the big dinner

Elisabeth, my mother's sister, celebrated her 70th birthday while we were there. SInce both her and her husband Peter turn 70 this year, they were to have a big party in September, midway between both of their birthdays. She decided to have it while we were in Switzerland. The feast was held at the Hotel Lowen in Thunstetten. We ate and ate and drank for hours Excellent food, good company

swiss national day

August 1st- Swiss National Day - like our 4th of July, but you cant really call it independence day....Has been celebrated since 1291 to declare neutrality

Celebrated with fireworks, displays of swiss pride, and, once again, eating and drinking. Shops are all closed. We were at the husli, with an amazing view of the Thunersee. the boats shoot fireworks off them, making a spectacular show. there were also fireworks off the top of the Niesen, the mountain directly ahead of us. We ate traditional food- rosti (like hashbrowns but better), wurst, and drank beer, proscecco, and schnapps.

Regula and I played with sparklers, just as we had many many years ago as children.

Finally able to get online, had to go to a McDonalds in Thun to get internet access. Having a beautiful coffee here. they even serve beer!

Yesterday the weather was not so great (by Swiss standards) so we went on a road trip, first up the Furka pass, and then to the southern part of the alps, the Wallis. Lots of eating, drinking. We took a train through the alps from the south to the northern part.

On tuesday, we spent a day visiting the oeschinnen see, a beautiful glacial lake high in the alps. We rode the gondola part way up, then hiked the remainder of the way. Once again, a beautiful cafe awaited us, where Darrin had real swiss coffee- cafe lutz- 3/4 schnapps, 1/4 coffee. Swiss schnapps is not like american schnapps- it is more like flavored everclear. Dont worry, we are bringing some home, along with the appropriate glass wear. We are hoping it will work as medication for him as he has had a nasty cold for days now.

It is amazing how fit people are here. Many of the hikers have grey or white hair, and calves of steel! Nordic walking is very popular here, hiking with 2 walking sticks. once again, not alot of fat people. Even the little kids have hiking boots on .

Darrin was finally feeling well enough for a run- a short one.

tomorrow is the swiss national day, big celebrations and fireworks, stores are closed. We are planning on staying close to home, more eating and drinking. Hoping for good weather.

comfortably in the alps

Having a hard time connecting up here. More difficult to post pictures. I just got on, we will see how long it lasts. We came up to the Hüsli yesterday with Regula and Peter just in time to grill dinner. Beautiful evening, and falling asleep to the sound of the water running into the well, and the cow bells.

Woke up this morning, enjoyed a cup of espresso while watching the sun light up the valley below. We drove a through a few small towns, each with obligatory water troughs, geranium filled window boxes, and of course, cows. We hiked along a stream, ending up at a restaurant filled with bicyclists and hikers. Peter jokes that the bicyclists are the swiss joggers. A few beers and a cheese and ham plate later, we return to our hike. Darrin is enjoying the food- cold smoked ham, sharp cheese, and amazing bread. We drove to Spietz for sightseeing, and grocery shopping. Back to the Hüsli for grilled cervela, chicken, salad, and more wine and beer. What goes well with a few drinks in switzerland but target practice. good thing Darrin went out with Eric. He was able to hit the can with a pellet gun. Regula was the star shot of the evening.

So now the thunderstorms are rolling through the valley below. It is time to go in.

After a good nights sleep in spite of all the nights activities on the street below, and an amazing breakfast buffet at the hotel, we are feeling much better. A quick stop at the UN (all visitor tours, gift shop, etc, closed for the weekend) we are off. The swiss countryside looks as I remember it, with its rolling hills, small towns with the obligatory church in the middle, narrow little streets, (you dont see SUVs or pickup trucks here for a reason). Flowers are everywhere, in window boxes, in neatly planted gardens on the side of the road. We drive along the lake, Lac du Leman, stopping to picnic with our groceries from the Coop. Darrin tries Feldschlossen Bier, the swiss equivelant of budweiser. Not bad, he says, for a light beer.

Continuing along the winding road around the lake, we finally end up at Chateau Chillon, a medieval castle dating back to the 11th century. We spent 2 hours climbing ancient stone staircases, peering into crypts, turrets, and looking into latrines. Yes, latrines were the hightlight of several rooms. Just a big hole emptying into the river.

We finally check into our hotel, a beautiful traditional Swiss resort on the lake. Across from the hotel is a pier, complete with merry-go-round, water features, pedal boats to rent and ice cream stands. Time to people watch! A wide assortment of people go by, some on bikes and rollerblades. Our ears are assaulted with a melange of languages- french, german, italian, arabic, chinese, occasionally english. But where are all the fat people? If this was the US, they would be everywhere, with their bellies hanging out under their Nascar t-shirts or muffin tops out of their jeans. Not so here. People are thinner, and dressed better. Just look at the shoes. I studdied shoes for a good part of the afternoon. Women tend to wear more high heels here, even when trying to to climb very narrow stairs at the Chateau Chillon. Men are wearing pointing pointing funky shoes that would make Clinton Kellz proud. Sneakers are ok here, but either in funky loud côlors (the germans) or skinny black sneakers (italians).
After wandering for hours, we sat at an outside cafe to eat a wonderful dinner of perch,and have a few glasses of our favorite libations. More people watching, and car watching. We saw one SUV, a Tahoe, and it couldnt fit into the tiny parking space. Oh, and this one is for you, Becca and Rachel. Guess what your mother did? Parallel parked- Into a tiny space. I had Darrin take a picture.

the journey begins....

The journey to Switzerland begins! Our itinerary: leave Medford on 7/23, fly to Portland, then a direct flight to Amsterdam, and off to Geneva. We arrived in Geneva at noon on 7/24. Tylenol PM assisted in giving us a few hours of sleep. Our flight went over Greenland and Iceland, so it never really got dark in the plane.

Geneva- I have never been here before, and did not know what to expect. Upon landing, I had fond memories of the Switzerland I grew up with, rolling hills, beautiful mountains, chalets with baskets of geraniums hanging outside. None of this describes Geneva. We spend hours driving around trying to find our hotel. Streets are poorly marked, mostly one way or under construction. Bicycles and motorcycles seem to be the preferred method of transportation, as they weave in and out of traffic, horrifying this driver. At long last, we find our hotel. We found this hotel on Travelocity, rated as a best buy. Hotels here are very expensive, starting at $200/night. The scantily clad women with high heels standing on the corners or lurking in door ways should have been a clue. Oh yes, the sex shop sign that overshadowed our hotel sign might distracted us from noticing our hotel. But inside, it is clean, friendly staff, free internet access.

So here we are, 3AM, wide awake, listing to the sounds of the night below us. Lots of traffic, both car and men on foot go by. Darrin is digging in the backpack for tylenol PM. Hope we wake up for breakfast on time.