Hello Reader. It is called 'Les Marmottes,' which is a small, gopher-like animal who has nothing to do with cheese. The restaurant, on the other hand, leaves an inescapable aroma of cheese on the clothes of every guest. After playing Mario Kart for a while and then cleaning up Johanna's house, went to meet Jojo and her sister, Tamara, near the restaurant. Tamara had also invited two of her friends, Stefan, from Barcelona, a musician who was more comfortable speaking with me in Spanish, and Romain, a theater student, who invited me to go on a twelve day hike around Mont [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. Only thirty-five minutes after being dropped off by Claude at a gas station in France did the fifth patron of said station approach me. He had long, blonde hair, blue eyes and looked to be about twenty-four. He said in a thick French accent that he, too, was a traveler and would be more than happy to bring me to Lyon. Didier, which I had him spell and could not pronounce, informed me along the way that he was of Islamic faith, prefered black women, and only had three points left on his licence. As we moved closer to [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. I called Claude from Pascal's house in Lausanne to let him know I would be arriving by train, (a forty-five minute trip). I got to the train station, bought my ticket, checked the platform and walked on over. The train was there so I hopped on. After stuffing my gorilla-of-a-pack on to the overhead shelf, I sat down, looked around at the crowded train, and began to read. After about thirty minutes or so, the train was really beginning to thin out. I had thought most of these people were headed for Geneva. I was checking the stops through [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. For dinner the other night I went to a restaurant called Manora. My guidebook recommended this two floor buffet style restaurant. I went in, it was mostly self-explanitory, a kind local explained the pasta station. I collect all the ingridients myself, hand them to the pasta guy, and presto, my personalized pasta is prepared. I grabbed a bowl and piled it high, I handed the bowl to the guy. An uproar of laughter followed. He held up my bowl and shouted something in German to the salad bar attendant, who then started laughing, and then shouted something to the [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. After checking into my hostel in Interlaken, I headed up to see my bed. I was one of ten guys staying in the room. One of them was in the room, Caj, (pronounced Ki). He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and tight clothes. He was, of course, Sweedish. We talked for a bit then went to the kitchen for dinner. We took full advantage of 'happy hour' at the bar where drinks were two for one. We had a couple beers while watching the New Zealand vs. Ireland rugby game. Those rugby guys don't mess around. No pads, no [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. I would call it 'taking a zero.' Thursday was a day consumed by laziness. I didn't do too much, but enjoyed every bit of it. I woke up late and arranged some couchsurfing for the next week and a half. I headed to the cinema where Daniela works and she allowed me to use her pass to get upstairs to the Panarama depicting a war. The Bourbaki. It was a large round room with three hundred and sixty degrees of wall covered with a mural. It was supposed to make you feel like you were apart of the war. [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. Friday On Friday, Steffie and I headed to a farmer's museum. It was our last day together and it was great. We walked and talked and enjoyed learning about the evolution of a Southern German farm. We were able to explore old farms with cows, barns, and farmhouses as old as six hundred years. (the farmhouses, not the cows.) We got back home and I spent some time on the internet looking for some people to stay with in Switzerland. Her father broght home some fresh apples and juice from a local, uh, applery. They were crisp and perfect, [View Full Entry]

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I just wanted to post a picture of my cat, Links. He's waiting for me in Rothenburg. He's probably given me a name, too. [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. My dogs are barkin’. I was upstairs by eight forty-five. Steffie was sitting at the breakfast table. I said good morning and realized that there was a lack of barking. Steffie’s mom had taken the dog to work with her. I get to live another day! She had decided that it was too foggy for the hike. Steffie and I left after breakfast (and a nap…?) for Hochgrat Mountain. The weather was great, Steffie’s mom would have loved it. We drove for an hour before reaching the base. One thousand eight hundred and eighty four meters, which works out [View Full Entry]

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Hello Reader. Yesterday I woke up to a dog jumping around on my bed. Let me tell you, next to earthquakes, I think the most terrifying thing to wake up to is a dog who hates you jumping on your bed while you’re sleeping. Steffie was laughing. He didn’t eat me yesterday morning, but I think I felt him pour a little Worcestershire sauce down my back and on his way out he mouthed ‘marinate’ followed by motioning his paw from the left of his collar to the right. Steffie had an interview in Frankfurt so I was with her sister, [View Full Entry]

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