We did wine, we did Alps, then we did Luzern, Basel, Colmar and Freiburg before bidding farwell! Luzern was another gorgeous day. We cruised around the town and had a beautiful boat ride and picnic on the lake...literally, we ate on the boat! Chapel bridge was breath taking with its huge planter boxes; Mom and I had a great time taking silly photos on it! We enjoyed walking through the old city walls and towers and seeing the Lion monument.
Back in Basel we had our first day of rain. Mom and dad and I took Käte to the Tinguley museum where we enjoyed the crazy sculptures of local artist Jean Tinguley. The sculptures, made from recycled "junk," are motorized and fun for adults and kids. We enjoyed more of Norbert's great cooking and headed to Colmar to enjoy some Alsatian cuisine.
Colmar is such a beautiful French town. With water canals and old buildings, it is both a time warp and being in a post card! The buildings were so old that some were beginning to collapse and others were so crooked it is amazing that they were standing at all. We had a delicious Alsatian lunch and mom and dad and I visited a museum and art gallery. That night we headed to Freiburg Germany to stay with Lydia and Wolfram, Norbert's parents.
Freiburg, a great little city, was another day of rain, but we didn't let that stop us. We cruised around town seeing the old buildings and beautifully painted government houses. We had a delicious lunch at Barbara and Norbert's favorite brewery and we went to the top of the Münster (large cathedral). Hundreds of stairs up with the kids, mom was able to join us to! It was amazing to see photos from the Freiburg boming; the Münster was the only thing that wasn't hit...everything else was complete rubble! Dad was in heaven as Lydia had huge meat plates at dinner every night and it was very interesting to hear Wolfram's stories of being in Germany as a child while under attack.
On our way home from Freiburg we had a great last day together in the little German town of Staufen. It had a quiet little town center, lovely castle surrounded by vineyards and a famous bakery...and was it AMAZING! The bakery had at least 50 different cakes to choose from. Mom and dad both got Black Forest Cake, the region's specialty, but with so many to choose from, I looked for the prettiest one (which was not easy as they were all gorgeous!) and ended up with an amazing champagne cake!
In 2 and a half weeks, we were able to have great times eating, drinking and hiking. My American family got to meet my Swiss family, and everyone had lots of fun. It was great to have mom and dad visit and I was sad to see them go, but it won't be too long before I have to go back to the States!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Mom and Dad do Europe...Alps Baby!
After a great time in Beaune, we headed to Chamonix in the French alps. What a wonderful place! We had a beautiful drive on back French roads through wine country stopping to get a one of many amazing meals! Crepes and pizza...yummy! On the way to Chamonix we learned about French toll roads (which lines to go in!) and went over one of the most incredible bridges I have ever seen...long and HIGH!
In Chamonix we had a great hotel with a SPECTACULAR view of the alps...including Mt. Blanc. We rode cable cars up to the top with great views of Mt Blanc...always winter that high up! We enjoyed cloud covered mountains for a few hours and just as we decided to head down to hike, the clouds lifted and we were at the top of beautiful rocky, snow covered peaks. we took only one of the 2 cable cars down and hiked above tree line for a few hours...colors changing, huge peaks, sun out! Really great! We took another train down; it was from another valley, again another glacier! No matter where you turned, it was SO beautiful! We also had a second day of beautiful weather and a nice leisure walk along the glacial river. It is so different; it is sort of milky and greenish blue!
After 2 great days of hiking/walking in Chamonix we returned the rental car and took a beautiful scenic train through the alps from Geneve to Interlaken, which would act as a base for the next few days! The train, which I have seen advertised and read about in guide books, really was nice! It has clear ceilings so you can see all of the mountains that surround you and it takes you over dozens of bridges and through dozens of tunnels! We went through little Swiss towns well equipped with cows (wearing bells!), lovely chalets, overflowing planter boxes, and rolling hills contrasting jetting mountains!
In Interlaken we joined up with my friend Renee and spent the next few days hiking! The first day hiking was along the base of the Eiger rock face. Mom was loving the wild flower seed collection and I loved catching up with Renee. We had a great picnic lunch (wine included, love dad for carrying it!) and stayed in a great lodge in Grindelwald. The following day we had another great hike, stunning views of glaciers, Eiger, Jungfrau and alps, and another great lunch with another great bottle of wine! The Bort lodge was also amazing, views, food, place! Our third day in the area, again a GREAT hike, loaded with glaciers, we were joined by the local military! Apparently Switzerland lets France and Germany use the Swiss alp for fighter plane training; we had jets buzzing the mountains around us all morning...cool the first couple times, a bit noisy after the third or fourth round! We had a great hike and a beautiful bus ride back to Interlaken, through the smallest town in Switzerland!
Although I had been to his area a few times before, this was the best time I had there! I did a few different hikes and they were all so different. We ate amazing food (usually i have some cheap snacks) and had wine all the time! Yum yum! I don't think that I will get enough Alp hiking! After all this hiking, we are back to Basel, then to Colmar and Freiburg! More up next!
