This is a house along the lake.

I am no in town called Domodossola, it’s 9:10pm and raining. I see all big buildings around me so I don’t know where I will be sleeping as they will soon kick me out of the train station. I am sitting on a vent that is blowing warm air and I would be happy to sleep here but doubt they will let me. 

It has been quite a while since I’ve been able to get online so I am way behind on everything. I did have internet access in Zermatt but only for an hour and I started trying to catch up on my blog first but I didn’t know it was an hour and it cut me off before I could publish so that was an hour lost.

This was another house I came across along the lake.

I spent Sunday the 27th hiking 20km along Lake Maggiore because nobody would give me a lift. I received two small lifts, one 3km (2 miles) and another 10km (7 miles). It was a beautiful lake with islands but every time I tried taking pictures my camera wouldn’t work. The second lift dropped me off Castelletto Sopra Ticino where I spent the night at the bottom of a cement stair well going to an underground parking lot. Good thing I found this because there was a terrible storm with high winds that I’m sure would have destroyed my tent and soaked me anyway. I heard the wind but I was underground so I had no problems.

This is Dino next to the machine we worked on in the nursery.

I only had to walk about 2 miles to Sesto Calende when Dino picked me up. He is a very kind man 65 years old. He was going to take me to my next location (Milano) then told me he had to go to Vicenza and would be going back to Milano in the evening if I wanted to go with him. I had mentioned to him I was looking for people to help and he had three big drums of liquid he had to load into his van and take back. I offered to go help him and on the way back he offered to let me stay with him for the evening and feed me and tomorrow I will help him clean his machine before he takes me to Milano.

This is the garden of the Castle in Milan. I set up my tent in this garden.

Dino ended up paying for a train ticket for me as he was not going to finish cleaning the machine for a few days and didn’t need me anymore. He ended up also giving me a lot of food and 15 Euros to help with the trip. What a great man. I really enjoyed our conversations and friendship. He was a wealth of knowledge sharing information, especially on his vegetarian foods and diets. He also gave me an essential oil that helps with sinus blockage.

Half of Milan castle. It was huge!

Milan is more like New York (or what I imagine it to be as I have never been to New York. It was a big city with big buildings, lots of luxury shopping and everything was very expensive. Not much worth taking pictures of for me.

Half the inner court of the Milan Castle.

I was trying to go to Turin to spend Halloween with my friends there but didn't make it. While trying to walk to the outskirts of Milan to hitch a ride it started raining and it is hard enough getting a lift in Italy on a sunny day so I spent the rest of the day in McD's on the internet catching up. Now that it's dark the rained stopped.  Maybe I will find a place to set up my tent since it stopped raining but I will mainly be looking for something that will keep any more rain me.

Where I sat waiting for a lift.

I ended up taking the little train back down to Zermatt and from there I started walking again. I got a couple miles down the road when a ski team picked me up. They had one of the top skiers in the nation there sitting next to me. They were surprised I hadn’t heard of her but she was very young as well. They dropped me off in Brig which looked like a cute little town but I couldn’t stay as I need to get though Italy and on a boat heading south as the winter weather is upon me.

This is a look at the Alps after the storm the night before. First snow of the year. This was the lake in Italy where I walked for 20

I was hitchhiking when two guys walked by and I asked them if this was the best place to wait. One of them (Lionel) said it will be hard getting a lift from the area they would drop me and suggested I take the bus as it was only 2 or 3 Swiss Francs. I told him I have money but I haven’t exchanged any for Swiss Francs so he told me he would buy my ticket for me. That was very nice of him but as we were walking he said where the bus will drop me, the cars drive too fast to stop for me. He then offered to pay for a train ticket to the first stop in Italy so would not get stuck in the snow. We went to his house so he could get some money and while there he gave me a yogurt, apple and orange. That was very nice of him so on the way to the train station I found he has his own business and I offered to send him my marketing/sales training system to say thanks. I will also send him my book as he may be able to find an opportunity with what he has going on. At the train station he gave me another 10 francs so I could buy something to eat. I had planned on fasting a third day as I had never felt hungry or had a diabetic attack in the two days of fasting without food or water, but after that gesture, and the fact that I already received my answer, I said thanks and feasted on a cheese sandwich, a couple of donuts (yes, that ate up the 10 francs) and the other food he gave me.

