Hotel Seeblick 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 ...

Hi everyone, I dashed off afterwork last Wednesday to the town of Thun (pronounced 'Toon'), 80 minutes by train from Basel. I met a guy here who bartends at a cool spot in this small but very vibrant town, which nobody had ever told me about. Many have told me about Luzern, but I was really stunned ...

... security and what you could bring and couldn't bring. Florence was pretty with Tuscan hills looming in the background. The first day we just walked around Florence. It is quite small actually. We walked around the Duomo church (the first church in Christendom to have a dome), Santa Maria Novella church, the open area by the Uffizi art gallery where there were replicas of famous statues like Michelangelo's David, and many other places. We were only in Florence for two days ...

July 30, 2006 Hello Switzerland! We arrived at charming, picturesque Lucerne, a gorgeous little medieval town surrounded by the towering Alps. The town is filled with cobblestone paths, open-air cafes, chocolatier shops and blooming flowers. I bought some authentic Swiss chocolate (undoubtedly the best in the world) and we strolled the shops for some Swiss army knives (so cool, there are ones that come with 1,000 gadgets---seriously anything you could ever need ...

... at...for his bachelor's party), a ton of really fun hats, a circus tent (no, we didn't go inside), a plastic fork/spoon that came with our pasta salad (but not a spork) that can fold in half and is really durable therefore I kept it so if i'm ever out and about I will have both a fork AND a spoon, Dr. PEPPER (they don't have it in France and I miss it), and of course the mountains and Lake!! From ...

... the Egglers with the two young children who have grown up so much in the last three years and the Josis in the little village of Wimmis i lived in for my last few months of my exchange. I got all excited when it snowed and headed into town by myself to take photos, all the while behaving like a child in the snow, stepping in it, kicking it and throwing it around.. When Karin (other host sis) came from Zurich to visit, i hang out with her and caught up on old times..

... Next morning we're off to St Goar (Germany). Only three nights to go! Nikki gives us a little Swiss info. on the way. All men have to do military service, which decreases as they get older. If you leave the country and still want to be a Swiss citizen you have to pay the government a percentage of your earnings. Swiss men are required to own guns in the best interests of the country. The country can be shutoff within minutes with strategically placed explosives ...

... d** Welt abzuheben durch uns**en v**meintlich selbst geschaffenen Wohlstand d** aus uns**** geistigen und kulturellen Üb**legenheit resulti**t. W** einmal den Lauf d** Geschichte genau** betrachtet wird bald feststellen, dass dies nur eine vorüb**gehende Zeit**scheinung ist. Lange gehörte Europa zu den am wenigsten entwickelten Regionen, während in vielen and**en Teilen d** Erde schon üb**ragende Kulturen aufblühten die ein Wissen h**vorbrachten, das dem uns**en um Jahrhund ...

... Abwechslung bilden ein paar historische Städte wie Bergamo oder Verona mit seinem eindrücklichen Amphitheater, ansonsten kämpfe ich bloss mit all den Autos und Lastwagen um ein schmales Plätzchen auf der Strasse. Einen Abstecher nach Venedig kam leider auch nicht in Frage, denn gerade einen Tag vor meiner geplanten Ankunft in der Lagunenstadt las ich in der Zeitung, dass Venedig in Folge der unablässigen Niederschläge und des kräftigen Windes überschwemmt sei und ...

... Rebecca and Susanna and they came to our weekly meetings for about a month. One week I mentioned that someday I'd like to see Geneva. They mentioned I could stay with them -- So I took them up on their offer. I will be here for three day and have found myself in a brand new challenge... FRENCH. Switzerland is a country of French speakers, and this family is no exception. The mom speaks some Spanish and less English, but told me tonight that she hasn't understood much of ...