Just Because -- Zurich, Switzerland

It's five fifty-nine am on September 14th. Sounds of Geneva's tram screech and rumble through the open window to my left. The occasional car rolls to a stop at the intersection, the engine switches off and then comes to life again as the traffic light changes from red to yellow to green. I hear the swishing of a stiff broom whenever the tram's rumble doesn't swallow the rest of the early morning music. 

Boy sleeps in the bed in front of me. I woke him up at four in the morning, saying something akin to, "BOY! It's four in the morning! And I love you! And you have to let me wake you up and tell you I love you because we only have one more night together." 

Boy laughed, got up to pee, and went back to sleep. 

But I can't sleep. I wonder how long it will take me to sleep normally again. I'm used to sharing a tent, bed, cubby hole in the wall, couch, floor with someone who's approximately a million degrees Fahrenheit. I'll freeze to death without him. Also, I won't know what to do when I wake up at four in the morning and don't have a sweet boy to torment with my love. 

One more day. One more night. Then eight months of separation. 

Fuck. 

Our last few days in Zurich were mostly quiet. Our new friend Chad drove Joy, Vajra, Boy and me on a search for the oldest forest in Switzerland. And although we didn't' find the old oak forest, we found a good many other things that were certainly worth our while. 

Boy and Joy forage for blueberries. I will miss this face.

I found a strawberry. I ate a strawberry.

Joy skillfully demonstrated how to eat raw stinging nettle; roll a leaf whilst only touching the sting-free underbelly. This somehow squashes the nasty little stingers and renders the nettle harmless. I attempted to roll my own nettle and succeeding in stinging my hands so many times that they were sore and tingly for the rest of the excursion.

The white and red markings are there to let you know that you're still on a trail. Unfortunately, they don't quite tell you which trail you're on. Just that you're on one. Which is almost helpful.

I found cows. I did not eat cows.

We found cow cheese. We did eat cow cheese.

We stumbled upon one of the many Alpen cheese huts Joy had told me about when we met in Mexico -- and it was just as idyllic as she'd portrayed it. Cows happily munching lush grass, bells around their necks loudly ringing, jagged mountainous horizons, rustic buildings and genuine people. 

When you eat this cheese, you taste the Alps. 

 

And the Alps taste amazing. 

 

After walking quite some distance, we began to wonder if we were, in fact, on the right path. Thanks to the almost helpful red and white markings, we knew we were on a path. But the exact path on which we walked (and its destination) remained a mystery. After walking a bit further, we decided to turn around and see if there was a different path we could explore.

On the different path, we found another cheese hut, many bathtubs full of rainwater, wild mint and no old oaks.

The sun was setting, we were hungry, the mosquitoes were hungrier and there was no dry wood to be found to make a fire to cook the dinner Joy and Vajra had heroically lugged around in their backpacks all afternoon. So we walked back to Chad's car and returned to Zurich, having seen nary an oak, but many blueberries, strawberries, cows, glorious mountains and two very kind cheese ladies.

These are times wherein it's so eminently clear that just because you didn't have the adventure you wanted/planned doesn't mean that you can't fall head over heels in love with what life gives you instead. 
 

The following afternoon, Joy took Boy and me on a bike ride through her Zurich. She introduced us to her childhood home, her favorite path by the river, a park where she'd lived with some friends for a summer when she was a teenager and a little machine where you could buy fresh milk.

I would have taken pictures, but it was pouring rain nearly the entire journey. My fingers were too cold to hold the camera and my camera didn't stand a chance against the rain, anyway. So I tied the hood of my mustard yellow rain jacket tight around my chin, Boy poofed open the little black umbrella he bought in York, and we tried to appreciate Joy's Zurich with our eyes alone, as we'd have no pictures to remember it by.

By the time we arrived at Joy's new home later that evening, we were both soaked through and very, very cold. My knee ached horribly and I felt frustrated and disappointed that biking uphill still wrecks me.

It's been four months since the surgery. I figured biking uphill would be cake by now. Well, maybe not cake, but not.. not this... Boy's always talking about professional soccer players tearing their ACLs, and how they're oftentimes back in the game within six months.  I am not even close to being back in the game. But at least I'm not letting it stop me from traveling. From trying to bike. I just need to not bike three and a half hours next time. This is very difficult for my "all or nothing", extreme way of moving through life. I can bike. And that's great. But I should probably just bike for half an hour instead of thinking I'm winning at life by biking all afternoon and then not being able to walk without pain afterwards. 

We warmed up  some tea and chatted with our friends in their cozy new flat until it started getting too dark for my peace of mind (biking in a strange city with tram tracks everywhere on rental bikes in the dark is not my idea of a good time). We all hugged goodbye at the door, as Vajra had to work the next day and Joy needed time to relax and recenter in her new home.

Wonder where I'll run into these two next time? I'm guessing it'll either be in Mexico or Switzerland. I think both of these wanderers have put on their roots boots. But who knows anything in a world as random and wonderful as the one we live in? 

Speaking of random and wonderful, another friend from Mexico, Minerva, just happened to be in Zurich. So she treated Boy and me to coffee at a cafe near Tian's and we caught up on life for an hour. 

Boy and I walked the thirty five minutes (which in reality probably took us about seventeen hours, 'cos Boy kept stopping at ALL the fountains to get a drink) to Chad's house, as our friend had promised to take us on an adventure for work. Just because.

I bet Chad does a lot of beautiful things for a lot of people just because. 
 

Then Chad bought us dessert just because. And made us dinner just because. And drove us back to Tian's just because. And gave Boy a pair of the coolest pants ever.

Just because.

I'm glad we're going to France tomorrow and I'm sad that this Switzerland trip happened at such an unfortunate time for Joy and Vajra, but I feel so lucky to have been introduced to this community. To a group of people who don't need any sort of reason to be kind. Who just are. Just because.