National Bern

... The Hills Are Alive". You wouldn't fret looking like an idiot, because only the cows would be watching. That's the main industry at Gimmelwald, farming cows. The town is VERY tiny. Their park was about 10'x8' with 2 opposing benches. I agree with Steve that it's worth a quick visit, but don't know about that whole "If Heaven Isn't What It's Cracked Up To Be..." thing. I can think of other places I'd prefer to spend eternity as about one ...

... conversations and dinners like those that make growing up and being an "adult" worth it. <br>On Thursday we had two lectures at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Our first lecture was on Switzerland and their role in developing countries. As always, it is interesting to hear a neutral countries perspective on the issue. I was also glad because our speaker acknowledged that it is always easy to sit in an office and decide what needs to be done ...

... Negative, but they could have made it a bit better. I made it through in 10 minutes and I read all there was to read there. Afterward I hit the streets again and just wandered and enjoyed the sights. There was a pretty cool Clock Tower that was built a really long time ago and has a puppet show that has been around since 1530. Every hour this little show plays for about 30 seconds and is kind of neat. Next I hit up a dept store to ...

... The only problem was that it was incredibly cold there and I could have used a few more layers. I decided the best way to combat the cold was to stop inside as often as I could. I started by taking a bus from the train station to the bear pits where there is also a tourist office. I got a map and mini guidebook from there. The bears were of course hibernating so the bear pits were empty, but from the platform there was a ...

... and his friends at the stadium pub. Adrian from Friday night was there, as well as some of Cedrics roomate and his soccer buddies. The whole stadium was full of males. Our seats were up on the top tier, right to the side of one of the end goals. We missed the start of the game as the boys were still drinking too much! We hadnt had any dinner as i was under strict orders to have my first Brutwurst, which is like the traditional pie + sauce at the footy back home. Its probably the ...

... to the nearby capital city of the area, Fribourg, which is now my most favourite city in the whole of Switzerland. Its absolutely beautiful. Stone houses and terraces line the cliff edges and riverbanks, and rows and rows of apartment style dwellings with slate roofs wind along the narrow streets. It looks so old and classically european that i can almost imagine Oliver Twist wandering around. It was cold, dark, drab, and so cool! It even had a big gothic cathedral in the ...

Morning found us tromping up the Jura mountains with our friends, great views of Lake Geneva we could even see the Jet d'Eau fountain clearly (well it is 140m high with 500 litres of water forced out of the nozzle every second at about 200kph). Very nice place. Then that afternoon us and the just Daddy of the caln headed off to Bern for the night. Not unlike Copenhagen only no was over 25 at night - except ...

... simulators was dwindling a little bit...jk...it was fun and he was really happy because it was all about technology. (and I made him promise to go dancing with me in exchange for the six hour transportation field trip...haha). We also got to see an IMAX show on Vikings which was actually really cool and interesting. There was a planetarium too... After the museum we walked along the city for a while, but everything was closed since it was Sunday....took a free boat tour of the ...

... Austria in the Swiss alps. It really is great. We have a view for miles and can see lots of towns all below and around. We're pretty lucky because we got one of the flashier rooms with a great view and own bathroom. Some of the others had to share bathrooms. 5:30PM now and dinner at 6:30, time for another couple beers. Apparently this place high up in the Alps hides a swiss military base. There are radar dishes, including one of the big spinning ones. There is even a ...

... let's get going, we've only got 2 months before I leave... is anyone listening?" Well, "no" they weren't listening and I wasn't looking at the big picture: They are here ALL year long, year after year, and August is the only time they have the opportunity to take a vacation, so I let them go -- well, they weren't exactly waiting for my approval. Hala & Nashaat didn't GO on vacation. No, they welcomed a new baby boy into the world and have been using August as a time to ...