Italy Part 2 - Florence Baby

Our drive from Parma to Florence was exciting. First off, Sarah Beth and I partied next to each other on the bus. Secondly, we visited Ducati. Ducati was sweet. The process was interesting because there were more people than machines. Since the plant only produces 35,000 bikes a year they spend more time on the bikes, ensuring that each bike is perfect. After each process of the bike, someone has to sign off on the bike. There are several tests that the bike goes through before it is sold or shipped. I enjoyed Ducati more than BMW because we were able to tour the factory and see the process. Also, we were given a voucher to there store. Ha! What a joke. If you cannot buy the bike, you cannot afford their clothing. However, each of us tried on a leather jacket and jumped on a motorcycle. We enjoyed doing that, but it would be nice to actually one of those jackets.

I cannot tell you how much I love Florence. Even though it rained a ton while we were there, I enjoyed it that much more than if it were dry. My dad would have been tired of the rain, but I simply enjoyed it. At certain points in the day my clothes were soaking wet that it did not matter if I decided to walk in a puddle. Ha! To add to the rain, the humidity was bad. Ha!

We arrived to our hotel in Florence around four o’clock. The hotel was actually a convent. There were a couple of did walking around the place, but other than that it felt like a hotel. The hotel reminded me of the hotel in Venice that I stayed at years ago, but this one was a little bit scarier. The showers were separate from the rooms, so we had to walk down the hall to these creepy bathrooms that reminded me of the movie psycho. I did not make this judgment about the hotel until later that night. When we arrived at the hotel, we dropped off our luggage quickly in order to see the city. Of course I was the tour guide because of my previous experience. Our whole entire group met in the lobby, but not everyone came with my group. Some of the people in my group wanted to keep the group small, so we left and accepted everyone who followed. The group consisted of Bristal, Adam, Sarah, Suz, Janelle, Christina, Shardae, Ashlyn, Michelle, Butters, Heather, and I. Hopefully, I did not forget anyone. Ha!

Our first stop was Pitti Palace. However, when we arrived we learned that the gardens were closed and would not open until the 9^th. We did not buy tickets into the place because I told everyone that the gardens were the best part of the palace. We moved onto our second goal, which was the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. Luckily, the city is close together because it only took about five minutes to walk to the bridge from the palace. The bridge was as I remembered; however, it was a lot smaller than I thought it was. The shops lining the bridge looked smaller, but the view from the center of the bridge on both sides was everything that I remembered. I took a similar picture on the bridge that I took four years ago with my family. Walking the bridge reminded me of walking with my family. Everything about Florence reminded of my family. When we arrived in Florence, we went around a roundabout that was very familiar. Four years ago, we were lost at this very roundabout trying to find our hotel. I remember calling Juliann and asking her for directions. Ha!

The bridge was a fun experience with everyone, but I kept pushing everyone onwards so that we could make it to the Duomo. Our next stop though was at Della Signoria plaza, which is where the fact David is as well as the famous clock tower and entrance to the Ufizzi gallery. We walked around there for about twenty minutes before we walked over the Duomo. By this point the rain was coming down even harder. We arrived at the Duomo and learned that we could make the last trip to the top of the Duomo. We quickly bought our tickets and began scaling the dome. The spiral stairs will not be missed in States when I arrive home. However, I will miss the view from the top of sites like the Duomo. The view was incredible.  The rain though was so strong. It was hard to take pictures because everything was getting wet. By the end of the Duomo, we were all drenched, but we enjoyed the experience. I took some good pictures, so I was fine with the water.

Once we descended the dome, we regrouped outside the baptistery. Our next plan was to find food. Food would not be hard to find, but finding a place that offered good food for a reasonable price is hard around the touristy parts. I took the group to the location of my hotel four years. On our way there we found Gelato shop that was pretty good. I always enjoy Stracciatella, so it is not that hard to disappoint me. I asked one of the employees about a good pizzeria and she pointed down the street and told me it was a three-minute walk. The restaurant she told us to go to was the place that we had dinner at. The food was good. I of course ordered my Margarita pizza. I have ordered it every meal since I have arrived in Italy. Ha! My dad probably would harass me and tell me to order something else, but I love it so much. It is simple and the cheapest item on the menu. Ha! Following our meal, we headed back to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. We stopped at the bridge before the Ponte, so that we could take pictures of the Ponte Vecchio. We stumbled upon Michael, Jon, Cortney, Luke, Brittney, Hannah, Kelli, and Harsh. I would guess that we were on that bridge for a good thirty minutes and we took over a hundred photos. We all had fun on that bridge. What made the bridge sweet was the fact that you could climb over the bridge and walk on the pillars supporting the bridge.

