Europe 2002 Travelogue

So this is a fun little page I made to remember my Europe trip in August of 2002. The plan was to start in Zurich for the Street Parade, where I was gonna meet up with a friend from Boston. Then off to Prague to chill out for a couple days, and hang out with Boris, my roommate from Bratislava, Slovakia. Then back to Switzerland for hiking in the Alps. The meet-ups both got fouled up, b/c of too much flooding in Prague, and too much bier in Zurich :-), so it wound up being a solo foray.

I took along a neat little digital camera I have, the Sony DSC-P31. I recommend everyone get one. I had some fun taking pictures and stuff, which are below with commentary. Click on the small images to get larger versions. I'm not exactly a professional photographer, but you can send any comments to my complaint management system :-)

And with that, we cue the music...

Zurich and the Street Parade
Prague
Swiss Alps

ZurichSee 1280 X 960 494 KB Starting off with a tour on Lake Zurich.

Richterswil 1280 X 960 587 KB A shot of Richterswil, 20 minutes outside of Zurich by train. My hostel was here. Can you believe it, some people work in Zurich, then come home here in the evening, to this idyllic town on the hill by the lake? Very cool.

Wadenswil 1280 X 960 533 KB Testing the camera, at one of the stops on the train. What you've heard about Swiss trains is true: Clean, on time, they go everywhere in the country. But too $#%$@$! expensive, and don't mind the scratches in the window. :-) Also to point out, I took this picture b/c I liked the lilt in the way the announcer said: "Wadenswil." Very lilty.

BahnofStrasse 1280 X 960 567 KB Playing with the camera again. A square along the Bahnofstrasse, or 'Train Station Street.' The Bahnofstrasse has the main offices of many of the important Swiss banks. Just below the street, a nontrivial portion of the world's gold and silver is kept in big safes.

Zurich_Kirch 960 X 1280 118 KB Taking the walking tour of Zurich: A cool old church that's been there since 800 A.D. or so. With the original crypt, though you can't get down to see that. :-(

AltStadt_1 1280 X 960 594 KB The AltStadt, or Old City. Across the river from the Bahnofstrasse where all the banks are, the Altstadt is where the hippies and hellraisers live. :-)

AltStadt_2 1280 X 960 573 KB

AltStadt_3 1280 X 960 553 KB

AltStadt_Ken 960 X 1280 153 KB Ken, looking a little like a scrub :-), in front of the AltStadt.

Zurich_Square 1280 X 960 604 KB A square in Zurich. I can't remember exactly the purpose in taking this picture, but it's a cool old square.

Zurich_Bier 640 X 480 152 KB Good Swiss Bier. :-) I took this b/c I wanted to remember Ittinger as a good beer. As an aside, right across the street from this cafe was the Belle Epoque Cafe, which Lenin visited frequently while he was sitting out most of World War I. I would've gotten a beer there instead, but it's become upscale and pretty non-proletarian since Lenin. :-)

Jamarico 1280 X 960 595 KB Jamarico, a store that would be pretty alternative here in the US, but they have several in the Altstadt.

Singing_A_Song 1280 X 960 551 KB The city getting ready for the Street Parade, which is going to happen the next day. They did a really loud sound test for a couple minutes, with a very cool trance track. Some female vocals: "Sing, Singing a Song..." Starting to get hyped right about now. :-)

McClean 640 X 480 144 KB Pardon me for obsessing on this, but it's a REALLY good idea! McClean runs the bathrooms at the HauptBahnof, or main train station in Zurich. You gotta pay 1 franc for #1, 2 francs for #2, but the bathrooms are sanitary. The fee goes to full time staff to keep them from becoming like the bathrooms in, say, Penn Station?? OK, end of rant, 'nuff said. :-)

U_S_of_A 1196 X 786 107 KB Kinda funny. The American Bar and Bistro at the Zurich Hauptbahnof. With Miller beer, made in the "U. S. of A." Cleetus, get muh shotgun, ah think ah see some dang liberals. :-)

RainParade 350 X 280 16 KB Blick is one of the main papers in Switzerland, and it says it all. Translation: The Street Parade becomes the Rain Parade. Switzerland got its share of the rain that was sweeping through Europe at the time. Asked one of the Swiss organizers if it would be cancelled. Answer: "Don't worry, even if it's raining like hell, it'll still go on!" Aw yeah, can I be more hyped?? :-)

Graffiti 601 X 312 24 KB Curiousity: The stereotype of Switzerland was true for me. It's very clean and orderly, and the trains run on time. The only contradiction: There's graffiti EVERYWHERE!! Weird...

