South Africa Bound - June 6th & 7th

Waking on the morning of June 6th I knew that I was possibly going to face the lowest point of my stay in Saas-Fee – the departure! It proved to be one of the most special places I’ve had the privilege of staying, even though my travels haven’t yet been that extensive. Mark has told me it’s right up there in his top three places he visits in his mind at various times to “escape reality”. For him to say it rates up there with standing in the Tulli block reserve looking over at the convergence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers making up the borders of Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa really gives some idea of how highly he regards it.
As a final farewell Saas-Fee presented me with a magnificent clear blue sky day as I drew back the curtains to start the day. After a late breakfast and speaking to my family at home I headed out for a final look around the village before check-out at 12pm then the coach departure at 2pm. It was a stunning day to farewell me so I enjoyed wandering around lapping it up

I bought a few postcards with stamps so I wrote a few messages to loved ones before walking to the post box at the top of the village to post them. I also bought my dad a present which I have a feeling he will love. As long as I can remember my dad has always carried a Swiss army knife in his pocket. The invaluable tool – the knife not dad – has never been far away from duty whether an apple needs peeling or a cable tie needs snipping it was always in his hand almost without asking the rhetorical question “Do you have your knife?” Needless to say I thought a different coloured (I’ve heard these are harder to buy outside Switzerland) Swiss army knife with his name engraved would be the perfect gift!!
The time too quickly disappeared between aimless wandering and preparation to leave. I was extremely happy to get an invite by Gus one of the few English speaking members of the trip to join him and couple of his visiting mates for a quick beer before heading to the coach. Sitting in the sun drinking a cold pint of Cardinal was a satisfying way to say goodbye to a place I’d grown very fond of. With my beer finished I trudged up the hill and loaded my baggage – which was really heavy - on the waiting bus.

Excess baggage might be an issue!
It was an uneventful trip as I sat transfixed by the final show that the view played out for me the decent from the Alps.

As we passed the farewell sign of the Saastal region I silently wondered to myself if life would present me with another opportunity to visit this wonderful part of the world?

