Browsing YouTube videos in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I bumped into one of the renditions of the song 'I don't want to miss a thing' which made my hairs stand. Note how she efforlessly deliver the high the notes, it's just amazing!!!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Last Weekend
So what did I actually ended up doing last week? I started off my Saturday by doing number 2, that is search and watch Youtube videos. After about an hour or so of browsing YouTube videos, I decided to do myself a favour and splurge on a (window)-shopping spree and try out some shopping at stores here in Geneva.
As I discovered, shopping in Geneva (or probably in entire Switzerland) takes a different attitude in itself. While North Americans would usually prefer to shop in extensive malls and shopping complex where almost all type of stores are housed into one, the Genevans (or probably the Swiss as well) prefer to shop in open-air promenade-type stores where you actually see the merchandises on each stores display windows. People take the time to rest from work on weekends and indulge in shopping along Geneva's chic shopping alleys.
As I am still unfamiliar with Swiss/European brands and price ranges, I was really curious how I would get along to the prices here when shopping. As I am on a tight budget, I tried looking for non-top-tier brands comparable to Zellers, Old Navy and Walmart prices. What I realized was that clothes-wise, you'll get better deals when you need formal workclothes such as suits, dress clothes and dress pants. Sfr 250 would enable you to get a good quality stylish suit set and when I say Sfr 250, you do not need to pay th 15% GST/PST tax. Compare that to Moores where you need to invest at least 300 and pay the additional 15% taxes.
After window shopping, I went to a coiffure once again as my haircut is already overdue. This time around, I did not return to the Ecole Superior where I have had 2 of my haircuts here in Geneva as I always don't like the result of their cut. So I looked for a barber shop and the cheapest one I located was for Sft 35 ($34 or two haircuts worth at Magicuts) where I closed my eyes when paying the fee. At least I got a professional one and I know that I am not being turned into a chipmunk guinea pig as I have somewhat experienced in the former.
To save myself from further ennui, I embarked on a cloistered journey to the watch capital of Switzerland, the bilingual town of Biel/Bienne as well as the lakeside town of Neuchatel where people speak a slow, clear and very intelligible variety of French.
I took the 12.14 train, an ICN tilting train special in SBB's roster. It is the faster Swiss train (in terms of speed) I have taken thus far, and even faster than the trains plying the main Zurich-Geneva route which has double-decker cariages. The train reaches 200 km/h and achieves this speed via a tilting mechanism that does not require cariages to slow down to manouevre turns and curves common in Switzerland's mountainous terrain. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture some videos to see how is it inside while the train tilts but nonetheless, it was an experience riding the train. Reminds me of Japanese bullet trains.
Arriving in Neuchatel an hour and a half later, this is the scene that I saw. Since it is a Sunday, all shops in Switzerland are closed. Up until now, I still haven't aclimatized myself with the normal opening hours of stores and groceries here and from time to time, need to ask my office mates of the regular opening hours of grocery stores to shop for food. Having stores closed on Sundays makes shopping alleys (nearly) desserted and gives tranquility to this normally busy part of town. Moreso, it allows Swiss shop attendants to have the necessary break and spend quality time with their respective families and enjoy the natural sceneries of this country.
Neuchatel is a lake-side town with a beautiful lakeside promenade.
The Swiss are very environmentally-conscious people. People use environmentally-friendly mode of transportation and facilities are available in city centres to park and secure your bikes. Not to mentioned the well-developed bicycle lane infrastructure that every Swiss city has.
Bikelane infrastructure is very much developed in Switzerland
In the centre of Neuchatel, I saw this interesting stairsteps inspired by the Swiss flag
After spending an two hours walking around Neuchatel, I decided to board my train to continue my journey to the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne. The city lies on the language border between French and German-speaking cantons and locals readuly shift from German to French vice versa during their conversation. I also noticed that like in the National Capital Region, road and commercial signs are bilingual having both German and French. According to my guidebook, the city is considered the watchmaking capital of Switzerland. It also serves as the headquarters of the Swiss watch brand Swatch.
Walking through the city, I noticed that theres a lot of big apartment blocks. How I wish Geneva also had this abundance of apartments to make it easier to find housing.
You may be surprised of the number of apartment complexes in I posted here. Indeed the majority of people in Switzerland live in apartment-type housing complexes. Unlike in Canada where density is way, way lower, space more available and land more affordable, living in your own bungalow-type home in Switzerland is quite uncommon and usually reserved to a certain few.
Next weekend will be a special one as it will be a long weekend in Switzerland. Everyone will be taking the chance to make the most of this vacation and head off somewhere. Any suggestions where to go? To Winnipeg perhaps?
As I discovered, shopping in Geneva (or probably in entire Switzerland) takes a different attitude in itself. While North Americans would usually prefer to shop in extensive malls and shopping complex where almost all type of stores are housed into one, the Genevans (or probably the Swiss as well) prefer to shop in open-air promenade-type stores where you actually see the merchandises on each stores display windows. People take the time to rest from work on weekends and indulge in shopping along Geneva's chic shopping alleys.
As I am still unfamiliar with Swiss/European brands and price ranges, I was really curious how I would get along to the prices here when shopping. As I am on a tight budget, I tried looking for non-top-tier brands comparable to Zellers, Old Navy and Walmart prices. What I realized was that clothes-wise, you'll get better deals when you need formal workclothes such as suits, dress clothes and dress pants. Sfr 250 would enable you to get a good quality stylish suit set and when I say Sfr 250, you do not need to pay th 15% GST/PST tax. Compare that to Moores where you need to invest at least 300 and pay the additional 15% taxes.
After window shopping, I went to a coiffure once again as my haircut is already overdue. This time around, I did not return to the Ecole Superior where I have had 2 of my haircuts here in Geneva as I always don't like the result of their cut. So I looked for a barber shop and the cheapest one I located was for Sft 35 ($34 or two haircuts worth at Magicuts) where I closed my eyes when paying the fee. At least I got a professional one and I know that I am not being turned into a chipmunk guinea pig as I have somewhat experienced in the former.
To save myself from further ennui, I embarked on a cloistered journey to the watch capital of Switzerland, the bilingual town of Biel/Bienne as well as the lakeside town of Neuchatel where people speak a slow, clear and very intelligible variety of French.
I took the 12.14 train, an ICN tilting train special in SBB's roster. It is the faster Swiss train (in terms of speed) I have taken thus far, and even faster than the trains plying the main Zurich-Geneva route which has double-decker cariages. The train reaches 200 km/h and achieves this speed via a tilting mechanism that does not require cariages to slow down to manouevre turns and curves common in Switzerland's mountainous terrain. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture some videos to see how is it inside while the train tilts but nonetheless, it was an experience riding the train. Reminds me of Japanese bullet trains.
Arriving in Neuchatel an hour and a half later, this is the scene that I saw. Since it is a Sunday, all shops in Switzerland are closed. Up until now, I still haven't aclimatized myself with the normal opening hours of stores and groceries here and from time to time, need to ask my office mates of the regular opening hours of grocery stores to shop for food. Having stores closed on Sundays makes shopping alleys (nearly) desserted and gives tranquility to this normally busy part of town. Moreso, it allows Swiss shop attendants to have the necessary break and spend quality time with their respective families and enjoy the natural sceneries of this country.
