I wish that gaining knowledge didn't always feel like such a bite in the pants

I started my day today reading a bus schedule.  I was determined to learn from the previous day and to go forth and conquer today.  I planned the time to leave my apartment and have 20 minutes to reach a destination that ended up only taking me 10 minutes to walk to.

I was singing, "I have confidence in sunshine, I have confidence in rain, I have confidence that spring will come again, and besides what you see, I have confidence in me!" Yep, Maria's song from Sound of Music.  I tried to upload it here, but the blog site doesn't allow posting from YouTube.  Bummer.  Anyway, I was confidently approaching the bus stop, ready for complete success.

I didn't experience it.

To explain, there is a sidewalk on one side of the street to stand for the bus stop.  To catch the bus going the other way, there is no sidewalk to stand on.  You have to stand in the road with cars whizzing by.  The day before, the bus driver acknowledged my wave and stopped the bus after which I crossed the street and got on it.

Not today.  As the bus approached, I waved to the driver and he waved back....and then drove on down the street.  Since I was hip to where he was going this time, I hurried after the bus to catch up to him and give him a piece of my mind.  

Of course, the bus was gone by the time I reached the skyride station on foot.  And, since the next bus wasn't coming for another 45 minutes, the station agent told me to hurry back to the road because there was a train station right across the street which would take me into the Grindelwald station in the center of town--and it was leaving in 10 minutes.  I got there with 6 minutes to spare, but didn't want to act foolishly without knowledge.  I'd had enough of that.

I went inside the train station and asked the young woman agent standing there if that train getting ready to leave was going to the Grindelwald Station.  She said, "Yes" and shooed me away.  I went and got on the train.

I was a little concerned when the train started up and headed up the mountain and not down into the city center.  It became clear as the train continued its route up the mountain past several little stops that the agent inside the station had told me anything--just to get rid of me.

Knowing I had a long ride before me at a snail's pace, I sat back in my seat to wait it out. I did not have anywhere to be at any particular time, but I did have things I wanted to accomplish and now they would have to wait.

I have come to understand that a ticket agent may ride the train too, and walk up and down the cars checking tickets and making some purchase a ticket who had not already done so.

Surprise!  The ticket agent on this train was none other than the girl who had shooed me away and given me the wrong information.  Oh joy.

Imagine my surprise when she told me that my Swiss Pass was not good for the private train line that I was riding which was going up to this very special summit and that I would have to purchase a ticket immediately from her.

I didn't yell.  I didn't even snarl, Debbi.  I just very unhappily said that SHE was the one who had directed me onto this train that was going where I did not want to go.  It was to no avail.  I must purchase a ticket NOW and my Swiss Pass gave me a 25% discount.  Even so, the ticket was $42.  To go where I didn't want to.

I was so upset I did cry then. That was so disappointing.  And so unfair.

And it made me think about knowledge again.  You have to be careful who you get your knowledge from.  They might not have the knowledge you need. They might be making things up, just to shut you up, or they don't really care about your well-being.

One thing is for sure.  If you don't have knowledge, then you have to believe what other people tell you.  Without knowledge, people can take advantage of you and you have to put up with it.  Most of the time you won't even know better.  But, with knowledge, you can decide for yourself.  You can make choices that YOU want.

We're all going to be voting in a few weeks.  To know for yourself, from your own discovery and your own choice is going to be pivotal.  Don't give up your chance for freedom and vote how somebody else tells you to.  Find out what YOU want.  Find out from your OWN work to know.

The good that came from this learning experience

I met this very sweet Swiss German couple on the ride down from the $42 summit.  :)

I greeted them with my meager Swiss German that I had learned and they were happy to chat with me.  They had been to Arizona and Utah and this other place they couldn't remember the name, but "You had to pay there." After wracking my brain for ideas, I asked them, "Do you mean Las Vegas?"  and they said, "Yes! Yes!"  lol

And, in the Small World category, this couple is staying across the street from me in that camping ground area with a couple of friends!  It was too funny.  We had a lovely conversation and when we met later by chance on the sidewalks in town, it was such a nice feeling to be greeted like a friend.  :)  They are from Basel, the city where I was hoping to find a place to stay, but was unsuccessful.

One of the things I asked them about was the beautiful green grass on all the hills.  For two days straight, a woman has been cutting and working with a whole hillside of grass behind my apartment. 

She cut it, then she raked it into strips/rows like in the picture, and then it was collected in a big pile.  I saw trucks filled with the grass drive past me over and over while waiting at the bus stop.  From the skyride gondola, I could see many areas that had the cut grass, but it was just drying, apparently to be picked up later.

I asked the couple if there was some sort of regulation where everyone had to take care of the hillsides.  She said that there was no regulation, but that everyone knows the winter will be tough and the cows will need something to eat so they share the burden to gather the grasses that can be fed to the cows in the winter.

Those civic minded Swiss.  It is a really neat quality.  I'll keep checking on the grass thing to see if I can find out any more details.  :)

 One really great discovery
I made it to a grocery store called Migros where I bought a new umbrella since the one I had broke one of its spines.  Good thing, too. Clouds moved in.  Sitting and waiting for the bus to take me on the homeward trip, a drop or two fell.  I was glad I had my umbrella in my backpack.

I'm about half a mile from home when it gets really dark and sprinkles.  Then lightning flashes.  I am not a fan of lightning.  I'm too much of a sinner.  I fear getting struck by lightning.  Thankfully, I got home without be hit by lightning or getting drenched.  But right after I entered my apartment....

And the last discovery for the day was REALLY thrilling!  I found out that my favorite chocolate bar comes in a miniature version! Ya gotta love that!!!

As long as my day ends with a bite of this sweet heaven, I'm a happy girl.