Pictures (and a few hundred words) from the Last Day in Switzerland

8/1/2017

Next day we meet up with Maya's sister for an afternoon walk in the forest of Charte de Boudry, an hour drive from Yverdon which could've been shorter if Daniel hadn't been kind enough to let me have the experience on the infamous Autobahn. I thought I'd gotten my groove back driving a stick shift in Iceland. THINK AGAIN. Matter of fact, KEEP THINKING. Don't just do things, THINK before you do it. THINK HARD. Especially when driving.

All the beautiful things I saw; like the flowers and the streams and the butterflies and the canyons but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but the KIDS - these two adorable creatures that came along with us. One is a talkative rascal that never lets my lens catch him without a smile and a pose. Another is a shy pixie that never leaves her moms side, but did not whimp out on this pretty lengthy walk that worked my ass to sore. I love the sound of French language, especially spoken by children as I mentioned in my earlier post from Paris where I spotted a few Asian kids chatting with each other in French, but that probably is just that I don't understand what they're saying. Once I find out they're throwing fits and being unreasonable - nah they'd still be adorable. They win. Especially the boy, the future-model who was at one point trying to tell me about the video games he plays through Maya as a translator, kept melting my iron-frozen heart every time he goes "YEAH" in American accent. I completely lost my shit when, at the end of our hike, we got to the sign that read "STOP! Cafe du Pont" even the shy princess started yelling "STOP! Cafe du Pont!" which led all of us to scream "STOP! Cafe du Pont!" and the best part of it is that once you start you cant "STOP! Cafe du Pont!" then chuckle like back when you used to goof around yelling something like "STOP! Cafe du Pont!"

Maybe its that my stay was too short. Out of all the places I visited on this trip, I had the least amount of stress in Swizterland. I'd like to think that I have grown tougher, but in truth it was Maya, Daniel, Laura and all the people that I got to meet and guided me through. Especially my Circlesong friend; after 5 years of almost no contact she gives me this gift of knowledge, hospitality and, above all, sincerity. The last night here and the morning that I got on the train back to Germany, we discussed some tough topics that, at the points in our respective lives, are unavoidable. In reality we had barely talked, since during those 6 days in Circlesongs we were just two among a few hundreds trying to take in as much of Bobby McFerrin brilliance while avoiding some awkward new-age beliefs and finding comfort in each other's company. Five years later, neither of us was not as playful and goofy as we were then, but that comfort was still there. Once in a while, very rarely for me, you find someone like that.

Once last view;

As the train heads towards Biel, thinking about the people and the places I just left, I caught a tiny glimpse of the Alps with a man in a lone boat floating on Bielersee. Kind of reminiscent of the infamous Fredo on Lake Tahoe shot from The Godfather II, but not sinister with the same feeling of serenity which I couldn't help but associate with the twilight of a mans life. To be perfectly honest, I saw myself. I have told people when I die, I wish to be cremated then my ash be thrown into the air from Keys View in Joshua Tree, with Bohemian Rhapsody in its entirety blasting from the portable PA, hopefully attendees laughing, singing along and head banging. I realize that it is illegal, so now my wish is my body to be left on a boat floating on whatever lake I will find myself close by at that point, ideally with a view of mountains nearby, with Bohemian Rhapsody in its entirety blasting from the portable PA, hopefully attendees laughing, singing along and headbanging.