Rheinfall

T pictures

I like the pictures. The sports people are cool.

It looks like a pattern. The ground is bricks.

Roman ruins

S and Aunt P

After Grandma and Grandpa left to catch their plane, we had to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Since it is fairly close, we went to the Augusta Raurica Roman ruins and museum. The museum focused on the lives of Roman children, which was fun. It also had a huge display of silver. Outside there was a model of how the city would have looked. T especially enjoyed the Roman house, where he was able to test out the dining sofas, the bathtubs, and the beds.

The bathtub had a cut out to show the fires below which would heat the water.

T must remember something from our trip to Rome, because when he saw this figure over the bath tub he immediately put his hand in it, like the Mouth of Truth.

Goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa

E's family returned from Italy on Wednesday afternoon, giving us time for one more dinner together (a 50th Anniversary celebration!) at Hiltl and a morning in Zurich before Grandma and Grandpa's plane home. Thursday was Ascension Day, so everything was closed. Also, we were unable to go in Fraumunster to see the Chagall windows or go up the Grossmunster tower. On the plus side, the streets were pretty much abandoned so we could admire Old Town without crowds. 

Schwarzenbach was closed, but it was fun to look in the windows and see all their dried fruits. T had gotten a mix bag the day before as a going away present for Grandma and Grandpa. 

Bizarre train station

Post by S!

This is the weirdest train station that we've ever seen. It's a door in the side of the cliff. No benches, no train tracks, just a door and a button. We couldn't even see what was on the other side of the door.

First you walk across this rickety bridge which if you jump on it feels like it jumps with you. Even when you walk normally it jiggles noticeably. 

T with the camera

I thought this was beautiful. The lake and the clouds.

The clouds look like they are sitting on the roof.

Walk in Lauterbrunnen

Blog by E!

Aareschlucht

After going to the Ballenberg museum on Saturday we went to Aareschlucht where there is a path through the Aare river gorge. Some parts of the path are carved out of the cliffs on the side. Most of it is a wooden platform hanging off the side of the cliff. I usually don't like bridges, but this was okay. Even in the spots where it was so low or narrow that I had to contort the stroller. 

We went all the way to the end of the gorge. There were lots of stairs at the end, but E was able to carry the stroller over those parts.

There really isn't much to say about a walk along a gorge other than that this one had a very good variety of scenery, width, water violence, and light. We went from west to east, thinking it might be best in terms of not shooting photos toward the sun. I don't think that made any difference since we were in a gorge, but I did like that we were walking opposite the flow of the river, which is prettier to me.

Between the train station and the gorge was this bridge which was completely wrapped in knitting.

Ballenberg

On Saturday we all went to the Ballenberg open air museum (us, E's parents, and E's sister P and brother-in-law D).  It is like Skansen in Stockholm. Original buildings from all over Switzerland are used to show the traditional lifestyle and crafts. There are lots of gardens and farm animals. One of the coolest thing about the museum is that it is organized geographically. There are sections for the Bernese Alps, Jura, central Switzerland, Ticino, etc. I really liked that because the differences within the country are surprisingly large and it is nice to see that all in one place. 

We saw lots of demonstrations including cheese making, wood carving (S's favorite!), and pottery. There was a bakery, a long building for rope making, it just went on and on. We are considering going back. 

L might be the world's biggest Peppa Pig fan (unfortunately). She was super excited to see the pigs and started yelling, "This is Mama pig *snort*! And this is Daddy pig *snort*!

Finally Felsenegg

Post by R!

On Wednesdays S and I only have half days at school. So we decided to meet our grandparents at Zurich Hauptbahnhof and bring them up to Uetliberg to finally do the Uetliberg-Felsenegg planet walk. 

St Gallen

On Monday, the littles and I went with Grandma and Grandpa to St Gallen to see the cathedral and library of the UNESCO listed abbey. Photos were allowed in the church, but not the library. T was happy to spend time in the church. He and I had a contest to see who could count more flying naked babies. The prize was a carrot. T was awesome in there - on his own he decided to hold L's hand and help keep her quiet. The library itself was beautiful and it also displayed many books inlaid with gold and precious stones. The littles weren't interested, though, even when Grandma showed them a real Egyptian mummy. So I took them outside while Grandma and Grandpa looked around. I ended up getting them each a slice of cake at a little cafe in the courtyard. It undid the good of the carrot, but it was nice to sit and relax with them. When Grandma and Grandpa came back down it turned out that we were the ones to keep them waiting while we finished cakes, applied sunscreen, and changed L. Finally we were able to move on and went through a cute part of old town to another church - St Laurenzen - recommended by the tourist office, though we would have noticed its colorful roof anyway.

Pilatus (extra pictures)

Pilatus

I like the top. We were with Grandma and Grandpa and I liked the view.

CAPTIONS BY T - He refuses to dictate a post.

