Friday 24-07 - The special theory of love.

Brekkie was good, once again cafeteria style with pretty much the same food as the other hostel. We headed first to the Einstein museum. To get there we crossed abridge and walked up a large hill. The museum was inside another museum, which was inside a castle. Out side the castle they were setting up stands for a jousting contest. But only for 2 days after we would leave. Once again we missed out on things by a couple of days. Oh well.



It made me feel better to remember that in 3 days I would be seeing Dani again. Every day we counted down the number of sleeps,for the past week. I missed being all three of us together again after London.

I recognised the castle as the one we saw at a distance from the park on the hill. It really is the fairy tale castle. Especially the long thin spires with flags on the top.

We had to buy tickets to the whole museum to see the Einstein section, which was a bit annoying. We passed some boring walls with information about John the good or Paul the wise or Mathew the not so good or wise or whatever. A ray of hope: the door to the Einstein museum. I was very much hoping that this exhibit would be more like the Kafka museum and not the Freud.

It started with a modest room giving a summary of his personality. Nothing special. Then through to a room wall to wall with mirrors at different angles. One felt,looking up or down, that the corridors never ended. Screens played music and pictures of the man. It made me smile, I was full of energy and curiosity. Now this is a museum. To create a different world and immerse you in it.

The first room was about Jews in Europe in the 1800s. There were shofars and torah cases and pictures of Hassidic Jews. We thought we were in the wrong place. Thus was the genius of the exhibit. It went through his life chronologically ,but with a twist. In each room, only only side was about his life. The other side detailed society at that point in history. It created a picture of the major changes in culture of the places in which he was living. Both sides together interwove to show us not only how society affected him, but also the effect that he had on society.

Albert´s childhood. I like that he was a loner and a late bloomer. I wonder if he was ever bitter about the kids who teased him in school. Did he ever want to find them later on and say ´hah!´. The guy was a prodigy though. He read Kant´s book on critical reasoning when he 13 years old.

To his university days and his first love. They set up an entire bedroom slanted on a wall. I was impressed. Then upstairs to another room. A winding maze of white walls. His years in the patent office. But first a muon counter form the top of the Alps. There were some explanations of what the experiment was, but Josh still had to explain the basics to me. I´m glad I saw this museum with someone who knew what Einstein´s work was about. It would be like seeing an art gallery with an art student or a church with a religious Christian. They can explain things that enrich the experience.

A room to give a feel for his wife´s life once the kids were born and she had to stop being a physicist. The whole room was set up like a basement laundry. Sheets hung on the clothes line. Images were projected onto the white sheets like a cinema. An old washing basin, complete with continuously dripping tap. An old boiler. A fake window near the roof playing images of feet walking past, the view one would be of the street from that level. That makes we happy. A museum that actually puts effort into their work. Not just bits stuck up on a wall.

It got to his special theory of relativity. It didn't just assume we knew it or never would and move on. There were couches in front of screens. The screens played animations of Relativity for dummies. A cartoon man with a bouncing ball demonstrated principles and then showed us how they were like light particles and planets. A brilliant addition to the museum I think.

There were more things to see and do. An interactive video on his general theory of relativity. Then the rest of his life through the war and up to his death. I think its a pity that who one will ever know his last words. They were in German and the nurse spoke English. I bet they were something terribly profound. Maybe the secret of the universe.

After the museum I felt content. But also hungry. The whole thing took almost 3 hours and it was well into lunch time. We found a big supermarket on Marketgasse. There we procured rolls, chicken slices, juice, snacks and dinner.

We found a charming park with sweeping views of the river. There we ate tasty chicken rolls for lunch, accompanied by fizzy apple juice. We moved park to park. At our local park we sat on the shady grass. Josh listened to music and I read Chaucer. There is such a park culture there. People just hang at the parks. They play ping-pong and giant chess and read and drink. I laughed when a guy took out a shisha pipe and lit up apple flavoured tobacco.



We brought out our snacks. Cupcake shaped lemon sponge things with Swiss flags on the tops. It was the red and white icing that first drew me to them. They were good. We chilled in the park.







