Back in the USA

I've officially left the European continent, and according to Homeland Security, fit to remain in the United States. The past week, my last week, was great, and the majority of it was spent in the financial hub that is Switzerland. After a short stint in Geneva, I headed to Interlaken, which is a small town that lies in the gateway to the largest peaks in the Alps. Wednesday was my only full day there, and I took advantage of it by training into the mountains a ways before heading up on a hike.

The view from the valley town of Lauderbrunnen was already amazing, with steep walls lining on the west and east and thin, tall waterfalls shooting down the mountainside towards the river below. The hike from there to the town of Wengen wasn't too bad, as most of it was tree-covered, and it was over in about an hour. I even ran into a fellow Wisconsinite, which has happened more often than you would think over here.

After Wengen, I had a feeling the hike would get a bit harder, as the squiggly line on my map leading to Mannlichen was the same length as the one I had just hiked, and yet it had an estimated climb time of over three hours. The mountain path began across railroad tracks. Beyond that, there was something of a Swiss postcard. Dozens of big, brown and white cows lying and standing in the hillside, their huge bells swinging under their necks and ringing in different tones and frequencies, like some cowbell orchestra. Even Bruce Dickinson would've been satisfied.

Around this time the cloud cover started to dissipate quite a bit and the sun was hot. For a while, the spots of trees between the big grass fields provided cover, but two hours into the hike I was above the treeline, and the trail was pretty much just rocks, and it was hot. So I was relieved when I reached Mannilichen and the clouds rolled over again. A short climb brought me to the Mannilichen peak, which offered a great view of the surrounding valleys.

It looked as if it might rain, but I was fairly confident I could make the hour-plus hike to the next town, so I headed out, and I was right, by about five minutes. The rain, and eventually hail, started coming down hard about that long after I boarded the train down the mountain.

The next morning I packed up and took a long boat ride across Thunsee toward Thun, where I would catch a train to Bern to meet up with a friend. It was a nice boat ride, so nice, in fact, that I eventually fell asleep and woke up with bright red kneecaps. Sunburnt kneecaps hurt a bit in the morning.

It was great to see Flo again in Bern, and later Luzern. Flo, Barry, and I spent most of the time eating, drinking, and chatting while walking around the cities. Apart from the inevitable nightly rain, the last few days in Switzerland were quite nice.

I boarded a night train in Basel, and woke up in my couchette at 5:30 to the sound of crying baby, which I only slightly prefer to my own alarm. On top of that, the train was running two hours late, which is out of character for a German train. I eventually arrived in Utrecht, checked into my hostel, the same hostel I checked into six months previous when I first arrived in the city, and dropped my bags off, before heading to the Dutch countryside to meet Barry's sister for the rest of my bags. And of course, my new wooden shoes.

I spent the afternoon walking around the city I'd grown fond of over the past half-year, and it was a little rainy. I also didn't really know anyone that was still around, and I even got a little turned around a bit south of the Dom. So in some ways, it felt a lot like my first day in Utrecht. I had a few Belgian biers at Cafe Belgie, and tried to ignore the fact that the PBR still sitting in my garage fridge at home wasn't going to hold a candle to what I had in front of me then.

I eventually made it back to the hostel, and I woke up early, with no problems getting to the train station, and getting through airport security with three carry-ons thanks to a little sneakiness.

And now I'm safely back in Green Bay, and getting used to everything again. It's not hard, but I react a bit differently to certain things. I had really gotten used to hearing passing conversations in Dutch, and I would have to make an effort to listen had I wanted to understand the topic. But now I'm back to hearing all sorts of shit I don't want to. Driving is a bit of a disappointment, I was hoping it would be harder.

But of course, I'm happy to be back for the same reasons it was difficult to leave Utrecht. I get to spend some of that cherished family time, and see the friends I've missed dearly. I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything, and given the chance, would change nothing. I owe worlds of thanks to my parents, family and friends for playing their part, however large or small, in helping create this opportunity for me.