Around the World: Going Postal

April 1, 1992

I woke up later than I had hoped to and almost missed breakfast.  It worked out better this way as I missed dining with the rowdy group of students eager to explore whatever it is they have come here to see.  Today's mission: Post Office.

Freiburg is a very pretty city, on the western edge of the Black Forest.  It's easy to get distracted by the view and easily lost.  After a bit of redirection and a few photographs, I find the post office.

The post master speaks no English, but fortunately, we are both fluent in charades.  With the help of the clerk at the adjoining stationary store, we wrap up the box with tape and string.  I bring it back to the post master who hands me customs forms to complete with German and French instructions.  I hand it back, hoping I've mailed it in the right direction.

The post master wants to know how I want the parcel shipped.  He holds out his hands like an airplane.  This option is very expensive so I shake my head.  He motions his hand up and down, like waves.  I nod.  The whole entertaining procedure cost me 36 German marks (about $24).

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"Every once in a while, someone will mail me a single popcorn kernel that didn't pop. I'll get out a fresh kernel, tape it to a piece of paper and mail it back to them."
Orville Redenbacher

Around the World: Freiburg

March 31, 1992

Before leaving Geneva this morning, I stopped in at a large department store.  I wanted to find a coffee pot like the one Sabina used to make her delicious coffee and after finding something similar, I turned to find the cashier and discovered Nirvana.

I'm gonna need a bigger bag.

A store employee found me blissfully saucer eyed and held out a plate with little chocolate samples.  It would be blasphemy to decline free chocolate in an aisle devoted to it.  The chocolate in Switzerland is mrf mur mum... (I shouldn't write with my mouth full).  Oh, my good gracious, it is delicious!  Maybe it's the mountain air.  Maybe it's just really good chocolate.  At $1 a bar, debate amongst yourselves while I make my way to Freiburg to mail a small container of this stuff home.

The youth hostel, known in German as a "Jugendherberge" is clearly marked on the map, but that doesn't make it any easier to find.  After a two hour hike through scenic Freiburg, I finally find the hostel and grateful that it has a bed available.  It is currently inhabited by 150 small fry that only scream in German.

There's a park bench by the river where I can quietly enjoy some of the chocolate I didn't package up to mail home and a sandwich.  Coming toward me on the path is another confused backpacker with a map searching for the elusive Jugendherberge.  I offered him directions and a handful of crackers, knowing he's already been on a long journey.  He was grateful for the snack and the information and continued on his way.

There are three other girls sharing my room.  The hostel relocated the young students who were given the room earlier to accommodate the new arrival of backpackers.  The four of us shared some wine and gave me directions to the post office.

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"We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers."

~Seneca

Around the World: Geneva Reunion

March 30, 1992

Sabina and I spent yesterday talking and looking over our photos of Egypt.  She works at a nearby stable, taking care of horses.  Her life seems so idyllic, living on the outskirts of a small town, working at a job she loves with creatures she adores.  Her enthusiasm for life is infectious and inspiring.

This morning, I created a magnificent spread of toast and cheese omelets for breakfast.  Sabina makes wonderfully strong and delicious coffee with lots of warm milk.  She drove me to the train station after a very leisurely breakfast that lasted almost until lunch.  I'm off to Geneva, and hopefully a chance to meet Alain again, India's Ajanta caves' sanity saving jester.

I have been on a seasonal rewind.  I left at the beginning of winter, had a sort of leftover autumn on the west coast of North America, a few months of summer in the South Pacific and Asia and now it's spring in Europe.  In a few weeks I'll be home to do it all again in reverse, but in the right direction. 

Geneva appears to be a generic city with a spattering of parks.  There's nothing of particular interest that I want to see.  I find a public phone booth and call Alain.  He is thrilled to know that I am in Geneva and rode his bicycle to meet me.  We spent a couple hours talking and laughing at a bar on the patio over a few pints.  Unfortunately, our visit is brief.  Tomorrow, Alain begins his compulsory military service, as all Swiss males are required to do, starting with 15 weeks of basic training. 

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"You must take personal responsibility.  You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself."

~Jim Rohn