wow. so before my aging memory fails me... presenting - 'what happens when you spend 10 days in europe, pretending to know the language'. or simply 'what i did on my week before we got time off for thanksgiving anyway vacation'. good times.
as i sprinted (yes sprinted, i think i may have clocked a sub 6 minute mile) thru JFK, i heard over the loudspeaker, "final boarding call. i am not joking this is it". shit. you'd think since it was their fault we were late they might cut a bit of slack. anyway - besides not being able to sleep (having been spoiled in business class on previous trans-atlantic flights...) arrival in Zurich could not have happened soon enough. oh PS the movie was 'hotel for dogs'. barf. not to mention i was too slow to snatch up some of the empty rows around because i was too busy trying to stealthily text as we were on the runway waiting to take off...priorities...
so shocker of all shockers the bag didnt make the flight and would not arrive until the next day. I had to go out thru customs to find our friend Nate who was meeting us and then (illegally i might mention) slip his contact details back thru to bobby to provide for our baggage drop. great way to start the trip.
we took the train to Basel, about a 45 minute ride, during which bobby and nate discussed things such as the healthcare system in the US, goventment sponsored education and drug legalization. i tried to throw in a few references to days of our lives and kid rock... but to no avail... hmmmm. so the hi-lite of sat still remained - Maria wasnt due back from coaching a tennis tourney in Zurich till later that evening. i was extra excited as i knew she would discuss the ups and downs of biggest loser and other important issues with me! (and yes BG, we did discuss twilight, so i have you to thank for my intimate knowledge!!) so the three of us just bummed around the town a bit. (yes i did sneak in a nap). and nate made us pretzel bread sandwiches. ohhhhh soooo ymmmmy. and brought home this apple juice seltzer kind of drink. bobby went apes over it. i think he drank like 4 gallons while we were there. SO HAPPY to see maria. it had been way too long. if you knew her you would love her. just like me. maria has been a good friend of mine for how long now.. maybe 4 years? did i mention there is a brothel just down the block from them? so thats what the neon "open" sign means....
view of the Rhine -also down the block from their apt. i ran along here a few times. really nice views, not too crowded and i got to field some rather unusual obsticles... like boys on big wheels, street sweepers and large birds.
Sunday we couldnt stray too far as we needed to be around to collect the bags, so we let maria and nate take us on a tour of Basel. first stop - kabobs. NICE. and of course the best kabob shop was conveniently placed near all of the bondage/domanatrix/holiday skivvies shops... i have to say -- i made the mistake of learning no german before we left. call it lazy or lack of time... it was very stupid american of me. so we saw some churches and some towers and some blow up dolls on a third floor balcony... hmm maybe they were having kabobs earlier too...
i was really excited to do something they hadnt done yet.. take a ferry across the river. there were boats tethered to lines across the river.. and using the current and a rudder they moved back and forth from bank to bank. about a five minute ride, that instead of enjoying it, we were trying to take pictures of each other (screaming tourist all the while!) and poof bye bye river ride. we were like.. umm that was fast... 
so on the way home we bought some roasted chestnuts from one of the street vendors. kind of good.. kind of like soggy walnuts.. that night Nate proved his internet prowess by hijacking the steeler game. at one point we were watching someone watching it on his big screen. too funny. and maria served up the best veggie pasta. followed of course by the richest chocolate ice cream ever. i would go broke living in basel... at 10 franks a pint... that would clean me out...
next day we took the bus to the airport to pick up a car ( i'm not sure which mode of transporation aside from donkey we would not be using on this trip).. and mapless (smart!) headed off to Germany. who needs maps when you have google driving directions.. and the ability to turn around and try things again.... so at one point when we knew we were close, maria ran in to mcdonalds (duh! where else would you go!) to hopefully get some clarification, and some guy was like follow me, i'll take you. i'm in blue. soooo we hoped that he wasnt leading us to a remote location....and followed his blue car up the road. we did eventually find our destination - Neuschwanstein Castle - home of certifiabley insane King Ludwig II. so many juicy rumors about this guy. he's crazy, he's gay, he's over drawn. so fitting that his was the inspiration for cinderella's castle at disney.. 
so we took the tour and our guide reminded me immediately of frankenstein. he would say in the deepest voice possible "in this room" (pause 10 seconds for drama) "is where king ludwig slept" (pause 10 seconds) "over here" (dramtic vanna white arm sweep) "we see his bed"..... but some spectacular views from the windows.. 