MinsitryOfSound 640 X 480 60 KB Getting into the Street Parade and surrouding parties. These dudes at the Ministry of Sound party came prepared.

McDonalds 640 X 480 61 KB Definition of cognitive dissonance. One of the parties was set up by McDonald's. And weird enough, the dj didn't suck, or play one bubble-gum or hip hop track! Gonna file this under, "Would never see this in a US city" :-)

MyParty 640 X 480 61 KB This is the party where I hung out most of the time. There was this dj with crazy bright red hair who was laying down some righteous housey trance. His mixing was crazy too. Woulda taken more pictures, but I was too busy wigglin my waggle. :-)

SouthGermany 480 X 640 44 KB I was chatting with this dude for a while after the red-haired dj went away. He was visiting from Southern Germany. Call me self-conscious, but I think he looks cooler than moi. :-)

DerScheisser 640 X 480 61 KB Kind of a funny shot. This dude in front of me was too cool. Very very 'German', dancing straight outta 'Sprockets' and macked out like a big Deutsch pimp daddy. I asked him if he spoke English. Answer: 'NEIN !!!!!' :-)

HauptBahnofParty 640 X 480 61 KB This is at a club later. N00000, actually, this is at the Hauptbahnof. Crazy cool, really kind of impressed that Zurich would put on a party of this quality in the city's main train station.

ZurichNextDay 640 X 480 61 KB Zurich the next day, at the same square where I was hanging out the day before. Totally clean, no trace of all the scheiss that was all over the place the day before. A friend in Boston said before I went: "The Swiss have their sh!t together." I believe him. :-)

Munich_Zurich 640 X 480 62 KB Travelling to Prague: First stage is from Zurich to Munich. However, the first thing you see when you come into the Munich train station is a big sign that says "Zurich." Uhhhhh.... :-)

Munich_Bahnof 640 X 480 58 KB Another shot of the Munich train station, or "Bahnof" as those nutty Germans say. :-)

Oakenfold_Prague 481 X 405 49 KB Hey, I got to Prague just in time to miss a crappy dj! Heh. :-) Oakenfold and some other big UK dudes played there a couple nights before.

Prague_OldCity 640 X 480 62 KB A shot of one of the squares in Prague. btw, a Czech person refers to Prague as "Praha." So educational!! :-)

Prague_OldCity_2 480 X 640 42 KB Another shot of the square. Situated to the left of the previous shot.

Prague_View 1144 X 682 109 KB A balcony at the Prague Castle, where you can look out over the city. I saw a documentary film where all the dignitaries and important people etc., came out here to view the city after signing some important treaty. (I think the treaty said, basically: Yes, the Soviet Union can do whatever the hell they want to Czechoslovakia. :-) I woulda gotten a better shot of the city view, but it was raining and I had to get back the tour bus.

Voltava_Swelled_1 1280 X 960 309 KB I found out the next day that I happened to be in Prague during the worst flooding in the last 400 years. Very dramatic and all. Here are a couple shots of the Voltava river all swelled and menacing. btw, those trees are on an island in the middle. I think usually they aren't half-submerged. :-)

Voltava_Swelled_2 1280 X 960 307 KB

Voltava_Swelled_3 1280 X 960 312 KB

Voltava_Swelled_4 1280 X 960 318 KB Too bad for the people who had these nice houses along the river. :-(

Hostel_Barricade 1280 X 960 315 KB The hostel where I had a reservation happened to be on the aforementioned island in the middle of the Voltava. The place was evacuated before I could check in. Here's the stairway down, blocked by the Police tape.

