Stories, Part 1.

Back to the positive. I have two stories I wanted to share with you. Nothing earth-shattering, maybe not even that interesting. But I think they express nicely why I have been enjoying myself so much.

First, the Golden Pass. The Golden Pass is the train that crosses the alps going east, starting at the eastern edge of Lake Geneva and ending up on the other side of the alps, in Zurich. There are other trains that skirt the alps, following the plains arcing to the north of the alps, and these are considerably faster. The Golden Pass, though, takes you through the heart of the alps, past many of the hippest resorts, and deposits you-- considerably later but much happier-- on the other side.

I took a round-trip on the Golden Pass last weekend, a quick hop to Zweissimmen to have a fondue lunch and take pictures, and then back by 5. I took the Saturday 9:45 AM train from Montreux, which, it turns out, is the grandma Golden Pass. I was accompanied on my journey by two sets of senior ladies. The set on my right spent the first 45 minutes poring carefully over the local obituaries and the rest of the ride engaged in a delightful running commentary of the sights and towns we passed. I got the impression that they were taking a little touristic trip just like me even though they clearly had lived in the area for most of their lives, if not all of it.

The ladies in front of me took a different tack. They spent the ride gossiping and complaining. But they were so darn Swiss about! Every complaint was softened at the end, like they just couldn't bring themselves to speak harshly of anyone. A good example:

Mamie 1: "It's awful how they keep closing the post offices. I have to be driven to the other side of town now!"

Mamie 2: "So awful. The postal service just isn't what it used to be, and they're only doing it to save money at our expense."

Mamie 1: "But you can't really blame them, can you? They were losing so much money."

Mamie 2: "Of course. And it is our tax money they are saving."

No joke. For 2 hours! I wanted to give them a hug.