Thursday, July 6
Today I left Zurich and headed to Engelberg where I will meet the rest of the Art Institute students. After traveling alone for only 2 days, I feel more open about (small) group travel. When I’m by myself it takes me forever to get anything done because I’m so easily distracted. Perhaps it’s not a group I need—just Ritalin. A Klosterbrau will have to do while I listen to French pop music (except for an occasional Cat Stevens cover or Bryan Adams song) and think about my day.
Before leaving Zurich I went to the Künsthaus—their museum of contemporary art. It is truly awe inspiring to see works that one has read about or seen in books. Degas, Cezanne, Brancusi, Rodin, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Kandinsky, Matisse--- they were all there. The area near the Künsthaus has a different feel to it than the other side of the river that I was on for most of yesterday. The crowd here is a little younger and more contemporary. People seem to be just cruising around doing their thing. Yesterday people had more of a sense of urgency about them. Here there was time to sit and smoke cigarettes, have a coffee and just be. After the museum I stopped for lunch at Café Zähringer. I couldn’t really read the menu, but managed to recognize cheese, pesto and “hot”….I figured I couldn’t really go wrong with that. By the way, it turns out “schinken” is ham, not chicken--Which I vaguely recalled from 10th grade German. But not until it was on my plate. So I had a lovely sandwich with melted brie, a little bit of thinly sliced ham and basil pesto. It was warm, and the bread was crusty on the outside, but soft on the inside. And just for fun there were some grated carrots on the plate. Yummy. With that I decided it was time to start the trek to Engelberg via Lucerne.
I grabbed my luggage from the hotel, and proceeded to the train station, where the only ticket purchase option seemed to be from machines. I look at the machines, and the maps displayed beside them. Lucerne was nowhere to be found. I saw the “Tourist Information Office” and headed there….thinking, “I’m a tourist, I’m sure they’re helpful.” And they were…..I was able to purchase my ticket and move on. The train was at platform 53, so I was told. The nice man said that it was far away in the new part still under construction just behind the train station. There was good signage and I made my way there….past platforms 1-52. I noticed somewhere around platform 4 that a sign said “Luzern”….but my schedule said 53 and so I kept going. Past roads, and cars, and shops, and trains and other platforms and a bank and the post office. Finally! Platform 53. Oerliken? yes. Bern? yes. Luzern? not so much. So, I thought I should see what that was about. Well, in this new part of the station they have yet to build a ticket booth or information desk. So I went back….past the post office and the bank and the other platforms and trains and shops and cars and roads (and, of course, “Luzern at platform 4). When I returned to the main area, I saw the ticket station with people. So I asked. And ended up at Platform 4. And that is how you arrive an hour before the train leaves, yet almost miss it.
I made it to Engelberg without much trouble. I did exit the train at Wolfscheissen because that’s what they train guy told me to do. Apparently, however, I was just supposed to move to the front of the train. He said get on the next coach. Which means car, not train. Maybe I should know that. Anyway, they shorten the number of cars to go up the final mountain into Engelberg. Thankfully, I realized that I needed to get back on the train and did not find myself stuck in the village of “wolf shooting” unarmed. The scenery was beautiful. There were little alpine cottages, and everyone seemed to have a garden. Even in multi-family units, there were what looked like community gardens. Bright flowers, vegetables and herbs. It was cloudy so parts of the mountains were hidden, but the peaks would rise above the clouds. There is snow on the top of some of them. As we went further along I found myself above the clouds. It was so cool! I arrived in Engelberg about an hour before the rest of the group and was able to settle in a bit. We woke up this morning to rain, but that didn’t stop us from taking the walking tour around the city. It’s very tiny but has everything one needs. There are lots of things to do outdoors here in the summer—hiking, biking, paragliding, swimming, rock climbing, canyoning. I’m excited to try some of them. I’ll take pictures.
