I just made the Colosseum, and spent an hour and a half exploring that most amazing site. After a quick dinner I caught a 6 hour night train to Venice (slept very little) and arrived in the magical city at 5:30 am. I spent a good 6 panicky hours securing a room for the night (Venice is always full up, it seems, and good luck not getting lost as you try to navigate the maze), catching up to a meal, taking a much needed shower, buying a ticket to zurich for the next day, and napping to regain some sense of normalcy. Afterwards, however, Venice was pure wonder.
I fell in love in Venice. Not with a person, but with the city. It is like nowhere else Ive ever been. Peaceful, upbeat, romantic, breathtakingly beautiful... boats and gonolas ply winding canals amid centuries old shops, homes, and pedestrian bridges. There are no cars in venice... only people and boats. I explored St Marks Square (from the opening scenes of The Italian Job) and took a water taxi back to the train station. What a place...
Early the next morning I caught a fast train to Zurich, and after a stop in Milano we were up and into the Alps in seemingly no time at all. What mountains... If I could find the exclamation point on this keyboard I would use it generously. I met my friend Michel at the main station and he showed me around Zurich before we finally retired back home.
Turkey to Samos to Athens to Patras to Bari to Rome and the Vatican to Venice to Zurich... all in a week. Sometimes I dont what day it is and often feel like Turkey was at least a month ago. I have trouble remembering if I last slept on a train, boat, or on a bunk... and in which city again? Athens and Rome have run together in my mind, which itself is still sorting out the many metro lines, city maps, and walking routes that I have followed in the last week. I believe Ive underestimated the sheer amount of time and energy it takes to plan, organize, make reservations, decode transportation systems, deal with mistakes, find food, and do all the other practical things that keep a trip moving. Thank god for my friend Michel; he allowed me to sleep most of yesterday and has taken good care of this weary traveller. How nice to have a day or two to be still. And rest I must, for tonight we are off to Bern, and tomorrow to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Then I plan to shoot down thru France to Barcelona for a day before returning to Switzerland for a little more of the Alps.
Crazy? Yes. But I have 14 days left on my railpass and Ill be damned if I dont use it to the fullest.
I promise pictures when I can get to the internet again; they are all ready to go, I just need the time and energy to put em up.
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There are so many wonderful people in this world. There are places that make you shiver with wonder and amazement, even as an adult. You yourself are capable of so much more than you might believe. Our fears so often dictate who we are and what we do, and eventually can define the world we believe to be real. But there is a dynamic world beyond those fears that moves and grows and is waiting to teach you beautiful things... Shatter the glass that holds you inside; Take a deep breath and jump- you wont regret it, I promise
remember the words of Goethe:
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it
Peace to All, Joe
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