July 23rd - Tour de Suisse

Today we didn't have any set plans so we decided to rent some mountain bikes and take a tour of the Interlaken area. There are lots of great trails here along the 2 lakes so we took advantage of some great weather to get some exercise and enjoy the views. It wasn't very long, about 40 km, but there was an unexpected category 3 climb early on that got our heart rates going. The water in the lakes here is a really crazy light teal color, almost Caribbean sea color. It is really beautiful, but it just seems out of place. We also came across 12th century castle ruins. These were really cool and we could go all the way to the top of the tower. There was even a moat, but it was too shallow to bother throwing April in. On the way back we came across some sheep and April stopped to feed and pet them. They all had bells, and I felt bad for them because that clanging must get annoying.

After our ride, we did some laundry that had been piling up. While we were there, some younger Americans came in to do theirs and made us feel really old. To compensate, we talked with an even older 2 ladies from Australia. If you are familiar with Australian TV, these 2 sounded and acted just like Kath & Kim. They complained about everything. They went on and on about how everything is the best in Australia (normal Australian conversation). They also said how expensive everything is in Europe and how cheap it is in Australia, that is a departure from standard Australian dogma. Apparently, everyone they encountered in France was a jerk, but I bet it stems from the fact that they don't even try to speak French. We met a couple in Paris who were having bad experiences with the French, but they admitted that they just assumed everyone understands English. We found everyone very polite and willing to speak English, but probably because we tried to start with French. It was usually the French who opted for English.

Today we are heading to Amsterdam, but we are scared because neither of us speak Netherleese (sp?).