We had left shortly after 2pm for the trip to Geneva airport and it took around three hours with a couple of quick stops along the way. I lined up at the Air France counter wondering if the luggage would cost me or if I would avoid a hit on the credit card? I was checked in by a pleasant, very helpful member of the Air France team and was a very happy wombat to avoid any excess luggage charges for my 39.5kg. Why so much you say? It’s a long story...
I had a quick bite at the one cafe in the departure hall, killed some time on the computer then departed Geneva at 6:30pm. I had a window seat for the this flight and as we flew over the city of Paris I had a magnificent view of the Arc de Triomphe (know as the Arch of Triumph back home) and the Eiffel Tower. It was a little unexpected bonus, even if it was fleeting, it was two of Paris famous sights I can say I have seen on this trip. We landed at around 9:15pm and had to walk what felt the entire length of the massive airport to our departure gate. The French security check point was one I was glad I did not have to repeat. It was only after three attempts, removing my shoes, watch, belt and all the gear from my backpack they finally let me pass. At least I felt safe!!
For the second time on this trip there was an Airbus A380 waiting along-side the aerobridge at our gate. This time however it seemed that the plane was going to be travelling at capacity with a massive number of people!! Many of these travellers were part of a Mexican football fan group who were all very excited to be boarding the flight for the world cup. I was pretty excited to as I was queued up ready to board a flight to Africa!! The excitement did start to fade a little as the flight took around an hour for everyone to board.
I finally arrived at my seat which was an aisle seat as requested for the long flight. I had just finished loading my hand luggage into the overhead compartment and was just about to take my seat next to the pretty young lady in the middle seat when I felt a polite tap on my shoulder which happened to be the young ladies mother, who proceeded to ask if I wouldn’t mind swapping seats with her so she could sit with her daughter. She was honest and did say she would understand if I didn’t swap as her seat was a middle seat, but could I really say no? Could I?!! I played the nice guy swapping seats back to row 56 and started settling in. I had a middle aged South African lady sitting in the aisle seat briefly before a young couple came, checked their boarding cards and politely advised the lady she was supposed to be in row 55, the exit row therefore she was in one of their seats. As the couple had also been split up and were supposed to be on either side of me, I once again moved. This time I started settling into the window seat but alas it wasn’t to last!! I had just dozed off when I heard from the brink of sleep “excuse me, excuse me sir...” to which after a couple of attempts roused me. The guy looked at me and in a heavy Mexican accent said “I think you are in my seat. What is your seat number?” By this stage I was over the amusement of shuffling seats so I just stood up saying “I’m sorry I have no idea as I’ve swapped with someone but I’ll go and swap back” and headed back to row 49. I was a little frustrated by this time after the 7 to 8 hours of travel leading to this point, but I concentrated my energy on being very nice. I politely asked the lady I had originally swapped with if she wouldn’t mind if we sat in our numbered seats until everyone had found their seats as it was causing a little bit of confusion a few rows further towards the back of the plane in “Little Mexico”. She agreed but wanted to find out why there was so much confusion for what should have been an easy swap, so she headed to row 56. Oops her mistake she was supposed to be in row 55, not 56, so she had made a little mistake!!
I finally settled into row 55, the exit row as the South African lady chatted happily across me to the young French guy in the window seat. She seemed pleasant in a “she could talk for hours on any subject she selected” kind of way. Part of my settling in process was to locate my head-phones quite swiftly!! She started doing a word puzzle book and I sat quietly avoiding the possible chance of conversation – the flight was too long for a night of chatting.
Finally the heavily laden Airbus A380 took flight and started the trip to Johannesburg, South Africa. I didn’t sleep well so I caught up with three moves on the ten hour flight. I think I was either over tired or over excited but by the time we arrived at OR Tambo International Airport at 9:50am I knew I was definitely both of the above mentioned. Customs was an easy process which surprised me due to the sheer volume of people but all flowed through quickly so before I knew it I had collected my bags and was heading to the domestic check-in counter. It was the first of many scheduled visits to the South African Airways domestic counter but the excess baggage fee of 535 rand (about AU$90) wasn’t the start I had hoped for!
The time between landing and the departure to Cape Town at 12pm disappeared swiftly and after a 2 hour flight I arrived at 2:10pm. A luxury coach was waiting for us for the onward journey to George. I didn’t have too much idea of the distance Between Cape Town and George but I had worked out it was going to be a long drive. It definitely was a long drive at the end of an already long trip. We left Cape Town at around 5pm after stopping at the accreditation centre at the stadium to pick up match passes. The drive, with a quick stop for a Steers burger and chips at a road-side fuel stop, took 5 hours and 15 minutes arriving at the Town Lodge George at 11:15pm on Sunday June 6th. Through the fog of weariness which had overtaken excitement as the main feeling at around the 3 hour mark of the drive, I did the maths on the trip. We had left Saas-Fee at 2pm reaching our final stop in George at 11:15pm the next day. It added up to a 33 hour trip. No wonder I was tired!!
I checked in and headed to my room to sleep as much as could. Even with smell of smoke wafting into my room from the neighbouring rooms adding to the stale smell of cigarette smoke which permeated the entire room, I was soon fast asleep. It had been another epic day of travel.

