Winter Wonderland

We had very unusual weather last week in Morges. Typically – I say ‘typically’ but it means based on the past two winters we’ve been here – we get an occasional dusting of snow. Nothing more than a few inches. Our winters tend to be more on the rainy side because we’re next to Lake Geneva. If we want snow, we have to go find it, which means a short drive into the mountains. This was not the case last week! On Wednesday it snowed all day. We had more than a foot by the end of the day. Here’s a picture courtesy of our neighbor, Christina. It’s from their bedroom window, which would be the same view as ours. As beautiful as the snow was, it quickly turned into a big ol’ mess. The Swiss are very efficient about a lot of things but snow removal, at least in our town, is not one of them. Snow and ice still cover most of the sidewalks. It’s like a skating rink out there. The temperature is warming back up and it’s raining outside today, so I think our snow will soon be gone.

Can’t Fool This Girl

I ventured out on Friday to do some Christmas shopping in Lausanne. I was happy to find that one of my favorite shops had a woman painting beautiful designs onto glass ornaments that day. She would also individualize the text for each customer. I can never seem to find anything written in French, so I thought this would be perfect. I ordered an ornament similar to another one she had already done. On it I wanted it to say, ‘Noël en Suisse 2010.’ She told me it would be ready in an hour. Our conversation was a mix of French and English. She was clearly a native French speaker and she clearly knew that I was not. After shopping for another hour, I came back for my ornament. Just before I got to the cashier I realized that the woman had misspelled ‘Suisse.’ What the heck! She misspelled the country’s name. That would be like me misspelling ‘America.’ Then I wondered if she did it on purpose because she knew I wasn’t Swiss and wanted to pull one over on the foreigner. I brought the error to her attention and she turned bright red. She was obviously embarrassed by her mistake and quickly fixed it. I wonder if she was spelling it wrong all day?! Two years ago I would have walked out of that store with my misspelled ornament, all pleased with myself because I successfully got what I wanted. I probably would have hung it on my tree and still not realized the error until someone pointed it out to me. This was a proud moment for me. I no longer feel like a complete dumb-dumb. I know a few things.

Thanksgiving 2010

The actual day was rather uneventful. Matt and I worked a regular day. Our turkey meatloaf dinner is as close to Thanksgiving as we got on Thursday. Matt watched an NFL football game that evening as well, so that made it seem a bit like home, too. We had to wait a few days and then we got all the fixings. Matt’s co-worker, Rob, invited us to his home to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family on that Saturday. We enjoyed a wonderful meal together. It was a special treat, especially since Rob’s wife, Sevie, is Belgian and had to research how to make many of the traditional dishes. She put a lot of time and effort into that meal. Her stuffing was the best I’ve ever had. I brought the pumpkin pie. I had a rough time making a crust from scratch this year. After multiple tries I gave up and went to the store to get a premade one. I was pretty disgusted with myself and it just didn’t taste the same. I think this may have been the first year that Grandma Thoma’s rolling pin did not turn out a successful pie crust for Thanksgiving.

Soup of the Week

I made a cooking challenge for myself at the start of autumn – making a homemade soup once a week. So far we’ve had mostly successes with just a few flops here and there. Nothing as bad as my first attempt at wild rice soup here in Switzerland though. To refresh your memory, that was my purple, gloppy mess that didn’t turn out due to a substitution of black rice for wild rice and my own attempt at making corn starch. For a picture of this, see the entries from November 2009. Our favorites thus far have been butternut squash, pumpkin, baked potato and good ol’ chicken noodle. The leeky broth with ravioli was also pretty good. Even Matt is contributing to the soup a week challenge. Last week he made a chicken tortilla soup with the jalapenos I brought back with me from the US.

Time with My Nieces

While I was in Minnesota I spent some quality time with my nieces, Rowan and Evie. Being away from them is one of the hardest parts of living in Switzerland. They are getting so big and I feel like I’m missing it even though we talk on the phone and occasionally Skype.

One of our first activities was a manicure. Rowan decided on lime green polish with sparkles. Evie went for purple polish with white polka dots. I guess I was the boring one with my French manicure.


I don’t have any photos of us rollerskating (at an actual rink with a disco ball and everything) but here’s one of Evie bowling. I think the girls liked the pink lemonade we had more than the actual bowling. Not to toot my own horn but I got a turkey (three strikes in a row) but I don’t think my nieces even noticed, as they were happily sipping away on their pink lemonades and not paying attention to the ball or pins.


I enjoyed ‘puzzing’ with Rowan. Puzzing is the verb used when one is making a jigsaw puzzle. I can’t remember which of my friends created the word but I love it. Anyway, Rowan is amazing at puzzles. At the age of five, she is putting together 1000 piece puzzles. I’m so glad she and her auntie share this hobby. Rowan taught me to say ‘Pa-ching’ when you get a piece to fit. I love that. I think it was really her father that came up with it. It sounds like something he’d say. I’ve abandoned my double-tap (tapping the piece twice to get others’ attention to let them know when you found one) for ‘pa-ching.’


Another highlight was carving pumpkins. The Ungermans get really fancy with their pumpkins – tracing and then carving out elaborate pictures. Rowan was in charge of designing mine. She wrote the word ‘boo’ on it. She’s just learning how to spell so she actually wrote, ‘bob.’ When I told her there was another ‘o’ in it, she squeezed it in there, so, yep, my jack o’ lantern said ‘boob.’ I carved it out just as she wrote it and then sent it home with them to put on their front step.

