Another Perspective

We are in the middle of a slow week back in Münsingen — school, work, laundry. We were thrilled to find an e-mail from Mark and Kelly, our friends who visited about a month ago. Here is what they had to say…

Alas, we have finally crafted our coveted Switzerland Blog. We apologize for the month long delay. Unfortunately, it coincides with exactly how long it has taken us (mostly Mark) to get back on a normal sleep schedule. And in all honesty we wanted the trip to soak in for a while prior to putting “pen to paper.”

Where to begin? How about the beginning. It was early September when I (Mark) booked the trip. Kelly and Joe work together, but I had only met Joe a handful of times, and Sarah even fewer. (Joe barely remembers any of them as he was lost in song – and booze – around a campfire.) Nevertheless, I broached Joe at his going away party with an idea of a winter visit. It would be surprise to Kelly for her college graduation gift….and Christmas gift…and birthday present.  Joe ate up the idea and it was revealed to Kelly in mid-December. A month a half later we arrived in Zurich.

Our first full day was full of rainy adventures.  We started with a short walk along the Aare River followed by a hike into the foothills. After a short rest at home and a Zvieri (afternoon snack — not to be confused with a Znüni or morning snack), Joe, Kelly and I commandeered Henry’s stroller and walked our ‘beer baby’ to the store for a refill. Kelly was at the wheel and received many an odd look. That evening we celebrated Kelly’s birthday with a dinner at the oldest restaurant in Switzerland (1371 A.D.!) and followed it with Quollfrisch and a fire. Joe may or may not remember.

Saturday was a fantastic day. The seven of us jumped on a train and headed to Kandersteg for a day of hiking and sledging (sledding) where each of us enjoyed a fantastic spill at a high rate of speed.  Smartly Emily and James kicked their sleds down the steep portions and walked them back up to enjoy a more reasonably sloped ride. As you can see, Kelly and I were not as smart.

Unfortunately winter weather was relentless and only shared the sun with us twice for a total of 2 hours the entire week. On Sunday, we skied Lenk in some sort of cloud/fog/haze for the entire day, sometimes only being able to see a few feet in front of us. On our last run of the day, we jumped on a chair lift and took it to the highest point on the mountain. Riding through more haze we got off the lift and skied into this! We were high above the clouds, incredible.

On Monday, we embarked on our first solo Swiss adventure. It started with a bus trip at 6:30 a.m., had us standing on the ‘Top of Europe’ by lunch and skiing down the slopes of Grindlewald in the afternoon! We managed multiple train jumps but survived the day only because a sweet English speaking teller helped us through the dizzying options presented to us in Grindewald.

That solo adventure was one of a number of firsts for us:

  • first plane ride(s) over 5 hours
  • Kelly’s first observation of a Swiss surgery
  • Mark’s first diaper change
  • paying $72.00 for two pizzas
  • Mark’s first train ride
  • losing a digital camera battery for two hours only to find it under some slush filled tire tracks – in working condition
  • and most importantly, our first trip to Switzerland. We hope it was not our last.

We cannot thank you enough, Joe and Sarah, for the opportunity provided. You were terrific hosts and made our first trip out of the country (sorry Canada) incredibly simple and easy. Your kids are wonderfully behaved and left quite an impression on us. Be proud.

Thank you, thank you, thank you and we’ll see you in a couple of months! Unless you decide to stay and then perhaps we’ll see you about this time next year?!?

We will leave you with….

The Top 10 things we learned in Switzerland:
10. We are envious that the Schwab’s get to spend an entire year there.

9. Don’t rent a car. Try the 8 day Swiss pass for endless train, bus and even a few cable car rides. Though not much of a money saver, it eliminates tricky foreign language and currency exchanges AND allowed us to enjoy the “views”, ahem.
8. The Swiss are wonderfully on time.
7. Cats are royalty.
6. Snacks are king. Hot dogs wrapped in freshly baked pretzels filled with ketchup, mustard or whatever you can imagine. Awesome. (Kelly’s mouth is watering as we type this.)
5. If you are lucky enough to visit this place, do take the train to the Top of Europe (highlighted by Matt Lauer on the Today Show).
4. Swiss chocolate gets the attention, but seriously, try the bread.
3. Raclette and/or Fondue = heaven. Yes! hot cheese is a main course in Switzerland.
2. Grüezi (hello) and Merci (thank you). Learn it, live it, and use it on everyone you encounter.
1. Henry…..he just wants.
The week went incredibly fast. Luckily we have 650+ photos to fill in the ’hazy’ gaps.

Love,
Kelly & Mark “Schwab”

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