-- When I step into the light my arms open wide

When I step into the light, my eyes searching wild

Would you not like to be

Sitting on top of the world with your legs hanging free --

Dave Matthews Band, Lie In Our Graves

I feel like no matter what I do from here on out, my trip abroad is complete. This weekend was nothing other than an adventure. As I sit here munching on Swiss milk chocolate, here's the story.

I started my weekend out at Gare de Lyon in Paris, waiting to board the TGV (Train Grand Vitesse - super fast train). Gare de Lyon is Paris's largest train station, with 40-odd tracks. After deciphering the huge departure board, I found my train. Trains in Europe work a little differently than one might think. The procedure is this, if you have never experienced it: you find what you think is your train, get on without being checked by anyone, sit down in what you think is your seat, and then wait an hour after the train leaves the station to have your ticket checked. If by some reason you get on the wrong train...pardon my French, but you're effed. Anyways, I got on the right train.

Fast forward almost four hours, and I'm getting off the bullet train in Geneva, Switzerland, where it was a little chillier than Paris, but not bad. I would say about 40 degrees. One of my best college buddies, Aaron, is there to meet me outside customs and we headed to his dorm. From there, he and I went out to walk around the small city of Genève. We had planned to see the newest Bond movie en Anglais, but it was sold out. So he gave me a short tour of the city and the lake, which turns into the Rhone river. The water there was so clear, that I could see the bottom at night. We made our way around town and after walking around the church that John Calvin himself started Calvanism, we ended up in a cozy little bar. After a Kilkenny there, we headed back to his dorm to sleep, because we had a 5:50am train to Zermatt in the morning.

Pitch black outside, the alarm blares and it's time to get up and moving. A taxi ride later we were waiting for our train on platform 3. We had to stop in Brig to change trains, but it was only a 10 minute wait. The train from Brig to Zermatt was a private, scenic cog train, and therefore not covered on my Eurail pass. The Matterhorn Express winded its rickety way up through a valley tucked between the towering Alps, as the sun rose, no less. After stops in Visp and St. Niklaus, we arrived in Zermatt.

I changed some US bucks in for Swiss Francs, which worked out in my favor. Though, Aaron quickly told me not to get excited becuase everything is so outrageously expensive that it compensates for the exchange rate. The hostel were were booked at was a 15 minute walk from the station, which basically covered the whole town. A river ran through town with the same bright clear water. In Zermatt, no cars are allowed to drive on the streets there, in order to preserve the Alpine air. The only vehicles allowed are these little electric things that look like lego people should be driving them. Switzerland is a place full of ideas. They've got public transportation from town to town that is run by the post office. They've got coach buses that carry people, but also the mail. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

After we checked into the hostel, which was very nice, we went immediately to the base lodge of the mountain, only to discover that the lifts were shut down because the wind was pretty severe at the top. The top of Klein Matterhorn (the area open to skiing) is 3883 meters above sea level. That is 12,739 feet. That's two Mount Washingtons stacked on top of eachother, and a little more. They told us no skiing on Saturday but Sunday's forecast looked great. So we went back to the hostel, got back into normal clothing and strolled the town after some lunch. The town looked like your typical Swiss ski town, with ski shops and chalets everywhere. We took it easy that night, and were ready to get up at 730 the next morning to hit the slopes.

Sunday began with a jaw-dropping view of the Matterhorn, lit up orange as the sun rose over the other lofty peaks.

A quick breakfast and we were off to the rental place, and then the mountain. Yes! The trails were open! The sun was shining, there were almost no clouds, and it was time to start the ascent by getting on the first of 4 gondolas to the top. Forty-Five minutes after we got in at the bottom, we stepped out at the top, and once again my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw my surroundings. If you read the lyrics above from my all-time favorite DMB song, never before has any song dictated, exactly word for word, what I felt at the top of the world, with my legs hangin' free.

I couldn't believe I was back in the saddle again, to quote a certain Aerosmith song. Carving through the wide-open pistes, surrounded by possibly the most beautiful environment I've ever seen, I couldn't help but ski with an ear to ear grin. Aaron and I stopped many times for photos, or to discuss whether or not we were dreaming. Here we were, in Zermatt, Switzerland skiing in November, almost 13,000 feet above sea level, and the sky was deep blue with an almost white sun. It was no Smuggs...JUST KIDDING!

Soon enough, it was time to give the skis back and head to the train station for a long ride back to Paris. Aaron and I couldn't stop talking on the train how we'd never forget that weekend. The train from Zermatt went to Visp, where we had to change trains and get on one to Geneva. Two hours later we pulled into Geneva about 640pm. My TGV back to Paris was leaving at 7:23. That means 7:23, not a minute later! I said goodbye to Aaron with a hug and a handshake, got some food before boarding, flashed my passport and was on the bullet train, ready to settle in for another three and a half hours of speeding through the night. The TGV rides like a dream. It feels as though you are silently gliding on air. I popped Lie In Our Graves in and sat with my head up against the window watching the light of the moon race along the track next to us. Surreal. If you've never heard the song, download it, borrow it...somehow just listen to it.

Thus is the end of my unforgettable weekend. Home in less than a month, still much to do. I could do this forever.

Pics coming on yahoo photos soon, but not yet.