Planes, Trains & Automobiles (and other things) Part III

Off on an Adventure

Leaving Davos - headed to Train Station

On December 28, Ray, Christine and I packed our bags departed for an Italian Adventure!

Davos Train Station

We took the train from Davos to Zurich where we caught a plane to Rome.


We love to travel.  One of the aspects of visiting other cultures that we look forward to is their cuisine, so I'm giving you a heads up now...there will be pictures of food.  Not only do we love to eat it, we enjoy every aspect of it - how different it is from what we are accustom to, how it looks and smells and most of all--how delicious it is. Soooo...our first stop after we landed in Rome was....a favorite restaurant!

First Meal in Rome

What you see to the left are the remains of our first dinner.  The empty bowl had mussels - the most delicious mussels ever cooked in a garlicky broth that you soaked your break in.  Yum.  After the mussels, I had a pasta dish called Carbonara.  Carbonara is a pasta dish that has a slightly cooked egg placed on top of the pasta.  When the dish is delivered to the table, you break the yolk and allow the yellow creaminess to drench the pasta.  I have ordered Carbonara in the States, it arrives looking and tasting dry-with no yolk to break.  When my Roman Carbonara came to the table, I knew it would be great.  There was the yolk.  This is what Carbonara is all about. It was creamy and delicious and I savored every bite.

The Pope speaking to the people at St. Peter's Square

More than Food
But Rome has so much else to offer, so the next day-a Sunday, we ventured to St. Peters Square and the home of the Pope.

Each Sunday, Il Papa (the Pope) delivers a message to the people who gather in St. Peters Square.  There he is!  Do you see him?  The little man dressed in white in the window with the banner of the papacy draped on the window ledge.  On this Sunday, he spoke about the importance of family.

MB & Christine holding up St Peters Basilica

Did you know that St. Peter's Square holds 100,000 people on any given Sunday?  Yep.  The Square was completely full for the Pope's Sunday message.   Christine and I paused for a moment to pray, and then have some fun!

Lunch in Rome
After our holy time at St. Peter's Square we headed to a part of Rome called Trastevere. OMG...the best pizza ever!

The one on the right is a 3 meat pizza and the one below is a sausage.  Delish!

Walking through Trastevere After Pizza!

After our great pizza, we went for a walk through Trastevere and headed toward the Pantheon.

Ray at the Pantheon

Ancient Structures
The Pantheon in one of the ancient structures in Rome.  See Ray standing in front of the door?  These buildings are so big, it's hard to appreciate how huge they are from photos.  The Pantheon was build in 126 A.D. as a temple to ancient gods.  Now it is a Roman Catholic Church!!!  There is an altar inside the round building with pews.

Pantheon at night

Rome Streets at Night

Christmas Lights in Rome

While Rome is a 'modern' city, many of the streets were constructed for Roman chariots so they are very narrow!  Cars are permitted to drive on most of the streets, but large vehicles have a hard time navigating the narrow (I mean really narrow) streets.  During the Christmas holidays, the streets are lined with lights.  Each street has a different lighting decoration.

Italian Hospitality

Morolo

Morolo

We were invited to stay at one of Ray's colleagues while we were in Rome, so we rented a car, and traveled an hour and a half to Morolo to visit Elisa and her family!  There we were treated to an authentic Italian family meal!!  What does that mean?  Well, the first course was homemade lasagne.  It was delicious and I thought we were finished, but no, then came crepes, then when that was cleared, there was sliced pork with peas and a salad, then a cheese platter and finally dessert.  The food kept coming and interestingly enough, we kept eating it!  

Facade of the Church at Monte Cassino

Monte Cassino
After lunch, Elisa and her Mom and Dad took us to visit a monastery, Monte Cassino about 45 minutes from their home.  Monte Cassino was built in 529.  Because it is located on top of a mountain, it has been raided over the centuries in times of war as it was wanted as a strategic observation point.

Polish Cemetery at Monte Cassino

WWII
The monastery was bombed by allied planes during WWII as it was thought there were Germans hiding there.  Unfortunately the only people seeking refuge were people from the villages below.  Monte Cassino was completely destroyed during those bombing and then became a good location for the Germans to hide!  Monte Cassino was liberated by the New Zealanders, British Indian division and Polish corps.  The Polish flag was raised indicating Monte Cassino's liberation.  In honor of the Poles who lost their lives liberating Monte Cassino a cemetery dedicated to the Polish soldiers who lost their lives was created.