In Chamonix we had a great hotel with a SPECTACULAR view of the alps...including Mt. Blanc. We rode cable cars up to the top with great views of Mt Blanc...always winter that high up! We enjoyed cloud covered mountains for a few hours and just as we decided to head down to hike, the clouds lifted and we were at the top of beautiful rocky, snow covered peaks. we took only one of the 2 cable cars down and hiked above tree line for a few hours...colors changing, huge peaks, sun out! Really great! We took another train down; it was from another valley, again another glacier! No matter where you turned, it was SO beautiful! We also had a second day of beautiful weather and a nice leisure walk along the glacial river. It is so different; it is sort of milky and greenish blue!
After 2 great days of hiking/walking in Chamonix we returned the rental car and took a beautiful scenic train through the alps from Geneve to Interlaken, which would act as a base for the next few days! The train, which I have seen advertised and read about in guide books, really was nice! It has clear ceilings so you can see all of the mountains that surround you and it takes you over dozens of bridges and through dozens of tunnels! We went through little Swiss towns well equipped with cows (wearing bells!), lovely chalets, overflowing planter boxes, and rolling hills contrasting jetting mountains!
In Interlaken we joined up with my friend Renee and spent the next few days hiking! The first day hiking was along the base of the Eiger rock face. Mom was loving the wild flower seed collection and I loved catching up with Renee. We had a great picnic lunch (wine included, love dad for carrying it!) and stayed in a great lodge in Grindelwald. The following day we had another great hike, stunning views of glaciers, Eiger, Jungfrau and alps, and another great lunch with another great bottle of wine! The Bort lodge was also amazing, views, food, place! Our third day in the area, again a GREAT hike, loaded with glaciers, we were joined by the local military! Apparently Switzerland lets France and Germany use the Swiss alp for fighter plane training; we had jets buzzing the mountains around us all morning...cool the first couple times, a bit noisy after the third or fourth round! We had a great hike and a beautiful bus ride back to Interlaken, through the smallest town in Switzerland!
Although I had been to his area a few times before, this was the best time I had there! I did a few different hikes and they were all so different. We ate amazing food (usually i have some cheap snacks) and had wine all the time! Yum yum! I don't think that I will get enough Alp hiking! After all this hiking, we are back to Basel, then to Colmar and Freiburg! More up next!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Mom and Dad do Europe...first stop Basel and Beaune
After 13 months in Switzerland, my parents have been able to come visit. When they arrived (very jetlagged) we had fun unpacking...it was like Christmas for me! They were able to meet Barbara and Norbert and the girls and have 2 fabulous dinners with the family. I toured them around Basel and they also got to see the VanGogh exhibit at the Basel art museum. After a couple days in Basel we rented a car and were off to France.
We stayed in Beaune, the heart of Burgandy and GREAT wine! Beaune was very nice...Frenchy! We explored the small town, toured the Hotel-Dieu, rode bikes, and drank wine! Beaune still has portions of the old wall around the city that you can walk around and see; we enjoyed this walk, but we LOVED the bike ride we did! We rented bikes for an afternoon and thought that we would ride to some vineyards and taste wine...we didn't realize we would ride through NOTHING BUT vineyards and have lots of wine drinking oppurtunities. We would ride through vineyard countryside and at each town, in many garages, were people making wine!
We did a nice self guided walk through the Hotel Dieu. It was built in the 1200s after the plague as a hostpice for the poor but was sure nice! The buildings were asbsolutely beautiful, especially the ornate roof tops. The building also has the most weather vains than any other building in France! It was interesting to walk through the hospital wards, chapel and the pharmacy. It is also home to some beautiful tapestries and paintings.
Beaune is the larger town in the area so we spent a day cruising the Burgundy countryside driving...destination Chateau Alil. We took little back roads and drove through some of the cutest little towns I have ever seen. My parents couldn't believe how you have this idea, postcard beauty, of what it will look like, and in this area, IT DOES! The chateau was really pretty and had great views of the valley. We continued on to Pully-Montrachet and tased lots of great wine.
Beaune is also where we ate Burgundy food...and was it amazing! Escargo, chevre salads, everything cooked in wine, a separate cheese course...we managed to do pretty well! Next stop...Chamonix!
We stayed in Beaune, the heart of Burgandy and GREAT wine! Beaune was very nice...Frenchy! We explored the small town, toured the Hotel-Dieu, rode bikes, and drank wine! Beaune still has portions of the old wall around the city that you can walk around and see; we enjoyed this walk, but we LOVED the bike ride we did! We rented bikes for an afternoon and thought that we would ride to some vineyards and taste wine...we didn't realize we would ride through NOTHING BUT vineyards and have lots of wine drinking oppurtunities. We would ride through vineyard countryside and at each town, in many garages, were people making wine!
