We're now to the phase of our stay in Switzerland where we keep doing things "for the last time." Saturday was the last ski day (although Tanner is begging me to take him one more time on the slushy snow this weekend), I used up my last annual Zug bus pass, and we're planning our last intra-Europe spring break trip.
I experienced one today that's more painful than all of those, though: I booked my last business class flight. I have a trip to Minnesota coming up in April, and then I'll probably never again have another business class flight before I die. Is it possible to grieve the loss of a tolerable overseas flying experience? I'm living proof that the answer is yes. You can bet that I'll be making full use of the individual movies with noise-cancelling headphones, "Would you like some orange juice before we take off, Mr. Wood?", lie-flat seats, free snacks in the galley, meals on real dishes, "Can I take your coat for you, Mr. Wood?" . . . . Well, you get the picture. Are you all feeling my pain?
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Bonus ski day
I took Tanner skiing last Saturday and told him that it would be the last ski day of the season because I figured the snow would be melting by now. Happily, we had an unusally cold week with lots of precipitation, so we were able to squeeze in one more day, and Lindsey actually got to do some skiing this year. She was finally allowed to ski after recovering from her broken arm. She was pretty rusty at first, but she figured it out before too long.
The weather was beautiful. I told the kids to enjoy their last ski day in Switzerland. I'm not sure that they'll have a chance like that again.
The weather was beautiful. I told the kids to enjoy their last ski day in Switzerland. I'm not sure that they'll have a chance like that again.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Egypt thoughts
Sorry, no more pictures, just words. Here are some additional random thoughts and observations about Egypt:
1. Traffic. You just can't imagine what it's like to drive around Cairo. There are no traffic lights in a city of 23 million people (more than three times the population of Switzerland). Cars just wedge themselves in wherever they can. The honking is constant. There's always a traffic jam. You never know how long it will take you to get from one place to another. Lane markers mean nothing. In addition, pedestrians are always dashing across the road. Occasionally, the lines of cars are interrupted by a cart being pulled by a donkey. I didn't take any pictures because pictures wouldn't do it justice. You have to experience it.
2. Politics. I talked with our tour guide for hours about the revolution, the future of Egypt, and the Egyptian view of the United States. It took some doing, but I finally got him to open up a bit. Egyptians feel like Mubarak stole their future. As I mentioned in a earlier posting, they feel like they've been passed by by other countries like Turkey and Malaysia. And there's a good amount of resentment against the United States for supporting Mubarak. That's international diplomacy, I guess. Sometimes you have to make a deal with the devil. The U.S. supported Mubarak because he made life much easier for us in the Middle East, but there's a good argument to be made that we compromised some of our principles in doing so. It's not the first time we've done that, and it won't be the last. International diplomacy is messy and often unpleasant. Our guide was somewhat proud that the U.S. now has to go to all the trouble of dealing with a legitimately-elected parliament rather than just a single dictator.
There's also resentment against the U.S. for supporting Israel's actions against the Palestinians. (I'm not taking sides here, just reporting the Egyptian position.) Israel wouldn't be able to do what it does without the backing of the U.S., and that makes Egyptians angry when they see the conditions in which the Palestinians are living. (We didn't get into the issue of suicide bombers, missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza, and such. I just listened.)
3. The tourism industry, which is a major part of Egypt's economy, is really hurting. I asked one of our tour representatives if it was really worth it to them to run a group tour with just seven people. He told me that these days, he'd run a group tour with two people if that's all he could get. They're really desperate.
4. One thing that's kind of cool about being in a Muslim country like Turkey or Egypt is hearing the call to prayer five times a day. I guess it's like church bells in Switzerland. You get used to them after a while, but you really notice it if you're not used to it.
5. The vendors are incredibly aggressive at the tourist areas and the markets. You learn how to handle them after a while, but it's quite different from other places I've been.
6. You tip for everything in Egypt. The U.S. is in the middle of the extremes. You hardly ever tip in Europe; you occasionally tip in the U.S.; and you always tip in Egypt. We put our tip money into a "tip kitty" at the beginning of our time there, and our tour guide took care of handing out the tips as we went along. That was nice, because it's a never-ending part of life there.
7. Egyptian men often greet each other with a kiss on each cheek.
8. It was a little jarring seeing the dam in Aswan being guarded by a tank and soldiers. They're worried about someone trying to blow it up. You just don't see that kind of thing in Lakeville. But we felt completely safe the whole time we were there, even while we were right in the heart of Cairo. I never felt like we were in any danger.
And so, that about does it for Egypt. My two favorite trips since I've been in Switzerland have been Norway and Egypt. Extreme opposites, yes, but both were great places to spend some time.
1. Traffic. You just can't imagine what it's like to drive around Cairo. There are no traffic lights in a city of 23 million people (more than three times the population of Switzerland). Cars just wedge themselves in wherever they can. The honking is constant. There's always a traffic jam. You never know how long it will take you to get from one place to another. Lane markers mean nothing. In addition, pedestrians are always dashing across the road. Occasionally, the lines of cars are interrupted by a cart being pulled by a donkey. I didn't take any pictures because pictures wouldn't do it justice. You have to experience it.
