Another lazy morning, but the sun is shining…..so no matter what we do, it will be nice……
I want to take a boat out on Lake Geneva and there are many ferry options. The one we take leaves Vevey and heads towards the France side of the lake. We stop at a castle and get off and tour. Once again, Mikael hits his head on the low beams…….might be our last castle for awhile…..they are looking more and more similar, although……this one was the first to show signs of a bathroom. It had a room called “the latrine” with two holes in a bench. The holes emptied straight into the lake. Maybe an upscale castle, maybe just the great Suisse mind, one step ahead of other countries castles.
From the castle, I could see parachutes coming from a nearby mountain top. There was a sailboat race on the lake. The Alps were in the distance. Where else can you get one picture, taken from a castle, with lake, sailboats, parachutists, vineyards, snowy mountains in the background and at the same time you are eating Suisse chocolate? I did it……Switzerland is magical that way.
I asked Mikael to drive us over to the parachute landing area, so we put the top down on the convertible and drove off to find it. Not far from where we were really and it was fun to watch them come down and land. I counted 14 in the sky at once. Every couple minutes someone would land and someone new would run off the top of the mountain and catch wind.
Mikael, Molly and Pamela headed out that afternoon for a soccer game and Oktoberfest party. Jose made me fondue and we drank wine and visited all night. Such an interesting, worldly man, with interesting stories and thoughtful questions. I think the thought that will stay with me the most is about politics and the differences between the right and left, conservatives and liberals. For us in the U.S., that may come down to abortion rights, gay rights, social policies and tax/budget theory. In Europe, the margins are so much wider, from Communism to Adolf Hitler. From everyone is equal to one race reigns supreme…….
Between the heavy conversation and too much wine, I went to bed and awoke with a headache.