Neuchatel is a lake-side town with a beautiful lakeside promenade.The Swiss are very environmentally-conscious people. People use environmentally-friendly mode of transportation and facilities are available in city centres to park and secure your bikes. Not to mentioned the well-developed bicycle lane infrastructure that every Swiss city has.Bikelane infrastructure is very much developed in SwitzerlandIn the centre of Neuchatel, I saw this interesting stairsteps inspired by the Swiss flagWalking through the city, I noticed that theres a lot of big apartment blocks. How I wish Geneva also had this abundance of apartments to make it easier to find housing.
You may be surprised of the number of apartment complexes in I posted here. Indeed the majority of people in Switzerland live in apartment-type housing complexes. Unlike in Canada where density is way, way lower, space more available and land more affordable, living in your own bungalow-type home in Switzerland is quite uncommon and usually reserved to a certain few.
Next weekend will be a special one as it will be a long weekend in Switzerland. Everyone will be taking the chance to make the most of this vacation and head off somewhere. Any suggestions where to go? To Winnipeg perhaps?
Monday, March 26, 2007
My customer service/client response experience in Geneva, Switzerland
With the limited time I have spent in Switzerland, I have had a couple of situations where I need to be a customer or client in a particular business situation. As a background of literature, my situation of being a client started out even since before I set foot in this country when I was still applying for my internship at one of the international organizations in Geneva.
My application was, in other words, I think handled very 'unprofessionally' by the organization I am currently working. I submitted it June, 2006 and a couple of days later, got an email response that they are interested in my application. With this assurance of acceptance from my would-be supervisor, I accepted various Canadian obligations with regards to my academics as to keep my timetable open in time for my anticipated deployment in Geneva come January, 2007.
Days and months passed by and I didn't receive a formal written confirmation of my internship from my organization. I sent emails every now and then to follow up things but still, I was not able to get a timely reply nor a confirmation of the receipt of my email. I actually sent them 33 emails to be exact just to prick their butts a little bit to remind them that I am here waiting for their actions regarding my internship.
Finally, come 8 December 2006, the document I was waiting for arrived after nearly 6 months of waiting. Because of their inaction on my contract, I was not able to find a decent place to stay in Geneva nor was I able to scout the best ticket price available. I was also rushed when I applied for my immigration document to Switzerland.
Fast-forward. Arriving in Geneva, each 'foreigner' as the Swiss immigration calls us, need to obtain a carte de legitimation to prove that we are indeed of legal status in this country. Being law-abiding to the best I could be, I filled up the necessary form and submitted them to the person responsible on my first day of work. I actually felt this document is not that important, as I was thinking that I am already in Switzerland and this is just another ID card and have my identification documents intact with me. Little did I know that I will need this card to apply for visas to visit other European countries.
Time passed by and two months later, the card has not arrived yet. I felt really furious as my immigration document will be expiring by the end of March. All the what if's have been crossing my mind... what if the card did not arrive at the end of my visa term? That means I will be illegal here? I didn't really care about the European travel thing though, what I did care about is getting my card and that I don't violate any immigration laws in this country.
Of course, what did I do during the processing of the document? Every week or two, I sent emails and left phone messages to the person responsible in processing this document in our organization. And everytime I call her office, either she is not there or I receive a message that she is on vacation. How many days of vacation do people here have per year? 90? As always, in true Geneva international organization fashion, my emails and phone messages fell on deaf ears and I didn't get any response from them. To fast forward the story, I got my card about 2 weeks ago.
Another issue that I had with my workplace is regarding my salary. With Switzerland's enormously high prices, having a continuous supply of money is of essential concern here. Being a foreigner trying to get yourself adapted with Swiss prices, you cannot help but just go crazy and hysterical with the fact that your salary will be postponed for a month. It's ok if you are from Switzerland going to Canada where living expenses are way more affordable but going to Switzerland where an 8 oz. bottle of Coke costs $3.50, it can really drive you insane and run out of logic. It's justifiable if it is a fat salary that the company need some time to prepare its disbursements, but c'mon I am just earning half the minimum salary amount a Swiss will earn per month (yes, half of a minimum salary) that I don't even know what amount of budgeting I would do to make ends meet. To fast forward again, I got my salary a month delayed.
Third case. Two weeks ago, I requested an attestation from our Bulova-sporting suite-clad American-accented HR officer. An attestation is what we call a certification, and I basically requested this document so that I can proceed with my Schengen visa application to somewhat have an escape with the high prices of Switzerland. I actually requested the same document before, last January during my bid to secure a French visa during the housing crisis. Unfortunately, I can no longer use it as the winter drizzle in Bern rendered the document unlegible and unprofessional enough by European standards. With visa fees running as high as 100 SFr and all the travelling I needed to accomplish to Berne, I don't want to risk being rejected and prefer to accomplish all the requirements as perfectly as possible.
I really thought my request would be pretty straightforward as a file has already been created under my name with this document type. All he needed to do is to retrive my file in his computer, change the date and print it usign the office's letter form. I was wrong! Up until now, after 8 emails and 5 mailbox messages left, my certification has not arrived yet. This actually compounds the time I need to apply for a visa as processing takes approximately 2 weeks depending upon wheter they like your background or not. And it could take over a month as well if the Europeans consider your citizenship/background as 'undesirable' and 'dangerous'.
Reflecting on this experiences I had, having three exceptional cases I think is no longer an isolated and random thing. It is no longer random if on three occasions, the same thing happens to you again and again and again - you need to wait, email, leave message, wait, email, leave message, wait, email, leave message... in that sequence of events and finally yell out to them to vent out your frustrations and have them treat you seriously. Before I arrived to Geneva, I really cared about being polite and sensitive not to spark any confrontation with them. But my experiences tend to tranform me into a rabid animal who would apply the law of nature and disorder just to have what I want.
If that's how they want things done, then I could be the most cruel, impolite individual to deal with. I am ready....
My application was, in other words, I think handled very 'unprofessionally' by the organization I am currently working. I submitted it June, 2006 and a couple of days later, got an email response that they are interested in my application. With this assurance of acceptance from my would-be supervisor, I accepted various Canadian obligations with regards to my academics as to keep my timetable open in time for my anticipated deployment in Geneva come January, 2007.
Days and months passed by and I didn't receive a formal written confirmation of my internship from my organization. I sent emails every now and then to follow up things but still, I was not able to get a timely reply nor a confirmation of the receipt of my email. I actually sent them 33 emails to be exact just to prick their butts a little bit to remind them that I am here waiting for their actions regarding my internship.
Finally, come 8 December 2006, the document I was waiting for arrived after nearly 6 months of waiting. Because of their inaction on my contract, I was not able to find a decent place to stay in Geneva nor was I able to scout the best ticket price available. I was also rushed when I applied for my immigration document to Switzerland.
Fast-forward. Arriving in Geneva, each 'foreigner' as the Swiss immigration calls us, need to obtain a carte de legitimation to prove that we are indeed of legal status in this country. Being law-abiding to the best I could be, I filled up the necessary form and submitted them to the person responsible on my first day of work. I actually felt this document is not that important, as I was thinking that I am already in Switzerland and this is just another ID card and have my identification documents intact with me. Little did I know that I will need this card to apply for visas to visit other European countries.