Saas-Fee, Switzerland - Second Leg - May 31st to June 5th 2010

After the epic round trip to Graz it was nice to wake up with nothing scheduled for the day. I should have just stayed in bed but with sunshine bathing the snow-capped peaks it was too nice a day. I woke up late-ish and after relaxed breakfast headed out to wander around. The blue skies setting off the Alps made them seem even higher and more impressive than they had seemed previously. Or maybe it was just being away for a few days? Watching the wind blow the snow into swirls high above the top peaks was purely sensational. The quiet day was much needed after the rushed Austrian experience of the two previous days and I slept very well. The morning was again picture perfect with the sun blazing again. We had a trip planned to Adventure World (Abenteuerwald Saas-Fee) so the fine warm day was greatly appreciated as I can imagine working your way through a tree-top rope obstacle course wouldn’t be as much fun. It was a short walk from the tourist office to the park on the out-skirts of town and looking up into the trees on arrival the obstacles looked a great deal higher than I had expected. That wasn’t about to get in the way of a bit of fun so we signed our lives away on the indemnity forms and harnessed up for the safety run-down. I must admit I found it a little strange that after the quick safety demonstration we were let loose on the course by ourselves. It didn’t take long before we were testing the safety ropes and swinging from the rope lines through the forest canopy. As we progressed through the course each section became increasingly more difficult with the passes we needed to cross consisting of swinging ropes and foot holds. It was hard going so with arms burning we came closer to the end of the course and the promise of the giant zip-line across the gorge. We could hear the excited screams of the group ahead as they crossed the gorge adding to our eagerness to get there. We caught our breath after finishing the course and stood looking over cable crossing. It’s at times like these that thinking deeply about the safety as well as the possibility that gear failure would pretty much lead to a long fall to death, isn’t the best option! We didn’t hang around too long contemplating scenarios and before we knew it we were flying across the gorge at a great speed of knots.
It was an exhilarating experience as our hollering echoed around the sheer rock faces of the deep crevice below. The video Mark made on his crossing gives you a little idea of the fun we had. (VIDEO TO BE ADDED WHEN I CAN) Zipping across this line with the back-drop of the Alps behind and the crisp cool air rushing by was a sensational experience.
After enjoying the rush heading to see how the Japanese team would train wasn’t the most exciting way to follow. Even after a day of beautiful sunshine the afternoon clouds had me feeling the chill as the afternoon grew older. I was happy to have a nice hot shower before heading out for a quick dinner then hitting the sack as I was still feeling the effect of the big weekend just passed. With the time remaining in Saas-Fee before heading to South Africa drawing closer to the end, a great opportunity presented itself to head even higher into the mountains surrounding Saas-Fee. The walk out of town to the Felskinn lift was once again, a pleasant walk through the village which seemed to throw new views and vantage points at you each time you venture out your front door. We rode the lift, which was made “famous” in the start of the music video clip for “Last Christmas” by George Michael http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W4-B06nMB4 up the side of the mountain to Felskinn Station seated at 3000m above sea level. The climb saw a gradual change in vegetation which at around the halfway mark gave way to snow fields. I gazed down and wondered how it must look when there is nothing but snow below being carved by winter skiers and snowboarders on the piste. The contrast from the start of the ride to when we alighted the very large cabin (capacity of 90 people) was very clear not only in the visual aspects but the temperature. Snow completely surrounded the lift station and we could see our breaths in front of our faces. The views down the valley to from where we came were stunning but we didn’t have long to stand and admire the scene. We plodded along a path covered with thick snow, then through fluoro lit tunnel to a train which headed underground further up the mountain to Allalin.
Being 3000m above sea level then boarding an underground train seemed strange which was made even stranger by the angle the train climbed up through the tunnel. As we kept climbing the view that we had just turned our back on was in my mind as I started to wonder just how good the view higher up was going to be? The views weren’t the first thing to hit. The cold coupled with the almost blinding effect of complete snow covering was an assault after travelling up through the dark tunnel in the heated train. As my eyes adjusted the views that came into focus were as dazzling as the pure white blinding snow. The peaks that were so distant from the valley below now surrounded us as we stood at 3500m on viewing deck at Allalin.
Allalin station boasts the highest revolving restaurant in the world which wasn’t open but I think the food wouldn’t need to be that great considering the views which I’m sure would demand more attention than the culinary offerings. It would be an enjoyable place to spend a meal. Mount Allalinhorn dominated the backdrop but in every direction the ragged snow covered peaks of the surrounding mountains made for one of the greatest panoramas I could have ever imagined.
We had a Rivella drink inside the station before heading in to have a wander into the ice cave drilled into the glazier. As the stairway descended down the ice-walled tunnel into the deepest part of the cave with an ice covering of 12 metres topped with 5 metres of snow, I thought this isn’t the kind of place you would find a comfortable claustrophobic!! My travelling partner Mark took a video walking through which gives you a little insight into what it was like. (VIDEO TO BE ADDED WHEN I CAN) We caught the gondola back down with the temperature rising the closer we came to the Felskinn station encouraging me to explore the various paths I’d viewed from the air. The first stop was a beautiful looking old water wheel on the banks of a cold stream fed by melting ice from the heights we’d just visited. It was, as the saying goes, as pretty as a picture, so funnily enough I stopped for some pictures. I walked down to the bridge crossing the stream and again stopped for a picture. I wasn’t really thinking about how slippery the log I was standing on could be until it was too late, and I had a bit of heavy fall. I was just incredibly happy I fell onto the bridge and no over the edge into the freezing, and fast running stream as that may have ended my wanderings abruptly!! The walk was again most enjoyable. Walking down the hill back into town I thought to myself that I was definitely going to miss this place when I left but at the same time I was excited about the prospects of the wanderings much further afield which lay ahead. The next couple of days passed by swiftly with the main points of interest being the Corpus Christi procession through the streets of the village and the trip down the mountain to Sion for the Japan v Ivory Coast clash. The procession to celebrate Corpus Christi is said to be one of the most beautiful in the valleys of the Canton of Valais occurring on the Thursday after Trinty Sunday. The local people dress up in various traiditional costums as well as military uniforms to march to the band starting out from the church in town sqaure after high mass, finishing with a visit to the local cemetery. I enjoyed watching the colourful procession as it filed passed my hotel and again later in the day when I observed the group having their photos taken on the steps of the church. The next day we headed out of town again and it took around an hour and half to reach the match venue in Sion once again passing through the most amazing vistas all the way down the valley to the base of the mountains. As a wombat with a knowledge and great appreciation of tunnelling, I must some say I was highly impressed with Swiss efforts. With some of the tunnels we passed through extending as far as 3.5km I had to take a picture or two to show my fellow diggers back home. The ground had quite low grandstands which allowed the view to the castle on the hillside behind the ground to be clearly viewed from the end of the ground. The view proved to be a great deal better than the game which proved to less than inspiring, finishing in a two nil defeat for the Samurai Blue team. Once again the Japanese team didn’t look too good and their inability to score a goal – even in the three 45 minutes sections – failed to fill those hoping the team would do well in the world cup with a great deal of faith. The trip back up the mountain kept me once again transfixed to the view passing which helped make the trip feel a great deal shorter. As we arrived in Saas-Fee knowing it pondered the fact with sadness that it would be the last time I’d climb the winding road up the wonderful village nestled in the Alps. I headed to the hotel and spent much of the evening packing my bags ready for the long trip ahead the next day. I knew I also needed a good night sleep as I was thinking the Saas-Fee – Geneva – Paris – Johannesburg – Cape Town – George journey was going to be extremely draining.