Visit to Minnesota

I had a week off of work in October so I took advantage of it and headed back to Minnesota for a visit. Matt and Millie stayed behind to hold down the fort. I packed a lot into my ten day visit, mostly consisting of time with family and friends, eating and shopping. Overall, it was a wonderful trip. I was pretty homesick when I left. It’s so hard to say those good-byes each time.

Matt stayed busy while I was away. He had the neighbor boys over a few times. One night consisted of eating chili, drinking beer and watching the movie, Zombieland. I’m glad I was in another country that evening.

Désalpe

Last weekend we ventured out to the village of Saint-Cergue for a festival called Désalpe. It’s a time to celebrate the cows coming down from grazing in the mountains. As the crowd cheered them on, the herds made their way through town.

Not only did the cows have the enormous bells around their necks but some also had huge headdresses made out of tops of evergreens and ribbon.

The alphorns and yodeling entertained us between herds as did the homemade pumpkin soup and pastries.

It wouldn’t be a festival in Switzerland without cheese. This is the first time we’ve seen a raclette machine like this (in the pictures link). Raclette is a traditional Swiss dish consisting of melted cheese, boiled potatoes, small gherkins and pickled onions.

We had beautiful views of the Mont Blanc on our train ride back to Morges. A fantastic view of the lake below us, and the mountains in France beyond that.

Squirrel Sighting

You might think this is an unusual blog entry, especially if you are from Wisconsin or Minnesota where these little guys seem to run in packs…

Yesterday I saw a squirrel in the garden. I stopped and actually backtracked to look at it because I’ve never seen one in Switzerland. Two years and not a single squirrel. Then I went out on the balcony with my camera to take his picture but he had scampered off already. Back in Minnesota I would never have taken out the camera for a squirrel, maybe a deer, but not a squirrel. Then I thought I might be over-reacting a bit but when I told my friend, Ayelet, I got a similar response. She got all excited, too. Her response went something like, ‘A squirrel! I love squirrels. Where did you see it? I’ve never seen one in Switzerland.’ I’m hoping for a rabbit sighting next. Not many of them hopping around Switzerland either.

I wonder what Matt’s response is going to be to this entry. I have a feeling it will go something like this, ‘I think Sandra might have too much free time on her hands if she’s going around trying to take pictures of squirrels.’

Home Alone

Millie and I are home alone for the next nine days. Matt left for the US on Thursday so he could attend Jeff and Marla’s wedding. Millie understands what it means when the suitcase comes out. She was not happy to see it. I think she wanted to go with Matt because she climbed into it and laid down, covering all of his clean clothes in dog hair. I hope he packed a lint brush.

Blue Sky

Grandma Klenz passed away on the 5th of September. She put up a tough fight against cancer for the past year and a half. I flew home for the funeral, which was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I am so glad I could be with my family as we remembered Grandma and celebrated her life. I have so many memories of her that I will always cherish.

Since I was little, I remember Grandma calling out, ‘blue sky,’ when the weather cleared up at the lake in Eagle River. After announcing this, she would then encourage us to get outside. Growing up I sometimes thought she secretly worked for the local tourist office because at times her ‘blue sky’ was just a tiny speck in an otherwise completely gray sky. Which then made me think that maybe she said this just to get us out of her hair (and house) for a while. Grandmas are entitled to a little quiet time just like everyone else and sometimes that time was hard to come by with 10+ family members in the house on cold or rainy days. But now, what I really think, is that this comment was her way of celebrating the little things in life. I think the blue sky brought her joy, even if it was only a little speck some days. On the day of the burial, there was a beautiful blue sky as we said our good-byes to her.

Round-Abouts

It took me several months to get up the nerve to drive in Switzerland and then a few more months after that before I felt comfortable with it. Round-abouts were the biggest adjustment for me, especially the ones with two lanes.

Round-abouts are making their way to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which I discovered when Mom and I were out running errands while I was home in the US. It sounds like the people of Oshkosh are finding them challenging as well. Mom said one round-about had 22 accidents in one month! Mom is very cautious in them since she saw a car go straight through the round-about – up onto the bricks in the middle and back down them. But Dad’s even more cautious. He admitted to driving six miles out of his way to avoid a round-about.

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

I’ve been feeling a bit homesick this past week. I love this time of year in Minnesota with fall just around the corner and a new school year getting underway. It also means time for the state fair, also commonly referred to as the ‘Great Minnesota Get-Together.’ Attending the fair was an annual event for me. I have many fond memories of time spent there with good friends. Some of my favorites include: searching for a pronto pup stand immediately upon entering the fair gates (a pronto pup is similar to but not quite a corn dog), watching the talent show while sharing a huge bucket of Sweet Martha’s Cookies with friends, going down the big green and yellow slide, watching sheep contests while drinking wine with my friend, Allison (we’re nothing but classy, I know), going to see the fattest pig and riding on Ye Old Mill with my friend, Shannon, and realizing it’s a total make-out ride – sitting in a boat, riding around in circles in the dark. Good times!

So, if any of you Minnesotans are out there reading this, can you do me a huge favor and eat some fair food for me? I miss all the deep-fried, crazy food combinations all served on a stick. I wonder what the Swiss would say if they saw deep-fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick or a deep-fried twinkie on a stick.

