Bohemian Bliss

Spring is slow to come to Switzerland, but it’s really, really trying.  The weather is erratic- wild swings from sun to snow to rain. Fooled by the sun, we’ve been out on the bikes a few times, only to return a few hours later with frozen feet and hands.  But the bulbs are coming up, and the birds are waking us up before the sun rises, so we know spring is coming.

Since winter sports were out for me this year after my sledding accident, we decided to take advantage of being in Europe to visit a few other cities.  We’d heard that Prague and Berlin weren’t to be missed, so we planned a weekend trip to each city and weren’t disappointed.   We took Swiss Air and Lufthansa – two airlines that made it easy to get to both cities from Geneva.

Prague held up to it’s reputation as an unforgettable place – it’s gorgeous, historical, full of music, friendly people, good prices, good beer (according to Doug) and contrary to all reports, great local cuisine.   We stayed at the Cloister Inn, built in the 1930’s as a dormitory for young street women of questionable character, then later an East Berlin police station - a terrific hotel located in the old town of Prague, not far from the famous Charles Bridge.

The first day we set out on foot for a walking tour of the city, and with each turn of the narrow cobblestone streets we came across a breathtaking building, church, clock, or monument.  I loved the Old Town Square near the famous Astronomical Clock (Orloj) on Old Town City Hall – it was lively even in March, with street vendors selling famous Prague sausages, and a type of pastry/donut called Trdelnik that is cooked on large wooden poles over open coals.  The architecture in Prague is fascinating, with examples of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance churches all within close proximity to each other.

 Trdelniks in Old Town

We then crossed the river to the Prague Castle and climbed 287 steps to the top of the cathedral for a bird’s eye view of the city.  After a 2-hour lunch at U Labuti, we walked across the Charles Bridge with all the other tourists, making sure to touch several of the monuments that everyone was touching (we’re still not sure why).  That night we went to State Opera to see La Bohème, making sure that we brought a  “grand mouchoir” (big hankie).

Guard at the Prague Castle

This photo of me is also in the photo album of a family in Japan...

 

Prague Castle

View from the top

St Charles Bridge statue

State Opera

The next day we walked along the Vltava River with no special goal in mind, other than to find the famous “Dancing House”.  We found fun surprises along the way – a sculpture garden, a “Prague-style” organic food store, bridges, and miles of mosaic sidewalks.  We finished our last day with a concert by the Parnas Ensemble (strings) in Rudolfinum Concert hall, with what we called the top 10 hits  - Mozart, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Pachelbel Canon, Bach’s Air, Brahms’s Hungarian Dance  - you get the idea.  We were in the smaller concert hall, close to the musicians, and the music was heavenly. 

 

One of several marionette shops

Outdoor sculptures

 The Dancing House

 Stoleti -restaurant near The Cloister Inn

Terrific local food

 

 Mosaic sidewalks throughout the city

 Prague at night - gorgeous!

The next weekend we went to Berlin, arriving in the city just a day after a massive snowstorm hit northern France and Germany.   We stayed in old East Berlin's Mitte District, within walking distance to Museum Island and some of Berlin’s most famous museums, close to all the bus and metro lines, and the Hackescher market.

We arrived after a late flight (due to the storm) and ventured out on foot in the frigid, vertical snow in search of a restaurant.  We were lured into Oranium by the warm and cozy look of the restaurant, and the fact that our hands were turning white with frostbite. Doug tried a plank of the famous sausages – with a sample of the currywurst, and of course beer, and I had a whole trout…mmmm….

The next two days we did a walking tour of Berlin (modified by tea/coffee breaks to warm up) starting from the Brandenberg gate, then to the Reichstag Parliament building (closed inside due to the snow on the dome), the Berlin Cathedral, the DDR Museum with exhibits of life in East Germany, the Pergamon Museum, and to top it all, a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall.  It was a good weekend to visit museums, but we could tell that Berlin would be a great place to return to in the summer.

 Berlin Moscow Restaurant

 Park just outside the Brandenberg gates

 Berlin's Parliament building

 One of many outside exhibits about WWII

 Berlin Cathedral

 Lighting candles in memory of Gigi and Omi

 Listening to Bach

 Babylonian tiles at the Pergamon Museum

Doug's Berliner look

Berlin Philharmonic Hall

Brandenberg Gate at Night

Hitting the Slopes!

