I initially registered for the typical load of 8 courses (three in French and five in English) and a French language class, but after an incomprehensible first lecture in Networked Control Systems, a dull Distributed Information Systems professor, and a frustratingly easy Energy Storage class during the first few weeks, I brought that number down to 5. The courses I kept were all straightforward with clear expectations while also somewhat interesting and related to my fascination in smart grids. I liked that I could pick out the bad apples from my course list the first few weeks and focus on what I really enjoyed, as I only needed 20 units for the semester.

It’s all about Timing (and luck!)

While most of my friends were ripping their hair out and quietly suffering existential crises in the Rolex library silent zone, I happily cruised through my two weeks of studying for two finals spaced 10 days apart. I didn’t choose courses based on the spacing of finals because the information isn’t available at registration, but two of my courses finished entirely before the new year, and another one only had a presentation instead of a final. My study planning was so perfect that I took a mid-finals break with some friends in Italy for three days, resting my taxed brain in a Castle AirBnB just outside of Sienna.

The Swiss Solar Boat (SSB) team is an organization at EPFL that designs, builds, and races a battery-powered, solar-charged hydrofoil boat. I went to the team’s Fall semester welcome meeting in September and was happy to encounter a completely Francophone community of passionate engineers. Initially I struggled to find my role within the organization, but I knew that I wanted to work on boat electronics and lucky enough I found a spot assisting a Master’s student with their thesis project designing the requirements and abstract layout of a new, larger hydrogen and solar hybrid boat. At first I actively attended meetings and tried my best to contribute in my freelance position, but I was having too much fun hiking and enjoying time with my exchange friends to really put in the work that was required to advance the designs. On the electrical team I met a really awesome Swiss girl in my same year, and after a few months of work I ended up learning far more about French conversation skills than engineering.

Taking the boat for a spin

The first railway in Switzerland was inaugurated in 1847 between Baden in Germany and Zurich, and every 25 years Switzerland celebrates this first step towards its incredible modern rail network with a series of railway related events during one weekend each month. Starting in the Summer, Switzerland’s national rail company SBB and other private operators have been opening up their service depots, displaying rare historic trains, and developing loads of exhibits all about railways. Each month shifted to a new region of Switzerland, and the last series events focused on the south-central region spanning from Zurich to Lugano in the southernmost canton of Ticino.

Map of Events

The weekend fair wouldn’t be possible without transportation to, from, and in between events, and so SBB created an awesome 17.50CHF day pass which cut my transit costs by over 70%. I loved the national coordination between all of Switzerland’s rail operators in a multi-month festival for the love of trains. Amtrak should take notes!

Samstagern on a Samstag

I began my journey on Samstag (Saturday in German) in the town of Samstagern with a visit to the train depot of regional rail company Südostbahn (SOB). The primary exhibition focused on the incredibly successful FLIRT trainset developed by Switzerland’s own Stadler Rail, one of Europe’s last rolling stock manufacturers. Despite all of the information and spoken explanations being in German, I loved seeing the immaculate Swiss engineering.

Samstagern Train Depot

A Set of Stadler FLIRT3 Bogeys

SOB Snow Plow Cab

SOB Snow Plow - Full Frontal

These sexy copper-colored FLIRT EMU were rolled out in 2019 on the SOB network under the “Traverso” name and I took one from Samstagern to the next stop in Lucerne.

SOB FLIRT EMU “Traverso”

Mountain View in the Traverso

Lucerne Museum of Transport

I was happy to learn that the Lucerne museum of transport was running a new exhibition for the 175 Year event all about rapid explosion of rail after the original Baden-Zurich line, so I spent my whole Saturday afternoon there. One fascinating exhibit was a 1:1000 scale model of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world’s longest rail tunnel, and the towering mountains above it. I also enjoyed a cute little tram car from the Lac Léman region and the epic “Elephant” steam engine.

Lucerne Train Shed

Underneath the Elephant

The Elephant

Vevey-Chillon Line Tramcar - First Electrified Tram in Switzerland

Piotta Hydroelectric Plant

A free tour of a historic hydro plant powering Switzerland’s independent rail electric grid was an offer to good to refuse. I based myself in the nearby village of Airolo, which is connected directly to the plant in Piotta by a PostBus, the iconic yellow bus service ran by the Swiss Post. The plant tour was entirely in Italian, and unfortunately as I know just a few Italian words, I could only hope to nod along and ask the occasional question in French. As an electrical engineer studying power systems, I was excited to see the control room and converter power electronics, but I felt the real thrill from the deafening vibrations of the turbines in the main hall. I finished my visit by touring the under-construction replacement for this century-old plant, which will generate more power and provide pumped-storage services, at the cost of losing all architectural charm.