Returning to ROME
We spent one delightful night with Elisa family and on New Years Eve headed back to Rome for a Roman Celebration!

BOOM!

Romans love fireworks!  They are sold on street corners all over Rome in preparation for the New Years Eve celebrations.  There are open area called piazzas throughout the city.  Restaurants line the piazzas, most with outdoor seating.  After we ate dinner, we began to walk around looking for a piazza where we would find a restaurant and have a glass of wine while we waited for the count-down to 2014.  Then, as we got closer to midnight, people began throwing firecrackers into the center of the piazza!!!  This would be totally illegal in the states.  There was no official organization controlling the fireworks, oh no.  You could see them being tossed and people scurrying away.  Soon the perimeter of the piazza was lined with people as the firecrackers were being tossed and exploding in every direction!!!  We are sitting at a cafe, behind a glass wall.  There movable walls are used to keep the heat of the propane heaters around the patrons.  So, can you imagine - propane, right there where they are throwing firecrackers. 

A selfie Happy New Year!

Florence

The next morning we headed to one of our favorite cities, Florence.  This was my third visit to Florence and it is the city that Christine came to live and learn Italian 3 years ago.

Everything made of leather!

Leather, Food, Art & Gold

The outdoor leather market in Florence is world known.  There are streets and streets lined with leather vendors selling everything you can think of that could be made from leather.

The 'Florence Market' is an indoor food extravaganza.  You can find any vegetable or meat you can imagine.  Everything is from small farmers.  They do not believe in corporate farming.  We were told that the reason Americans have so many varieties of salad dressings is to hide the bland flavor of our veggies.  Yikes, that could be true!

The meat is very fresh and when you buy a chicken-you buy the entire bird, including the head and feet!

David

The amount of historical art is amazing.  This is the home of Michelangelo's David.  Michelangelo studied human anatomy in order to be able to sculpt the muscles and veins of David.  We learned that studying human anatomy was banned by the Church.  Michelangelo had to sneak into morgues to study dead bodies.  What one does for their passion!   Davids hands are huge.  There is speculation as to whether David is contemplating his attack on Goliath or he has just finished his attack.  Any ideas?

Il Duomo di Firenza
The Cathedral in Florence is called Il Duomo di Firenza.  It is huge!  Construction began in 1296, and was completed in 1436 - no small undertaking.

The details on the outside are amazing.  It is all Italian marble and hand carved.  Do you see me standing in front of the door?  There is just no way to be able to appreciate how huge this building is without standing there.

Gnocchi

Florence Cuisine
Did I mention food?  OMG...there is a restaurant that
Christine found when she lived there that made the most amazing gnocchi dish, so we had to find it and enjoy this dish.  It was the best, creamiest and tastiest gnocchi I have ever had.

Chocolate Dessert

Did I say 'Dessert'?  This chocolate molten dessert was soooo good.

Ponte Vecchio from the outside

That Shiny Stuff
There is a magical place in Florence:  Ponte Vecchio.  What is so special about Ponte Vecchio?  Gold.  Yes, gold.  Ponte Vecchio is a bridge over the Arno River.  When you walk across this 'bridge' you don't realize you are over water as both sides of the bridge are lined with stores that sell only one thing-jewelry-gold jewelry that is.

All that Glitters here IS Gold!

On the left is the bridge!  See all the windows lit?  Those are gold shops.  And yes, there are three stories.  Above the stores (remember this is an ancient bridge) was originally a private walkway for the Medici Family who ruled Florence beginning in 1296.  There were private walkways all over Florence for the Medici Family as they weren't liked very much and people wanted to 'take them out!'  Now they are offices.

Ponte Vecchio at Night

Superstitions In Italy?

There is a story in Florence.  It goes like this:  if you rub the nose of the statue of the boar at the leather market you will return to Florence.  Well, I'm up for whatever it takes to help me return to this amazing city!!

