Venice to Gryon (8/27/19)

Started the day out right, with a 6 hour train ride to Gryon, Switzerland! It took 4 transfers, the clumsy navigation of a bus/train/tram timetable, and my butt hurt by the end, but I made my way from the Floating City into the mountains! And man is it great up here! Down from 90 degrees during the day to 70 for one, which is a godsend because I was getting real tired of being covered in sweat every time I stepped outside.

I’m staying at a hostel called Chateau Martin, which is a massive wooden chalet right next to the train station … and about 100 feet up via a couple nasty switchbacks. But it certainly does help set the rustic mountain house mood. The host, Merlin, is also super chill. He lives here with his wife and two(?) kids while maintaining the hostel. The folks here are super friendly and about 10 of us actually ended up spending the evening hanging around a large bonfire we made using an old wagon out in the yard. They are from all over: Japan, Amsterdam, Chile, etc and we all share a love for life and travel. It was really cool, we all just kinda clicked and it was midnight before we knew it.

Oh yea! And I chatted with a kid in French while waiting for a train up the mountain (I didn’t have any franks upon arrival and needed to go to the next town up to find an ATM) which made me feel really good about my mediocre language skills. Of course, my social euphoria was promptly crushed at the supermarket where I couldn’t figure out what things were or communicate with the cashier. But hey, what can you do, at least I can talk to a grade schooler. Score!