After our Italian dinner we all headed back to our nice little comfy motel. The meal had done it's job and we all felt renewed and refreshed albeit tired, and were thinking of the exciting events planned for our stay in Europe. On the way home hubby's sister Sandy began to talk about how excited she was to ride the Euro rail to Interlaken, Switzerland the next day where she and Stacey  would then catch a ride with a family member or friend already there and proceed into Leissigen where  the big Hotel Kreuz was --- we all had rooms reserved for us on 2 floors  as part of the Wedding party of guests. As I listened to Stacey's enthusiastic replies and saw her eyes glistening with adventure ahead to enjoy and embrace --- a uneasiness began to creep deep into me.

 

You see my hubby had told me on the trip from Frankfurt to to the snug little motel in Breggins,  that he had studied the map and had found a nice country drive which would take us off the main highway and also have the advantage of being a great shortcut. He was most pleased of course as men often are to have it all nicely laid out and to present this happy news to me.  What this might mean  had not sunk in earlier as I had been ill on that trip out of Frankfurt as you will all recall.  But now suddenly, it WAS sinking in big time. Sandy's talk of the scenic train ride reminded me of what lay ahead for me. Hubby and I taking our luggage and Sandy's in the car and driving there.  Tomorrow I am going into the Swiss Alps to Interlaken and he has never seen this shortcut and how can he be sure it won't have great curvy roads with hair pin turns on it and sharp drop offs and scary steep grade etc etc. All the things I feared as a acrophobic. I mean after all, we are talking the snow capped Swiss Alps here.

 

You see I had a loooong time to think about attending my daughter's Wedding in Switzerland and the fact it was in the Alps and that I am afraid of heights which I normally  try hard to avoid them unless I can feel safe somehow. Case in point. Good old Rocky Top in the USA.  There is parts of it I have traveled on and did not feel scared as one  does  not realize you are  going up. It did not have those features guaranteed to send me into great anxiety like hair pin curves etc.

 

Yet another part of the Rockies we were on a few  years earlier that we avoided on our return after going thru it the first time was a nightmare for me. Ever hear of Lone Wolf Pass ? Ask any trucker you know and they have probably heard of it.  The runaway truck ramps go straight up to Heaven as far as I can see looking at them. And talk about steep grades for many many miles and hair pin turns, and great drop offs, etc. I well remembered my terror on Lone Wolf Pass as hubby drove a big van we  had at the time pulling a full trailer with everything we owned and our 3 small kids in the back seat. My apprehension had been growing as the road seem to be  get increasingly  worse, when suddenly my hubby leans over and  is telling me quiet serious voice whispering so as not to scare our children,   that  the breaks are hot and this is not going to be easy to finish the ride down. Never will I forget that scary ride and the suffocating  fear that gripped me  for myself, my beloved and our kids. Hubby asked for total quiet and I gave strict orders to the kids not to talk at all and no fighting either or else!  I would also need that quiet to in order to get thru this. Then I turned back in my seat and prayed myself thru that white knuckle ride.

 

 There was no place to turn back. To late for that. Had to finish it. For all the world it felt like we were approaching death's door all of us. I hid my tears from the kids and my hubby to because I knew he needed all his concerntration to get us thru this safely.  Quietly I tried to blink my tears away though they were always there. With great difficulty and God's help  I made  almost no sound myself as I wept with fear. Phobias are hard task masters. Then next I closed my eyes so as not to look anymore. I could not bear  it otherwise. I asked hubby tell me when it is okay to open my eyes. He knew I was trying to keep it together so he could and so our children would not become frightened next. I prayed God would bring a calm to our kids and they would be still and unafraid and not pick up any bad vibes from their Dad or me.

 

When we arrived at our destination, and I got out of the car-- I almost fell to the ground as my knees shook and started to buckle. But I pulled myself together. With my whole heart I praised God for his tender care and protection of us all. That the breaks held up and we had made it. Hubby and I kissed and held each other close and hubby said he was very scared the whole time to but dared not show it or give into fear. He was determined to protect us all. Our kids grew up knowing Mom was afraid of heights,  but I always tried my best not to show it any more then possible as I did not want to teach it to any of them. And I guess I did succeed as they are all daredevils like their father ! LOLLLOLL The nicest thing of all was at the bottom of Lone Wolf Pass was a nice resturant and the kids of course all had to go the bathroom now and we were all hungry. Hubby wished to remain a couple hours and let the breaks cool. And get a chance to unwind for himself after what he had gone thru. It is not the first time I have looked at him in my life and thought how he is a daring, courageous and confident man. I greatly admire my husband and all  my life he has proven to be a rock in a storm. But I leaned over the table and gave him a kiss and said in a low whisper just for us, babe I am so proud of you to. You are a man among men and I am so proud to be married to you.