2. Politics. I talked with our tour guide for hours about the revolution, the future of Egypt, and the Egyptian view of the United States. It took some doing, but I finally got him to open up a bit. Egyptians feel like Mubarak stole their future. As I mentioned in a earlier posting, they feel like they've been passed by by other countries like Turkey and Malaysia. And there's a good amount of resentment against the United States for supporting Mubarak. That's international diplomacy, I guess. Sometimes you have to make a deal with the devil. The U.S. supported Mubarak because he made life much easier for us in the Middle East, but there's a good argument to be made that we compromised some of our principles in doing so. It's not the first time we've done that, and it won't be the last. International diplomacy is messy and often unpleasant. Our guide was somewhat proud that the U.S. now has to go to all the trouble of dealing with a legitimately-elected parliament rather than just a single dictator.
There's also resentment against the U.S. for supporting Israel's actions against the Palestinians. (I'm not taking sides here, just reporting the Egyptian position.) Israel wouldn't be able to do what it does without the backing of the U.S., and that makes Egyptians angry when they see the conditions in which the Palestinians are living. (We didn't get into the issue of suicide bombers, missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza, and such. I just listened.)
3. The tourism industry, which is a major part of Egypt's economy, is really hurting. I asked one of our tour representatives if it was really worth it to them to run a group tour with just seven people. He told me that these days, he'd run a group tour with two people if that's all he could get. They're really desperate.
4. One thing that's kind of cool about being in a Muslim country like Turkey or Egypt is hearing the call to prayer five times a day. I guess it's like church bells in Switzerland. You get used to them after a while, but you really notice it if you're not used to it.
5. The vendors are incredibly aggressive at the tourist areas and the markets. You learn how to handle them after a while, but it's quite different from other places I've been.
6. You tip for everything in Egypt. The U.S. is in the middle of the extremes. You hardly ever tip in Europe; you occasionally tip in the U.S.; and you always tip in Egypt. We put our tip money into a "tip kitty" at the beginning of our time there, and our tour guide took care of handing out the tips as we went along. That was nice, because it's a never-ending part of life there.
7. Egyptian men often greet each other with a kiss on each cheek.
8. It was a little jarring seeing the dam in Aswan being guarded by a tank and soldiers. They're worried about someone trying to blow it up. You just don't see that kind of thing in Lakeville. But we felt completely safe the whole time we were there, even while we were right in the heart of Cairo. I never felt like we were in any danger.
And so, that about does it for Egypt. My two favorite trips since I've been in Switzerland have been Norway and Egypt. Extreme opposites, yes, but both were great places to spend some time.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Egypt, days 8 through 10
Day 8, we were still in Luxor. Our last big event was a visit to the Temple of Karnak. Unfortunately for me, I needed to spend the morning being no farther than about ten seconds away from a toilet. (Yup. Egypt had finally gotten to me. Tanner, though, had no ill effects, even though he went everywhere I did and ate everything I did, so I guess some things are just tough to predict.) I stayed at the hotel while Tanner took the camera and went out on his own. I can't tell you much about the temple, but I can show you some of the pictures that Tanner took.
Remember the curly pull tabs that came off of the can? They still look like that in Egypt. I guess the Green movement hasn't progressed quite as far in Egypt as it has in the States.
That night, we took another sleeper train all the way back down (north) to Cairo. The plan was to spend day 9 by the pool before flying home the next day; sadly, though, an unusual cold front swept through the area, and the temperature that day was only in the 50s, not exactly ideal pool weather. We wandered around Cairo and watched lots of cheesy TV shows at the hotel.
Day 10, we headed to the airport. One funny story: As we were standing in the line for immigration, I heard a voice yell out, "Ethan!" Seeing as how I don't know anyone in Egypt, or on the entire continent of Africa for that matter, I ignored the voice, thinking that I had heard something wrong. I heard my name again. I looked around. In the line next to me was a co-worker who had also gone to Egypt with his family. They were on our flight back to Zurich. What are the odds?
And one last image from the airport. Those of you who are at least a couple of years older than Gretchen will recognize what soda cans used to look like in the U.S.:
Remember the curly pull tabs that came off of the can? They still look like that in Egypt. I guess the Green movement hasn't progressed quite as far in Egypt as it has in the States.
So, there you have it. That's all the pictures. Tomorrow, I'll write about some other interesting experiences and things we learned about Egypt that aren't reflected in the pictures.
I was talking to a co-worker today who's also a bit of an adventurous traveler, and we both agreed that as nice as it is to visit Europe's great cities, they're starting to feel a bit stale. Egypt was so different that it's made me want to visit other places like South Africa or India or China where life is very different from we know. Let's see what happens next . . . .
Monday, February 27, 2012
Egypt, day 7
Day 7 was quite a busy day. Along with the pyramids, the highlight of any trip to Egypt is a visit to the Valley of the Kings, where there are dozens of tombs, including the tomb of King Tut. (There wasn't anything historically noteworthy about King Tut. He just happened to have the fortunate of no one discovering his tomb until 1922, which meant that the grave robbers hadn't gotten to it.)
