Epic Alpine Adventure
Au revoir, Aufwiedersehen
Have you ever read a tour scrapbook that concluded with "I was so ready to go home!"
Yeah, not this one either.
I hated to go and leave these pretty sights. But it was more than that.
On the Panorama hike on the Seiser Alm (Kastelruth), or maybe as a sum total of all the other hikes and adventures, I pushed my boundaries, expanded my box. Once home, everything seemed off. Flat. Mustering the mental acuity to juggle 50+ projects just didn't seem like the most important thing. (Of course, a paycheck is handy, so I adjusted.)
Still, as I write in late Feb. 2020, I'm not sure I've adjusted to the "real" world. And then I came across this thought:
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out
that going to the mountains is going home;
that wildness is a necessity”
― John Muir, Our National Parks
So it seems that we all need a little time away, and this Alpine adventure took me to that wild, open space. I lost some of my frazzle. I hope this site helped you experience it at least vicariously, and conveyed that this is a fantastic tour. Epic even.
Au revoir!
Image: My favorite picture from the trip, with a little help from Google color pop. Me and Mont Blanc.
And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
- T.S. Eliot(my favorite travel quote)
Y'all don't know me very well, but believe me when I say that I don't lightly recommend things. Take this tour!
You too can have these epic Alpine adventures!
Six Countries and Counting
As I was packing my bag to leave for Geneva and my flight home, I wanted to make one last Facebook post to commemorate the trip. A photo that captured it all.
Enter my shoes.
It's not a short story with shoes. This was the fourth pair that I tried in preparation for the trip. In the end, they fit so well I came home and bought another pair. They carried me - comfortably - through Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. And back to the U.S., where it all started.
For this trip, these shoes saw it all, at least a thousand words' worth.
Keep on travelin'
-Rick Steves