26 July 2012 - My environs

Yo-de-lay-he-hoo! Have you missed me?  Did you wonder where I had gone?  Did you think that I had lost interest in the blog.  No such luck I am afraid!  We have just spent the weekend in Washington DC and so I have been without time or proper keyboard to keep you up to date of my goings on be they big or small, insightful or inane.

Before you have to endure the sights and sounds of the flight to Washington (airport code IAD) and the touring of the US capital I thought I would take a step back and reflect on my environs that are Einsiedeln (it has taken me some time to get the spelling right on this one).

For those of you interested in some detailed information and history about the town here is the Wikipedia link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einsiedeln).  Let's consider some of the facts:

• First mention of Einsiedeln was in 1073 - goodness!
• The Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey is considered one of the most significant Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites in Europe - my God!
• It rains about half of the year - hooray, more time for fireside mulled wine!
• It is 100 sq km in size of which 47% is agricultural and 44% is forested.  5.5% is populated (that includes me) and the rest forms part of the Bermuda Triangle - an unwritten fact.
• There are about 14,000 inhabitants (plus one) and the most common language is German followed by Serbo Croatian and Albanian - who knew!

So, there is the history lesson.  Its not always giggles here, sometimes it is educational....I am but a teacher brought here to inform and amuse.

As you know, in an effort to shed some of those unwanted kilos from all the food and wine from First Class I have taken to cycling.  You will be thrilled to know that the urge to don lycra has not taken me.  I am sticking to something a little looser fitting...leaves more to the imagination I think.  Anywho, what this means is that I have had a chance to get up close and personal with the countryside.  Sometimes a little too close when I hit the ground from a poor cycling decision - my poor knee.  Was tempted with a photo but it is too healed now and does not show the true suffering I had to endure.  Amputation was considered.

The little picture post card shot to the right is pretty typical of the surrounding countryside.  This is summer so imagine what it will look like in winter.  It will be sleigh (cow) bells ringing and a world of snow men!

Below are some town shots showing the sort of housing around - love a pitched roof and gorgeous cobble stoned roads and footpaths.  Just dripping in history, well, maybe that is a bit of a leap!



Of course what every town needs is its own Olympic grade ski slope and jump. Wheee!!

As it get super duper cold here you can imagine there will be people with a lot of colds and sneezing endlessly.  So luckily there is a local sneeze clinic to help with all those maladies.  The Swiss think of everything. 

Actually it is a medical centre.  All the Deutsche-files would have course have know that "gesundheit" means good health but personally, my interpretation is much more interesting!

I can't stop peddling at the moment and am enjoying the time exploring and of course the training for the Tour de France in 2050 (that would be the only year where I may have trained sufficiently to get in!!).  So here are a couple more Kodak moments.

Of course I have to save the best sights until last.  Our kitchen (and bathroom) windows overlook the neighbours patio.  I am creating my own story about them as they spend a lot of time there eating and drinking.  The sons come for lunch and dinner but mostly it is the parents.  I am calling them my "Swiss Family Robinson" and plan to keep you informed of their antics.  So to start with you need to see them in all their glory....

So that is a little insight into the village of Einsiedeln.  What will the next epistle contain.  Be warned it involves a long haul flight on a new aircraft so you know what that means!  Yes, an extensive travel diary on all aspects of the product down to the stitching of the leather on the seats!  It is time to say G'day USA and see what Washington DC has in store for these intrepid travellers.