Silvester

In Switzerland New Year's Eve is known as Silvester, since it also happens to be St. Silverster's day. We went to Herisau in canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden to see the Silvesterchlausen (New Year's Eve spirits) which chase away the evil spirits of the old year. There are three types of costumes, ugly, beautiful, and nature, but in Herisau the distinction between the three was pretty subtle. 

Santa was here

L with her recycling truck.

When we got back from Saas-Fee there was nothing at all under the Christmas tree. Santa had left everything in my closet so I could take care of it and the kids could wake up on Saturday and have a belated Christmas morning. So that is what we did. We followed our usual Christmas routine as closely as possible, including brunch.

T helping L unwrap

The kids really seemed to enjoy their gifts. R is going to spend some of her cash from her grandparents on a serious Thames and Kosmos chemistry set. Her plan is to take over half the garage when we get home and set up a lab. S wants to go paragliding again. No surprise there! She was also thrilled to get a package of real candy canes from Grammie! The kids got Swiss playmobil sets: a playground with a zipline, an Alpine descent cow parade, a hiking family set complete with a working suspicious water fountain, and a mountain hut. T also got a rescue helicopter complete with victim. T's favorites, though, seemed to be his "guys." He has a large stuffed shark from R and S which he named Carl, an Ironman, and a batman uglidoll. L got a doll named "Baby" and an accessory set with diaper, bowl, spoon, and bottle. L loves Baby. She has hardly let go of her, which is wonderful because she has finally stopped kidnapping T's baby Bruce.

L and Baby

We spent the whole weekend sleeping in, eating stocking candy, nibbling at Christmas bread, playing with new toys, reading in hot baths, listening to Christmas music, and watching tv - including the Doctor Who Christmas episode. (None of the females in the house were impressed with the new doctor, but E likes the fact that the doctor is older than he is again.) It was a wonderful relaxing weekend.

A tea party with the Barbapapa macaron tea set R and S got for L.

Saas-Fee pictures

How deep was the snow? Ask L.

T and L cozy inside making cookies while R plays in the snow.

Sunrise from our window the day before and the day after the storm.

Hotel entertainment: alphorns, flag waving, and a procession with giant cowbells.

S making her snowman before the storm.

Same place after the storm.

E digs L out for a ride on the sled

Those aren't clouds. It's blowing snow.

Views from the hotel

Our slope. I should have taken a shot from the bottom. It was steeper than this looks.

The best I could find was this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVjy_SijoOs

S and T with their ski medals. On Friday T's class left the kiddie park and rode the button lift up to ski!

Snowed in

When we woke up this morning we cranked open the metal outside weather shades and saw snow up to our windowsill. The Saas Fee website still had our beginner slopes marked as open, so we hurried down to breakfast, but by the time we came back up to change there was an update: everything was closed! The website said "due to adverse weather conditions (avalanches, large snow drifts, more than two feet of snow, and continuing heavy snowfall)." That's pretty adverse!

L and T were very anxious to join the kids club and play with their friends all day. S and R hurried outside to build snow forts. E and I spent some time on the computer trying to decide whether we'd like to come back to Saas Fee in February or go to Bettmeralp, as planned. Today was the day to decide if we wanted our deposit back. We thought it would be nice to see somewhere new. But in Saas Fee we have wonderful childcare right in the hotel, ski lockers next to the ski school meeting place, a shuttle bus to and from skiing, and mid-day pick-up and a ride back to childcare for T. Bettmeralp had none of those things, and we couldn't find anywhere else in our price range at any resort that had them all. We liked skiing so much partly because everything was so easy - all we had to do was show up and have fun. Being totally new to skiing we had been worried or confused about so many little things. At Hotel Alphubel every one of those concerns vanished, so we are going back. I think we are going to have to write reviews on trip advisor, etc, because I can't think of anything (other than less time between dinner courses) that the hotel could have added or done better.

R and S eventually came in to warm up and we all played ping pong and playstation together. Then it was time to take L out in the snow since she hadn't had much snow play time. T wanted to stay inside. We took L outside and played on a sled for a while. She loved it! The snow was incredibly deep. On the East Coast when you get a couple feet of snow it's usually wet and compacts under your feet so you are never actually standing in two feet of snow.  Here we were constantly stepping into huge drifts. It was very hard to get around,  but the snow was so pretty. All the resorts have pictures on their websites of chalets and little huts that look like gingerbread houses that have been slathered with way too much boiled icing. That is exactly what it was like today.

Then back inside for more ping pong and playstation and the littles' playgroup dance party. T did not want to attend under any circumstances, but L had a lot of fun. They turned on the disco lights on the dining room dance floor and the cart driver who isn't surly acted as DJ in three languages. There was punch and the cookies the kids made yesterday were served. It was very cute. That was followed by the kids' dinner. T, L, and S are going to eat the early kids' meal and hang out in the room with S babysitting while the rest of us have the usual meal.