Astronomical_Clock 960 X 1280 176 KB One of the tourist sites I saw: This is an astronomical clock, and on the hour the two little doors above the clock open. I think it was Jesus leading the 12 apostles across a little procession to usher in the new hour. Pretty cool :-)

Lenin_McDonalds 1280 X 960 317 KB I thought this was kind of funny. Right next door to the Museum of Communism you have a McDonald's. There's probably some sort of historical irony there. :-)

Cambridge_Chronicle 960 X 1280 129 KB Here we have the political cartoons page for the Cambridge Chronicle, in the "People's Republic of Cambridge, MA." Uhhh, I mean this is some Communist propaganda displayed in the museum. :-) The pictures are: Upper left: A gorilla in a police uniform, with a coin for a head, is pulling the Statue of Liberty away in a cage. Upper right: the US guy is pressing a button which makes the hands of all the Western European diplomats raise their hands at once. Bottom: Uncle Sam is watering the fields out of a can that has a dollar sign on the side. The plants that are growing are guns, swords, etc.

BerlinWall_Moai 960 X 1280 194 KB Wow, they have a section of the Berlin Wall!! I actually found this to be quite moving, to be able to see this thing right up close.

BerlinWall_Poetry 960 X 1280 100 KB Some poetry graffiti'd onto the wall. It says: "Let me live my life Enjoy freedom Touch the limit Reach the stars Understand world That's what I want" Very cool stuff.

BerlinWall_Ken 1280 X 960 320 KB Ken with the Berlin Wall, or, Invasion of the Goofballs. :-)

Tanks_1 1280 X 960 315 KB OK, so in the Communist Museum I was reading about all the demonstrations, etc. that were crushed when the tanks came rolling in and killed everyone. So what did I see, the first thing when I came out? The tanks were rolling through, with all the crowds around. Turned out they were there to pile sandbags for the flooding, but a little unsettling nonetheless. :-)

Hostel_Flood 1280 X 960 315 KB Another shot of the island in the middle of the Voltava. The half-submerged building is the hostel we had booked.

Bridge_Flood 1280 X 960 318 KB This bridge is usually much higher above the water.

OperaHouse_Barricade 1280 X 960 312 KB The opera house was also right next to the river. Here are some firemen piling sandbags to try to protect it.

Tanks_2 1280 X 960 312 KB More shots of the tanks. The next day, I found out the camera has a telephoto capability. Otherwise I coulda gotten a better shot.

Edelweiss_View 1280 X 960 317 KB On to the Swiss Alps, and no more ^%$$#@! rain! :-) The first night I stayed at the Hotel Edelweiss in Kandersteg. This is the view out my window.

Alp_Scenery 960 X 1280 162 KB Starting to hike up the trail. That's a big mountain!

Alp_Scenery_2 960 X 1280 224 KB A pleasant mountain stream. It didn't come out in the picture, but there were several parasails coming down at once off the peak in the distance.

Alp_Scenery_3 960 X 1280 215 KB Looking back down on Kandersteg.

Cows_1 1280 X 960 320 KB At different parts along the trail, you have cows grazing along either side. Each cow has a different size bell, with a distinct sound. So you can get some interesting music as you pass by. Very pastoral; also can be quite ethereal if heard off in the distance. As an aside, Mahler used these bells in his Tragic symphony to very good effect.

Alp_Scenery_4 960 X 1280 115 KB Arriving at the Oeschinensee, or Lake Oeschinen. A cool mountain lake.

Berghaus_Oeschinensee 960 X 1280 142 KB The Berghaus, or 'Mountain House' along the Oeschinensee. I spent the night here. btw, this picture isn't so sharp as the others b/c I started playing with the telephoto right about now.

Berghaus_Oeschinensee_2 960 X 1280 101 KB Another shot of the Berghaus. Looking at the sheer face that forms the other side of the Oeschinensee.

Clouds_Evening 1280 X 960 271 KB I'm a sucker for clouds around sunset. These were very dramatic.

Clouds_Evening_2 1280 X 960 297 KB

AlpenGlow 1280 X 960 288 KB I tried to take a couple pictures of the Alpenglow, or the sunset glow off the mountaintop glaciers and surrouding clouds. I don't know if the striking colors came through as well as they did in person. A couple of the following pictures show a little of the deep pink color.