We did a nice self guided walk through the Hotel Dieu. It was built in the 1200s after the plague as a hostpice for the poor but was sure nice! The buildings were asbsolutely beautiful, especially the ornate roof tops. The building also has the most weather vains than any other building in France! It was interesting to walk through the hospital wards, chapel and the pharmacy. It is also home to some beautiful tapestries and paintings.
Beaune is the larger town in the area so we spent a day cruising the Burgundy countryside driving...destination Chateau Alil. We took little back roads and drove through some of the cutest little towns I have ever seen. My parents couldn't believe how you have this idea, postcard beauty, of what it will look like, and in this area, IT DOES! The chateau was really pretty and had great views of the valley. We continued on to Pully-Montrachet and tased lots of great wine.
Beaune is also where we ate Burgundy food...and was it amazing! Escargo, chevre salads, everything cooked in wine, a separate cheese course...we managed to do pretty well! Next stop...Chamonix!
September: Fall is in the air!
WOW! Where did the time go? September sure flw by! I was able to enjoy the last few days of Switzerland summer and catch up with friends. I had an amazing weekend with my friend Renee again. This time we adventured around Switzerland on the trains hiking and seeing some amazing glaciers. We spent a day in Saas Fee. It is a super cute, alpen town...planter boxes, mountains, shutters...just like the post cards! We took a gondola up the moutain and did a great hike along the bottom of the glacier. It was a beautiful fall day, sunny, and the glacier and glacier river were spectacular. We explored the town a little bit, before leaving on the bus, when I discovered that Saas Fee is one of Steamboat's sister cities! Who would have known!
We took an incredible bus to and from Saas Fee (from the neares train station). The bus was on a super narrow road with a few hundred meters of drop on one side. There was a white line and a guard rail (about a foot high) along the side and we went up up up into the valley! A bit scary but great views!
We also hiked up to the Trift Glacier with a bunch of other couch surfers. Renee and I camped in a near by town and met up with a bunch of Swiss people and we took off on a bus to the hike. Unfortunately we arrived and there was a 2 hour line to take the cable car up...so we did the hike! It was non-stop UP for 2 and a half hours, just to the top of the cable car, then another hour 15 to the glacier. Although it was grueling, it was SO worth it! Not only is the Trift glacier and the Trift valley beautiful, there is a new suspension bridge connecting the two sides of the valley. It is the longest suspension bridge in Switzerland and has GREAT views! Renee and I has lots of fun on the bridge taking photos adn anjoying the scenery! We hiked down to the top of the cable car with the couch surfing group but Renee and I didn't like the idea of the long, steep downhill, so we took tickets for the gongola and while we waited we treated ourselves to hot cider, soup and raclette! Good rewared for such a grunt of a hike!
With the Bleichs I also celebrated Oma's (the girls' grandmother) 75th birthday with a very nice party and lunch in Freiburg. Clara and Alma dressed up in their German dresses and were SO cute. Clara played her violin for Oma and then played in the market for change (she actually made quite a bit of money too)! It was very cute...and she is pretty good, especially for an 8 year old!
But, the best part of September was picking up my parents at the train station! I will have 2 weeks to travel with them! We have adventures planned for France, Switzerland and Germany while they are here! So now I'm off to drink wine, hike mountains and eat great French and Swiss food with my parents (who I haven's seen for over a year)! YeeHaw!
We took an incredible bus to and from Saas Fee (from the neares train station). The bus was on a super narrow road with a few hundred meters of drop on one side. There was a white line and a guard rail (about a foot high) along the side and we went up up up into the valley! A bit scary but great views!
We also hiked up to the Trift Glacier with a bunch of other couch surfers. Renee and I camped in a near by town and met up with a bunch of Swiss people and we took off on a bus to the hike. Unfortunately we arrived and there was a 2 hour line to take the cable car up...so we did the hike! It was non-stop UP for 2 and a half hours, just to the top of the cable car, then another hour 15 to the glacier. Although it was grueling, it was SO worth it! Not only is the Trift glacier and the Trift valley beautiful, there is a new suspension bridge connecting the two sides of the valley. It is the longest suspension bridge in Switzerland and has GREAT views! Renee and I has lots of fun on the bridge taking photos adn anjoying the scenery! We hiked down to the top of the cable car with the couch surfing group but Renee and I didn't like the idea of the long, steep downhill, so we took tickets for the gongola and while we waited we treated ourselves to hot cider, soup and raclette! Good rewared for such a grunt of a hike!
With the Bleichs I also celebrated Oma's (the girls' grandmother) 75th birthday with a very nice party and lunch in Freiburg. Clara and Alma dressed up in their German dresses and were SO cute. Clara played her violin for Oma and then played in the market for change (she actually made quite a bit of money too)! It was very cute...and she is pretty good, especially for an 8 year old!
But, the best part of September was picking up my parents at the train station! I will have 2 weeks to travel with them! We have adventures planned for France, Switzerland and Germany while they are here! So now I'm off to drink wine, hike mountains and eat great French and Swiss food with my parents (who I haven's seen for over a year)! YeeHaw!
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