day one: the arrival

Though our travels to egs began the day before, I'll start this story post-boring travel anecdotes...

8:50am
The plane touches down in Zurich.

I've slept in fits and starts though the short night (and prior day) of travel. After retrieving our luggage, Josh and I venture down to the trains, below the airport. We negotiate ourselves to our train and, after a short wait, settle in for a few more hours. The train from Zurich to Visp cuts across much of Switzerland -- but i miss most of this in more napping. I am twice chastised for putting my feet on an empty seat. Damn wish to stretch out...

noon-ish
Arrival in Visp without incident; now, a bus awaits us. For this hour long journey, I'm away and taking countless pictures as we wind up the sides of mountains (see more pics). The country is beautiful -- high peaks, deep chasms, waterfalls, buildings that show the epitome of my conception of the Swiss chalet. But mostly, I think about hte numerous heart-attacks my mom would have riding along these roads. And I'm grateful for our highly skilled bus driver.

1:15pm
We pull in to Saas Fee in the early afternoon. It's cloudy and drizzling. I've realized that I managed to forget all hats but my baseball cap. Between that and my hoodie, I'm excessively Clemson-ed, and freezing. Silly girl.

Maneuvering to the Hotel Allalin is a challenge. We're directed by a German woman who gestures vaguely towards streets -- various streets. We walk up and down the steep hills, feeling the effects of sleep deprivation, the altitude, hours of travel, and odd meals. Eventually (thank you Josh and the Information Office!), we find our way, check in, and are sent for another endless walk to our new apartment (for the next three weeks).

The apartment is nice -- and the same that Justin and Jason had last year (which I realize from the creepy pictures of seemingly-dead children in my bedroom. They were previously described in great detail. Justin did not exaggerate.). We unpack and venture back into town to forage for food. Saas Fee is primarily a resort town, one which is predominantly closed right now, and is rather expensive. Even for not-terrific pizza. Oh well. Upon return (realizing our apt. is not that far when not lugging bags), we're pretty much done for the day. I read a bit of Lyotard to prepare for class on Friday. I'm quite happy to stretch out, unfettered, in a bed, lying down to sleep, snuggled into heavy, warm feather blankets and pillows. I do, however, wish I was not allergic to feather blankets and pillows.