After the picture taking was over, we walked across the Ponte and took more pictures. However, my goal was to find the wall that looked out over the city. What I though was the wall ended up not being the wall. We went on an hour walk that did not earn us anything but a workout. We climbed up a hill that took forever. Ha!

Day 2 Florence

Can I repeat again that I love Florence. It is by far one of the cities I would visit again in a heartbeat. Not only is Florence is sweet, but it is the central to Pisa, Siena, and San Gimignano. For most of the group, our morning started early. Sarah, Christina, Bristal, Shardae, and I went to the Lorenzo market at nine am. Christina, Bristal, and Shardae wanted to purchase most of their items, so that they could go to Pisa later that day. Sarah and I were just there so that we could get a head start on our shopping. We only shopped for an hour because we were going to meet everyone else outside the Academia at ten. Sarah, Bristal, and I each bought eight ties, which was great. I love ties, but I knew I would buy more before the day was over. Ha! My dad would tell to buy something else that ties. Ha!

Sarah, Bristal, and I met up with group around ten where we waited in line for about an hour at the Academia before we realized that we were never going to make inside the gallery. We ended up making reservations, so that we could go to the Ufizzi gallery with the rest of our group. Before we met up with the rest of the group, Sarah and I went ring shopping on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. Actually, she went ring shopping and I was there to help her pick something out, but we did not find anything that was cheaper than 200 Euro, so it was not worth it. After a while of looking, we joined the rest our group outside the Ufizzi. The Ufizzi was not that exciting. We were in and out within 45 minutes. Ha! If there was more art that showed landscapes, I would have stayed, but it was not wroth. The David was though. After the Ufizzi, we had our reservation at the Academia, so we had another gallery to enjoy. However, the David was all you need to see. The David is amazing. I forgot how big it was. The details are amazing. Michangelo took on the challenge of sculpting out of the most fragile marble of the time. The marble that the David was sculpted out of arrived to Florence twenty years before Michangelo was even born. The David is one of my favorite works on this trip. I am biased though because it reminds me of my mom and the inside joke that we had when we were here last.

Following the David, our group split into two: those that were going to Pisa and those who decided not to go. I was in the group that decided not to go because I have already been there. Sarah, Ashlyn, Michael, Heather, Suz, Janelle, and I shopped around for another hour. I bought some presents for people and then four more ties. Ha! I would have bought more ties if I did not think about what my dad would say when I told him I bought 12 ties. Ha! After we were done shopping, it began to pour. We walked over to another market to learn that it was closed because there was something else occurring in the square. Walking back to the hotel, we had a series of misfortunate events that were amazing. I have always wanted some of these events to occur. It was pouring rain and my clothes were drenched, so I decided to walk through puddles and get even more wet. Second, while we were walking the puddles in the road were deep and long and I knew that a car was going to splash us. The first two cars dodged the puddles, but the next three cars nailed the puddles. Ha! It was hilarious watching everyone scream. Ha! That experience was well worth staying in Florence.

We dropped out bags off at the hotel and went back into the city. By this point it had stopped raining. We grabbed dinner in Della Signoria. I bought gelato at the place where you could put it on a waffle. It was delicious. We walked to Ponte where we had planned to meet the rest of the group, but we did not see anyone. Forgetting the rest of the group, we walked to the wall that I had wanted to climb the previous night. The view from the wall was amazing. It was actually a plaza. At the plaza there was another David. We stayed here an hour because we wanted to watch the sunset as well as watch the city light up. I love Florence. The view was a great way to end my experience in this city. Sadly, I will be leaving tomorrow morning. I hope to visit Florence again.