Once we were done with the park we did some blogging and internet bits. Then sat down by the communal TV with people. I met a New Zealand girl and some guys from Finland. Actually we didn't know they were from Finland until we asked then what someone on TV was saying, thinking that they were speaking German. I don't quite have an ear for any of the Scandinavian languages yet. Maybe I should spend some time there.

We spend the night bonding with people over MTV and bizarre German music videos.

Thursday 24-07 - Bern, baby, burn.

We ate the school cafeteria breakfast and checked out. Back to the disc station. We got on a train to Basal, a train hub on the border of France and Switzerland. We were surprised to find immigration desks there. Empty and abandoned, maybe from before the EU, or maybe unmanned only that morning. We passed through them on the way to the next train. Our destination was Bern, capital of Switzerland.

My original travel plans had included Switzerland on the wayto France from the Eastern countries. Somewhere in the planning it had been knocked off. At the start of this trip Switzerland was not in the itinerary. We had only chosen Bern when Verona fell through. I had been told that it was boring and not really worth checking out. But we figured, hey, let´s give it a go anyway.

On the train we passed a river with abridge over it. One of the most beautiful rivers I have seen on this trip. It was a torquoise colour that glowed. With dark rich green trees all around it. My interest was perked.

We starting discussing things that we knew that were Swiss. There were lots. Swiss army knives, Swiss cheese, Swiss chocolate (toblerone), Saint Bernards, just to name a few. Swiss! Why didn't we think of it before. The tourist info lady gave us a map and there were so many things to see. I wanted to see the Einstein museum and the old castle.

Switzerland uses the Franc. A small change of currency,which was annoying. Just using the Euro is far easier than switching for 2 days. We got out some CHF and left the station. The place looked modern and busy. We followed the map to a palace looking place over looking the river. Or maybe a valley. The entire old town of Bern is build on a cliff face,looking out over this space. Forests and luminescent rivers and bridges. Castles peaking over the tree tops that could easily have come from a fairy tale book. We were instantly captured.





There was a park with a panoramic view near us,so we decided to comeback later and spent time there. We walked down a long and winding road to the lower section of the old town. There we found our hostel. It was the first HI youth hostel we had stayed at on this trip. It looked nice, but we had to wait an hour for the reception to finish its lunch break. It the meantime we ate lunch and did some french study. There was no kitchen, only a cafeteria with a single meal that you could buy. Quite pricey for a place dedicated to youth. Although I think Switzerland is generally expensive.



Straight away we set off for sight seeing. First we had to climb back up the hill, which seems steeper on the way up.



Bern has two interesting tourist points to look out for. The bear symbol, which hangs everywhere. Along with the bear pits across the river. And the supposedly 100 or so fountains spread around to the town. I notice both straight away. As soon as you hit old Bern town there is a large fountain every 200m or so. they all have different names with figures at the top.

I enjoyed the Ogre fountain



And the Justice fountain.



Just up the hill was the main counsel building. This was the palace look place we saw before. In front of it was dancing water. The sprays of water danced together to their own rhythm. The water playground was filled with children in bathers. Or their underwear. It was a tad unnerving I think and some confusing. Any other situation parents would be shocked that people stood around and took photos of their wet and almost naked kids. But here tourist stood, snapping away with photos of the important city building. Taking photos of these kids at the same time.



Next to this spectacle there was a giant chess board. I love giant chess games in the middle of a crowded street. There were audiences with keen eyes set on every move.



On we walked to a market. We passed a stall selling cheeses. The girl gave us a taste of this cheese with holes in it. It smelt a little but was tasty. We had planned to have Swiss cheese while we were here, so we bought some for later.



Everytime we saw a fountain we took a photo of it. So many of them were bear related.



We turned into Marketgasse, a long shopping street. Near it was an astronomical clock and tower. I overheard a tour ghuide talking about it. The tower was a prison for women who had affairs with members of the clergy.



Past the shops we hit the river. It really is a beautiful river. Everytime I looked at it I fell in love. We crossed the first bridge which gave us a good view of the second. There was a huge park on the other side.



We ate ice cream and walked across to where tourists were gathered.



It turned out to be the bear pits,complete with bear. It was actually a pit, walled with stone and a feeble attempt at an enclosure. I felt so much for this bear. It kept looking up at us then walking around a bit and looking up again. It wasn´t sure what to do with itself. To make matters worse, some tourists took it upon themselves to throw pieces of bread at it. It didn't want the bread.



Hope was not lost for the bear though. Behind the pit was a construction site. And a sign describing the new enclosure they were in the process of building. It will be huge and include parts of the river for swimming in.

Back over the other bridge. We sat at another park and openedup the cheese. It really smelt. Quite awful. It tasted good but the smell became a bit over powering by the end. And it seeped into our hands and I could smell it in my throat. We looked for the next fountain to wash our hands.





We returned to the giant chess game. We watched a game and a half. Sometimes Josh would explain moves to me and sort of let me know what was going on. Back to the hostel.



For dinner we found an upscale food court near the train station. We had Chinese chicken and noodle dishes. We made our way home.

Wednesday 23-07 - Kuggelhoff, Kandinski

Up early and out. Breakfast was school cafeteria style, with trays sliding along metal rails. More and I was realising the clientèle of this establishment. It mostly catered to school and high school tour groups. And no one spoke any English. Only French and Duetshe speaking kids. I felt a bit isolated. I was in a bubble of language and age and not being in a large group.





I was worried about my bag. My day bag for this entire trip had been the white My Neighbour Totoro over the shoulder bag I bought in London last January. During the year one strap had begun to rip (even though it is leather or faux leather), but I got it fixed. It was only as I was leaving London this time I noticed the stitching on the other side of the strap had began to come off. I thought it would be ok as long as I was careful. Since then it had been slowly undoing itself. It was on this morning that the under side of the strap had finally peaked out. I was now very worried. I tried to make the bag as light as possible and hoped it would be ok until I found a leather worker to fix it.

We set off towards the south canal. On the way we passed a market, still being set up. I love food markets. I love the cheese stalls,filled with blocks of cheeses of every size and shape and colour. I love the meat stalls, covered with a curtain of hanging sausages. I especially love the fruit and veg stalls. Every type of produce piled high in big crates. And the smells. One of the best parts of walking through the freshly grown wonderland. The clothes stalls don't interest me as much. Further we walked.

There main square was deserted in the early morning sun. Shop were setting out stands of postcards. The river was likewise empty. We bought tickets to the 9-30am river tour. The boat was long and short, roofed in curved glass. Each seat had headphone and a choice of languages.

We picked window seats, which wasn´t difficult being so early. I was feeling strangely lethargic all of a sudden. I had no energy and didn't feel like being enthused about every thing pointed out to us. I must have looked it to. Twice Josh asked me if I was ok. I tried to pay attention to the tour.



The head phones talked about the history of Strasbourg and each bridge as we passed under it. There were vaguely interesting details about prisoners having last meals and such, but not edge of your seat stuff. It was only half way through the tour when I finally woke up and started paying attention to the view outside. Actually it was a swan that did it.



I was staring out the window and saw this white swan floating past. The white swans always kind of interest me, being so different from the black swans we get back home. By then we were outside the European institutions; the Euro counsel and tribunal of human rights and the EU parliament.



From then I took photos and paid attention. We passed by the damn we had seen a day earlier, plus we passed through the canals of Petit France. There was torture tower with a harsh reputation. And a story. The head torturer, after years of service, was accused of blasphemy. He was sentenced to have his tongue cut off and then a beheading. The new torturer knew of all his good work in the past. As a professional courtesy he beheaded the man first and then took his tongue. Much better I think.

After the boat trip we found the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. This is the way an art museum should be. There was a maze of white rooms. Each was dedicated to an artist style or an artist. There was post-impressionism and Fauvism. There was realism. A room for Kupka and a room for Kandinski. A room for surrealism. I had good fun walking around them all. I quite liked the realist room and the Kandinski room.