On Grandma and Grandpa H's first full day we all went to Pilatus. You might remember that this was on our top ten wish list, and we were starting to get worried since we hadn't been. But we were lucky - Sunday was absolutely perfect weather.  We did the golden round trip: ferry ride from Luzern to Alpnachstad, cogwheel train up to the summit, then gondola part way down (to the mountain coaster slide), then a cable car a little farther (to the playground, where we planned to have lunch, but it was absolutely mobbed) and then the rest of the way down to Krienz. We had to wait quite a while for a bus back to Luzern, but E, S, and Grandma and Grandpa still had time to check out the bridges there before our train home.

I like ferries because I like riding things

Planes (part 2)

It turns out we didn't have to hurry on our walk around the airport. Grandma and Grandpa H's flight was half an hour late. So we passed the time hanging around the airport a bit, especially admiring the chocolate fountain at Sprungli  (T was invited to sample!) before making our way to the arrivals. Their plane landed and the board reported that the luggage had come in, but no Grandma and Grandpa. We waited so long that their flight was no longer listed on the board. Finally we got news that they were filling out paperwork and would come out soon. Their luggage was lost. (It was found a couple days later.) 

Planes (to be continued)

What to do on a beautiful day, when we only have half a day free before picking up Grandma and Grandpa H at the airport? We went to my favorite, Oerlikon Saturday market, for picnic supplies then hiked a few miles around the end of the airport runways. We had lunch at the viewing lot with planes coming in right over our heads. Everyone liked the biggest planes best, but the girls thought the private jet was "cute" and that Edelweiss had the prettiest planes.

News from S

Last Tuesday S came home with news that her class  was going on a week long trip to Parpan, much like R's crazy arbeitswoche. We must be getting used to the  Swiss way, because we weren't at all suspicious due to the short notice. We were happy to have a few days to get her things together. We did our best and bought her some good rain pants and packed all the wool socks we could find, but I am a little worried. Most of her cold weather clothes are deeply packed or already back in the US and the forecast is in the thirties with rain. Also, she forgot her gloves.

As of Monday  evening she was okay. She posted this message on the trip blog:

Am Montag sind wir auf eine lange Wanderweg gegangen. Wir haben bei einem Spielplatz Mittagessen gegessen. Nach dem Essen sind wir auf einen Weg, dort hat „Gefahr“ gestanden, gegangen. Als wir zum Haus gegangen waren, haben wir Abendessen gegessen und wir haben ein Film gesehen. S

They went on a hike then had lunch near a playground. After lunch they hiked more and encountered some sort of danger - we are having trouble translating that bit. It must not have been too bad, though, because they made it to the hotel for dinner and a movie. 

S has our camera. I hope she will post over the weekend, if her fingers aren't frostbitten!

Riding High in Sattel

Saturday A felt like cleaning so she sent the kids and me to Sattel Hochstuckli, a small "family adventure" area in the foothills of the alps in Schwyz. After riding the world's first revolving gondola  to the top there were two main features: "Stuckli Jump," a trampoline and bouncy castle park, and "Stuckli Run," a mountain coaster ride. 

We started in the bouncy park, where the first thing one sees, much to L's delight, is a giant slide.

L quickly scaled the ladder...

...before bouncing and sliding to the bottom

Meanwhile, T found an alternate route up the back...

...then showed off his best superman

Work trip

E's lab group had an outing! It started with the lab group touring a thin film materials factory in Liechtenstein. E loved the tour and was especially impressed with one of their robots, but the littles and I skipped it. They wouldn't have had the patience, it would have made a long day for them, and we would have had to wake up very early. Instead, we met up with the group along the way and went with them to tour the Altes Bad in Pfafers and see the Tamina Gorge.

It was very cool. The tour of the old baths included information about how people reached the hot springs back in the 1500s (they had a treacherous elevator, which E's colleague pointed out must not have helped the rheumatism they were hoping to cure) and how the buildings and infrastructure have changed over the years. Then we followed the gorge to to the source and heard the story of how a few years ago hikers were caught in the caves by a flash flood and had to rely on the old wooden flood doors to hold.

For Dad and Reg - pizza and gelato

Thank you for visiting us. We had so much fun. Have a wonderful time in Italy!

We miss you already! xoxoxooxox

map for you
Click above for link to google maps which you can zoom, etc

Gelato places near Pantheon (Cremoria Monteforte and San Crispino)

Best pizza ever! Forno Roscioli

Where they are in relation to one another.

At home with Grandma and Grandpa

This is S writing. This post should have been done quite a while ago. But we can't post from this week with Grandma and Grandpa H anyway because Daddy isn't able to download any pictures.

This was the last day of Grandma and Grandpa's trip. T went down to meet them at the train station so he could help them find the house. Every time he talked to them on the phone he'd give them very specific directions, including how many times to knock on the door. He was even better guiding them. 

T couldn't go down to the train station alone, so I went with him. When Grandma and Grandpa came T guided them home all by himself.

L was very happy to meet Grandma and Grandpa at the door.

Chocolate!

Post by T! It's late because I was hoping to write it with the girls, but R has been busy when I am free, and S is away now on a mysterious school trip. Later I will backdate the post to put it where it belongs.