Italy Part 1

Italy is by far my favorite country in the world. Even though I have been here before, I have loved every minute.  The rustic look of the buildings along with the colors make the country absolutely beautiful.  Our next stop after Austria was Padova, Italy. It was a one-night deal, so that we could break up the drive to Parma. However, there was nothing in Padova. Ha! Ironically, all of us at different times made our way to pizza place down the street just because it was the only food for kilometers. After fouling around with the Internet and updating everything, Rogelio, Adam, and I walked around Padova. We did not walk far, but we made it to old town before we turned around. It was a fun walk because it was fun to see what the area was like. The sad part about it was we walked by eight prostitutes. They would look at us, but we would just walk by. Ha! We had a fun time joking about it. Ha!

Sunday was by far the most interesting day. We woke later that day, so that we could travel to church. It was the first time we were exposed to a ward that did not offer English. However, it was a feeling that I have never felt in a ward. Adam expressed to me that he finally understood how President Monson could tell people that he loved everyone individually. Adam felt that each person in that room was expressing love towards us. I have to agree that I felt that same way. Besides feeling loved, I especially loved listening to the sacrament prayers. Even though they were in Italian, I whispered them in English to myself. The church is the same no matter where you go in life. I love knowing that fact. This gospel is an amazing gift that I have been given and I am grateful for it. Another side note: I was thinking of bearing my testimony, but I never felt inspired to do so, but I felt like Adam should do so. Ironically, he did. I flipped through the Inni (hymns) and found a poor wayfaring man of grief, I know that my redeemer lives, families can be together forever, and hymn 172. I was going to give my testimony in Italian. I laid it out so I could, but I never did. I will say though, El so che vive il redentor.

After church, we loaded the bus and headed to Parma. We arrived in Parma with nothing to do expect stay in the hotel. We were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Technically, we were not in the middle of nowhere, but we were four kilometers away from the old town. The hotel did not offer much expect for the slowest wifi. Ha! I was able to Skype with my family, so there is no reason to complain. I miss my family. I feel like I have missed out on a lot since I have been in Europe, but that is okay because I will be home soon. The only thing I wish I could have attended Jenessa’s graduation. I had planned on going to it after my mission, but plans were changed. That night was filled with talking with friends and playing games. I learned a new game called Scum, which is much like the card playing of Tripoli, so it was not that hard to learn. I cannot wait to introduce it to my family. Ha! I usually hate card games, but this is one that I actually enjoy. Ha! Plus my family already knows how to play it, so it would be fun.

Monday was amazing! Our business visit was with Barilla. They are largest pasta producer in the world.  Their story is very interesting. I have it written in my other journal, but I will post it later. Parma is a very interesting city. The city is known for ham and producing the most ham in the world. We spent the whole day with a man from Barilla. We toured a cheese plant, which was nasty. I love cheese, but I am not good with smells. I felt so sick. Luckily Bristal felt that same way. Also, when we went to the ham house, Bristal and I felt sick again. We felt better after leaving both places, but we could still smell both when we went through other activities that day. Interesting facts about the cheese and ham places: the cheese plant cellar is worth 3.5 million Euros with all the cheese; also, the ham house produces 150,000 legs that are worth 150 Euros per leg. These places make bank.

We finally arrived at Barilla to learn that I could not take pictures of the plant. The plant employees 15,000 people. We walked onto the campus and went into their cafeteria for lunch. We had our own private room where we were served a four-course meal. It was amazing. I love this country. This business easily became my favorite. If I get feed, I will love whoever provided the food. Ha! The gelato was the best part of the meal because it was an orange cream. Also in the gelato bowl was fruit. It was so delicious. Ha! A new fact about myself since I arrived in Italy: I have been drinking mineral water in order to have more water available while everyone drinks the natural water. I love mineral water. Ha! Yesterday alone, I drank about three liters of mineral water. Ha! The tour of the Barilla plant was sweet. The machinery was unbelievable. I could not believe how large these machines were. How does someone create this? The pasta was that was being produced was very good as well. Italy cooks it pasta a couple minutes shorter than the US. The US tends to eat overcooked pasta, which is bad for the stomach. If the pasta is a little bit undercooked, it is easier to digest and it makes you more full, so you do not eat as much.