The contemporary art section was interesting, but didn't hold my interest for long. There are only so many times people can paint a canvas in a single colour before it stops becoming new and daring. Your´e not doing anything new by it any more. I also noticed how all the art films in galleries have the same music in the background. It doesn't matter what the visuals are, the audio is always the same ominous composition of two or three notes over and over again. Not that I don't love it, because most of them are great anyway.

After the gallery we realised we hadn't eaten the Kuggelhoff. So off we went to find a bakery. Our prayers were answered by a lovely large bakery with so many delicious looking things. We asked for a kuggelhoff, but something else caught our eyes. Little fruit shaped marzipan. Alright, not exactly a local food, but they looked amazing. We got a small bag of mini fruit pate d-amande. We were quite pleased with ourselves walking back.



We got back to the hostel. I decided something had to to be done about my bag, lest I have to carry it the rest of the trip. So I got out needle and thread and started to sew into the leather. I tacked back and forward for the whole depth of the strap, right through the lining. It was much sturdier now. It would last the remainder of the trip.

We ate the treats we had bought while we skyped family and friends. We updated some photos. Then laundry. Which I really really needed. Clean, freshly laundered clothes are nothing to be taken for granted. It was at about this point that about 30 british teens came to the hotel in an enormous tour group. Suddenly there was English everywhere. It was nice.

For dinner we ate beef ravioli and ratottoullie. Then we made our way down to the small bar in the hostel. We sat and talked to the barman. He was an Egyptian computer technology student from Alexandria, in France for the last 5 five years. Both his English and French were very good. At the bar we were accompanied by some of the English students. Some were 18 while others talked about fake Ids. We enjoyed a quiet drink and listened to their conversations.

Tuesday 22-07 - E is for Euroteen

The next morning we woke early (though not as early as we had hoped). We packed and checked out. We picked up our free breakfast, in the form of 3 tokens. There were vending machines for drinks and for pastries. An entire machine with rows and rows of chocolate criossants. We picked up a couple pastries each and crossed the square to the station. Then down stairs to the metro to get to Gare Est.

All the Paris train stations are ornate, lots of art nouveau. There was a train to Strasbourg a short while later and we were on our way. The train was comfortable. The seats were bright orange and purple. I kept myself busy by learning French words.

The Strasbourg station was a glass disc, kind of like a red blood cell. Strasbourg is a smallish place, with two canals of L´ill running through it from the Rhine and forming an island. We stayed just North of the island, nearer to the station and right by one of the bridges. We were a block from St Pierre church, a pick church with green roofing.



We arrived at midday and stepped out into a surprisingly cold wind. It was actually cold somewhere. This is the first time I would wear my jacket out. It was a pity I was still in thongs. We found the hostel easily. It was clean and new, with stylish green walls. The bedrooms were similarly nice. A good price, with breakfast and towels included. I noticed a few young people (high school age) walking around. In the lobby I noticed more.



First we needed food. We set off across the river, walking towards the main square. There was a large cathedral in the centre. Around it were tourist shops inside of old buildings. We picked up soon that Strasbourg was tourist town. It was touristy like the main square of Prague, but much more so. It was a lot like Venice, actually, mixed with disney land.



And teenagers. Everywhere. Many of them maybe 12 or 13. Karen had told us earlier about the whole ´euroteen´ invasion when we were in London. But here I really noticed it. German and French speaking kids filled the square. Every wall and corner. It was insane. There were also quite a few well dressed and very attractive French men. Cold weather = scarfs, jackets, sweaters (some of my favourite male attire). They were fun to watch.



All said and done though, touristy for a good reason. The old houses were so beautiful. They had been preserved in a time capsule. Roses lined the window boxes. Vines covered the walls.



There were interesting touches. Like the Jules Vern carousel, complete with hot air balloon and submarine.



And Jew Street.



We walked around to find some take away food that wasn´t pork sausage. There was a bakery. They had open bagguette pizzas. We sat in a rose garden to eat, while behind us sat a large beer barrel.





We were fed and looking to be tourists. We walked around took photos of absolutely everything.

