New Adventures??

As you know, I do have a lengthy life list and checked off the two largest daring ones left on this vacation. (I'll try to post an updated list that merges what I have listed earlier but checks off items I have completed.) Maybe the only "bachelor" type item left would be to attend Mardi Gras, but after Pamplona, I'm not sure that appeals to me. However, there is a lot more to do. For me, the remaining items involve mostly travel from here out. Lots and lots of travel! I envision future trips will not be just for "the guys" but will include the spouses and girlfriends of my friends, etc.

How do you top running with bulls in terms of adventure? At some point, you have to cash in your chips and live off the earnings on a beach somewhere... don't you?!

I do know there is discussion about a weekend trip that would involve a single day crossing of the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. It's mostly a fitness test and interesting goal. That would be in September. Certainly, a worthy reason to ramp up the fitness training.

Someone mentioned today that I should request suggestions for new adventures to undertake. Great idea. Please hit the "Add a Comment" or "X Comments" link under this story to add a suggestion, comment or otherwise just verbally abuse me for your own pleasure. I would love to hear from you!

Back in Indy

Well, I'm back home. (Even though the pic is from Pamplona.) And exhausted. I've been living out of this backpack for three weeks. It's been a great pack, designed for this kind of travel. It converts to a duffle bag for easier flight or train travel and to protect the backpack straps. I've had it for more than 10 years now. It's traveled a great deal. Not as much, however, as my Timberlands. These shoes have been to some 20 countries and have logged some 1,000 miles! It's time to retire them. They stink beyond belief and they have no tread. (A problem that nearly killed me in our hiking expedition in Nevada last Fall.) So, I left them at the hostel and put on my Reef sandels and was out the door.

Carrying your life in a 2200 cubic inch pack and small daypack makes one realize we don't need all the crap we have in our lives. Heck, I didn't even need all that I took in my pack! Mostly, a good pack, a little money, a sense of adventure and a great travel partner is all you need... maybe even in life. Also, running next to and away from half-ton horned beasts puts perspective on every day life. I have to admit that I was content, but kind of bored during the hang gliding despite having a mild fear of heights. It was wonderful and I'm glad after looking at the sky as a child many years ago with my family at Kitty Hawk that I finally got to do it.

In life, there are no obstacles. There is nothing of too great importance that it cannot be tackled. There are no great problems if you and your loved ones are healthy. There are few true "needs" and mostly "wants" that should be in check.

With that said, it's true money doesn't buy happiness, but I have seen it make people desperately unhappy for lack of it. It's the endless pursuit of money, the cycle of earning to spend, the weekly bills that make people unhappy in the end. But money is necessary and affords us the opportunity to take that next adventure. To provide and to help.

Ultimately, life is about experiences... ideally shared with those you love.

Thanks to my family for supporting me on yet another crazy adventure and to my friends who were not able to join. But, thanks mostly to five great guys who were fortunate enough to tackle another adventure...who dared to be -- and made it to -- that great arena.

Great health and strong relationships. The gift of a smile. Positivity. A laugh. This is life. This is what is important. Less stuff and more experiences. I'll continue to update the blog with photos and videos from the trip and otherwise with the random, nonsensical dribble that normally comes from me.

Here's to new adventures!

Zurich

In Zurich, I enjoyed an evening dinner and drink with a friend that lives here. I have another friend in Munich Germany who I had hoped to also meet out in Zurich, but it didn't happen. Munich was celebrating the city's 850th anniversary and so there were lots of festivals that couldn't be missed. (Can you imagine the atmosphere?! What fun!) So, obviously I understood not being able to meet him in Zurich.

I spent some time in a disco here in Zurich, but it was too smokey and I was tired so I crashed around 2am. It's a cool town and like all Swiss towns, they pride themselves in the safety and cleanliness of the town.

