Munich & Geneva

Greetings All,

Munich:
After seeing the world from the view of the 1972 Olympic Tower and visiting the BMW museum we ended our trip with a fantastic Bike Tour of Munich. The tour was led by an Australian guide and this company only focuses on English speaking tourists. They do their best do answer all the questions of culture and history that a non-German speaking person would have. It was good. We stopped in the English Gardens at a beer hall and watched. Imagine 300 or more picnic tables under the trees and liter sized beers of 3 or 4 types available. And the best pretzels (giant) I've ever seen.

Leaving the games in Rambouillet last week we sent a bag of dirty clothes home to NJ with Val and Morgan. Unfortunately Ted's and my passports were in the pocket of a pair of pants. With the help of Joan and LeCroy, the passports returned to Europe and are now in our posession, safely tucked into my other pants. With that we were ready to leave the EU and head to Switzerland by train. It was a 8 hr train ride, with a stop over in St. Gallen in N. Switzerland and a final stop in Geneva.

Geneva:
Our Eurail pass included a car rental in Geneva and we set out to explore the City by the Lake LeMan and the diverse culture of Internationals who live in Geneva. There is nothing like sitting in a giant square and having dinner on a warm summer evening. I know that I need to work from Geneva for a few weeks over the summer next year.

Mt Blanc & Chamonix
We're staying just over the border in France and on Thursday we set out to see the big mountain, Mt Blanc. Yesterday was a particularly clear day and we could see the white of the glacier on the drive up toward Italy. Right before the giant Swiss Tunnel through the mountain is the town of Chamonix. It is a famous ski area and is at the base of Mt Blanc. From the base people were parachuting from the 6000 feet heights of the adjacent mountin.

Ted and I took a cable car ride to the top of Mt Blanc, to over 12000 feet, where we watched the hikers climb the glacier and looked at the adjacent peaks. It was amazing and worked out perfectly. After a nap and a famous jambon and fromage sandwich and coke light we went back down to the base and headed back to Geneva, about 1 hr drive.

Sailing:
What else could be more fun than capping a day of mountains with an evening of sailing. Nils, a great SW engineer at LeCroy has a very high tech racing catamaran. Since it stays light to 9:45 I was able to sail with Nils and Jean Maurice for a few minutes before the wind died. The lake with Geneva at one end reminds me of the finger lakes of NY. Slowly sweeping hills blend into the water, while at the other end of the lake, sharp and striking mountains abruptly go into the sea. Amazing. We had a great late dinner lake side and made it to bed about 12:30.

A great set of days- I am grateful for this opportunity and this time and company of Ted and all of those we have met on this bon journey.