Graz, Austria - Japan v England International Friendly

Waking to an alarm set for 1:20am purely and simply does not make sense. Alas I had to get up to be ready to catch our bus for the 2am departure so I rolled out of bed to start the day. In a nutshell the trip to the second biggest Austrian city Graz, which is approximately 200km southwest of Vienna, went a little like this:
Saturday 29th May
2am – departed Saas-Fee
5:10am – arrived Geneva airport
7:15am – departed Geneva for Vienna
9:30am – arrived Vienna
10:15 – departed Vienna for Graz
12pm – arrived in Graz
12:30pm – arrived at the UPC-Arena ground for a training session at 1:30pm

I was most happy that the leg from Vienna to Graz was only a short 20 minute flight as it was a very small propeller driven aircraft rammed full with people and what seemed like an extraordinary amount of hand luggage! I found my seat and due to the tiny overhead compartment had to put my backpack under the seat in front, which like the aircraft and the overhead compartment wasn’t very big. I had to sit with one leg up on the bag and was feeling a little uncomfortable as the rest of the travellers on the flight filed in. The flight filled quickly and the seat next to me had remained empty until a large unit of a human stood over the seat, looked at his ticket, checked the seat number then nodded in confirmation that he had located his seat. It was hard not to laugh as the two guys from the seats in front turned and laughed as my new neighbour slotted himself in the small seat. Some battles aren’t worth fighting and the battle for the armrest was most definitely one of those not worth pursuing! It was the first time I had ever seen someone request an extender for the seat belt to allow them to buckle up for the flight. I was glad the 20 minutes went quickly!
It was a pretty epic day of travel so by the time I made it to my room in Mercure Graz City at 4:30pm the temptation to get straight into bed was almost as strong as the call to explore a foreign city. I sat for down to try find some inspiration through a can of mixed salted nuts and bottle of coke. It seemed to help so I grabbed my things, as well as the map of the city provided at check-in and headed out to have a wander. I asked on the way out the general direction to town as well as what time it usually got dark before walking the three of four blocks into the heritage listed old city centre. The most unusual site amongst all the old historical buildings was the Kunsthaus Graz building. To try and explain this building would be too a difficult a task for this humble wombat so the obvious choice was to have a picture taken in front of this strange structure which has become an architectural landmark of Graz.

The two gentlemen who created the landmark have been known to refer to it affectionately as the "Friendly Alien". It looked more ugly than friendly to me!! I knew by the tourist brochure in my hand the best vantage point to view the city and help me find my bearings would be from the Schloßberg – which means “castle mountain”. This mountain is best described by the tourist brochure which says "Where in the world would you find a beautiful mountain covered in trees right in the middle of the city?" I walked up the old cobbled street in the direction of the Schloßberg and as I was drawing closer to the bottom of the hill I heard a bit of commotion ahead. At first I thought was a bunch of teenagers being a bit rowdy as there were cuckooing and other fairly random calls all sounding generally strange. It all became clear – but no less strange – as I rounded a corner and walked straight into rolling street performance heading up the hill.

There was a large crowd following the teenage performance art troop as they sang, acted and played music along the streets and paths uphill. I found it all highly interesting and found the girls perched in the trees singing song in German most entertaining.

As entertaining as it was I took the opportunity to swiftly move passed the large crowd as the group stopped for to perform an act. I headed up the hill and soon reached the Uhrturm clock tower. The view from under the clock over the old city was remarkable and the contrast between the Kunsthaus Graz and the surrounding buildings was even more striking from this viewpoint.

