Gelato, gelato, gelato

I decided we needed to list the flavors of gelato that we ate on our trip to Italy.  It is quite impressive- occasionally we had 2 scoops so we were able to double up on tasting.  They will also happily scoop two flavors even if you only order "uno gusto".  So here goes......

cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate and a favorite of all)

cioccolato

vaniglia

yoghurt

mascarpone

banana

pesca

limone (lemon)

stracciatella

puffo (blue but mint flavored)

mente w/cioccolato

fior di latte

caffee

cappuccino

fig and caramel

pesto- actually pretty good

nutella

noce (walnut)

fragola (strawberry)

pistachio

cocco

crema

pingola (pine nut)

tiramisu

and maybe even some more we forgot to list!

Levanto

After 2 days in Venice, we hauled our bags and ourselves to the train station and boarded the train to Bologna and then on to Levanto, a town located just north of the Cinque Terre towns on the northeastern coast of Italy (the Ligurian coast). Our only hitch was not stamping our train ticket (no one informed us of this rule and it had not been required with our previous train tickets) which resulted in a 44 euro fine, despite our best efforts to talk the conductor out of it. We arrived in Levanto at 10pm and one of the owners of the apartment picked us up- taking two trips in his small car to get us all to the apartment. The next morning was gray and rainy and Travis and Leif ventured out to find food and to see if anything was open on Sundays in Italy. Fortunately for us, the rules are more lax in Italy about working on Sundays compared to Switzerland and they found groceries for breakfast and lunch. Most businesses had morning and afternoon hours, closing for 2-4 hours midday. The restaurants usually do not open until 7pm in the evenings, not particularly convenient when you have young children. When the rain cleared we walked to the beach and the kids had fun jumping in the waves- the 50 degree weather wasn't going to stop them.

We ate dinner at a small restaurant and had handmade pasta and freshly caught fish. They brought out a platter with 5 fish on it and asked us which one we would like them to cook. The Ligurian region of Italy is known for it's pesto and focaccia so we made sure to eat as much of these local specialties as possible. Our apartment had a kitchen so for a couple dinners we bought fresh pasta, ravioli and gnocchi, from a store and cooked it at home. Nearly every day we ate focaccia for lunch. The Cinque Terre towns had some amazing focaccerias and we had it plain, with potatoes or tomatoes, sausage, or with mixed vegetables. We also ate more gelato cones than we can count, and only returned to the same gelaterias twice (there are so many!). Our last night in Levanto we ate at a great pizza restaurant that had such a thick menu of pizza choices it was hard to read them all - similar to a restaurant we ate at in Venice with at least 50 different kinds of pizza.

After a rainy Sunday, Monday proved to be sunny and beautiful so hiked the cliff trail to Monterroso, the closest of the Cinque Terre towns. We promised the kids a sandy beach as enticement for the hike and packed their swimsuits in our backpack. The hike took us up along the coast hills through olive groves which seem to thrive on the steep, rocky slopes. We passed lemon and orange trees, blooming calla lilies and wisteria. The ocean water below was royal blue. Leif and Hanna are such strong hikers now they were running ahead of us on the trail. Elisabet did a great job of hiking and only needed to be carried by Travis on two of the steeper sections.  The hike took us longer then we had thought it would from studying the map, but fortunately we had just enough food and chocolate to get everyone to Monterroso where we ate lunch and then played for a couple hours on the beach.  We took the train home and it took just 4 minutes- straight through a tunnel in the mountain.

We spent Tuesday and Friday on the beach in Levanto.  The weather stayed nice most of the week, unfortunately a little chilly for swimming (at least for me!).  Travis and Kate got in a few times and on the warmest day even I got in a little.  Note that NO locals were in the water on any of the days- although they were sunbathing in their bikinis, men and women.

