Auf Wiedersehen, Switzerland! Next stop, Madagascar

Somewhere outside of Luzern

This week, I really had to make lemonade out of lemons.

I really shouldn't complain about my landlord.  She called me up when I was desperately trying to find a place to stay 2 months ago, and she let me choose my rent.  No complaints there.  On Saturday, when I got my train ticket to Paris for the 16th, she mentioned something about her sons coming to town to visit, but it's no problem if I stay as long as I pay for the week (since I paid up until the 10th).  Reasonable enough.

On Monday morning, after making my cup of tea and getting ready to discuss one week's rent, my landlord asked, "so what time are you leaving?"

I'm not completely sure what prompted her sudden change of heart, but it was obvious that my time there was over.  Fortunately, there was still a hostel available.  Unfortunately, only until Wednesday.  Since I had a few days left on my Eurail pass, allowing me to go anywhere within Switzerland on those days, and since I have to pay for a hostel no matter where I go, why not see more of Switzerland? 

Last picture of Swiss swans for a while

So off I went to Luzern, a German-speaking city in central Switzerland, the start of two peaceful and beautiful days enjoying the country before I take off.

Instead of staying in the city, I opted for walking around the lake, and the views were completely stunning.  I took a bus to the other side of the lake around sunset and got equally amazing views of the mountains over the winding lake.

I went to Lausanne on Friday, on the other side of the lake from Geneva, which I’ve been meaning to do since I’ve passed it by so many times by train.  On a whim, I decided to rent a bike and ride to Vevey along the lakefront, which I later found out was a 40-km round-trip journey (I’m certainly not in bike shape!).  Come to find out, it’s part of a huge network of bike trails going all over the country.  Why didn’t I do this sooner?

It was amazing seeing Lake Geneva from a different angle, having the convenience of going where cars can drive, but being able to stop whenever I wanted to.  Hills covered in vineyards with old stone walls, random castles nestled on top, and towns that aren’t reachable by train. 

I'm definitely going back to Switzerland someday.. if only to bike more!

Next stop: Madagascar

So why Madagascar?  I've been asked this every time it’s been brought up, but it’s hard to explain because it's several different things.

For one, it's French-speaking, at least in the major cities.  Where it's not French-speaking, they speak a sort of French creole, Malagasy, and that's fascinating in itself.  The culture is supposed to be interesting, as well, with a heavy Indonesian influence.

It's in Africa, without a lot of its problems.  I've always wanted to go to Africa – somewhere – but because it’s just me, I want to be as safe as possible.  People in Madagascar are very nice and polite, Yellow Fever (present in just about all Sub-Saharan Africa) isn’t an issue, and I’ll be several thousand miles (and a body of water) away from the political problems of Sudan and Rwanda.

I made a great effort to find a solid volunteer program and managed to find Azafady (www.madagascar.co.uk), a UK-based organization that promotes environmental and social sustainability in the Southeast area of the island, close to Fort Dauphin.  It’s been recognized in the area of sustainable travel by Virgin Airlines, and for good reason:

1. It provides volunteers with the expertise of environmentalists and local experts, not to mention food and purified water;
2. It allows volunteers to participate in everything related to the organization’s efforts, from sampling lemur, reptile, and plant populations, to environmental education in schools, from planting local tree species in a heavily deforested area (Madagascar is 90% deforested), to creating sanitary infrastructure for local people;
3. It provides relevant information to external organizations that influence the support the country gets and the limitation of businesses that want to exploit the region;
4. Even its statistical methods are sound.

Another reason is that, while I’ve tried to keep in good communication in Europe, I want the chance to escape for a while.  I will be away from the internet for 2-4 weeks at a time (but will be getting a cell phone), so for the good part of 2 months, I’ll have plenty of time to relax (when not working), reflect, and just be.  I’m not very religious, but perhaps this is the “pray” portion of my “Eat, Pray, Love” – like journey.  Since Europe was very much about eating.

And as someone interested in the environment and hoping to drive myself in that direction job-wise, participating in a worthwhile sustainable endeavor while also being in probably one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world – what an incredible opportunity!  And for photography too.

One reason I’m happy to leave Switzerland is the often exorbitant prices.  Then again, my two months in Madagascar will probably be more expensive in the end, just in an effort to be safe.  For one thing, I had to get a good number of vaccinations: typhoid, rabies (since I’ll be working with lemurs), Hepatitis A, etc.

I have also purchased just about everything possible to thwart the threat of mosquitoes, since there are no vaccinations for malaria: Malarone (a malaria prophylaxis, fortunately not the one that causes psychological issues), 30% DEET-based and non-DEET bug sprays, a mosquito net, clothing spray, mosquito-repelling bracelets, even a natural medicine from Switzerland that makes me smell less attractive to mosquitos (since they generally like how I taste).

And then, last but not least, I have enough medication and supplies to remedy scrapes and cuts, the flu, motion sickness, allergies, sinus problems, pain relief, and syringes for shots or blood transfusions (I’d like to not think about needing that).

So I know that you will all worry (I’m nervous, too!), but I’ve done everything in my power to make this a successful trip.  If nothing else, I’ll do my best to keep my dad updated, and I’ll update the blog and answer emails every 2-4 weeks as I get the opportunity.

A week in London, Cambridge, and Alsace-Lorraine

Somewhere in Lorraine is a purple button.  And a piece of my duffel bag's now-broken shoulder strap.  Things have been crazy to say the least.

