Bathrooms of Europe

Hello again. After two beautiful days of sunshine, we again were caught in the rain. However, this time, we broke with Sylvester tradition and actually took a taxi back to our camp site. The best 20 fr ever spent! We are now watching the Euro Cup finals at the campground and washing all the towels we left on the line to dry.

So today's topic, bathrooms in Europe. Now on my earlier postings, you may have noted significant apprehension about using camp and public bathrooms in Europe. Men, this fear may seem a bit absurd, however women, you know what I'm talking about. My mother, sister and I have a long tradition of finding the best and most beautiful toilets when we travel (#1 The Drake Hotel-Chicago) and I was not expecting to find any list-toppers on my trip and I have been pleasantly surprised. I have had to break out the travel toilet seat covers only a few times, as there are several innovations in toilet sanitation that have been implemented in the EU.

Perhaps the most stunning bathroom thus far was at the Swarofski Crystal Museum (yes Sam I got you something sparkly). Not only were the individual stalls clean and fresh, the sink and mirrors were amazing. The faucet flowed water through a neon blue spicket and the mirror had blue crystals backlit to create the feeling of space. It was a highlight of the museum, along with the crystal filled walls.

The other two miracles of toiletry relate to sanitation. While I have not yet seen toilet seat covers, the Europeans have this fabulous thing called SaniSeat. It is a dispenser of cleaning solution next to the toilet. You simply spray some onto toilet paper and instantly you have a hygienic seat. These are everywhere and have replace squatting in my life, which makes me happy. Even the bathrooms at the gas stations and portapotties are beautiful and clean (see picture).

If sanitation were a Nobel category, this final invention would be a clear winner....the self-cleaning toilet. That's right people a toilet that cleans itself after every use. Where did we find such a thing? At the Alpin Zoo. Now the Zoo did not see fit to clean the animal habitats, but they did invest in the finest of toilet technology. Here is how it goes. After flushing, the toilet has a retractable arm that comes out and covers a portion of the seat. The seat itself is flexible and rotates completely, allowing the arm to spray and wipe the entirety of the seat. Finally, the arm releases aromatic freshness into the bowl to alleviate any odor (peach was the scent used at the zoo) and returns to its resting state.

So begin the petition folks, we need to take a stand, clean public restrooms free of charge and free of germs. I may take this all back when I get to France, but my hopes are high!

Until next time,

Heather

All White People Look Alike...They Just Look Better in Europe

Hello friends and family! We have survived our first week and are having a wonderful time, quarters are cramped, we have developed our own strategies for eating and getting ready in shifts, it is really quite efficient.

We are now in Switzerland and my topic today was confirmed, while all white people look alike, Europeans are more beautiful than the rest of the us. I have been here over a week and have yet to see a pimple or hair out of place. Also, no one sweats. Now it is about 85-90 degrees with about 80% humidity. We are sweating walking up part of a hill to go to a museum and a pregnant woman who walked up the entire hill in the alps, pushing a stroller in heels arrives without being the slightest bit winded or having a drop of sweat. Now I know that this is because they walk everywhere from birth and ride their bikes through the mountains by age 5, but the effect is stunning. The other idea that I had was that it was all of the mineral water that they drink. It is next to impossible to find wasser stil, almost all of the water sold and consumed is mineral water.

Not to say that all Europeans are physically perfect. Some have bad teeth and other have bad hair (mullet man will be posted at a later date). However, these imperfections do not hold them back a bit. They wear them as badges of pride, a lesson that could be learned by all....

By the way, today was the first day of using the TomTom, it was beautiful, we named her Gretel, as she drops breadcrumbs to show us the way!

Next up....bathrooms of Europe.

Heather

Castles and Dancers and Bears, Oh My!

Innsbruck, Austria 6/26/08

Today we had a long day but a great one.

We took a bus ride to the Alpine Zoo. We were able to see church steeples, and the mountains surrounding the valley. On the bus I played peekaboo with some school children, who impressed me with getting around at their young age.


The zoo was about the size of the Santa Barbara zoo back home: small. Our favorite exhibits were the turtles, and the bears. They were the only two animals not sleeping or looking depressed.












Next we traveled to the Ferdinand II castle in the southern part of the city. It was from the 1800’s and was stocked with Medieval and early Renaissance paintings and artifacts. It was nicely preserved. I especially liked the dungeon, which was partially underground and you could feel the temperature drop by 20 degrees. I also liked the suits of armor and weaponry.

We finished the day with dinner and a show. We ate downtown Old Town Innsbruck, and then made our way to an Austrian Folk Dance Show. This was very cool. It was complete with costume, folk dancers, and of course the Bavarian oompa music. At the end they sang international songs from about 15 countries ranging from Yankee Doodle to Pomp and circumstance, including Brazilian, Spanish, and Brazilian anthems in between.

Tomorrow we travel to Luzerne, Switzerland. Its a 3 hour jaunt. To be continued....

-Gabe

The Thrill of the Fight

Innsbruck, Austria 6/25/08

One of the first things you learn about Europe is that folks like to be considered UNITED. It is comparable to the United States in the way we are united but love our individual freedoms. It somehow feels different over here. The Euros have the European Union (and are seeking a unifying constitution), they have the euro ($), and they share very similar beliefs about personal freedoms. They are united about global concerns and environmental issues.

Yet all this unity goes out the window when the 2008 UEFA EURO CUP is at stake. All of a sudden nationalism becomes CHIC, and it becomes cool to be a Nationalist.