Rolle Château.

I made it to a little town and spent the night at a camp site on the outscirts. In the morning I continued and got a lift to Rolle which seemed very old and quaint. From there I was able to get a lift to Visp and then to Zermatt where I would spend the night to begin my hike in the morning. Zermatt is very touristy but I don’t mind mountain touristy because I like the wooded building and such.

Lousanne had some nice buildings.

Museum in Lousanne

The Matterhorn at Sunset

While waiting for a lift this morning I received another revelation which filled me a deep sense of peace, confidence and love. It is moments like this and being able to meet good people that makes this trip so worthwhile. When I get up on top of the mountain I will fast for a few days and seek further inspiration and direction in prayer and meditation. Since I will be stationary, I don’t think it will affect my diabetes but we’ll see. If it doesn’t work and I get sick or my brain begins to shut down I will consider other things I have been fasting from for a few months as my fast and just continue in prayer and meditation for a few days.

The Matterhorn from Zermatt.

The hike to the summit of Gernergrat from the train station is about 10 miles (17km) but what they don’t tell you is that it is all uphill and not a graceful climb; some areas I had to nearly crawl to get up them. It is an 1800 meter (1 mile +) assent. People have been telling me I’m crazy throughout this pilgrimage but now I am beginning to believe them. They recommend a pack not heavier than 12kg (25lbs) and I am carrying a 40kg (80lbs) pack. The time estimated to climb it is 4-6 hours. It took me a little over 8 hours, and I was definitely tired. As I got toward the end I had to make little goals of about 30 meters at a time before I would rest to catch my breath. It wasn’t a problem for my legs (even the next day my legs never hurt) but after living at sea level for 5 years, the thin air was burning my lungs.

Getting up to the top was quite breath taking but I think the best views are from a train stop just before the top at a place called Riffelsee. There, was the most picturesque views. I ate one last time to replace lost energy then began my fast. The next day I found out that my stay would be shortened because there was a major storm coming that is to cause the temperature to plummet and bring a lot of snow. That was a shame to me but I would just have to make the most of what I could.

While in Essen, my blow up pillow began to leak air and I would wake up several times a night to fill it up. I finally decided this was not going to work. I went to several stores to see if I could find another but the only one who had them wanted like $10 for one and in England I paid about $2.50 for mine. I threw away the pillow and figured I would just have to use clothes for the time being but while going through my bag I came upon my water bladder. It was strong enough to hold water so I checked to see if it would hold air. It is very strong so I was able to not only use if for a head pillow but I also used it to lean on for more comfort in the tent. I wasn’t using it before but now I have a good use of it.

I was the only one with a tent and I never saw anyone else actually hike to the top. Everyone takes the train. However, my tent was somewhat of a novelty for many of the tourists and they took pictures of it. I spent several hours on the edge of a cliff reading scriptures but when my back and butt got tired, and the wind started blowing a bit making it cold, I decided to continue my reading in the tent. About an hour later I heard a couple young guys speaking English joking about my tent and saying, this guy is too serious. They then started taking pictures and were talking about pretending it was theirs, that they had climbed up the mountain and took a few more pictures. When it seemed as though they were done, I said, where are you guys from. They both were surprised saying “Whoa, sorry man!”  I just told them it was fine, they can continue, I just thought it was funny. The next morning, while I was in my tent, an oriental woman in her own language was very brave and talking to a few friends, she tried lifting the tent skirt when I said, “Hello”. She screamed and started talking very fast in her language. It was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing.

Little church at the top of the mountain.

Well, my quest was fulfilled; I received an answer to my prayers. I was told what I yet lacked or the commandments I needed to live better in order to perfect myself. Among them were pride, controlling my thoughts better and telling the truth even if it hurts people. That is a difficult one because I don’t like to hurt people. I just hope I will be inspired to know how to respond in a non-hurtful manner. I am also amazed that even though I have nothing left to be proud of,  I still tend to exalt myself when there is no need. My glory days are over and I should be content to be happy without desiring the approval or admiration of others.