Lack of Blogging

I haven’t been blogging lately as there hasn’t been too much to report. I returned to work at the beginning of August after three weeks off in July. This is the start of my second year at a school for children with autism. Matt’s work schedule has been a little less hectic with so many people on holiday. He’s been coming home around 5 every night, which is a lot earlier than usual. August has been a low-key month for us but it’s been nice.

Hiking the Aletsch Glacier

Last weekend Matt and I went hiking. We drove about two hours to the small village of Fiesch, which is in the eastern part of Switzerland. Our goal was to hike along the nearby Aletsch Glacier. We spent Saturday afternoon exploring the town and figuring out the details for our hike over a few Schneider Weisse beers at a little beer garden. I prepared for the hike by eating my entire pizza at dinner on Saturday night. I got a few looks from the other restaurant patrons as I made my way through the entire thing. I could tell Matt was pretty impressed too, as he was kind of speechless when I put the last bite in my mouth. I knew I was going to need the energy for the next day! (Note from Matt: I don’t know if “impressed” is really the word I would have used.)

We started our hike on Sunday morning by taking a 15 minute cable car ride up a mountain to another village. This was Millie’s first experience in a cable car but she handled it like a pro. Once we got out of the cable car we started hiking. We got a slow start as we stopped to watch the parasailers taking off nearby. This is a very popular area for the sport. The sky was speckled with the colorful sails throughout the day. We also saw a hang glider crash. He must have been a beginner because we saw him take off and he looked out of control from the start. He barely missed the cable car wires before he crashed. He wasn’t injured but I don’t know if the same was true for his glider. It made a lot of noise when it crashed into the rocky ground.

We were doing a six hour hike but it was labeled as ‘easy,’ so I thought I’d do okay. About an hour into the hike I started wondering who labels these hikes because we were going straight up for a long time. When they say ‘easy’ do they mean for people or for mountain goats? We made it through that section but it was tough. Matt said I only complained a little during that part so definite improvement for me. I actually had some mountain goats following me on the trail for a while. It would have been embarrassing to get passed up by some goats, so luckily that didn’t happen. They must have stopped more often to eat grass than I did to take a water break (which really was a ‘stop so I can catch my breath’ break).

We felt the cold from the glacier before we could actually see it. Once we turned the corner and finally saw it, it was really impressive. The pictures don’t capture how massive it was. The glacier was just so big with these deep crevices in it that were aqua blue. It was a beautiful hike. Click on the picture and it will show other pictures from the trip.

Swiss National Day

August 1 is to the Swiss what July 4 is to Americans. The first of August has been celebrated as Swiss National Day since 1891. The date refers to an alliance made in 1291 between three cantons. Cantons are kind of like our states in the US. I don’t really understand the rest of the agreement from back then, but I know that it’s a big deal.

This will be my first time in Switzerland to celebrate Fête Nationale Suisse. It means lots of Swiss flags, parades and fireworks. The stores sell all kinds of Swiss decorations as well as other goodies. Here’s what I found at the Migros today – hard-boiled eggs with the Swiss flag. They typically sell hard – boiled eggs at the store year round. You can tell they’re hard – boiled because they’re dyed like Easter eggs. It was very confusing to me for quite a while. Why the heck do the Swiss have Easter eggs in November ?! But now that mystery has been solved thanks to my neighbor, Christina, explaining it to me. There’s even a special bread that bakeries make for Swiss National Day in certain regions of the country. I’m on the look-out for it.

Tour de France

I’m learning all about sports this month. It’s all about the Tour de France now. It is insane what these guys do day after day! The tour was one of the main reasons for Lori and John’s visit to Europe. We spent Saturday watching it (well, actually, waiting for it) near a small town called Lamoura, France, which was about a 1 ½ hour drive from Morges.

It was a hot day and we waited in the sun for several hours but it was well worth it. John was pretty pumped to be seeing the tour in person. Highlights for me (I’m sure John’s highlights were different!) included the spectators – some a little more tipsy than others and some who were getting way too much sun exposure in their speedos – and the caravan, which came through an hour before the race. It was a big parade that came out of nowhere with lots of free stuff thrown at us. Then the racers came. If John hadn’t been there to tell us who we were seeing, we wouldn’t have had a clue. He pointed out Lance Armstrong as well as some other well known bikers (all new names to me as I only knew Lance).

It was a really fun day in all. Lori and John’s next stop after Morges was to a small town in France to bike up one of the mountains that has been on the tour in previous years. That’s some serious bike riding. Glad they didn’t ask me to join them for that part of their trip.

Visitors

My good friend from college, Lori, and her hubby, John, stopped by for a visit as they made their way through Europe. They spent a few days with us as they traveled from Italy to France. It was wonderful to see them. The day they arrived was John’s birthday, so we celebrated with a nice dinner of homemade California rolls and wine. We introduced them to Mövenpick ice cream for dessert. I think they enjoyed it even after all the gelato they consumed in Italy. The evening ended with fireworks in Lausanne that we could see from the comfort of our own balcony. The next day we sent them on a steamboat from Lausanne to the Château de Chillon. I met them after their tour of the château and then we headed into Montreux for the Jazz Festival. As we’ve experienced in previous years, not much jazz to be heard at the festival but we did find one free concert and enjoyed a few cold beers and some traditional Swiss cuisine (rösti).

