Luzern and the Transportation Museum

The weather was more cooperative on Sunday and we spent a beautiful day in Luzern. We strolled across an old wooden bridge in the main part of the downtown and then walked along the lake promenade to the Swiss Transportation Museum, stopping on the way to eat Movenpick ice cream cones. The museum was one of the best we've ever been to and so large we didn't even get to the buildings that housed the boats and cars. They had fantastic interactive exhibits where you could fly the Wright brothers first airplane, try out para-gliding in a simulator, or even fly a fighter jet. Outside there were scooters to test, full-sized Swiss Air planes, a construction zone, a pond with R/C boats, and a loop for riding a bike. We only had time to tour the buildings with planes and trains. And in true Swiss fashion, to get back to the main train terminal we could take a ferry, bus or S-Bahn train. We chose the ferry, which also turned out to be a paddleboat. Leif was impressed with the way it came into the dock and then reversed the paddles to stop. Inside they had glass around the wheels so you could see them in action.

Luzern and Transportation Museum

Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls

Rain has been in the forecast nearly every day for a few weeks now and the rivers and lakes are filled to capacity. Saturday started with another downpour as we set off for the Stettbach train station to catch an S-Bahn to Schaffhausen. We figured now was a good time to visit the famous waterfall on the Rhine, claimed to be the largest in Europe. This figure must be based on width and cubic volume of water because we certainly have seen taller waterfalls coming off the mountains.

In less than an hour we were in Schaffhausen, a town near the German border and lake Bodensee. We wandered through the farmer's market in the main city and ate brats and cervelats from a stand for lunch. The town has a castle perched on the hill above so we climbed the stairs to have a look inside. The rain started up again and by the time we left the castle, it was pouring so hard we had to stop at a Co-op store to buy 2 more umbrellas. Completely soaked, we hopped back on the train to go visit the falls.

In order to see the falls up close you can get on a boat that takes you across the river and then another one taking you to a viewing platform in the middle of the river. The roar of the water was pretty impressive from this vantage point! It was also a steep climb up several stairways to the top, where we decided it was too high and slippery to stand for long with the kids. The river was churning with its full load of water and Leif in particular was impressed that the boat could navigate through the waves.

June happenings

The last couple weeks have been cool and rainy in Zürich. Not very conducive to hiking or outdoor explorations. Hanna had a Waldtag (hiking day) last Friday and came home drenched despite her rain pants and rain jacket. The morning had started out dry, but then it proceeded to pour the entire rest of the day. On Saturday we visited the Natural History museum at the ETH University Zürich. We learned about the different birds, mammals, reptiles and crustaceans that can be found in Switzerland and Europe.

Today Leif has Sporttag where they spend the morning and afternoon playing games, relays, and other outdoor competitions. He was very excited at the prospect of no homework this evening. Coming home for lunch a few minutes ago he shared with us that he had won the 1km race this morning. A few weeks ago he performed at the school talent show and played "Long, Long Ago" on his violin. He was one of only 4 soloists and there was a crowd of about 200 people. We were all very impressed! His German is improving rapidly now and he is starting to be able to communicate in German to his classmates.

We received information for their classes and schools for next year. Leif will go to the nearby elementary school called Hirzenbach and join a 3rd year class (with the option of jumping to 4th year as his German improves). Hanna will be at Mattenhof again in a 2/3 split class and Elisabet will go to the same Grundstufe K/K2/1 split where Hanna is currently. There are still 2 more weeks of school after this one, and then we will have a 5 week break before starting again on 17 August.

I haven't been able to run for nearly 2 months now due to plantar fasciitis in my heel. The bike we bought at a market a few weeks ago is keeping me in shape. I've been able to run a few miles at a time now, so hopefully I'll be back up to speed soon. I'm interested in racing in the Lausanne or Lucern half marathons in the fall. A marathon is probably out because I don't have enough time to work up my mileage.

Heidi hike with the expat group

On Saturday morning we left on the 7:42 tram to meet the expat group at the train station for a hike in the canton of Graubünden. It is the largest canton of CH, located in the southeast near Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy. We took the train to Sargans and then another train to Maienfeld for the start of a 13K hike through the legendary homestead of Heidi and Peter (from the book Heidi by Johanna Spyri). It was a beautiful day and the hike took us by vineyards, through some woods with wild strawberries, and across several meadows with grazing calves and cows. Maienfeld is very close to the borders of both Liechtenstein and Austria.

We went with about 20 people from the expats-in-Zürich group. The people in the group which has about 2000 members are from all over the world but live in the Zürich area. There is a woman who organizes weekly hikes in Switzerland and posts them on the site for anyone to join. This hike seemed like the perfect one to go on for its difficulty level and location. It was very interesting to meet the hikers who were from Australia, Denmark, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, North Carolina, California, France, Hong Kong, and Switzerland.

We hiked up to the HeidiAlp hut (where you see a series of photos taken by Elisabet), ate lunch in the meadow looking out over the valley and the Alps surrounding us. Then we hiked down past Peter's haus, to Heidi's haus where the kids petted the goats, we ate an ice cream snack and then hiked to a restaurant where we sat and enjoyed drinks and a light dinner with a couple members of the group, Maja, Uwe, and Richard. We still had a 30 min hike down to the train station in Maienfeld and made it just in time for the 7:08 train back to Sargans and then Zürich. The town of Maienfeld was beautiful with picturesque Swiss chalets, gardens and vineyards. The train ride from Sargans to Zürich passes by one of our favorite lakes in Switzerland, the Wallensee. We arrived at our apartment at 9 pm, sweaty, dirty, and very tired!

In and around Zürich

Here are a few pictures of a festival at the GZ (community center) near our house. It rained really hard that morning and again in late afternoon, but the kids were able to enjoy a few rides on the carousel and playing some games.

The girls take ballet and tap at the American Women's club every Monday afternoon. The other girls in the class are a mix of Swiss, British, and American and the teacher speaks in English and German to instruct them.

Hanna has been working on the splits and her cartwheels and round-0ffs in her school gymnastics class.