Following Barilla, we went over to Academia Barilla, which is known for promoting better food around the world. It is also known for its culinary experience. Juliann would love this because they offer from one to two weeks of classes. I wrote more about the Academia in my journal, but the place is amazing. There is a gastronomy library that has meals and courses from the 1500’s. There are over three million recipes in the library. The library has meals that were catered to for royalty and it listed the different songs that would go along with the courses. It was amazing. There was also a book from 1516 that I was able to touch. I believe that is one of the oldest books that I have touched. It was in Latin, so I did not have the chance to read it, but I wanted to. Ha!

The night was much like the previous night because there is little to do. Like the previous night, we had dinner again at the hotel. It was three-course meal that was delicious. Following dinner, we had FHE, which consisted of a name game. It took forever because of the number of people and the random names. It ended in a stalemate because everyone forgot the last two names. It was fun to play, but there were better games to play that would have not taken forever. Ha! The rest of the evening, I talked with Adam, Sarah, and Bristal. Adam and I played pranks on people that would have been funny if we had actually followed through with them. We set an alarm on Sarah’s and Kandace’s televisions, but once we learned what time they were actually going to wake up, we felt bad and changed the alarm, so that they would not get up two hours early. Ha! Besides those pranks we played with their circuit breakers. Ha! Also, we doorbell ditched. We acted like ten-year-olds, but we did not mind because it was so much fun. We are planning on doing it again because we have two more hotels. The idea that we have two more hotels is scary because I never want this trip to end. I love everyone I am with along with the areas I am visiting. The end of this trip also means not seeing Sarah Pitts again for months. Ha! I guess that is life. I just have to move on a make the best of home when I finally arrive home. I am excited to hang out with Jaclyn, Jenessa, Cameron when he comes home, mom, and dad. Party at the Hutchins home. All we need is the Munson family at it would be the best party ever.

Germany Pics

Neuschwanstein castle

Neuschwanstein castle

Sarah Beth and I

BMW museum

How true is this statement?

Largest Pub in the world. Oktoberfest is found here every year!

This bell tower reminded me of its a small world after all.

The Sound of what? Music!!

The drive from Germany to Austria was nice.  On the way we had two stops. We stopped first off at Salzburg. The sole purpose of stopping was to allow mainly the female population to see where the sound of music was filmed. I did not care as much, but the shopping and the area were gorgeous. I enjoyed walking around and taking photos, so I was happy that was stopped even though it was for another purpose.  While we were in Salzburg, we were in charge of finding lunch for ourselves, but Ashlyn, Kelli, and I just walked around and found interesting landmarks. By far the tunnel that we had driven through to get to Salzburg was the best. The tunnel looked as if it was taken from Lord of the Rings. Ha! Random reference, but I enjoyed it. 

From Salzburg we stopped at Mauthausen Concentration Camp. I enjoyed the tour, but it was hard to believe that something like the Holocaust actually happened. It was a sad experience and an eye opener that there have, there are, and there will always be people in a worse spot than you are. The various stories and accounts of the thousands of prisoners were depressing. At the same time, the concentration camp looked staged, which is terrible to say, but many of the buildings were under construction and it was hard to picture that something of that magnitude occurred here. There were dozens of memorials near the entrance, but the memorial that touched me most was near the rock quarry. At Mauthausen, the prisoners were sent into this rock quarry and were charged with carrying stones up this step hillside. If you stumbled backward, you were a dead along with everyone else behind you. I enjoyed my experience here and I hope to never forget it.

We arrived in Vienna around nine pm and noticed there was little to do. Besides the fact that half the group was tired, I wanted to explore. I gathered a couple of people to join me on my exploration of Vienna. We did not make it far before Kelli wanted to head back. She and Butters ended up walking a longer way home than Sarah, Michelle, Adam, Rogelio, and I. Sarah and I were trying to find the Schonbrunn Palace. The palace is actually the royal families summer home. The actually palace is in the heart of Vienna. Before we decided to call it, we asked someone how far we were from the palace. They told us that we were 45 minutes away. However, he was talking about the city palace. In all honesty, we were on top of the summer palace. We were block behind it. I did not figure this out until the next morning when we walked to the palace.

