Posts Tagged ‘ski’

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In a winter-ish wonderland

April 15, 2007

WOW! How come I never knew how amazingly beautiful Switzerland is!?

Hans came to collect me in Como where I spent about 2 hours feeding the pigeons in front of the cathedral which did amuse me and a horde of under 5 year olds.
My nose was glued against the car window as we drove around the area and down to Luzern. It made me wish I was cycling here. I even saw a proper Milka-cow! Apart from the colour… and the logo… but still!

I’ve been staying here waiting for a package to arrive from Holland. I’d expected it to be here before me and was planning to stay 2 or 3 days. But it’s still not here now and I really have to get going tomorrow. So I hope it be here then. But hey, there’s worse places to be hanging around!

I’m in Andermatt, it looks like a picture out of a fairytale with its cobbled streets and colourful wooden houses. Also its a ski-resort with some of the best free ride skiing in Europe, or so I’ve been told. This means crazy people like Hans drop themself down mountains, jumping over rocks and cliffs and doing mad dangerous stuff. I had a go at it myself, not the free ride, I’m happy when I get down the piste in one piece… And I did! I have to say it is good fun. It only seems a little pointless to me to go up a hill and back down.. and up again and back down… I would rather actually go somewhere. Maybe cross-country is more for me, I’ll give it a go next time.

I did get up another mountain all by myself the other day. I just wondered where the road I can see out of the kitchen window would lead to, so I took the bike and cycled up. Till I could go no further cause the road was covered in snow. So I walked. That wasnt all that easy either I was up to my middle in the snow at times. But then I reached the highest windmill in the world! O yeah Cool 8-) It stands at 2344 meter.. you know we dutch like our windmills Wink ;-)

And the weather has completely turned! Its sunny and hot! How wonderful to sit outside in the sun enjoying a coffee or ice cream. Feels just a little strange to be walking around in flip-flops and shorts while there’s still snow on the side of the roads.

It’s been a great little holiday and I havent eaten this well since I worked with Doris, O.. did I mention Hans is a chef too? that’s why. So different from pasta with tuna and cheese Smile :-) Been fun to be here with all them mad snow freaks… But I’m looking forward to be back on the bike again. I’ll start cycling again from Como tomorrow. So from the Confederatio Helvetica I wish you all a lovely evening.

:-D

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Very Happy

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Ciao Brava!

April 11, 2007

All fresh and ready after two days in Grenoble (bad weather) I cycled up a hill. I was happily riding along when POOF! 2nd puncture….this time it was the back wheel, lucky I geared up on repair stuff and since there were no Antoinne and Gilbert around this time, I fixed it myself and broke the pump in two pieces while I was at it…

But everything got sorted, got myself a new one in Briançon and headed up the hill again. For the first time this trip I actually arranged some accommodation ahead since I was gonna sleep at nearly 2000 meter and figured it might be fairly cold at night in my tent. It was just as well I booked a bed in ‘la Breche’, a gite in Villar d’Arène, since the same weekend I wanted to cross the Alps there was a big and famous ski match. ‘Derby de la Meije’. So the whole town and surrounding villages where full of happy ski people. I had dinner in the Gite with a group of them. About 1000 people join the match and I did consider to join too but only after a couple of drinks with my room mates Mattieu and Boris. I can’t ski.. They showed me where the party was… they even managed to get me a t-shirt of the whole event Smile :-)
And when I left the next morning the owners gave me some food for on the road and wouldn’t let me pay!

So the next morning with only a tiny headache I cycled up to the col du Lautaret, I felt great ones I was up there! Couldnt get a huge grin of my face for at least an hour.. and after going down and down and down and down with my feet on the front bags in the sunshine, I went up again… Cycled passed some ski resorts and there was Italy!

I didnt have to cross any mountains anymore but for the craic I cycled across the col del Lys which was a bit heavy but absolutely amazingly gorgeous! I love mountains.. just so beautiful. Im not very fast it took me about 2,5 hour to cycle up 13km…. But I’ll get there and its rather funny to see the surprised faces of the very fast race-Italians.

With easter I stopped at a bar in a small village, Agnellengo. Just about immediately I was handed a nice cold beer and invited to join a group of friends for dinner :-) Smile Alessia, who spend some time in england, showed me around the area in her car and told me it wasnt too common that a foreigner spent time in her village of 150 people.I could even sleep in the bar owners house! So after a real comfortable sleep and a coffee half the group got up at 8 to send me off. With a couple of eggs since it was still easter.

The last couple of days Italy was as flat as a pancake, kinda spooky and surreal, rice fields and completely straight roads with villages where you could see not one person… even the dogs where quiet.

And now? now I’m gonna take a wee break and spent some time with my friend Hans in Andermatt, Switzerland.
Might even have a go at that whole ski-thing myself!

Arrivederci!

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