Swing and a Miss!

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Italy was a cool place, but we were excited to see our friend Pia and check out some cool mountain towns. We ended up in Lucerne which is a chilled out Swiss town and were utterly shocked when we walked out of the train station and saw snow on the ground...in THE ALPS? Huh, who´d have thought? We were told that snow was expected everyday we were there so we were thinking of heading to the local mountains to catch a bit of boarding. We found out that since it was still considered between seasons, Engelberg was basically closed for maintenance. The majority of the time was spent walking around in the freezing weather, it was -12 C. We met a group of cool Aussies that had been working on a luxurious super yacht in the Mediterranean (it was something ridiculous like $150K a day) and went to get some drinks. They had been traveling the world for 18 months and had been to a lot of the same places we had, so it was cool to talk with them and tell stories. It was hilarious because they had never seen snow before and on the way home from the pub, a spontaneous snowball battle erupted. Due to their lack of experience, they neglected some of the typical rules of engagement such as...Do not throw as hard as you can when you are in close proximity to your target, etc. One particular guy was guilty of doing this on multiple occasions and we would be lying if we didn´t tell you that we got some satisfaction when his friend decided to retaliate. He hip checked him through a 4 ft snowy hedge...it was so damn funny! We bailed out of Lucerne and headed to Freiberg in southern Germany, the "warmest" city in Germany to visit our friend Pia. After doing the sausage and brewery thing, we met up with her and went to a German Techno Club haha. It was great to see her and awesome that she let us crash at her place for a few days. She cooked some amazing food and was a great host, which we definitely needed after months of hostelling, Thanks Pia. While hanging out in her room checking out pictures, Ryan recognized a book on her shelf. It was one that he took to Fiji and gave to her in San Diego to read during the rest of her travels. It was crazy to think about what has happened in a year and to hear what we have to look forward to once we get back. Hanging out with Pia was great, but since we had a short amount of time and so many places to see, we said our good byes and hopped a train to the small alpine town of Zermatt.

Zermatt was the Quinessential mountain town with small snow covered buildings and steep cobble stone streets all in the shadows of the mountain range. This is where we were hoping to get a snowboarding session in, in the "foothills" of the Matterhorn. After waking up, getting breakfast and getting to the rental shop, we found out that since we were between seasons, the mountain shutdown early. It was also twice the amount as it is in the US and we had no choice but to scrap the idea. After walking around, we also found out that nearly every attraction was closed...STRIKE ONE!!!

Next stop, the Cote D´Azur. On the train to France, we met a woman who translated all of these messages we had been hearing on over the intercom...translation...this train is stopping at the border and cannot continue on to Nice due to the strike in France (the same strike we where ranting about a month ago while in Paris)...STRIKE TWO!!! Luckily, we caught the last local train of the day and ended up in Nice. There was nothing we wanted more than to take a hot shower and rack out in a comfortable bed. Since we booked ahead of time, we knew this wouldn´t be a problem...after finally finding our hotel we discovered that it was closed...STRIKE THREE!!! (Russ slams his bat on the ground and saunters off to the dug out while Ryan knocks the dirt from his cleats and steps up to the plate.) The next day we went to the station to reserve seats on a train in a few days to Barcelona, only to find out that there was no train to Barcelona due to the current strike...STRIKE ONE!!! She told us that the strike was ending tomorrow and the trains could possibly be starting back up again but she really wouldn´t know until the morning. We decided to check the bus station to see if we could bus it to the border, but found out that there wasn´t one for a few days. Not really sure what we were going to do we caught a bus to Monaco to check out the Monte Carlo and day dream about having ridiculous yachts and cars. That place was filled with some of the most lavish yachts we have ever seen. While walking, we tried to work up a scheme where a beautiful rich woman would take us on her yacht to the Spanish Riviera, but couldn´t figure anything out. The casino, like everything else in Monaco, was over the top as well, with Hummers, Porsches, Bentleys and every other luxury car you can think of parked out front. We walked in hoping to throw a bet or two down, but after realizing that it cost $14 USD just to walk onto the casino floor. We tried to find the quarter slots and free drinks, but failed and thus our hopes and dreams of paying for our trip was dashed. With nothing else to do in this ridiculously expense municipality we headed back to Nice.