World Cup Fever

I’ve spent the last month learning about the World Cup. It’s embarrassing to say but I knew nothing about the World Cup until now. This is a really big deal over here compared to the US, so that’s my excuse. They hang flags out their windows to support their country and after a match the fans of the winning team hop in their cars and ride around town honking and waving their flags. I guess this is the one time that the Swiss tolerate noise. The honking continued for well over an hour after Switzerland beat Spain a few weeks back. I still don’t have a good understanding of the rules of the sport, but at least I call it by the right name now – football. My favorite part is when the players take their shirts off at the end of the match. That’s my incentive to watch. (To make it clear, this was written by Sandra.)

A Bientôt, Elko Family

The Elko family left Morges early Monday morning. My friend, Christina, and I went to the train station to see them off. It was a sad day, and Switzerland feels lonely without them. They were like our family-away-from-home. Jen was my go-to-gal because she always understood what it was like living in another country and away from all the familiar things of home.

Matt and I are fortunate that the Elko’s leaving Morges is not a good-bye. It really is à bientôt – see you soon – because we’ll be close enough for visits when we return to the US. We will miss them dearly but wish them the best of luck as they return to life in Milwaukee.

Celebrating the 4th of July – Switzerland Style

When I think of this holiday, I think of family. Typically, it’s a long weekend at Grandma and Grandpa’s cabin or the island with Barb and Terry. Since I am not able to do either of these this year, I did the next best thing – I celebrated the day with my American friends. A few families got together for dinner. I tried to find corn on the cob for the occasion but decided to call it quits after looking at two different grocery stores in town without any luck. We had take-out pizza for dinner. Not a very traditional 4th of July meal but it worked. For dessert we had a taste test of several different kinds of Mövenpick ice cream. Okay, I guess it was more than several flavors – it was six. Mövenpick is a brand of ice cream of Swiss origin. It’s heavenly, especially some of the limited edition flavors. The most popular of the evening were Crème Brulée, Swiss Chocolate and Coconut with Toasted Sesame.

House Guests

I’ve been keeping busy the last four days with my house guests – the Elko family. Their belongings are all packed, so they stayed with me for a few days before checking into a hotel. I really appreciated the company as it’s getting to be a long time without Matt here. As can be expected with three kids, there was never a dull or quiet moment but lots of fun was had by all. The apartment seems very empty now without them.

Sans Matt

Matt left on his trip to the US yesterday morning. He’ll be there for three weeks. His trip home will be a mix of work – a conference and a few days in the Minneapolis office – and fun – his annual hiking trip, visiting with family and friends, a Saints baseball game, a brief trip to the island in Wisconsin and DeMori’s pizza. I wish I could be home with him but I still have a few weeks left at work before summer holiday. It’s already pretty quiet around the apartment sans Matt but I’m keeping busy with cleaning and doing homework for an on-line class. Millie has noticed his absence, too, and has been less energetic than usual.

La Liberté

Last Sunday we cruised around Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) on La Liberté, often times referred to as ‘the pirate ship’ by us. Four families got together to partake in this farewell activity for the Elko family (sniff, sniff). The kids enjoyed exploring the ship, and the adults enjoyed the scenery and the beverages. We lucked out with the weather. There seemed to be a big rain cloud following us around the lake but it never caught us.

A great time was had by all; however, I discovered afterwards that not everyone’s expectations had been met with the pirate ship experieince. The other day Jen and I were walking on the lake path, and we pointed out the ship to her son, Ben. Under his breath he mumbled, ‘There no pirates on it.’ He was expecting pirates on board! The little guy was probably waiting the entire ride for pirates to show up. Darn, I should have made Matt dress up as one.

Girls’ and Boys’ Weekends

Last weekend I went with a group of girlfriends to Locarno, which is in the Italian part of Switzerland. All six of us piled into Suzie’s car and made the five hour drive. Locarno is said to be the sunniest of all Swiss towns. It felt like we were in another country with the mild climate and the palm and olive trees. We stayed at a beautiful B&B which overlooked Lake Maggiore. Suzie and I had a huge chandelier in our room that sparkled so much that it hurt our eyes. The weekend was full of good conversation and many laughs were shared. Our weekend consisted of:

• Eating - The risotto was fantastic and we found mint chocolate chip gelato!
• Drinking - Two of the girls were trying to empty out their liquor cabinets at home before they move. We had quite the assortment of booze as we made drinks out on the terrace one night.
• Shopping - The highlight was finding the equivalency to the Dollar Store – the ‘Everything 2 Franc’ store.
• Meandering (or what Matt likes to call ‘lolly-gagging’) – Our B&B was above Locarno, so we took a funicular down to the town and strolled around the Piazza Grande and along the lake. Highlights were the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso, which dates back to 1596, and a boat ride across the lake.

This weekend it was Matt’s turn to go on a guys’ trip. He and four other guys took the train to Zurich. I’ve learned bits and pieces about their whereabouts and activities through his text messages but I’m curious to get the whole story. I know beer drinking was at the top of their to-do list. I think Hooters was a possibility for today. I think the excuse for that one was, “They have a good brunch.” I might be getting a Hooters t-shirt as Matt texted me this morning asking what size shirt I wear. All I can say is he better not come home with those orange spandex shorts for me.

Praha

Matt and I spent four days in Praha (what the locals call Prague) over the Pentecost holiday. We loved it there…the sights, the beautiful architecture, the history, the food and especially the beer. Matt found us a gem of a hotel (www.unitas.cz), just a few minutes walking distance from the Old Town. We spent the days exploring the city with frequent stops in beer halls to rehydrate. We managed to visit all four sections of town: Old Town, New Town, Little Quarter and Castle Quarter.