AlpenGlow_2 1280 X 960 296 KB

AlpenGlow_3 1280 X 960 292 KB

AlpenGlow_4 1280 X 960 285 KB

AlpenGlow_5 1280 X 960 247 KB

Moon 1280 X 960 228 KB A lovely half-moon. With foreground scenery in the next shot.

Moon_Scenery 960 X 1280 42 KB

Wood_Sculpture 480 X 640 66 KB Starting out hiking the next day. These crazy wooden sculptures were all along the first part of the trail.

Morning_Oeschinensee 1280 X 960 319 KB Morning on the Oeschinensee. A lovely day for hiking.

Oeschinensee_Trail 1280 X 960 318 KB The trail starting to rise a couple hundred feet above the lake. btw, the lake really is that nice turquoise color in person. Though I don't know what gives it that color.

Oeschinensee_Trail_2 1280 X 960 321 KB

Dont_Trip 960 X 1280 311 KB Yikes, don't trip! :-) This shot is looking straight down; that's my foot at the bottom of the picture.

Trail_Forward 1280 X 960 325 KB Looking forward on the trail. This is where I'm headed.

Waterfall_Rainbows 1280 X 960 316 KB Mountain waterfalls. There were striking rainbows with each fall, which you can see a little of in the picture.

Oeschinensee_Cliff 1280 X 960 319 KB On a cliff, now higher above the Oeschinensee. The little person and the backpack give the image some scale. You can barely make out the Berghaus at the far end of the lake, on the right side.

Trail_Forward_2 1280 X 960 322 KB Looking forward along the trail again.

Cows_2 1280 X 960 328 KB As high as there's grass along the trail, you also have the cows. Which provides some motivation for the hike: "If those friggin cows can make it up that high, then I can too, @#&%@$$&#!!!" :-)

Glacier_Sliding 1280 X 960 318 KB A glacier, in the act of sliding down between some rocks.

Blumlisalpenhutte_Forward 1280 X 960 293 KB Again looking forward on the trail. This one has the telephoto maxed out. The rectangular shape below the cloud is the Blumlisalpenhutte. That's where I'm headed.

Trail_Backward_1 1280 X 960 321 KB Looking back along the trail. The Oeschinensee has now disappeared around a mountain bend. You can see the trail along the right side of the picture.

Blumlisalpenhutte_Forward_2 1280 X 960 311 KB Looking forward again. The Blumlisalpenhutte is getting closer.

Hochturli_Pass 960 X 1280 247 KB At the Hochturli pass. You can see the sign pointing back to the Oeschinensee and Kandersteg. The forward-pointing sign is saying that the Blumlisalpenhutte is another 10 minutes' walk up.

Valley 1280 X 960 315 KB Looking back down the valley from the Blumlisalpenhutte. Again you can see the trail on the far side.

Blumlisalpenhutte_1 960 X 1280 161 KB At the Blumlisalpenhutte. The sign in this picture and the next says we're at 2840 meters altitude.

Blumlisalpenhutte_2 960 X 1280 122 KB

Paraglider 1280 X 960 271 KB This shot was actually a bust. When I was heading back down, I turned around and saw a paraglide plane swooping all around the Hochturli pass and the hut. Very striking sight. I tried to get a picture, but it got away. This picture is my missed shot, kept for sentimental reasons. :-)

More_Cool_Clouds 1280 X 960 298 KB More cool clouds, on the way back down.

Intrepid_Explorer 960 X 1280 238 KB On the way down, I stopped and chatted with a couple for a bit. They insisted on taking a picture, so here we have your intrepid explorer again. :-)

DasFunnyLongGermanWord 640 X 480 61 KB At the Zurich airport on the way home. This ad had one of those crazy long German words that they slap together out of smaller ones. The translation is: "The before, after, and in-between little cookie snack." (Errata: My Swiss contact Milan tells me this isn't a real word, but one manufactured for the ad. Probably to appeal to the expectations of non-native-German-speaking tourists. Like me. :-)

C'EST FIN! :-)