Wednesday was a free day, but it was a different free day because it was also a holiday in Vienna and across Europe. Ascension day stands for the forty days after Christ resurrection. I have never thought about celebrating this, but I was today. A large group followed me to the Schonbrunn where we walked around the palace grounds as well as the gardens. The gardens were amazing. A lot more color than Versailles. When we walked over to the main courtyard of the gardens, we noticed a huge stage, which was later used by the Vienna Phil Harmonics orchestra in honor of the celebration. Around one, we all met up and walked over to the subway station where we caught the U4 to the Opera house. We took a tour of the Opera house once we got there and were very impressed. As the tour came to a close, a group decision was made concerning the Opera performance later on in the evening. The decision was that we would all go; however, we had to figure out the ticket issue. We decide to quickly go home and change into appropriate clothing before we dealt with the ticket issue. We arrived back at the Opera house around five. Part of the group went to the standing line while the other half of the group bought box tickets.  I went with the standing seating because I personally do not like the Opera, but I wanted the experience. Standing was deadly because of the all the people that surrounded me. It was like a human sauna. The Opera was in Italian and was surprisingly very good. However, I do not think I will ever attend another Opera. Ha! The experience is what I paid for. Ha!

All those that had been in the standing section left halfway through the performance while the other group stayed twenty minutes more. I left the standing group and waited for the others because I wanted to hand out with Sarah Pitts. Ha! The other group left and I was finally alone. I walked around the Opera house and explored the city a little bit more. I love walking around a city that I do not know anything about. When I am alone, I feel like a local and I learn more about the culture. The culture is mainly learned through people watching. Ha! I walked back to the Opera house after 25 minutes to find the other group walking down the stairs. We gathered together and made our way to the station to catch the next train to the concert. We were not the only ones with this idea because our subway car was full of people.

We finally arrived at the palace and witnessed a scene that I had never before seen. The park that early that day was filled with a couple thousand people was now packed with around a hundred thousand people. It was amazing! The music was beautiful and the atmosphere made the experience that much better. We walked up the hill to this other building, which overlooked the palace. While we were walking around, we noticed that there were dancers performing. We stopped and watched for a bit before we made our way back to the hillside to watch the performance and the crow around us.  I have no words to describe how I felt, but hopefully my pictures can explain how I felt. While Adam and I were sitting we thought how we should only come back to Europe when there is a holiday because Europe knows how to through a party. Ha! Sarah Pitts tried to explain that Oklahoma putts on a fourth of July show like this, but we discounted here comment because nothing like this could ever happen in Oklahoma. Sarah Pitts did not take this well, so I had to apologize a couple of times.

When we finally arrived home, I looked at my bed and thought about the sleep was going to receive in that bed. Ha! By the way, the beds in Vienna were by far the most comfortable we have had.  P.S. I talked with my family tonight, which I enjoyed because I was able to talk with my brother before we headed off to camp.

I woke up the next morning wishing that I did not have to get up, but I had to. We had another business visit, but it was okay because the visit was with Broadmann pianos. The visit was amazing. They manufacture the best sound systems in the world. We listened various genres on those speakers. Though they were expensive, I would buy one. I have never heard quality sound like that. The pianos were a site as well. In one of the rooms, we were able to sit down, but I did not have a chair. I was given the opportunity to sit on a piano bench. The piano bench was spectacular. The piano was even more impressive because it is made out of granite. The process for the piano is tedious because the granite has to be cut into 1 cm slices. Besides this piano, we were able to play on their nine-foot concert piano, which had an amazing sound. I wish I could have played longer, but I just touched a key. While Jon played the piano, we sang the luckiest together. It was unrehearsed, but it was good.

After the visit, we were given about two hours to wonder around the downtown area. The only place worth visiting was Techy’s ice cream. It was by far the greatest ice cream I have ever tasted. I even went back for seconds. To describe the ice cream is hard to describe, but it was delicious to the taste.

Following these two hours, we were on the road again. This time we were heading to the UN. The UN was an interesting experience, but I could have done without it. I did not learn anything that I did not already know. We received a tour of the UN, so we did not have the time to ask question about certain policies, etc. When we finally arrived at the hotel, we were exhausted. We gave everyone until six to do whatever they wanted. Butters and I decided to spend our time getting a haircut. We went to this barbershop three blocks away. The lady gave me one of the best haircuts I have had in awhile.