Time passed by and two months later, the card has not arrived yet. I felt really furious as my immigration document will be expiring by the end of March. All the what if's have been crossing my mind... what if the card did not arrive at the end of my visa term? That means I will be illegal here? I didn't really care about the European travel thing though, what I did care about is getting my card and that I don't violate any immigration laws in this country.
Of course, what did I do during the processing of the document? Every week or two, I sent emails and left phone messages to the person responsible in processing this document in our organization. And everytime I call her office, either she is not there or I receive a message that she is on vacation. How many days of vacation do people here have per year? 90? As always, in true Geneva international organization fashion, my emails and phone messages fell on deaf ears and I didn't get any response from them. To fast forward the story, I got my card about 2 weeks ago.
Another issue that I had with my workplace is regarding my salary. With Switzerland's enormously high prices, having a continuous supply of money is of essential concern here. Being a foreigner trying to get yourself adapted with Swiss prices, you cannot help but just go crazy and hysterical with the fact that your salary will be postponed for a month. It's ok if you are from Switzerland going to Canada where living expenses are way more affordable but going to Switzerland where an 8 oz. bottle of Coke costs $3.50, it can really drive you insane and run out of logic. It's justifiable if it is a fat salary that the company need some time to prepare its disbursements, but c'mon I am just earning half the minimum salary amount a Swiss will earn per month (yes, half of a minimum salary) that I don't even know what amount of budgeting I would do to make ends meet. To fast forward again, I got my salary a month delayed.
Third case. Two weeks ago, I requested an attestation from our Bulova-sporting suite-clad American-accented HR officer. An attestation is what we call a certification, and I basically requested this document so that I can proceed with my Schengen visa application to somewhat have an escape with the high prices of Switzerland. I actually requested the same document before, last January during my bid to secure a French visa during the housing crisis. Unfortunately, I can no longer use it as the winter drizzle in Bern rendered the document unlegible and unprofessional enough by European standards. With visa fees running as high as 100 SFr and all the travelling I needed to accomplish to Berne, I don't want to risk being rejected and prefer to accomplish all the requirements as perfectly as possible.
I really thought my request would be pretty straightforward as a file has already been created under my name with this document type. All he needed to do is to retrive my file in his computer, change the date and print it usign the office's letter form. I was wrong! Up until now, after 8 emails and 5 mailbox messages left, my certification has not arrived yet. This actually compounds the time I need to apply for a visa as processing takes approximately 2 weeks depending upon wheter they like your background or not. And it could take over a month as well if the Europeans consider your citizenship/background as 'undesirable' and 'dangerous'.
Reflecting on this experiences I had, having three exceptional cases I think is no longer an isolated and random thing. It is no longer random if on three occasions, the same thing happens to you again and again and again - you need to wait, email, leave message, wait, email, leave message, wait, email, leave message... in that sequence of events and finally yell out to them to vent out your frustrations and have them treat you seriously. Before I arrived to Geneva, I really cared about being polite and sensitive not to spark any confrontation with them. But my experiences tend to tranform me into a rabid animal who would apply the law of nature and disorder just to have what I want.
If that's how they want things done, then I could be the most cruel, impolite individual to deal with. I am ready....
Friday, March 23, 2007
Weekend
If some people look forward for their Friday nights and weekends, its the opposite for me. I dread Friday nights and weekends. Why if you may ask? Should it be the time that one looks forward to to make fun and to keep the mind off work? Unfortunately, its the opposite for me
as those days drive me restless.
What am I doing to make things better if you may ask? Why not try to plan something out with colleagues, friends and acquaintances? If I am free, then they would surely be free as well as everyone is on official work stoppage during the weekend. With all the courage I have left, I mustered to ask friends and colleagues if they would be interested to plan something out over the weekend. The generic question was 'Do you have any plans for the weekend/Would you like to do something over the weekend?' and here are their responses:
Person 1: Unfortunately I won't be able to join, I will be going to visit Rome over the weekend and visit the colliseum and make a wish on the Spanish steps.
Person 2: I'm sorry but I will be skiing in Chamonix (France) this Saturday with my friends.
Person 3: Oh, I'll be going to Lichtenstein to visit the country and have a souvenir passport stamp.
Person 4: I'll be taking some time off to visit Madrid and go wine-tasting in the Spanish vineyards.
Person 5: My mom would be visiting and we would actually be travelling to St. Gallen and Ticino.
Person 6: Regrets but my boyfriend and I would be driving to the Swiss mountains over the weekend.
Person 7: Sorry Mark, but I already have things planned this week and next week.
With the number of persons I tried, I don't know if all of them are indeed genuine or not. Is it just bad timing or bad luck? Is it because its very un-European to ask for an appointment 2-5 days if you propose something and that you need to ask a minimum of 3 weeks in advance? Or is it just a covert way of saying 'You are boring and I don't like your company?'
With the rejections I have been getting over the week, you just can't help but think the unthinkable and run out of logic in your head. It surely drives down your self-worth and plunges you deeper down the doldrums. And the weather hasn't been co-operative as well as it is
all cloudy and gloomy the past few days.
So what are my ideas for the weekend then? Here are my ideas:
1. Count the number of stars in the sky until you fall asleep.
2. Watch YouTube videos and laugh out loud like a lunatic by yourself until your dreaded neighbour reports you to the landlord.
3. Talk to your friends and family back home until your load runs dry and/or they have had enough of your rants and hang up.
4. Splurge yourself on a shopping spree and shop and spend compulsively with Switzerland's affordable prices.
5. Shop in Migros for ingredients, treat yourself with your own culinary expertise and cook in the cramped confines of your kitchen. Savour your labour by yourself by pretending to have the appetite to eat what you did and congratulating out yourself loud how good a cook you are.
7. Practise your French by talking to strangers on the bus stop and trams to the best of your ability.
8. Go to your office on a Saturday and do an 8-hour workday pretending it is not the weekend.
9. Watch the second hand of your clock tick by until you get dizzy and hypnotized and brought back to reality by the church bellfry countdown nearby.
10. Take the SBB train to travel out of Geneva and enjoy the marvellous scenery this country has to offer, stroll by the lakeside by yourself clutching a Lonely Planet guidebook and a dictionary and stare at extremely happy and content people flaunting their signature
clothes and watches while sipping coffee/tea in posh cafés/restaurants.
Indeed, it could be tough at times.
as those days drive me restless.
What am I doing to make things better if you may ask? Why not try to plan something out with colleagues, friends and acquaintances? If I am free, then they would surely be free as well as everyone is on official work stoppage during the weekend. With all the courage I have left, I mustered to ask friends and colleagues if they would be interested to plan something out over the weekend. The generic question was 'Do you have any plans for the weekend/Would you like to do something over the weekend?' and here are their responses:
Person 1: Unfortunately I won't be able to join, I will be going to visit Rome over the weekend and visit the colliseum and make a wish on the Spanish steps.
Person 2: I'm sorry but I will be skiing in Chamonix (France) this Saturday with my friends.
Person 3: Oh, I'll be going to Lichtenstein to visit the country and have a souvenir passport stamp.
Person 4: I'll be taking some time off to visit Madrid and go wine-tasting in the Spanish vineyards.
