Post-trip stats

It's good to see that Erik has had the presence of mind to post some pictures! I sure haven't.

However, I did a rough tally yesterday, and here are the results...

In total, Erik and I took:

- 5,000 pictures or so
- 329 video clips
- 339 audio clips

I was pretty impressed by the stats myself... but also a little scared, realizing I have to go through the pictures and pick nice ones to print, compile CD's, etc. etc.... But I'm sure the effort will be well worth it in a few years when I've forgotten everything and need to resort to pictures to jog my memory.

Thanks again, Erik, for posting some pictures. I might post a few more in the next couple of days to add to the collection. Just don't count on me posting all 5,000!

Pictures - France and Luxembourg

Pictures - Switzerland

Pictures - Spain and Italy

Click on the pictures to view my comments (and find out just where we are)http://eriklsolson.zoto.com.

Well that was the coolest trip ever...

So as much as I might not like to admit it, my joint travel time with Graham has expired. It went very fast. We saw lots of stuff. We have countless high-quality digital pictures to prove it. I look forward to the week it will take me to sort through all of them.

This morning Graham and I parted ways in the Luxembourg City train station, as he went back to Amsterdam where he will fly home from, and I made my way back to my German home-base of Kassel. I will be here staying (with my very gracious and hospitable host family from my CSSG days) for about a week, and then I'll be in Mainz, Germany taking in a rockin' vocal jazz conference dealeo. If you're interested, check it out at www.vocal-jazz-summit.de

I fly home on September 13th. After a grand total of 17 weeks in Europe, I think it will be nice to be back in Canada. However, if anybody is planning European travels in the next few years, I would be happy to tag along!

There is a good chance I'll be able to post some pictures either tomorrow or the next day, so check back for some more evidence of our crazy European adventure. Später.

Erik

A brief recap

Here we are in Luxembourg... but a fair amount has transpired since our last posts. Let me try and summarize:

- After Locarno, we went to Claudia's chalet near the small town of Les Haudères. We had to take a bus from Sion for 50 min. to the town, then hiked up to the chalet for 20 min. We stayed there for 4 or 5 nights (?), and had a great time. It rained most of the time, but our attitudes remained sunny; the place is very beautiful, and having no electricity was fun.

- From the chalet Erik and I went to Geneva while Claudia enjoyed sunshine at the chalet. There we stayed with the Lynn and Robert Granke, friends of the family and very gracious hosts. We explored the city and bought watches and chocolate.

- Basel for one last night in Switzerland with the von Orelli's

- Strasbourg for 2 nights of pleasant wandering and a British chamber orchestra concert

- Now we are in Luxembourg for 2 nights total, last night and tonight

That's all for now, since time is short...

Yogurt

So, here we are in Locarno, Switzerland, and we haven't posted in a coon's age. Oops. Hopefully both Erik and I posting simultaneously now will make amends for that.

It has been an incredible time here in Switzerland, and we have been so lucky to have Claudia von Orelli (a friend of mine from CLBI in Camrose) as a gracious host/tour guide. Meeting her family, staying with her in Basel, and getting a brief taste of this beautiful country will all be an unforgettable part of this trip for us.

After Basel, including a day trip to Bern (the capital), we went to Lucerne (where all the milk in Canada comes from), then on to Lugano. We did a sweet hike up mountains, saw Novaggio (where Claudia grew up), stayed in Lugano, now we are in Locarno.

This afternoon we are taking a scenic train to the French part of Switzerland, and we will be staying in her family's chalet there! We can't wait.

Internet (and everything else) is expensive here, but we will try to be more dilligent in posting in the future. Thanks for tuning in.

Sweetzerland

So Graham may have told a little fib in the last post. As much as I love Liechtenstein, I didn't actually stay there - we went straight through from Salzburg, Austria to Basel, Switzerland. This country is incredible. First of all, 3 official languages?! Amazing. Our friend and host, Claudia, is fluent in 5 languages. That's a pretty helpful thing when we have even been having a hard time with our English grammar lately.

So we've hiked in the Alps, heard traditional yodelling and alphorns, eaten lots of milk products, seen many Swiss watches and army knives, and more is yet to come. Today we are off to a chalet in the mountains, where we will chillax for a few days. Sweet deal.

Better sign off for now. Peace.

-E.

we have done lots of stuff

Since our last post we have done a fair amount, one might say... Florence was neat, Rome was informative, Venice was captivating, Salzburg is in a perpetual state of rain and cold and classical music, and Liechtenstein is the place of our dreams. Erik stayed there, while Graham moved on to Switzerland to meet up with his old CLBI friend Claudia (klow-dee-ah). She is doing great. Hopefully Erik will catch up with us in Basel soon.

Happy Birthday, Erik!

So, today is officially Erik's birthday. It is 25 minutes past midnight, so I guess you can count it as the 4th of August... so, happy birthday Erik!

In honor of this special day I shall write a quick poem for him here:

Hey Erik, It's Your Birthday

Erik, Erik
What's it feel like to be old, man?
What does it feel like to be in Rome, man?
Probably neither seem real,
But that Kiwi gelato sure did (what a steal)
Now you type away beside me like an ape
Unaware of this crappy poem taking shape.

Even still, have a good day,
And don't forget to party hard,
Rocking out on the train once again.
Hopefully getting to Venice will be fun,
Enough to make the day a good one.



Ok, Erik, so that poem didn't turn out so great, but I think you get the gist of it. Happy Birthday. Wow, I am tired. I can imagine how Erik must feel, being the old man he is.