We've had an epic year of snow in Switzerland.  Of course, that means lots of snow to shovel around our house as well, but it turns out that the landlord’s 80+ year old uncle lives next door and he's remarkable. The morning after it snows he is out there shoveling the driveway at 6AM, and often after dinner as well.  I (Doug) try to go out and help him when I hear him, but it is embarrassing to think how many times this year I've woken up to a freshly shoveled driveway…

Anyway, snow means three things in Switzerland: skiing, sledding and fondue.  We've already posted about Swiss sledding and the potential for bodily harm (by the way, Laurie’s knee is almost back to normal and she hopes to get back on her bike as soon as it warms up).  The roads are just starting to clear up, and after keeping the bike in the basement for 3 months, last week I was able to bundle up and ride my prefered loop through Chalet à Gobet.

March riding conditions in Switzerland

Not much to say about fondue except it is delicious, particularly the local variety of “moitié/ moitié” meaning half Gruyere, half Vacherin.  It goes particularly well with the local white wines made from Chassala grapes. If you are lucky, you may be served fondue when you are invited to someone's house.  Here is my Swiss friend and colleague, Nicholas, who invited me to work with him in Switzerland during my sabbatical.

Our favorite fondue restaurant is Chalet des Enfants, located in a rustic old home in the woods about 5 miles from Lausanne.  We took our friends Laura and John, who were visiting from Menlo Park, and they seemed to like the place.  The plaque on the outside of the restaurant says that when Coco Channel lived nearby she liked to walk near the restaurant, and "one day stopped and had 'a bowl of milk and a part of a flan' under the shade of the large trees".  Coincidentally, Laura and John have a tortoise named Coco Channel. Too funny...

As for skiing, since the wonderful week of skiing with the Bauer Boys and Audrey in Zermatt before Christmas, I’ve headed to the slopes three times.  The first was to Crans-Montana in the Valais region, supposedly full of movie stars (we didn’t see any), 1.5 hours by train from Lausanne.  It was sunny, cold and beautiful. 

While I skied, Laurie went to a spa and we met up for typical Swiss ski lunch outside. 

Laurie post-spa.  Very relaxed.

Finished the day with a beer and cookies at the spa and slept the whole way home.  Perfect.

The next ski trip was to Porte du Soleil, a huge area with lifts in both Switzerland and France, with our friend Debbie who has lived here for more than 20 years.  She cut her downhill teeth at Grand Targhee in Wyoming and is a seriously good skier.  The day started off cold and wet and then got worse, but Debbie and I had fun following each other in the fog and taking two hours for lunch.  Laurie had another "physiotherpie" spa session in Val d’Illiez at the base of the mountain.  Hmmmm  I am worried she going to hurt her other knee just so she can visit more spas…

The most recent and memorable trip was a solo trek to Les Diablerets, also in the French-speaking Alps.  I woke up to a beautiful day, checked my work schedule for important conflicts and finding none was on the 7AM train out of Lausanne.  I was on the slopes by 8:45 with blue skies, no crowds and at least 6-12” of new snow.  Was that a dream? 

I skied in and out of the trees in deep powder all day until I could barely walk.  Literally.  Somehow I managed to get back to the train and was home by dinner. 

I hope to make at least one more trip (Verbier? Chamonix in France?) before the end of the season.  We’ll see.

A couple of observations about Swiss skiing:  

• Getting to the slopes here is easy.  On the Lausanne metro you frequently see skiers fully dressed heading to or returning from the mountains, and I mean wearing their ski boots!
• The Swiss start skiing young and don’t stop till they are very old.  Even the kids and geriatric crowd are remarkably good.
• Ski racing is taken very seriously, much like we follow football and basketball in the US.
• There are lots of wide-open slopes above the tree line (which is only 8,000 ft or so) but fewer slopes with giant moguls, which makes it easier on the knees.
• It's customary to stop for a nice meal (with cheese and dessert, bien sûr) and a glass or two of wine.  Santé!