Back to Deutschland

Heading back to Deutschland. Presently, I’m somewhere in the middle of Die Schweiz. Next stop for me is Basel then it’s on to Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, and finally into Backnang. I had a nice stay with Stefen, a new friend from Couchsurfing. The weather was quite nice for me while in Switzerland which is French speaking in this particular area. It has been somewhat of a curveball for me. My mind has been in German for so long, and I don’t speak any French so it was a little strange. I didn’t know whether to speak German or English with people. I guess a country that can’t decide which language to officially adopt as the prima language then it leaves people like me guessing. It was easier when I came from Belgium to France in 2007 because I didn’t know any Flemish so French was just another period of misunderstanding at that point. I did try better to speak French such as Bonjour and Merci, but this time every time I had too, I was speaking German. I guess I have become assimilated somewhat…

On the first train out of Martigny, the bike carriage car was literally an open-air box car. If you need some visual stimulation please see below. It was the first car in the train behind the engine. I had to run to get to it because I was on the other end of the platform. Before I even had the bike hanging from a sketchy hook without a secure holding the train was off. So I did the best I could as the train is ripping out of Martigny. I thought I could just walk through the connector doors to get to the passenger compartment. Well that was no bueno since the door would not open. So I was relegated to the stowaway seats of the box car. It was pretty cool. Maybe me feel a little bit like an outlaw. Probably 100% illegal and against all CFF SBB FFS protocol(Swiss train system) but I didn’t get caught, and I’m writing from a proper seat right now. After finally getting into the passenger compartment I wished to get back to the open-air car because the train lacked any form of ventilation. I guess you can take the outlaw to jail but you can’t take the outlaw out of the man.

I’m currently watching the drama of a relationship unfold. The Swiss guy has been putting his R-rated hands and lips all over his girlfriend. She is a bit frustrated at the situation. It’s definitely a different understanding of public displays of affection than my own. The Swiss trains must be for lovers. I know a little bit about it =)

This morning I scored some local apricots, which have been a delicious treat during my travels today. The valley east of Martigny is known as the “Little California” for its Mediterranean climate surrounded by mountains. Not since I left California have I seen so many apricot trees or vineyards. The entire valley is just a giant goodness producer.

Chow,
Bearclaw