"If we have traveled with our hearts and minds truly open, we return with our mental protoplasm slightly rearranged." - Diana C. Gleasner, American travel writer.
It's time to say good-bye to France for now. Challenging logistics force us to leave our friends' appartment by 5:30am and catch a cab to a metro station for the most direct route to Gare St-Lazare and our train to Basel. I think that's one of the paradoxes of traveling in a culture foreign to you -- a simple logistical challenge (what's the least expensive, most reliable, least cumbersome way to get from Point A to Point B?)is at the same time exhilarating and exhausting. The cumulative effect of travel -- for me, at least -- is one of experiencing all senses "en pointe" heightened to take it in, to manoeuver, to lock it in memory and sleuthe the solution all at once. Reality in mega-technicolor!
Train stations have changed a lot since the first time I came to France and hopped the rails with my student Eurrail pass. They're akin to upscale malls with their cafes and shops, and even at the early hour, the fare is tempting.
Basel is the closest town to the village of Kandern, Germany where I have a visit with Black Forest Christian Academy. We're not in France anymore, and hearing German and spending Swiss francs instead of euros takes some adjustment! But Basel and the surrounding countryside is enchanting (the Black Forest in divine fall color) and challenging with the language barrier. The architecture is decidedly different and offers its own char
m. Always a revelation how only a relatively few miles make such a difference in Europe.
No comments:
Post a Comment