Just as I began my decent the snow began to fall. I am resting at one of the train stops because the bathroom has a plug so I can recharge my computer.

Zermatt

Check out the chairs with the sheep skin covers to keep people warm while sitting outside.

Zermatt souvenir shop

Some cool old buildings in Geneva.

I left Luxemburg on the 20th and it was free travel day. I told the person at the train ticket counter that I wanted to go to Geneva and asked if it was still free. She said yes it is free to travel today. Therefore, I jumped on the train heading for Geneva but before the first stop the conductors asked me for a ticket. I told them it was free travel day. They told me that was in Luxembourg; in France and Switzerland I have to pay. They kicked me off at the next station and I hitchhiked from there. It took much of the day but I ended up in the middle of the country somewhere with no city. I was told it is a small toll booth with not many cars and it was dark out so I just camped at the toll booth.

Tour train in Geneva.

In the morning I figured it was light enough by 7:00 to try hitchhiking again. It was 1:30pm and still nobody had picked me up. I decided I would wait until 2:00pm then I would start hiking again. As it got close to 2:00pm I was hungry so I ate and figured when I finish eating I will walk, knowing that once you start hiking on the auto route (freeway) nobody will stop for you. I had two bites left in my carrot when two young men (Rick and Dietrich (sorry, don’t know how to spell it)) and they took me nearly all the way. I was within about one hour to Geneva. As we had time to talk, they let me share my views on the gospel as they were unfamiliar with Mormons and were basically agnostic themselves. They were on their way to learn rock climbing and kayaking so their car was filled with gear and it didn’t look like I would fit but they moved everything around and packed stuff tight so they could help me out. As I’ve said before, I always run into the best people in the world doing this.

I was here on Monday and all the museums are closed Mondays. Open Sunday but not Monday.

I received two other lifts that got me to Geneva at dusk so I will wait until tomorrow to see the city, then off to the Swiss Alps. I would like to see C.E.R.N. too while I’m here but I will find out if it is possible tomorrow. I know I have to hurry before the cold hits as it can instantly freeze up there when the weather turns.

Cool little park where you can play chess or checkers on giant boards on the ground.

Skate Park in Geneva

Inside a church in Geneva. See what money can buy you. This guys crypt must have cost a fortune to be in the middle of the church alone like this.

Caught these people setting up this girl to look like she was abducted and attacked for an add to get people to send money to their cause. I hate deception like this.

The most famous feature of Geneva. I believe it goes 100m into the air.



With all the time waiting I was able to get more accomplished on my book and figure I am about half way through the initial draft. I am now recharging my batteries in McDonald’s and I will continue to work on my book while I wait for them to charge.

Oops, I forget to mention this little town. It is the oldest town in Germany. Just caught it passing through.

Unfortunately, you can't see it but the sign above the guy's head says Germex (like our Texmex). Had to go to Germany to find Mexican food.

Under those trees somewhere is where I slept in Luxembourg.

On the way to Luxembourg I rode with a young couple from Michigan. They were visiting friends and family here in Germany and his aunt gave them a bunch of food, more than they could eat, so they offered me a couple of sandwiches, which was very kind and timely. I was getting very hungry but my food is in my pack so it is difficult to get to at inconvenient times.

The picture above I took from this bridge and I took this picture from a spot from the picture above.

I arrived in Luxembourg in the evening but found a park with a big pine tree that had branches almost drooping to the ground so I camped there. I will be able to see better in the morning just how hidden it is. The new tent is just a bit narrow but I’ve come up with an idea, using a few of the poles from the old tent, to spread the center out a bit more and that should provide additional space when I set up and type. We’ll see.

This was from a museum. It was an actual guillotine.

Found out I left my adapter in Essen so I had to buy a new universal one in Luxembourg. Thank goodness I didn’t have to pay for the tent or I would be seriously hurting for money.

