The Events of Sunday, July 24, 2011

                The sun had not yet risen above the mountains when I left for my walk this morning. The chill in the air surprised me, but I quickened my pace to keep myself warm. Not five minutes up the street I found a trail leading into the woods. Perfect! I followed it up for about ten minutes and enjoyed a panorama view of the Bürchen area. A light layer of new snow dusted the peaks behind me. Wow, what a beautiful place. I returned by 6:30 to wake up the others, so we could get an early start on a long day.

                Pam had two events for us today, both in the area of Lausanne. First we visited the famous Château de Chillon. This castle boasts a long and rich history, of which I had, until today, remained totally ignorant. This property distinguished itself in several ways. First, the audio guides were superb. The audio content was stored on iPod nanos, so we rented three units (we have splitters and extra earphones, so we do not need a unit for each of us). On the player’s menu we could select a language and then an audio band corresponding to our location on the property. We enjoyed excellent content, good narrators, and interesting information, punctuated by occasional sound effects. Throughout the tour we also found video monitors. Here we could choose from a selection of eight video clips, quite well-done, about various relevant subjects: “Daily Life”, “Architecture”, etc. The sound tracks for these videos were also on our audio players.

                The location of this castle is stunning. It takes up the entire area of an island in Lake Geneva, so every window and arrow slit offers spectacular views. (The lake reminded us of Lake Tahoe.) From the top floor of the keep, we looked down to see the deep water, and villages on the shore, and still farther, the ridges and peaks of the Swiss Alps. All in all, this was not a bad place to call home.

                F or something over a thousand years old, the building itself is in remarkably good condition, both inside and out. We visited the cellar-prison that inspired Lord Byron’s The Prisoner of Chillon, where we could still find metal rings for manacles and ankle chains. In the “Coat-of-Arms Hall”, the painted coats-of-arms were still quite visible on the walls. Though faded, the murals in the “Camera Domini” (Lord’s bedroom) gave us a good idea of the original grandeur of the room. (It helped to see the painted model in the middle of the room that showed the murals in full splendor.) Of course the view from the bay windows in the four great halls has not faded at all, and this may be the castle’s greatest asset.  

                When Pam gave her driver’s license as security for the iPods, the castle guide/cashier commented that we are from Elk Grove – and she had lived in our neighboring town of Galt. Galt! I jokingly asked her what could entice her to move away from Galt to a place like this. She replied that she preferred the Galt weather but the Geneva view.

                We also experienced some medieval bathroom humor. It happened during our visit to the castle’s two-hole latrine. On the wall next to the seating area we discovered a collection of drawings, verse, and riddles. Here are two of our favorites:

What is the most noble and upright plant of the forest?

‘Tis the holly.

For no one uses it to wipe his behind.

 

What is the most joyful thing in all the world?

'Tis a fart!

For it sings from its birth until it fades away.

 

                After munching our picnic lunch overlooking the lake (what a view!), we drove on to Lausanne.  Here we spent the afternoon at the Olympic Museum and Park, both learning and remembering. The outdoor park section included fountains, “award” podiums (for photos), and a variety of sculptures relating to Olympic figures or ideals.

                Inside, we first learned about Pierre de Coubertin.  It was his vision and leadership that brought about the Modern Olympic Games. A renaissance man of varied talents, he demonstrated talents as a historian, traveler, author, linguist, educator, and athlete. After successfully launching the Modern Olympic Games, he continued as Olympic Commissioner for over forty years! He was truly an inspiring model of perseverance and leadership.

                Also inside were several exhibits on the history of the Olympics, both the ancient Greek competitions and the modern Olympic Games. One display featured a collection of Olympic torches, one from each Olympic Games since 1936, when the tradition of the torch relay began. Another handsome display showed all the Olympic medals of the Modern Olympic Games. (The Summer Game medals have strict design guidelines, so they are all pretty similar. The Winter Game medals, on the other hand, include a great variety of sizes, shapes, designs, and materials.) Our audio guides, again on iPod nanos, guided us seamlessly from one exhibit to the next. Occasionally we stopped our guided audio tour to enjoy short movies in their small theaters. One of their theaters showed 3D movies. The content of these was nothing special, and the 3D tended to distract the viewer from the focus of the film.

                Finally, we enjoyed reminiscing with video clips of our favorite Olympic moments. We found a family-sized video cubicle and chose selections from Olympics that we fondly remember. These include:

·         the “crazy Austrian” (Rassi?) , the downhill ski champ at the Innsbruck 1976 Winter Games;

·         Nadia Comanici’s perfect ten scores in the Montreal 1976 Summer Games;

·         the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 hockey game between the USA and the USSR;

·         the Pairs Figure Skating Finals from the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Games;

·         the Opening Ceremony to the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Games;

·         the 1984 Men’s Freestyle Swimming finals (Randy Gaines from the USA won gold);

·         the Opening Ceremony for the 1996 Paralympic Games, hosted by Christopher Reeves;

·         the 1996 Women’s Gymnastics team competition;

·         the 1996 Women’s Gymnastics “Dream Team” Gala; and

·         a focus piece on Michael Phelps in the 2008 Men’s Swimming competitions.

Pam and I enjoyed this wonderful opportunity to share our fond Olympic memories with our kids.

                Time ran out on us when the museum closed at six. Pam’s advance research had located a budget Swiss restaurant nearby, the Café du Vieil-Ouchy. So we walked a few minutes to the café and consumed some excellent Swiss-cheesy food: a large bowl of two-cheese fondue; a Rösti Viril (with ham, Gruyere, and onions); Rösti Clochard (fried hash browned potatoes with sausage); Croûte au fromage (a slice of cheese atop a slice of bread, soaked in butter and sautéed); and a bowl of consummé.

                With happy tummies, Pam and I shared driving duty for the long two-hour drive back to Bürchen. We enjoyed onboard entertainment, courtesy of Loopy Lindsey. She was in a goofy mood when she began to talk, and the words just kept coming. “You know, Ben, if you say giraffe really slowly, it smells like gullible.” Later, we heard, “I am so glad that time works forward. If it went backward, our departure time would get further and further away. That would be so sad.” On and on she went. Her unparalleled creativity fueled her verbosity. Pam and I concur that life never gets boring with this crew. We also agreed when we arrived at our chalet apartment, it would be bedtime for these bonzos.