NEWS from Kandersteg

Home Sweet Home

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:33:00 +0000

I'm back in the 'burgh. Tired, happy, going to bed. Will write more and post more pictures after tomorrow.

Happy New Years to everyone!

Wawel Castle - Krakow

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:24:00 +0000

After a late start, we finally made it to one of the big tourist attractions in Krakow - the Wawel Castle. It was bitterly cold - but it was well worth the trip.

Wawel Castle is amazing with interesting architecture and beautiful tapestries everywhere.

Pictures of the castle are already on the website here.

Tomorrow we are off to Brussels in a car driving on the autobahn! Then we'll take the high speed Eurostar train to London.

Wonderful Hotel in Krynica!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:15:00 +0000

Krynica-Zdrój is a beautiful city. It is a real tourist attraction for the local Poles, but not very well known to Americans. The website marketing description is "Krynica Zdrój – the pearl of the Polish health resorts – is a town located in a valley of the Beskid Sądecki Mountains. The Promenade in the town centre is a special place. It is beautifully decorated with flowers during summer and fairy-tale-like lighting in winter."
Here are some pictures.

Last night we stayed at the Hotel Grant. The rooms were full of warmth and so were the owners. They had a large variety of rooms from luxury with jacuzzi to the typical European. Modern bathrooms were a big plus. Although we didn't have time to use them, the sauna and exercise room looked very nice.

Before we left, they insisted on feeding us a wonderful breakfast (which was free). I'll be going back here to visit again for sure!

Me with the owner's son Rafel

I did get a couple of snowboard runs in at the local ski station - Jaworzyna Krynicak. Two runs doesn't sound like much, but they were extremely looong ski trails and challenging too (2600 meters with a 18-26% slope).

Christmas in Poland

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:38:00 +0000

I finally have a couple of minutes to update the blog...

Christmas eve was spent in Krakow. We went to midnight mass at a church in the square. I think it was St. Andrews. The church is huge and richly adorned with gold. The benches were very hard and the kneelers were made of wood without any padding. You can see the pictures of the church here.

We are now in Krynica, Poland. This is the town where we believe the Olszewski family came from. We drove here on Christmas day and decided to spend the night rather than drive back in the dark.
The town is very beautiful with Christmas decorations everyone. This place is exactly how Mom imagined Poland would be so this had really made the trip worthwhile.

Today we are going to try one of the churches to see if we can find any relatives. If there's time I plan to go snowboarding at the ski resort on the mountain Jaworzyna Krynicka which is right down the road.

On the Road Again

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:21:00 +0000

After waiting six days for my Mom's bags to be found and delivered to Kandersteg, we are finally starting our trip.

We are currently in Kraków, Poland. We traveled via train and stopped in Vienna, Austria along the way. We are staying at the Hotel Kazimierz. Our plan is to stay here through Christmas. We are going to try to find a few relatives while we are here!

Internet access isn't very good and we have a lot to see. I might not be able to update the blog until I return home. I did send my Dad some pictures from France, Vienna and KISC that he will upload to my website this weekend.

Będę pisać ponownie wkrótce. That is Polish. Go to Google Translate to figure out what I said.

News from Home

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:06:00 +0000

I just learned that I will be going to Florida Sea Base in Islamorada, Florida next June!

The letter says "you have been honored as one of less than 50 Scouts approved for the 2009 Order of the Arrow Ocean Adventure."

"OAOA" involves a week of service to the base and then a week of adventure. This is the third time I have applied for this opportunity - and it was the last time I could be chosen. You can see more about it at this website http://adventure.oa-bsa.org.

Mom is HERE!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 02:09:00 +0000

The airline lost her luggage and she was cold and tired -- but my Mom made it to Kandersteg yesterday! More pictures and stories later!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Parlez-vous français -or- Sprechen Sie Deutsch

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:50:00 +0000

I just returned from two days of sightseeing in France with Alex Groat. It was another fantastic trip! We visited Colmar and Mulhouse North of Switzerland near the German borders.

We weren't able to get a hotel room or hostel so I've been up for over 48 hours. Will write more about this trip and the Venice after I get some sleep and when I can find the time.

Check out some of the pictures I took of the trip here. And some pictures from Alex are here.

Everything is winding down now and we are busier than ever. Only six days left before my staff assignment is over -- and 4 days until my Mom comes out!

My Favorite Place to Work at KISC

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:08:00 +0000

Kander-Lodge is one of the best job assignments. They just posted an update on this project on the KISC website here.

The picture here is what I looked like after working with the table saw. That was a blast! Click here for pictures I took of the work at Kander-Lodge and some more pictures are here.

Venezia è molto bello!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:35:00 +0000

Venice was unbelievable! Looks like I got out of there just in time! Check out this news story.

Sorry I don't have any time to write more in the blog. There's only 9 more days left on staff and lots of activities and parties to attend.

I promise to write more - I uploaded the pictures from my trip here.

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:19:00 +0000

Of course, Thanksgiving is an American holiday... no turkey or cranberry sauce for me! I'm off on a hike today and leaving tonight for Venice. Will be back Saturday night.

My Mom is coming to KISC!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:56:00 +0000

My Mom decided to spend Christmas in Europe with me! She will be arriving on December 12 and flying back with me on December 30.

Our travel plan is to leave from Kandersteg on December 15 and head to Krakow, Poland. We'll pass through Vienna so we will probably stop there for a day. Then we go to Prague for a couple of days and onto Frankfurt, Germany. Lastly we'll spend three days in Paris before heading home. If there is time, we will spend a day in Luxembourg on the way from Germany to France.