I spent a little bit of time looking at the view from here but as the troop had resumed their ascent I thought I’d move further up the hill-side to avoid the crowd. The view over the Uhrturm clock tower with the city behind was too nice a picture opportunity to miss by trying to avoid the encroaching crowd so I stopped again to admire the scene below me.

One of the positive things about putting in the hard yards heading up hill is that you are usually rewarded with a better view the higher you climb. Climbing the Schloßberg was no exception. The view opened wider and I again found myself looking over a magnificent view. The day before I was standing 2350m above sea level in the Alps admiring its natural beauty and here I was a day later in another country looking over a vastly different view, this time of man-made grandeur.

I wandered around the park on top of the mountain enjoying the atmosphere which was aided by the band in the nearby pub playing local folk music. The different vantage points around the park opened up to new views across the city. After wandering without much care for the time and in no rush to be anywhere it was from one of these outlooks I saw the weather was closing in very quickly so started my hasty descent. It was a shame to have to quickly shuffle down the amazing staircase cut into the rock face of the mountain. It was also a real shame I felt my calf muscle strain halfway down the stairs!! I reached the town centre again before it started really raining hard so I settled into a restaurant and ordered myself a schnitzel and a beer. After a long day the massive plate-filling-schnitzel washed down with a nice pint of local beer had me longing for bed. Within an hour of leaving the restaurant I was fast asleep.
After breakfast at the hotel we headed to the ground for the Japan v England international friendly arriving at 11:30am for the 2:15pm kick-off. I was a little disappointed that the ground has had a name change in recent times as it was formally named after one of the areas favorite sons – Arnold Schwarzenegger !! Now that would be a great name for a stadium!! Rain was forecast but it looked like it might hold off, which it did for a little while but then it rained on and off throughout the day and game, becoming extremely heavy at times.
The UPC-Arena holds around fifteen and half thousand people and I’m pretty sure it was sold out. The English fans were as always in fine voice and the small pockets of Japanese supporters added to the atmosphere. An early goal from Japan had the brigade of red and white silenced momentarily but they soon rallied behind their team once again singing in unison willing their lads to victory. An own goal by Japan levels the scores lifting both the England team and the volume of their supporters. The final nail in the coffin was a second own goal by Japan and in the lead for the first time in the afternoon the chorus of “we’re going to win the cup” rang even louder around the small ground. The game finished 2-1 to England with all the goals coming from the boot of a Japan player!!
I’m not to sure what time the game finished but the 5:25pm departure for the airport came around extremely quickly!! The bus pulled out of the UPC-Arena car park headed for the airport at shortly after 5:30pm due to a few stragglers (yours truly being one) holding things up for a few minutes. We checked in at Graz airport for our 6:30pm flight back to Geneva via Frankfurt and waited for the boarding call which was delayed by about 20 minutes.

We finally boarded and bounced our way across to Frankfurt arriving in at around 8:45pm. The weather was rough with a bit of turbulence but the flight passed quickly up the front as I spoke to my new mate Steph, an Austrian guy now living in Perth. Boarding for our connecting flight to Geneva was scheduled for 8:55pm but we were again delayed this time by the shocking weather. After a long two days the extra time waiting for this flight seemed to drag on and on until we departed just after 9:30pm. I asked for a beer on the flight and much to my surprise I was handed a glass bottle of Warsteiner beer. It seemed strange that with the huge lengths they take to ensure you do not carry any sharp items on board a plane, they give you a glass bottle. Anyway - as always the beer tasted better out of glass!! I was sitting between Chinese travelers and the gentlemen to my left did not enjoy the turbulence we encountered before our decent in Geneva. On two separate occasions as the plane jerked through the pockets of unstable air he grabbed both the armrests and gave a loud “whooooaaa”. As soon as he felt safe enough to release his grip he quickly grabbed the end of his belt and tightened further around his waist. He wasn’t having fun! He was more than happy when we landed in Geneva at 10:45pm.
Feeling more than a little tired I trudged to our waiting coach and mentally prepared myself for the 3 hour bus trip back to Saas-Fee. The whirlwind of this trip was highlighted to me on the bus trip when I received an sms message at 12:18am saying “Welcome from o2 Germany!” Not even the roaming on the phone could keep up!! It lashed with the rain pretty much the entire trip and after snatching a few small sleeps along the way we arrived back into Saas-Fee at 2:15am on Monday morning the 31st on May.
48 hours, 6 bus rides, 4 flights, 3 countries, 2 teams and 1 game of football. I was a more than a little
relieved to fall into bed shortly after 2:30am.

