RufusTFirefly - The company my daughter intern's for in the summers invented freeze-dried ice cream called Dippin'Dots. They also own a brewery and make a bourbon beer. So far they haven't had succes with freeze drying anything with carbonation.

Off topic but wanted to share an amusing item in the Globe today.
A woman in a park Square rstaurant(that's here in Boston) stole a woman's handbag and was seen heading down Boylston street with a martini glass in one hand and the lady's handbag in the other. :)

I was in Grindelwald for a week in early April a few years ago and got a really bad SUNBURN on the top of First mountain (above Grindelwald). Be sure to take some suntan lotion. Have a great trip !!! Mike

passepartout, Do you mean that, if we didn't have lives, we could each create our thread headings with different colors? Who knew? Thanks. J.

What do you mean? No one here has a life. Get over it.

If you ascend to the Jungfraujoch via the Jungfraubahn, be very careful as you pass the Eigergletscher station.

The restaurant there offers a daily menu posted on a chalk board.

The caption is Tageshit - translated daily hit. Or the special of the day in the restaurant.

Also the Eigergletscher Station is the uphill terminus of the Eiger North Wall Trail. If you elect to descend from there, I strongly recommend hiking poles and NEW lug soles on your boots.

Sun glasses are for me as required as a shirt and shoes.

The trail is often scree-covered and a pratfall is not out of the question particularly going down hill.

I think a fall on the rear bumper is preferable to a nose first landidng.

The point here being that Budman should not negotiate this trail in what I perceive to be his normal condition.

It can be a bit dicey. Moreover, I don't recommend sliding off the trail in any position. The landing tends to smart a bit.

kybourbon--Heck, we can put people on the moon and make plastic singing trout and bass affordable for even the most unfortunate in our society. But we can't come up with a decent freeze-dried beer?

Thanks for your input -- I'll have to be prepared for 2 seasons, winter & spring.

<font color="red">Oh No! Does that now mean I'll have to carry two &quot;kitchen sinks&quot; this trip?</font> :-) ((b))

Kilt. Wool.

All-season, all-occasion, classic.

There is the cold kneecap issue, of course, but a Braveheart laughs at cold knees.

Kilt. Absolutely.

Frtizrl

Kilt for me -- no problem.

It's the Misses that I'm concerned about. :-) ((b))

Yeah. The missus will certainly have to beat off the locals from you with the kilt.
Have a great time.

OK Budman, since you're up for it:

Go to the Ballenberg museum store (or perhaps this is also available in Interlaken) and buy:

A Schwinger (Swiss wrestling) shirt and shorts. The Schwinger shirt is acceptable to wear in public. The shorts you only wear in the Schwinger ring or your bed.

Or you can buy a farmer's shirt that is looks like a white cotton sweatshirt. You have to iron it though.

And don't forget your hiking poles! You'll be totally &quot;out&quot; without them. Hmmm..... I wonder if they'll even let you on the lifts if you don't have them... you'll just have to risk it!

I was only up for it -- tongue in cheek. :-)

Hiking poles? Did I mention non-strenuous hikes? BTW, how do I get these poles on the airplane? ((b))

They are like fishing poles: you can push them together.

Have fun in sunny Switzerland (lately everyday sunshine above 800 meters). I live at a 930 meter elevation.

Oh, Budman, don't listen to them naysayers!

It was snowing in Murren at the end of May last year. I had a sweater and a windbreaker, and it was enough, BUT: make sure you have waterproof shoes. It may be cold in just one pair of pants - this of wearing something underneath. And of course gloves and hat.

If your head, hands and feet are warm, so will be the rest of your body.
Your friend,
Faina.
:*

As for those hiking poles... do you still have the duct tape? This is what it can be used for - tape those darn poles to each wing!

Hey Budman,

On a serious note - about those poles - my dad bought some up at the Jungfraujoch last July (a real deal at only CHF96 - yikes!). Anyway, they really help on all the trails with balance, and especially out on the ice. But if you are unsteady at all, it's amazing how they give balance even on the rocks and gravel.

To get them home, Dad just broke them apart and stuck them in his 21&quot; suitcase. No problem checking at all.

&quot;broke&quot; them? I think they are telescopic, like antennas, you just push the skinnier ends inside of the bigger ones.

Well... may be my advice to tape them was wrong. They can be used for poking those yodellers and flight attendants.

Budman, how long you gonna be there? We're going around June 14, I would like to avoid seeing your famous knees. Last year we were there the second week of June and it was 93 in Geneva. No kidding. Berner-Oberland was a bit cooler, around 84. There's always weather.com to help. But honestly, I had long sleeve shirts and jackets which never came out of my luggage even on top of Eigerglatscher.

Famous knees?

A famous singer has her legs insured for $1,000,000. I wonder how much Budman's knees worth... if he was able to find an insurance company, that is :-p