Matt was beside himself with all the beer options, and they were all so cheap! One of our favorite beer halls was U-Flecko, which dates back to 1499. A table of 20 men entertained us while we ate lunch. I think they’d been there a while as they were singing and toasting everyone in the hall, especially the three young ladies seated near us. Another highlight was the 3rd Annual Czech Beer Festival (www.ceskypivnifestival.cz) which just happened to be going on the same weekend we were there. Hmm…I wonder if this really was a coincidence like Matt said. Altogether, the three beer tents seated 10,000 people. We had fun people-watching as we sampled the beer and food (each tent had different kinds). We were there relatively early in the afternoon, so no one was totally out of control yet, but we still found plenty to entertain us. I enjoyed watching the cute, old accordion players while Matt enjoyed watching the cute, young bar maids who spoke no English. We were also entertained by a group of guys dressed as lifeguards, who were there for a bachelor party. The groom-to-be was dressed as a woman lifeguard. He looked like an overweight Pamela Anderson from Baywatch with his blonde wig and big chest.

We really enjoyed the food in Prague. Matt ordered goulash with knedliky (dumplings) several times and I had polévka (soup) four or five times. I tried some unusual foods, too – beer cheese and beer ice cream. Cheese and ice cream are two of my favorite foods, so I was disappointed when I didn’t like either. Matt enjoyed the beer cheese. I kept trying to eat the ice cream but finally gave up. I don’t think I’ve ever not finished ice cream that’s been put in front of me!

I hope we can return to Prague again someday, and I would love to see other parts of the Czech Republic.

Iris Jardin

Last week Jen and I ventured out to find an iris garden in the small town of Vullierens. As always her little guy, Ben, had to tag along with us. We never know what to expect on these mini-adventures. Often times we get lost as Jen’s sense of direction is as good as mine. I wonder what Ben thinks as he watches us navigate in the front seat with the help of their GPS, who has been fondly nicknamed Eunice. As Jen’s family is in the process of moving home to the US next month, I realize how much I’m going to miss these outings that she so willingly goes on with me.

I know Matt is probably thinking ‘enough with the flower blogs’ but I want to share how pretty the gardens are here in Switzerland.

Road Trip to Austria

Two weekends ago Matt, Millie and I took a road trip to Austria. We decided to be adventurous and drive somewhere. We decided on a little town called Zirl, which is located just outside of Innsbruck, Austria. It was a 5 ½ hour drive. A few people, mostly Europeans, thought we were a little crazy to be driving ‘so far’ when we told them about our plans. We found this interesting as we drive from our home in Minnesota to my parents’ home in Wisconsin for a weekend and it takes us the same amount of time. Five and ½ hours in the car must mean something a little different to folks around here. This was also Millie’s first trip across the Swiss border. She had her passport all ready to go in case we were stopped, but we were waved through both times.

We enjoyed the town of Zirl and our hotel was nice and cozy. I think we would have had a nice view of the Alps from our room but they never came out – it was gray and rainy all three days. Although the weather didn’t cooperate, we were able to do some nice hikes. We had plenty of hiking trails around us – they were literally out the hotel’s front door. We also spent a day taking in the sights around Innsbruck.

La Fête de la Tulipe

Here are a few pictures from the annual Tulip Festival in Morges. This year marked the 40th anniversary with more than 200,000 tulips in the Parc de l’Indépendance. On my daily walks through the park, I watched as the workers planted the bulbs last fall. I then monitored the tulips’ progress as they started to grow this spring. And now, voilà!

Swiss Book Club

I enjoy being involved in clubs. Back home in Minnesota I belonged to several; some with very original names. One of my favorites was Thirsty Thursday, which consisted of several college friends getting together once a month to go out for a drink. We didn’t always meet on a Thursday, so I recall several times getting odd looks from people when they’d ask what my plans were that evening and I responded, ‘Thirsty Thursday’ when it was a Monday or other day of the week. Another of my favorites was FWOT MC, which stood for First Wednesday of the Month Club. This club consisted of me and my two dear friends, Allison and Jemma. We invented this club so that we would have a scheduled time to get together once we were no longer roommates. I’ve offered to host FWOT MC here in Switzerland; however, they haven’t been able to get away for an evening yet. The club that is most precious to me is my book club. This is a group that I have been a part of for a decade. Not only do these friends share reading as a common interest with me, they have been a constant source of support in my life.

My need for a group followed me to Switzerland. Last year I joined a women’s club for expats in Lausanne, but I haven’t done much with it. They offer a lot of different activities, but the times don’t often match my schedule now that I’m working. Although the women that I’ve met have been nice, the club tends to attract older women, so it hasn’t been a perfect fit. That’s why I am so excited that a few of my neighbors started a book club here in our town. We’ve only had a few meetings but already it is something I look forward to each month. Although it’s an English speaking group, we have quite a range of life experiences. Each month we meet at a cozy, little bar that is within walking distance for most of us. The highlight for me so far was when we invited the translator of the book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, to our meeting and she came! She happened to live a few villages away from us. It was so interesting to hear her thoughts on the book, to learn the differences between French and American literature styles and also how the translating process works.

I think my Swiss book club is just what I needed to make Switzerland feel more like home.

