Today was our first full day in the course with all the students and professors. We began the day with a five hour train ride from Zurich, Switzerland to Chamonix, France. The beginning of the endeavor was pretty typical, crowded platforms, a lot of industrial buildings, and too little space for too many bags. But after getting on the first long train ride after leaving Zurich we fell into a rhythm of laughter and awe of the spectacular sights passing outside the window. Outside of Zurich, the land was filled with coastal vineyards and old cottages, becoming more agriculturally prevalent as we moved further from the industrial center. At the end of our second train ride, traveling West, we passed Lake Geneva, otherwise known as Lac Leman, only to double back on our next train to travel further South toward the Swiss-French border.
Moving South, we began to ascend into the mountains and experience breath taking views of snow capped mountains. The train road along a track that cut through the rocks and trees, passing through tall trees hardly disturbed by the speeding trains and following along precarious ridges where, hardly three feet from the track’s edge, the ground fell away into a deep and seemingly bottomless valleys. Our first view of the glaciers was breath taking, literally, with one student, gaping open mouthed at the suddenly visible mountains of the Swiss Alps.
After finally crossing the border and concluding our five hour train adventure, we made our way to the hotel before spending the remainder of the afternoon relaxing, sampling local cuisine and holding our first formal class session. Our final take away: French gelato cannot be missed.