There are so many more pictures I could share.  They are all amazing.  We took a high speed train to Bologna for a day-trip.  Did you know that the University of Bologna is the oldest the world?  We never stop learning things.  Well at the University of Bologna they performed the first 'approved' human dissections.   It was thought to be against the will of God to perform human dissections b/c people had souls and they would leak out so, a priest watched from a balcony window to make sure nothing 'weird' happened (?)  The first human dissections were on criminals and actors b/c it was believed they didn't have a soul!!!!!  Yep, criminals and actors.  Did you know that Shakespeare is not buried in a church cemetery because it was believed he didn't have a soul!!!  Now we worship actors!!  The world has certainly 'come around'!

Makes me wonder: what strongly held beliefs, that don't look like beliefs-they look like appropriate customs do we partake in today that future generations will giggle or out right laugh at?

Ok, my friends. gotta go!  Now remember the question: what does one do with a Christmas Tree when you are ready to dispose of it and you live on the 9th floor of an apartment building???

Bis folgendes Mal!

Marybeth

Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts by clicking on the 'comments' place below the blog.  I love to hear from you!

Trains, Planes & Automobiles (and other things!) Part II

Planes...
On December 23, our daughter, Christine arrived by plane from Chicago.  It was so good to see her and we had such wonderful plans for our time together.  She got to visit where we are living, see for herself the 'hike up the hill' to our apartment, visit our grocery, cook in our kitchen and...get ski lessons!!!

Yep, the day after Christmas we took ski lessons.  I was on ski's one time about 15 years ago in Santa Fe, NM. That's it.  The day we arranged ski lessons there was a significant snowfall here in Davos.  The snow falling actually made the experience even more fun.  So remember, we are in the Alps.  People begin skiing here when they are 5 years old.  We had a ski instructor who actually asked Ray how old he was, because she could not believe that in his whole life this was the second time he had skied.  Oh well...

...see the little flags around us?  We are on the 'beginners slope'.  Remember who the 'beginners' are in Switzerland..they are 5&6 years old.  So we are learning with the children!  But, when you don't know how to make yourself STOP, this is the best place to be.

On the left is Christine and I at the top of the 'hill' getting ready to go down....








How on earth do you get the skis to turn??  Notice we don't have poles in our hands.  Not yet.  The poles get in the way when you are learning.













Christine got to use poles, because she did so well!

After a great day of skiing, we all felt victorious!  Of the three of us, Christine did the best.  The instructor said she was ready for the 'real' slopes.  We didn't have time for her to go up to the top with the ski lift.  She'll have to come back before the spring comes for that!


We had other things to do...we had to get home to pack...we were headed out of town...to ITALY!




Italy.  We love Italy.  Get ready for an Italian adventure in of Trains, Planes & Automobiles (and other things!) Part III!

Auf Wiedersehen und glücklich Skifahren  (Good-bye and happy skiing)

Marybeth

                                     
                                               

Trains, Planes & Automobiles - Part 1

A New Year!
It is a new year and I have a lot of things to share with you!  Some of which took place before the new year began...let's go!!

Trains
In my last post, I mentioned that we were planning a trip on the Bernina Express, which is a train ride through the Alps. The Swiss rail system has been around for a long time.  And as a system that travels through the country of Switzerland there are many tunnels and bridges through the mountains to make the trip possible.  Whether you choose to travel in the summer and experience the beauty of Alps meadows filled with flowers or the winter where you will experience frozen lakes and snow covered trees and valleys, the trip is wonderful.  Our journey began in Chur, the capital of our canton (state) of Graubunden and ended in Triano, Italy.







Snacks on the Train
It's a four and a half hour trip and people get hungry and thirsty.
On the train there is a cart that goes up and down the aisles selling drinks and snacks.  The cart on the Bernina Express is 'dressed' as a goat, which is a symbol of Graubunden.

Views from the Bernina Express
I wanted to share some of the sights as we traveled along the rails of Switzerland.  The number of tunnels and bridges is amazing.  And remember they were built a long time ago and are maintained in pristine condition.  See the roof over the tracks on the right?  That is to protect the train from avalanches!  Apparently wherever there is a location along the railway that is prone to avalanche snowfall, they construct 'roofs'.  We have seen the same 'roof' constructions on roadways, also.