Passing by windows, our attention was caught by a upside down muffin the size of my head, covered in nuts. It was called a Kuggelhoff. They sold Kuggelhoff trays and mold and recipe postcards. We wanted one, but had to wait for our stomachs to empty again.



We walked further and again took photos of every building. Every building asked to have its photo taken. We stopped at a stall in a small square. Josh really wanted a pretzel. Big pretzel, like a salt covered bagel. we polished it off before we left the square.



We reached the south canal. This is where river tours leave from. I had wanted to do the river tour, maybe early the next morning. The far bank held more houses. Their facades looked like iced cakes.



Then we weren´t sure what to do with ourselves. There was a palace, Palais Rohan, near by, but it didn't interest us. We wandered near the palace walls, where there was a fountain like looked like an abstract elephant. Then we were stuck again. Good thing the hostel gave us a booklet on things to do in Strasbourg. We decided to check out the breweries and modern art museum the next day.



So we followed the river west towards the damn and Petit France. What the surreal place. the old tanners and millers area by the river. Immaculate buildings that would put any postcard to shame. They shone. Their reflections danced on the sleeping river.





We weaved back through the streets by the cathedral. Up to the hostel where we noticed a sign. Crepe party. Tuesdays and Thursday. I was curious as to the nature of this crepe party. It was a party where they makes crepes, then you eat them. Sounds like my kind of party. I had crepes and jam for dinner that night. Viva la Crepe!

Monday 21-07 - Omens

The first thing we did was walk down to the train station to get tickets for that night. I still don't think it would have made a difference if we had booked the evening before. The whole night train was booked. We had to settle for a train at 1-30 to Toloun (on the way to Bordeux), then to Paris, then to Strassbourg.

It was annoying to be sure. It was also made worse by the fact that I was at the peak of the hormone roller coaster. I wasn´t in the emotional state to deal with unexpected situations. I thought I was going to explode.

We went on the net for a bit to rearrange a night in Strasbourg and had some breakfast. i was feeling a bit better (also by then got my hands on some neurofen).



We went to the art gallery, but it was closed on Mondays. Oh well. We browsed shops as we walked gradually up to the station. We found a bookshop with a French-English dictionary and both got excited about the idea of learning some of the language. On the trains I dug into the book and started putting together some vocabulary lists.





The fist train arrived late, just as the second was pulling out of the station. We didn't quite
know what to do at this point. There must have been a few people in the same situation. The loud speaker of the train said something in French that mentioned Paris and Marseille. A French man next to us showed us his ticket, which had the same two train numbers. He said we were told to change trains at Marseille instead.

So we waited to the next stop and jumped odd as fast as we could to the next platform. We really didn't need to. The Paris train was 20 minutes late of its own accord. Which mean we would have 40 minutes only now to get to the other Paris station. Still doable if we hurried. The train stopped more and more. We were getting nervous.

It finally came to a stop 40 minutes late, leaving us just over 15 minutes. It took 5 of those just to get through the people and off the platform. Then another to get to the metro station. It was then we realised there was no realistic way we were going to catch that train. We tried the ticket office. The next train left at 6-30 the next morning.

We rung the insurance hotline. At first they seemed sympathetic and until they asked about the cause of the missed connection. I told them the train was late. The man on the other end said we weren´t covered for everyday lateness. Only for storms and fog and train strikes. He gave me some unhelpful suggestions but nothing else. This is the second time something has gone wrong on the trip but the fine print has left us in the dust. What the hell did we pay all that money for anyway.

Suffice to say, we were pissed.

So there we were, stranded in Paris with no where to sleep and a room in Strasbourg we couldn't use. Plus a wasted useless rail ticket. Funnily, I wasn´t as emotional over this upset as over the morning upset, even though this was far more inconvenient. Possibly my hormones had finished their circus act by then and left me more in control.

We found a near by hostel in the LP book and grabbed 2 beds there. The room was very basic, but that's all we needed for the night. We decided to get up extra early the next day. We just wanted this day over with. That night we went to sleep unsettled.