London

I’m a bit behind in my blogging. My latest adventure was a four day trip with my friend, Jen, to London. This was a few weeks ago. Our husbands surprised us with the trip. Mine because he felt guilty that he was unable to take vacation time and go on a trip with me on my Easter holiday from school. Jen’s husband, Dan, wanted her to have one last girls’ trip before they make the big move back to Milwaukee this summer. Jen and I travel well together and we were going to a country where they speak English, so we were thrilled.

We lucked out with the weather while there. With the exception of the day we arrived, it was warm and sunny as we toured around London. We did not get so lucky with our hotel selection. Despite the good reviews on tripadvisor, it was not the greatest of places. Luckily, Jen has a good sense of humor and we made the best of the situation. The hotel’s location was ideal though. It was just a few minutes’ walk to the tube. We mastered their underground system, the ‘tube,’ fairly quick. I have my sister, Andrea, to thank for that. She made me take a ‘tube test’ when I went to visit her several years ago when she was studying abroad there for a semester. She wouldn’t let me go off on my own until I had passed her little test. This time the only difficulty I had with it was when I managed to get stuck in the door as it was closing. It was actually just my purse that got stuck but it freaked me out a little. Jen made a good point afterwards: at least it wasn’t my head that got stuck. Always an optimist, that Jen. We were so careful to mind the gap (the space between the train and the platform) that we didn’t give enough thought to the closing doors.

We accomplished a lot of sightseeing in a few days including the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels, St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is by far the most beautiful church I’ve seen in Europe yet and I’ve seen a lot of churches over the past 1 ½ years, Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard (we actually didn’t see much because of the crowds), Big Ben, Harrods and Westminster Abbey. At the end of our tour of Westminster Abbey, we had a famous person sighting. Actually, it was Jen that spotted him, Zach Braff from the TV show ‘Scrubs.’ I didn’t believe her at first so I was gawking at him with a stupid look on my face and scared him away. After looking in our direction he quickly put on his sunglasses and hat and exited the building! In addition to seeing the sights, we spent a lot of time wandering through the different neighborhoods and parks: Notting Hill, Covent Garden, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. We also spent some quality time eating fish and chips and drinking cider and ale. A very successful trip to London!

Ice!

Matt and I made a huge discovery this weekend. We found a store that sells bags of ice! This discovery comes just in time for grilling out at the park. Now Matt is talking about needing a cooler. Hmm, I think we have about three of them sitting in our garage in Minnesota. Why didn’t we bring one with us?!

Joyeux Pâques

That means, ‘Happy Easter.’ I think. Still struggling with our French…

We spent the holiday weekend getting together with friends. On Friday night we had our friends, the Ultes, over for salmon that Matt grilled on cedar planks. It was a great way to start off the long weekend.

On Monday night we walked across town to the Elko’s house for some homemade pasta. The Elkos have perfected the art of pasta-making. It was a delicious dinner. The Elko boys, Sam (age 5) and Ben (age 2) adore Matt, so that’s always fun to see them together.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend with friends. It’s hard to be so far from family on holidays, but the friends we’ve made here have become our family-away-from-home. We’re very thankful for our friends in Swiejflkdjfidt (that’s how I type Switzerland really fast).

Springtime and PDA

Spring has arrived in Switzerland. The sun is shining. The sailboats are out on the lake again. The daffodils are in full bloom with the tulips not far behind. The ice cream stands popped up overnight. Springtime also means people making out everywhere! I think I may have blushed as I walked through the park today because of all the French kissing going on around me. Public display of affection (PDA) is a lot more common around Europe than it is in the US. I’m probably sounding like a prude, but I think these people should go back to wherever they were hiding out during the winter months and do it there. Some of these couples never came up for air!

Top Cheese

And the best cheese award goes to Switzerland! I love trying all the types of cheese here, which probably explains why we have seven different kinds in our refrigerator at the moment.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/88428987.html

La Bise

My friend, Doppler Darcy (I’ve given her this nickname because of her love for the weather) will enjoy this blog entry…

Last week we had a strong, cold wind which lasted several days. It was the strangest thing. It felt like a Minnesota winter in Switzerland. I learned that this wind has a special name. It is called la bise (pronounced ‘bees’), which means ‘kiss’ in French. The bise is a unique wind to parts of France and Switzerland. It is a north-east wind that occurs in the winter months. The effects of the bise are strongest in Geneva, which is situated in a narrow passage between the Jura mountains in the West and the Alps in the South. After three days of this bitter cold wind, it was gone just like that. Here are some pictures of what the bise did in 2005. http://www.glocals.com/forums/geneva/where-how-in-geneva/Re--Geneva-Sous-la-Glace--Geneva-Under-Ice--85557.htm

Happy Birthday!

My Grandma Klenz is celebrating her 80th birthday today. She and Grandpa started the festivities yesterday with a happy hour. They have a full schedule today as well, which includes a game of ladders and a fish fry. The past year has had its ups and downs for Grandma, but she’s one tough cookie. Love you, Grandma!

They Knew We Were Tourists When…

we posed for these pictures in Pisa!

The Colosseum

The Colosseum was one of my dad’s favorites from the trip. At first we got very turned around and couldn’t figure out how to get to the second level. The audioguide tour was terrible and things were poorly labeled but it was an impressive sight to see. The only prep work that I had done for the trip to Italy, besides making the hotel reservations, was to watch the movie Gladiator. I was ready to see this place after watching Russell Crowe in action. It didn’t disappoint.