Circles
This is a circular bridge that gets lower and lower as it goes around.  The gray line under the train on the ground is the track as the track winds around and goes under the track above.

Tunnels
See the tunnel entrance on the right?  The entrance is on a shear rock wall.  This is a famous tunnel.  The ravine that the bridge crosses is very deep.  I wonder how they built the bridge and and tunnel. (hint: remember this pic; you may see it again)

Glaciers and Frozen Lakes
The views are beautiful.  The Bernina Express trains have panoramic windows, which means that they go up over the roof of the train so you have a bigger, better view.

Italy!
The first 2 hours the train is steadily climbing the alps.  The last 2.5 hours the journey gently moves downward toward our destination, Italy.  When we arrive in Tirano, there is no snow and it feels kind of pleasant outside.  In fact, we saw palm trees!  The strange thing to us was we discovered that the town of Tirano closes (yes, closes) for 3 hours each afternoon, so when the Bernina Express arrives at 1PM the town is closed for their lunch break!!!  Notice I am the only person walking on the street.

Heading Home
After a two hour stay in Tirano, we board the train and head back to Davos.

What now?
This concludes Part 1 of Trains, Planes & Automobiles.  There are too many other adventures to put in this one post, so I leave you now.  But I have a question: what do you do with a Tannenbaum when it has dried pine needles, you live on the 8th floor and carrying it will make a huge mess?  Stay tuned.  The answer even surprised us!! (hehehe)

Auf Wiedersehen und Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr!

Marybeth

Winter Is Here - Christmas Markets, Playing Outdoors - and other things

Zurich!

Last weekend, Ray and I spent in Zurich.  Why?  Well, a graduate student was defending her thesis, which means she was officially graduating from the University of Zurich.  She had completed her research at the institute Ray is working at, so everyone here from the institute went to Zurich to celebrate with her.  The celebration is called an Apero, which means a spread of finger-foods with lots of wine and because the student is from Poland, there was Polish Vodka.  Reminded me of growing up.  I am Polish.  Every New Year's Eve, my mom and dad would have a toast with Polish Vodka.

Zurich Christmas Market in Train Station

Ray and I decided to spend 2 more days in Zurich. We stayed in the Old Town.  Most European cities have an 'old town'.  Remember, 'old' here is much older than we are accustomed to in the US.  The streets are cobblestone and the churches are sometimes a thousand years old.

Christmas Markets

December in Europe is all about Christmas Markets.  A Christmas Market is an opportunity for people to sell their local specialities, whether it's food or crafts.

The main Zurich Christmas Market is held in the train station.  At the same time there are smaller markets scattered all around the city, held in small parks.   One of the famous aspects of the Zurich Christmas Market is the huge Swarovski Christmas Tree.  The tree is decorated completely with Swarovski crystal ornaments and white lights.  It is beautiful.  I just had to get a crystal ornament for myself!!!  WooHoo-a Christmas gift to me!

Glühwein

A Warm Wine Drink

When you visit the Swiss Christmas Markets, you've got to try the traditional winter drink: Glühwein.  Glühwein is warm red wine with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and mace.  I think you have to grow up drinking this beverage, but I can say I tried it.

River in Downtown Davos

White Days

We now have snow filled days, crunchy paths, brisk air - and no chill.  That's correct.  The air is dry.  It does make a difference in your ability to spend time outdoors.  The last two weekends Ray and I have taken long walks and it is so wonderful outside.  The sky is clear blue, not a cloud can be seen and there are droves of people skiing, sledding, snowboarding and just walking along the river.

Making Snow

So while there is snow on the ground, it's not enough for the skiers.  See the white 'mist'?  That is snow blowing out of snow making machines.  These machines blow out clouds of snow 24 hours a day.  On the top of the mountain, the machines line the ski slopes.  Each machine has a spot light.  When the lights are 'on' during the dark hours you know they are making snow.   It is beautiful at night to see the lights illuminating in a zig zag pattern across the mountain top as they are making snow.




