Hallenbad Season

I am trying hard to like running. I have been faithfully running fast every day along the river Dreisam (Dear Reader, I'll let you decide if "fast" has a literal meaning or if it is an attempt at being clever in my use of the German language, in which fast means almost). Whether or not I have gone running everyday I am getting faster every time, which does help one to feel as if progress is being made and it provides motivation to try and outrun the previous time. I also give myself motivation for these runs in telling myself that these runs are helpful for my German studies as it provides opportunity to listen to the German public radio. It's good to feel like I'm multi-tasking. But this past week the Hallenbad (indoor swimming pool) has opened. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Strandbad http://www.strandbad.de/ and the benefits of its 50 meter pool, a swimmer's paradise. But it is outside, the weather is more unpredictable these days and it's a good distance away so it makes for an outing and not just a swim. So, I've been waiting eagerly for the Hallendbad to open. I really love swimming. Not just swimming but everything that is involved in swimming. I love to go especially when it's dark and cold outside. The swimming pool becomes an oasis as I walk inside and am greeted by the thick smell of chlorine and the immediate rise in temperature and humidity. Looking through the glass windows down at the swimmers below the water is inviting. It's crystal clear, even when the skies above are cloudy and overcast. I make my way to the locker rooms and insert the 1 Euro coin into the locker to secure my key, but not to worry, I'll get it back when I'm done swimming. As I change I think back to my youth and times spent in locker rooms while on swim teams in Bad Aibling and Aurora. Maybe when I was in Bad Aibling I was too young to worry about being self-conscious in the locker room as the times there were filled with good memories and excitement toward practice. Or maybe High School was too stressful to find it as enjoyable. There is something different in German indoor pools that make them much more inviting. I made my way to the swimming pool to begin the laps. The first lap is always the best as the water glides past you and the strokes come more effortlessly. Swimming here brings with it challenge as it's a popular sport. For some unknown reason lane ropes are not utilized, so in a country that thrives on punctuality and orderliness swimming is chaotic as you dart around the others who go wherever they please. Maybe it's a necessary break from the regular orderliness of the day and even the Germans need a place where little rules exist and you can go where you wish. I finish the 1.5 kilometer swim and prepare for the walk back home. The wet hair makes the air outside feel colder than it really is, but it feels fresh and I can still smell the chlorine, making my mind go back to the warmth of the Hallenbad. I am relaxed and ready for a good night's rest.

Wutachschluct

It's always a bit interesting to do research on the internet about nearby places to visit. I have found that in order to get any information that is really helpful, it is best to go the websites in German; however, I'm not always confident in how much I really understand. Wutachschluct (schluct = gorge) came highly recommended as one of the best places to hike in the Schwarzwald. Having found other avid hikers, we were in the mood for a good hike, and this seemed like an appropriate destination, so off we went. We however, had very little specific information about how exactly to get their and the exact distances, so we knew the day would be a bit adventurous.
After comparing notes from what we found on the internet with the map we had in hand, we picked a small town to begin our journey. The map that we had showed that the train would stop in this town, but stop it did not. Often the trains only come once every hour, so we weren't sure how long we would have to wait for the next one. The wait was perhaps a little too short as we climbed out of the train, the train heading back to where we came from was arriving, making it necessary to jump the tracks in order to catch it. When we arrived at our destination we were greated by a friendly local, who picked out from our attire that we were there to hike and he was helpful in offering to get us the necessary information. I continue to be both grateful and amazed at the eagerness people have to talk to perfect strangers and make recommendations of where to go and what to see.

The gorge proved to be the prettiest hike we've taken yet as every few hundred meters the terrain seemed to be completely different as we hiked past waterfalls, through jungle type vegetation, in the gorge and over the gorge, across bridges and down ladders.

A view from down in the gorge

The view from over the gorge

Harvest Time

Today's Destination: Staufen

Thanks to a good friend for the recommendation to visit this small, but bustling town. Staufen is a mere 30 minutes Southwest of Freiburg and our visit happened to be on harvesting day. The day began with a trip to explore the castle ruins and then onward through the vineyards and neighboring "mountains".

Later in the day we walked through the downtown, which was quite the happening place despite the small size of the town. When it's harvest season the local farmers offer opportunities to sample the new wine of the season. Apparently this goes back to a long standing tradition in which the harvesters had to give a portion of their new harvest to the burgermeister as tax payment. Of course we had to take part in the tradition and found a place offering new wine from the schlossberg. Our best understanding is that the new wine isn't 100% fermented, and it certainly didn't look like wine, but rather looked and tasted more like fresca. To go along with the wine Zwiebelkuchen (onion pie) is offered, which was absolutely delicious. I can now say that I've had a taste of all the local dishes.

A view of the castle ruins. The exploration of the castle ruins also resulted in my unfortunate finding of stingweed. It was too late by the time I was warned about what plant I was standing in. How in the world can the simple brushing up against a plant cause so much pain?

As we headed towards the mountains for more hiking we were able to get a taste of the harvesting process. The tractor drives up and down the grapevines and somehow it collects the grapes, leaving behind everything else.

Perhaps these little towns have the most character. The houses were all beautifully adorned with flower boxes in every window. It was picture perfect.

Hidden Treasures

When I boarded the train last weekend I really had no idea that I would be in for such a treat, travelling on the infamous railway through the Swiss Alps. Having been inspired by the train ride this past weekend, I now have an unsatisfied desire to do some serious hiking in Switzerland. It was such a tease to stop in the Swiss towns and not be able to get out for just a few hours and explore the Alpine terrain. No, I had a reserved seat and wasn't granted such permission. I have spent far too much time this evening on the Internet researching potential possibilities. However, in all of this research I have also come across hidden treasures!

During this train ride, so long as we weren't in a tunnel, I was glued to the window and surprised that most of my travel mates were sleeping or had their noses buried in a book. The landscape was of course amazing, but it was hard to miss the red covered church. At the time I thought that I saw three different red covered churches and wondered if this was the art of Christo and Jean-Claude. I had an unsuccessful Internet search about the mysteriously covered churches, and inquired a Swiss classmate about the phenomenon, only to receive a puzzled look.

But tonight, the mystery is solved! At the time, I was actually passing through the St. Gotthard Tunnel, 15 Km of tunnel with a steep ascent. We briefly came out of the tunnel 3 times, giving multiple views of the town of Wassen. Apparently my travels happened to fall on the 150th anniversary celebration of the tunnel and in commemoration the Church of Wassen was covered in Swiss red for the weekend. The church, St. Gotthard Tunnel and Schoelleren Gorge which was below us, are all quite the architectural accomplishments.

Now, if I can only find some cheap and available accommodation perhaps I'll get a chance for an upclose view.

Random and Spontaneous

I have said this before and I will say it again. One of the greatest things about my time here thus far is that I am free from commitments other than at the moment to learn as much German as possible. So when my best friend calls up to tell me she is unexpectedly coming to Italy for the week and would I like to join her for the weekend, it is possible to say yes! So Friday, I boarded the train and headed to Milan, Italy for the weekend.


The train ride through the Swiss Alps was slow, but beautiful as we passed by several small alpine towns and several alpine lakes. And I now understand why so much water is advertised as being Swiss water as there were gushing waterfalls coming out of the sides of the mountain everywhere. Given that the train had no air conditioning and it was excessively hot on board, they looked quite refreshing.



Our day began Saturday, with the best cappuccino I've ever had. And being one who doesn't like cappuccino, that is saying a lot. When you travel your day seems to be centered around food, so appropriately our first destination was the church in which DaVinci's Last Supper is housed. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in getting tickets and had to suffice to buying a postcard. Maybe we looked too Protestant in this Catholic city to be given privilege to seeing the masterpiece portraying the all important night in which the words, "do this in remembrance of me" were uttered. We were, however, able to walk around the church in which it is housed. After a brief mourning session we walked on towards the Church of St. Ambrose only to find that it was closed until the middle of the month. So onward we walked to the oldest church in the city, dating back to the 4th century. Upon our arrival, a wedding was going on in the church. Once again, we were denied access! The above picture is of the backside of the church. And while we weren't able to go in and explore, it was pretty awesome to see the outside and get a sense of the 4th century Lombard architecture.

From the oldest church in the city we headed to the Duomo Milano, the 4th largest cathedral in the world (megachurch's have been around for a while!) and honestly nothing could have prepared me for its grandeur.

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The architectural design in and of itself was stunning and overwhelming. It's pretty amazing to think how much money has gone into building the cathedral and that it was built using technology from the 13th - 18th centuries. Unfortunately, since I had to take pictures without the flash I had a difficult time keeping my hand steady enough to get any good pictures.

Certainly a highlight of the visit to the Duomo Milano was a visit to the baptistery that was in the original Basilica underneath the Duomo. The Basilica also dates to the 4th century as the other churches we were unsuccessful in seeing and is attributed to being the seat of St. Ambrose. Perhaps I stood in the very church in which Augustine was influenced and saw the very baptistery in which he was baptised in!

Our trip through Milan wouldn't have been complete without a walk through the Galleria, just to get a touch of fashion. As measly tourists we felt quite out of place standing next to the Prada and Armani stores.

On Sunday I had a few hours to explore Milan on my own and so I headed to a local museum to explore the ancient artifacts that it housed, attributing many pieces to the 4th century, which was very interesting. The castle in which the museum was housed also had ceilings painted by DaVinci and it housed the above Michelangelo Pieta Rondanini, thought to be the last piece that Michelangelo was working on when he died.