Canyoning, Italy, and walking across a country

So I did really well in the first few months of regularly updating my blog, but I've been falling behind a little bit. Thus this is going to be a double update, covering the last two weekends.

Last weekend I took my first trip down to the Italian part of Switzerland (canton of Ticino)! That's one thing which is great about Switzerland. It is so tiny (could probably fit into Alberta about 8 times), yet it is still so diverse all across it.

On the first day, we rented bikes in Lugano and went for a BEAUTIFUL bike ride around the Lake Lugano. We went for a nice swim, and then continued along. We had some extra time so we decided to take a bike ride across the Italian border! My first time to ITALY! So of course, we had to stop to get some Gelato... so much better than the stuff I had once in Calgary!! Overall, we biked just about 60 km that day, so we were all exhausted. But we couldn't be in Italian Switzerland without having some pizza so we enjoyed a declicious dinner before heading back to our hostel and crashing for the evening.

(View from along our bike ride. :) Just makes me smile)

(My first Italian Gelato!)

(They even have palm trees in Southern Switzerland!)

We had to wake up bright and early Sunday morning to head over to where we would be canyoning. For those who don't know what canyoning is, just keep on reading. There were 6 of us in the group, but the canyoning group was 15. Of course the other 9 people were all German speakers, but it ended up being nice because they split us into 2 groups and thus we ended up with a nice small group, just the 6 of us. :)

So, after getting fitted into wet suits, and we slung our gear over our back to hike up the mountain before we could begin canyoning. It was a really hot day so we worked up a nice sweat by the time we got to the top. Of course, then we had to get our wet suits on which proved to be all that much more difficult with a sweaty body. But after the struggle, we jumped right into a beautiful pool of cold, fresh moutain water!

(Happy in a pool of water!)

And then the canyoning began!! It's exactly as it sounds - going through a canyon. Repelling, jumping, sliding and climbing. SO much fun! Though my fear of heights was a little more prominant than I hoped it would be. Especially when the 10m jump came. I volunteered to go first so I could take pictures of people after me jumping. But after jupming, my hands were shaking too much to be able to hold the camera steady and take pictures. This jump was followed by a well formed slide down into the final pool. And then we were greeted by an even greater surprise at the bottom, a group of old, naked men tanning on the rocks. How lovely.

(Me jumping through a waterfall!)

(So much fun!!)

(A sweet slide we went down in the canyon!)

(At the bottom of our adventure! We just came down that!)

To sum it up, Italian Switzerland proved to be a great and adventurous weekend!!

And then back to work for a week, and ready for more adventures the next weekend! This time, I would be walking across an entire country!! Liechtenstein, a small little country (about the size of Calgary, probably a bit smaller actually), to the East of Switzerland.

(Entering Liechtenstein!!)

A lot of people walk across the country, the 8 km across it. But we decided to be more intense and walk top to bottom, from Feldkirch, Austria to Sargans, Switzerland. 30 km, in one day... doesn't sound too bad, does it? Apparently 30 km was a lot more than we had expected. About 15 km in, our bodies were ACHING from top to bottom. I have done long hikes before, but the thing with hiking is you are going up and down all the time. Whereas with walking, you just walk and walk and walk. Always the same muscles, and they start to hurt, A LOT.

(Walking along the path, Liechtenstein on the left of the river, Switzerland on the right)

Beyond the pain, Liechtenstein was quite a nice country. Basically exactly the same as Switzerland though I must say. They even use the Swiss franc!! The main reason we really did this walk was just for the novelty of being able to say we walked across a country. It was a beautiful sunny day to walk across the coutry, with the alps towering all around us. Though the sun also caused much pain (and still is painful) due to the forgotten sunscreen.

(Two places at once! At the end of our journey....finally, back in Switzerland)

So that is my life over the past couple weeks. And this weekend I have another exciting trip coming up, down to Sardinia (Island off of Southern Italy). Work is getting more difficult, with my boss expecting a little bit more from me, but me feeling just as clueless as ever.

Missing you all in Canada!!

All play no work?

So I guess it would seem with my last few posts that I am only in Europe for play and no work. But I do in fact have a job here. How else would I afford my crazy weekends gallivanting around Europe? And now that I’ve been at my job for about a month I guess I know a little bit about what I am doing so I thought I would share.

In fancy words, I work in the Design to Cost and Commonality team in the Research and Development Division of 2-stroke engines for Wartisila. Simply put that means that I work to make 2-stroke engines more cost effective.

One of my big projects that I was given for the month of July was to benchmark key data for the different bore sizes that Wartsila offers in 2-stroke. Thus, I looked at all the different engines we manufacture and I took the important components (bedplate, column, cylinder jacket and liner, crankshaft, etc.) and I looked at their key design features. So things like weight, length, height, etc. And then, upon graphing the relationships between these it would be easy to see if one of the data points falls above the curve. So for example, if the bedplate of the 500mm bore engine appeared to be relatively heavier than the other engines, a cost reduction might be possible here. By analyzing these relationships, people will be able to use the data I have gathered to determine how to more cost effectively manufacture and design engines.

The team I am on (the Design to Cost and Commonality team) in Wartsila consists of me and my boss. The rest of the team is situated around Europe and the world, mostly in Vassa (Finland) and Trieste (Italy). The team meets about twice a year, and I have been told that I may get the opportunity to attend one of these meetings in Finland around December. This will definitely be an exciting trip (especially since everything is paid for by the company). I am also looking forward to being able to get a tour of one of the engines. These engines, made mostly for large ships and vessels, thus they are HUMONGOUS. I deal with a lot of facts and figures, so I know that they are about 27 000 mm long, and 13 000 mm tall. But I think to actually see that in real life will make it all that much more apparent that this engine is almost 3 stories tall!!!

Beyond the life at work, living in Europe is coming along well. Life here is basically the same as Canada. Everywhere I go people speak English. And everyone is so friendly, so if I’m having trouble communicating, the next person in line will help me out. People always talks about how Canadians are so generous and kind, but I think I have experienced just as much kindness here. Switzerland is such a jumble of cultures and nationalities that everyone is accepted and the people here are used to it. I have met many permanent residents of Switzerland who have not even bothered to try learning German (or French or Italian) because it is so easy to get by with English. Switzerland really does seem to be that country that is just stuck in the middle of everything else and it absorbs its culture from the surrounding nations. Just look at the fact that there are the German, French and Italian parts of Switzerland, depending which country you are most closely bordering. But it makes it a really neat experience to travel across the country and be greeted by such different surroundings.

And, now that I have started to get a paycheck put into my Swiss bank account, I have begun planning some trips around Europe!! Before Christmas I plan to hit Paris, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Pisa, Munich, Luxembourg as well as many more places around Switzerland. I am also heading to Sardinia (Italy) at the end of this month to enjoy the warm sun at the beaches.

I included some pictures from my adventures over the last couple weeks...

Me getting close with Darth Vader at a museum in Winterthur.

Jennings came to visit me!!! And of course I took him for a visit to see the Alps (near Luzern).

Some Alphorn players on the mountain top.

Reaching for the sky!! A sunflower field I found on one of my biking adventures.

Horse Polo!! Also stumbled upon this on one of my bike rides...

The amazing bike signs that they have all over Switzerland!!

My visit to the Rhine Falls on Swiss National Day. I took a boat to that rock in the middle.

One of the boats that goes right up to the falls. Those drivers are very impressive.

Some free beach volleyball action in Winterthur! Definitely nice to watch on a sunny day. ;)

Watching the sunset over Zurich on Swiss National Day.

Getting ready for fireworks by the lake!!

A spirited building in Winterthur.