03.19.19
Alright...let's see. So, I made it to Switzerland and have had about a week to decompress, find a sort of sleep cycle, get out and about etc. The initial shock and all the knee-jerk comparisons to America, specifically Albuquerque, are less in-the-face and my head is upright; slightly more...if still enamored with everything. I've been here and there...up into the mountains just south-east of the big lake, into the tiny farmlands where sheep are still grazing, walking over green grassy hills fed by the cold spring rains that are still happening regularly.
The first week was so cold and rainy I stayed inside, over-analyzed everything I'd just done, how I was going to cope in a new city and how long it would take me to learn German...then Swiss-German...it felt overwhelming numerous times, but I countered by taking on the task of finally transcribing the trail journals. Day after day on the trail, watching this whole process unfold. So incredible to see my own evolution and experience as I tried to maintain a level of simple honesty about things. Sometimes I read shaking my head at how naive I was...as with Zurich, as with half the things in my life, I don't know what I don't know and this was never more apparent on the trail. From protein intake problems to finally admitting I'd chosen the wrong shoes. Sometimes it was more of a 6-month process of finding out what didn't work. What things were holding me back? What did I truly need to bring with me to make the journey work best? As always, the trail held lessons in metaphors at every turn.
It was great to wake up, stumble into the kitchen with the rain falling onto the roundabout below where five other streets meet by the food market, and just write and write all day. It felt like I was reading someone else's story at times and all the memories flooded back with every page. Such a strange sensation to be in Zurich just below the Alps...longing for the Sierras thousands of miles away...but we both do.
In New Mexico I wrote about the "post-trail-depression" phenomenon that a lot of hikers face when the trip is officially over-how you feel like you've just come back from the moon and it's virtually impossible to hop back into your former life without feeling superficial on some level. All these things take time. Even in Zurich, though the city is unbelievably organized on every level, I stare at the Alps. I know there's miles and miles of trail all over the hills surrounding the city and we've already seen a few. I've heard it gets pretty insane during the summer but I'm ready.
Zurich is a busy busy city and the Swiss are very Swiss; more than Americans are American. These are stereotypes, and you'd have to be a complete outsider to notice the details but that's part of the fun. This is one of the most obvious differences that I noticed on a purely energetic level. Of course, I've had plenty of conversations already confirming this observation. It's not hurried. It's not frantic. It's not all hustle-and-bustle. But it is profoundly efficient. There is no time to waste and no point in engaging in mere frivolity when there Swissness to be done. Even as far as 'recreational' activities. These are part of the daily program and the freezing rain seemed neither to phase or detract from these activities. Why should it? Put on a rain jacket. Take the umbrella. Wear an extra layer.
Perceived collectivism aside, this place is beyond beautiful. The post-cards don't lie and the traditions and mores are well in place on every level because they actually work. I've got a peculiar outsider's view on things...even more pronounced coming from a city that had ah...just a few problems with infrastructure, homelessness, crime, education, funding, etc. Albuquerque will always be in my heart. This I know, but I couldn't have wound up with a better study in contrasts...
Zurich is roughly the same population but it runs like clockwork. Here's the thing about Switzerland that makes all the difference: Having high fortified mountains over the centuries meant it was actually feasible to remain neutral in times of conflict. Consequently, the Swiss didn't have to rebuild and re-adapt and uproot while the countries around it were going through massive societal changes. What is the lesson here? In the west we tend to think violent periods bring innovation; that it's part of the fabric of technological and human progress. We say necessity is the mother of invention. Maybe so...but Switzerland is at least one obvious example on some level of what happens when you're country is just left alone to rise organically to whatever natural heights it can reach. Ok, Swiss banks and international yada yada, I know.
For me, it's not so much technology or access to it. It's the meticulous planning that goes into each level of society. Switzerland is a direct democracy meaning they all get together and actually vote in numbers for which policies they favor. There's no 'president' per se, no Commander-in-Chief. No representative that you blindly hope will legislate on behalf of the common good. People go out and vote. And they generally vote for policies that help Switzerland work best for everyone. Keep in mind, these are all broad-stroke assertions from someone that's been here less than two weeks but yes, something actually WORKS here in a way I've never seen before and for all the technological prowess, Zurich is also recognized as one of the top environmentally-friendly cities in the world. It was shocking the first week and now I'm slowly appreciating the nuances and flow. The point though, is to be mobile and there's plenty of destinations on that list.
A couple nights ago I had appetizers and drinks with Hanne's brother and family and whereas this idea has sent chills up my spine in the past I was immediately struck by their hospitality and ease and laughter. They were going to a music concert that evening and we stayed to watch their two little boys. They wanted to play learning games, show me every corner of the home, their savings of Swiss-Francs, and watch Youtube children's shows about railway engineering systems. They were polite, curious, and even concerned that they were helping me learn German a little and "maybe Will can teach us English next time he comes over..." I said "Hanne...you have really good people around you..."
So far it's raw enchantment and the predominant feeling has been "Oh man...I hope I'm not this wild west American with his tattoos and bear-n-rattlesnake stories."
The book should be finished content-wise by the end of the month. It's going to be much bigger than I thought. Journals and lists and blogs and rows and pictures and texts...all hopefully giving an amazing picture of not only the experience but the process and adventure and coming to terms with everything and how we shared the experience as a family as well.
I'm off to fix a couple bikes for one of Hanne's friends. Glad I can be useful for now. The weather looks good this week. Much in store.
W
The first week was so cold and rainy I stayed inside, over-analyzed everything I'd just done, how I was going to cope in a new city and how long it would take me to learn German...then Swiss-German...it felt overwhelming numerous times, but I countered by taking on the task of finally transcribing the trail journals. Day after day on the trail, watching this whole process unfold. So incredible to see my own evolution and experience as I tried to maintain a level of simple honesty about things. Sometimes I read shaking my head at how naive I was...as with Zurich, as with half the things in my life, I don't know what I don't know and this was never more apparent on the trail. From protein intake problems to finally admitting I'd chosen the wrong shoes. Sometimes it was more of a 6-month process of finding out what didn't work. What things were holding me back? What did I truly need to bring with me to make the journey work best? As always, the trail held lessons in metaphors at every turn.
It was great to wake up, stumble into the kitchen with the rain falling onto the roundabout below where five other streets meet by the food market, and just write and write all day. It felt like I was reading someone else's story at times and all the memories flooded back with every page. Such a strange sensation to be in Zurich just below the Alps...longing for the Sierras thousands of miles away...but we both do.
In New Mexico I wrote about the "post-trail-depression" phenomenon that a lot of hikers face when the trip is officially over-how you feel like you've just come back from the moon and it's virtually impossible to hop back into your former life without feeling superficial on some level. All these things take time. Even in Zurich, though the city is unbelievably organized on every level, I stare at the Alps. I know there's miles and miles of trail all over the hills surrounding the city and we've already seen a few. I've heard it gets pretty insane during the summer but I'm ready.
Zurich is a busy busy city and the Swiss are very Swiss; more than Americans are American. These are stereotypes, and you'd have to be a complete outsider to notice the details but that's part of the fun. This is one of the most obvious differences that I noticed on a purely energetic level. Of course, I've had plenty of conversations already confirming this observation. It's not hurried. It's not frantic. It's not all hustle-and-bustle. But it is profoundly efficient. There is no time to waste and no point in engaging in mere frivolity when there Swissness to be done. Even as far as 'recreational' activities. These are part of the daily program and the freezing rain seemed neither to phase or detract from these activities. Why should it? Put on a rain jacket. Take the umbrella. Wear an extra layer.
Perceived collectivism aside, this place is beyond beautiful. The post-cards don't lie and the traditions and mores are well in place on every level because they actually work. I've got a peculiar outsider's view on things...even more pronounced coming from a city that had ah...just a few problems with infrastructure, homelessness, crime, education, funding, etc. Albuquerque will always be in my heart. This I know, but I couldn't have wound up with a better study in contrasts...
Zurich is roughly the same population but it runs like clockwork. Here's the thing about Switzerland that makes all the difference: Having high fortified mountains over the centuries meant it was actually feasible to remain neutral in times of conflict. Consequently, the Swiss didn't have to rebuild and re-adapt and uproot while the countries around it were going through massive societal changes. What is the lesson here? In the west we tend to think violent periods bring innovation; that it's part of the fabric of technological and human progress. We say necessity is the mother of invention. Maybe so...but Switzerland is at least one obvious example on some level of what happens when you're country is just left alone to rise organically to whatever natural heights it can reach. Ok, Swiss banks and international yada yada, I know.
For me, it's not so much technology or access to it. It's the meticulous planning that goes into each level of society. Switzerland is a direct democracy meaning they all get together and actually vote in numbers for which policies they favor. There's no 'president' per se, no Commander-in-Chief. No representative that you blindly hope will legislate on behalf of the common good. People go out and vote. And they generally vote for policies that help Switzerland work best for everyone. Keep in mind, these are all broad-stroke assertions from someone that's been here less than two weeks but yes, something actually WORKS here in a way I've never seen before and for all the technological prowess, Zurich is also recognized as one of the top environmentally-friendly cities in the world. It was shocking the first week and now I'm slowly appreciating the nuances and flow. The point though, is to be mobile and there's plenty of destinations on that list.
A couple nights ago I had appetizers and drinks with Hanne's brother and family and whereas this idea has sent chills up my spine in the past I was immediately struck by their hospitality and ease and laughter. They were going to a music concert that evening and we stayed to watch their two little boys. They wanted to play learning games, show me every corner of the home, their savings of Swiss-Francs, and watch Youtube children's shows about railway engineering systems. They were polite, curious, and even concerned that they were helping me learn German a little and "maybe Will can teach us English next time he comes over..." I said "Hanne...you have really good people around you..."
So far it's raw enchantment and the predominant feeling has been "Oh man...I hope I'm not this wild west American with his tattoos and bear-n-rattlesnake stories."
The book should be finished content-wise by the end of the month. It's going to be much bigger than I thought. Journals and lists and blogs and rows and pictures and texts...all hopefully giving an amazing picture of not only the experience but the process and adventure and coming to terms with everything and how we shared the experience as a family as well.
I'm off to fix a couple bikes for one of Hanne's friends. Glad I can be useful for now. The weather looks good this week. Much in store.
W
Comments
Post a Comment