(At least that was the plan. While I've been writing this T came up early from dinner. We thought nothing of it since T has had the run of the place. But S just burst in panicked. She had been looking everywhere for T. He had someone bring him to the bathroom then made a run for it. No one knew where he was. Now the halls are ringing with his protests as E drags him downstairs to apologize.)

Merry Christmas!

Monday:
E: We really had a lot of fun skiing. It was easier than I remembered. I spent much more time standing up than lying in the snow. The hotel is very nice and convenient.

S: We went skiing for the first time in my life. I learned how to use the poles. After ski lessons when I was learning to use my poles with Daddy and R I went on the big ski hill and used the button lift. I was impressed with myself because for my first day of skiing I was doing pretty well. I was having a lot of fun and when we went home we watched Christmas in Connecticut. It's funny when Mr Yardley says the baby looks different and the girl says, "Wouldn't you look different if you swallowed a watch?" even though it is a different baby.

R: I was pleasantly surprised when we got to the hotel and found out it was so much nicer than the other places we have stayed. There is a kid's club childcare that T and L love. In the basement there is a gameroom with ping pong, foosball, and some PS3s. There's a chess board in the lobby.  Our rooms are nicely sized and pretty with big TVs and lots of closets.

I was also happy to see the slopes which don't look super hard, but fun. I found out that at least the smaller beginner's slope is fun and manageable. Our instructor told us that by the end of the week, at least, we'd be going over the the bigger beginner slope, which made me happy. The bigger beginner's slope, from the bottom, looks long, steep, and exciting.

T: I did some skiing. There is a magic carpet that pulls you up the mountain. Then someone pushed me down. I went fast fast fast down the hill flying into the air, flying into the moon. I fell off my skis. My teacher helped me back on. We went on a merry-go-around. You hold onto a rope and go around on your skis. Then you eat a treat. We had iced tea and apples. Then we had a little dance. Then we were tired and it was over.

This Christmas

This is where we are spending Christmas - in Saas Fee! (Not in that cabin, though, at Hotel Alphubel!)

It was an easy ride down. We took a playground train from Zurich all the way to Visp (E planned it so we didn't have to change in Bern) and then the bus to Saas Fee. The bus trip through the mountains wasn't as terrifying as I thought it might be. Along the way we got to see some sights from R's infamous school trip. None of the mountains looked at all hikeable. We were met at the bus station by an electric shuttle from our hotel. The hotel had already picked up our ski equipment which had been shipped ahead. Once all the guests arrive the hotel will bring everyone's equipment to their storage area near the slopes where we have lockers. We won't even see the skis until the shuttle drops us off at the slopes tomorrow.  

The hotel is very nice - cozy and comfortable, incredibly friendly (T has already gotten kisses from the owner), and we have adjoining rooms with views of the mountains. We have already asked if we could extend our visit by a day, but no luck. We knew it was a long shot this time of year, but it doesn't hurt to ask. 

Now E has gone out with S and L to see the town, time the walk to the ski school, and buy our lift tickets, if he can. While we are skiing L will stay in childcare at the hotel. T will have lessons and then be picked up and brought back to the hotel for afternoon care. We are taking our meals at the hotel, too. We've only been here a couple of hours and already I am amazed by how easy travel can be if you pay for extras. I'll try not to let it spoil me since our usual style has to be mountain huts with outhouses and shared rooms or hostels with the occasional break-in. But it is Christmas!

p.s. from R: After posting this Mama and I turned off our lights and looked out the window. The view we have looks almost exactly like the first 10 seconds of the video! The lighting is the same, the snow is the same. Can't wait to go skiing tomorrow! 

T on his birthday

T's birthday treat at Trampolino, dictated by T:

I'm trying to get out of the ball pit.

 S is going down a slide. This is only a long slide.

S with me. You have to grab onto that rope then pull yourself.

 That's humongous. I'm climbing up there and I almost made it, but I slipped because I need to take off my socks then walk up it with my hands. Daddy climbed up it. Daddy was being silly. He helped me up by letting me climb up his body. He was struggling.

S bouncing on the trampoline with a harness. It made her go higher and very high into the ceiling. It made her jump really high into the clouds.

L got a little truck from over there. L liked it a lot. She was smiling when she was there but when she went home she was crying.

That's all I have to say. I wrote a whole blog. We're at the bottom.

L ate this. I saw her do it on Monday. She was thinking and she got it and she ate the chocolate. She left the wrapper on the tree because she thought she'd fool us. She's not going to eat any more because I'm going to check on her.

Christmas parties

E had his Christmas party at work today. He says they had about twenty different flavors of schnapps lined up on a shelf. At the beginning of the party everyone was speaking English, then High German, then Swiss German. He will go in tomorrow but plans to leave early so he can be part of T's birthday treat. Next week doesn't seem to be a problem. Officially only the 25th and 26th are holidays, but many people are taking the whole week. E has a lot of flexibility with vacation time. Aside from work related trips to his lab or to conferences and talks, though, he is going to limit himself to the pro-rated three weeks he would be allowed under the Swiss system.