Person 5: My mom would be visiting and we would actually be travelling to St. Gallen and Ticino.
Person 6: Regrets but my boyfriend and I would be driving to the Swiss mountains over the weekend.
Person 7: Sorry Mark, but I already have things planned this week and next week.
With the number of persons I tried, I don't know if all of them are indeed genuine or not. Is it just bad timing or bad luck? Is it because its very un-European to ask for an appointment 2-5 days if you propose something and that you need to ask a minimum of 3 weeks in advance? Or is it just a covert way of saying 'You are boring and I don't like your company?'
With the rejections I have been getting over the week, you just can't help but think the unthinkable and run out of logic in your head. It surely drives down your self-worth and plunges you deeper down the doldrums. And the weather hasn't been co-operative as well as it is
all cloudy and gloomy the past few days.
So what are my ideas for the weekend then? Here are my ideas:
1. Count the number of stars in the sky until you fall asleep.
2. Watch YouTube videos and laugh out loud like a lunatic by yourself until your dreaded neighbour reports you to the landlord.
3. Talk to your friends and family back home until your load runs dry and/or they have had enough of your rants and hang up.
4. Splurge yourself on a shopping spree and shop and spend compulsively with Switzerland's affordable prices.
5. Shop in Migros for ingredients, treat yourself with your own culinary expertise and cook in the cramped confines of your kitchen. Savour your labour by yourself by pretending to have the appetite to eat what you did and congratulating out yourself loud how good a cook you are.
7. Practise your French by talking to strangers on the bus stop and trams to the best of your ability.
8. Go to your office on a Saturday and do an 8-hour workday pretending it is not the weekend.
9. Watch the second hand of your clock tick by until you get dizzy and hypnotized and brought back to reality by the church bellfry countdown nearby.
10. Take the SBB train to travel out of Geneva and enjoy the marvellous scenery this country has to offer, stroll by the lakeside by yourself clutching a Lonely Planet guidebook and a dictionary and stare at extremely happy and content people flaunting their signature
clothes and watches while sipping coffee/tea in posh cafés/restaurants.
Indeed, it could be tough at times.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
No trip for this week
Hello everyone,
During the past couple of weeks, it has been regular for me to go out of Geneva and explore other areas of Switzerland. However, this week, my travels will terminate for a bit as I stayed indoors for three staight nights (starting Friday evening) trying to recuperate from a flu relapse which actually made me go 'down in the doldrums.' It was sunny outside for the entire week but my mood and health is not really co-operating with me to partake leisurely activities in this weather break we have in Geneva. During this time of the year they say, weather in Geneva is always on the cloudy side and I have actually proven that myself with cloudy spells lasting over 2 1/2 weeks. That means dark, no sun and the balmy feeling that does not really motivate you to go to work.
I thought I was already ok last Thursday and Friday as I was already able to go to work and my fever and cough has been quite improving. However, come Sunday morning, I had a relapse and my condition deteriorated once again. I actually contracted another symptom involving the digestive tract, describing it is deemed improper for this blog :(. Hopefully everything will be fine and that I would just need some additional bed rest to recuperate.
I actually had some interesting visitors over the past couple of weeks that I personally do not know. Surprisingly, they are from France - in Saint-Lumine-de-Coutais, Versailles, and Arcuiel. If you only know my struggles everyday from not knowing your language.... makes me feel really isolated and down in the doldrums here in Geneva. Would be nice to have a francophone friend too!
During the past couple of weeks, it has been regular for me to go out of Geneva and explore other areas of Switzerland. However, this week, my travels will terminate for a bit as I stayed indoors for three staight nights (starting Friday evening) trying to recuperate from a flu relapse which actually made me go 'down in the doldrums.' It was sunny outside for the entire week but my mood and health is not really co-operating with me to partake leisurely activities in this weather break we have in Geneva. During this time of the year they say, weather in Geneva is always on the cloudy side and I have actually proven that myself with cloudy spells lasting over 2 1/2 weeks. That means dark, no sun and the balmy feeling that does not really motivate you to go to work.
I thought I was already ok last Thursday and Friday as I was already able to go to work and my fever and cough has been quite improving. However, come Sunday morning, I had a relapse and my condition deteriorated once again. I actually contracted another symptom involving the digestive tract, describing it is deemed improper for this blog :(. Hopefully everything will be fine and that I would just need some additional bed rest to recuperate.
I actually had some interesting visitors over the past couple of weeks that I personally do not know. Surprisingly, they are from France - in Saint-Lumine-de-Coutais, Versailles, and Arcuiel. If you only know my struggles everyday from not knowing your language.... makes me feel really isolated and down in the doldrums here in Geneva. Would be nice to have a francophone friend too!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Have you filed your taxes yet????
Its already the middle of March and its the time of the year that last year's T4s start flooding in. Being overseas does not actually exempt me from filling my taxes and it will surely be a more complicated process considering my present physical circumstances and the logistics involved.
Last Tuesday, when I was bedridden, our British receptionist/secretary informing me that a letter for me from Canada has arrived. When I finally reported back to the office this Thursday, I was surprised to get a 15+ T4s sent by my mother just in time to complete my income tax return.
Here's a collection of my T4s
Last Tuesday, when I was bedridden, our British receptionist/secretary informing me that a letter for me from Canada has arrived. When I finally reported back to the office this Thursday, I was surprised to get a 15+ T4s sent by my mother just in time to complete my income tax return.
Here's a collection of my T4sIt's not that I am flaunting the T4s that I have here because I'm rich, its actually the otherwise. You know, last year was really a weird year for me as I moved from one employer to another. The problem with me is that I almost always get tired of the job too quickly and want to move on to another minimum salary job. The end result, now I got like 15+ T4s needing to be accomplished for this year's tax return.
If you guys may ask, how could I file my taxes if I am outside of Canada. Luckily, the CRA allows electronic filling of taxes and using online software such as UFile, all you need to do is to electronically fill out the questionnaires and voila, you can then submit the result to the CRA for faster processing. I am really determined to get my taxes done right away to lessen the things I need to worry about in my "busy" "professional" "high-paying" "stress-free" lifestyle.
Disappointingly, my refund for this year's taxes didn't even reach $80. Despite the fact that every year, the taxes I pay gets higher and higher, this has been my lowest calculated refund to-date. I actually expected it to rise from last year's due to the fact that we have new tax credit policies such as the public transit pass but surprisingly, it hasn't been this case to me.
To those who are filling their taxes there, take note that you could now claim credits from your monthly bus pass from any recognized public transportation entity in your town or city. Moreso, if you have prescription drugs bought last year, you can declare them as well in your taxes for credits. And if by any chance you moved from one locality to another, you can claim your moving expenses as well as long as it made you at least 40 kilometres nearer to the place of economic activity (eg school, work etc.).
Should anyone have tips on how to better improve their refund situation, share your advice to me. Take note it must be legal and not illegal in any means as I have 0 tolerance for fraud.
If you guys may ask, how could I file my taxes if I am outside of Canada. Luckily, the CRA allows electronic filling of taxes and using online software such as UFile, all you need to do is to electronically fill out the questionnaires and voila, you can then submit the result to the CRA for faster processing. I am really determined to get my taxes done right away to lessen the things I need to worry about in my "busy" "professional" "high-paying" "stress-free" lifestyle.
