A couple of updates:
We finally organized our pictures on Picasa and we have uploaded all of them as of last night! There are no captions, but you can at least see where they were taken if you are interested. Go to www.picasaweb.google.com/jacob.dagger if you have nothing better to do.
We took a trip to Gruyere, Switzerland yesterday with the intention of letting Jacob eat some stinky cheese while Kelly watched. When we saw how expensive the cheese museum was and how relatively little cheese you actually get to eat, we headed to the gift shop instead. After Kelly was dragged kicking and screaming away from a display of stuffed cows in "the best gift shop ever!" we set off on a hike. Switzerland really does look like the postcards.
We headed back to Lausanne for the evening to take advantage of the hospitality of our friends Tobi and Annette, and we will finally leave their place this morning for a lovely hostel in Bern. We were hoping to reciprocate by having them stay with us in Berkeley, but now they have informed us that they will be moving to the Bay Area at the same time we will. Oops? Danke, Tobi und Annette! Wir lieben Lebensmittel und Ersteklassewagon.
Now, about mallard ducks. Recently we have been contemplating the relative lack of admiration of mallard ducks. Here are some good things about mallards:
1. They are beautiful, especially their heads. Have you seen those bright green feathers? Just take a look. They are better than a peacock´s feathers.
2. They have waterproof outer feathers with a soft layer of warm downy feathers inside. When we saw them swimming in Denmark, it was below freezing and they were still having a good time in the water.
3. They can fly long distances, swim really fast, and walk awkwardly--but cutely, don´t you think?
4. They can sleep while they are floating and they don´t even get carried away by the current. I wish I could sleep while I was driving and not get carried away...
5. They are versatile omnivores. They can tip over, butts up in the air, and look for some bugs to eat, or they can eat white sandwich bread provided by tourists.
Anyway, this post seemed like a really good idea when we thought of it. I hope you aren´t bored. On a side note, we saw some zebras at a petting zoo in Lausanne, and even though we really wanted to pet them, we didn´t want to pay the mean people who were holding them hostage in a pen in the middle of a city. They made the adoption list, of course.
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4 comments:
Again, several thoughts: 1) you could afford to travel first class, but not to eat the cheese? or 2) Couldn't you get the cheese in first class? and 3) on the ducks, they should all thank Tobi and Annette for providing you with free internet access!
love
dad
Hmmm - glad that you are admiring the Mallard ducks -- especially the male ducks (green heads). Maybe you've been gone too long and have forgotten they are as common in your homeland as a sparrow...plus I could tell you stories of how Male Mallard ducks treat their female companions at certain times of the year...holy cow I needed therapy after witnessing such violence and group control of male mallards with the little brown female mallard they cornered. The trauma of this memory is too much for me (just kidding...circle of life and all) but please you are supposed to be on the lookout for birds and animals and bugs that are exotic and different for those of us that will probably not make it to the far reaches of the earth that you are experiencing. So please (I'm sorta begging here :)) get back to work...forget all you do know and start telling and describing the creatures you've never seen before!
Sometimes Keith and I will look at eachother in the car and say, "Man, can you believe that Jacob and Kelly are still on vacation...we have never and will never live a life that good!"
Miss you and hope the traveling is still good! Don't even try to tell us there is a downside to being gone this long...we won't believe you!
Love Pam
John, we wish we could travel in second class, but we are too old to buy second-class Eurail passes. Seriously, as in we are not allowed to buy them. First-class only! Also, I think you know how I feel about cheese. Ick.
Hi Pam and Keith! We know mallards are common at home, but that´s why we think no one appreciates them. Just because they are everywhere doesn´t mean they aren´t beautiful! The females are beautiful, too. And we believe you on the mating ritual... We can keep looking for rare birds, but I happen not to be nearly as good at bird identification as I am at dog identification. Oops!
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