ok, my final "owed" post about my time in swizterland. but i'm splitting it into two parts so really i kind of owe one more ;-) hehe
i arrived to zurich on 4 july and stood for a few minutes in the airport waiting for timon's train to arrive (yes, in the airport for a train...it was across the building). while i was standing there i worried if i would recognize him. it had been several months since i had seen him. and i worried about how we would get on (again b/c of the several months since i had seen him). but then he walked up and of course i knew him and i quit worrying b/c i was in swizterland! with timon! we pretty much straight away got back on a train going back the way he just travelled to "pick me up" from the airport. since we were conversing in english (as i don't speak swiss german) we were marked as tourists which was fine for me but i think t. was a bit annoyed by being marked as a tourist in his own country. when in fact, he was just being a good host and not speaking to his visitor in a language she didn't understand. i spent the first half hour on the train just revelling in being with my friend again and then realized here was this beautiful country passing by in the windows and i hadn't even been looking!
timon's town is surrounded on three sides by the swiss alps. and they are breathtaking. i would like to see them some day in the winter when more than the peaks are covered in snow. after we went to his home so i could drop off my stuff and meet his parents (delightful people and obviously the reason timon turned out so well) we met up with t's best friend, phillip, and a friend of phillip's, chris (who is also from texas) and went to a castle that is visible from timon's home. the plan had been to take the cable car to the top of the mountain but the clouds were obscuring the mountain tops. the castle was not a large one and it still had a village attached...inhabitants approximately 15. the boys were quite intrigued by the large collection of guns and swords. (boys will be boys after all). there was even a wedding in the courtyard with people dressed in traditional swiss outfits.
after the castle, we sat in the sun (and i didn't burn despite the high altitude so it must be the african sun itself) eating ice cream. there is something to be said for living in a town instead of a huge city...many people waved a greeting as they drove or walked by, knowing either phillip or timon or both. after this, we headed back to t's house where his mom had prepared racletta for us (a traditional swiss meal consisting of potatoes with melted cheese poured over it...and that doesn't really describe it well...they have a little grill thing that is just for melting the cheese...just go to switzerland and try it sometime! grin). it was quite yummy. afterwards, we went for a walk in the dusk/dark and i wished i had had my camera b/c the moon was rising over the castle as we walked and it was quite beautiful.
skip sunday there b/c i headed down to lugano to visit while timon's church held a youth day. (i haven't been youth in a while and also, it would have been mean to expect him to entertain me and speak english when everyone else was speaking swiss german and new visitors to the church, etc). my day in lugano will be part 2
so, monday back with timon and we just hung out at his home. by monday, the awkwardness of silence between friends who haven't spent time together in a while was gone. there were moments of comfortable silence and lots of fun chatter as well. in fact, we got so caught up in chatter that i missed my bus to the train to take me to richterswil where i was going to be spending the night. his friend phillip graciously lent his car so timon could take me to the train and there we had a very long and a bit awkward goodbye. since it was a rushed affair to get to the train, we said goodbye and i got on the train but then the train didn't leave for several more minutes so we were just there looking at each other and occasionally waving goodbye and grinning. it finally got so silly i opened the door and said this is a very long awkward goodbye and you should just go. he agreed and i watched him walk away even as the train started moving. sad.
pictures are of me with timon and phillip in his home, the table set-up for racletta (note the spoon/spatula things by each plate which held the cheese that went into the grill to be melted then poured over the potatoes) and a clock spire and town shot of the town where t. lives.
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