Disappointingly, my refund for this year's taxes didn't even reach $80. Despite the fact that every year, the taxes I pay gets higher and higher, this has been my lowest calculated refund to-date. I actually expected it to rise from last year's due to the fact that we have new tax credit policies such as the public transit pass but surprisingly, it hasn't been this case to me.
To those who are filling their taxes there, take note that you could now claim credits from your monthly bus pass from any recognized public transportation entity in your town or city. Moreso, if you have prescription drugs bought last year, you can declare them as well in your taxes for credits. And if by any chance you moved from one locality to another, you can claim your moving expenses as well as long as it made you at least 40 kilometres nearer to the place of economic activity (eg school, work etc.).
Should anyone have tips on how to better improve their refund situation, share your advice to me. Take note it must be legal and not illegal in any means as I have 0 tolerance for fraud.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Down with flu
With the changing weather, I got inflicted with flu (of the Swiss variety). It was a weird and a funny experience at the doctor's office today. In my experiences in Canada , when you are examined by a physician for flu symptoms, they try to examine your throat, ears and any other facial passageway(s). They then put a strip indicator into your mouth to determine wheter the infection is viral or bacterial. They then proceed with the usual stethoscopic diagnosis where you are asked to breathe in and breathe out.
Here in Geneva, I was lucky to have a medical office from my international organization. With lucky, I mean I do not need to pay upfront for any professional fees rendered by them to me as the preliminary diagnosis is free. What I find strange though is that I was required to disrobe partially and lie down on the bed just to have a stethoscopic diagnosis. It's a little bit uncomfortable as all the diagnosis was done in French and I didn't really had a solid grasp of what was transpiring. Moreso, all the medical staff were 23-chromosomed creatures that made the entire experience even more uncomfortable! I got even more paranoid when they asked me where I am from and when I said the magic word 'Canada', they started moving to another room to get their face filters/masks.... you know what I was thinking about when they did that - the four letter potent word - SARS???? Well, I'm pretty sure I don't have it as I think I got it from my travelling spree. I did some travelling since last Friday and one cause might be overfatigue. Another cause I am thinking is that I used a lot of public transit especially trains and being in public places most of the time increases your chance of being in contact with harmful pathogens that might cause flu. Another thing is that spring is already here in Geneva and the changing weather might also have a hand on that. Even people on trams cough a lot and I reckon that it must be the most vulnerable season of having a flu.
I got a presciption afterwards but since I am outside of Canada, I need to have to pay the medicines upfront. They actually gave me a throat spray, paracetamol and some antibiotics valid for 16 days. In other words, I am going to have an antibiotic theraphy.
I really hope to get well soon. I do not want to lay idle here unproductive and bedridden. I have so many things to do. I even missed an important meeting that I should be having this Monday that I have waited for 3 weeks to happen. And other than that, I have a paper to submit with my adviser for a conference participation in Hong Kong. Would be nice to have a paper accepted on that and take the opportunity to go have a taste of Asia again and probably drop by Manila to visit old friends!
Kindly give me best your wishes. Its tough to be sick in another country but don't worry, I am taking it as part of the exciting and most of the time mind-boggling experience I have. Everything will be fine!
Here in Geneva, I was lucky to have a medical office from my international organization. With lucky, I mean I do not need to pay upfront for any professional fees rendered by them to me as the preliminary diagnosis is free. What I find strange though is that I was required to disrobe partially and lie down on the bed just to have a stethoscopic diagnosis. It's a little bit uncomfortable as all the diagnosis was done in French and I didn't really had a solid grasp of what was transpiring. Moreso, all the medical staff were 23-chromosomed creatures that made the entire experience even more uncomfortable! I got even more paranoid when they asked me where I am from and when I said the magic word 'Canada', they started moving to another room to get their face filters/masks.... you know what I was thinking about when they did that - the four letter potent word - SARS???? Well, I'm pretty sure I don't have it as I think I got it from my travelling spree. I did some travelling since last Friday and one cause might be overfatigue. Another cause I am thinking is that I used a lot of public transit especially trains and being in public places most of the time increases your chance of being in contact with harmful pathogens that might cause flu. Another thing is that spring is already here in Geneva and the changing weather might also have a hand on that. Even people on trams cough a lot and I reckon that it must be the most vulnerable season of having a flu.
I got a presciption afterwards but since I am outside of Canada, I need to have to pay the medicines upfront. They actually gave me a throat spray, paracetamol and some antibiotics valid for 16 days. In other words, I am going to have an antibiotic theraphy.
I really hope to get well soon. I do not want to lay idle here unproductive and bedridden. I have so many things to do. I even missed an important meeting that I should be having this Monday that I have waited for 3 weeks to happen. And other than that, I have a paper to submit with my adviser for a conference participation in Hong Kong. Would be nice to have a paper accepted on that and take the opportunity to go have a taste of Asia again and probably drop by Manila to visit old friends!
Kindly give me best your wishes. Its tough to be sick in another country but don't worry, I am taking it as part of the exciting and most of the time mind-boggling experience I have. Everything will be fine!
Trip to Zurich, Schwyz and surrounding areas (updated)
After Interlaken, I went on a trip to see my good old Swiss friend Alain in the Zurich area of Switzerland. From Interlaken, I took the train to Berne and then changed from there to Zurich and took another commuted train and got off in the medieval town of Baden. I wasn't already feeling fine at that time, with tremendously sore throat coupled with running nose and 150 km/h sneezes which annoyed me every 5 minutes or so...
There was actually a miscommunication that happened on where I needed to wait for my friend to pick me up. Being first time in that station, I was instructed to go to a bus terminal somewhere outside. However, it turned out that there were two bus terminals on the station one facing the facade of the terminal and the other on the far end, which was the one directly facing the exit. I, being as naive as I could be waited on the wrong bus terminal and ended up staying there loosing contact with my friend who was going to pick me up. After several phone calls and navigation, I was finally able to be picked up.
On that evening, we went into an Irish bar named Mr. Pickwicks. I was surprised that they do have Mr. Pickwicks in this part of Switzerland as well and came to the realization that it is a bar chain. We went there with 5 other guys, all Swiss-Germans and was treated to a great evening of Swiss-German company, hospitality and conversation!
At this point, I would like to talk about the dominant language of Switzerland. If English is the language of the majority in Canada, then Swiss German is its counterpart in this country where more than 60 % of the population use it as their primary mode of communication. At least in Canada, you would not see the language divide that easily because of the tremendous size of the country and provinces but here in Switzerland, just drive a minimum of 1 1/2 hours from Geneva then you will see the traffic signs change and go inside a McDonalds and you would here no French at all. So in other words, if I am helpless in Geneva with my limited French, then I am more helpless here in the German speaking part with my 0 German. But on a positive note, I noticed that anglophones can do better off in German Switzerland as I observed that in general, German-speaking Swiss are more functional in English than their French-speaking counterparts.
What's funny is that if you learn German overseas, say in Canada, then chances are you would not be able to experience the benefits of your knowledge of the language 100 %. You see, Swiss people communicate with their variety of German unique to them. And this variety actually changes from valley-to-valley or from one mountain to another as the mountains have as they say, acted as a natural barrier isolating villages apart prompting the development of unique
Swiss-German dialects.
