Agony and Ecstasy

It's been a busy week here in Zurich, with my good friend Dan visiting for five adventurous days. And I mean adventurous.
It all started when I took Dan on a treacherous bike ride through the rough streets of Zurich, Switzerland, a ride which resulted in a dramatic (and uncoordinated-looking) one-bike accident and several gruesome injuries to my good friend's right leg. Fortunately, the traffic-stopping incident occurred right in front of a mini-mart that sold big band-aids. Dan was quite a trooper, cleaning the fresh wounds with water and some handi-wipes, before bandaging up and powering on. We biked into Zurich, had some beers to numb the pain, and continued on with our adventures. After lunch in Zurich and some more biking, we headed down to the lake for a quick swim and some ping pong. Our ping pong fun was halted when a few sharks jumped in the game to challenge me. After disposing with a young Swiss bride/asylum seeker from Kosovo, I dropped two of three games to a talented and experienced Swiss player with an excellent ground game. I blame the wind...
After a pizza dinner, we finished the night with the first two of five Trival Pursuit matches. Great first day, and I must say Dan was quite the trooper, never using his bleeding (and presumably painful) right leg as an excuse not to participate in an activity.
The next day I decided to put Dan's leg to the test. We took a train to the top of the Rigi, a peak with a beautiful view of Zug, Luzern, the surrounding Swiss Alps, and something like 8 large lakes. Breathtaking views all around. After snapping photos and watching a paraglider jump off the peak, we began our descent toward the town of Weggis. What we thought would be a leisurely 3-hour stroll down the mountain turned out to be an exhausting reverse climb down steep and rocky terrain. Some of the most beautiful views I've seen yet in Switzerland though, and totally worth the trip. After a nice boat trip from Weggis, we toured Luzern briefly before catching the train back to Zug for dinner at one of Kristina's and my favorite restaurants, Baren. After the waitress hung a bib around my neck, I enjoyed a steak that cooked on a hot stone on the table, while Kristina and Dan had the delicious cordon bleu. Finished the night with some beers and another game of Trivial Pursuit.
Friday brought us to Munich, a short 4 hour drive from Zurich. We enjoyed thirst-quenching dunkel (dark) beers and delicious meals at J.W. Augistiner Brau, and we had another beer at the cavernous Rathskeller, located underneath the Glockenspiel building.
After missing the Hofbrauhaus Friday night (it closed just as we arrived), we decided to head over Sat morning to get a few photos. Much to our surprise, the Hofbrauhaus was not only open at 10:30am, but there were probably 50+ people there enjoying beers. Not wanting to miss the fun, we each ordered a 1-liter Hofbrauhaus Original and enjoyed the scenery. By the time we finished our beers (around noon) the entire place was packed with people enjoying "early lunch", which mostly consisted of a pretzel and bratwurst combo meal. Pretty awesome. After the HB, we headed to BMW Welt (the BMW museum in Munich) and the old Olympic site. It was a quick trip to Munich, but great company made it good fun.
We left Munich around 2:00pm, and stayed low key in Thalwil that evening, eating pizza and playing some more Trivial Pursuit. (By the way, I won the best-of-five series with Dan 3-2.)
Sunday Dan flew home, battered and beaten, but with a bunch of great experiences to show for it. I enjoyed his visit so much, I went home and crashed on the couch for a 2 hour recovery nap. Sunday night, I helped my friend Mike build his new Ikea kitchen island. Almost finished. He's just waiting for the countertop and a few other pieces to be delivered Tuesday.