The David

A highlight for me on this trip was a return visit to the Accademia, to see the original David by Michelangelo. Matt and I visited the Accademia when we went to Florence last year. I thought it was something that Mom and Dad should see. We got to the museum about a half hour before closing. We walked right in and were the only people in the museum with the exception of the security guards. It was like our own private showing of the David! We were able to stand in front of it and look without throngs of tourists crowding us. It was an incredible way to view Michelangelo’s masterpiece.

Pompeii

Visiting Pompeii was one of the highlights of the trip. I was proud of us that we even got there! We took an early train from Rome to Naples. And then once we got to Naples, we took a local train to the town of Pompeii. Some pushy guides offered to take us on an organized tour but we decided to do the Rick Steves’ tour on our own. By the end of the day my dad was calling me, “Rick” as I was the one navigating us around the ruins, which included “storytime” where I would read aloud the details of the different points of interest.

The ruins were impressive and it was amazing to learn how these people lived so many years ago. In AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, the people had no idea that it was a volcano. Within minutes, the city was covered in 30 feet of ash and lava. As you walk through the city, you can still see the grooves in the cobblestone roads from the chariot wheels. A brothel was another point of interest. This building consisted of a series of small rooms with stone beds in each room. (Sidenote: We thought the beds in our Florence hotel gave the stone beds in Pompeii a run for their money.) On the ceiling of the brothel was a “menu” of the services offered. Dad missed the menu on the first time through, so we sent him back in to see it. Mom thought he might be confused and be looking for a food menu but he figured it out.

After walking through the ruins, our plan was to take a bus to the top of Mount Vesuvius. Unfortunately, we missed the last bus going up for the day. Instead we decided to explore Naples before returning to Rome. That was a bust. Naples, at least the part of town by the train station, was a very shady place. We wandered around for a half hour before Mom said it was time to turn around and go back to the train station.

Cinque Terre

We took a day trip from Florence to Cinque Terre, which is an area along the coast. It is often referred to as the Italian Riveria because of its beauty and climate. Five, little towns are built into the cliffs and a walking path high above the sea allows you to hike from one to the next. Although this tends to be a tourist spot, it was not on the day we visited. This was most likely due to the weather.
We had pouring rain, which then turned into a thunderstorm and bitter cold temperatures. The views were still beautiful, and I would love to go back and see it on a sunny day.
None of the little shops were open in the towns. I guess they didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to be hiking in a thunderstorm. They underestimated the Thoma family! Luckily, a train connects all of the towns, so after hiking in the rain from town #2 (Manarola) to town #3 (Corniglia), we took the train back to the first town (Riomaggiore).

Mmmmm, the Food

We had some wonderful meals while in Italy – pasta, pizza, seafood and more pasta and pizza. My favorite meal was pumpkin ravioli, which I had in a small Tuscan town called San Gimignano. We weren’t very good at pronouncing things in Italian, so we shortened this town’s name to San Jimmy. Jimmy is my dad’s nickname so that worked for us. Mom’s favorite meal of the week was a pesto gnocchi dish that she had on the first night in Rome. Dad was the most adventurous of the group. He went for the local specialties, which in Florence included cinghiale (wild boar). Here he is eating his wild boar sandwich.

The Gelato

Gelato deserves its very own blog entry. I was expecting that we would have gelato every day on our trip; however, we only had it twice. The cold weather probably had something to do with this. We sampled quite a variety though including pistachio, banana, cream, mint chocolate chip (which is hard to find in Europe), coconut, nutella and several variations of chocolate. We also learned that if you agree to sit down and eat your gelato in the little cafes that they call gelatterias it costs triple what it normally costs! We did this once and learned our lesson quickly; however, that was the day when we literally walked Rome, so it was nice to sit down for a bit.

Italy

In mid-February the schools here have a week off. I think it’s meant to be for a ski holiday. Since I’m not a skier, I used the time to travel around Italy for seven days with my mom and dad. We had a great trip despite the cold and rainy weather. As it was the off-season, we never had to stand in a line to see the sights. We squeezed a lot into a week. It was one of those trips where we needed a vacation after the vacation. It was great to hang out with Mom and Dad for the entire week. Matt had to work, so he missed out on the adventure.

Balloon Bust

Matt wanted me to title this blog entry, “A Waste of an Afternoon” but I thought that was a bit harsh. It really didn’t turn out how we expected. On Sunday afternoon we ventured out to the town of Château-d’Oex for the Hot-Air Balloon Festival. This is an international festival where “pilots from all over the world gather to create bright spots of color in the blue sky with their amazing vehicles.” I took that directly from a tourism website. Doesn’t it sound like a lovely way to spend an afternoon? All these beautifully colored balloons floating around in the sky with the snow-covered Alps in the background. This is only the case if the weather cooperates, which it did not on Sunday. The weather was overcast with a few flurries. We got there in time to see them blow up a balloon and then as soon as it was inflated, they started to deflate it. Then it was over!

The real excitement came at the end of the trip as we attempted to get out of the parking lot. The road leading out of the lot had a slight hill just before you reached the main road and it was one big patch of ice. We watched as each car in front of us got stuck trying to make it up. Luckily, we parked close to the exit so we didn’t have too many cars in front of us. When it was our turn, we had enough of a running start and we made it on the first try. There was a long line of cars behind us waiting to get out. I’m glad we weren’t one of them; otherwise, Matt would have been really crabby on the drive home.

