We are Back! Part 1 - Morges, Switzerland

Well, we are back. Unfortunately, access to the internet wasn't as easy as our last trip, so we were unable to provide realtime updates during this trip. So, I'm trying to recapture our trip to Europe.

Our first leg of the trip was in Morges, Switzerland. Morges is a small town and the only public access to the internet was in the Information Center at the City Hall building. Otherwise, if we brought our own laptop we would have internet access at the hotel.

The main downtown area is shown in the picture below on a Saturday when the streets are bustling with visitors and shoppers during Market Day. Cars are off limits on the street that day.

First I want to say that the weather caught us off guard...but in a pleasant manner. We were expecting awful, rainy weather because weather.com forecasted showers for the entire trip in both Switzerland and Prague. But the weather was great. It lightly rained on us one day and the rest of the time was cool, yet sunny.

We stayed at the Hotel Fleur Du Lac. I wasn't expecting much because of other travelers on TraveLeaders commenting that it was a bit rundown for the money. But it is a grand old hotel that focuses on service plus for such a small town, there wasn't much choice. Our rooms faced Lake Geneva, aka Lac Leman. Across the middle of the lake is the border between Switzerland and France. From our room we could see the Alps and at night, it was so clear we could see the flickering lights of the lakeside towns across the lake.

The lake was beautiful with a calming influence especially in the mornings when the mists gently float above the surface. As the day progresses and the sun dissipates the mists and the massive alpine mountains in the distance become visible. Dispite the distance, we could appreciate the size and majesty of those mountains. Maybe on another trip we can actually get closer and take a tram to the top of one of the peaks.

The primary reason we went to Morges is to watch Alyssa skate. Here is a picture of the skating rink called the Patinoire located on Avenue Henry-Warnery. It looks like a huge boat turned upside down.

The day after we arrived, we went to the rink to watch Alyssa practice. I had to have my coffee, so I went to the bar/restaurant to get a cup of coffee and pannini for me, and hot cocoa for Max. I was expecting to-go paper cups, but instead, I was given ceramic cups, saucers, silverware, cloth napkins and a small tray for an elegant, little snack to take back to our seats. We watched Alyssa practice in cozy, warmth as we enjoyed our snacks.

Morges is located in the French speaking area of Switzerland. I wonder, if there are different dialects or accents to distinguish a Swiss French versus someone from Southern France versus someone from Paris? I wish I had a keen ear to distinguish the difference but the language itself is music to my ears. Hard to understand, but music anyway. There are other areas of Switzerland where the primary language is German, Italian or Romanesque.

Tomorrow we are off

I think I have everything laid out to pack, but I have just a couple of action items I need to do before I logoff from work. I've printed out the directions and thought I would post the web sites for our hotels.

First, in Morges, we will be staying at the Hotel Fleur du Lac, "lake flower" or "flower of the lake"...I'm not sure. But we just talked to Lisa who called us from the hotel and the view of the Alps and the lake is wonderful. It isn't The Ritz, but it is clean and neat. We checked the weather a couple of days ago and weather.com predicted showers the entire time we will be there. Lisa said the weather is nice, so let's keep our fingers crossed the nice weather sticks around longer for us.

Then in Prague, we will be staying at the Riverside Hotel Prague and that looks like it will have a view of the Vltava River. Well, back to packing.

Preparing for the Trip

Today is Sunday and in 3 days we will be on our way to Europe. First, we will be in Morges, Switzerland to watch Alyssa skate in the Morges Skate Competition. I've included a link with all the rules, regulations, etc. Most of this information is in French, but there are some English translations. We are excited to be there with the rest of her family, Lisa, Don and Alex to not only support her and cheer her on, but to just experience Europe with them.

The competition and events will last until Sunday, 4/1/2007. The following morning Lisa, Don and the kids will drive up to Paris. Since Max and I have been there 3 times already, we have decided to visit Prague this trip.

Now, when I asked Max where he wanted to go after the competition, did he think about the geographic implications of deciding on Prague? Was any other place in Switzerland or Southern France or Northern Italy a consideration? Nooo. That is ok. Life is short and we've always heard how beautiful Prague is. So that is next on our itinerary. Taking the train was horribly expensive and would take 14 hours. But we will be flying 1 hour on Swiss Air for a fraction of a rail fare.

So now we are preparing for the trip and haven't packed yet or even begun to think of packing. I've got work deadlines that are due while I'm gone, so I'm working this weekend to get them done. I've got 50 people working for me, so I have to complete 2007 Objectives (I'm agonizing over my own much less 50 other people) and Learning Plans for 2007. And to think I actually wanted this Manager's job. Well, that is when my perfectionism will just have to stand aside. I will do the best I can and concentrate on enjoying the trip.

I've checked the weather and it looks like it will be raining the entire time we will be in Switzerland and no telling what kind of weather we will have in Prague. We will be there for 4 days to really get to know this beautiful city.

One of my goals on this trip is packing light like we did on our last trip. Each of us will have a backpack and a 22" rollon bag. All small enough to put in the overhead bin if we were forced to. But I can't tell you how much freedom and flexibility it allowed us on our last trip in 2006 when we traveled from one place to another. I laughingly remember our first trip back in 2000. It was Max's first trip to Europe and my first trip since the 70's. We lugged 2 huge suitcases around Europe. Hauling it across cobbled streets, trying to fit it in an overhead bin on a train and crowding into a ferry or water taxi. We won't ever do that again. Well, take care all and we will try to update you on how we are doing and to try out this new thing called Blogging. This seems similar to MySpace...but for adults.