Currently, I am in Interlaken, Switzerland. I am having the greatest time, and its reasons are twofold. For starters, the scenery here is out of control. I never thought I was the biggest fan of mountains, and I always prefered water over mountains. In Switzerland, I get both, because at least where I am, All of the mountains have this huge lake at their base. I wish I could more accurately describe the impressions this place has made on me.

The second reason for my deep connection to Switzerland, is the hostel I am in Balmer`s Hostel. It is like the ultimate summer camp dream come true. Everyone is living out of a bag, and doing their own thing, and coming together in the resturant at night, to share the days adventures.

Today I went on the lake in a giant boat shaped like a dragon. I would have taken a picture but I had recently run out of film.

Switzerland is very expensive, this is going to make it difficult for me to stay in this country any longer.

Today has been the weirdest day. Yesturday I was on my way to Zurich, Switzerland, but decided at the last minute to go to Bern, Switzerland instead. I arrived last night in Bern, and went to the only hostel in town. There I was amused to find that my other two roomates were 12 years old. This would be the end of my amusement. These two obnoxious children (who I would later discover live in Zurich), woke up early this morning to talk loudly in the room, cough for what seemed like an eternity, and then finally packed up their things in a triumphant manner and slammed the door behind them.

This would have tested the patience of any person, but I did not feel right yelling at a couple of ignorant 12 year olds. Oh, how this feeling would change.

When I went into town today, I was dying of hunger and went to go buy a sandwich, I reached for my wallet, only to find it completely empty of cash. All of my Austrian money and Switzerland money was gone. I wanted to kill those bastard children. I wanted to shake them until they screamed out in broken English, that I was their daddy.

I spent the next hour searching for a bank machine. AN HOUR LOOKING FOR A BANK IN SWITZERLAND, HOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS BANKS IN THE WORLD. I wanted to appreciate the irony of the situation, but I was too hungry and upset to truly realize how surreal the whole situation seemed.

After eating, I really needed something to relax. I decided a hair cut would not be a bad thing, seeing as how my mane has become unwieldly in the last couple of weeks. I entered the haircuttery and with the help of an english speaking patron, made my intentions for my hair known to the attractive young hairdresser. 20 minutes later, I walked out, relaxed, and pleased with the skill of the aforementioned hair goddess.

I then went to the park overlooking the city to read my book, The Amazing Adventures of Kavieler and Clay by Michael Chabon. I was but 10 pages from finishing it when a young indian sat down next to me and started to tell me my fortune. According to this charismatic young man, I have been unhappy for the last two years, and that my era of happiness will begin on the 26th of November. He then read my palm, told me I had handsome features, and gave me a small rock from his temple in India. This again, was all too surreal, until he began to talk to me about money. It was at this point that told him that I was a poor backpacker who was still recovering from a prepubescent theft from his wallet. He persisted, and I walked away.

As I was returning to the hostel, I heard a stange swishing noise coming from my daypack. I removed the bag to find that it was saturated with Pepsi from my earlier visit to Pizza Hut (my sole American indulgence since my arrival weeks ago). Luckily I was not to late, I was able to save everything in my bag from total cola destruction.

Tommorrow, I plan on going elsewhere in Switzerland, and I hope to leave the strange curse that has befallen me behind.