PostBus

Piotta Hydroelectric Plant

Turbine Hall

Control Room

Erstfeld Train Depot

I was disappointed that I couldn’t book a Gotthard Base Tunnel tour, but I made up for it with a visit to one of the best collections of historic trains in Switzerland. The moment I stepped off the train at Erstfeld station I was met with a crowd of railfan photographers admiring a unique cantonal version of the Gotthard Locomotive Ae 6/6 marked with the imposing bullhead flag of the ancient Canton of Uri. This train pulled our carriage from the station to the depot, and although I could have reached it twice as fast on foot, it was absolutely perfect. The trains dated from the 1910s to the 60s and illustrated huge advances in controls, driver comfort, and most importantly raw power. This time everything was in German, but I felt a more confident asking the employees questions in English than with the Italians.

1955 Gotthard Ae 6/6 “Uri”

Standard Gotthard Ae 6/6

1942 Upgraded Be 6/8 “Crocodile”

1919 Ce 6/8 I “Grossmutter” - Only 1 Produced - Early Test Locomotive for Electrified Lines

Train Depot

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My second friend in Switzerland, a CMU ‘22 Alumni working at a cancer research laboratory in Lausanne, helped me stay connected to home in a perfect combination to how my other friends shared entirely new cultural experiences. I connected on the exchange student groupchat and I offered her a place to sleep for a week when her housing situation got tricky. It was with this amazing young woman that I planned my first Swiss mountain adventure. On almost every mountain in Switzerland one can find a cozy, well-equipped cabin. We found our Cabane de l’A Neuve in the region of La Fouly near the famous Mont Dolent, a peak defining the tri-country border between France, Switzerland, and Italy. With my freshly recruited exchange team: the Turkish Pittsburgher (The Brains), the Belgian (The Drink Supplier), and the Croatian (The Talker), I was ready to embark on my first great Swiss adventure.

The Team

A Magical Train Ride

After the endlessly beautiful train ride along Lac Leman into the Alps, we rode the Region Alps St-Bernard Express Train from Martigny to Orsières, where we transferred to a Bus that took us all the way to the start of the hike in La Fouly. Even before taking the first step on the hike I could see it would be incredible. This last Region Alps route winds through a narrow mountain valley with vertical cliff walls on both sides, and it just so happens to be the same way to the famous Verbier ski resort where I will ski dozens of times this year. The magical train rides are truly a necessity when traveling here.

A Most Rewarding Climb

The 1170 meter climb from the alpine valley floor to the cabin bonded our little group through joy and suffering. Around half-way up I started wondering if the Cabin even existed because I couldn’t imagine where the Swiss could of put it on this insane jumble of rocks, but sure enough we spotted the little hut perfectly camouflaged among the tan stones. This climb was even steeper than the Oeschinensee one I had done 3 weeks earlier, and my body was not prepared for the final, almost vertical ascent up a cliff. After many pauses and refreshing alpine stream drinks, we reached the precariously perched cabin and were met with an awe-inspiring view.

Can you spot it?

We’re not real Alpinists (Yet)

After a filling mountain meal and some fun time with the local hut cat, we snuggled up in our cozy little beds and enjoyed some amazing rest. Our bed neighbors were a group of true French Alpinists, who had brought hundreds of meters of rope, climbing gear, and helmets to continue the ascent past the marked trials the next day. When we asked our kind host about any further hikes, she laughed and gave us a worried look as if we would surely die going any farther up the mountain. We we’re just a bunch of amateurs compared to the real Alpinists, but in La Fouly I felt like an absolute badass. Our ragtag group cemented our friendships in the Swiss Alps that weekend, and it will be hard to ever choose to sleep outdoors in Switzerland again when there’s surely a cabin just around the mountain.

Spectacular Cabin View

How did they build this?

