Sunday Morning Thoughts – February 4, 2024

Wait?! How is it February already?

Okay, I’m gonna let the cat out of the bag. I went to Paris last weekend. Kind of spur of the moment. I’d never been and anywhere I turned people were talking about Paris. It’s really easy to get to. Four hours four minutes from Zurich. Three hours from Basel. There will be separate newsletters (I’m thinking at least two) on that later. Still trying to get my head around all those impressions – there were so many.

This week friendships were on my mind. Old friends are great, especially when they stuck around through tough times. Then there’s those who were part of a major transformation, held my hand (virtually) when things got tough and talked me off the ledge in dark moments. And now making new friends, friends that only know the “new” me.

Romance? you ask. Well, not so far. I am listening to David’s You Might Be Her at the moment – there’s been a few of those. Wonderful lyrics. I especially like the “I keep my eyes wide open and my hopeful heart aware”. That’s me right now. There’s no rush at all but I’m starting to feel it would be nice to have somebody to share such travel experiences with. Of course, finding somebody who can keep up with me – that’s not going to be easy. Also, they have to speak at least three languages. If one of those is a Scandinavian language that’s a big plus. You see - I’m not picky at all. Walkers are very welcome; writers – yes, please! Introverts who don’t mind sitting in silence and reading – now we’re talking. Yes, I know that introverts can be pretty extroverted around the right people – what’s your point? And cat people of course. I mean that’s a given. I like dogs fine but there’s something about cats that just makes them extra special.

Anybody interested? There’s a three-stage application process with an essay section. I’m kidding - just talk to me and don’t be an idiot – that’s about it. I’ve been told that I scare people off. I swear I don’t mean to. But if you scare easily, it probably wasn’t meant to be.

Do you like buses and trains or the odd boat and would like to know how they tie into everyday life in Switzerland? You’ve come to the right place.

Let me tell you about the Postauto (those yellow buses that serve even the most remote Swiss villages and drive across the mountains). Usually, we have what we call a “Taktfahrplan” – that means that the trains and buses run at the same time every hour. So, it’s easy to remember and it also makes it less complicated to keep everything running on time. On Friday I took the Postauto from Aarau to Frick and it was the lunch time bus. That one has different stops (two are not served and two others are added) than the rest of the day – it takes teens right to their school before reaching the train station. This happens in the morning, at lunch (yes, children still go home for lunch around here) and again in the late afternoon. It’s one way to keep parents from driving their kids. Sometimes the buses run at different times at the beginning or end of a school day too. This was the case when I grew up. And also when I taught up in the mountains. It’s either this or schools adapt their schedules to fit with train/bus arrival times. When I was reminded of this on Friday, it made me smile and I decided to share it with you.

I also started a class on Mental Health First Aid this week. The first session was basically an introduction to the course. What stood out to me and made me think was that we all know or kind of know what to do if somebody is physically hurt. Stop the bleeding, put unconscious people on their side etc. etc. But do any of us know how to react when there is a mental health emergency? Even though it is a topic I’m familiar with from personal experience, I would have no idea what to do or what not to do. I mean I would try to help – obviously, but without really knowing what I’m doing. I’ll keep you posted.

Yesterday I had a really WOW moment. I was on a train, and it was really foggy outside. Suddenly the fog lifted, and I could see Mt. Rigi in the distance illuminated by the rising sun. It was absolutely gorgeous and as ever absolutely impossible to catch with my cell phone camera from a moving train with lights on inside. Anyway, you’re gonna have to trust me that it was gorgeous.

It’s not really possible to get up to Mt. Rigi before sunrise as the first train up arrives at 8.40. You’d have to spend the night up there – worth considering for some other time, I guess.

Why did I go up Mt. Rigi again? Well, I live in an area that can get extremely foggy in the winter months – so, any time I can escape the fog, I do. On weekend mornings I have the perfect connection with an direct train from Aarau to Arth-Goldau. Then on the way home I take my time and take the boat from Vitznau to Lucerne. I sit at a table, take out my laptop and write.

My writing space on the boat - reflecting in the ceiling.

Even though it looks like a restaurant area and it technically is, you can sit there without eating or drinking anything. Whenever the only indoor area on a passenger boat is the restaurant, you don’t have to order anything. You just say “no thank you” and that’s that. A lot of people don’t know this or feel bad and order something. I used to be one of those people. Now, I’m not. Way too expensive and pretty unnecessary for a 52-minute boat ride. And I already had a punch up on Mt. Rigi – the Rum kind. Don’t judge it was non-alcoholic.

A day in pictures …

Something else is on my mind. Mountains, tree lines and climate. In Switzerland you will find warning signs when you go up some of the higher mountains (not Mt. Rigi that’s harmless). The signs are warning you to walk slowly, stay hydrated and take a train, gondola, cable car back down immediately should you start feeling dizzy. Yet, when we took the train up Pikes Peak in Colorado there were no such signs, even though that goes up to 4301m (14,110 ft) and that’s higher than anywhere I’ve been in Switzerland. I’m doing those numbers from memory. The highest train station in Europe is at the Jungfraujoch. It’s 3454m (11,332 ft) above sea level. When I went up there, I got dizzy and had to move very slowly. I did not like it one bit.

I got really scared when I took the train up Pikes Peak. There were no warning signs and that concerned me. Of course, I should have realized that the tree line that’s way higher up in Colorado was a clue. Different climate – duh!

Why am I telling you this?

I guess we all have our own experiences and that’s what we take out into the world. Some people might be scared of doing something because of their past experience and that’s perfectly okay. Had somebody told me about the climate, the tree line I had not paid attention to or just explained that it’s really not the same as in the Swiss Alps, I’d have enjoyed the train ride up more. When I asked about it they did tell me not to worry. How very helpful. I worried. You could see I was worried. I needed the science!

And then they blamed the Swiss for the uncomfortable trains …

Some of you might know this already, but there is a Mt. Rigi connection there too. They run Rigibähnli up Pikes Peak or at least they used to. I was there in 2006, I think. And I just realized that It’s been almost 20 years. Yikes! Yes, I know I haven’t told you what “Rigibähnli” means. Rigi is the mountain, Bahn is a word for train in German and now *drumroll* - those of you who have been paying attention now what’s coming – we Swiss it up and add an umlaut and the ending -li to make it a small Rigi train. Simple.

I’ve posted this picture on social media in memory of my aunt who died quite suddenly yesterday morning. I just learned that she died right around the time I took this picture.

In memory of my aunt who passed away yesterday right around the time I took this picture.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.