That’s More Like It

Ahhhh! We’re finally in the right French class. We knew five minutes into the lesson that this was the place for us. How did we know? We saw the panic in our classmates’ eyes when the instructor told each student to introduce themselves to us in French. We can relate to the panic-stricken look, so we felt right at home with this group. I really like the teacher. She uses a nice, slow rate when speaking and is very patient. If we keep up with the homework, I think our French will definitely improve.

Home Alone

Matt went on a guys’ trip to Marrakech this weekend, so I was home alone. For those of you who are geographically challenged like I am: Marrakech is in Morocco, which is in Africa. I had to look on a map to figure all that out. I blame the Ripon High School’s social studies program for my lack of skills with a world map. Anyway, kind of crazy to think of Matt in Africa! So far the only detail I’ve heard is that they visited a snake charmer. I wonder if I’ll get the full story on the weekend or if he’ll say, “What happens in Africa stays in Africa.”

I spent the weekend shopping – there were huge sales going on everywhere – and also hung out with the other single ladies – Jen, Christina and Suzie.

‘Yes. Yes, I Think You Are.’

Another humbling experience in Switzerland….

Matt and I started our French class on Wednesday night. We didn’t make it through the entire class though. Prior to the class we took a written test to determine our level. We both barely tested into the A2 course (A1 is the beginners course). We were very apprehensive about starting at this level as we know our speaking skills are limited. We even expressed this to the school, but we were told that we needed to start at that level since we tested into it. We were told to just be confident in our skills.

Confidence had nothing to do with it. Five minutes into the class, we realized we were in way over our heads and had already agreed to make our get-away during the break. Most of the people in the class had taken several years of French in school! One girl even had seven years of French classes. We spent the first half of the class sweating and anxiously sitting on the edge of our seats because the instructor was randomly calling on people to read from the textbook and answer questions. I knew we were done for when Matt was called on to read. This is how it went from there:

Me whispering to Matt: “I think she just called on you to read.”

Matt whispering back to me: “I’m not saying anything.”

Me whispering to Matt: “You have to say something.”

Matt looks directly at the instructor and says in English: “I’m in the wrong class.”

The instructor saying: “Yes. Yes, I think you are.”

I wanted to die right there of embarrassment. The instructor took a break shortly after that and immediately came over to us. The first thing out of her mouth was, ‘Did you take a test to get into this class?’ She was surprised when we said that we took the test and passed into this level. We left right after that!

Midnight at the Eiffel Tower

After our dinner at A La Petite Chaise, we tried to take the metro to the Eiffel Tower. Everyone else in Paris had the same idea, so we ended up walking there. It was well worth the walk. The Eiffel Tower lit up like a sparkly diamond at midnight. Here’s a video of the event. If you listen carefully you can hear the big fireworks that were being lit by some people directly behind us. A little too close for my liking. It was pretty amazing to see the Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve. Our attempt to get back to the hotel was not so amazing. The metro lines were so full that people couldn’t get on. We wandered through Paris trying to find a less crowded metro. We eventually got back to the hotel at 3 a.m.

New Year’s Eve

Matt and I had a very special New Year’s Eve. We went to Paris! Our friends, Jen and Dan, joined us for the weekend. It was a long drive (5 ½ hours) but then there we were in Paris! We enjoyed a nice, three hour dinner at A La Petite Chaise, a restaurant dating back to 1680. The dining area was itty bitty. They pulled the table out so you could sit down and then they pushed it back in once you were seated. We were elbow to elbow with the people at the next table, an elderly couple who found us entertaining. I wanted to take a picture of our food, but I thought that might be un-French like, so I’ll just list what I had.

Entrée
Saint-Jacques sur charlotte, chapelure de noisettes
(Scallops served on a bed of charlotte potatoes topped with finely grated hazel nuts)

Plat
Canon d’agneau roti farci aux petits legumes
(Roasted saddle of lamb stuffed with baby vegetables)

Assortiment de fromages
(Assortment of cheeses)

Dessert Maison
Tulipe de glaces et sorbets
(A selection of ice creams and sorbets in a tulipe-shaped biscuit)

I was so full after the main course that I had very little room for the cheese and dessert. I wish I could have gone back the next day for a ‘do-over’ with those two courses as I didn’t finish either of them. No one else at the restaurant looked as full as I felt. How do they do it?!

A Day in Italy

We enjoyed a day in Aosta, Italy with Barb and Terry. Here’s a picture from lunch. No one was able to finish their pizza. They were huge but so good. Another highlight of the day was the homemade ravioli and red wine that we brought back with us and had for dinner. The downside was the snow that started falling while we walked around Aosta. The windy roads through the mountains were not much fun as we traveled home.

Glacier 3000

This was Matt’s favorite day during Barb and Terry’s visit. We drove to Col du Pillon for a day of snowshoeing. We took a cable car up to the top of Glacier 3000 (a glacier that is 3000 metres above sea level – about 10,000 feet). We had a cold but clear day with blue skies and mountains all around us. The snow looked blue because of the glacier ice underneath it. After eating lunch at one of the restaurants at the top of the Scex Rouge Mountain, which means ‘Ruby Mountain,’ we snowshoed to Quille du Diable, a huge rock formation. We had beautiful views of the Alps along the way. Matt even thinks we saw the Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in the Alps. How he can tell one peak from another is beyond me. Also found on top of Scex Rouge is the world’s highest toboggan run, the ‘Alpine Coaster.’ I was relieved that it was closed during winter months as I had had enough motion sickness for the day with the car ride on the windy roads and the cable ride up the mountain.