Recently, Zurich was again rated one of the best cities to live on earth. I'm not going to look up the ranking, but I will leave you to Google it. Very cool and multicultural town. I walked around the town even late at night and it was nice not to be bothered by shady individuals for a change. There is no trash on the streets anywhere or even in or near the waterways. As with most of Switzerland, there are old fountains throughout the city that still function and in which people are welcome to drink freely pure glacier water. The environmental movement has taken strong hold here as you can imagine -- with many businesses advertising that they are carbon neutral and the like. Most of Europe utilizes energy efficient water and electricity sources or install features which eliminate waste (timed lights, etc).

One last interesting note, other cities have ducks and trash in their waterways; Switzerland has swans. Just an interesting point to consider.

Keith is in Interlaken doing the mountain biking adventure. He is scheduled to leave Switzerland after me.

Heading back soon... I think... I wish not.

Scooterific

(In the photo above, notice the paragliders landing in the field)

(Killer view from our morning coffee location in Interlaken)



(Beautiful glacier river view in town)

(Glacier lake photo that was near our hang gliding landing spot)

Decided not to mountain bike the last day in Switz. Keith and I enjoyed my last day here with a nice coffee at a high rise hotel cafe in Interlaken and then we rented scooters and toured around in the small towns surrounding Interlaken. Notice the incredible aqua colored glacier river and lake. The river runs through the town and fills two large lakes surrounding the town. There are tons of waterfalls and rivers that flow from the glaciers and then also even through the larger cities of Switzerland. In any case, I'm off to Zurich to meet a friend for dinner and headed back home soon.

Hang Gliding in the Alps!

(I always get stuck with the retard helmet on these things!)

The Internet in Switzerland costs a fortune, but it is zooming fast. I can upload 8MB files in about 5 seconds. In any case, not sure when I will update again. I have lots of good vids that I will post to the YouTube account when I return.

In any case, here are some pics of our hang gliding adventure. (I posted the wrong one previously.) The last one is of Keith during his landing. You start way up in the trees by basically running off a cliff and then eventually land in the valley. This is something that I have wanted to do for quite some time. When I was a kid we went to Kitty Hawk as a family and there were lots of hang gliders. I talked about it way back then. I was fascinated by their ability to stay in the air and to fly like birds. The last time I came to Interlaken, I was unable to do it. So, finally, it's checked off the list. Incredible time, but I got a little queezy on the swirling dive turns.

Swiss Hiking Trip

This was our first day in Switzerland. It was -8 degrees Celsius when I arrived at the top of Jungfraujoch... and that was before the storm hit.

Our journey took us on a train from Interlaken to Grindelwald, where we hiked to Klein Scheindegg. In Klein Scheindegg, there is a restaurant on the top where we enjoyed a beer and a brat after about 4 hours of hiking. There is also a small train station with service to Jungfraujoch. I decided to take the train to the top of Jungfraujoch, which is billed as the top of Europe. It is built on the mountain peak with access to the glacier. I have ice climbed on a glacier here before, but at a lower altitude and it was pretty easy stuff really. This made me a little dizzy just because of the altitude. I explored the area some and then went to the glacier observancy right when everyone was leaving due to a heavy storm that started to roll in. There was snow and sleet coming down when I left.

Eventually, I headed back on the train to Klein Scheindegg where it was pouring rain so Keith and I had to take another train back to Grindelwald instead of finishing the hike. It is just so beautiful here!

Switzerland!!

Made it through Spanish customs and on to Switzerland! Here is a pic of me outside the train station of Interlaken and then two pics from outside our hostel. This is one of the points when I began to ponder whether or not I should ever return.

Leaving Spain

When you enter Spain, you are given a customs card, half of which you are supposed to keep for your exit. Yeah, that didn't happen. I think I lost it on the second day. Were they going to let me leave? Did they really even want me to?!

All I could offer up was my passport, my plane ticket, and a goofy smile...