What I mean by the statement that you would not be able to utilize 100% of the German as a second you learned overseas is that the German spoken in Switzerland is not the same variety as the standard German mainly spoken in Germany. Even Germans have difficulty understanding the German of Swiss variety. For the Swiss, shifting to speak to the 'German of the Germans' is tantamount to speaking a 'more formal and quaint language' or some would have even said that 'it feels weird that it is like speaking a foreign language.' Now I understand several of my German and Swiss friends back in Canada why they would prefer to communicate in English rather than in German. It just feels a little bit awkward for them.
If you may want to hear the sounds of this language (which for me basically translates to another crazy linguistic hurdle I need to hurdle for the meanwhile) click here.
And to hear actual Swiss-German people conversing, watch the video:
The next day wasn't really good for me as I have started loosing my voice and could really feel the malaise brought by my upcoming flu. Since I was in this part of Switzerland to travel and not to stay indoors, I decided to head out outdoors. Alain and his friend Rhaeto and I went for a drive to the Swiss canton of Schwyz which according to my LonelyPlanet guide was the canton that gave Switzerland its present name.
The drive was awesome and I was treated to a diversity of traditional Swiss countryside landscape, ranging from picturesque lakes:
to impressive mountains:
It was a somewhat scary ascent to these mountains by car as the roads that lead to them are very steep and very narrow indeed. There was one occasion where our car navigated with another car approaching the opposite direction and with a deep barrier-less ravine on your side, it can definitely make your hair stand up while the other car is trying to manage the limited space it has on the road.
And heres one of the scenes of our drive to Schwyz:
We stopped by the lake and me being crazy took some videos while annoying somebody :)
I might be crazy but whose even crazier??? Hahaha!:)
On the evening, we were feted by Alain's parents to a traditional, haut cuisine gastronomic treat that truly is impressive. Properly dining in Switzerland, you get the sense that Swiss in particular and Europeans in general take their gastronomic exercise with utter seriousness and immense attention to detail... very impressive indeed! Compared to eastern dining habits, its on a very different style stereotypically fit for royalty and/or aristocracy. Too bad my photos were not of that good quality to be blog post-worthy.
To sum my trip, I was sent off to Zurich hauptbanhof to catch my train back to snobbish , unfriendly and expensive Geneva. I was really tired with a high fever and I started developing chills. I kinda predict that the next day or so would not be good for me as I know that this will be a prelude to a flu nightmare that I am forecasting.
Goodnight from Geneva.
NB: For some reasons, I cannot post videos directly on the blog so I have them as links temporarily. Someone of higher authority (I suspect the person on the video) must be doing something.... tsk tsk... hope this makes you even more curious to click on the video... HAHAHAHAH!
There was actually a miscommunication that happened on where I needed to wait for my friend to pick me up. Being first time in that station, I was instructed to go to a bus terminal somewhere outside. However, it turned out that there were two bus terminals on the station one facing the facade of the terminal and the other on the far end, which was the one directly facing the exit. I, being as naive as I could be waited on the wrong bus terminal and ended up staying there loosing contact with my friend who was going to pick me up. After several phone calls and navigation, I was finally able to be picked up.
On that evening, we went into an Irish bar named Mr. Pickwicks. I was surprised that they do have Mr. Pickwicks in this part of Switzerland as well and came to the realization that it is a bar chain. We went there with 5 other guys, all Swiss-Germans and was treated to a great evening of Swiss-German company, hospitality and conversation!
At this point, I would like to talk about the dominant language of Switzerland. If English is the language of the majority in Canada, then Swiss German is its counterpart in this country where more than 60 % of the population use it as their primary mode of communication. At least in Canada, you would not see the language divide that easily because of the tremendous size of the country and provinces but here in Switzerland, just drive a minimum of 1 1/2 hours from Geneva then you will see the traffic signs change and go inside a McDonalds and you would here no French at all. So in other words, if I am helpless in Geneva with my limited French, then I am more helpless here in the German speaking part with my 0 German. But on a positive note, I noticed that anglophones can do better off in German Switzerland as I observed that in general, German-speaking Swiss are more functional in English than their French-speaking counterparts.
What's funny is that if you learn German overseas, say in Canada, then chances are you would not be able to experience the benefits of your knowledge of the language 100 %. You see, Swiss people communicate with their variety of German unique to them. And this variety actually changes from valley-to-valley or from one mountain to another as the mountains have as they say, acted as a natural barrier isolating villages apart prompting the development of unique
Swiss-German dialects.
What I mean by the statement that you would not be able to utilize 100% of the German as a second you learned overseas is that the German spoken in Switzerland is not the same variety as the standard German mainly spoken in Germany. Even Germans have difficulty understanding the German of Swiss variety. For the Swiss, shifting to speak to the 'German of the Germans' is tantamount to speaking a 'more formal and quaint language' or some would have even said that 'it feels weird that it is like speaking a foreign language.' Now I understand several of my German and Swiss friends back in Canada why they would prefer to communicate in English rather than in German. It just feels a little bit awkward for them.
If you may want to hear the sounds of this language (which for me basically translates to another crazy linguistic hurdle I need to hurdle for the meanwhile) click here.
And to hear actual Swiss-German people conversing, watch the video:
The next day wasn't really good for me as I have started loosing my voice and could really feel the malaise brought by my upcoming flu. Since I was in this part of Switzerland to travel and not to stay indoors, I decided to head out outdoors. Alain and his friend Rhaeto and I went for a drive to the Swiss canton of Schwyz which according to my LonelyPlanet guide was the canton that gave Switzerland its present name.
The drive was awesome and I was treated to a diversity of traditional Swiss countryside landscape, ranging from picturesque lakes:to impressive mountains:
It was a somewhat scary ascent to these mountains by car as the roads that lead to them are very steep and very narrow indeed. There was one occasion where our car navigated with another car approaching the opposite direction and with a deep barrier-less ravine on your side, it can definitely make your hair stand up while the other car is trying to manage the limited space it has on the road.
And heres one of the scenes of our drive to Schwyz:
We stopped by the lake and me being crazy took some videos while annoying somebody :)
I might be crazy but whose even crazier??? Hahaha!:)
On the evening, we were feted by Alain's parents to a traditional, haut cuisine gastronomic treat that truly is impressive. Properly dining in Switzerland, you get the sense that Swiss in particular and Europeans in general take their gastronomic exercise with utter seriousness and immense attention to detail... very impressive indeed! Compared to eastern dining habits, its on a very different style stereotypically fit for royalty and/or aristocracy. Too bad my photos were not of that good quality to be blog post-worthy.
To sum my trip, I was sent off to Zurich hauptbanhof to catch my train back to snobbish , unfriendly and expensive Geneva. I was really tired with a high fever and I started developing chills. I kinda predict that the next day or so would not be good for me as I know that this will be a prelude to a flu nightmare that I am forecasting.
Goodnight from Geneva.
NB: For some reasons, I cannot post videos directly on the blog so I have them as links temporarily. Someone of higher authority (I suspect the person on the video) must be doing something.... tsk tsk... hope this makes you even more curious to click on the video... HAHAHAHAH!
Most extensive trip to date!