At six a group of us toured St. Stephen’s Cathedral, but we went at the wrong time. There was a church service going on, so we were confined to a small space. We left the Cathedral and walked around the city for a bit before we decided to find food. We all stopped in Stephansplatz where we found a restaurant the served Weiner Schneil. It was pretty good, but I rather have chicken fried steak at Texas Road house any day. Ha!

I would continue writing or editing my entries, but everyone knows I never edit. Ha! Also, the bus is making me sleepy, so I am going to finish writing. My Friday night ended early because I had a headache. Ha! Well I am done with speaking, enjoy your day.

Deutschland

Monday was a sad! We were finally leaving the wonderful land of Wengen. However, I was ready for my vacation from the vacation to end. I have wanted to visit Germany for a long time, so I was ready to go. We meet at 7:45 am and took the train down to Lauterbrunnen where we loaded the bus. The drive to Newnschaenstein Castle was a long one. We traveled for hours before we made it there. We only arrived a couple hours after our estimated time of arrival.  The castle was amazing. From the outside it looks like a masterpiece; however, the interior is not respectful to the exterior. With only 1/3 of the planned rooms actually finished, it is hard to have a beautiful inside. King Ludwig cheated though with some of the jewels in the castle. Most if not all were blown glass. Ha!

Following the castle, we continued our trek to Munich. We arrived in Munich at nine pm, which was several hours after our estimated time of arrival. Along with the time and our current location, we did not travel into the city. In stead, we all converged on the lobby where we could access free Internet. Though the Internet was slow, it was Internet. Ha! I was finally able to update my blog, so that my mother could learn of my recent adventures. Ha!

Tuesday began with BMW! BMW provided a better Q&A session than our previous visits. We also received a tour of the history of BMW, which was all right. I do not care that much about cars, but it was interesting to learn about the different ideas that came about to manufacture the cars we have today. During the Q&A I learned that everything in life is about the experience. One example was an iphone. We do not buy the iphone because of the name, but we buy it for the experience that we have with it. We learn how to use it and it becomes an experience much like driving a car. My experience with cars is driving with the windows rolled down and the music on the highest volume. A great example is the mini cooper. People know it is not the best car, but people love it. They will continue buying it because BMW has kept this experience alive through its marketing and brand management.

Following BMW, we headed to Olympic Park where the 1966 Olympics were held. We bought lunch and walked around the park for an hour before we had to load the bus. After all of us boarded, we headed to KMPG. KMPG was by far the most uneducated visit yet. I felt like I could answer each question that my group was asking. There responses were not that informative and it felt like they were trying to sell me the whole time they opened their mouths. This meeting added another negative to the accounting program. Ha! So far there are more negatives to the accounting program and there are positives. I still have not heard back from the Accounting school, but I may move to finance and minor econ. I will focus on all of that when I arrive home. I should not be thinking about my life until I finished this dream I am in.

When we were finally done, it was nearing five. The clouds began release the water it was holding, so our evenings began to look bleak.  Even though it was raining, we all made it to the city center. I love Germany. I wish I was able to spend more time in this country, but I only had six hours. The whole group made our way to Hofbrauhaus, which is the largest pub in the world. It was a fun experience until we all decided to eat there. We were seated, but our waiter wanted to sell us beer. He kept arguing with us about the beer choices. After a while, I just wanted to leave, so I recruited a couple of people and we left. Following my group, several others trickled out of the pub. I ended up eating dinner at restaurant across the street. The food was all right, but I had to try food from Germany. To top off our night in Germany, we all bought Gelato. It was delicious. I could tell we were getting closer to Italy because I could recognize a couple of names. However, the taste was a little different that of Italy.  As the rain continued to come down harder and harder, we decided to head home. We arrived back at the hotel to only learn that the Internet was not working properly. My night ended early because of this news, so I was able to finally receive eight hours of sleep. Ha! Though it was not the best, I can say that I finally slept longer than six hours.