 

But back to our story ! At the motel we hug Sandy and Stacey goodnight and go to our room. Hubby is all bubbly about the neat scenic country ride we will have to Interlaken and pleased as punch he will really save on gas. He heads for the shower and I began to formulate a plan in my mind on how to avoid this trip with him. When he comes out of the shower whistling a tune as usual,  and is dressing in his pjs, I tentively say Honey you have never seen this shortcut in your life. What if it turns out to be terrifying to me like Lone Wolf Pass ?  He tries to soothe my fears and says we have a fine rental car and all will be well and he says he does not see on the map that it looks particularly bad. Then I say but it is "their" map not a USA one and what if it is not a good thing and I will be trapped. I cannot bear it if that happens. Phobias grow not disapear. So I am much more afraid of the possibility of another Lone Wolf Pass and I am desperate to "save" myself.

 

So now I say to him darling  first I was so sick coming here and the next day I am afraid because you are gone sooooo long and no word from you. I really NEED  to have a nice peaceful not stressful day next. I can see in his eyes how much he wants to take his shortcut and the dilemna he has that his wife is frightened. Phobias cannot be reasoned with sadly.

So now I quickly present my great idea. Honey I would love to ride the Euro rail with Sandy and Stacey to Interlaken. It would be fun and I believe even if there are scary parts to the trip that I will probably handle it better and feel more secure on the train just like the jet makes me feel pretty safe as I cannot really see under me. He immediately likes this idea and says sure go ahead that will be a fun thing for you to do. He is excited that I will get to do that and only sorry he cannot come to. But not to sorry !  Because he can do his own thing now without worrying about me. And I say yes it will a cool thing to ride on the Euro rail because I have never ridden a train before and have always wanted to try it. Which in fact is quite true and he knows I have always wanted to go on a train ride someday! Plus hubby tells me that trains as much as possible avoid heights. So now I breathe a sigh of relief and after I guilty feeling say you won't be sad that I did not share the   awesome sights you will  see alone? And I can tell by his enthusiastic assurance he won't miss me that I need not worry. LOLLOLLOL

 

So next after he reads a comforting passage from Psalms and we hold hands and pray together --- we are last into bed for a good night's sleep for both of us and I can now almost  taste the anticipation of fun things ahead.  Morning comes and we enjoy the usual European breakfast sandwiches, granola and hot chocolate,etc. Then hubby takes all of us to the train station to wait for our train. A kiss goodbye and wishes for a great trip and he is soon walking away to go back to the car and return to the motel to get everyone's luggage loaded and begin his own exciting journey. We 3 girls Sandy, Stacey and I need only bring a light jacket and our purses with and not worry about being encumbered with luggage since he is hauling it. So now  I quickly purchase a ticket for me and all is in readiness.

 

Life is looking good to me now. I am content that gorgeous scenery lies ahead and great conversation with Sandy and my niece. Plus I feel good knowing my hubby will be unencumbered with my phobia and be able to enjoy the shortcut. He can now pull over on any scenic overlook without me being scared. I know he will take lots of pics to show me what it was like and he is a confident and safe driver in  tricky situations. And I turn out to be right to! The train trip is definitely fun. And no carsickness at all. My Mom has always feared car sickness and so won't ride a train sure that the lurching they do side to side will make her ill. It is not like that on the Euro rail at all. It is a wonderful smooth ride. I highly reccomend it!

 

Seats are wonderfully cushioned and oh so comfortable to and there is a small attached table by each window that you can use for snacks or drinks. We watch as rolling meadows and hills go by. The Alps can be seen in the distance and we sense they will be larger then what we saw in Breggins.  Many pastoral scenes of dairy cows catch our eye as well. Always the Swiss brown cows only we see. They have high butterfat content and are the reason Switerland has such rich chocolates and sweet creamy milk. This train will take us to Zurich first to a major hub of a train station where we will next catch the final train on that leg of our journey that takes us to Interlaken.  As we come into Zurich I see it is a pretty good size city. As usual I cannot read any of the signs on the buildings so we all make educated guesses by what they look like. I remember thinking this is sort of what it must be like to be deaf and watch a TV with no captioning. You have to guess at what might be being said between actors in a movie or commerical. The rail partly seems to go over the city sort of and soon we reach the big train station.

