the swiss alps
I'm in a little town called Griesenfeld in the Swiss Alps with a storm raging outside, stuck in here with the internet. Good time for my yearly post right?
My parents are I are at the tail end of a fourteen day hike through the Swiss Alps called the Walker's Haute Route, from Chamonix to Zermatt. As you would expect of this area, when you can see through the clouds the scenery is unreal.
This trek comes as the second half of my first trip to Europe. The first half was spent with my sister Amy and her friend Jen. We visited Paris, Nice, Venice, and Rome. Rome was the definite highlight. The ruins are massive remnants of an ancient, brutal, and powerful society, and the modern city is like a European prototype for the omnicultural urban sprawl that is New York.
Some observations of Europe (what I've seen of it anyway):
What I previously viewed as a fairly original sense of style on the part of NYC hipsters is really just a working knowledge of contemporary italian fashion.
Cheese in France marked "Fromage du Caractere" is stinky beyond comparison and imagination, pretty good in a sandwich though.
French Fries ARE better in France.
Most Europeans speak very good English and almost always with an American accent. I'm sure it irks the Englishmen.
Coffee in France and Italy is in my opinion, contrary to popular myth, crap. They only offer little shots of espresso and "cafe americano" which is a shot of espresso with enough added hot water to make it the size of an American cup of coffee. I vastly prefer fresh ground coffee beans made into coffe through the usage of a drip machine or a french press (which I didn't see in france.) German coffee, however, can be very good.
Belgian beer really is the best.
You cannot escape American pop music.
My parents are I are at the tail end of a fourteen day hike through the Swiss Alps called the Walker's Haute Route, from Chamonix to Zermatt. As you would expect of this area, when you can see through the clouds the scenery is unreal.
This trek comes as the second half of my first trip to Europe. The first half was spent with my sister Amy and her friend Jen. We visited Paris, Nice, Venice, and Rome. Rome was the definite highlight. The ruins are massive remnants of an ancient, brutal, and powerful society, and the modern city is like a European prototype for the omnicultural urban sprawl that is New York.
Some observations of Europe (what I've seen of it anyway):
What I previously viewed as a fairly original sense of style on the part of NYC hipsters is really just a working knowledge of contemporary italian fashion.
Cheese in France marked "Fromage du Caractere" is stinky beyond comparison and imagination, pretty good in a sandwich though.
French Fries ARE better in France.
Most Europeans speak very good English and almost always with an American accent. I'm sure it irks the Englishmen.
Coffee in France and Italy is in my opinion, contrary to popular myth, crap. They only offer little shots of espresso and "cafe americano" which is a shot of espresso with enough added hot water to make it the size of an American cup of coffee. I vastly prefer fresh ground coffee beans made into coffe through the usage of a drip machine or a french press (which I didn't see in france.) German coffee, however, can be very good.
Belgian beer really is the best.
You cannot escape American pop music.