so from there we headed to Pinswang Austria to a B and B. after a fantastic dinner that included fresh waffles with chocolate ice cream for dessert, we turned in. awakening to the most amazing views, i took a run around the town. thinking i would go out for about 40 minutes.. i ran to the end of the town and back in 17. hmmmmm and that included following every nook and cranny side road... BUT it was gorgeous so no worries. 
today's destination was Drachau. some thought wanting to go there was somewhat morbid and twisted and down right disgusting.. but its part of our history whether we like it or not. Drachau, you see, was the first concentration camp. built in 1933 it was the model for all others to come. i had NO idea there were over 200 spread over europe. unbelievable. 
the first thing that struck me was the proximity to the town. i had thought that these camps were far out in the country. but even back then the town was RIGHT THERE. its hard to explain how you feel walking through the same gates that you know hundreds of thousands of people walked thru, but perhaps never walked out. (the gate translates to "work makes you free") we listened to interviews with survivors. and heard from allied military who were the first "outsiders" to arrive. you can just hear the disbelief and the disgust and the utter bewilderment in their voices. the cremetorium was still intact. and open. we walked in silence. in the same path that some would have taken, (though they say this one wasnt used...much..) though the check in, into the undressing area. and finally into the "shower". even today, with all the freedom in the world to walk out, it made my heart stop. you could FEEL the fear. it was definately a day i wont forget. 
me- just wandering around. you get really caught up in everything.
the next day we took the train to colmar france. a small little town in the south eastern corner. just wandered around all day. i got to practice my faultering french a bit. 
next day we take a train to Geneva to catch a plane to lisbon.. i got to enjoy my favorite thing on the way. pretzel bread. ooooooooo! 
arriving in Geneva with no idea where we are.. the best thing to do - photo the map so you can find your way around.. 
pretty crappy weather in geneva. so again we just kind of wandered around. saw another church (can you beleive it?) and tried to take a photo with a swan who apparently thought i had food and totally ruined the whole thing.. (ha) because once he figured it out he was like 'see ya'. 
we also saw the floral clock. it said it was a masterpiece of technology and floral art. umm OK. perhaps the floral part had taken a lunch break.. 
we had to be at the airport that evening to catch the easy jet - ie super deal - ie 50$ flight to lisbon. my phone rings and its maria. they just find out that their flight from basel to lisbon is cancelled. UGH! some crazy mix up. and unfortunately, not worth the $$$ mucho dinero to rebook. definately disappointed they werent coming. but happy they will soon be back in raleigh!
so for some reason i was thinking the easy jet flight would somehow be different from the 6 trillion other flights i've been on. aside from feeling like i was on the inside of an orange (somewhat like james and the giant peach) it was a flight like all others. bummer.
so we get to libon and find a cab to the hotel. we pull into a plaza and then hang a right up some curvy side street and smack dab infront of an entire african nation (my apologies for the racial slur) the cab stops. its dark and late and the first thing the cabbie says to me is hold on to your purse. uhhhh OK. anyway it all turns out fine. and the hotel isnt so bad. well except for the ringing phone we can hear at reception all hours of the night.
we venture out to find some dinner and end up at some italian place. i know... when in portugal.. eat italian.. great dinner though. some mushroom risotto and some good wine will make any long day of travel all the better. we walked around that night and i stumbled on four old friends... 
so the next day i'm feelng pretty ok thinking i can get by with the pretty good spanish i know.. YES i know they speak portugese here.. but spain is right next door.. YEP call me a moron. i was better off going with english. anyhooo... first order of business was hike up to see the castle on the hill. no signs. no map. just keep going up. Castelo de Sao Jorge its called. (thanks wikipedia!) 
well worth it though. and we even thumbed our nose at the lazy fools who took cabs to the top. cheaters. 
just thought this was really pretty - 
we navigate the train along the coast to see the Monument to the Discoveries. and the tower was there too. and the monestary. which we tried to enter and were told, rather abruptly that it was closed. and even though according to the sign it was still open for 30 minutes i didnt think it was worth pointing out. i mean who wants to argue with a monk?
and on our last day. amid the monsoon, we decide the best place to be inside! so to the aquarium it is. 
where we got to see cool things like this:
ok so i kind of ran out of steam and breezed thru the last few days.. but it was a great trip. trust me.