Luxembourg is a cool little city with old city on top of modern. They have a couple free museums and they are laid out so well I wish I could have taken pictures. Excellent displays. I found that my hidden spot is not all that hidden but since the new tent is brown instead of bright orange, it does blend in better. I did have a dog come to visit and he was trying to get in but left after a few minutes. I really enjoyed walking around the city for miles without a backpack but I wasn’t hungry this morning so I didn’t eat before I left. I became quite weak and lethargic around 2:00pm so I headed back to my tent, ate then fell asleep for an hour. That is a typical response when my sugar level goes too low. I was feeling a little sick because of it so I ended up staying another night to recover.

More of the modern on top of the old structures

Another picture from inside the museum. This was kitchenware throughout the various eras.

This is one of the old tunnels in the museum. It was used as underground passage to move around ammunition.

The modern city is very classy as well.

This is the Philharmone

To the left is the modern bridge build on top of the old bridge. This bridge has tunnels and little fort rooms and such you can walk around through. Very cool.

The modern city is rich and spectacular but you just gotta love the old city with all its charm and character.

The old town

I couldn't fit the first building but it said Sin City. This is basically restaurant row with a bung of bars as well.

Have you ever seen a red squirrel?

This is one way to keep the tax man guessing LOL

Wow!!! I was so impressed to be able to see a young man I coached in baseball when he was 8 years old as a professional actor/dancer/singer in the West Side Story in Germany. Since I was in Trojanaires (an award winning show choir), in high school, I have always looked for the strongest and weakest performers but here there were none. The orchestra was awesome as well. They truly were professional and I was especially amazed at my young friend’s talent. He was a talented magician also and helped draw people to our Samaritan Business Builders booth when he was about 12. I saw him perform in a staring roll in St. George, Utah years ago, which amazed me then but now to see him as a professional, I was gobsmacked. What a wonderful evening spent in the Coliseum Theatre in Essen Germany. I don’t want to sound condescending or patronizing in any way so please accept my humility and love when I say, I am very proud of him!!!

There wasn’t much different in Essen Germany than I’ve seen in other cities so I didn’t take any pictures but I did spend a few days there because I had such a nice place to camp in the city and I was able to plug in my computer at McDonald’s and get internet access at Starbucks so I was able to stay online and write more of my book. I would say I am close to a third done now because I had so much time to work on it.

This picture is missing his two beautiful daughters.

I finally got in touch with my missionary companion from back in 1984, Peter Schneider. He picked me up and I spent the weekend at his house with his family. What a wonderful family he has and they are very musically talented as well. His son Damien played me in football and Mario Brothers but I was no match for him. At their church they had an activity for the men playing games. They played Taboo XXL and I struggled not understanding German but I played and our team won (no thanks to me lol). There was a chess master there who killed me in chess as well. One thing this trip is doing for me is teaching me how to lose J. They have me at such a disadvantage in so many things having never played their sports or games. It’s okay, I still need to learn humility. Although I have nothing anymore (other than what fits in my backpack), and though I don’t know when I will make money again or when I will ever win a game again, I can’t help it… I am still full of pride for some dumb reason. I don’t feel homeless, poor, inadequate, unable to win or that I’m lacking anything. I am the happiest I have been in many years, if not ever. I love what I am doing and the people I am meeting because I run into the best people on the planet and they just make me feel loved and appreciated even though I do little for them.

Speaking of which, at the beginning of my pilgrimage, in Barcelona, the first guy that had me stay with him was Kai. He just chatted with me tonight on FB. Most people I’ve known for years never try to chat with me but here a stranger who I spent two days with is still interested in chatting with me every now and again. He wants to hang out again sometime and will stay in contact in case we are ever in the same proximity again.

Peter’s family have been so nice and kind to me, I keep telling him he is lucky to have such a family and I think he knows it. Although I am a guest and he is spending time with me, he was concerned about his wife and wanted to leave soon after church. He also told me that tomorrow, he will help put me on the path to Essen, Germany where I need to go to see Rhett Guter in West Side Story on Tuesday night. But before he does that he said he needs to spend some time with his wife in the morning and last night we started talking a bit then he said, why don’t we talk about this later because his son needs a little attention before he goes to bed. That is a good father who knows how to keep a proper perspective of what is most important in life.

