Neutral, but armed to the teeth

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Geo: 46.55, 7.9

Our train departed at 7:36, and it was actually on time. You never can tell with Italian trains. On the drive back up the switchback hill, I was able to actually see the view and it's wonderful. Sparkling sea, tiny towns perched on hills, pretty flowers .... And then we hit the autostrada and went through about 100 tunnels: light, dark, light, dark, light, dark. We passed by Genoa and Lake Como and Lake Lugano – so beautiful! We kept an eye out for George Clooney while passing Lake Como, but he must still have been in bed because otherwise he surely would have come out to wave at us. ;-)
Reid told us a bit about Switzerland while we were driving. The Swiss are, of course, neutral, and in fact they only joined the United Nations after 9/11. They are not part of the EU, but they are a signatory to the Schengen agreement, so we didn't have to show our passports at the Italian-Swiss border. Military service is compulsory beginning at the age of 19. There's a two-year initial stint and then the soldiers are on active reserve till the age of 50! Their yearly service decreases over time, starting with one or two months a year, and eventually the only requirement is to keep up one's marksman skills. So all the able-bodied men have guns but the Swiss government controls the ammo. In order to get a new supply of ammo each year, a man must produce his spent casings.

We also learned a bit about the Swiss Guard. Back in the day, the pope had a bodyguard consisting of several different nationalities. When the Huns decided they wanted to sack Rome and kill the pope, most of the bodyguard deserted, with the exception of the Swiss guards. They stayed and fought valiantly, losing about three-quarters of their men. But they did manage to help the pope escape to Castel Sant'Angelo, after which the pope decreed that all future popes would be guarded by the Swiss and only the Swiss. The Swiss Guard today is still made up of only Swiss men, and even though they look a little foo-foo in their Renaissance uniforms and pikes, they apparently have some serious firepower in the barracks.

Our first stop in Switzerland was a large rest stop where we had lunch. There was a little boy in a high-chair sitting a few tables away from me, and his new favorite word was “Ciao.” He said “ciao” to everyone, and if someone didn't respond, he would keep ciao-ing till he got a ciao back. I had to ciao him a couple of times. With my lunch, I had paprika flavor potato chips, which aren't too bad.

We are now driving through mountains and spotting waterfalls, marble quarries and quaint stone buildings. My ears keep popping. Our final destination tonight is around 3,000 feet, and tomorrow – if the weather is good – we will go to around 9,700 feet.

LATER: We went through the San Gottardo Tunnel, at one time the longest tunnel in the world. It's 17 kilometers (around 10 miles) long, and it took us 13 minutes to go through. There was a lot of pressure in the tunnel, and thankfully someone had given me a piece of candy to suck on. When they built the tunnel, the Swiss started digging from each end and when they met in the middle, they were only three centimeters off. Pretty darn precise, those Swiss! In addition to there also being a second tunnel for emergency vehicles to race through, there is special lighting towards the end of the tunnel so that you don't burst out into daylight and go blind.

We stopped in Interlaken for an hour to have a break and to go shopping. I went into a shopping center to buy some moisturizer, and outside was a place to park your dog. There were about six little cubbyholes for your dog to lie down in and be leashed up. Three dogs were waiting for their owners, two of them patiently and one of them protesting quite loudly at the indignity.

LATER LATER: Oh. My. God.
OMG #1: We are in the most beautiful place! This little town (Stechelberg) is nestled in a valley between the Schilthorn and the Jungfrau. We are surrounded by steep cliffs and snow topped peaks that we can barely see because they are so high, they are shrouded in clouds. There are waterfalls galore, little chalets, and cows and horses and ... I truly expect to hear someone yodeling. I expect Heidi to come around a corner, followed by a little goat. This place is truly a Back Door.

OMG #2: The hotel is spread over two buildings. I'm in the annex. There are, I think, six rooms on this floor ... and none of them have private facilities. There are two toilets, and one shower. I am trying to be game about this because, in the end, it really doesn't matter. On the other hand, I hoped I had left shared showers behind when I stopped living in a dorm. I suspect I'm going to be not very happy for the next two days. But I'll live.
We met up in the dining room at 7:00 for a welcome drink and ... fondue! It was absolutely delicious, and we probably all could have made a whole meal out of it. But then there was roasted pork, mashed potatoes and vegetables (yes, I ate my carrots and green beans; no, I did not eat the cauliflower), followed by ice cream with chocolate sauce. I sat next to Judy Spaulding from Woodinville at dinner. Turns out, her husband is big into model trains and has a whole train room in their basement which has been featured in some of the train-enthusiast magazines. I said to her, “Surely your husband must know Cox Trains.” And she immediately said, “Al Cox!” She and her husband, Bill, had been to Al's house many a time, she said. Small world ....

We were all pretty tired at dinner, but we perked up enough to listen to Reid outline tomorrow's potential schedule. It's all weather dependent, so we won't really know till about 8:15 a.m. what the plan is. But I'm still going to get up at 6:00 to have first crack at the shower!

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