Joyful Journey

"What are you lookin' at?" "Are you my mother?" "I'm definitely the better looking of the two..." "This thing has been following me around now for ages..." "Don't judge me by my looks!" Just a little humor for today. I noticed this rooster, who lives across the street, hanging out by his metal buddy during a downpour. Just couldn't resist taking a picture. It gave me a good laugh. Enjoy!

Rüti bei Bülach I think we all have sayings in our families that are fun things our kids or younger siblings said when they were little. In our house at least, they are often repeated in appropriate settings. My brother used to mix up the first sounds of words that went together, so a baby crib became a craby bib . And a fly swatter became a swy flatter . My mom and I used to repeat those so often that at times we couldn't remember the correct words!! Regensberg Kasey, Alea and I spent the day together yesterday and I was able to share one of those "family expressions" with her. Now that Alea is sleeping through the night (yee haa!), Kasey thought rather than my coming over to help, she and Alea would like to get out and about. We decided to take a field trip to visit Regensberg, a city built in the 1200's on a hill near our home. The original city wall is still intact, although now it has been transformed into various homes and apartments. We then drove throu...

View toward Col de Creusaz Bob frequently reminds me that I graduated from college magna cum laude . It's usually when I can't remember something, ask a question I should know the answer to, or I don't rapidly put "two and two" together. He actually teases me that I was summa cum laude, but I have to remind him, that no, I was only magna. Col de Creusaz, from the part way up You would have thought I would have remembered. After all, I have spend quite a bit of time sharing with others about how we learn and how to help your children increase their ability to remember what you teach them. Maybe I need to do these things myself!! If you have read this blog for a while or have kept up with our activities, you know that we spend as much time as possible in the mountains hiking. If you asked me to choose my favorite activities, hiking would be way up on the top of the list. Rogers and Hammerstein must have enjoyed hiking as well, or understood the impact that th...

Lake Geneva, near Montreux We considered attending the Montreux Jazz Festival last summer while Steven, Joel and Jenn were visiting, but decided that it would involve more driving time than we really wanted to incorporate into their short visit in Switzerland. But after we realized that staying in Evian, we would only be a short distance away from Montreux at the time of this year's festival, we started looking into the possibility of attending. Although initially a jazz festival, it has grown to include more than just jazz. But because we both enjoy jazz, that was what we had hoped to hear. Tickets to the main events for each day are extremely pricey. (Over $100 for a "standing only" ticket!) We figured there would be good jazz played at the free venues that were a part of the festival and we were right. We took the ferry from Evian to Lausanne, walked (uphill!) 30 minutes to the train station. (Of course, we could have taken a "metro" ride there in about...

Or maybe I should entitle this blog, Hilton Evian-les-Bains , because that is the main reason why we came to Evian in the first place. Oh yes, we hadn't been to this part of Europe nor to the area of Switzerland nearby, both of which we have wanted to do. But as we have been planning various short trips away we've taken advantage of Bob's Hilton Points to stay places for free. Over the last few years we've stayed in London, Paris, Vienna, Innsbruck, Malta, Rome, Florence, and Venice and even Spokane, Washington! We're still looking to squeeze in a visit Prague as well, now that it's no longer on the "might move there list." We've stayed at the Hilton in Zurich, but those visit were IBM business trips, not vacations. If you need a rundown on the details of any of these, just let us know. Sunset as viewed from our balcony Évian-les-Bains is home of the bottled water by the same name. When in town, however, there is no need to purchase bottl...

Main Street, La Gruyères We were taking a long weekend and visiting another Hilton Hotel in Europe using those free stays Bob had earned. This time we were going to Évian-les-Bains, France, located on Lac Leman (also called Lake Geneva if you're on the Swiss side of the lake) and decided to visit some places we had not yet gotten to in Switzerland. One was Fribourg and another stop we had wanted to make was in La Gruyères, town where the cheese by the same name is produced. A medieval town, set atop a hill, in the midst of the Pre-Alps. How much more picturesque setting could you ask for? Château de Gruyères The modern cheese factory ( La Maison du Gruyère ) is at the foot of the hill in a village called Pringy and was were we began our visit. We've visited a couple show dairies since in country and so decided to skip the tour and just buy some cheese in the factory store. We sampled a couple and chose the one we liked, purchased enough to last us for a few day's lunches...

One of the things that I have not tired of visiting is medieval cities and cathedrals. Although often the churches no longer primarily function for the purpose for which they were built, which is sad indeed, from a purely architectural aspect, I find them intriguing. And what is it about being able to visit a walled city is so fascinating? Maybe it is that they don't exist in the US. Maybe it is simply the concept of their age. Maybe it is just the majesty that they imply. Okay, maybe it is that most little girls (including this one) always want to be a princess or Cinderella waiting for Prince Charming to appear on a white horse. (In my case, he was driving a 1969 red Datsun 1600). And a princess just implies, castle and walled city. Some days I do feel like I'm living a dream, not the days when I'm dealing with the frustrations that come with living abroad, but definitely some days. The Cathedral of Saint Nicholas was begun in 1283. Almost 200 years before Columbus...

It is strange to be living abroad at the time of a national holiday. By early June in the states, the stores are filled with red, white and blue decorations, flags, pinwheels, lawn displays, special paper products, you name it, anything that they can think of to sell that looks patriotic is there. I missed that this year. There were patriotic things in the stores in Switzerland as well, only they are gearing up for their August 1st holiday. So it's Swiss flags, paper lanterns decorated like a Swiss flag, balloons, napkins, candles, sparklers and paper products. I thought about buying some plain red napkins, blue napkins and white napkins, but in the end decided against it. We have been trying for a long time to go on a hike with Daniel and Kasey. This Saturday finally seemed to be a possibility. The weather didn't appear to be all that favorable, although for quite a few days it had forecasted rain, but it had always come in the afternoon. So we decided to plan a morning...

Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric. ~Pam Brown It's amazing how grandparents seem so young once you become one. ~Author Unknown I know I'm one lucky lady. Although I'm not officially a grandmother, I have to wait about 3 more months for that official title, but I get to play grandma quite often and I'm having great fun doing so! I've been able to hang out with Kasey and Alea, occasionally doing some wash or cleaning the kitchen, changing a messy diaper or helping a little one get down for a nap. But I've also been able to go for walks on nice days along Zurichsee and enjoy the times that come with having a little one around. Recently, while Kasey was getting her hair cut, I was trying to help Alea calm down enough to take her nap. We had played with some toys and even read "Goodnight Moon," although Alea's attention span doesn't go for long rea...

The view when you step off the train toward Lauterbrunnen valley One of the things about living in Switzerland I have truly enjoyed that I did not expect is the opportunity I have had to meet people from all over the world and even all over the US. When you are a foreigner, it is a real joy to meet people from your home country while living abroad. It's almost like someone has brought a bit of "home" with them. You share some common experiences that may not be the case with other English speakers that you meet from other parts of the world. I believe this middle peak is Schreckhorn Janice is a friend whom I met through church. She and her husband are in Switzerland for 4 months and then will be heading back to the Chicago area. We have found that we have much in common. We both have traveling husbands. We both greatly enjoy hiking in the mountains. We both enjoy art. We both enjoy fabric stores and handmade linens. We both raised only sons. Janice is a Moody g...