What The Earth?!

So I just went to the dentist in Germany and um, what was that?! As a fellow "highly developed" country I expected the experience to be similar to that in the states. A scrape here, some pain there, and then the spinning buffer thing, but no. I spent 10 minutes on paperwork, 5 minutes waiting, and then 5 minutes in the chair. I didn't even see the actual dentist. The dental assistant looked at each tooth while blowing high pressured air at them and then poked at my gums with that super poky thing. Then he said "great teeth, everything looks good, and come back in 6 months." For what? I don't think you'll be seeing me again, even if you are across the hall from my apartment.

While Your Insanity Amazes Me, Your Vision Astounds Me

Well King Ludwig, I finally saw the last of your palaces (another unfinished project) and I must say that I am impressed. The palace (part of which is a replica of Versailles) on Herreninsel is gorgeous. The gardens and fountains and the views all make me want to be royalty from the 1800's regardless of all the lack of modern medicine, suppressive treatment of women, and general non-existence of gelato stands.

My opinion of the islands may have a bit to do with the fact that the day was beautiful (until the storm appeared out of no where) but I don't think my opinion would have changed much if we had been there on a less sunny day. Unfortunately because of the un-forecasted and quick moving storm we had to cut our time on the Fraueninsel short, but I hope to go back sometime to check out all of the ceramics which are made on the island.

The most random part of the trip was the woman who we started talking to on the boat ride back who offered us a ride to the train station since it was raining. We actually took her up on her and her boyfriend's offer. The ride was so funny though. She had lived in New York for a while and is quite well travelled so we talk a lot about what we all missed from the states. The top of her list: beef jerky, KFC, and Dunkin' Donuts! Wow, really?! Most of those are the things I am glad to be far away from!

Real France This Time

I finally made it to a real French city, none of that half-French/half-German Strasbourg stuff this time. And Lyon was just what I had hoped for. I spent 2 days in Lyon and 2 days in Geneva with my friend Fabienne over Easter. While it is true that the French don't like to speak English, I found that if you tried to speak French and were cute about it, then they found you entertaining and were nice. Or if need be just keep talking in English because chances are that they actually do speak English and will eventually answer you in English. Nice system they've got there.

We left from Zurich and were in Lyon within 4 hours. The hotel was right in the heart of the old city amongst the beautiful architecture, delicious bakeries, and tempting shops. That night for dinner we headed to rue des Marronniers which is a one block street with nothing but restaurants. Dinner was great. (Although it took 20 minutes of staring at the menu before we decided, and the menu was even in English!) Here is where I realized that while French desserts are my absolute favorites and impossible for me to resist, the French savory dishes scare me. How can they be so good with desserts and so weird with the rest? Anyway I found a non-scary scallop risotto which was heaven, and so far Lyon held up to it's reputation for being a food capital of the world.

The next morning I had a chocolat au pain and a cappuccino for breakfast (except the cappuccino was an espresso topped with whipped cream, not technically correct, but actually really good). We then went to the top of the hill to see the Fourviere. It was beautiful. Then we walked to the Roman ruins. It was so amazing. These structures were built in 15 B.C. and they are still around! The rest of the day was spent walking in and out of bakeries, patisseries, and chocolate shops. And if that wasn't enough we walked to the Halles de Lyon which is a massive indoor food hall. All the meats, cheeses, seafood, baked goods, and desserts you could dream of. Basically this was my heaven.

That night we went to dinner at the restaurant that my colleague, who is from Lyon, recommended. I got the Lyon speciality: quenelle de brochet, which is a pike dumpling. It was one of the best dinners I have ever had. It was a small dish but I was full half way through. Amazing. Plus the atmosphere in the restaurant was perfect. A small room with wood beamed ceiling and low lighting. (Aside from the worst behaved French child I have seen who had useless parents, it was a great experience. The 3 or 4 year old kid was sitting by himself on one side of the table with both parents sitting on the other. He was off his chair and all over the place, bumping into everyone the whole time. The parents never said a thing or corrected him once. In fact at one point the waitress came over, picked him up off the floor, sat him in his chair, and scooted it to the table. Even after this the parents made no effort to keep him in line. I'll stop there, but it goes on.)

The net day we went to Geneva. We hadn't booked a hotel but lucked out on a nice one which wasn't too expensive. Then was walked around the city. It was beautiful. Although I have noticed that almost any city is beautiful when it is on a lake or river. Dinner that night was fantastic. (I promise I have had a bad meal, just not on this trip!) I tried beef tartar for the first time. Oh and the local wine (a pinot blanc) was perfect.

The next day on the train ride home was the most beautiful train ride I have ever been on. The snow capped mountains, the lakes, the hills covered in wineries. Why is it that when you are in France and you see a building which is old, run down, in need of paint, and an eye-sore you think of it as rustic, beautiful, and picture worthy? France is just magic like that I guess.