A Place to Rest & Play

At the bottom of the ski area is a restaurant.   This is where the skiers rest and eat snacks, drink hot chocolate and/or beer.  This is also where parents stay with their children.  There are wooden, beach-like chairs all around the restaurant.  Each chair is cushioned and has a small retractable visor and footrest.  You claim a chair and sit for hours, people gazing and being warmed by the sun.  At the foot of the chairs, children busily dig in the snow, some pretending to be shoveling their walkways and some building snow castles.  There is the murmur of adult conversation and the giggles of children running from each other as they attempt a snow ball frenzy.  It feels like a cold-white-winter beach scene!

Children learning how to ski-how cute!!

And believe it or not-it feels warm.  There is this phenomena that when you feel the sun directly on you, you are warm, but the moment you are shaded, the temperature drops.  That is why the skiers begin skiing as early as they can - 8:30AM, because as soon as the sun dips behind the mountain, the temperature drops!  Many ski lifts stop at 4:30PM.

Oh, Tannenbaum!

It was time to get our Christmas Tree, our Tannenbaum!  She was purchased in town at Coop (pronounced 'coop', like where chickens live)....

.....and lovingly carried up the hill.  I am in the process of making our ornaments.

 So this is our Tannenbaum as of today.  More ornaments on the way.

A Cho-Cho Ride

Stay tuned.  On Friday, we are going on a train ride.  A day trip on the Bernina Express.  It's like the Polar Express through the Alps.  From Chur to Tirano, through many tunnels and across many viaducts.  It is supposed to be spectacular!

Liebe zu Ihnen alle.  Frohe Weihnachten! (Love to you all.  Merry Christmas!)

Marybeth

Ready, Set, SKI - or whatever winter sport you like

Swish!

That's the sound heard on top of the mountains now.  It's the sound of all the people whizzing by as they ski and snowboard down the slopes.  Last weekend one of the mountain top ski lifts opened.  The don't all open on the same day.  This weekend, the ski lift that I see directly across the valley from my apartment window will open.

Incline ( in Summer) to top of mountain

There is a 'routine' to going to the slopes.  The skiers gather all their equipment and take an incline train to the top of the mountain.  Once at the top, they ski down to the midpoint of the mountain, where they take a ski lift back to the top and ski again, to the midpoint. They don't ski all the way down to the valley.

In the warm sun, watching skiers

Sitting in the sun, resting, drinking hot chocolate, beer, wine

At the top of the ski run there is a restaurant, where the skiers rest drinking hot chocolate or beer and can get lunch.





Ray and I took the incline up to the top to just be there and enjoy the energy of people out skiing. While it gets colder the higher you go, the sun made it a perfectly warm day to sit outside and watch the people.  Actually it felt hot!  I had to take my scarf off and unzip my coat!










The day was beautiful.  Clear sky, no wind, just sunshine and people having fun.

Ski Poles plunged into the ground while the owners sat at restaurant

Ok...looks like I published a YouTube video of skiing that I had intended to put in this post!!!  Still on a learning curve with blogging.

Little Ones Learn to Ski

In any event,  you can see what a great time everyone has here in the winter wonderland of Davos, Switzerland.  One of the cutest things I saw was the way children learn how to ski.  Lessons begin when children are very little, maybe 6 years old.  They are given a pair of skis, no poles.  They are then attached to long straps - like a leash.  Mom or Dad holds onto the leash and they both ski, the little one ahead of the 'teacher.'  It was so fun to watch.  Remember there are sometimes cliffs on the sides of the slopes!  And no railing.  You have to guide that new skier on a straight path!!!  Or else it's a huge woops!!!

Ok...that's all for now.  Our friends ask us when we will ski...not sure about that.  Maybe snow shoe or cross country.   What would you do??

Hugs from the white spaces of Switzerland,

Marybeth

Skiing in Parsenn!

Preparations for Snowy Days!

Transformations Abound
Remember all that snow I showed you in the last two posts?  Well, it is all gone.  Amazingly, it has evaporated, melted, vanished.  As quickly as it arrived, it departed.  The landscape is as naked now as it was the moments before the slight drizzle transformed into snowflakes.

In the days immediately after the snowfall, I took a trip outside the Davos valley and venture back to the land I came from.  Yes, I had a return trip to the US.  What fun I had!  In the 10 days I was gone, some changes had occurred in Davos.

Preparing for The Snow!