The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is an international organization with local chapters for most European Universities that plans heaps of events throughout the semester for exchange students. My first of these events was a clubbing night in downtown Lausanne the eve of the welcome event. As a nerdy Carnegie Mellon University engineer, this was predictably my first clubbing experience and I was not prepared for the chaos and noise. A few days before leaving for Switzerland I replaced my glasses with some stylish silver frames that gave me a sophisticated Euro aesthetic that just dripped intellectualism, and I was excited to rock them at the D-club. As I entered the grungy underground building I felt a nervous anticipation for the hedonistic fervor I would soon be a part of. Feeling the latin beats lift my feat from the ground, I joined the pressing crowd and danced the night away. During one particularly intense drop of the beat as I jumped to the rhythm I felt my glasses slip off my nose and tumble into the war-zone of spilt drinks and pounding feet. My gut dropped as I watched them fall and realized there was exactly zero chance of ever seeing those beautiful frames again. Reflecting on that moment, I think that those glasses being crushed by the feet of countless dancing youth symbolized my escape from an all-encompassing academic responsibility. From that night on I was to prioritize cultural exploration and friends over intellectual pursuits during my study abroad.

Welcome to your new International Family

Everyone told me I would have no trouble finding friends in my new EPFL community, and they couldn’t of been more right. I am certainly an introvert who can let loose given enough familiarity with those around me, but my shyness didn’t stop me from connecting with two fellow electrical engineering students during the welcome day event. During the Aperatif I mingled with the expected German, French, and Italian throngs and was impressed by a number of Canadians all from the University of Waterloo. After the meet and greet I watched the welcome ceremony with the two most interesting people I had just met, a practical Belgian lad and a life-loving Croatian girl (I just couldn’t settle for the ‘normal’ Europeans). These two wonderful people became my first friends at EPFL and tripled my international family in one fell swoop.

The First Week

I registered for 3 courses in French along with my French language class, and my self-taught abilities were put to the first real test during my first week. Fortunately, my Electrical Networks and Energy Conversion professors are very comprehensible, and I find the Italian accent actually makes the French easier to understand! I impressed myself with how much I understood in the first few lectures. It seems my 3 months of French podcast listening over the Summer has really paid off!The third class, a history of transport and energy in Switzerland, is both dull and very difficult to follow given its advanced humanities-based French vocabulary.

Germany this Summer was a transit-enthusiast’s wet dream. In an unprecedented experiment in basically free public transit, the German government created a 3 month pass from June to August that allowed unlimited regional public transport in the entire country for nine Euros. As soon as I learnt of this unbeatable offer I started packing my bags for a trip across Germany. Tengyan, two of her friends, and I met at the train station and headed for Basel to cross into Germany.

Heidelberg

Our first overnight stop was Heidelberg, a small German city famous for its battleworn hillside castle overlooking a charming historic old town. I enjoyed the waterfront so much that I rode an e-scooter back and forth along the 2 kilometer stretch for a few hours, sometimes a little precariously with two passengers. We ended our last night by stopping by a random birthday party near the hostel that welcomed us with true German hospitality and local beers.

Waterfront and Bridge Seen Across River

Local Brew

Heidelberger Schloss

Leipzig

One awesome part of regional train travel is that connections are often in medium sized cities worth visiting that often don’t make the must-see lists. Leipzig sat directly on our path to the ultimate Germany destination of Berlin, so we decided to break up the half-day train trip from Heidelberg to the Capital by stopping there for a night. As a huge fan of classical music, I was thrilled to learn that Leipzig is famous for being associated with some of my favorite composers - Bach, Wagner, and Mendelssohn. Visiting Thomaskirche where Bach spent much of his career as the musical director, the fabulous Leipzig Zoo, and the massive central train station were highlights.

Thomaskirche - Bach Worked Here!

Berlin

Visiting the vibrant capitol of Germany introduced me to the modern side of Europe.

Oberbaum Bridge

Charlottenburg Palace

We spent three nights in a budget hotel near the Görlitzer Park in the lively Kreuzberg district, but I missed the social scene of our friendly hostel experience in Heidelberg. I spent most of my time riding the S-Bahn to take in as much of the city as possible, going to museums (Deutsche Technikmuseum is a MUST-SEE for tech or rail fans), and traipsing through Germany’s first airfield at Johannisthal which is now abandoned. While I did not have the outfit or motivation to check out Berlin’s famous nightlife and techno club scene, I will definitely make my return to Berlin in the near future for a different type of trip.

