MichelleSwitzerland
December 26th 2007 00:11
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.- Martin Buber
The place of arrival is a mysterious culmination of pleasure and disappointment. We travel to arrive, or so we think and when we do finally set our suitcase down and nestle into the comforts of a lengthy stay, be it weeks or years, we secretly wonder if we did something wrong. Shouldn't it feel like the end of Titanic? Where's the choir, the heated music, the kiss that ends all kisses? Where's the climax?
We begin to unpack and we pull out the souvenirs from our weekend away to Bali or the cruise along the Mediterranean or the trek into the Himalayas. Our smile shrinks. These souvenirs now hold more meaning than we'd originally intended.
Coming home, we place our cheap wooden remains of another life on the mantelpiece and we wonder.
What happened?
Switzerland is a place of mystery and cliches. The rich, it's high standard of living, the banking thing, the cows and chocolate...it's all there and when travellers find their way to the borders of this country, they are often reassured at what they see. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, it has the smell of money and yes, it's so clean, it makes a laboratory look like a batchelor pad. But if you stay, and if you dig, Switzerland has the power to suprise and perhaps shock. It can be an uncomfortable stay and the people...because, let's face it - travel is really mostly, if not all about the people we encounter - can spin every cliche you've ever heard on its head.
The place of arrival is a mysterious culmination of pleasure and disappointment. We travel to arrive, or so we think and when we do finally set our suitcase down and nestle into the comforts of a lengthy stay, be it weeks or years, we secretly wonder if we did something wrong. Shouldn't it feel like the end of Titanic? Where's the choir, the heated music, the kiss that ends all kisses? Where's the climax?
We begin to unpack and we pull out the souvenirs from our weekend away to Bali or the cruise along the Mediterranean or the trek into the Himalayas. Our smile shrinks. These souvenirs now hold more meaning than we'd originally intended.
Coming home, we place our cheap wooden remains of another life on the mantelpiece and we wonder.
What happened?
Switzerland is a place of mystery and cliches. The rich, it's high standard of living, the banking thing, the cows and chocolate...it's all there and when travellers find their way to the borders of this country, they are often reassured at what they see. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, it has the smell of money and yes, it's so clean, it makes a laboratory look like a batchelor pad. But if you stay, and if you dig, Switzerland has the power to suprise and perhaps shock. It can be an uncomfortable stay and the people...because, let's face it - travel is really mostly, if not all about the people we encounter - can spin every cliche you've ever heard on its head.
Beautiful Geneva
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