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Post by inger on May 19, 2023 13:36:08 GMT -5
Just so you guys don't think I've bought the farm -- I won't be around much starting Sunday for about three weeks. Mrs. Pipps and I are jetting off to a completely undeserved jaunt to one of my favorite destinations, Switzerland. Please hold your applause. Not sure if any of you have been there, but it's pretty much like the impossible photographs and films you see. And the trains do run on time -- only Japan can compare -- and everybody does what they're supposed to do and they do it efficiently and politely. I always look for a baseball connection anywhere I go, but I have only found one MLB player from Switzerland, an early 20th-century pitcher for Cleveland and for the 1914 "Miracle Braves" of Boston named Otto Hess from Bern. I think he must have left just before Einstein was moving in. There is a Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation and the national team will be playing for the coveted Alpine Cup in Zurich in July, so we will have to miss that one. If I find any evidence of baseball in the Alps I will post it here immediately. Anyway, I'll be on here the next couple of days, but perhaps a bit distracted with the usual last-minute urgencies that are almost never really urgent. One thing I have learned from a lifetime of travel is that if you have a passport and a credit card with a respectable limit, everything gets taken care of. How deserving is Ouray, Co. to the sobriquet “Switzerland of the Rockies”?… |
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Post by kaybli on May 19, 2023 15:13:23 GMT -5
Just so you guys don't think I've bought the farm -- I won't be around much starting Sunday for about three weeks. Mrs. Pipps and I are jetting off to a completely undeserved jaunt to one of my favorite destinations, Switzerland. Please hold your applause. Not sure if any of you have been there, but it's pretty much like the impossible photographs and films you see. And the trains do run on time -- only Japan can compare -- and everybody does what they're supposed to do and they do it efficiently and politely. I always look for a baseball connection anywhere I go, but I have only found one MLB player from Switzerland, an early 20th-century pitcher for Cleveland and for the 1914 "Miracle Braves" of Boston named Otto Hess from Bern. I think he must have left just before Einstein was moving in. There is a Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation and the national team will be playing for the coveted Alpine Cup in Zurich in July, so we will have to miss that one. If I find any evidence of baseball in the Alps I will post it here immediately. Anyway, I'll be on here the next couple of days, but perhaps a bit distracted with the usual last-minute urgencies that are almost never really urgent. One thing I have learned from a lifetime of travel is that if you have a passport and a credit card with a respectable limit, everything gets taken care of. Have fun pipps! We'll miss you while you're gone! |
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Post by kaybli on May 19, 2023 15:14:08 GMT -5
Gloria and I watched "Air" the other night. Thought it was pretty good and interesting. Nice! I have to see that. Did you finish Better Call Saul? |
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Post by desousa on May 19, 2023 15:58:17 GMT -5
Gloria and I watched "Air" the other night. Thought it was pretty good and interesting. Nice! I have to see that. Did you finish Better Call Saul? Not yet. Still have one episode. |
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Post by kaybli on May 19, 2023 16:00:18 GMT -5
Nice! I have to see that. Did you finish Better Call Saul? Not yet. Still have one episode. Wasn't the penultimate episode amazing? |
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Post by pippsheadache on May 19, 2023 16:25:58 GMT -5
How deserving is Ouray, Co. to the sobriquet “Switzerland of the Rockies”?… I would say that of any US state, Colorado in general would have the topography closest to Switzerland, just based on elevation and those 14,000-foot snow-capped peaks. But if you dropped somebody from Ouray into St. Moritz, and somebody from St. Moritz into Ouray, I don't think it would take more than a five-second look around for them to know which was which. Ouray to me looks like what it is -- an Old West mining town -- there is nothing in the architecture or general setting or culture that would suggest Switzerland. Sure, high mountains and sweeping meadows and above-the-tree-line vegetation all have a certain commonality. You could look around parts of Rocky Mountain National Park and believe you were in the high Alps. But the ambiance is completely different in terms of lifestyle and how you get from place to place. In the Alps you are constantly taking cog railways or funiculars or lifts to get from one village to another. Two of the towns we will be staying in, Wengen and Zermatt, don't even allow cars. I think there is more of a comprehensive network of high-elevation hiking trails in the Alps than in the Rockies, although there are certainly some beautiful trails there, it isn't as practical in getting from town to town. Each area is spectacular to me and can stand on its own merits. |
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Post by desousa on May 19, 2023 17:30:29 GMT -5
Not yet. Still have one episode. Wasn't the penultimate episode amazing? One of the best episodes of one of the best shows ever. |
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Post by inger on May 19, 2023 18:55:30 GMT -5
How deserving is Ouray, Co. to the sobriquet “Switzerland of the Rockies”?… I would say that of any US state, Colorado in general would have the topography closest to Switzerland, just based on elevation and those 14,000-foot snow-capped peaks. But if you dropped somebody from Ouray into St. Moritz, and somebody from St. Moritz into Ouray, I don't think it would take more than a five-second look around for them to know which was which. Ouray to me looks like what it is -- an Old West mining town -- there is nothing in the architecture or general setting or culture that would suggest Switzerland. Sure, high mountains and sweeping meadows and above-the-tree-line vegetation all have a certain commonality. You could look around parts of Rocky Mountain National Park and believe you were in the high Alps. But the ambiance is completely different in terms of lifestyle and how you get from place to place. In the Alps you are constantly taking cog railways or funiculars or lifts to get from one village to another. Two of the towns we will be staying in, Wengen and Zermatt, don't even allow cars. I think there is more of a comprehensive network of high-elevation hiking trails in the Alps than in the Rockies, although there are certainly some beautiful trails there, it isn't as practical in getting from town to town. Each area is spectacular to me and can stand on its own merits. Standing in Ouray, I was always a bit nonplussed by the comparisons just from the photography I’ve seen of Switzerland, but it is a beautiful place… |