 

Now this train station is really really big. The one we had left behind in Breggins was a tiny place and in fact you had to stand or sit outside to await your ride. It did come with a roof in case of rain. I can just imagine what it is like in Winter !! Brrrrr...perish the thought ! But here now we have several trains that come in not just one train. Several gates like a airport. I need to use the bathroom and so we go looking for one in this big place replete with even a elevator it is sooo big. We find one and I present my Euro coin to the girl at the desk only to find out I must use francs in Switzerland now. Euros are for Germany but not here I learn.  I look at the clock and there is not much time to catch our train. They leave ON TIME and do not wait more then a blink of a dragonfly for you even if you are running to get on. Forget it we had heard at your own peril!  The Euro rail is infamous for this and everyone is warned when they go to Europe be on time or hope there is another one that day!!!!!

 

 I decide I can "hold it"  and do not want to be responsible for the 3 of us missing that train and maybe being stuck overnite in Zurich and making my hubby worry next! So I bite the bullet and turn around and head back to Sandy and Stacey who are waiting and tell them lets go time is wasting! And more then we know to! Because guess what happens when we get to our gate. It is closed!!! Yes, I said closed! As in locked shut and no  officials there even! We look at each other in dismay and we cannot understand how a train could leave without us when  there is still 10 minutes left before departure time!!! How can that be ? We are talking the ON TIME ALWAYS  Euro train after all !!!  I see Stacey is afraid. After the  airport problems back in Minneapolis and getting bumped from their flight, I can understand why a 13 yr old might feel intimidated by this now. Sandy looks at me and says I  can't understand this. Then I said lets go to the main desk here and ask what has happened. We were on time and our tickets are legit and there must be a reason for this and maybe it will be okay yet. We swallow our worries and continue on.

 

So now we begin looking for the main desk as fast as we can. It is a big place and we cannot read the signs and there are so many people around it is quite a task to get it figured out. Finally we see a place that looks central and surely must be it. And turns out it is! We explain our dilemna and are told  that our gate had been closed and we are reassigned to another gate now. And next we are told our train is way over on the other side and we have 5 minutes to make it on time. Horrors! We all gasp in unison in one accord!  We begin running ! I mean we ran really ran and full out like track runners in the Olympics! No time to  question how can they just wily nily do that close your gate and change it and you are not told about it !?!?!?!  The run is easy  for Stacey as she is young but Sandy and I are huffing and puffing! A senior citizen or a handicap person would not have a prayer to make that train in time. It felt for all the world like I was trapped in a movie like Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn in Vegas Vacation and on the run to catch their ride!

 

Yes even in that race to the train I was able to see the humor in my plight. It was to always be that way in Europe I was to learn. Adventure and trouble goes hand in hand was the lesson I was getting !!! We got on the train and as I boarded it last, barely able to breathe let alone walk, I heard the whistle blow and the train was moving as the door closed behind me!  No time to catch our breath yet however, because now we must find our seats and this is no short 5 car train like the one we were on, this one is much longer with double or more cars -- I forget the exact  number.

 

It is a interesting thing going from train to train car to look for your assigned seat while the train is rolling along faster and faster. And there is a side to side movement to it when you are not sitting that now you are totally not only aware of but  trying to cope with so you do not fall down!  Then you discover that to pass from one train to the next you must open a door from one car to the other and proceed over this moving link that attaches the cars together. It looks kind of scary to and you can see "air" I mean daylight and road like the same moment boarding a jet when you leave the tunnel that funnels you to the door and step off the tunnel landing into the plane and below you see daylight and earth way down there! Now mulitply this 3 times which is how many times we went from one end to the other trying to find our seats and not sure if we are suppose to be on top deck upstairs of train or below. Yes this train had two floors and also as dining car resturant to! And no porter in sight to guide us!