Red Snow Pole

Blue/Yellow Snow Pole

Snow is a thing big thing here in Davos Platz. People talk about it and anticipate it with great glee. What I didn't realize was the way the town prepared for it. The first thing I noticed when I arrived back in Davos was there were now 'poles' lining all the streets, parking lots and mountain pathways. These poles surround the perimeters of the parks and walkways up to front doors. Some of the poles have blue paint at the top, while some have red.  We have not figured out what the different colors represent, but we smiled when we realized the true meaning of the poles.  These are the markers for the snow plows to know where the edges of the streets are when the real snow, the permanent white stuff arrives and show us how deep the snow will be.  Woah.

Red Snow Poles on the Street up to our Apartment Building

Sleeping Trees

I am familiar with snow.  I grew up in New Jersey and lived in Cincinnati where snow happens each year.  Sometimes it lingers and most times it melts in a few weeks.  In Davos, Switzerland the amount of snow and length of time is stays in more, more and more.  Not only are the streets prepared for the amount of snow, the young trees are, too.

Evergreen outside our Apartment

The small, delicate trees of Davos are wrapped and sheltered in preparation of the weight of the anticipated snow. These two evergreen trees are outside our apartment building. 

Smallest Evergreen outside Apartment Building

All the young shrubs around the town are bundled in winter cocoons.  Like bears going to sleep for a long winters nap, these trees and shrubs will be awakened and unwrapped in the spring when the threat of heavy snow ends.

Where Did All the People Go?

One of the first things I had to do when I returned home, was head to Coop (the grocery store).  As I walked along the street, it was eerily quiet.  I looked around and suddenly realized that I was the only person walking in the town!  Many restaurants and a number of retail stores were closed.  What was going on?  

I walked up to a restaurant that had been open and bustling with patrons before I left and read a sign (I am learning some German), Closed Until November 22.  Apparently from October 31 until November 21-22 is considered 'down time'.  Too chilly for the hiking tourist and devoid of snow for the skiers.  The town shuts down creating it's own 'resting time' waiting for the whiteness to arrive and with it the throngs of tourists.  We are told over and over that from December through the middle of March this small mountain town will be transformed into a traffic jam of cars, pedestrians, hikers, skiers, snowboarders, skaters, sleigh riders (now THAT sounds like fun), tobogganers and Swiss who just want to be in the most amazing mountain town for the holidays and ski season.  We'll see.  Right now it is quiet.  Even quieter than it was when I arrived at the end of July.  Remember this is the Swiss Mountains - it is naturally quiet, but right now - well, it is asleep.

Morphing Our Shoes

One more note:  This is snow related, but foot focused.  We live on the top of a very steep hill; the side of a mountain actually.  We have been informed (many times with a smile) that we will need 'spikes' on the bottom of our shoes when the snow and ice arrive in order to walk up the street to get home.  (Did I forget to mention that we do not have a car here?)  Spikes on our shoes?  

Spikes on the bottom of sneakers

Well, today as we were walking through town there was a sporting goods store open.  We went inside to check it out and lo and behold they sell spikes that you put on the bottom of your shoes to prevent you from slipping on the snow and ice!  Remember the people here LOVE the ice and snow.  They hike in it, run in it and play in it.  So, they have created a cover for their shoe that help them stay snow bound in all conditions.  The 'spikes' are pulled over shoes like a rain boot is pulled over shoes.  It was quite a surprise for us to actually see these 'spikes' for sale.  Now we know that people weren't joking.  We didn't buy any yet.  I think we are putting off the inevitable. 

Knowing There is Always the Unknown

I never know what unexpected thing I will see or experience here in my new life in Switzerland.  From street poles to cocoon trees; a sleeping town to spiky shoes.  Whether we realize it or not, our lives offer the answer to questions we have had, maybe for a long time.  When I was a child, I always had questions - how does that work? Where does that go?  You see, I always wanted to know-not anything in particular, everything in general.  My experience here is offering me the answers the the many questions I have had, maybe without even realizing on a conscious level about how other people live.  Not only that, but I have created an experience where I actually get to live with another culture.  What questions did you have as a child?  How has your life offered you the answers?

Utto---I better hurry up and post this.  I feel a snow storm brewing.

Genießen Sie das Leben

Enjoy Life!

Marybeth