After Paris, I headed over to Cambridge to visit Brandon.  Cambridge is just about the quaintest town ever, brimming with brick buildings, universities, old-fashioned candy shoppes, and bikes.  It looks a lot like Boston - or, I guess, Boston looks a lot like it.

The pubs in England are great and super laid-back.  We got our share of good local beer, pub food, playing checkers, and people-watching.

We also had afternoon tea, which is a tradition that I think the US needs to adopt (if only to poke fun at the recent conservative movement).  English breakfast tea, freshly-baked scones, and muffins - I could get used to this!

We took a day-trip to London on New Year's Eve and after much indecision, we decided, sure, why not watch the fireworks.  Not thinking in advance, we were just about the soberest people there, but that made everyone else all the more hilarious.

The fireworks were absolutely amazing (unfortunately, no pictures), shot out not only behind the London Eye, but from it.

From England, I headed onto Alsace, a region that has flip-flopped four times between France and Germany from the late 19th century to post-WWII, when it was officially given over to France.  The influence of both countries' architecture on the area is very evident, and I enjoyed, if nothing else, losing myself in the details on and in the buildings.

Such a cute little gargoyle!

Ok, well I also enjoyed the food. I tried out one of the very regional dishes, a Flammekeuche - a type of pizza with cream, ham, and onions.  Mmm..

I jumped on a train for a day to see a smaller town, Colmar, which has a lot of the same, cute architecture in Strasbourg and I couldn't help but wonder where the bread crumbs were..




And since I was visiting one flip-flopping ex-German territory, I decided to check out the other: Lorraine.  I have a Eurail pass, which allows me to jump from train to train on a given day, so even though Nancy, France was out of my way, why not?

And I guess that somehow justifies my wanting to get an authentic Quiche Lorraine.

The city had much more French architecture and a lot fewer tourists - a welcome change.  Unfortunately, one thing the city lacked was luggage storage.  I was stuck for 3 hours with a super-heavy duffel bag on my back in drizzly rain.

Long story short, adjusting the bag tore a button off my jacket and, while waiting at an intersection, wondering how much weight plastic strap-holders can take, the strap collapsed.  Then it started raining and I didn't have my umbrella handy.  I was originally planning to go to Mulhouse and perhaps Basel on the way back, but, I decided, it was time to head back to Geneva.

Traveling through France

Marseille Harbor

Traveling alone as a woman has its disadvantages – not traveling to certain areas of town and countries entirely, not staying out late, and always having to deal with European men’s less-than-subtle glares.  So when I have the chance to take advantage of the fact that I’m a woman, I’ll take it.

Like when I was taking the train to Marseille.  Because of the snow, my first train was more than an hour late, making me miss my connection.  The conductor announced a connecting train, so I headed there right away, avoiding the check-in counter due to the exponentially growing line.  I struggled between getting on the train (a high-speed TGV train vs. the slow one I would’ve been on) and taking an empty seat, and being a good person by going back to get a new ticket.

I decided to talk to the ticket collectors, one of whom was already waving down the conductor to start revving the engines.  The ticket collector behind him just happened to see me, exasperated and on the verge of tears, and I asked if the ticket I had was good enough; he responded, after some hesitation, sure, come on in, and he placed me in an empty first-class seat.

Or when I was on the TGV to Paris the other day.  I didn’t fill out my train pass correctly – something that would have taken me literally seconds to rectify – and was subject to a 10 € fee.  As the ticket collector explained what I did wrong, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed: I could get a lot of macarons for such a ridiculous charge!  But, in the end, I think I looked so helpless that he said, “Never mind the fee – consider it a Christmas present!”  I’m not proud to play the damsel in distress, but sometimes it works.

Visiting France is such an experience of the senses.

13 sweets and a Charlotte in the center

I spent Christmas with my relatives in the south of France.  The traditional meal we had was amazing: homemade fois gras, fresh bread, marinated chicken with chestnuts, and a platter of soft cheeses.  And, if that wasn’t enough, there was a platter of 13 sweets (to represent the 12 apostles and Jesus), from sugared chestnuts to marzipan-filled dates, candied fruits to calissons – sugar-coated lemon cookies that I mistook for “caleçons” (long-johns).  I’m glad my family has a sense of humor.

Fun jewelry

Going to Paris was a birthday gift to myself, as was window-shopping and getting jewelry in the Saint Germaine neighborhood.  My cousin’s mother-in-law told me of a quotation she came across that suits my journey well: “Les voyages forment la jeunesse” (traveling brings about youth), and the fact that I’m still exploring and learning about a city that I’ve spent a good amount of time in is evidence enough.

Pierre Herme Bakery

I bought, yet again, Pierre Hermé macarons in Paris (I might as well take advantage while I'm here!)  I've had rose-flavored macarons before, but this one was truly the embodiment of a rose, if it’s possible to not only reflect the smell but also its soft, delicate nature.

And chocolate croissants.  My friend Emily told me I have to eat one in Paris, that they’re absolutely delicious.  Sure, I ate one and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t ground-breaking.  Yesterday, I was walking around the 2^nd arrondissement and came across the cutest bakery with yellow and blue tiled walls and a very Parisian façade, and I ordered a chocolate croissant.

I took a bite as I walked away and had to stop to enjoy the moment.  I wasn’t sure what was melting more – the divine mixture of super buttery croissant and dark chocolate in my mouth or my knees.  I went back and got a second, which was no less amazing.  I could think of far worse ways of celebrating my 25^th birthday!