The hills are alive, with the sound of music.

I know I shouldn't be singing this song when I think of Switzerland, since it was technically set in Austria, but I just can't stop myself. 

I have been busy. I have been doing a lot of things besides updating my blog. Studying. Reading. Hiking. Camping. Yogaing. Running. Attending lectures. And poetry readings. Working. 

Sometimes I forget how much I have done. Maybe that's why I'm blogging instead of working on my ORCA Grant application. 

Before I give you a rather watered down version of my wonderful time in Switzerland, read this excerpt from Brian Doyle's short story called Cool Things. 

"Look, I know very well that brooding misshapen evil is everywhere, in the brightest houses and the most cheerful denials, in what we do and what we have failed to do, and I know all too well that the story of the world is entropy, things fly apart, we sicken, we fail, we grow weary, we divorce, we are hammered and hounded by loss and accidents and tragedies. But I also know, with all my hoary muddled heart, that we are carved of immense confusing holiness; that the whole point for us is grace under duress; and that you either take a flying leap at nonsensical illogical unreasonable ideas like marriage and marathons and democracy and divinity, or you huddle behind the wall. I believe that the coolest things there are cannot be measured, calibrated, calculated, gauged, weighed, or understood except sometimes by having a child patiently explain it to you, which is another thing that should happen far more often to us all.

            In short I believe in believing, which doesn’t make sense, which gives me hope."

Switzerland is a place of true beauty.

Welcome to Bern. 

You can drink any of the water in the city. 

Or swim down the Aare River. [It's pretty darn cold.]

Or engage in a life-size game of chess.

And to the little town next to Bern where Kayli lives. 

Kayli and I climbed the face of a mountain. 

It really wasn't for the faint of heart. 

There's a restaurant at the top. That's for all the hungry climbers. And the less ambitious souls who take the cable car/tram to the top. 

One mustn't forget the friendly goats. 

All they really wanted was my apple. 

I found my new home. Isn't it lovely?

This was what the climb looked like. Pretty fantastic.

I spent almost five days in Switzerland, and I loved every second. I loved climbing. I loved swimming in the Aare river. I loved hearing the cowbells, all day. I loved exploring Bern. I loved being surrounding by mountains. And it was all thanks to these lovely people: