Slow Europe

Don’t hike downhill for two hours when … you are the kind of shape that I am in. Our first day in Leysin we did an easy walk around town. It is about 15 minutes from our chalet to the center of town. The second day we did a lovely hike where we drove to the southern edge of town (above Feyday), parked and walked to the Prafandaz view point, then walked down the ridge to another viewpoint and cut back across the hillside to where we parked. Just under two hours and pretty easy.

The third day, that was where we went wrong. We had pictured a lovely two hours hiking down a nice hillside to the town of Aigle, on the valley floor below Leysin. Then exploring the town, maybe getting a bite in a cafe, and taking the cog train back.

“Cog train” should have been the first clue. You only need a cog train on a very steep hill.

Checking the map should have been the second clue. Leysin is 1253 meters, Aigle 405. The hike time is two hours. You do the math - or more appropriately, I should have done the math - before the hike! That is 848 meters - or about 2600 feet - in two hours. Add my age, 52, divide by my current physical condition and you get - - - don’t do this hike you silly nit!

The downhill path from Leysin to Aigle (Vaud)

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Today is day four - my official start of the trip. Arrival day does not count. The next day is jetlag-hell. By day three we are functional and usually heading to the real destination. So day four starts the trip.

It seems the more I travel to Europe and the older I get, the worse the jetlag is. Our flights went well, but we were tired by the time we got to Geneva. Our luggage did not all make it with us - two bags delayed in Dallas, one in Gatwick. The only bag that made it was the one with most of our hiking gear. But the lost luggage line at the airport was short, we filled out our form and it all arrived our second night in Geneva.

Tap dancing through the streets of Geneva

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In this entry I am going to track the weather we have on this trip. It is linked to from the sidebar.

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My pre-trip panic has been mild this time, but I can feel it starting to kick into high gear. I gave myself a lot of time to get ready. I have not packed yet - will start this evening - but I have organized all our electronic gear. I seem to spend more time organizing computers, GPS, cameras, noise canceling headphones, etc. than clothes (this says a lot about me). I have our hiking gear packed. And I decided on a small crochet project to bring (slippers!! something we need anyway!!).

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On this trip we will be in four countries: Switzerland, Italy, France, England. I want to bring a cell phone that I can use from all these countries to make local calls (not many) and to call back to the US for voicemail (every day). I also want to receive calls from other people in Europe, so would prefer a European phone number so it easy for them to call me.

I have a World Phone that I use in Europe: unlocked, GSM phone, tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 (European frequencies 900 and 1800, North American frequency 1900 - a quad-band phone has an extra North American frequency 850). Because we travel to England every year, I have an United Kingdom SIM card for this phone (Vodafone), but the rates when roaming in Europe with a UK SIM card are high, so I have been looking into other alternatives.

If you are traveling to ONE country in Europe, get a SIM card for that country

If you are traveling to one country in Europe, the answer to the cell phone question is simple.

* If you have an unlocked World Phone, buy a SIM card for the country ahead of time from Cellular Abroad or Telestial, or when you get to the country you are traveling to.

* If you don’t have an unlocked World Phone, buy a phone you can use in Europe from Cellular Abroad or Telestial or when you get to the country you are traveling to (or get your World Phone unlocked).

Buying the SIM card ahead of time costs more, but you know your phone number before you leave and you don’t have to spend vacation time in a cell phone store.

If you are traveling to several countries in Europe, there are several options

If you are traveling to more than one country, the question is a bit more complicated because you need a SIM CARD that works well between the countries. These are the options that I considered.

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Length of trip divided by two is the time before a trip when I start to panic. This trip is 48 days long (almost seven weeks). Half of that is 24. That sets my “start to panic” date as June 1. That is about when I started to panic. I paniced for several days, ordered new clothes for the trip (this is part of my panic) and now I am in that calm part of the panic zone, where I think I am pretty organized and everything is going well and this time I will not go into major panic. Except, of course, I will.

I am not a calm person in the best of times. I am a bit highly strung, a bit intense, somewhat obsessive. Steve says I am “high maintenance” (but, I don’t think I really am - he just forgets what high maintenance is really like).

You need to panic more for a long trip. The watering system could break, your housesitter might not notice, and for seven weeks water could pour from your yard to the street. A neighbor could bulldoze your house (don’t laugh, one time a neighbor changed our driveway, raised it by four feet and removed our parking space - this is Santa Fe - these are the types of people who live here). Your cat could die (my wonderful Butch died on our May 2005 trip).

On a shorter trip the water would be a trickle, not a river; the neighbor would just change your driveway; the cat would get sick. It is those extra weeks where things happen. Bills don’t get paid, weather changes, trees die, pets forget who you are, battery dies on the car.

You would think that after doing many long trips like this, it would get easier. It does - but it was so difficult before, that easier still involves panic. Remember, I am in the calm zone now.

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