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Post by pippsheadache on May 19, 2023 19:30:05 GMT -5
I would say that of any US state, Colorado in general would have the topography closest to Switzerland, just based on elevation and those 14,000-foot snow-capped peaks. But if you dropped somebody from Ouray into St. Moritz, and somebody from St. Moritz into Ouray, I don't think it would take more than a five-second look around for them to know which was which. Ouray to me looks like what it is -- an Old West mining town -- there is nothing in the architecture or general setting or culture that would suggest Switzerland. Sure, high mountains and sweeping meadows and above-the-tree-line vegetation all have a certain commonality. You could look around parts of Rocky Mountain National Park and believe you were in the high Alps. But the ambiance is completely different in terms of lifestyle and how you get from place to place. In the Alps you are constantly taking cog railways or funiculars or lifts to get from one village to another. Two of the towns we will be staying in, Wengen and Zermatt, don't even allow cars. I think there is more of a comprehensive network of high-elevation hiking trails in the Alps than in the Rockies, although there are certainly some beautiful trails there, it isn't as practical in getting from town to town. Each area is spectacular to me and can stand on its own merits. Standing in Ouray, I was always a bit nonplussed by the comparisons just from the photography I’ve seen of Switzerland, but it is a beautiful place… My first genuine off-roading experience was in Ouray many years ago. It was great!! Love that part of Colorado. We took that Silverton to Durango train. So beautiful. Likewise Mesa Verde. Most parts of CO are great when you think of it. |
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Post by inger on May 19, 2023 19:49:35 GMT -5
Standing in Ouray, I was always a bit nonplussed by the comparisons just from the photography I’ve seen of Switzerland, but it is a beautiful place… My first genuine off-roading experience was in Ouray many years ago. It was great!! Love that part of Colorado. We took that Silverton to Durango train. So beautiful. Likewise Mesa Verde. Most parts of CO are great when you think of it. I’ve got Animas Forks on my list for this summer or fall… I wanted to take Ruthie to Chama, NM today, but she wanted to take a nap… it. It was cool and rainy today… no sun is tough when you get spoiled seeing it every day… |
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Post by desousa on May 20, 2023 10:05:08 GMT -5
Hope you have great time on your trip, pipps. I cracked open a bottle of Old Forester last night in your honor.
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Post by Renfield on May 20, 2023 11:44:07 GMT -5
Mentioning this because someone, maybe pipps, had mentioned it a few weeks ago. Just visited the Shoeless Joe Jackson museum in Greenville, SC. It's next to the minor league park. It's in the house he and his wife lived in in the years before he died. Had a small tour thru this house with lots of pictures, replicas and a knowledgeable tour guide. Exact replica of Joe's bat was interesting. Like holding a tapered telephone pole. Handle was huge, about half the girth of the barrel. Pictures showed he had huge hands, though. Tour guide was excellent, but a 3d generation Cleveland fan. Probably knew more about them and their history than Shoeless Joe. Interesting way to spend 45 minutes. Museum only open 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, but worth it if you're in the area.
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Post by inger on May 20, 2023 12:28:26 GMT -5
Mentioning this because someone, maybe pipps, had mentioned it a few weeks ago. Just visited the Shoeless Joe Jackson museum in Greenville, SC. It's next to the minor league park. It's in the house he and his wife lived in in the years before he died. Had a small tour thru this house with lots of pictures, replicas and a knowledgeable tour guide. Exact replica of Joe's bat was interesting. Like holding a tapered telephone pole. Handle was huge, about half the girth of the barrel. Pictures showed he had huge hands, though. Tour guide was excellent, but a 3d generation Cleveland fan. Probably knew more about them and their history than Shoeless Joe. Interesting way to spend 45 minutes. Museum only open 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, but worth it if you're in the area. Thanks Renfield. It’s kind of you to share this information. Doubt I’ll ever be that far east again… |
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Post by pippsheadache on May 20, 2023 13:53:14 GMT -5
Mentioning this because someone, maybe pipps, had mentioned it a few weeks ago. Just visited the Shoeless Joe Jackson museum in Greenville, SC. It's next to the minor league park. It's in the house he and his wife lived in in the years before he died. Had a small tour thru this house with lots of pictures, replicas and a knowledgeable tour guide. Exact replica of Joe's bat was interesting. Like holding a tapered telephone pole. Handle was huge, about half the girth of the barrel. Pictures showed he had huge hands, though. Tour guide was excellent, but a 3d generation Cleveland fan. Probably knew more about them and their history than Shoeless Joe. Interesting way to spend 45 minutes. Museum only open 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, but worth it if you're in the area. Glad you got there Renfield, and your review is much appreciated. I had planned to stop there last winter when we were nearby, but that narrow window of opportunity didn't fit with our travel schedule. Since we're down that way regularly, next time I will arrange to be somewhere near Greenville on a Saturday morning. My wife has been forewarned. I was told that the liquor store Joe ran after he left baseball is still an active business, but I don't think there's much more than a plaque indicating its connection to Jackson. We did stop at the Ty Cobb Museum in Royston GA, about 90 minutes away. It's worth a look if you're in the area, but not worth a special trip. The town of Royston is a hoot. Almost a Hollywood stereotype of a sleepy Southern town. |
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Post by pippsheadache on May 20, 2023 14:11:08 GMT -5
Hope you have great time on your trip, pipps. I cracked open a bottle of Old Forester last night in your honor. Bless you Matt. It's an honor to facilitate the opening of a brand new bottle of bourbon. To your health! |
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