Wednesday we took the train to the farthest town, Riomaggiore and explored the rocky beach there (see photos of naked Elisabet).  Leif lost a tooth while we were looking at the boats in the harbor - these towns were nestled so tightly on the coast that it was just a few rocks and small loading ramp.  Getting a boat down into the water required a crane in Manarola!  Then we hiked the famous Via dell' Amore- lovers' walk- along the cliff to the next town, Manarola.  It was hot and we were hiking right in the sun, much of it on a path that was paved and fenced.  Literally built right on the edge of the hills.  After a much needed gelato stop in Manarola, we continued on to Corniglia.  This town is perched at the top of one of the hills and requires climbing up 365 steps (we saw various estimates of 350-370) to get there.  Hanna said she tried to count them but got mixed up after 50.  We were happy we made the climb because Corniglia was beautiful and our favorite of the five towns and wasn't as 'touristy'.  The kids were so hot by now that we bought them all t-shirts and huge bottles of water so we could convince them to make the climb back down to the train station.  From there we took the train back to Levanto and went straight to the beach to cool off in the water.  

Thursday we boarded a ferry that stopped in 4 of the Cinque Terre towns and then continued on to Portovenera, a large town and port to the south.  It was a beautiful morning and fun to see view of the coast from the ocean.  We ate lunch (focaccia) and climbed up to a church and castle that at one point guarded the entrance to the harbor.  The castle wall lined much of the city and there were some impressive stair-cases and narrow alleys to explore.  We also saw a group of cliff divers being filmed for a movie.  On our ferry trip back it started to pour and we could even see lightening striking some of the tops of the hills from the boat.  The kids were quite impressed!  We got off in Vernazza because we had not seen the town yet and then took the train back to Levanto.

Saturday was our final day in Italy and we made our first major transportation error trying to leave Levanto. Our train was scheduled to leave at 11:01 and we accidentally boarded a train that arrived at 10:59.  It was not announced so we didn't realize our error until it had left.  This train was going the same way we were going, but much slower because it was regional.  We asked the conductor for help and he told us to get off at Spezia, which we did but we had missed the connection to Milan.  At the ticket office there we were able to explain our problem and get the information to make it to Milan in time for our Zürich connection.  This required taking 3 more trains- not as fun when you have HEAVY bags and backpacks and 6 people.  We arrived in Milan with 15 minutes to spare and boarded the hot, packed train to Zürich.  At the border of Italy and Switzerland our car was searched by a couple of border patrol agents who were obviously looking for someone and spent time examining passports and documents of several passengers.  Then at the next stop, they announced that all passengers must get off.  Apparently the train was malfunctioning and they switched everyone to a new Swiss train, but in the switch we all lost our seat assignments and ended up crammed in a car with only 5 seats for our 6 people.  One poor family had 6 people in 4 seats.  It was not our most pleasant train trip!  Elisabet kept telling us she was mad because we had told her we were on the last train and wouldn't have to switch and then suddenly she had to get off.  We arrived in Zürich by 7pm and wearily stopped for a quick dinner and to pick up a few groceries since the stores would all be closed on Sunday.  Then it was more lugging, hauling, and boarding onto 2 trams to get home.  The kids refused to go anywhere on Sunday, reading books and relaxing with their toys at home!  (Kate and I did a quick tour of downtown and saw some of the finishers of the Zürich marathon.)

Venice

Our travels to Italy began at 6:09 in the morning, boarding the tram to the main train station. With us we had 2 large roller suitcases, Kate's hiking backpack, and 6 backpacks with books and necessities for the journey. Our train to Milan left from Zürich's Hauptbahnhof at 7:01- on the longer train trips we usually have reserved seats so we aren't trying to search through all the cars for enough empty seats together. The trip took about 3.5 hours and wound through some incredible valleys in the Alps. One section goes through the famous Gotthard tunnel which is 15 km and was built in the late 1800s. The mountains still have snow on them, but the valleys are greening up quickly and the sheep and cows are now out in the pastures. We traveled through one picturesque village after another with classic Swiss farmhouses and barns, old churches, and even a few castles. There are also some beautiful lakes: Zugsee, Lucern, and as we crossed the border to Italy, Lakes Lugano and Como. Milan's train station was crowded, smoky, and dirty, so the kids and I stood by the bags and sent Kate and Travis to pick out lunch while we watched to see what track our train to Venice would be on. As soon as the track number went up on the electric board, a huge swarm of people headed in the same direction, and the train was nearly filled to capacity. The landscape had changed from mountains and lakes to farm fields and smaller hills as we came closer to Milan. Traveling west towards Venice we saw vineyards, fields of rapeseed or canola oil, and lots of olive trees and typical Italian villas. There was a young girls sitting next to Travis and although she spoke very little English, she was interested in the horse MRI he was looking at and told him she wanted to be a Veterinarian when she grew up.