My tent is dead so I have been searching for one but it is out of season now so there are none in the sports stores so Peter gave me their two man tent. It has a rain cover and is a bit bigger so should be more comfortable. Like I said, I get to meet the most wonderful people in the world on this trip. Something else that has been totally awesome for me (in speaking with Peter) although I love reading and learning from scriptures, prophets and apostles, many of the most inspiring lessons I’ve learned in life have come from direct revelation and inspiration. Many of these lessons I don’t share with people because they are not ready for them or they will understand them better when they receive the same revelation. Peter has received many of the same and we were able to discuss gospel principles I have never been able to share with others and it was so exciting for me. This has been such an inspiring stop for me. He also took me to the serviceman ward where the American servicemen go to church and it was the first time I have heard lessons and sang hymns in English in 4 months so it was really a nice gesture. Thank God for good people.

Peter also bought my train ticket to Essen because he didn’t think I would make it to Essen by Tuesday night auto stopping. He also gave me a sweater as he dropped me off at the train station since I left my rain jacket in Bordeaux. The thing is, he hasn’t gained any weight since I met him when he was 19 years old on our mission. I didn’t think his sweater would fit me but it did. I have become very skinny. I can’t thank Peter, his wife and kids enough for a very nice time and such excellent hospitality. He did also show me that food is much cheaper in Germany than most places in Europe because they only pay half the tax on food. The prices were similar to England so I did fill up my food bag and will make sure I do again before I get to Switzerland, which I hear is the most expensive country.

Here in Germany you can get painted Easter eggs all year long.

I arrived in Frankfurt around 8:00pm and that is when everything closes down so there wasn’t much to do. I was told about the fake old town city they built to attract tourists but the town was totally destroyed during the war and rebuilt with modern buildings and skyscrapers. In the morning I was able to see the old town better so here are the pictures.

Something else that struck me in the morning; every day for the last four months in Europe I hear bells ringing throughout every city. It started the same here but after the other churches rang there bells, suddenly there was one church with a deeper and louder sound than all the others and it reverberated the walls around me. It was quite fun listening to it and I wish that had that in the tunnel in the Louvre where the saxophone player was showing off the acoustics.  That would be awesome.

I wondered into the city center and found this little market and a stage where a band was about to play. I was surprised they only played for about an hour then were told to close down because of noise ordinances in Frankfurt so after 10:00pm they had to stop. Most stores close at 8:00pm. After the mini concert I ended up talking to the guest singer who was talking to this 19 year old pretty Russian girl. After a few minutes he left so I continued talking to her. We ended up talking until about 3:00am… okay I say we but it was mostly her speaking and me listening. She did start saying she is attracted to men in their 40’s and her last boyfriend was 47. I told her I would consider myself a pedophile if I dated a woman that was 35 years old. I also told her I was Mormon and I don’t drink, smoke or have sex outside marriage. I thought that would be enough of a turn off but she stayed talking until 3:00am. I told her thanks for the conversation then put my hand out to shake hers then she reached up and gave me a big hug instead. I called a taxi for her and she was on her way.

I went to sleep late so I didn't notice until I woke up in the morning that I was sleeping below this statue that looked like the guy was peeing on me lol. That is my backpack on the ground where I was sleeping.

Going back to Germany I had to take the route back from Kiel to Lubeck to stop at one of those lakeside towns. The person I was traveling with suggested Plon so I stopped there and camped for the night. However, it started raining again and I knew I was about to be soaked to I huddled in my tent until I saw the water start coming through then I packed up and left to find somewhere dry. I stayed there a couple hours thinking this would be another bust when it finally stopped raining. I looked around the city and I was not disappointed. What a beautiful little city. It had all the charm of old style Germany but cleaned up as if it were modern. The city was very clean and the people quite nice. The only thing that struck me as odd was their castle. It didn’t look like a castle at all but more like a mansion. The views of the lake from there were spectacular. I would love to live in a city like that.

Plon Castle.

Check out the weathering of the bricks in this church entryway. I don't know what was the difference between these and the rest of the building but in all the entries it was the same wear.

This was part of the beautiful little city center. Many very cool buildings.