I ate my dinner in the hotel's Gaststübli with the kind of enthusiasm that only a day's walk in the mountains can inspire. Rich local cheeses, a broth flecked with small dumplings, and an aromatic loaf of bread comprised a filling, if simple, meal. All washed down with a bottle of Melser Federweiss, a locally produced white. Joschi sat on the floor at my feet, his head resting … [Read more...]
Joschi IV
Travel, for all its potential to broaden one's point of view, can encourage primal fears that we desperately try to rationalize away. Incomprehensible tongues fall upon our ears, and we assume that we must be on the outside of a very inside joke. When faced with the unfamiliar, our well-intentioned but bumbling genetic structure offers up a generous serving of mistrust, fear, … [Read more...]
Joschi III
I couldn't be certain of Joschi's particular destination, but mine would be the village of Weisstannen, by virtue of having earlier booked a room for the night. My new friend and I walked together the entire day. The path contoured high above the Seez, a charming river whose waters would eventually reach the Lake of Zürich. The belvedere offered commanding views to the head of … [Read more...]
Joschi II
Arriving in a new place brings a wealth of challenges. Languages to misuse, money to miscount, indigenous customs to violate. Unpredictable lighting, confusing locks, toilets that offer impressive arrays of heretofore unknown functions. Buses to just miss, taxis in which to temporarily reconsider one's stance on religion, trains in which to be caught holding precisely the wrong … [Read more...]
Joschi I
He seemed to understand exactly where I was going. And he was quite resolute that he should go there as well. I hadn't expected to make friends so early on, but it became clear that my first companion would take the form of a solitary and apparently self-sufficient German Shepherd. I was near the Liechtenstein border, beginning a westward trek across Switzerland that would … [Read more...]
