The Frau had another bout of cultural confusion over the weekend. See, she went to a place in Illinois called Chestnut
Mountain near Galena. First of all, there was no mountain, there was more like
a Baden-sized hill. Still, the hills were beautiful and they made her homesick for Switzerland, as did
the view of the Mississippi River from the “mountain” lodge. Any other
Europeanized American think this view looks like the Rhine?
 |
| View from Chestnut Mountain balcony near Galena, IL |
Anyway, The Frau
mistakenly assumed that going to a “mountain” and ski resort meant there would
be good hiking trails there in the summer. Instead, hiking is not even listed as
a summer activity on the Chestnut Mountain
website—BUT riding a Segway is.
Which makes The Frau
wonder: Can Americans get any lazier?
While The Frau was
eating lunch at the resort overlooking the Mississippi/Rhine, she spotted them:
The people on the Segway tours, which one must pay $50 for the privilege to go
on. Anyhow, the Segways appeared to be on a trail, which later she saw was
marked accordingly. The website says it’s three miles long and it apparently
goes over 220 rolling acres of terrain.
So The Frau has a
question: Would it be breaking some American rule to hike on a Segway trail? She knows that hiking, like walking, is not really an American thing to do. But if she wanted to hike at an American "mountain" resort would that be ok? Obviously
there is some danger involved as she could be run over by a Segway tour. But she’d
be open to signing a liability form if it would mean that she could do a proper
hike in Illinois.
Anyway, The Frau will
find out next time. When she goes back to this downhill ski resort—with her cross-country skis.