The Swiss Pics

Adam and I decided to depict the painting on the sidewalk in Lausanne, Switzerland.

 On the tour at Grueye Cheese Factory, we were able to see the aging process. ha! We did not see anything occurring because the cheese is their for about ten to fifteen months.

 Cailler chocolate is among the best chocolate in the world. It is by far my favorite chocolate in Europe.

 The valley of Lauterbrunnen!

 Our hotel in Wengen!

Though this is not the day we climbed, this was the mountain. You can see the top from the above picture of our hotel.

 The group that conquered the mountain.

 This is how beautiful it was towards the top. Almost looks like a painting. The valley reminded me of Yosemite except a little more green.

 Our group split up into two. I was in the leading group.

 The day after the long hike, I decided to go on another hike towards the valley. I hiked down this simple road to Lauterbrunnen.

 On my way down the mountain, I cam across this little path that lead to a barn.

 The valley floor.

 This is one of the waterfalls that I hiked to. The waterfalls were more like mist, but they were beautiful.

 Another view of the valley floor.

Heaven on Earth

The past couple of days can be categorized as a vacation from the vacation. The 26^th of May was considered the longest drive of our lives. We left Paris around nine am and did not arrive t our destination until eight am. We were in a town called Multin (sorry for the misspelling because I was not paying attention to were we actually ended up).  This town was about twenty minutes outside of Bern, Switzerland. Some of us walked through the old town to only find discouragement. The town was pretty, but the food was around 40 franks a plate. Adam, Butters, Sarah, Ashlyn, and I walked down to the waterfront to see if we could find food, but we only found hotel restaurants that charged too much for a simple entrée. After twenty minutes, we walked back to our hotel and found a restaurant that served pizza and hamburgers. After eating, we headed back to the hotel and partied. Ha! The party consisted of everyone waiting in line for the single computer that had the Internet. We also ate all the candies that near the receptionist desk. Ha!

The next morning, we were back on the road. I can speak for all of us when I say that we were all ready to leave the hotel. The hotel had flies everywhere as well as bugs that would crawl through window when it was open. Because the window could not be open, we were suffering. It was boiling in our rooms. The drive to Wengen was not bad. We made two stops on the way. Two business visits actually. We first stopped at a cheese factory. The whole process was fascinating, but it was not appealing. I felt more like a child than at Cadbury World. Towards the end of the audio tour we were given cheese that was six month, eight month, and ten month. I did not enjoy the smell or the taste of any of them. I wish I had never tasted one of them because they had a nasty aftertaste.  Following the cheese factory, we traveled to the opposite side of the valley to a chocolate factory. I forget the name, but I have concluded that it is among the greatest chocolate my taste buds have ever experienced.  The tour was much like of Cadbury except that this tour was more grownup. The company was more mature. We did not receive as many samples during the tour as we did at Cadbury, but when we came to the end, we finished in a sample room. The chocolate lining the tables and we could try around twenty different variations of this chocolate. I loved each of them except for the ones with nuts. Most people stop eating chocolate when they think of milk, but I kept on eating until I really needed a liquid to help with the process. Ha!  Like most tours, we ended up in the store. We found a sign that read six for five. We all thought that it was sic for five franks, but we were all wrong when we found ourselves at the cash register. It was six bars for the price of five. Ha! Great marketing scheme. Ha! I did not regret my choice because that chocolate is delicious especially when you are towards the end of the bar and you feel satisfied. Ha!

Have you ever felt like shouting our your excitement? This is how I felt when we drove through Lauterbrunnen. I felt like I was in Yosemite. What was even more amazing was the fact that we had Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday in this area. I felt like I truly found heaven on earth. The landscape cannot we explained in words or pictures, but I will provide pictures because it will do better justice than my words. If I had Jaclyn with me, she could explain it in words, but I was not given that talent. We were forced to unload the bus and take a train up to Wengen. The only way to access this town is either by foot or train. AS we ascended the mountain, I became more speechless. I was taking pictures, but most of them did not turn out because of the raindrops on the windows. However, when we arrived to the top of the mountain, we had a view that was worth millions of words. My word of choice was flabbergasted. Luckily, our hotel was only a hundred feet from the hotel because I did not want to drag my luggage around this town.

