Traveling Baker

So here we are in Luzern, Switzerland, probably the most scenic city in the country, according to the guidebook, and it has been raining for two days, hiding the surrounding beautiful Alps mountains behind a thick curtain of mist. At least we have umbrellas so that we can walk around the city, taking in the architecture along the cobblestone streets. But, let’s face it, you don’t come here for the architecture, which is, well, kind of boring. You come to see the mountains. So it has been a bit of a disappointment, this Switzerland. And it has been expensive. I still cannot believe I paid 4 francs, about 3 U.S. dollars, for a cup of hot chocolate that turned out to be Ovaltine.

This morning we set sail in the rental car for France. We will stay tonight in a town somewhere along the road to Paris, then the next day we will hit the City of Lights and finish out our trip there, eating baguettes, sipping wine and feeling superior. Or something.

There is some catching up to be done regarding the past few days. So, for your reading pleasure, here are the highlights, hand-picked for their exciting content:

• In the Czech Republic, Sarah had the pleasure of driving an extremely green, Communist-era car that handled like a disoriented old mule. It got us where we were going, though, which was Ceske Krumlov, which I have heretoforth declared The Most Beautiful City in Europe. As we made the trip back to the village of Kaplice, we witnessed the clearest, most stunning rainbow I have ever seen.
• I held my own in a game of foosball with Petra and her friends. They had no idea what “foosball” was, though, calling it “football” instead. “Foodball?” they asked, puzzled.
• My birthday was spent roaming Prague, where we saw St. Nick’s, heretoforth declared by me to be The Most Beautiful Church in Europe, as well as a sprawling castle and the grand old Charles Bridge. We ate something called spatzle, which reminded me of gnocchi, and discovered that Prague is a much more pleasant place at night.
• The coffee sucks in Czech Republic. And here’s another thing that bothers me about Europe: the water, which, unless you specify “no bubbles,” will likely arrive carbonated.
• We spent WAY too much time making jokes about the highway exit signs in Germany, which read, “Ausfahrt.” You can imagine the jokes didn’t end when we spied another sign, “Ausgang.” Yvonne, our host in Germany, probably thinks we are insane.
• Finally, here is the part about a most pleasant interrogation by the German police. Well, you see, I was rolling down the autobahn at a comfortable speed, when signs appeared warning me to slow down. However I was busy showing Sarah how to properly work the stereo. So I missed those speed signs as well as a sign warning of “radar controll.” So I was going 109 kilometers per hour in a 60 kph zone when a bright light flashed on the side of the road. “What the heck was that?” I said aloud, turning to see a van by the side of the road. I slowed down and wound around a curve, where a group of police officers appeared and herded me to the side of the road. I stopped the car and turned off the ignition. An officer approached. “Vere are your paperz?” he said, and images of an S.S. officer crossed my mind. Turns out that going 109 in a 60 kph zone was excessive (in other words, I was pushing about 70mph in a 35mph zone), and so I was fined 120 euro, about 150 U.S. dollars. We pretty much paid the fine and went on our way, but the paperwork took some time, so we stood around and chatted with the officers, who turned out to be extremely friendly. One of them even proudly told us which beer brands are the best in Germany. I tell you, the Germans had this whole operation efficiently organized, and it was actually quite a pleasure being fined for speeding.
• We zoomed through the teeeeeny country of Liechtenstein, which is about 15 miles wide. Didn’t take us long, but it was beautiful, with a big bank of mountains on one side. We had dinner in the capital town of Vaduz, where our sweet waitress reminisced with us about being in New York in 1969, where she even went to Woodstock. “Those were different times back then,” she said, smiling.
• We stayed our first night in Luzern, Switzerland, with Johanna, a very sweet, very cute girl with not much room to spare but a huge heart. She is another find at www.hospitalityclub.org, a great resource for travelers who want to meet up all over the world. I had fun talking to Johanna about her life. She’s from Austria and here in Switzerland for school. The next day Johanna showed us around town, taking us up to the old city wall, where we persuaded her to climb up to the tower despite her fear of heights.

Johanna