Hamburg

After Berlin, our group of four split into three and one. I went west towards Hamburg while the rest choosing Dresden. East Germany and the post-soviet East Europe sounded incredible for another visit but I had one city in mind for my first big Europe adventure: Amsterdam. And Hamburg is the perfect stop in between Berlin and Amsterdam. By this time my 9-Euro ticket had expired, so I took my first long-distance Flixbus had my first arrival not in a train staiton. Both the Berlin and Hamburg bus stations paled in comparison to their respective Hauptbahnhofs, and using them made travelling more stressful. This didn’t stop me from enjoying the famous German port city, however, as my long day in Hamburg included visits to the beautiful Elbphilharmonie, the world’s biggest and best model railway (Miniatur Wunderland) and the surpringly named “Cap San Diego” cargo ship.

Elbphilharmonie

A Reminder from Home?

1/1000th of Miniatur Wunderland

Amsterdam

After my stressful bus ride to Hamburg, the train to Amsterdam solidified my love of travel on the rails. Amsterdam Centraal is located directly on the river Amstel and holds an iconic place in the city’s footprint. Conviently located only 250m from the station is one of the best bike rental shops in the city, and I must emphasize that renting a bike is mandatory for anyone wanting to make the most of their Amsterdam visit. As an active cyclist and supporter of bike infrastructure, I have known for years that Amsterdam is my number one Europe destination. My three full days and 60km of cycling adventures around the city were the favorite moments of the whole 2 week trip. Still riding the self-produced high from my enthusiasm about biking, I took a 30km trip north of Amsterdam along a canal and through some beautiful Dutch countryside my first day. That night I also met a vibrant pre-med student from Brussels who showed up in my next city adventure.

Cycling Adventure

The next two days I continued to fall ever more in love with the city as I explored the city’s two major parks, visited a Coffee Shop, and attended a Bruckner concert in the aesthetically and acoustically beautiful Concertgebouw before my trip to Brussels.

Wow! Those Dutch Houses

Concertgebouw

Brussels

The Belgians I’ve met recommend visiting Ghent or Bruges but rarely Brussels. I visited the capital of Belgium because of an unexpected night at the hostel in Amsterdam that connected me with student living there named Hanna. With Paris as my next stop, the city also made sense as a fun break to a long trip. I arrived at the Brussels bus stop at 2am and enjoyed my half-dazed scooter ride across the city to my hostel despite the poor cycling infrastructure. The next day I took my first guided tour - an efficient but unflexible way to experience the city’s most famous sights - and then met with Hanna for dinner near her school UC Louvain.

Mannequin Pis - Yeah, Brussels is Weird

Nice Gothic Church

After eating she took me to the college hang-out spot near “Autoworld” and the government district where we found a spontaneous salsa dance party and tried out our mediocre moves. I was too exhausted that night to do anything crazy but I loved my time walking the streets and talking with Hanna. The next day we met again to explore the infamous Palais de Justice, a intimidating courthouse that many Belgians despise. Exploring the city with Hanna was a wonderful experience and I am excited for many more trips with the same type of local connection.

Students Sporting Calottes and Partying at Autoworld

Palais de Justice

Paris

After catching a cold in Amsterdam and fighting it off in Brussels, I slowed down in Paris to recover and discover la vie Parisienne at my own pace. Sharing a hostel room the first night with some crazy latinas didn’t help me catch up on sleep, but it sure was fun! During my two days there I explored above the Seine on la rive droite, the side of Paris known for more modern influences but still with plenty of beautiful history. I actually got scammed for the first time by some aggressive finger trap artists when visiting Sacré-Cœur, but for only 2 Euros it was worth the experience. My last night I tried my first meal in Paris at tiny, charming café and shared an intimate conversation with strangers. I found Paris a dirty and chaotic city, but these undesireable features combine with beauty and romance to create a uniquely attractive destination.

My Favorite Louvre Portrait

Sacré-Cœur de Montmarte

Lyon

My two weeks of subpar sleep in hostels and constant travel had finally caught up to me by the time I arrived in Lyon, and I was ready for my last city on the tour. Geographically defined by the convergence of the Rhône and Saône and steep surrounding hills, Lyon is a beautiful town that exemplifies the south of France. I enjoyed the city’s more comprehensible scale and spent my day there visiting churches, trying local pasteries, and climbing hills for views and the roman ampitheater.

Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière

River View

For every city I visit during my Europe travels my first impression is of the train station, so I always try to capture this moment of arrival as it can set the tone for the entire stay in any particular city. I also cherish the love and devotion that so many cities give to their stations through their grand architecture and their central placement. My first station, or Bahnhof in German, was actually in Switzerland. Bahnhof Basel SBB is a neo-baroque building that the Swiss recognize as a national heritage site.

Bahnhof Basel SBB

Basel also caught my attention for conveniently placing the central tram station Centralbahnplatz at the entrance of the Bahnhof, enabling seamless transfers to local transportation. These green trams go just about everywhere you would want in the city.

Tram Entering Basel’s Centralbahnplatz

Karlsruhe

Internationally known for the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, this city was a brief stop on our journey to Heidelberg. Because the 9-Euro ticket only allows for regional trains, many of our trips had upwards of 4 connections and allowed for a few layovers in some interesting German cities. Unlike airtravel layovers, which force you to kill time in sterile Airports, train layovers of even 30 minutes can allow a quick tour of downtown - and if the city seems nice enough you can just always stay around awhile and catch the next train!

Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof - A Class 1 Hub Station

Heidelberg

Heidelberg Hbf

An Ampelmännchen Traffic Light in Heidelberg

Leipzig

Leipzig Hbf - Best in Europe? Leipzig Hbf is an impressive yet convenient train station and gives an amazing first impression of the city. With elegant train sheds, a navigable main concourse, and two magnificent entrances this is my absolute favorite station I’ve seen in Europe.

Berlin

Stepping off the train at Berlin Hauptbahnhof I entered a dizzyingly dense multi-storied concourse with trains in all directions, and then into a sparkling main entrance with ceiling and all sides built of glass. The clean austerity was quite a contrast to the baroque and decorative train stations I had seen in Leipzig, Basel, and Karlsruhe and gave me the impression that this city, utterly devastated during WWII, had done well rebuilding itself.

Oberbaum Bridge

Hamburg

By this time my 9-Euro ticket had expired, so I took my first long-distance Flixbus had my first arrival not in a train staiton. Both the Berlin and Hamburg bus stations paled in comparison to their respective Hauptbahnhofs, and using them made travelling more stressful.

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof - Germany’s Busiest Station

Amsterdam

After my stressful bus ride to Hamburg, the train to Amsterdam solidified my love of travel on the rails. Amsterdam Centraal is located directly on the river Amstel and holds an iconic place in the city’s footprint.

Amsterdam Centraal

Dutch Intercity Train

Although bikes are king in Amsterdam, the public transit is also great and not very crowded. There’s even a tram stop right in front of the Concertgebouw!

Amsterdam Tram at Concergebouw

Paris

Gare du Nord

The busiest train station in Europe, Gare du Nord was intense the moment I stepped of the Ouigo train from Brussels.

Robust Looking Electric BB-22200 series Locomotives

Gare De L’Est - The Other North Paris Rail Station

The Paris metro has the most thorough fare-skipping prevention of any transit system I have seen! My other experiences of transit in France, some bus drivers idle until every rider pays fares, make me think that Germany might have some competition for the strictest transit control.

Paris Metro Turnstyles

Paris Metro Zooming

My Ouigo Train to Lyon

Lyon

Lyon has a good and somewhat adorable metro system, and of course with those hills there are Funiculars.

Lyon Metro - Cute!

Funicular

Clean Electrified Bus

I met my amazingly kind and welcoming flatmate Tengyan, a current masters student at EPFL, on Saturday when I moved in to the Bourdonette residence and she invited me on a hike the next day to “The Most Beautiful View in Switzerland”. Surprised at the invitation, I unconsciously responded “Wow that sounds great, but are you sure you have room…” but managed to stop myself as the reality of Swiss trains overcame my assumptions developed from a lifetime in car-dependant America; Swiss transportation offers an entirely different way of exploring the world, and with no limit on how many friends you can bring along!

Trains Trains Trains!

Waking up at 6am after only sleeping ten hours in the previous three days was an ambitious move, but why wait for adventure when it comes so easily? I set off at exactly 6:50 with the timing of a true Swiss, and followed Tengyan (obviously no amateur at getting around by train) to the Lausanne station. We met up with her friends and then took the most beautiful train ride of my life for two and a half hours to the alpine village of Kanderstag.

