America Month

I returned to Viterbo this afternoon and it feels REALLY good to be back in Italy. What's amazing is that I can feel at home in two different countries. Of course, I find life comfortable and familiar in the United States, but it's truly exciting that I feel that way here as well. I was listening to the radio today and was picking up on the gist of what the DJ was talking about and the Italian language is a part of me now too. This post will be a quick summary of what I did and processed while back in the good old United States of America. If your name appears in this posting, props for making time to hang with me!

First stop, Boston. Thanks to Jeff O. & Andrea, Catherine V. and Ian L.

Second stop, Bay Area. Shout out to Shahana, Carl, Deven & Annika, the crew at HRS, Todd U., Brian S., Aliza S., Peter S., Lauren S. Major C., Justin C., Melissa G., Alicia D., Hans W, Teresa M, Mary H., J'Tao & Tim, Charlotte L., Alex K., Paul F., the LSR gang, Thomas H, Vern N, Al C., Jim Y, Melody K, and Anne and Emily D. Whew, that's a list.

I attended the Gay Pride Parade for the first time (I lived there for a decade and never went). Here we have the Bay Area Association for Independent Schools marching, but no East Bay Schools were represented. Hmmm.....

What I did conclude while in the Bay Area is that it is a 95% probability that I will not move back after this second year. Why? Various reasons, but mostly because I never felt like I created a solid community. Yes, I had lots of friends, but I never felt like I really belonged. When someone asked me what my favorite thing about SF was? The honest answer was, the weather. In the end, even though most people "LOVE" San Francisco, I liked it, but didn't have much love or attachment to it. It's been hard to come to that realization and it feels like I'm being a party pooper, but I just don't love the Bay Area.

Third Stop, Seattle. Great to see Heidi P., Carlos P., Larry C., the O'Neill family, Rob K., Lisa A., Sharma H., the Gray's, Julie L., Kristin S., Jeff H., Chris W., Dana V., Eleni, C., Rick B., Vickie L, Dean K., Malika K. and of course my grandparents, parents and sister.

Carlos P., Patrick O. and myself circling the iPad at a BBQ at Patrick's home.

Kayaking 4th of July weekend out on Bainbridge Island with my college roommate's son.

Seattle was great. I feel at home there. More about that later in time as I figure out what where I want to live someday, but this is feeling like the place. I used to think that going back where you grew up as "defeat" but making the decision now to end up there feels more like "informed choice". I have ties to that city and people there. It's what home feels like.

Fourth stop, New York. A week up on Lucky Dog Organic Vegetable Farm volunteering for Richard G., Kalan J. and the gang. Camping along the East Branch of the Delaware River and working hard all day getting sweaty and then rewarding yourself by jumping into the river...nothing better. Great seeing Peter S., Sarah S., Simeon S & Darcy, Mary Bentley H., Keith G., Alysa J., Jennifer C., Gayle A., Rob M., Ned B., Felice K. and Ari K.

Here I am "vogueing" in front of Madonna's new home on East 81st off Lexington Avenue.

So, when I was back in the US, I had many qualms about my not being in a relationship or even dating. After much discussion and observation and introspection, I'm pretty much of the opinion that I am WAY too selfish to be in an actual relationship right now. I get too much joy out of doing things "MY WAY" and when I want to do them. However, I do feel as though I need to get out there and meet more people, or if you want to call it dating, then yes, I should get out there and practice. So, that's the Ernie Chen improvement project for the next year. Thanks to all for listening to me process. It all helped.

Dolomites

Leaving Liechtenstein, Mom, Dad and I enjoyed a night in Innsbruck (check off another Olympic host city!) where we enjoyed a surprise traditional music concert during dinner. Driving south over the Brenner Pass, we re-entered Italy into the the Alto Adige, home of the famed Dolomites.

Another highlight of the trip was staying in this Agriturismo. The Italian government, trying to keep families on their farms, subsidize the renting out of rooms in agricultural homes. The place was clean, new and had a kitchen.

Here's the view down the Anterselva/Anholtz valley.

Why does everything have two names? Back in WWI, Austria-Hungary was defeated and the treaty gave the province of South Tyrol to Italy. Italy, tried to Italianize everything (that's why the province is called Alto Adige in Italian) but the residents still speak German as their first tongue. I loved it up there because I speak a little of each language and I could mix and match and the people understood me.

A typical scene driving through the Dolomites.

We drove up to the lookout for the "Tre Cime" or "Three peaks." The weather was amazing and at the end of the day, the light was soft and perfect. Plus, we essentially had the entire place to ourselves. Note to readers, travel in Europe in late May/early June. Europeans kids are still in school and the weather is not yet too hot.

Dad in action.

A requirement that I pose for a picture for Dad. More importantly, I've had those faux aviators for 8 months now without losing them. A record for sure.

I have lots of more pictures of the Dolomites, but they all look repetitive after awhile. Again, as with any grandeur, it's impossible to capture the feeling and awe of the place.

This is the view from Corvara, home of a THIRD language in the region, called Ladin, which is an ancient derivation of Latin. It is primarily spoken and taught in two valleys, Val Badia and Val Gardena. It is officially recognized by the country of Italy and given legitimate status. In those areas, there are three names for every place.

Descending into the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo (check for another Olympic venue). It's just on the other side of one of the Dolomite ranges, but historically Italian and therefore, Italian comes first. It's a mere 20 km but the line is distinct between the two languages.

One more look down the Anterselva. The area is known for being a hotbed of biathlon and there is a world cup competition sometime in January 2011. I want to head up and see it and see the area in the wintertime.