Friday July 7, 2006
The people that are a part of this group seem fine. Most of them are around 20 and excited that they get to drink without fear. There are some who are a little older…30s and 40s. I’ve already found a couple of people I like. Gigi, an Italian from DC, Colin, a skater kid from Charlotte, Jesse from Atlanta, a girl whose name I can’t remember but she makes me laugh, and Sara from San Diego who will go to shows with me. And there is Bob from Iowa who I like because he is from Iowa and thought about becoming a Trappist monk just so that he can truly learn to brew beer. There are some other good people too. I just don’t know them yet—it’s only the second day. The other chef instructor, Pam, is from Chicago and seems nice. I think she’ll be my International Cuisine teacher. She has said that if I find a yoga class, she’ll go with me. Therefore, I have attributed a number of positive traits to her automatically.
Today we ended up with a surprise free afternoon, so a big group went to Lucerne and walked around. I had some initial concerns that everyone would try to stay together—which is nearly impossible for a big group. A few people kept trying to make us wait for everyone….so 5 of us left them. That worked out nicely. We sat down and had a lovely cappuccino after walking around the city. I plan to go back to Lucerne to see some other things….We got back to the hotel in time for dinner—around 8 p.m. The food in the hotel is fine—it is “free.” (included in the cost of the trip)….it’s better than I thought because my expectations were low.
Ooh! Good news. I think that my internship will be at the bakery just up the street. What this means is that to be there by 5:45, I will get up at 5:30. I’m not sure when I have to be there yet—it could be earlier. Chef O (who has been my baking and pastry instructor in Atlanta) said that they’re nice people. The other choice was one in the valley that would involve multiple modes of transportation. Chef said that he thought it would be nice to take care of me. I have to agree. Also, my International Cuisine class will meet at 7 a.m. 3 days a week. Who knew being in class at 7 would seem so luxurious?!
Later I will try to post some pictures from the Kunsthaus and Engelberg.
Today I left Zurich and headed to Engelberg where I will meet the rest of the Art Institute students. After traveling alone for only 2 days, I feel more open about (small) group travel. When I’m by myself it takes me forever to get anything done because I’m so easily distracted. Perhaps it’s not a group I need—just Ritalin. A Klosterbrau will have to do while I listen to French pop music (except for an occasional Cat Stevens cover or Bryan Adams song) and think about my day.
Before leaving Zurich I went to the Künsthaus—their museum of contemporary art. It is truly awe inspiring to see works that one has read about or seen in books. Degas, Cezanne, Brancusi, Rodin, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Kandinsky, Matisse--- they were all there. The area near the Künsthaus has a different feel to it than the other side of the river that I was on for most of yesterday. The crowd here is a little younger and more contemporary. People seem to be just cruising around doing their thing. Yesterday people had more of a sense of urgency about them. Here there was time to sit and smoke cigarettes, have a coffee and just be. After the museum I stopped for lunch at Café Zähringer. I couldn’t really read the menu, but managed to recognize cheese, pesto and “hot”….I figured I couldn’t really go wrong with that. By the way, it turns out “schinken” is ham, not chicken--Which I vaguely recalled from 10th grade German. But not until it was on my plate. So I had a lovely sandwich with melted brie, a little bit of thinly sliced ham and basil pesto. It was warm, and the bread was crusty on the outside, but soft on the inside. And just for fun there were some grated carrots on the plate. Yummy. With that I decided it was time to start the trek to Engelberg via Lucerne.