Looking by the calendar, it has been actually my third month here in Switzerland. As a token of appreciation to the cheap labour that is provided by the interns, the ILO gives 2.5 days of leave per calendar month. Me being a dilligent hard-worker (ahem, ahem), I have never actually taken any leave yet since my January internship start at the organization. In short, I already have one and a half workweek (7.5 days) of leave accumulated as a result of my over-work and underpaid intern position at the ILO.
So last Friday, I decided to use just a day of my leave and do what other interns have been doing in the past couple of months - that is splurge themselves into travelling. Besides, I have always felt out of place with their conversation as they talk about their travelling and alcohol-drinking pursuits during the term of their internship. In that way, when they ask me about my weekend, I have something exciting to tell and not just vague fillers that I invent from my imaginary travelogue.
First stop, the posh Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, about 150 km and approximately 2 hours by SBB train from Geneva.
Because of some left-over work c/o my French "chief", I was forced to take the last train at 8:36pm. With this train, I will arrive on my destination at about 11:00 and then need to find my hostel by myself in the dark. There was actually a 'minor' problem that occured on the way, as the train had a 10-minute waiting time delay in Laussane to accomodate a late train arriving from Berne. Looking by my schedule, I am really in trouble as I will not be able to catch my connecting train to Gstaad in Montreaux. What does this mean? Aborting the trip and head back to Geneva? Spend the night camping in the station at Montreaux? Perhaps try my luck to bitch with the SBB staff to give me hotel accomodation? Luckily, SBB was flexible enough on this situation as the connecting train in Montreaux waited for us being the last train to Gstaad.
I took the train to Brigg and needed to stop and change trains in in Montreaux
And another small train to get to the summit:
So last Friday, I decided to use just a day of my leave and do what other interns have been doing in the past couple of months - that is splurge themselves into travelling. Besides, I have always felt out of place with their conversation as they talk about their travelling and alcohol-drinking pursuits during the term of their internship. In that way, when they ask me about my weekend, I have something exciting to tell and not just vague fillers that I invent from my imaginary travelogue.
First stop, the posh Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, about 150 km and approximately 2 hours by SBB train from Geneva.
Because of some left-over work c/o my French "chief", I was forced to take the last train at 8:36pm. With this train, I will arrive on my destination at about 11:00 and then need to find my hostel by myself in the dark. There was actually a 'minor' problem that occured on the way, as the train had a 10-minute waiting time delay in Laussane to accomodate a late train arriving from Berne. Looking by my schedule, I am really in trouble as I will not be able to catch my connecting train to Gstaad in Montreaux. What does this mean? Aborting the trip and head back to Geneva? Spend the night camping in the station at Montreaux? Perhaps try my luck to bitch with the SBB staff to give me hotel accomodation? Luckily, SBB was flexible enough on this situation as the connecting train in Montreaux waited for us being the last train to Gstaad.
I took the train to Brigg and needed to stop and change trains in in MontreauxUpon taking my connecting train, I noticed that I am on a different kind of carriage. Compared to the regular commuter trains on Switzerland's plains, the train to Gstaad is way smaller with lesser passengers.
Hiking in Switzerland is comfortable and easy. All hikepaths are marked with directions and approximate hiking time to the next destination. In my case here, I need to make 1hr 30 min of hiking time to get back to Gstaad.
Some impressions from my hike:
Come noon, my stomach was already rumbling with my half-a-day hike. This was what I have for lunch. It was very economical indeed (Sfr 2.90 for the salad and SFr .60 for the yoghurt) but the salami sandwich just tasted awful.
Continuing my hike, I was surprised to see vestiges of Canada with this Yukon souvernir plate in one of the farm vehicles I passed by.
Switzerland is a very bike-friendly nation. All its major cities such as Zurich and Geneva have dedicated bike paths. Even hiking trails have dedicated bike-paths that are well signed like this:
Here's some more scenes from my hike:
Here is how a Swiss speed limit sign looks like
Heres a street post you'll see in every North American street intersections
And here's a Swiss streetsign which you'll find on building walls, and on the middle of the street itself, makes me puzzled on where to look for street names and confused in finding directions
Yes my friends, a big mac meal with Uncle Ronald costs almosts $11 CAD in Heidi's hometown. And thats the cheapest meal in town. Wanna dine in restaurants? Prepare to spend like $20 and above! And guess how much guys and gals make when they make themselves one of the capitalist slaves of Uncle Ronald in the land of Heidi - $17.60 CAD/hour! Yes, that's $17.60 per hour, more than a Ph.D. intern would make working in a government lab in Canada.
Strolling down the city, I can't help but be attacted on the shopping displays on town. And of course, I bought them all with my tremendously high and very much "on-time" intern salary!
After strolling on town, it was now time to go to the top of the world. Here are some pictures and videos:
Arriving by the train station, we need to take a cable car for an upward descent to the mountains.
And here's the magnificent view on the cable car:
Travelling by myself in a place I haven't been before, I was actually scared and nervous as I don't know wheter I am taking the right step or not. What I find weird with this train is that all the stops are by demand and you need to listen carefully to the engineer for the name of the station. Since my French and German are not really good, I felt really paranoid about the pronunciation of the place names as I do not know how they sound like. What if the engineer said Gstaad or Saanen (my destinations) but I was not able to recognize their pronunciation? I will for sure be doomed!
Another thing I find a little bit scarry is that after about 45 minutes of travel, I am the only passenger on the train. All the rest of the passengers have taken off in their respective stops. That means I have no one to ask for questions or directions which made me more uncomfortable.
I arrived at the station at about 11:10. Next step is to find the hostel in the dark of the evening. I was walking with my wheeled luggage in the town's cobbled streets so just imagine the noise I have been creating. Plus, I really looked lost as I don't really know where to go. I ask directions from two Swiss-germans in French who has been drinking in a bar and they began to blurt out in rapid, machine-gun like Swiss-German. With their hand gestures, they pointed out that I should go to a certain direction near a certain hospital. I walked for about 30 minutes into the dark of the town but still to no success.
I finally decided to go back to town and head on to the police station, they might probably be able to help me. By coincidence, I met a guy who I suppose will be having a date with his girlfriend after a day's long work in one of the town's bar. I ask him in all the courage I have left in me and in French about the direction of the hostel and voila, he answered back in perfect English! My saviour indeed! And whats more, he even offered me to drive to that location. I then realized that I was pointed in the wrong direction by the two drunkards. I was already on the verge of panicking and my last resort was to go to the police station and have myself incarcerated in there!
The hostel was well worth it. For CHF 33 (~ $32.50 CAD), you get a bunk bed of your own and a free breakfast buffet. The rooms and the washrooms are just immaculately clean, very Swiss indeed!
Gstaad according to my Lonely Planet is the hideout of famous personalities like Paris Hilton, Roger Moore and Sean Connery. There's a lot of plush hotels and restaurants where millionaires (like me) indulge in luxury.
Next day, I went out of town to discover what it offers. It is my first time on a Swiss mountain region and I was really excited to see breathtaking sceneries that is definitely unmatchable in any of my previous travelling experience.
After about 45 minutes of hiking, I reached the neighbouring town of Gstaad. From there, I took the train to start my entire afternoon of hiking in a neigbouring town whose name I forgot.
