Where to begin??!! We last left our travel adventurists on the way to their first snowboarding lesson. Well, that never happened. To complicate matters, work at Balmer's was short lived. Unfortunately, our jobs were only guaranteed through the 15th of January. In an attempt to fund our continued travel, this dynamic duo set off on a train to the tiny ski villiage of Grindelwald. We went from hotel to hotel begging for employment. At about the 5th or 6th hotel, we received a definite, "Maybe". Two days later, we were in fact made an offer we could not refuse and packed our bags for the high Swiss Alps.
The chalet we are honeymooning in/working at is very Swiss, from its decore to its anal retentive owners. Four floors, 21 rooms and a maximum of 37 beds. Dana and I would love for all of you to come visit, but that would mean we would have to clean your rooms. Believe me when I tell you, you don't want that. As you may have guessed, Dana and I are maids. I prefer to think of myself as a Cabana Boy. It just sounds soooo much more dignified.
Our work days consist of CLEANING the bathroom outside of the restaurant, CLEANING the reception area, CLEANING the spa, CLEANING the guest rooms, CLEANING the owners' rooms (after an occassional "lugie" on their pillows), CLEANING the owners' kids' rooms, and doing the laundry. We used to iron, but that responsibility was taken away from us, as we are not "perfect enough". I just don't understand, my ironing was good enough for the Police Department, but not for Mrs. Glaner. Go figure.
The work days drag on and on and on and on and on, but the setting of our apartment and the unlimited snowboarding makes it all worth it. Oh yeah, Dana and I finally made it on to the snow. A former co-worker of ours had a friend come visit, Jesse, and he taught the two of us the basics of snowboarding. As you could all well imagine, the two of us have many bruises from our numerous tumbles in the snow/ice. We are confident that at the end of our 4 months here, we will be qualified to teach all of you the art of snowboarding, without wiping out of course. Mike Alania can attest to my snowboarding "expertise".
As for our home, you'd have to see it to believe it. Here is a glimpse of our winter paradise. The scenery is white - white mountains surrounding us everywhere. From town, it is about a 15 minute walk down a 65 degree hill. No problem until you have to climb your way back up into town or slide yourself home after a beer or 2 too many. A cross country ski path just behind the apartment, a glacier situated in the mountains off in the distance, and countless stars on a clear night, all add to the ambiance of our humble abode. However, beauty was only skin deep for our first few days living in Grindelwald. Our cleaning days turned into cleaning nights. The Swiss apparently forgot to stop by our apartment for spring cleaning and left us a bathroom, kithchen and 2 rooms of filth. After the first 2 scrubdowns of a mold infested bathroom, Jason had to call home for some cleaning inspiration from his mother. Instead of support and comfort, Nancy responded with, "Jason, I don't want to hear it. These are the conditions you wanted to live in." Needless to say this was a traumatic setback. The next day, with a new vacuum and steady determination, we managed to muster enough energy to tackle the joint one good last time. Room by room, cob webs, bugs, mold, and dirt were eliminated, and our Swiss haus came alive.
Now that we have been here for almost a month, we have a full calendar of social events. They consist of night sledding (no lights allowed), 5 franc hamburger Sundays, 3 franc toasties on Tuesday night, and much Gluvein (hot red spiced wine) and Rugen Brau bier. We have adopted the motto, "Work hard and play hard."
Most importantly, our New York creativity and assertiveness has landed us an affordable internet deal here in the villiage. As a result, we will be in touch more frequently, so please stay tuned. A happy and healthy new year to all of you!!!