Zurich and Liechtenstein

Zurich, Switzerland. Doesn't really conjure up much passion, does it? So, why did Mom, Dad and I visit this "time is money" city? The Zurich Airport. Turns out back in 1983 when the former Swiss Air (now out of bankruptcy as Swiss International) purchased a 747 from Boeing and my Dad spent three months here as their technical adviser. He wanted to see the place again, and lo and behold, its not the same. There are more buildings and even the hotel he stayed at had built a new building and moved across the highway. After visiting the airport in Kloten, we headed downtown to walk around.

Just like Luzern, Zurich is situated at the northern tip of a lake (Lake Zurich) with a river flowing out of it (Limmat).

The Grossmunster. It was here in 1520 Huldrych Zwingli initiated the Swiss-German Reformation. 

From one of the spires of the Grossmunster, looking across the Limmat River at the Fraumunster. Three of the five windows designed by Marc Chagall are seen here.

St. Peter's church, which has the world's largest church clockface. Seems fitting that the Swiss would have that title.

In this building, the Dada Art Movement was started in early part of the 20th century.

Next stop, Liechtenstein. It's the 4th smallest country in the world. It exists because the Liechtenstein family wanted a seat in the government of the Holy Roman Empire, so it bought this land. It has remained independent ever since.

It contains 62 square miles with most people living in the flat land and foothills by the Rhine River. To the west is Switzerland. To the east is Austria.

The country is known for its stamps, but it's economy is driven by being a business haven. It has a low corporate tax rate and therefore the country has more registered businesses than actual citizens. Of the four smallest countries in the world, I've hit three, San Marino and Vatican City being the other two. The one left....Monaco.

Luzern and Interlaken

Next stop, Luzern. This is the famous Kapelbrucke which crosses the Reuss River.

This lion carved into a stone in town has the inscription "Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuis" or "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss". It is dedicated to the Swiss mercenaries who in the service of Louis XVI of France, were killed during the French Revolution.

In Northern Europe, instead of domes, it's steeples with clock faces on them that indicates you've found a church. Here's the main church of Luzern.

After an afternoon in Luzern, we trekked to Interlaken, about an hour and a half away. Our hotel was way at the top of a mountain in the town of Beatenberg. This was the sunset view.






At dinner, we were treated to this impromptu concert. It was great, but it inspired my father to purchase CD's of the same genre which we listened to repeatedly in the car the rest of the trip.

The highlight of any visit to Interlaken is a ride up the tram to Jungfraujoch, a tourist/tram station located at the "Top of Europe". It's located between two mountains and is 11,332 feet above sea level.

From Interlaken, first stop Grindelwald.

From here we took the tram to Kleine Scheidigg and along the way, we passed by the famous north face of the Eiger.

Alas, the sun of the lower part of the mountain was not what we found at the top. Here's the view from Jungfraujoch.

One cool thing is the Eispalace.

This sign was totally meant for me!

I think this is a funny juxtaposition.

But then, what was this. There was a restaurant in the complex called Bollywood and tourists from the Indian subcontinent were EVERYWHERE. Turns out because it's so dangerous to film Bollywood movies in Kashmir, they film in Switzerland. Therefore, the Indians want to see the scenery and flock to this part of the world. The Swiss are simply taking the economic opportunity and running with it.

We finished off the loop by coming down on the Wengen side. I know of Wengen (and a lot of Alpine locations in Europe) from watching downhill ski racing on television.

Wengen sits on a ridge above the amazingly beautiful Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Throughout Switzerland, it seems like every sheer rock face has a waterfall coming off of it. The Lauterbrunnen Valley had what seemed like 5 or 6 total coming off both sides of the valley.

This is the Switzerland we picture in our minds. It's not fantasy, it truly exists!

The Lakes of Northern Italy

The names all are familiar: Maggiore, Lugano and Como. After hectic Milan, Mom, Dad and I spent a couple days chilling out in this beautiful area an hour north. It's exactly what the Milanese have probably been doing for centuries. And NO, we didn't see George Clooney.

First stop, Lake Maggiore and the town of Stresa. Two of the Borromeo Islands just off the coast of Stress are Isola Bella (foreground) and Isola Pescatori (smaller off to the back left).

The Borromeo family has a summer palace on Isola Bella and it and the gardens are open to the public. Nothing makes Mom happier than visiting gardens, so this was an obvious highlight of the trip.

In 1935, Mussolini, British and French diplomats met here to sign the "Stresa Front Agreement" to try and dissuade Germany from starting WWII. It fell apart when Italy attacked Ethiopia and joined forces with Hitler.

To get to the gardens, you must go through the palace. Downstairs is this amazing grotto (a place to escape the heat) that is lined floor to ceiling with stones and marble. I post this picture for a secondary reason. You see my Dad actually reading a plaque or looking at something. Perhaps one of the few times I saw this happen on the trip.

You exit the palace and enter the amazing terrace garden and see this wall.

And peacocks!

The fragrance of the place is amazing and roses were in bloom. This picture also captures what my Dad came for. Getting my Mom and I to pose for him.

We stayed an an Inn in the town of Cadenabbia on the western shore of Lake Como. A camera is simply unable to capture the feeling, majesty, grandeur and drama of the place. So I won't even try.

Our inn, and the balcony on which we dined, had this view of town of Bellagio.

From high in the hills above Lake Como you can see how Bellagio is situated at the tip of a peninsula. That tree laden "bulge" is called the "Punta Spartivento" or Point that separates the wind.

We had amazing weather the entire time in the Lakes District. Only on the day we left, did we see clouds, but they couldn't detract from the beauty of the place.