View from Train to Kanderstag

Lake Oeshinensee

After a quick walk from the train station we took a modern cable car up to the lake Oeschinensee area and spoke little as the magnificent sights of snow-capped Alps grew before us. Next to the cable car terminal a small alpine slide beckoned us to take a ride and so we began our day at the lake by pleasure tobogganing and causing a massive backup of thrill seeking locals who did not appreciate our leisurely pace. We then walked to the lake and decided the best way to appreciate the striking blue water would be to cross it by rowboat. That was my upperbody workout for the day, next up was legs. Hike number 8 was our goal and we set off up the mountain with high spirits and only enough water for an hour or two. Fortunately, the alpine streams every few kilometers provided an endless source of refreshing water to quench our thirsts. After plenty of rest stops to take in the views we began to worry about making it back to catch the last cable car. As the sun set behind the Alps, Tengyan broke into a frenzied run and encouraged us to do the same. The perfect Swiss day couldn’t possibly go wrong, so we made it back to the terminal just in time for the last trip down.

Rowing the Lake

Hike Map

Lake View

Striking a Pose

I am studying at EPFL in Lausanne for the 2022-2023 academic year through an exchange program with my school Carnegie Mellon University. I’ve heard mixed messages about packing - as its quite expensive to buy things again in Switzerland that you won’t be able to fit on the return trip, but bringing too much is a total pain. Also, my college wardrobe might further emphasize my foreign American identity amongst European styles, so I worried about how much of my clothing I would actually wear.

What Did I Bring?

I started packing three days before my flight and decided to bring enough clothes to only do laundry every ten days. I also made sure to bring essentials for hiking and backpacking as there isn’t anywhere else in the world with a more accessible trail network than Switzerland!

The Packing List

I found the list super helpful to focus my packing efforts and stay organized. I didn’t follow it exactly as the picture shows, but it covers almost everything I brought. It’s probably way too much, but I’m young and healthy enough to lug 50kg around a city using public transit - as long as its super convenient like in Lausanne!

The Packing Pic (I fit this in three bags!)

I still could have brought more to make my first few days as comfortable as possible and save some cash - a pillow and sheets would have been nice - but the sleeping bag wasn’t so bad for three nights.

This year’s 4th of July was marred by the overturning of Roe V. Wade just a few weeks prior. I imagine many Americans found it hard to feel much patriotism during the holiday when our country’s judicial system seems utterly broken at the highest level. Despite this unfortunate timing, I made the most of my opportunity to experience Independence Day in Washington DC by embarking on a daring aquatic voyage with my college buds down the Potomac.

Boating on a Budget

Four inexperienced Carnegie Mellon undergrads, a $300 inflatable boat, and some locally brewed wheat juice made for quite the night. I don’t often arrange big outings, but for this weekend I put together one hell of a plan. We would inflate the boat and practice in the calm canal, launch our boat into the Potomac at Chain Bridge, and paddle the almost 6 miles downstream to the perfect viewing point to enjoy the firework show on the national mall.

Chain Bridge - No Dock Needed!

It was going to be perfect, besides the popping risk from a small portage of a few hundred feet on an unmarked trail and over some dangerously smooth piedmont river rock. Unfortunately, I’m an urbanist and only navigate by bicycle or metro, so when we tried to travel DC by car on possibly the busiest night of the year, the plan’s flaws became clear. After spending an hour stuck in my first, and hopefully last ever, big-city traffic jam two times in a row, I decided to switch our launching point to Fletcher’s Boathouse, a few miles further downriver.

An Easy Portage

This boathouse was probably a much better option. We inflated the raft, carried it to the river, and then started sinking. Fortunately, the boat was fine, and the only thing plunging into the Potomac were my legs as the swamp tried to consume me. Why didn’t we launch off the dock? I still ask myself that every time my water shoes surprise me with more mud. Once into the Potomac proper, I paddled us away from the crowds of gawking Kayakers and tried to figure out how to turn.

The Calm Before the Show

I was honestly a bit dissapointed when I learned that the Potomac is an incredibly scerene river once you get past the Great Falls. In hindsight, the water was just right for our little raft, but I did the miss class 5 rapids on the Monongahela. At this point, we still had a few miles to go and only around an hour before the fireworks started. I handed over the oars to our new human motor, and enjoyed the awesome ride - Thanks David! We didn’t quite reach our intended destination with an unimpeded view of the national mall, so at 9:09 we anchored at a spot between Key Bridge and Theodore Roosevelt Island.

Jealous Spectators on Key Bridge