The River Ambassador
After a successful rendezvous with my parents at Mooring Place Rijerkade, Amterdam we set sail down the Rhine River towards Köln. The passengers on board consisted of roughly; 90% old people, 5% really old people, 2% parents but not yet grandparents, 1% Younger Kids, 1% People more or less my age, 1% whiny 18 year old girls who continuously complained that there wasn't a party in the streets on a Monday night ("I thought Europe was supposed to be out of control"). Aside from that minor annoyance wI was pampered with 4 course meals and a proper shower every day for an entire week. Most days we stopped in a city or castle locale along the Rhine, where we were taken on guided tours. The continuous theme was the destruction caused by various European wars, with the 30 Years War, Napoleon, and WWII being the most frequent culprits. At the end of the week we disembarked at Basel and bussed to Luzern.
Switzerland - Part One (The Good Part) ((Forshadowing!))
Luzern is pleasantly placed on a lake surrounded by mountains. My Family and I took a boat ride around the lake, took a cog rail to the summit of Mount Pilatus, hiked around for a few hours and then descended via Gondola. The day was sunny, warm, and made me like Switzerland.
The next day a light rain began, my Family departed for home, and I hopped on the train to Interlaken.
Interlaken
Interlaken is a small town tucked between two lakes with mountains surrounding. The imposing Eiger, Jungfrau and company lay to the South, but I have yet to see them*. A break in the rain allowed my hostelmates and I to travel to Grindelwald and hike up the foot of the Eiger. The accent went well, but rain accompanied us the entire decent. By the time I returned I was soaked through 3 layers of clothes, but at least we had made it back to the safe and dry hostel, Right?
The Flood
Wrong.
At around 10:30 we were informed that the river adjacent to our hostel was rising and threatening to flood. We were evacuated to the local emergency evacuation center/bomb shelter under a school in the back of a Swiss man's Jeep. Standard Swiss Army blankets and cots kept us the night.
Bunks that are not made for people over 6'
Bunks that are not made for people over 6'
Room 15 Members weathering the storm
* I wrote most of this yesterday when I was stuck in a cafe, wet and cold. Now things are drier and looking up. I can even see part of a mountain.
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