One Year Ago...

One year ago yesterday, I was on family vacation in Switzerland. I had let the others take off on their early morning routine, and took a leisurely morning showering, reading the paper, not being in a hurry. I told the elders that I'd catch up with them in Luzerne around noon, under the wooden covered bridge. I carried the walkie-talkie just to get ahold of them once I got there (I believe my Dad's code name was "banjo 20-20"). So I hopped the rails, and ventured from Reuti to Luzerne. It's really a no-brainer getting around in Switzerland. Signs are usually in 4 different languages, English included. In spite of this, the folks were still concerned about my traveling on my own in a foreign country.

So, I arrived in Luzerne, right about at noon as promised. I called out banjo 20-20 on the radio, and lo and behold, he answered. When I met up with the folks, I could see the stress on my dad's face, almost as though I had put them through hell with worry.

After putzing around Luzerne in flock formation for the afternoon, little brother and I decided to hang back when the elders traveled back toward Reuti. We drank a lot of lager and stumbled around what is one of my favorite cities on the planet. ( I think my list includes Montreal, Vancouver, San Francisco, Portland, Paris, and of course Seattle). After many beer, we decided it was about time to head back toward Meiringen. We wanted to find a pub to watch some world cup. I think it was Italy vs. America that night. Not sure. I know it was Italy because the Swiss were shouting "Mamma Mia!" when the Italians met with misfortune.

As nightfall became a reality, we began to realize that a plan was indeed in order for getting back up the hill to Reuti. Of course, we thought about it over a few more beer. Then we decided it was time to make the trek.

Now, Reuti is situated on the top of the hill from Meiringen, and there is a very steep wooded path that goes right straight up. However, if you want to get there by road, it is a ten mile walk. We weren't up for that, so we headed toward the woods. Unfortunately, we couldn't see our own hands in front of our faces. After about 15 minutes of "okay ready... take another step", and wondering if that would lead us off of a steep precipice, we decided that our efforts were fruitless, and headed back down toward Meiringen.

We were screwed. We ducked into a few establishments and tried to locate a taxi, but the town was asleep. We were starting to resign to the notion that we were either in for a 3 hour stumble home, or sleeping on the sidewalk. Then it happened. An angel ascended from the tavern we had been buying drinks from all night, and we put on our best puppy dog faces and asked "what way is it to walk back to Reuti?". She looked at the fellow bartender and laughed, and looked like she didn't know how to handle this. Then she blessed us with 2 seats in her car, and mercifully gave us a 20 minute ride home. As we exited her car, we kissed the ground on which she walked and I gave her a bottle of wine. My brother offered her money, but she refused.

We ended up back in our remote cabin without injury. The next morning was typically ungodly early, and painful. The clear air seemed to cure our headaches pretty quickly, and we saw some more nice scenery.

I can't for the life of me remember the name of that bartender, but if by some extremely remote chance you happen to stumble upon this (perhaps Googling "Meirengen"), please know that you are a goddess among mortals, and I worship before your altar before eating my Cheerios each morning.