Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Acrophobia

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acrophobia
Main Entry:
ac·ro·pho·bia
Pronunciation:
\ˌa-krə-ˈfō-bē-ə\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
New Latin
Date:
circa 1892
: abnormal dread of being in a high place : fear of heights


I'm not terribly afraid of heights, but sometimes I get a bit of vertigo looking out near the edge of tall buildings. And doing bungee jumping a few years back was not particularly easy, standing there on the edge of the bridge looking out into nothing.

So this morning we went to Outdoor Interlaken's rope course, or seil park (shameless plug):
http://www.outdoor-interlaken.ch/en/summer/seilpark/

I was able to scurry around on the obstacle course high up in the trees and do a bit of zipline as well. There are five courses with different levels of difficulty. One wears a harness and and clips in twice for safety.

I managed to get around about without having to rely on the safety ropes luckily, but my hands sure were tired by the end from holding on for dear life. Of course, there are kids that practically run about up there . . .

I had a quick lunch with Georgina and Alan before heading off to the train station for Zurich, where I would catch my flight back to London. It was really great to see Riaan, Georgina, and Alan. I wish I could see them more often, and I'll miss Alan greatly!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Eiger Trail Hike

The next day I took the train up to hike the Eiger Trail. It is quite expensive to go all the way to the top at the Jungfraujoch (around 160 Swiss Francs round trip), so I stopped one station short at Eigergletscher to do the Eiger Trail hike. Here are the trains that go up and down the mountain.


Some scenery on the way up.

Almost there. From here, one can see the Jungfraujoch station quite clearly now.

Close-up.

We stop briefly at Kleine Scheidegg. Last time I was here it was much colder and snowing and there were crazy 'techers about.

My stop. A view from the Eigergletscher station.

Start of the trail.

Not sure what the large pool of water is for.

Attempt at a self portrait.

On the trail.

There was a large group of Japanese tourists taking a break as I passed by.

Many more spectacular views follow.





There was still a bit of snow up here even in the middle of summer.

And some waterfalls.


Switchbacks that start down toward Grindelwald.



I saw a few large stone with engravings, but I am not sure what they say.

Here they had some solar cells hooked up to power the electric fence for the cows.

Almost back down.

Quite the collection of cow bells displayed outside this home.

Snow white and the seven dwarves.

Some more dwarf figures.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Family Hike

Today we did a family hike.


Drinking water anyone?
Paraglider with beautiful scenery in the background.
Not sure what this waterslide is doing up here?! Maybe it is a baby schlitterbahn looking for a home in a giant waterpark.
Riaan and Alan take the lead.
Lost now.
Alan doesn't seem to mind.
Back on the trail.
Again the Monch on the left, Jungfrau on the right in the clouds, and the Jungfraujoch in the middle.
Close-up, with the train station at the Jungfraujoch just visible.
More scenery.
Cow with bell. They really do use cow bells. One can hear quite melodious tunes throughout the hills and mountains from all the different pitched cow bells. I almost felt like I was in a fairytale.
Alan on the cable car ride back down.
A river running down inside the mountainside.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Enter Interlaken

I left early Friday morning to catch the train from Brussels to Interlaken. I really like taking trains, sitting and watching the countryside go by. Also, I don't need to deal with the overhead of getting to the airport, going through security, and waiting for the plane, plus the same thing in reverse once you have arrived at the destination.

Though I did have a bit of trouble booking the tickets for a multi-country journey. Depending on which country's website I used I received different options and pricing. For instance, using the UK website I needed a UK based credit card / address to pay. Also, not all of the sites gave me the option of picking up the ticket at the station; some sites only had the option of having the ticket physically mailed to you. Easiest solution - go to the train station and they can take care of everything.


Here is the open field right across from Riaan and Georgina's house. The paragliders use it as a landing area. When I was here in the winter of '05, we landed in the snow! I really enjoyed paragliding and would recommend it to others.
View of the Monch peak on the left and the Jungfrau on the right. The Jungfraujoch sits in the middle, and just above it the mountain station of Jungfraubahn is located, which at an elevation of 3,454 metres is the highest railway station in Europe. The Jungfraujoch is often called the "Top of Europe" in tourist literature.
And here is Alan! ;-)

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Basilica of the Sacred Heart and Grand Place

The national Basilica of the Sacred Heart or Koekelberg Basilica in Brussels, Belgium, is the sixth largest church in the world. It was built to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. In 1905 King Leopold II laid the first stone, but the edifice was not completed until 1971.

The church, on Koekelberg hill, is a landmark on the Brussels skyline. It is the largest building in Art Deco style in the world, being 89 metres high and 167 metres long (outside length). The church has room for 2000 people.


Some views inside the Basilica.



From atop the Basilica, some views of Brussels.


In the distance, one can see the Atomium, a monument built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it is 102-metres (335 ft) tall, with nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.



Some shots from the Grand Place. The Grand Place (French) or Grote Markt (Dutch) is the central market square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guild houses, the city's Town Hall and the Bread House.

The Grand Place was first laid out after the construction of the town hall, at the centre of the city's commercial district. Neighboring streets still reflect the area's origins, named after the sellers of butter, cheese, herring, coal and so on. The original Grand Place was a medley of buildings constructed between the 15th and 17th centuries in a variety of styles.

On August 13, 1695, a 70,000-strong French army under Marshal François de Neufville, Duke of Villeroy began a bombardment of Brussels. The French launched a massive bombardment of the mostly defenseless city centre with cannons and mortars, setting it on fire and flattening the majority of the Grand Place and the surrounding city. Only the stone shell of the town hall and a few fragments of other buildings remained standing. That the town hall survived at all is ironic, as it was the principal target of the artillery fire.

The square was rebuilt in the following four years by the city's guilds. Their efforts were regulated by the city councilors and the Governor of Brussels, who required that their plans be submitted to the authorities for their approval. This helped to deliver a remarkably harmonious layout for the rebuilt Grand Place, despite the ostensibly clashing combination of Gothic, Baroque and Louis XIV styles.

The Grand Place was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1998.



The Town Hall. At the top of the 97 meter (318 feet) tower stands a statue of St. Michael, the patron of Brussels and whom I managed to cut off in the photo.

A very healthy Belgian meal. Some fries with sauce on a meat patty sandwich. Bernard gave it the nickname, the "machine gun."
Alex's dad's cat.
The other neighbor's cat.

And tomorrow I am off by rail to see my sister, Georgina, her husband, Riaan, and their son, Alan, in Interlaken, Switzerland.