Going to Davos

Last Friday I got up at 5am to catch the 6:13am train to make it in time to my 8am appointment in Davos. Davos is north of Zuoz, on the north side of the Alps, not very far as the crow flies, but the train has to make a huge detour. Make that 3 trains, actually. I had an appointment with Gian-Paul Calonder, the man who is responsible for environmental issues for the municipality of Davos. It was informative, interesting, and he had good ideas for how I could become involved. If I decide to stay in the area for longer than just a few months I might pursue them. Since I didn't know Davos at all, I decided to make a day of it. The meeting was over by 9am, and so indeed I had a great long day ahead of me. Gian-Paul recommended I hike on the interpretative trail he had designed. I hiked the rural section in the morning, the more urban one in the afternoon. Thanks to the signs and a brochure, I learned much about the area. Yes, this is the Davos where the World Economic Forum meets, and also the Davos featured by Thomas Mann in The Magic Mountain. Before the invention of antibiotics, consumption patients (tuberculosis) were sent to Davos to spend several months in one of the sanitoriums (a cross between a hotel and a clinic) to rest and allow the fresh air to heal them. Davos has its own architecture style: most houses have a flat roof, which is now required by the construction code. The flat roofs prevent the accumulated snow to fall into the streets, while the snow provides a thermal blanket preventing heat loss from the buildings.



This week marked the major transition from winter to spring, or, from skiing to walking in slush and mud! The warm weather has arrived very suddenly and has turned the ski tracks into a sticky line in the snow - nothing I'd want to ski on. Water is dripping and running everywhere. The creeks have emerged from their snow and ice cover and are rushing down from the mountains. Because there's so much snow, the winter hiking trails will take another while to morph into regular hiking trails. Presently they are predominantly slush, which makes for difficult, messy and very tiring hiking. Today I decided I had had enough of that and took the train some 45' down the valley to find solid ground. What a pleasure! I am rediscovering the smell of the woods warmed by the sun. The birds are busy courting, and I notice that their symphony is different from the scores they use in Oregon. Different birds, different pitches, different tunes. And all of a sudden I am reminded of the woods behind Neuchatel, my home town. Recently I saw my first butterfly and the first swallow. Today it was the first wild flowers, wild crocus, and the first blade of green grass!

While today's hike was very relaxing, this is not always the case. Yesterday I left home on foot, going down the valley to enter the next lateral one. I knew that the army was having their exercises. Since Monday, planes are constantly circling the area - very noisy. As I was passing above the army compound, I saw the anti-aircraft guns pointed in a direction that seemed straight at me! I could hear the commands to fire from their loud speaker (very loud!), but couldn't hear the guns until I had changed my direction somewhat. I heard the first salve just as I had a woodpecker in my binoculars. Both the woodpecker (never to be seen again) and I jumped/flew! It was the most unpleasant hike. I did not feel threatened, since I was on an official winter hiking trail and I presumed the army takes this kind of info into account. A little further I saw a information board: DANGER. It was placed a ways from the trail, so that I had to leave the trail to read the finer print, getting mired knee deep in the soggy snow. On the board, a lousy map of the danger zone, the transition zone, and the safe zone. Now I am pretty good at reading maps, and I know the area quite well, but the map was of such bad quality that I could not figure out whether I had just crossed the danger zone or not... Going forward I decided to play it safe and follow one of the two roads leading to the village up the lateral valley. A ways up the road I found a barrier blocking it. Since at this spot there is some kind of official building (pump house?) I decided that the barrier was to prevent cars from proceeding - and I went on, happy because I could no longer hear the guns and decided that therefore I must be safe. As the road reached town, there was another barrier, and this time also a sign: road closed because of avalanche danger!!! This took the last bit of fun I had on the walk, and I walked back to the bus stop - using the road on the other side of the little valley. As I was waiting for the bus I heard a big rumbling and with my binocs observed a huge avalanche tumble down across the main valley! With the warmth everything is thawing out and coming lose. I had already seen an avalanche the day before!

I keep thinking that one of these days I'll feel bored or lonely. It definitely hasn't happened yet. I am not doing anything, really, but time just flies. Because I am having so much fun? I can't even find time to clean house, let alone wash the windows which sorely needed it. I increasingly like the simplicity of life here. True, life is easier and simpler when one doesn't have to hold a job. Still, I like not having a car. I am feeling so free and nimble. I haven't seen a traffic light in weeks, let alone been stuck at one! In Portland grocery shopping is a chore. Here it's fun. Just a 3 minutes walk from my house, and I usually run into someone I know.

In case you are not aware of it: I have posted my February pics on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/irenevlach/February2010#