Unfortunately, there's nothing I can show you from the Valley of the Kings. Predictably, you can't take pictures inside the tombs. I'll tell you that it's worth the trip, though. The colors on the walls are amazingly vibrant, even after thousands of years. The pictures and hieroglyphics stretch on forever. We went inside the tombs of Ramses III, Ramses IV, and Ramses VI, but that was just a small sampling of what was available.
After the Valley of the Kings, we visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
This is Halel, our tour guide. He was with us the whole week. I spent hours talking with him about Middle East politics, the attitude of Egypt toward the United States, the future of Egypt, and other topics. I'll say more about that sometime.
That night, we rode in horse-drawn carriages to the Temple of Luxor. This was the only ancient Egyptian site that we visited in the dark, and it was a different kind of experience. It all looked a bit more mysterious and mystical at night than it would have during the day.
Unfortunately, there's nothing I can show you from the Valley of the Kings. Predictably, you can't take pictures inside the tombs. I'll tell you that it's worth the trip, though. The colors on the walls are amazingly vibrant, even after thousands of years. The pictures and hieroglyphics stretch on forever. We went inside the tombs of Ramses III, Ramses IV, and Ramses VI, but that was just a small sampling of what was available.
After the Valley of the Kings, we visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
This is Halel, our tour guide. He was with us the whole week. I spent hours talking with him about Middle East politics, the attitude of Egypt toward the United States, the future of Egypt, and other topics. I'll say more about that sometime.
Next, we visited the Colossi of Memnon.
That night, we rode in horse-drawn carriages to the Temple of Luxor. This was the only ancient Egyptian site that we visited in the dark, and it was a different kind of experience. It all looked a bit more mysterious and mystical at night than it would have during the day.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Egypt, day 6
Today featured a side trip to the two temples at Abu Simbel. We took a quick flight from Aswan south to the town of Abu Simbel, just a few miles north of the southern border of Egypt. (Sudan is to the south.) Ramses built two temples here for himself and for his wife. As usual, we couldn't tak pictures inside, but I can tell you that the sites were pretty impressive. There were statues, carvings, and all kinds of hieroglyphics.
These four statutes depicted Ramses as he aged. The youngest Ramses is to the left, and the oldest Ramses is to the right. (I guess we all tend to put on weight as we age.) In the middle of the statues is a small access point. Twice per year, the sun shines through the hole and strikes the statues of Ramses and two other Egyptian gods inside the temple's inner sanctuary. Pretty impressive.
Sorry that there's not more I can show you. You'll just have to trust that it was quite awesome.
After we got back and spent some more quality time at the hotel pool, we packed up that evening for a three-hour train ride to Luxor, the last stop on our tour.
These four statutes depicted Ramses as he aged. The youngest Ramses is to the left, and the oldest Ramses is to the right. (I guess we all tend to put on weight as we age.) In the middle of the statues is a small access point. Twice per year, the sun shines through the hole and strikes the statues of Ramses and two other Egyptian gods inside the temple's inner sanctuary. Pretty impressive.
Sorry that there's not more I can show you. You'll just have to trust that it was quite awesome.
After we got back and spent some more quality time at the hotel pool, we packed up that evening for a three-hour train ride to Luxor, the last stop on our tour.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Egypt, days 4 and 5
I've combined the next two days because day 4 was pretty much devoted to sitting by the pool and enjoying the warm weather in Aswan, which is in the southern part of Egypt. We arrived in Aswan after a thirteen-hour train ride.
That night, we went out on the town and hit one of the local places for dinner. This dinner cost about $5 for Tanner and me.
The next day, we boated up the Nile to a Nubian village. The Nubians are an ethnic group within Egypt. They live apart from the rest of the Egyptians, but they're fairly well-integrated into Egyptian society. (I should explain that when you go "up" in Egypt, you're going south. It all has to do with the direction in which the Nile flows. Because it flows from south to north, southern Egypt is called "upper Egypt," and northern Egypt is called "lower Egypt.")
We visited a Nubian school, where we learned Arabic letters and numbers. (Tanner and I can now read Arabic numbers.) We then found some locals who were interested in a game of soccer. Not surprisingly, they're really good.
After that, we went to one of the homes in the village to have lunch. They had some interesting pets. I think this would be much better than having cats.
That night, we went out on the town and hit one of the local places for dinner. This dinner cost about $5 for Tanner and me.
The next day, we boated up the Nile to a Nubian village. The Nubians are an ethnic group within Egypt. They live apart from the rest of the Egyptians, but they're fairly well-integrated into Egyptian society. (I should explain that when you go "up" in Egypt, you're going south. It all has to do with the direction in which the Nile flows. Because it flows from south to north, southern Egypt is called "upper Egypt," and northern Egypt is called "lower Egypt.")
We visited a Nubian school, where we learned Arabic letters and numbers. (Tanner and I can now read Arabic numbers.) We then found some locals who were interested in a game of soccer. Not surprisingly, they're really good.
After that, we went to one of the homes in the village to have lunch. They had some interesting pets. I think this would be much better than having cats.
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