On a side note....I have again heard so much about leaving my kids. "I don't know how you can do it?" is the common statement. The truth is we are blessed with grandparents of our kids that love them and take care of them so well I do not have to worry about them at all. However, it is just HARD to leave your kids. The day before we left, I was a mess. No matter what though, I wouldn't trade the time I had with just Blake for anything. As he always says, we will be together in this house a lot longer than the kids will. I have received so much encouragement too from women at church who are older and say how much they wish they would have done that and regret not. We also had parents that set this example while we were growing up. I absorb it all and do what is best for our family as I am sure we all try to do but please please please, even if it is for only a night away, invest in your marriage and go away (of course if you have reliable childcare). Your kids will have a blast and so will you!!!
Ok, enough of my soap box, back to Switzerland.
We flew in overnight to Zurich and jumped right in by taking several trains to a town called Lauterbrunnen. It is a small little village where the last train stops before the trains start going up the mountains to ski. The first day we walked around town (down the one main street) and enjoyed some great coffee while looking at the mountains. The next day we took a 2 hour train ride up the mountains to a place called Jungfrau (Top of Europe) It was over 11, 000 feet up and beautiful. There was an ice cave carved out at the top of this as well. The temperature was below zero and with the wind outside, it was pretty cold but I am so glad we got to see these amazing views. The pictures do not do it justice.
After heading back on the train, we grabbed lunch, a nap, some coffee and dinner (at the same place we did the night before). There were only a couple restaurants open for dinner in the whole town. Luckily, we found a good one with a large menu to enjoy two nights in a row:)
The next day we took trains to Luzern. This was my favorite stop of the trip. It is a smaller city but still had the city feel to it. It is also on a large lake that was absolutely beautiful with the mountains behind it. We decided to walk around and see the city, which you can do all on foot in a day. We saw the historical covered bridge, the wall that used to be built around the city, went on a lake cruise, and enjoyed our first of many fresh soft pretzels (one of my favorite snacks). I cannot get over how clear the water is everywhere in Switzerland. Even the rivers are a beautiful bluish green color and clear. That night we had a very delicious dinner at La Cucina, down the street from our hotel. It is an Italian restaurant and as I should have known, since we were so close to Italy, the food was authentic, freshly made, and wonderful. I had homemade pasta with a simple tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella and Blake had a wood-fired pizza.
The next day we were off to Zurich. Blake had to be in town that night for a dinner so we left pretty early so we could get there and he could show me around since I would be on my own for the next two days. Blake's companies "Center for Global Dialog" is actually in Ruschlikon, which is just outside of Zurich, a 10 minute train ride. The facility is in several historical buildings and the actual hotel part was awesome!! I do not feel bad for him at all when he has to go again. I enjoyed huge windows opening up to the water and mountains the most. After checking in and walking around the grounds, we headed into Zurich for lunch and to walk around a little. I learned quickly that there are really two main streets with a river between them so as long as I could see the river, I was good. This particular day was a special day where there were many people dressed up in medieval clothing in parades and holding baskets and baskets of flowers. It was exceptionally busy with lots of street vendors but fun to see. That afternoon we headed back for Blake to go to his dinner and I grabbed some dinner at the hotel bar. I enjoyed some time to relax, read, and catch up on random emails since I had been away. Most of all, I enjoyed the peace and quiet.
The next day Blake headed to work and I was off on the train to Zurich. I had a few goals...shopping, good coffee, good food, and great pictures. I think I accomplished them all. The least of which was shopping though. Things in Switzerland are sooooo expensive. I would say at least double if not more what they cost here for the exact same product. For example, a grande drink at Starbucks is 7-8 swiss francs, which is $8-9. I went for local coffee and was happy I did:) After walking around Old Town, the historic cobblestone streets with lots of hills, I stopped for coffee and did some people watching. Once I was rested up, I continued shopping and site seeing until lunch time, where I stopped at another really great Italian restaurant for some homemade pasta again. The only complaint I had about the lunch was that I know I said "still tap water" and somehow I got a bottle of sparkling water that was over $6. I think I was targeted for an American here but oh well. I do like sparkling water and if that was the worst thing that happened, I can't complain at all. I spent some more time walking around before finding some green space and resting. Eventually I headed back for dinner and resting before Blake got home.
The final day I spent an hour or two reading with the windows wide open and the beautiful view out our room window before heading into Zurich one last time. Once in Zurich, I shopped a little, enjoyed lunch and some more reading and then went for some coffee and dessert before meeting up with Blake for dinner. We had some drinks along the river and then headed to dinner at a fondue restaurant. It was a nice night and as a bonus...I was the one that got us in the right direction to the train station after dinner and guided us back. Those of you that know me, know this is a big deal.
Overall, the weather couldn't have been better (of course we had to buy some clothes for warmer weather but oh well) at around 70 degrees most days. The country was absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed seeing the small villages all the way to the bigger cities. I only had a few times where English wasn't spoken but we made it work. We had such a great time!!
After taking hundreds of pictures it was so hard to pick my top ones. Here is a little picture overload.
A rainy/foggy night in Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen..view from our hotel
look at the water..so clear!!
Another view from our hotel
The one street town of Lauterbrunnen
"touring" Lauterbrunnen
time for a cappuccino stop
heading up to Jungfau
love how close we are to the cloud in the sky
top of Jungrau
the ice cave was not always carved out for guys the size of Blake
SO COLD
On the way back down the mountain we got the chance to sit in the very front and see the tunnels. Very cool.
Luzern
cruising Lake Luzern
the old wall around the city
Another view of Luzern...loved this place!
Ending the night with a cappuccino
In Ruschlikon...the main conference building at Swiss Re
This is one of the rooms they "rough it" in
the view from Swiss Re
Zurich
Old Town
The parade the first day
part of my amazingly delicious lunch in Zurich
fondue
ahhh...memories...this was the most steep hill we had to hike every time from the train station to our hotel. I wanted to take a picture to remember the misery. The picture does not do it justice.
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