Quiet days

A major food group, lately

There hasn't been much to write about the last few days. We've just been relaxing and enjoying ourselves and procrastinating packing for our trip. The procrastination has actually become a problem. We just realized that L has outgrown hew winter boots by a couple of sizes and we can't find T's boots anywhere. I can't believe that I would have come without them, but where are they? And where is my second pair of wool socks? And my wool base layer top? We have a couple of days to get things sorted out, but the bulk of our luggage (skis, poles, boots, helmets, and most clothes) is being delivered to the train station tomorrow morning so it can be sent ahead.

Unappetizing cheese.

Yesterday E met me in the city after work and we did some of our Christmas shopping. For us, that is like a date. We are finished with shopping now, but the girls and I will go to Zurich on Friday night anyway. The plan is to get whatever we still need for skiing, to get R's first earrings from the Christmas market before it closes down, to see the lights, and to go to Peclard.

Tonight S and I hopped on the train to check out the market in Rapperswil, which is only fifteen minutes away. It was cute, but not really worth an extra trip. We walked around and checked things out. At this point the market stands are pretty much looking like ones we've already seen. The exception tonight was a cheese stand which had some unnatural bright red and green cheeses. S got her preferred market food - a cinnamon sugar crepe. I also got her a hot chocolate. She tasted it and said, "Mmmm. That really hits the spot!" She uses a lot of old-fashioned expressions like that and I'm not sure where she picks them up.

Strasbourg at night

Here are the night decoration pictures! To hear about our whole trip please read my other post! And remember to click them to enlarge!

Happy Birthday!

This is R writing!

Yesterday was my birthday. I decided that we would go somewhere different for it. So we went to France! We went to Strasbourg because they have a great huge Christmas celebration through the whole town. They call it the Capitol of Christmas. There were markets strung around the town as well as decorations that put Switzerland's to shame.

We started off earlyish in the morning and headed to Basel where we would catch our train to Strasbourg. They had a special section in the Hauptbahnhof labelled "France" for all trains heading there. It was a pretty waiting room, but we didn't stay there for long and hopped right on our train. It was interesting because we were one of the few groups to get seats on the crowded train. We sat across from another American family with kids and an adorable baby who quickly befriended both L and T. The mother had gone to Mama's law school and they overlapped by a year so that made nice conversation.

 

Typical train ride with the littles. 

Bern market

Today I wasn't feeling especially motivated to leave the house, and T really wanted to stay home, too. But I think I will regret it if I stay home much, so we went to Bern to see the Christmas market. In particular, I wanted to find a doll maker I had read about and I wanted to track down the nougat man once and for all. The market was not so good. There were two sections. One was like a flea market with all commercial things in it, there was almost no food, and it was small and cramped. The other section in front of the cathedral was even smaller and had a couple dozen vendors with handmade things. So, if you ever have to choose between Bern market and Basel there is no comparison at all. Go to Basel.

Behind the cathedral is the cathedral platform, a big plaza looking down on the river. It is really a great space. There are tons of benches, a few playground toys, a bocce court, a ping pong table, and a nice view. I especially like it because it looks down on some terraced gardens. Squeezing vegetable gardens into small urban or other hard to use spaces seems like a very cool and very Swiss thing to do. Here there were even greenhouses.

The gardens to the left and the right.

The platform

O Tannenbaum

We finally decorated our tree! Aside from a few soft mushrooms from Ikea, all our ornaments are chocolate. That will make it much easier to take down. S made our beautiful star at school.

Basel is the best

The girls and I decided on Sunday afternoon that it might be fun to go out. E wasn't feeling well, so he stayed home with the littles reading books, drawing pictures, playing legos, and watching Curious George. The rest of us went to Basel where we saw the best market yet.

We started at the teddy bear and doll museum. It had thousands of bears from all over the world. Each one was numbered so you could check the catalog to see how old it was and where it came from. They were all displayed in very elaborate scenes such as a racetrack using child size antique toy cars (R noticed that one looked just like Gatsby's car!) and a hospital scene with antique hospital cribs, baby scales, and iv poles.  It was really incredible and imaginative. Most of the rest opf the museum was devoted to dolls. Really though it was dollhouses. Entire doll towns were shown. Bakeries, pharmacies, tailors, butchers, hospitals, post offices, circus tents, dress shops, they were all there surrounded by doll mansions and served by dozens of doll schools. One doll school had a chemistry classroom with tiny jars of labeled chemicals, test tubes, and beakers. There was a room devoted to kitchens - all supplied to professional standards. Some even had little copper pan sets. We were also impressed by some huge working amusement park toys with lights and music. They must have been about eighty years old? The roller coaster looked about the size of a large desk. No pictures allowed at the museum.

After that we went over to the Christmas market. First stop: candle making. That seems to be a tradition here, so the girls each made a beautiful beeswax candle. They had to wait a minute or two for the candle to cool between each dip, so it took quite a while. They sped the process a little by leaning out the hut window and dangling their candles in the cold air. They passed the time by making friends with a girl who makes candles there every year. She was making a huge candle - she had spent a few hours of each of the past three days dipping.