I grabbed my luggage from the hotel, and proceeded to the train station, where the only ticket purchase option seemed to be from machines. I look at the machines, and the maps displayed beside them. Lucerne was nowhere to be found. I saw the “Tourist Information Office” and headed there….thinking, “I’m a tourist, I’m sure they’re helpful.” And they were…..I was able to purchase my ticket and move on. The train was at platform 53, so I was told. The nice man said that it was far away in the new part still under construction just behind the train station. There was good signage and I made my way there….past platforms 1-52. I noticed somewhere around platform 4 that a sign said “Luzern”….but my schedule said 53 and so I kept going. Past roads, and cars, and shops, and trains and other platforms and a bank and the post office. Finally! Platform 53. Oerliken? yes. Bern? yes. Luzern? not so much. So, I thought I should see what that was about. Well, in this new part of the station they have yet to build a ticket booth or information desk. So I went back….past the post office and the bank and the other platforms and trains and shops and cars and roads (and, of course, “Luzern at platform 4). When I returned to the main area, I saw the ticket station with people. So I asked. And ended up at Platform 4. And that is how you arrive an hour before the train leaves, yet almost miss it.
I made it to Engelberg without much trouble. I did exit the train at Wolfscheissen because that’s what they train guy told me to do. Apparently, however, I was just supposed to move to the front of the train. He said get on the next coach. Which means car, not train. Maybe I should know that. Anyway, they shorten the number of cars to go up the final mountain into Engelberg. Thankfully, I realized that I needed to get back on the train and did not find myself stuck in the village of “wolf shooting” unarmed. The scenery was beautiful. There were little alpine cottages, and everyone seemed to have a garden. Even in multi-family units, there were what looked like community gardens. Bright flowers, vegetables and herbs. It was cloudy so parts of the mountains were hidden, but the peaks would rise above the clouds. There is snow on the top of some of them. As we went further along I found myself above the clouds. It was so cool! I arrived in Engelberg about an hour before the rest of the group and was able to settle in a bit. We woke up this morning to rain, but that didn’t stop us from taking the walking tour around the city. It’s very tiny but has everything one needs. There are lots of things to do outdoors here in the summer—hiking, biking, paragliding, swimming, rock climbing, canyoning. I’m excited to try some of them. I’ll take pictures.
Friday July 7, 2006
The people that are a part of this group seem fine. Most of them are around 20 and excited that they get to drink without fear. There are some who are a little older…30s and 40s. I’ve already found a couple of people I like. Gigi, an Italian from DC, Colin, a skater kid from Charlotte, Jesse from Atlanta, a girl whose name I can’t remember but she makes me laugh, and Sara from San Diego who will go to shows with me. And there is Bob from Iowa who I like because he is from Iowa and thought about becoming a Trappist monk just so that he can truly learn to brew beer. There are some other good people too. I just don’t know them yet—it’s only the second day. The other chef instructor, Pam, is from Chicago and seems nice. I think she’ll be my International Cuisine teacher. She has said that if I find a yoga class, she’ll go with me. Therefore, I have attributed a number of positive traits to her automatically.
Today we ended up with a surprise free afternoon, so a big group went to Lucerne and walked around. I had some initial concerns that everyone would try to stay together—which is nearly impossible for a big group. A few people kept trying to make us wait for everyone….so 5 of us left them. That worked out nicely. We sat down and had a lovely cappuccino after walking around the city. I plan to go back to Lucerne to see some other things….We got back to the hotel in time for dinner—around 8 p.m. The food in the hotel is fine—it is “free.” (included in the cost of the trip)….it’s better than I thought because my expectations were low.
Ooh! Good news. I think that my internship will be at the bakery just up the street. What this means is that to be there by 5:45, I will get up at 5:30. I’m not sure when I have to be there yet—it could be earlier. Chef O (who has been my baking and pastry instructor in Atlanta) said that they’re nice people. The other choice was one in the valley that would involve multiple modes of transportation. Chef said that he thought it would be nice to take care of me. I have to agree. Also, my International Cuisine class will meet at 7 a.m. 3 days a week. Who knew being in class at 7 would seem so luxurious?!
Later I will try to post some pictures from the Kunsthaus and Engelberg.
posted by l-sauce at
3:32 PM
2 Comments:
Sheesh I can't wait to see pictures of all those foggy travels up the mountains. And take pictures in the bakery too, we want to see all that as well! Hope you will not have to get up before the sun come up...
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