Saas-Fee, Switzerland - First Leg

The days were beginning to blend into one as I woke in yet another different location. It was Thursday the 27th of May. After the morning training session I sat for a bagel and a coffee basking in the gorgeous sunshine. It was nice to sit for a moment to take in the scenery and let it sink in. I had a few hours to kill before training again at 4pm so I followed the road leading out of town into the outlaying forest. As I came closer to the edge of the village the view across the valley to the mountain beyond was awe-inspiring. I felt like I was standing in the front row of an IMAX theatre exploring around the scene as it was too big to merely stand back and look at. I kept walking until I reached the end of the sealed road which turned to a dirt trail leading into the forest. I looked at my watch and thought I’d better get back to avoiding missing training. I decided to wake up early the next morning and explore further beyond the edge of town.
Training was a cold affair and I had to keep on moving around to keep my blood pumping around to warm my extremities. After sitting in beautiful sunshine at lunch the drizzle seemed colder and more annoying. I was feeling a little cold and miserable after the session so decided what better way to warm my soul than to get stuck into a burger!! I had seen a menu outside a restaurant on the way to the field which had a well penned description of what seemed to be a flavoursome delight so I mentally booked myself a table. I was happy to get some pressing tasks out of the way at the hotel and started the walk up the street to the Hotel Dom restaurant. The village was very quiet and devoid of the many Japanese faces I was used to seeing but I didn’t think much of it – I was on a mission to destroy a burger!!
The friendly waitress smiled a pretty smile and took my order of a tap water and a burger with pom fritters. She returned with a basket of bread and cravat of water and I waited patiently. My patience was rewarded as she returned extremely large tower burger and a large side of fries. I hadn’t actually seen a doctor, but if I had, this is exactly what they would have ordered!! I ate my fill and there was actually food left over which I think pays homage to the stature of the meal!! Either that or my stomach had shrunk due to the altitude?
I walked the meal off and explored the gorge area of town before doing a small loop to the point we first arrived in Saas-Fee and down to the hotel. I was again surprised that I saw so few of my Japanese friends. It all became clear the next day when I found out there was a large welcome dinner for the Japanese media put on by the Saas-Fee tourist office with free dinner and drinks. I guess that is the downside of not understanding a word of written or spoken Japanese!! Not to worry maybe next time I’m in Switzerland as part of a foreign media delegate I will get the details.
I was inspired by the views and the promise of what lay beyond the town boundaries so I woke at 6:45am did a few exercises and stretches in my room before heading down to breakfast. The morning training session had been cancelled so I could have slept in and still had time to do some exploring, but I was up and inspired.
Heading into the forest was such a peaceful experience as the fir trees seem to dampen all sounds into a muffled whisper. I followed the trail up the hill as it zigged and zagged up the side of the mountain.

I would have been walking/jogging for about 45 minutes before I saw anyone. Apart from that 5 minutes surrounding passing the two older ladies walking their small dogs – one of which really wanted to eat me – I felt like I had the mountain path to myself. I stopped along the way to take pictures as well to really soak up the splendour of the environment engulfing me.

It was pretty hard going heading higher and higher uphill but the ever changing views opening up below me made every step worthwhile.


After climbing for around an hour and half the path dropped away and it was downhill back into town on the loop being followed. The path was fairly step but I was happy to be heading downward!

I jogged carefully down the path and quickly reached the grass covered clearings created for the winter sports. There was still patches of snow on the ground in various places so I had my first experience of snow. It’s a little colder and wetter than I would like!!



I kept moving to warm up again and as I jogged along something up ahead moved quickly across the path and bounded up the hillside. I stopped at the sudden burst of movement and watched as a mountain goat loped effortless away to safety.
The path was drawing closer to town when I saw a group of five people about 400 metres away taking pictures of the path ahead. I veered towards them to see what had attracted their attention and was surprised to see a group of marmots holding the audience. The group were offering the marmots food which they were taking without a great deal of caution. They seemed comfortable with human contact which became glaringly apparent when a small boy of about 3 or 4 who had arrived shortly after I did, walked right up to the nearest marmot which took the offered food directly from the boy’s hand. I decided to get in for a close look and a bit of chat with these furry little friend and find out a little more about them. They were nice enough and after a few pictures and stifled conversations due to the language barrier I moved on and headed back towards town.

I sat and had lunch in a restaurant to put some fuel back in the tank after a long walk/jog that ended up taking a few hours. As I was walking back to the hotel I bumped into a bunch of people from the media group walking up the hill with the local tourism office guides. They told me they we heading up to Hannig above Saas-Fee on the cable cars so I decided to join them. I raced back to the hotel grabbed my gear and caught up with them lining up the cable cars. I paid my fare and waited for my car to take me up to the lofty heights above. The speed and steep angle of the ride made the ground below drop away alarmingly.