We dropped our luggage and toured the town for the night. We mainly were searching for food, but of course the food that looked good was not in our price range. Most of us ate at a local restaurant that served hamburgers and chicken nuggets. Ha! After dinner, the hotel was kind enough to extend the hours of the spa area. A majority of us spent time in the hot tubs and the steam room. Ha! The steam room was amazing. The scent of the room was of peppermint oil, which feels quiet good when it soaks into your body.

Saturday was among my favorite days this whole trip. There were several activities that we could have done, but we all decided to hike instead of spending money. The hike was beautiful. The views were amazing. I took 140 pictures alone on this hike. I could have taken a lot more, but I did not. I held myself back because I did not want to drop my camera. The landscape was easy to navigate, but once we reached the avalanche guards, the ground became saturated. It had snowed the night before, so it was now mud. We were slipping and stumbling as we crawled up the mountain. We finally reached the top and felt like we accomplished the impossible. Ha! The front group consisted of Sus, Michelle, Adam, Jon, Cortney, Butters, Rogelio, Bristal, Sarah, Ashlyn, Christina, and I. We had such a fun time. The top of the mountain was chilly because we had finally stopped moving.  Food and water tasted like a delectable treat for my worn body. Thirty minutes go by and people feel like they want to head back down the mountain, so we all decided to descend; however, a group picture was necessary. We asked an English couple to take the photo of us.

Sarah and I decided to take the easy way down, so we walked over to the cable car to only learn that it did not open till June 10^th.  Sad day! Ha! On our way down the mountain we had a good conversation about each other’s lives. I love talking to Sarah because she converses well. She also laughs when it is not necessarily funny, but I except the fact that she thought it was funny. Ha! As we reached the outer boundary of Wengen, we ran into Adam, who was reading Catching Fire. We found him on a bench looking out for a field and some cottages. Next to his backpack was a water bottle full of stream water. The water in this area was some of the best water I had tasted this whole trip. Ha! The girls were worried that it would be bad for our body, but so far we have seen no side effect.

The rest of the night was filled with card games as well as piano sing-a-longs. We did spend significant amount of time in the hot tubs because of the current state of our body.

Sunday was special. Because of our location we could not travel to a chapel. We held our own meeting in of the rooms on the first floor. It was a meeting I will never forget. Jon, Janelle, Ashlyn, and I sang Lead, Kindly Light. It was amazing. I felt the spirit so strongly. We also heard from professor Kimball about how it is okay to cry when you are lonely and looking for guidance because people run to your side and assist you. Sometimes we did to express what we are going through because there are people around us that can help us.  The meeting also consisted of a testimony meeting. The spirit was so strong that I could not help myself, so I bore my testimony concerning trials. I used the mountain as my analogy and how I tried to take the easy way down instead of the difficult path.

After the meeting, we all broke off. People were heading to the waterfalls and others were staying at the hotel. I did not want to do either, so I went on a walk by myself. I ended up walking down the mountain to the valley where I was able to walk to some waterfalls as well as see the valley in all of its glory. I loved it. I seriously felt like I was in Yosemite again with my family. I took many pictures because again I cannot describe what I was experiencing. While I was walking around I stumbled upon Rogelio. Ha! It was funny. We spent the rest of the time walking around and talking about the creations surrounding. We talked about many topics, but I cannot remember what they were. After about an hour, we walked back to the trial, but Rogelio took me a different way. On our way though, we run into Lucas our bus driver. We talked with him and learned about his life. He grew up in South Africa and decided one day to move to Holland.

The hike up the mountain was so hard because my legs were exhausted from the previous day’s hike. We made it though. Back at the hotel, we relaxed and played games outside. Sarah and I played a very intense game of chess on the outside. I kept getting annoyed with people telling her what to do. Ha! It was pretty funny, but I felt bad. Some how moved the game into stallment even though I was dominating the game. Ha! It was a great way to end because I did not want to make Sarah my enemy. After the chess game, we went to the hotel restaurant and had dinenr as a group.

The night was much like the previous night. Tonight was a little bit different because Adam was entertaining us with mission stories. Ha! The night did come to an end and when it did, I was thankful because I was tired from the two hikes.