 

Probably should mention now that the stairs to go up and down from one deck to the other are steep, close, small and wind like in a light house -- in other words a black rod iron circular stair case. And walking is difficult in a moving train. Negotitating those stairs was a study in okay lurch in time now and place your foot here and then there! I laugh now but it took all our concentration to deal with those steps believe me! LOL LOL  Finally we stop and lean against the back of train and begin to discuss the fact that we don't know if we are suppose to be up or down and numbers don't help in showing you. And furthermore, it seems our numbers are taken by other passengers up and below. Do we dare take empty seats and hope no one comes for them ?  We dare! What else is there to do! We can't seem to find anyone to help us. They have their seats and don't know why we don't. We are just silly Americans who don't get it. They are polite but not helpful.

 

We set down and at last catch our collective breaths and begin to talk about this unbelievable gate closing without properly informing us in Breggins  and then the run to catch the train and then boarding it as it moves!!! And then the half walking half falling walk we have been using going up and down this train to find our seats !  We just decide oh well! We at least are ON IT and it is the train officials problem if we are not in the right seats! I think we were feeling a bit on the defense now! We relax and after a bit the ticket person comes along to check tickets. We feel just a little anxious lest he informs us we must vacate our seats and head way to another car not near to us. In fact Sandy apologeticly explains we think we saw our seats but others are in them. The ticket person says people sit where they please! So a word to the wise friends if ever you travel the Euro rail. It is fun but be ready for anything! LOLLOL

 

Now as our journey continues we relax once more and enjoy the scenic ride.  I can feel my body just let go and I realize I forgot I had to go to the bathroom and maybe there is one on this train. In fact it seems likely since there is a dining car.  But contemplating finding it and getting to it, I decide to see if  I cannot think about it and forget I have to go until I get to Interlaken. If I just can't wait then I can always send niece Stacey to find it and come back and take me to it without a miserable search of my own.  And yes I did manage to forget about it and was able to comforatably wait till our destination.  As we continue rolling along the ride begins to grow ever steeper but never to scary. Mostly we go around mountains or thru them. And as we get closer  and closer to Interlaken, we do get higher and higher. But even when we are going well above the ground, I find I can only see out and not below just like on a plane. So  I am not afraid but enjoy the trip immensely.

 

Before we know it the snow capped Alps are all around us and we see Lake Tuhn.  It is a marvelous color I find hard to describe to you. It is not blue. It is not green. It is not the emerald green waters like in the Gulf Ocean on Pensacola beach where I use to live either. It is a deeply blue turqoise with a green tint ever so slightly to it. It has a cold look to it. It is surrounded by  the Snow capped Alps and you can see the roads go all around this lake next the mountains. Soon we pass right thru Leissigen where our Hotel is but there is no stop there. We must go to Interlaken and catch our ride there. We get a fast moving peak at Hotel Kruez as we roll past it and thru the lovely flowery and tiny village of Leissigen (pronouced the same as  Lice again--LOL LOLL)

 

As we near Interlaken which is only about 10 minutes ahead of us if I remember right, we begin to slow down entering the small but larger village.  Soon the train slows down and then stops. Excitedly we gather our sweaters and purses and head for the door to disembark. The first thing I see as I step out of the train is a HUGE billboard, I mean a big one to and on it are two men at some romantic getaway. One is lying down naked and the other is also naked and bending towards him with "love light" in his eyes. And then I remember my daughter warning me and saying Mom Europe is pretty blatant about sex and nudity etc and so be prepared what you might see when you get there. Well two naked homosexual guys on a gigantic bill board facing you as you get off a train was still quite a surprise to me. I remember as the shock seeped into my mind positioning myself away from it in hopes that maybe 13 yr old niece Stacey would not see it. Her mother Sandy's face registerd shock also when she saw and she did the same!

 

Who would of guessed in such a incredibly beautiful scenic  place sequestered in the snowy Alps that a giant homosexual pornorgraphic billboard  would be in such full view for one and all to see. And even a child could tell by looking at it that the men were portrayed as lovers. I won't further describe this due to our rated G status here, but believe me you knew by what they were doing and how they appeared as well.

 

Guess you will have to tune in next week for the Indian Dinner Cruise on Lake Tuhn, Switzerland. Because once more the telling of my adventures in Europe seems to take longer then I realize! Next chapter will have you meeting my son and a surprise event aboard the cruise ship.