We arrived in Venice by 2pm and after scheduling our train trip to Levanto, hopped on the water taxi to get to our B&B. Leif was immediately fascinated by all the different types of boats. Besides the famous gondolas, there is a typical Venetian style of motor boat- long and narrow. The water taxi took us to Rialto Mercato, one of the bigger markets in Venice and we walked down the narrow streets with our bags, winding our way through the many tourists. We haven't heard very much English since we've moved to Switzerland, especially American english, but in Venice there are so many visitors it seemed as if Americans were everywhere. Even the Europeans were using english to communicate with merchants if they had limited Italian. It was damp and drizzly the first afternoon and evening in Venice, but we were still able to enjoy walking to the San Marco piazza where there is an imperial palace and impressive basilica. Venice is built on 18 small islands and from the waterfront near the piazza of San Marco you look across at several of the islands that are farther away. The canals and the seaport are busy with boats of all kinds. One day we saw a huge cruise ship, a replica sailing ship, a 3 hulled catamaran, and a large personal yacht, in addition to all the gondolas, motor boats, barges, and water taxis. The second day we were in Venice was beautiful and sunny. We walked around again and then took a gondola ride in the afternoon. In order to become a gondolier you have to be born in Venice and come from a line of gondoliers (and you must be male). Some of our favorite sights were the laundry hanging out of many of the windows of the buildings, the wistaria growing on fences and garden gates, all the beautiful bridges, the narrow alley ways, and the naval museum.

We ate gelato at least once a day while we were in Italy- you'll see it recorded in the photos. The kids' favorite flavors were usually chocolate of some sort- one of the best was chocolate fondente, a very rich, dark chocolate. Kate and I counted that we had tried at least 10 different flavors (each!) by the end of the trip.

Levanto and the Cinque Terre

pictures - text to follow soon

photos from Kate's camera

Kate's Italy pics

Italian adventures

Venice

details to follow. here are the pictures.

Innsbruck, Austria

With Friday and Monday as national holidays in Switzerland (and Austria), we decided to take a trip to Innsbruck via train from Zürich. The trip took about 3 1/2 hours and went through the small principality of Liechtenstein (32,000 people) before crossing in to Austria. The entire trip was through the mountains and was spectacular views of snow-capped peaks, green mountain valleys, rushing waterfalls, and beautiful lakes. We were happy with our reserved seats after seeing the train fill up with other holiday travelers. The kids spent the ride looking out the window and reading books. Innsbruck is a city of about 130,000 people and hosted the winter Olympics two times. We stayed in a hotel near the Ambross castle with an impressive view of the mountains. We wandered around the old part of the city and saw the "Golden roof", part of a building that has real gold on the shingles. We also took a carriage ride through the downtown- Elisabet kept asking if we could go because we were seeing them everywhere. When we finally relented and hopped on, the look on her face was worth the ride alone. We toured the imperial palace where some of the Kaisers and Kaiserins of Austria lived and saw an impressive ballroom with a painted ceiling and ornate chandeliers. We visited the Alpine zoo which is filled with animals seen in the Alp region- Ibex, wolves, moose, lynx, yellow-bellied toad, and some of the birds we have on our "to see" list. We ate some typical Tirolian meals of potatoes and meat- actually all the food we had was quite good. The kids loved the wiener schnitzel and Hanna ate it every night. Yesterday we took the bahn to the top of the ski mountain- two different trains up and then a gondola to the top. There were still a few skiers out with their short, spring skis. We met a girl and her dad going up for a couple runs and found out the mother was from Missouri and they met at Southeast Missouri State- kind of a funny connection. They had lived in Innsbruck for 5 years and the girl who was 9 was picking up a British accent at school, despite the American accents of her parents (her dad was Austrian but spoke perfect English). She and Leif struck up quite a conversation when we ran into them again going down the mountain. At the top we saw some Alpine Chough and Alpine Accentor birds (exciting for any birders reading this). Hanna was wearing sandals as we trekked across a snowfield to look off towards the north- it was cold, but not unbearable at the top. The Alps are around 2000-3000 m in the Innsbruck region so they are really breathtaking. We haven't gotten tired of the views here! We also visited the Swarovski crystal "museum" which was mostly a tourist attraction, but Travis and I enjoyed trying out their new line of binoculars. The kids played outside on the playground while we waited for the bus and it was actually quite hot! Probably 75 degrees, but most people were still dressed for winter with jeans and sweaters! We must really look like Americans now with our shorts and baseball caps. We took a quick tour of the Landesmuseum and looked at some Roman artifacts from the region. We are realizing we need to do some more reading on the history of Europe and the different countries. It's so amazing to go into churches and buildings that are 800 years old, and also to think of the history dating back to the Romans and before Christ. This morning we walked the grounds of the Ambross castle and saw some Gray Wagtails (very cool!) in the mountain stream. Leif's favorite part were the peacocks displaying on the steps to the castle. We took the bus to the main train station and had our first experience of mis-reading the public transportation info. Luckily we had left plenty of time before our train departed so the LONG time it took us to get to the station was only a minor inconvenience. The trip back was packed again with travelers and the kids passed the time watching a movie while Travis looked at a few MR images a horse feet and I read a book. Not a bad way to travel. Sorry the pictures aren't so great. I see there was a smudge on the lens and we were also low on batteries. We're getting ready to leave for Italy with Kate on Thursday. First Venice and then to the Cinque Terre. Should be another adventure......

