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Published: August 7th 2007
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Wet hair and mountains
Getting ready to go up the mountain Breakfast in Engelberg. Can you really call bread, bread, more bread, cereal, some bread and coffee breakfast? Ha. Many of my tour mates were not their chipper selves this morning. Everyone looked to be in pretty rough shape, courtesy of Pom Pom's great P-party and the Spindle bar. I wasn't too bad, all things considered. A little slow, but overall okay. I was too excited to be hungover - today we were going up Mount Titlis! Yup. Titlis. It IS pronounced the way you think it is and we were totally juvenile and giggled at it over and over again.
I brought a sweater and wore a jean jacket as we walked from the hotel across the road to the check-in chalet at the base of the mountain. We were packed into a trolley like sardines and were carted up the mountain to the first level, then got into another car that would take us to the second level. The higher we went the more spectacular the views became. People freaked out a little, since we were so high and the car was swinging. The best part though was our final ascent, when we packed into the rotating tin-can of
Oh Titlis
At the base of the mountain a gondola car that lets you see the full panoramic view. I was squished up against the window and had a pushy Asian lady behind me who was seriously causing rage to build up in me. Jeff laughed. It was a good thing the ride wasn't too long. We rose above the clouds and into the snowy peaks. When we got out of the gondola we stepped onto the lookout and the views were so pretty. I felt like I was back in the Rockies.
We took some pictures, then went and played in the snow for a bit. Snowball fights and sliding down a small hill. Pom Pom got right into the action, it was so funny to watch. Those who weren't used to snow were having a blast, and their excitement was contagious. I was surprised at how warm it was that high up. The snow was reflecting the intense sunlight and I was really glad I'd loaded up on sunscreen earlier in the morning. After hanging out in the snow and taking pictures, we decided to take the Ice Flyer (basically just a chair lift) down to the place where you could go tubing down the
FUN
Playing in the snow mountain. I got on the lift with Erin, Laura and Anita and we had fun waving to random people on the lift on their way back. We then waited in line for a LONG time to get our tubes, and I could feel the sun beating down, so although I was baking in my layers, I kept them on. Better than getting burned. The wait was worth it. Amanda and I went together on the first run, and then I went with Sara on the second. It was so much fun, but dragging the tube back up the hill to the elevator made my heart race. I was out of breath after just a few steps because of the thin air at that altitude! I don't know how mountain climbers do it.
The last activity of the day on the mountain was exploring the ice cave, or "glacial grotto" (much cooler name). We were actually going into a cave deep in the glacier, and after the hot afternoon sun, we found the grotto especially frigid. BRRRR. Of course, what do you expect when you're in an ice cave? Matt, Jeff, Sara, Jon and I took turns climbing into crevices
So nice.
The Titlis Canucks
*snicker* to take pictures. I tucked into a small hole in the ice and nearly froze as the cold went right through my clothes to my bones and chilled me to the core. It was fun.
All in all we spent about four and a half hours at 3022 meters, then made our way back down to town. We walked back to the hotel, waving at Damian cleaning the coach as we passed him on the way. We had the rest of the day completely free, so I went to the grocery store to pick up some delicious chocolate and cheap (6chf) wine, went back to my room and sat on the balcony to soak in the atmosphere and write a bit. Then I went for a walk around town, and was completely astonished to find that all night the night before when I was so "lost", I'd been ONE BLOCK AWAY from the hotel. What a loser :P
It was really hard to believe that it was day 7 already. It seemed like forever and a day ago that we were in Amsterdam. Dinner was back over at the Hotel Europa again and I was the victim of
Among the clouds
On the ice flyer a classic comedy routine as I spilled my water over myself a la dribble glass twice, and then as I went to fill my glass up again with the pitcher, the water went everywhere. Got big laughs from the table, and got me quite wet. Dinner finished with yet another classic Swiss dessert, "Mousse Europe". Hilarity in a cup.
I don't think anyone was in the mood to have a big night that night, so when we got back to the hotel, I sat with Rachel, Val, Chad and Damian and chatted for a while before going up to my room to write for a bit, then I wandered around, came back downstairs and was invited to join in a game of UNO. I'd never played UNO before, but was assured it wasn't hard, so we got a big game going in the dining room and before I knew it I was fading fast, so I went up to my room, crawled into the top bunk and smiled as I closed my eyes and fell asleep, thinking back on the wonderful day I'd just had.
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