who learned a lot on a walk.

   In the last post about Copenhagen, I talked about a book that I'm reading. Actually, I vaguely mentioned a book that I'm reading. Guys, it's so good. I'm dying to share it with you. And I figured there's no better place to tell you about it than right next to some more happy photos from CPH.

A few months ago, Christoph Simon (a popular Swiss novelist) came to the University of Utah with his (Scottish!) translator, Donal McLaughlin to teach workshops and give a reading. Donal recently helped Christoph translate his latest novel, Zbinden's Progress into English, and that was the book that they read from. They taught workshops on writing (in German! Suffice it to say that I need a bigger Wortschatz, literally word treasury or vocabulary) and translating. 

The workshops were great, but oh, the readings! 

This is going to have to go on the list of most lovely books ever. It's so lovely that even though it's gripping and you're dying to know what happens, you try to restrict yourself to reading a page a day, just to make the loveliness last longer. 

It's lovely, okay? 

In German, the title of the book is Spaziergänger Zbinden, which would probably be best translated as "Zbinden the Walker." Lukas Zbinden is the title character, a now old man who tells a young caretaker in a rest home about his life - his wife Emilie, their love of walking, their son, Markus. Lukas is a city walker, Emilie a country walker. When she takes off to jump over stiles, and walk off into the countryside, he worries that she will come back in eighteen bags (suffice it to say, he's a worrier). 

It's the sweetest love story, the most beautiful picture of a life together - Christoph said that he wanted to write a novel about two people who loved each other so much that they always wanted to be together. They didn't marry because they would get a tax cut, or it just seemed convenient. (He said that this is unusual in Swiss culture). Speaking of Swiss culture, if you want to read this book, read the *warning at the bottom of the post to avoid culture shock. ;)

The two walk, and walk, and Lukas is always talking about what good walking can do. You should walk when you least feel like it, because that is when you most need it, he said. You find yourself. Walking is always getting more out of a walk than you expect, but never expecting too much. 

So, now that I've waxed all read-this-book-please! on you... 

I can tell you, Lukas Zbinden is totally right. I wish I had more time to walk normally, because it is one of the  most peaceful ways to think, to see the world, to be. You notice blossoms on trees, and the way the light streams through clouds. You notice how people smile at each other. It's like magic, like seeing another world, that you've actually been standing in all along. 

Yes, that's a heart on the guard hut. 

                                 

I saw it for the first time in Copenhagen, because it was the first place that I've ever spent an entire day walking, not stopping to do anything else. You do a lot of thinking when you do that. And sometimes, not thinking, just looking. I left Copenhagen feeling so much more myself. I don't think anything really changed, but I was a much stronger, braver, happier version of myself, and I noticed the world around me too. 

My favorite museum in Copenhagen, the Thorvaldsen Museum. These are the original plaster molds for the Christus and the angel. 

This is the part where I stood in front of Hans Christian Anderson's grave. And cried.  HC Anderson is my hero

**WARNING, WARNING,  (except for not really). Especially for Americans: Just thought I'd let you know that some things in this book don't translate very well... most particularly the dish that's served in the rest home on page one. I'm not going into it, (because I don't want to, you don't want me to, nobody wants me to), but just try not to freak out when you read what they're eating. It's normal food in Switzerland, albeit... shocking here. Also cultural. ;) Prepare to experience world cuisine.