Best Western Hotel Freienhof Thun

... Watched the game on big screen in street
-incomprehensible chants (tune of Seven Nation Army)
-Bosh launching a full pint can into French fans after Holland scored 30 seconds after France to make it 3-1
Bern population: 125,000
Bern population today: 275,000
conversion of entire street into a urinal trough
Smitty's conversation with some woman on the train ride back (he ...

... it. There is water everywhere! Being from Minnesota, that is something I miss here in England. All of the streets are connected by bridges, and the buildings are very old and characteristically worn looking. The Grand Canal is the biggest canal that goes through the islands. That is where all the boat traffic is. A few times, we saw huge cruise ships arriving at Venice. Since Venice is an island, there is no car traffic whatsoever! Another very nice feature. I really enjoy ...

... of course - went for a nice Malasian meal though & a few beers in a portguese bar. But the next day we went to Ballenberg an open air museum, that displays traditional buildings and architecture from all over the country & has over 100 original buildings that have been transported from their original sites from I don't know but about 100 years ago. Its a 164 acrs site so we walked every bit of it and I ...

... History. Matthew tried to explain general relativity to me....which did not work AT ALL....We also just walked around the city, checked out the shops, and visited the Towers and Cathedral of Bern. We saw the famous bear pits (after which Bern gets its name), but we felt really bad for the two bears shoved into a tiny space :-(. There was a also a rose garden, so we sat out at a caffe and I tried a Swiss beer while Matthew drew again. Later, we had some time to kill before our night ...

Switzerland was just wonderful. In all we had approximately 4 days in Switzerland but I would have liked to spend more time there. Highlights: * Basel - The architecture and history. Crossing the Rhine by Ferry was different. The boat is attached to a wire and the current takes you across the river, it is not motorised * Yodelling Swiss Man - I ...

So many thoughts were going through my head as i arrived in Switzerland, three years after my exchange here in 2002. I was excited and scared at the same time.. Kaspar (one of my host dads on the exchange) was waiting for me at the airport, with some yummy Swiss chocolates for me. We jumped onto the train, 1st class section, and headed off for Thun. My thoughts looking out the window were, 'wow, i forgot how pretty Switzerland was!' and that was when we were still in the ...

... the Swiss Guard of Louis XVI. Was quite big and surrounded by a number of tourists, damn tourists ;) Moved on to the mirror maze which was quite cool, it had an attached fossil museum. Lunchtime and we ate at a lovely restaurant beside the river Ruess. We both had some pasta and this turned out to be one of our most expensive meals! Very nice and of course when in Switzerland (Rome). Picked up some pocket knives, swiss knives - one for Trudie and one for little Robert ...

... Sie ist mir schon fast heilig; wenn ich an etwas glauben soll, dann an die Natur. Sie ist d** Ursprung allen Lebens, die Schöpf**kraft, das Leben selbst. Es gibt nichts Ursprünglich**es und Elementar**es als die Natur an sich. Leid** v**gessen das imm** mehr Menschen in uns**** üb**zivilisi**ten Kultur. Lange Zeit war mir ihre Bedeutung auch zu wenig bewusst. Erst bei meinen Reisen nach Kanada und Alaska spürte ich, wie sehr mich d** reine und ursprüngliche Zustand d** Natur ...

... nicht gerade an uns körperlich aktiven Menschen gedacht haben, wie sonst erklärt man sich ein Frühstück vor einer langen Tagesetappe bestehend aus gerade mal einer Tasse Kaffee und einem Weissbrötchen...? Doch auch die paar wenigen Austauschstudenten der Uni von Trieste, die offenbar als einzige Gäste nebst mir ein paar Betten der Jugi belegen, kümmern sich herzlich wenig um die gedruckten Ermahnungen, und so beruhigt sich mein schlechtes Gewissen schnell wieder ...

... short version is: They are in the south of Spain (again) for a week or 10 days. ***** ***** ***** Ah, God sure has a sense of humor. So, here is that part where I explain about not having internet right now. Obviously, if you are reading this, I found a connection and sent this message, but at this very moment, I don't have it. I am out of my "home town" right now. Yesterday morning I boarded a train and rode for 8 hours until I arrived here in Geneva, Switzerland. I was ...