Run Away, Run Away!!: Eurotrip: Switzerland: Pictures

Sorry it's been so long, I've started working again!

Tuesday June 10th
Train, all day, not quite everyday

Woke up at 0430, and started walking at 0445, lovely way to start a morning! I was trying to get to the train station by 0600 to say bye to Gigi, and that was looking bleak, but I heard something come up behind me and I looked, a bus that said termini! Got on and I was looking about and almost ran into Gigi! Got to say bye, and I ended up leaving earlier than I planned, I thought 0700 or 0730, I got on a train at 0620, and when I got to Milan, I asked an infomation woman and she said I should take an earlier train to Basel, so I did, and here I am, writing for you on a train in Switzerland. I just hope my host family got my text!-- I'm getting in 2hours sooner than thought! But the ride has been very fun, I was sitting next to a couple from the United States and he had traveled everywhere with an environmental green program. Only an hour more to go on this train! Hope that all goes well!!!!
What he was talking about reminds me of this..... http://xkcd.com/1379/
Enjoy!
(* warning:this is put up after, I do have internet on the train.....or at least I can't get on)

Do widzenia!

Blog ya later

Basel

Can't believe I am already past my time in Basel! It was an absolutely fantastic time! As you can guess, I'm on a train, so time to write about it!!

My hosts while in Basel were a family of four, and the mother had come from the same area I am from, and, as I learned later, we were even connected in another way. When I was leaving, I left early.....so I made it to Basel rather early. I had told my hosts 1730, but was there at 1530, I had texted them, but being that my phone is scared of trains (I just learned this on this trip, I didn't receive any texts back until I was in Basel, in a park, eating my lunch, at about 1600. So I went back to the train station and waited, and after chasing a lady (I had the description "red hair and freckles" figures there would be so many when I was trying to find one!) And asked if it was she, not sure she understood me at first, but when she did, she just laughed and said no. After a bit more, I stood next to the stairs and waited, and told her so (I used the classic turn it off-turn it on trick on my phone, and it worked!) And I saw a lady come near me, look about, and go to the information desk, so I decided to ask, it was her!!!! She showed me the way back to their house and they feed me! No better way to a young guy's heart than through his stomach! (Some girls are like this too I have learned, and this seems like the prefect time to say I have been cooking for myself and others for five months, and good things have been said ;p). The rest of this night I spoke with the Mrs and Mr and told them about my adventures and we talked on some other topics, they loaned me books to read about Switzerland and gave me ideas what to do the next day, the Mrs then took me out about town on a tour and went back and I slept!

Wednesday June 11
Basel
Another day, another adventure! I woke up and headed out after chatting with the family a little bit. I started in the general direction of the Rhine and continued until I met it. Since I was near the bend, I decided to go to France, why not? I tried....and ended up on the tip of the harbor (this makes it very hard to continue!) And had to go back and tried again, but I found the way! I went through Germany to get to France, so had breakfast in Switzerland, second breakfast in Germany, and lunch in France! While in France, I walked all the way to St. Louis! (The Cardinals weren't there though). After France, I walked back and adventured the opposite side of Basel (the part across the Rhine from where I was staying) it was many more industries and living places, while the side I am on was the old town and shops. Then I went along the Rhine and saw all the people swimming/floating down it, and continued to trace back the water until I ran into a dam and locks and walked to the tip of the island in the Rhine. From here, I was only ~~600m from the black forest! (But there was a river in my way of getting there :( ). I continued on with my meandering, and found part of a castle, bits of the old town, and the zoo. I was, at this point, very tired. It was 1915 and I had started the day at 0815. So I went back, took came of some things for farther in my trip, talked with my hosts, got more suggestions for hiking and slept!! (I like sleeping sometimes, but don't so a whole lot of it ;p).
I put up a map of this crazy hike later!

These are everywhere! I believe I read about 120.

Walked to Germany

Here's a hint of my walking "path".

Bridge to France from Germany

Birds have no problem coming up to me...

In France!

Walked all the way to St. Louis!

Back in Basel, a diagram of half the city.

Almost looks like Iowa!-- it's Jowa though, it was a baking company as far as I could tell.

Tip of the island in the Rhine.

Old Monastery

This was a Monastery as well, so this is the "barefoot" square.

Fancy building = city hall

Four national Languages! So the paper money has all four on them.

The retirement party I walked into!

The kids, I thought it was a bad enough photo that I could include it.

That, is a lot of flags!

I've never been one too much for street art, but the street art in Basel was awesome!

The nice little house I stayed at.

Thursday June 12
Basel
I had taken my hosts mother's suggestion for today. Go to Mariastien. It is a place where Mary was said to appear to two children and now there is a monastery there and special chapel. It was supposed to be an easy tram ride, but after i tried that, it stopped too early. So I would try again, and that didn't work, so I went to the last stop and tried to figure out why, where some guy was saying something in German, once I figured out he was speaking to me, I told him I can't do German, then he told me, in English, that the tram ends here, and to get to Flüh, I had to take the bus, so there I went! Once I got to Flüh, I started in the way the sign said for Mariastien, but decided that it would be and went baxk and asked. In the store i asked, I'm not sure the attendants fully knew English, but luckily the one customer there understand and took me outside pointed, and told me to go up there (she didn't skeap in English very well). So I went on my way and went through residential area, and finally to the thinking path, where they had large stations of the cross, the 'cliff' face with candles on it, and a chapel. I continued on to the town of Mariastien and saw the monastery and chapel, while I also spoke with a brother there for a little while, sent post, and hiked more! Then I saw a castle.....so I hiked to it and climbed it too! (And totally fell on my behind on the way down!) After all this adventure, I went back to my hosts, but while on the tram I showed how lucky I am. I fell asleep and woke up exactly at my stop ;). Back at home I started a bit of packing and organizing for later in my trip. Then my host mom appeared, so I borrowed a special bag of theirs, and went swimming in the Rhine!!! So much fun! It was my luck that I went down to the river where all the naked old guys were though, luckily they had crosswords(I think, I wasn't into looking) over their family jewels. It was quite an experience, I liked the swimming, had a flight with a boat, and watched people burning like bacon ;p.
Once I pulled myself out of the water, I sorta went back to the house. I got lost a bit, but used it as adventure time.
We ate, my host parents left, and I stayed and spoke with one of their sons and learned a bit more about the school system of Switzerland.
I then went back out to adventure the city, and heard music, being me, i went straight to it. There was a really cool drum corp style band that was VERY powerful playing and I listened to them. There was about 40 of them and it was very fun, then I learned I had walked into someone's pensioner's party, oops. Then in the same place was a children's choir concert, so I went in and listened a bit. They sang all American pop music, but of course announced in German. It was very odd, but the soloists did a very nice job on English (they sounded like they were from home, but they were only ~~~~13 I would say). I thus continued my adventures through town, and ended at my host's to pack and sleep. Friday was to be sad (and is) I very much enjoyed Switzerland!!!!