A day in Switzerland

“Arise!” states Michael Skaer boldly as my eyelids subconsciously draw themselves to a partially opened position. I stumble out of bed and attempt to insert my limbs through the corresponding openings of my Wal*Mart sales rack clothing. I make my way through the clouded and blurred, dim lit hallway to the cafeteria that is flooded with joyful laughter and the smell of fresh muffins. Immediately following my traditional Switz breakfast of muffins and basic-brand Captain Crunch I leave in an old school white Euro van with many others alongside me; our destination: Switzerland.

As we pull out of the driveway I tilt my head up towards the hill side and am temporally blinded by the overwhelming beams of light blasting through the clouds from both sides of the hillside; peaking around the snow capped mountains in the far out distance; a mentally paralyzing view to say the least.

I sit and chat and mess around at the meeting place “Palmgarten” where our original departure time was 8:30 and had been change to better accommodate those who are unable to correctly operate a $2 alarm clock. So, after a half-hour wait we make our way to the luxurious fifty-passenger bus and head out on our day excursion.

After about and hour and a half drive in this pampered air conditioned beauty we step out into a majestic like city lined with hillsides and a large castle; springing up from the city center. Thun is the name of the city and the majority of the buildings I encountered dated back to the 1500’s.
After venturing alone (I always roll solo) through the crowded market street and heading through some shop-lined alleyways I found myself staring at the base of the Thun Castle. I trekked up the stairs: this was nearly a day job. I found my way through the various tunnels and to the entry gate; where I paid the unreasonably high yet typical European price and began my venture. As I surveyed the architectural masterpiece I imagined myself in full knights armor and fantasized about being Sir Lancelot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: just mowing people down with a sweet sword. Yeah, it sounds nearly psychotic; but it was really all in good fun.

After twenty or so pics with my technologically advanced, state of the art, waterproof disposable camera I proceeded down the twisted concrete stairway and found myself back smack down in the heart of the city.

I soon began feeling symptoms of a headache coming on so I succumbed to the healing power of a twenty-four ounce white latte. The coffee was five franks (about 4 euros) and the vanilla pastry was around 3 Franks (about 2 euros) so I figured I better enjoy my 6-euro purchase while it lasted. I then frolicked about the water’s edge of a beautiful crystal clear river that divides the city; just singing random eighties show tunes and often quoting movies in a raspy near silent voice so I wouldn’t be discovered by the obviously annoyed Swiss gentlemen walking alongside me.

I then found my way to the Golden Arch’s of Thun: McDonalds. I spent approximately fifteen minutes there just starring at the Swiss menu before I wondered off after realizing a Big Mac meal was like 10 Franks. After leaving McDonalds I found my way back to the tour bus so we could depart for our next adventure.

Trummelbach was our next location: the most enormous in-mountain waterfalls in all of Europe. The thirty-minute excursion through beautifully painted landscapes of green plush fields and sky-high tree flooded mountains we were at Trummelbach.

In this particular place the mountains are seemingly surrounding you from all sides; sort of a prison of God’s majestic creativity. We proceeded into the main attraction: a massive indoor waterfall. It is a few thousand feet of various waterfalls crashing on both sides. I walked through dimly lit wet rock carved hallways from waterfall to waterfall; all the while feeling the mist of the next gigantic water cannon I was going to see. Tourist with the clicking of cameras and the typical “ooh’s” and “aw’s” accompanies the clear and powerfully beautiful displayed waterall. I wasn’t sure whether I should be humbled or terrified; so I just did both. I spent an hour or so just reciting various scripture verses concerning God and water; it seemed to comfort me a bit to know that not a single drop falls without his sovereign knowledge and permission.

On the walk down I received a new epiphany concerning perspective. When we are submerged in the beauty of God our vision of everything else is filtered through those lenses. I need to have a more godly perspective on life so I can be better prepared to give God the benefit of the doubt when life seems to be seemingly in shambles.

The absolutely irritating and head-pain two and a half hour ride home made myself and everyone else on the bus a bit antsy and frustrated. I always figured a traffic jam in beautiful Switzerland would be a good thing; giving us tourist more opportunities to snap photos and such forth. Apparently its only beautiful if your driving through in an air-conditioned bus; weird huh? After about a half and hour of waiting into the two and a half I began imagining that the bus was forever broke down, and I would have to survive on my own in the Swiss wilderness. I imagined myself living in the mountain regions for a few years; particularly carving an alp horn with my Swiss army knife and being signed on to do a commercial for Ricola or something awesome like that. “Ricola!”

Well I ended my afternoon by eating a five-euro schnitzel and pounding down a few orange cola’s along side my friends at some sweet lodge style restaurant in the hills near our house.
On the drive coming back to our old school Deutsch mansion I realized how much this house is like a Christian version of MTV’s “Real World.”

Random Thought of the day: Are sheep actually talking or just randomly grunting; if its talking I am curious if they talk about soccer or girl sheep; or if its grunting...well...I would just be baffled I think?

Yeah that’s it. In the unlikely case that you’ve read the entire thing; thanks and I hope your eyes aren’t bleeding from the boring randomness that comes periodically with my writings.