The view seemed to open up more and more as I climbed higher to the top station and alighted. The air was crisp as I breathed it deeply and surveyed the majestic spectacle below. At first most people stopped to look in awe but soon after shutters clicked all around as the group tried to capture the surrounds making sure they had photographic evidence of them being in such a wonderful place. The group posed with the village far below them...

...and I posed in many different locations which all screamed to be photographed!!



The trip down was almost a disappointment as the view seemed to diminish each metre we descended into town. I was a one happy wombat thankful I had bumped in the group on the way up!! I plodded off to the 5pm afternoon training session which ended up being closed after the first 30 minutes as they were getting close to their upcoming game against England and obviously didn’t want any distractions.
I shuffled back to the hotel feeling a little weary as I’d had a rather big day and knew I had another couple ahead as we were headed for Graz in Austria the next morning for the Japan v England match. I bought myself a few things to have for dinner from the market and ate it as I set about packing for the “two day” trip to Graz. The bus was leaving at 2am from the car park at the top of town so I knew I needed to get to sleep as soon as I could to maximize precious sleep time. I got into bed at 10:20 pm with the last thing I did before switching off the light being to set my alarm for 1:20am. I hit set on the alarm and cringed. I like sleep too much to be satisfied with just three hours!!

Tokyo to Saas-Fee, Switzerland

I’d grabbed all 3 pillows from each empty seat beside me and stretched myself over the four seats. Earplugs, eye-mask with the added coverage of bandana and a glass of red wine soon had me making up for lost sleep in Tokyo. As Jack said in Fight Club “Babies don’t sleep this well.” I sleep for as long as my body would allow in one position before moving to the toilet then heading back to sleep. Three or four of these intermissions got me through until 6am Swiss time – around 8 hours. At just after 6am I gave up trying to sleep after becoming restless trying to lie still. With only 2 and half hours left of the flight I found a few things to keep me occupied before arriving into Geneva. The breakfast was a little unusual for a guy like me. Pickled cabbage, sashimi, rice and a few things which tasted interesting but I had no idea of the origin all washed down with a miso soup. What better way to start the day?!
The following coffee didn’t taste great but it had the desired effect. After washing my face and having a bit of stretch, I started to feel more alive. The small fact I was about to land in Europe also helped get the blood pumping! The seat belt light came on before 8am as we hit a bit of turbulence just before commencing the decent. As I was in the middle block of seats I moved to the window and raised the shade to look out. The patchwork of local fields of various shades of green farmed below made wonderful patterns so far below. As we descended below the clouds the snow capped Alps dominated the horizon and I stared out at their expanse with open mouthed awe. My eyes followed the mountains down and at the base they meet an expansive lake. I had heard about Lake Geneva – or Lake Léman but I had not realized how massive it was. I have since read that measuring at 582 km² it’s the largest natural freshwater lake Western Europe. The mountains coupled with the colossal lake made a beautiful welcoming scene for my arrival into Europe on a cloudy Wednesday morning.



As we continued our decent into Geneva the screens on the plane all flicked into life and a video started playing. It was a video aimed at inspiring the players called Sky Cartoon. It showed hundred of school children painting a giant mural on the ground and ask the camera was trained on each group they would offer messages of support and encouragement. At the end of the video the camera was lifted off the ground via a large balloon to unveil the finish product which was a cartoon of a Japanese player dynamically kicking the ball. This all happened with motivational music and I could help wondering what the players at the front of the plane were thinking as they were just about to step off the flight to begin their 2010 football world cup campaign. For some it may be the first, for some it may be the last, but for all it must be both a daunting and hugely exciting event in their lives.
We had a private entry in Geneva airport and lined up behind the players to clear immigration. I had a few raised eyebrows as I gave my passport at immigration based on my origin, which I found a little strange. I just smiled and gave a nervous “I have no idea what you are saying half-laugh” before the stern looking officer stamped my passport and let me proceed. As we had arrived on a chartered flight our luggage came out directly on trolleys from the tarmac. As each of these trolleys rolled in the arrivals hall it soon became very apparent to anyone watching on that nothing was being left to chance for the Japanese football team training camp. Trolley after trolley piled with boxes of all shapes and sizes, training supplies and the general luggage of the team as well as their substantial support staff just kept on coming through the doors. I was pretty weary and wished I had the perk-up Mark had as we waited. He had called home to say hello and to wish his little boy a happy first birthday. He was more than chuffed that his little birthday boy did his very best to have a conversation with him and the grin he wore after finishing that call was infectious. After around an hour the luggage belonging to the back of the plane brigade finally came out. We cleared customs and I followed the other members of the travelling group as I didn’t understand one word of the instructions given in Japanese.
We boarded the two waiting coaches and were soon on the road to Saas-Fee. To be honest with you all I didn’t have too much control of this trip for various reasons and therefore may not have paid the level of attention deserved to a few details of the itinerary. If I had done a little more research on Saas-Fee I wouldn’t have thought it was a “suburb” of Geneva and therefore would not been surprised when I overheard the driver saying it was approximately 3 hours away!! As we swiftly headed away from Geneva on the motorway I watched the completely new landscape skip by with interest. It didn’t take long until we were travelling with the magnificent Lake Geneva on our right hand side. The view from above as we descended was merely a different viewpoint on a majestic site. The scene passing by as I again found myself staring wide-eyed out the window was magic. The towns looking over the lake to the mountains beyond had a magnificent view which I’m sure many residents no longer even notice its grandeur.



