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Published: August 2nd 2010
UFOs
Look carefully for a dot floating in the sky above these cows. That's the gondola!Hiking & Fondue
Every year our hosts take the students (and me) on a hike to the top of a mountain in a place called Moléson-sur-Gruyères, which is near (above?) where the famous cheese comes from. Actually, most of us (myself included) hike half way up the mountain. From there we ride a gondola the rest of the way. We freeze for a while, then ride the gondola back to the half way point. There's a restaurant there where a fondue feast awaits us.
(If you don't already know, click on the video above to hear what hiking in Switzerland sounds like.)
The Lötsch Valley
My last free day in Switzerland and the weather map was covered with angry clouds shooting lightening bolts. Then I read about the Lõtsch Valley on MySwitzerland.com:
Lötsch Valley lies embedded in an imposing mountain landscape between the Valaisian and Bernese Alps. The mostly undeveloped valley with its still authentic villages lures visitors to enjoy a vacation in pristine surroundings, far from the large tourism centers.
Storms be damned, I was out the door. I took trains and buses to get to the top of the valley, then, in a light pleasant rain, hiked back down along a river fed by waterfalls rushing out of mountains that were so close I could almost touch them.
The valley trail passed through several villages populated by Swiss Amish. I
vigorous youths
After the long gondola ride to the top of the mountain, these students passed out. had to switch from my fake French to my fake German (less honking, more spitting and grimacing) to communicate with them.
Although there were a few cars and a few modern buildings, there were also lots of old timber houses that were still in use. The houses were raised off the ground by several feet, supported at the corners by piles of flat stones. Some of them were decorated with large creepy masks that had a kind of "Blair Witch" feeling. The masks are part of the the old "Tschäggätä" tradition, which is still preserved in this valley. As best I could tell a Tschäggätä is a kind of Sasquatch. Here's the Wikipedia description:
frightening figures wearing furs and carved wooden masks that walk the streets during carnival tossing soot at their unsuspecting victims
Maybe at one time people believed they were real. Maybe at one time they were.
Back, back in the USSR
At first I was annoyed that the web site I used to book my hotel in Riga claimed it was both two miles from the city center and two miles from the airport. How perfect. In fact, the hotel was equidistant from the airport and city center, but the distance was more like 10 miles. However, the remoteness
Group Photo
Students from India, Switzerland, and the US participated in the Summer University program. of the hotel allowed me to see the real Riga.
Like other former Soviet cities I've visited, one must look beyond the glamor of the city center with its tourists, outdoor cafes, miniskirts, and slavish imitation of all things American. This morning after breakfast I strolled around my neighborhood. I saw soot-blackened bricks, peeling paint, rusting metal, permanent potholes, and abandoned factories. I saw people, birds, and stray cats scraping a living off of the streets. It made me realize that economies are like engines. Governments and banks adjust the choke: too rich and the economy races—inflation-- too lean and the economy sputters—recession—and ultimately stalls—depression. Is Latvia sputtering or stalled?
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Diane Johansen
non-member comment
you look thin here
and very happy!~