I must say I haven’t seen this much passion (and danger) since covering Raiders football. There is an energy in the air. The streets of Innsbruck are filled with painted faces, various national flags, fans chanting their national anthems in the streets to boast a victory over another team. Its an entire street fair bordering on a riot situation. Rick stayed downtown and said it was elbow to elbow wall of people. Plenty of beer. Plenty of cheer. And plenty of police.

Last night, the Germans beat the Turks in Euro Cup competition and I believe they are slated to be in the final match against the winner of the Russia v. Spain game.

So while bottles AND curses fly through the air, we’ll just duck our heads and be glad they are fighting on the futbol field and not a battle field.

I guess the safest thing to do for us is to show true unity as well: we can cheer for ALL the teams...but depending on where we are at the bar, that might get us killed.

-Gabe

Fools In The Rain

We drove into Innsbruck today, and what a place this is. Very much like old town Munich, Innsbruck was filled with cafes, bars, tiny alleys, hotels and lots of people from ALL over. We split up today with Rick and myself going out on our own to find an electronic store to buy a Tom Tom. So the day was filled for me, with people watching and making some cool shots there. The rest of the family went by bus to enjoy a Crystal Museum and modern art display and a few shops and another museum.

Today we learned a valuable lesson: NEVER leave without being prepared for rain. The weather changes in the blink of an eye. In fact today it actually hailed! We enjoyed the rain from a safe covering at our restaurant by the river side. The view was spectacular over looking the river. But apparently, the owners didn’t want any electrocuted Americans on their hands and moved us inside. We had a fabulous dinner which included beer and various ice cream desserts.After our final bus stop, we had about a quarter mile to walk in the rain, because like fools we didn’t bring any umbrellas today. And of course we left the vents open in The Beast so some portions got a little wet. Sometimes when your world is so small -your whole world can get rained on.

Today was also a great day for meeting friends from other lands. We met an English couple leaving our camp in at our Seefled. A German actually drove Rick and I around like a taxi driver to help us find some risers for The Beast. The guy was so nice, and took us to about four stops. Just to be safe and not be kidnapped we had him drive us back to t he bus stop rather than downtown. We also met Doctor Sandra who was in her first week of residency here in Innsbruck. She gave us wonderful directions and advice and told us about life in medicine over a cup of coffee. Back at the camp I met Marth, a Dutchman camping with his wife. Very friendly and spoke good English, Marth had a son who came to LA last year on holiday. Marth also had a very cool toy: trailer with a remote control. This thing moved by itself into position with the click of a button.

Well, tomorrow we will be prepared for rain as we head to the Zoo and a castle. And with Der Tom Tom in hand, I bet you we don’t get lost anymore.

-Gabe

The Lap of Luxury

6/24/08 Seefeld, Austria

Okay. Today we stayed at Alpine Camping and I don’t know how else to start but today that the bathrooms were nicer than ours at home!

What a beautiful place. I don’t think I’ve been to a nicer place. It truly was the lap of luxury. The standard mode for camping over here is the shower/ restroom areas include a public basin area, private stalls for basins, and private stalls for showers. I think of all the times I’ve camped back home when all you get is a scratched up mirror, filthy floors, a 2”X 6” shelf, maybe a hook, and you call it roughing it.

Screw roughing it. I should have gone to Austria sooner.

Our day was spent at the Olympia Village Pool, remnants of the 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck. And yes it was the nicest pool I’ve ever been too as well. Complete with indoor / outdoor pool area, tan booth, water slide to break any bothersome bones you might have, and shower/ locker areas. The Euros are very environmentally sound and waste neither water nor energy and this facility completely exploited this.

The land and scenery continued to be lush, and we often saw flowers thriving where they would otherwise be dead in our hands. The kids loved the pool of course, and so did mom, dad, Aunt Heather and Nana. Papa Rick napped and found camaraderie with the Europeans.

We could have chosen massages, or saunas if we had chosen as they were available.

The Lap of Luxury indeed.

-Gabe

Culture and Tradition

6/23/08

Where can you go to the highest peak in town, see nudity on the beach, and have great food in town that looks like its still in the 19th century-all in the same day? Bavaria of course. Today we went to Zugspitze peak which overlooks both Germany and Austria. We got there by rail train and then to the summit by seilbahn cable car. The temp was about 45 degrees up there in teh sun, about 35 in the shade. And the view was breath-taking!

Next we went down for lunch in the woods, and a walk along the lake where met our first Euro-nudes. Cool idea until you see someone who shouldn’t have their clothes off.

The day was ended at the village of Oberammergau. This was a sleepy little town with very little car traffic on cobble stone streets. The city is very “Old Country” and comes with its own legend. The village apparently prayed to God as a community to be spared from the plaque in 1633. In exhange for God’s deliverance, they promised to put on a play depicting Christ’s cruxifiction story every year. They were spared and the first Passion Play was created. It eventually moved to every 10 years, but continues to this day.

God definitely provides, but not always in our time frame as many already know and we have certainly learned again on this trip with troubles and getting lost.

I was also very impressed with a Catholic Church I found that was originally built in the 13th century. It had a traditional graveyard around it that was very cool to photograph. I was especially moved by the fact that all of the graves were tended to and sported flower gardens. We get so caught up in modern living especially back home that we forget our mortality. At least these folks have not forgotten their dead, their culture, or their traditions.

The night ended with more tradition as we got nestled into camp and saw the lanterns from the hikers on the Zugspitze. Apparently, it is tradition for them to hike up and light the peak at night. They even formed themselves into a huge cross that blazoned the darkness of the mountain side.

Its good to see that culture and tradition is alive in Bavaria.

Tomorrow: Austria!

More photos from our trip so far, you can go to my Flickr page.

Gabe