These towns were soon left behind as we made a stop after around one and half hours for lunch. The mountains were now surrounding us with their sheer size filling the field of vision. We were at the foot of the Alps and after the 30 minute stop we moved on slowly up the valley until we started to climb. The scenery passing by was a like a fairytale story from a place far away from where I grew-up, and I was now seeing it first-hand.



We keep climbing the steep slopes with a huge drop-away road edges that seemed even closer due to the high viewpoint of my seat on the bus. I shook my head in amazement and in wonder of the surrounds we passed through and at we climbed higher and further into the Alps my anticipation of the end destination fed a great excitement within me. I could tell we must be heading for somewhere special.
We arrived in Saas-Fee around 3pm and even through the drizzle you could feel this small village had a nice vibe. The buses stopped at the top of the town and unloaded our bags. Saas-Fee has been a car free zone since 1956 so we had to walk down the high to our hotel. Our bags were loaded on electric buggies as we started the short walk to the Metropol hotel. The air was crisp and it felt “light” leaving me a little breathless even on the easy walk down the hill. I hadn’t experienced this type of altitude previously so I thought it must have either been to do with the thinner air or it may have just been my heady excitement to be settling into this small village nestled in the Swiss Alps. The two busloads of Japanese media and myself walking down the street must have looked quite funny to the locals.



Check-in was interesting with a whole lot of Japanese being spoken and not any understanding by me. I got my own personal run-through of what seemed long winded but in fact was in a nutshell, breakfast is included with the timings being 7 to 10am, you need to keep your swipe key on you and that Japan training was at 5pm up the road about a 5 to 10 minute walk. I grabbed the room key for 106 and waited in line for the two small lifts. To be fair they are not the most “usual” lifts but our contingent made hard work of their operation!
The views although shrouded in misty cloud filled the complete skyline surrounding the village but the hotel only had one side that faced an unobstructed view. As I waited I wondered to myself if there could possibly icing on this already elaborate cake – could I have a view facing the mountain? I found my room and was just touch disappointed to find I was on the other side of the hotel. The room was sound and I had a bit of view. I was happy and started settling in before training at 5pm.
The training ground was at the end of the town centre at the base of what I can imagine would be an extremely large and busy ski field in winter. It only took around 10m minutes to walk to their and again I found myself a little puffed even though I wasn’t exerting myself. Walking through the town you had the feeling that this was a very busy little village that was really enjoying some time off. Many of the largely winter sport shops were all closed and the hotels which I’m sure would have been filled to the brim with winter skiers seemed quiet and uninhabited. It was a nice feeling and the absence of cars made the buzzing whine of the few electric vehicles seem more grating than I would normal even notice.
Training came and went and the players were more than likely happy to get out for a run around to blow away some cobwebs of travel. There was a great deal of water around with small streams running from the melting snow higher up the mountains into the fast flowing Saaser Vispa river that runs through town. There was a little bit of light rain and the temperature was a great deal cooler than I had expected. Looking at the panorama that surrounded me which much of was covered in snow, I worked out why! Even though I had slept heaps on the flight I was still starting to feel the pinch and was keen to have dinner and get to bed.
I joined a group of five Japanese photographers at the pizza restaurant directly across the road. The pizza and beer, from my point of view, were much better than the conversation. That was largely due the fact that small grasp the guys I was dining with had of the English language was hugely better than my grasp (complete lack of any knowledge) of Japanese. The pizza was also very good! I was happy to get to my room around 10:30pm and finally get some sleep. It had been a long three days!