The next morning we checked out the train situation, and guess what, we hopped on a train to Barcelona! SIKE! (When is the last time you heard anyone use that..haha) Nope, actually at the line of scrimmage we called an audible and caught a train to Paris, then booked a train from Paris to Biarritz. Basically, we were taking a bullet train all the way across the country just to catch another one all the way back across the country again. We figured if worse came to worse, Paris had a major airport and we could get the HELL out of France one way or another. The trip to Paris was supposed to take 5 hrs, but our situation only got worse...supposedly there was a rock on the track and we had to change trains a few hours into our journey. We were delayed an hour and half and missed our second train...STRIKE TWO!!! We finally arrived in Paris 7 hours later and after discussing some options with the railworker (aka: our arch nemesis) we frantically caught a cab to another train station on the opposite side of the city. We made it to our second train and got on another bullet train across the country...supposedly for seven hours this time. France is a beautiful country, but at this point it was the bane of our existence. So, we were supposed to arrive in Biarritz at 11:30pm, surprise! Our train was late again and we didn´t get there until 12:45am. After walking the desolate streets of Biarritz and finding that the places we were going to stay at were closed, we walked back to the station to hopefully catch a cab. Unfortunately, none where there. At this point we seriously began scanning the area for comfortable benchs and/or grassy knolls or anything to shield us from the impending rainfall...STRIKE THREE!!! (Ryan breaks his bat over his knee and storms of to the dug out as well.) By this time, we were so exhausted we agreed that we could sleep anywhere and were thinking screw it...that concrete can´t be that uncomfortable can it? The trains start again in 5 hours, that isn´t too long. It can´t be that bad, can it? Just when our spirits were at their lowest points a woman appeared in her car. She said, "Dasdyufofe8wqfg?" To which we replied, " Ahh, we a noa speaka Francais." We asked her if she spoke any Spanish and she said, "asdjkfhasidhf, Soy Braziliana, hablo poquito." After a few minutes of deciphering her charades and mixture of French, Portugese and Spanish, we discovered that she was offering to give us a ride to the nearest hotel. The thing was, they all turned out to be closed except for possibly the 4 star ones in the city center. She then started speaking to us again and we decoded that she was offering to let us crash on an extra bed in her house. Feeling a bit hesitant, we accepted and were off to her home. We arrived to find out that we would be sleeping on a futon in her 18 yr. old son´s room and he was less than stoked for us to be there. After realizing that he could speak more spanish than his mom, we explained that we were sorry for invading his room and then he wasn´t so noticably upset. Finally, at 2:30am, we passed out on a futon in a stranger´s home after embarking on our mission at 9:30 in the morning. Upon waking up, we paid the lady for her hospitality and caught a bus to the train station so we could catch two more trains to San Sebastian. Viva España! We are more than happy to be out of France and starting our Spanish travels...So, after three strikes a piece....we´re out!

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Photos

Swiss Snow
Outside our hostel in Swiss

Lucerne
Some castle action in switzerland

Summit Series
Russ preparing to summit one of the local peaks.

The Three Amigos
Us and our friend Pia after a year long break.

Pissin´ off Pia
This is what happens when you try and help her cook.

The Swiss Alps
A view out our train window

Grave Decisions
It was crazy how many people didn´t make it back from the matterhorn.

Marina de Monaco
Some of the boats docked in Monaco

Monte Carlo
The Casino in Monaco...no pictures inside sorry

Monaco
Another shot of the Casino

Fountain
just a fountain...but a cool picture

Fit for a King
This was our bed for two in Biarritz

Comments

[Bre]

I feel like you guys need a reality TV show.. I love it. All European trips sound like this. I am still laughing. Have a BLAST in Barcelona and please go to La Sagrada Família.. you will die. Can't wait to see you guys soon

[Michele Turley]

Saw your Mom!
HELLO RUSSEL AND RYAN........ I saw your mom at Michaels in El Cajon and guess what???? SHE CAN'T WAIT TO SMOOCH YOUR CHEEKS................. What a fun adventure you've had. I'm gonna sit down and take a peek. I called Dustin and he's bloggin you right now! Take Care - fun, fun, fun to read about the Pekrul Brothers Adventue......................................... Hugs-Michele