On Sunday, we all stayed at home. We had a lovely church service in the evening then went out to dinner. A great day with the family.
Sunday night. I did not sleep much this night. I woke in a panic about getting a visa to China. Oh, I haven't mentioned this part yet! I've been presented an opportunity to go to China in April. For a couple weeks, I have been working on all the legality of this part of the trip. It is a bit more complicated than normal because I am an American citizen applying for a visa from a country that is not America. Anyway, back to Sunday night. I woke around 4AM in a panic about visas. Since sleep was no longer on the table, I read website after website about visas. Let me say. Not as much fun as it sounds like it is.
Finally around 7AM, I went downstairs. Tom and I had been planning on going to Stein Am Rhein that day. But due to my panicking, we headed to Zürich to find the Chinese Embassy. On the train there, I let my parents know I was headed to the embassy. Don't worry. They've been in the loop about the China idea. I didn't just throw this at them. However, they said hold off one more day because they needed to check something.
There Tom and I were in Zürich's main station wondering what to do with our day. We decided to just go to Stein Am Rhein! I had all the information I could need about Chinese Visas, but no food or anything really for a tourist day. But off we went to Stein Am Rhein regardless.
Stein Am Rhein's train station reminds me of the scene in Fiddler on the Roof. A daughter is being sent off on a train. Nothing around the bench they sit on besides a half building only slightly sheltering them from the blustering snow. Fields go on and on as far as you can see. That's what scene rolled across my mind as we got off in Stein Am Rhein.
We began trekking towards the main part of Stein Am Rhein. In case some of you don't know, I am not a stranger to small towns. McCarthy, Alaska is the definition of a small town. I've sat on the bench on the Main Street of McCarthy and been amazed how I wouldn't see a person or hear a sound. But that doesn't compare to the quietness of Stein Am Rhein. It was silent. A few people walked around, but didn't say a word. Even the stores were quiet. Tom informed me that the main square was packed with a market and people in the summer. He said it was abnormally quiet this time. That didn't take anything away from the beauty of the buildings. Paintings covered all the buildings. A church next to the river stood silently. Ducks quietly swam down the Rhein River. I explored the church's courtyard behind a brick wall. An elderly couple walked in the snow covered grass, silently holding hands.
After exploring for a bit, Tom and I decided to continue on. Stein Am Rhein has a little monastery on an island that Tom and I headed towards. It was a nice jaunt down the river. Finally we came to the bridge towards the island.
The monastery was tiny. Maybe I'm getting spoiled with all the big churches I've been seeing lately. One room with maybe fifteen chairs set up. An alter sat in front, and with little decoration adorning the room it was quite simplistic. I didn't take any pictures because it was a very intimate setting and it didn't fee right. I sat and flipped through the prayer book they had. People literally from around the world had written prayers in there. I added one, sat quietly for a bit until a priest came in, then met Tom who was waiting outside.
Our next thing on the agenda was the Rhein Falls. We caught a bus and headed off. Again, a very quiet spot considering how big of a tourist attraction it is. The joys of traveling in winter. We went down the elevator since the stairs were iced over. You can hear the falls from far away. The Rhein River is 1320 kilometers long and reachs six countries. A strong river, it pours over an edge here creating a picturesque scene.
(I may be getting to addicted to panoramic shots.)
Afterwards, while waiting for our bus, we explored the area. You have to go through a castle area to get to the falls. Cobblestone walkways, decorated gateways, and tall towers line your way. A restaurant is in the middle of the courtyard, right next to the museum. Again, since it's winter, most everything was closed. But it was beautiful views and fun to see nonetheless.
When we got home, I pretty much ate for the first time that day and went to bed. Which is my excuse for cramming two days into one blog. I'd say I'm sorry, but I was really tired... So I'm not really sorry at all.
This morning I woke up early and went to the Chinese Embassy. This time for real. I got a bit lost. But eventually found my way there. Essentially in the basement of this house resides an office. Three women sat behind a desk. They all spoke fluent Chinese, English, and German. Quite impressive. The lady was very nice and helped show me what was wrong with my application. Just nice enough to tell me to come back tomorrow and try again. Take two.
I went back home and couldn't help but smile because the sun was beating down. I even had to take jackets off! So I went to Tom and said, "We need to see some mountains today." So we began researching places to go within time and price range. Finally Sarah chimed in with the winning idea. Today's adventure would be Liechtenstein. That's right. In an afternoon of no planning, I went to a different country. That is the definition of a win.
Tom and I got a train from Zürich to Vaduz. The train ride alone was worth the time and money. My nose pressed to the window, I snapped as many shots as I could. It was truly incredible scenery. From glistening lakes to rock faces thousands of feet high to glorious snow covered mountains, Switzerland and Lichtenstein blew me away.
Upon arrival in Veduz, we wandered around. My goal was get high up to take pictures of the mountains. Tom's was to find portals for Ingress. We accomplished both missions. We walked around the whole town and even walked up, past ice falls, to the castle being lived in by the prince and princess. I wanted to see if we could have ice cream with them, but Tom sternly told me no. But we did find my street- kind of! But in reality, the views were unbelievable. The town was well kept and full of statues, modern art, and architectural phenomenas.
(Look another panoramic shot!)
Liechtenstein takes stamps -as in postage stamps- very seriously. So we passed a stamp museum, stamp exchanges, and in every souviner shop was a wall of specialized stamps. Add this to the "List of Things I Didn't Realize are a Big Deal" - right next to curling.
We are currently headed home now on an incredibly full train. I was sitting on the stairs until a staff member directed Tom and I to the first class car. We've got that going for us which is nice!
Sorry for the long post, guys. I really did try to keep it short, but so much happened in two days! Thanks so much for reading my posts and commenting. I've been getting great comments and support about it. It means the world to me. It truly does help me and motivate me on this crazy journey I'm on. As always, to be continued...
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