You Drink It Like That?

The reverse culture shock when visiting Canada sometimes surprises me. My brother and I went for an espresso in a small coffee shop in Almonte. My brother ordered at the counter and asked what I'd like in it. 'Nothing,' I replied, 'I take it black.' The sales clerk was taken by my answer and asked with surprise in her voice, 'You drink it like that?' She then told us that before working at the shop that she believed espresso was never taken straight, but always made to be combined with other ingredients to make drinks such as a cappuccino or latte. Absolutely not. I explained that espresso is the coffee of choice in countries such as Italy and Switzerland and that my Swiss friends scoff at the idea of filtered coffee.

The espresso wasn't bad but neither great. It was on the weak side, but to their credit she offered to make me another one. I declined; two morning coffees were enough.

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Pimp My Snowshoes

Last year I bought a pair of Atlas 825 Snowshoes after trying an older version of the shoe. I enjoy hiking with these snowshoes but I'm having frustration with the bindings. On each shoe are two rivets that fasten the binding to the frame. Last year a rivet popped off and it took the store three weeks to send the shoe back to Atlas for repair. This is very annoying since three weeks is a long time in a short snowshoeing season. Recently two more rivets popped off and so I accepted my brother's offer to drill holes and fasten the bindings with bolts. This will surely void the warrenty from Atlas, but this will save me from having to lose them again for a lengthy repair.

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Smoking Banned On All Swiss Trains

The Swiss Public Railway (SBB CFF FFS) recently banned smoking on all public trains. This is a positive development in Switzerland and hopefully more rules and laws will be passed to ban smoking in public areas.

These smoking bans are a start, but I also believe that Switzerland needs to target youth with a stronger anti-smoking campaign. Too often I see young teenagers puffing on cigarettes with a look of confusion on their face. It's not clear to me if they enjoy smoking, but they seem to like being seen with a cigarette in their hand. This false image of being "cool" is all it takes to get hooked. In my entire life I've only known one smoker who was able to quit. It's a disease where prevention is the best remedy.

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Snowshoeing!

Winter is here and I couldn't be happier. No more of this cold and wet inbetween season. Last week we had more snowfall and this got me excited about snowshoeing. Today we did a tour starting from the small village of Libingen in the Toggenburg area of St. Gallen. The trail went up a small mountain where we were rewared with hot barley soup at the Chruezegg restaurant. Delicious! We went down the mountain in half the time and had a traditional raclette dinner. The trip also gave me the chance to try out some new gear. Last week I bought a pair of North Face Chilkat winter boots. They performed flawlessly and kept my feet dry and warm. The MEC Slipstream Pants weren't as warm as I had hoped, but were fine after putting on an underlayer. A third layer might be needed in colder temperatures.

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Tracy Chapman

Friday night I saw Tracy Chapman at the Zurich Hallenstadion. I'm not a huge fan but have enjoyed her music more over the past few years. Chapman put on a great show but I was less impressed with the stadium, crew, and band. Hallenstadion is huge and no place for the music that Chapman plays. It was too loud to the point where bass notes were felt and not heard. I pulled out the earplugs for some of the solo and softer songs which made up for the those ruined by the volume. By the end of the show the entire stadium was dancing and a large group overwhelmed security and rushed the stage. What did they expect?

It was a long time goal to see a Chapman concert, but unfortuately this wasn't the show I wanted to see. Next time I hope it will be a solo and acoustic performance that doesn't require earplugs.

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"Wellness" at the Parkhotel Waldhaus

The Swiss have a weird name for a spa. They call it "wellness" as if spending time at one will make you healthier. Anyway, we decided to give it a try and found a last-minute offer from the Parkhotel Waldhaus in Flims. It's an extravagant 5-star hotel with high ceilings, fancy chandeliers, and tunnels between the buildings. The tunnels are heated and have their own ambience with paintings on the walls and classical music playing. Our room was huge and included a balcony, living room with sofa, slippers, and bathrobes. Maid service was twice a day and two huge fruit baskets graced each floor. Very neat.

The spa was relaxing and clothing was optional. We spent a short time in the outdoor pool but found it not warm enough. We were pining for the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. We also enjoyed the aroma and steam baths, the quiet room, solarium, and gym. The entire "wellness" was followed by a 5-course meal at the hotel restaurant. The service, quality, and price were tops and provided some needed relaxation. Highly recommended!