Hiking in the Lake Luzern area

Sunday morning we packed lunches, snacks and water and took the train to Brunnen so we could catch a ferry and hike around part of Lake Luzern on the "Weg der Schweiz", a hiking trail designated as a top destination. The ferry ride was about 30 minutes to a small town called Bauen, tucked on a hillside between the lake and the mountain. The first section of hiking trail was mostly through a tunnel (probably the old car tunnel) because slope was so steep there was no where else to put a trail. The tunnels had openings to let in natural light, and were drippy and damp like a cave. Leif ran ahead a couple times and successfully scared Elisabet and me by jumping out from the darkness and yelling "boo". The views were spectacular between the green/blue water of the lake and the snow-covered mountains jutting up from the valley. We stopped at a couple rock beaches to skip rocks and rest our feet. In one section, several groups of rock climbers were scaling the rock face on the trail. We watched 3 families with young children climbing and Hanna declared she wanted to do it sometime. By the time we reached the train station in the town of Flüelen, we had hiked about 10km. It was a nice flat trail so the kids were able to do it with minimal complaints of tiredness and sore feet. Elisabet got several rides from Travis or me, especially toward the end when she was quite worn out. It was one of the warmest days yet with temps around 60. Loads of other families, hikers, and bikers were out enjoying the spring weather. It was fun to see that being outdoors is such a big part of the Swiss culture.

Saturday walk and model train ride.

Travis was on call Saturday so we had to stay closer to home. We went to the Migros for groceries and battled the Saturday shopping traffic. Then we took the 62 bus to the end of the line, Mülacker (this is the same bus Leif takes to school) and walked around a small lake, Katzensee. There was a beach and playground where families were enjoying the warmer weather and sunshine. As we were walking around the lake, we discovered a large scale model train that was giving rides around a miniature version of a train yard, tunnel, and workshop. This was the highlight of our train experiences so far for Leif. The engine they were using was a real steam engine and they scooped little pieces of coal, adjusted the throttle, and it chugged around the track pulling several train cars.

Every day pictures

Last week we took some pictures of the trails near our house, Elisabet walking to the market and then to Hanna's school. We met Hanna walking home for lunch. We finally got to see the sun and it has been warm since Friday! We also took a trip to the medical center on Friday to have them tape Hanna's knee. She fell on her forest walk and put a good-sized gouge in it. Afterwards we ate some ice cream and everything was much better.