The train ride was awesome. It was a different kind of train with wide windows for panoramic views and lots of rich lovers cudling inside. Heres the view inside the train:
Another thing I find a little bit scarry is that after about 45 minutes of travel, I am the only passenger on the train. All the rest of the passengers have taken off in their respective stops. That means I have no one to ask for questions or directions which made me more uncomfortable.
I arrived at the station at about 11:10. Next step is to find the hostel in the dark of the evening. I was walking with my wheeled luggage in the town's cobbled streets so just imagine the noise I have been creating. Plus, I really looked lost as I don't really know where to go. I ask directions from two Swiss-germans in French who has been drinking in a bar and they began to blurt out in rapid, machine-gun like Swiss-German. With their hand gestures, they pointed out that I should go to a certain direction near a certain hospital. I walked for about 30 minutes into the dark of the town but still to no success.
I finally decided to go back to town and head on to the police station, they might probably be able to help me. By coincidence, I met a guy who I suppose will be having a date with his girlfriend after a day's long work in one of the town's bar. I ask him in all the courage I have left in me and in French about the direction of the hostel and voila, he answered back in perfect English! My saviour indeed! And whats more, he even offered me to drive to that location. I then realized that I was pointed in the wrong direction by the two drunkards. I was already on the verge of panicking and my last resort was to go to the police station and have myself incarcerated in there!
The hostel was well worth it. For CHF 33 (~ $32.50 CAD), you get a bunk bed of your own and a free breakfast buffet. The rooms and the washrooms are just immaculately clean, very Swiss indeed!
Gstaad according to my Lonely Planet is the hideout of famous personalities like Paris Hilton, Roger Moore and Sean Connery. There's a lot of plush hotels and restaurants where millionaires (like me) indulge in luxury.
Next day, I went out of town to discover what it offers. It is my first time on a Swiss mountain region and I was really excited to see breathtaking sceneries that is definitely unmatchable in any of my previous travelling experience.
This is the view outside my hostel window, jealous eh?
I spent the entire day hiking in the towns of Saanen and Gstaad. Here are scenes from my hike.
After about 45 minutes of hiking, I reached the neighbouring town of Gstaad. From there, I took the train to start my entire afternoon of hiking in a neigbouring town whose name I forgot.
The train ride was awesome. It was a different kind of train with wide windows for panoramic views and lots of rich lovers cudling inside. Heres the view inside the train:
Hiking in Switzerland is comfortable and easy. All hikepaths are marked with directions and approximate hiking time to the next destination. In my case here, I need to make 1hr 30 min of hiking time to get back to Gstaad.
Some impressions from my hike:Come noon, my stomach was already rumbling with my half-a-day hike. This was what I have for lunch. It was very economical indeed (Sfr 2.90 for the salad and SFr .60 for the yoghurt) but the salami sandwich just tasted awful.
Continuing my hike, I was surprised to see vestiges of Canada with this Yukon souvernir plate in one of the farm vehicles I passed by.
Switzerland is a very bike-friendly nation. All its major cities such as Zurich and Geneva have dedicated bike paths. Even hiking trails have dedicated bike-paths that are well signed like this:
Here's some more scenes from my hike:
Now, halfway into my hike, I encountered some standard Swiss road traffic signs which means I am pretty safe and near into civilized/domesticated teritory. I'll take this opportunity to orient you with Swiss (or probably pan-European as well) road signs:
If this is for Manitoba, Canada
this is for Switzerland (Mario, which one do you prefer?)
If this is for Canada....
If this is for Manitoba, Canadathis is for Switzerland (Mario, which one do you prefer?)If this is for Canada....Here is how a Swiss speed limit sign looks likeAnd streetsigns are different and confusing for me as well. Don't expect to find a streetpost on internsections the way you are accustomed to here when finding directions as you would have no luck for sure.
Heres a street post you'll see in every North American street intersectionsAnd here's a Swiss streetsign which you'll find on building walls, and on the middle of the street itself, makes me puzzled on where to look for street names and confused in finding directionsSomewhere in my hike, I was able to see vestiges of Canada again.... it seems to haunt me on this hike actually:
After almost a day of hiking, I left the ski resort town of Gstaad to my next destination, Interlaken.
I left Spitz at about 20.42 for my train to Interlaken arrived at the city at 23.00. Next challenge as usual is finding my youth hostel. To make a long story short and save myself from further embarassment, the search took me an hour and a half and it was really disappointing indeed. I even had mistakes with another hotel that has already closed for the evening and demanded them that they let me in because I have a reservation. It turns out that it was a hotel with the same name on its first two syllables and with a different name on the last syllable. How embarassing indeed!
Interlaken is a touristic town. There are tourists all around - Germans, Spanish, English, Americans, and of course the lovely Japanese and Koreans! They take the town over like an invasion which on deeper thought is good for the Swiss economy.
First impressions:
After almost a day of hiking, I left the ski resort town of Gstaad to my next destination, Interlaken.
Interlaken is a touristic town. There are tourists all around - Germans, Spanish, English, Americans, and of course the lovely Japanese and Koreans! They take the town over like an invasion which on deeper thought is good for the Swiss economy.
First impressions:
For brunch, guess what I had... of course the cheapest meal in town:
Yes my friends, a big mac meal with Uncle Ronald costs almosts $11 CAD in Heidi's hometown. And thats the cheapest meal in town. Wanna dine in restaurants? Prepare to spend like $20 and above! And guess how much guys and gals make when they make themselves one of the capitalist slaves of Uncle Ronald in the land of Heidi - $17.60 CAD/hour! Yes, that's $17.60 per hour, more than a Ph.D. intern would make working in a government lab in Canada.
Strolling down the city, I can't help but be attacted on the shopping displays on town. And of course, I bought them all with my tremendously high and very much "on-time" intern salary!
After strolling on town, it was now time to go to the top of the world. Here are some pictures and videos:
Arriving by the train station, we need to take a cable car for an upward descent to the mountains.
And here's the magnificent view on the cable car:And another small train to get to the summit:
Once on top, this were the views that awed me:
I underestimated the effort needed in mountain hiking. It was tough and makes you hot and sweat on -5 C temperatures.
If you may ask, why wasnt I wearing a jacket at 2,000 metres above sea level? Hiking was just too tasking and made me perspire a lot.... Apparently, it is the only picture of myself on my trip.
I further hiked into the afternoon until I got tired and decided to come down back to Interlaken. To have a decent meal, I closed my eyes and paid 22 Fr for some Chinese take-out food. I met two Singaporeans who like me are bored of Geneva during the weekend and would like to explore the real Switzerland and get out of that snobbish towen. I finally took the train to Zurich to meet my friend Alain.
What a long trip!
If you may ask, why wasnt I wearing a jacket at 2,000 metres above sea level? Hiking was just too tasking and made me perspire a lot.... Apparently, it is the only picture of myself on my trip.I further hiked into the afternoon until I got tired and decided to come down back to Interlaken. To have a decent meal, I closed my eyes and paid 22 Fr for some Chinese take-out food. I met two Singaporeans who like me are bored of Geneva during the weekend and would like to explore the real Switzerland and get out of that snobbish towen. I finally took the train to Zurich to meet my friend Alain.
What a long trip!
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