It's official, both Steph and Kayleen are gone. We are so sad to see them go. Zurich ended up being really nice. On one night, we went down to a Karaoke bar. It was so fun to watch, but we did not participate. It would not have been pretty. The next day, we left early to head to Bern, Switzerland, because we only had one day there. We arrived around noon and started to explore the city. It's a very old, beautiful city. Untouched by war. They have a large glacier-fed river running through. The mascot of Bern is the brown bear, which they have statues of all over the city. Strangely enough, they also have a statue of an Ogre eating a baby. No joke. Rumor has it that it was built in the 17th century to scare the children into behaving. They also have real brown bears in a park. Two parents and two cubs. It was really hot and I definitely am getting tan. Well, my shoulders and half my legs. Definitely interesting tan lines.
We met up with our host, Patrick. First thing he said was, Let's go down the river. I'm not the biggest fan of water or the strongest swimmer, but I agreed. I was so hot and sticky and sweaty by then that I would have gone swimming in a bathtub of cold water. We got down the river, and it was so crowded. Everyone came out after work. The current is really strong, so you just dive in and let it take you down the river. Then you swim to get out a ways down and walk back to where you started. So refreshing. A little tiring for me due to the lack of being a strong swimmer, I probably should have brought my floaties (just kidding about having floaties, but they would have come in handy, maybe next time I'll steal them from a little kid, again just joking... maybe). Now up early for a long day of travel. Headed to Lake Como. Since it is off the beaten track, we have to switch trains a lot and then take a ferry.
Now the important stuff. First off, Matt needs a haircut. I'm thinking of buying Hello Kitty barrettes to hold his hair back over his ears. (He's not in agreement.)
Second, Doner Kebab (k-bob). Not sure if I talked about this, but it's worth talking about twice. It's the main dish of Berlin, but they tend to have them most places. They are amazing. Good bread filled with shaved meat, cheese, this special sauce and all the filling. Doesn't sound very interesting, but let me tell you, I'll be sad to see them go.
Until Next Time. (Only four weeks left of eleven, can't believe it.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just made it to Lake Como. Can't believe we made it. We had to take three trains and a ferry. We missed one connection but still made our third train. Yippppeeee. Trains don't have AC in Italy. It's beautiful here. We are staying at the Menaggio La Primula. Doesn't open till five, so we are sitting outside and enjoying the view. Looks like it's about to downpour. It will be nice to cool everything off.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Large monsoon. No joke. The hostel was flooded with mud. Our room was fine, but the kitchen is shut down. The roads were flooded. Crazy. Now it's just sprinkling.