Ice Barcelona

On this night, we wanted to hit the clubs. All the guys lamed out on me, but Keith (the married guy). We headed to the beach area and stumbled upon Ice Barcelona. It is a bar with a small terrace on the beach and then the rest of the bar is in a deep freezer in the back. You have to wear a parka, hat and mittens to enter. It was about 3 degrees Celsius (whatever that means). Keith had worn shorts and sandels out so I'm sure he was real comfortable with me making him enter. Actually, he agreed that an ice bar on the beach in Barcelona(!?!)... yeah, we were doing it for sure! The place was freezing no doubt. We couldn't stay too long. Drinks were served inside ice glasses. Stools, bar, everything was made of ice. The last pic is us in front of an ice sculpture of La Sagrada Familia. Keith then headed back to the hostel and I partied until dawn with some new Spanish friends I had made.

Barcelona Bike Tour

Sorry for the blue tint, but I had the wrong light filter actuated. In any case, a pic of me on the bike, a Frank Gehry designed sculpture and then the marina near Olympic Park. He designed the Guggenheim in Bilbao that we visited and noted earlier in the blog.

At The Market

There is a good top pic of Keith at the pepper booth here. Lot's of goodies at the Barcelona market. Ted, Keith and I enjoyed some fresh squeezed juice drinks. I had kiwi. Mmmmmm, kiwi.

Party Time Barcelona

Here is a great group shot of everyone except John who took the picture. It's at the flat of the girls we met on the train to Montserrat and their roomate and her boyfriend. I don't remember the names of the others but they were affectionately referred to as "The Italians" by the girls and this included their female roommate (lower front), the roommate's boyfriend (white shirt) and several friends of their roommate.

Helena was a sweet girl standing between me and Keith (sporting the goofy face). To my right and in front of me in royal blue is CoCo, who could really melt the dance floor. It was a great evening for hanging out.

Montserrat

Here are some good pics of Montserrat, a monastery in the mountains outside Barcelona. It can only be reached by cable car or train. Second to last shot above is the basilica. The last shot is a small chapel off the basilica. It's a modern interpretation of the cross with impressions of hands, feet and a face to replicate the look of Jesus on the cross. My camera could not properly capture it, but it was incredibly interesting and moving.

We met some fun girls on the train that were from North Cali and we ended up partying with them later in the night.

Flamenco

We went on a pub crawl/flamenco dance excursion in Barcelona and it was both powerful and beautiful. Sorry for you that I don't have any pics, though.

Ted's Scratch

Here is a nice pic of a scratch that Ted got from a questionable lady... to say the least. La Rambla in Barcelona is an interesting street. Full of shady characters, families, travelers and normal people enjoying the day. However, sometimes the shady ones get upset when you tell them repeatedly that you are not interested in their goods or services and to leave you alone. Ted had a great deal of restraint this day.

Internet

Internet with USB access is sparse right now, but I will try to post some pictorial updates when I get the chance.

La Sagrada Familia

Now in Barcelona, we have taken some time to enjoy the famous Antoni Gaudi designed, Sagrada Familia. It is a church that began construction in 1882, but is still incomplete. Beautiful and amazing, with a very organic and look in tune with Gaudi's style, the building is far from complete. I understand that the Spanish Civil War certainly put some of a halt to it and construction techniques had to be developed to create portions of it. However... I mean, seriously... 1882?! Get it done already!!

We have also spent some time at the beach. I have a slight tan and no burn. Can you believe it?! I never use sunscreen. It's like the land of No Sun Burn here. Anyway, Barcelona is beautiful. It's nice to finally be in a city with sophistication again. Some parts of Spain they don't realize that mullets are NOT cool. The girls in some areas have these weird female mullet/small town/poodle doo/straight banged/Elvira/neo-punk/dirty hair styles. It's wretched and even the hot girls looked dirty and trashy. Barcelona is different. Laid back beach town with sophistication and history. I love it!

We are here for a couple more days and then everyone goes home except Keith and I who travel to Switzerland for a few last adventures. Today we're off to Montserrat, a monastery in the mountains outside Barcelona.