More Pictures!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:45:00 +0000

There are seven new photo albums on my website.

A new set of photos of the International Night from Tati.
More Scenery Photos including fog, sunrise and night time pictures
Staff Night with our mystery theater thing
Movie Night when we saw the new James Bond film
My recent trip to Kaspar's House near Geneva
The Caving Trip with Kaspar
Sightseeing in Aarau

Aarau was Fantastic!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:48:00 +0000

Me and a group of 5 other staff members headed to the city of Aarau where Kaspar lives. We had a fantastic time!

We went caving under the Catholic Scout center. The cave stretches all across the city.

We also did some sightseeing around the city. We played with a donkey, viewed some interesting architecture and climbed a set of looooong steps to get a view of the city.

The trip ended with an authentic Suisse dinner called Raclette and some hanging out.

Everything was just FANTASTIC!

KISC in the AM

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:23:00 +0000

This is what it looked like as the snow keeps coming down this morning. (Click on the picture to enlarge.) It's also very, very windy which makes everything "creak"!

Check the webcam to see current conditions. I'm off to the train station. TTYL.

Snow is Back

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:28:00 +0000

The snow came on Wednesday and quickly turned to rain. We had freezing fog early this morning that just turned into wet later.
It's snowing again! This is the picture from the webcam at 10:30 PM our time.

Work... Play... Work... Play... 2 Days Off!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Wednesday I was in Catering. Cleaned four fridges, mopped the floors, cooked a spaghetti meal and made soup.

Thursday was Kander-Lodge. I drew lines on the floor to mark off the wall that will be closing in the bathrooms. Moved wood, swept floors... I got to drive "Leeza" the truck to move some propane tanks. That was fun. It was a good idea to get my international license before coming to KISC because it is required to drive over here. The camp itself is bisected by a Swiss road so even driving around camp I need a license.

Friday (today) I was in House. Cleaned the United States room in the old chalet, fed the cat, filled the wood burner again.

Tomorrow starts my two days off. At 9:14 I'm headed to Kaspars' house near Geneva. We just added caving to our plans! Will write about it and show some pictures when I return.

I am finalizing the plans for Venice leaving on Thursday night and returning on Saturday night. Added a hike with Alex next Thursday. Then going to France for some Christmas shopping and sightseeing with Tati and Irakqui.

Ate my last Reeses'

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:03:00 +0000

Thanks to the kindness of my family, me and the staff have been munching on Reeses' Big Cups for a couple of months. I am sad to report that I just at the last one. I'll be leaving in a month... but if anyone wants to send more, my favorite is the big cup with nuts :-)

It's Sssnnnooooooooowwwing!!!

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:26:00 +0000

Tomorrow will be clear but after that it'll be snowing till Sunday at least. Can't wait to get on the mountain and do some snowboarding!

It seems like the weather here mimics the weather in Pittsburgh. Everytime it's been raining, snowing, or clear and sunny in Pgh, it's been the same here. Except the 5 ft visibility fog, and we haven't had any lightning storms. I like lightning...

New Things & What's Next

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:05:00 +0000

I was working in "house" today. This included feeding the cat, and helping Chris' mom sew new curtains -- two things I never did before. I also cleaned the yellow kitchen. That's the kitchen next to the old chalet that guests who don't want food service use to cook their own meals. It's called the yellow kitchen because it has a yellow door. I also loaded the wood burner stove which supplies heat and hot water to the entire building.

I have Saturday and Sunday off this weekend. I was invited to Kaspar's house on Saturday for a party. Kaspar lives about 2 hours away near Geneva so I'll get to see more of the countryside. I heard it might snow this weekend so it should be a pretty drive.

The following weekend I'm planning to head to Venice. Alex is going to join me. We'll leave on Wednesday night and return Saturday night. Can't wait to take a water taxi!

A little help from my Friends...

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:11:00 +0000

Worked in Kander-Lodge on Friday & Saturday. Tearing down walls. I loved it!

I worked on "Grounds" yesterday. Raking leaves all day in the cold. It may not sound like much fun, but I worked with Alex and Kaspar which made it very enjoyable.

Good lesson here -- even difficult jobs under hard conditions can be made easier with the help of friends. It's all about attitude.

Thought for the Day

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Today was my last turn to be on duty and give a "thought for the day". I chose two. The first was from Sir Robert Baden Powell from the home page of my website:

"The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others."

The second was a poem. Author unknown:

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth

And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years.

(1934 - 1998)

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth...

And now only those who loved her

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;

the cars...the house...the cash,

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what's true and real,

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more,

And love the people in our lives

Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile...

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read

With your life's actions to rehash...

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

New Addictions

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:14:00 +0000

In addition to trying fondue for the first time, I learned about a wicked hazelnut and chocolate spread called nutella. I am now keeping a snack bottle by my bed!

Along with the 15 pounds of chocolate, my Mom included a huge bag of Jelly Belly's. Over 50 flavors and I'm trying them all. The bag was supposed to be shared with the rest of the staff but right now I'm being selfish.

Another Day Off

noreply@blogger.com (M. Robert Marks) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:16:00 +0000

Yesterday I worked at Kander-Lodge tearing down walls.

Today... I slept. A nice casual day of sleeping in... playing on the computer... and relaxing. Tomorrow is my last "duty day". Looking for a good and meaningful "thought for the day."

I'm downloading my files from an FTP server that my Dad setup in Pittsburgh. It's a little slow, but I can access all my music now.

We have snow on the ground again. I uploaded some pictures from my cell phone of the last snow in 29 October. Check them out here.

Working on making plans for Venice. Any ideas? I can't wait to see what Venice is like!