A classic car

Leif and Gloria got to spend some time in downtown Zürich on Monday (no school, teacher workday) and found this classic car.  Leif took all the shots of it.  He was pretty thrilled to have found it.

Cool car

Leif also took a series of photos of taking the tram from downtown back home on the #7 line.

Gloria and Leif

A school yard rhyme

Here is Hanna performing a new rhyme she learned at school.  Note her pronunciation of Michael Jackson!

The gist of it is Michael Jackson flies to Spain and does 3 things- the cha cha, the hula and the splits.

Day trip with Gloria

Fall is in full swing in Switzerland now.  We had frost last week and had to dig out the hats and mittens from the basement.  Some mornings are thick with the fog that is typical of the winter months.  

Gloria arrived for a visit on Wednesday morning and the days have been full of snuggling, reading, playing and laughing (oh, and school).  On Thursday while the kids were in school in the morning, Gloria and I took in some of the sights in downtown Zürich.  Friday she spent 6 hours in the Kunsthaus (art museum)- it was that good!  

Saturday we had clear skies and milder weather for our trip to Stein am Rhine.  We ate lunch in a family owned Crêperie... a tiny little place with an upstairs just for us.  We hiked up the steep hill to the castle high above the city.  A beautiful walk with the fall colors and the leaves littering the trail.

Stein am Rhine October

Final days in France

This vacation we let relaxing be our motto.  Elisabet woke each morning and after her breakfast 'pain au chocolat" hopped into the hot tub for an hour or two swim.  She was often joined by Leif and Hanna.... but neither of them had quite the same stamina.  Leif read the second book in a series by Arthur Ransome called Swallowdale.  The books are about children who have a boat and enjoy sailing and exploring an island.  Being near the ocean and the sailing and motor yachts peaked his interest even more in boats. We spent several days at the beach- only the first one was really warm enough to enjoy being in a suit.  One day all the kids got in, but I never could talk myself into taking off my jeans and sweatshirt.  It was still great weather for watching the waves, reading books, and building sandcastles.

The harbor of Antibes is known for having the largest harbor in Europe (around 2,000 moorings).  In addition to the regular moorings, it has a special section for the largest of the large yachts.  We looked up a few of the yachts we saw there and one, the Pelorus, is the 16th largest in the world at 377 ft with 2 helicopter landing pads and was around $300 million when it was built in 2003.  Another one, the Alfa Nero, has a swimming pool and is for sale currently for $190 million.  It was quite a sight to see these yachts all lined up, many of them getting serviced and cleaned by crew members.

For variety (and we thought for a quicker trip home) we drove east from our rental villa towards Nice and through Monaco, Italy, then north to Switzerland.  We took a small detour off the autoroute into Monaco, the second smallest country in the world.  The only smaller country is the Vatican.  They speak French in Monaco but it has been occupied over the centuries by Italy, Germany, and France.  It was beautiful with old buildings and the royal palace perched on a high peninsula overlooking the sea.  We didn't stop for any gambling or bank business, although we did have trouble finding our way out of the country after finding the exit towards Italy closed- for no apparent reason.

Driving along the Ligurian coast of Italy towards Genova was beautiful.  All the hillsides were terraced for grapes or olive trees, as well as with lots and lots of green houses.  It was a contrast from the coastline of France which was filled with vacation homes and apartments rather than agriculture.  We drove north through the foothills of the Alps, which had recently been crowned with their first snowfall.  The Italian rest stop where we ate lunch was a culinary delight of panini, pizza and gourmet risotto.  Travelers could stock up on artisan cheese, sausage and a variety of chocolates as well.  We cruised past Lake Como and the across the border into Switzerland towards Lake Lugano, another beautiful mountain lake.  Although we had heard of traffic jams going into the Gotthard tunnel, we had no idea what was in store when we came upon a line of cars slowed to a crawl.  Three hours and 3 km later, we finally reached the traffic light giving us the go ahead for the 19 km long tunnel.  One fortunate thing about the wait was our position near a rest area...  we were all able to take turns running in to use the restroom or to get snacks. After over 1.5 hours of waiting (so slow at this point we were stopped with the car turned off and everyone standing around) I asked the driver of the car behind us if it was normal.  He said yes although it seemed a little bit more that day.  As we were chatting a couple of ladies in the car next to us joined in and I was reminded how Switzerland is such a gifted country with languages.  In France we were hard pressed to find someone who spoke any English, yet in Switzerland most people speak at least 2 or 3 languages fluently.  We know a few people here who speak five languages well!

Darkness settled in after the tunnel so we missed the fall colors we had hoped to see along Lake Zug and Lucerne.  One advantage to a nearly 12 hour drive is you have plenty of time for reading.  We finished reading "The Wind in the Willows" out loud, which the kids really enjoyed.  Zürich was a welcome and familiar sight when we arrived around 8:30 pm.  It made me realize how much we've gotten to know of the area and the language.  When we arrived many things seemed so foreign, but now compared to France and Italy, Switzerland felt a little bit like home.

Last days in France

Exploring inland

Today we took a drive to explore a few of the hilltop villages to our north (after a dip in the hot tub of course).  We stopped in a beautiful village called Tourrettes-sur-Loup and wandered through the cobblestone streets.  There were a number of artisan shops for pottery, jewelry, scarves and woven blankets.  We found the buildings and small alleys to be the most interesting and beautiful of the places we've been.  It is quiet at this time of year with few tourists and more locals and the shops generally close for a couple hours at lunch, as in Italy.  The kids were hoping to find a crêperie, but we settled on a local cafe instead and enjoyed croque monsieur sandwiches, pommes frites, and rabbit in mustard sauce.  Our next stop was the village of St Paul (how could we resist?), which is also apparently the most visited village in France.  It was beautiful as well, although much more managed for tourists with high end shops and less local flavor.  We discovered some tasty locally made gelato though!
Click on the photo below for more....

Inland French Riviera

French Riviera

It's vacation time in Switzerland again. Two weeks of school break for "Herbst Ferien". The first week we spent at home in Zürich- reading, jumping rope and hula hooping. We debated a trip to Paris, but instead decided on a trip to the south of France for beaches, swimming, and a tropical climate. It's a little late in the season for hot afternoons and sunning oneself at the beach, but kids are rarely bothered by a bit of cold. We found that to be true when we were in Italy in April and the only ones brave enough to get in were the children on holiday. Cars are more of a necessity in France so we rented one in Switzerland and drove to Antibes. According to Google maps this should have been an 8 hour drive through France or a 6 hour drive through Italy. These figures must have been calculated on driving without even a stop for a toilet! We decided to take the route through France since we hadn't seen it yet and took the highway west of Zürich towards Bern, then Geneva, into France to Annecy, Grenoble, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and around the coast to Antibes and Villeneuve-Loubet. With a picnic lunch stop and two quick bathroom breaks we finally made it in 10 hours. Dark was just settling in and we had a very minimal map but somehow located the villa gates and the house. Elisabet had been patiently (well, sort of) waiting to get into the hot tub all day long so before we even fully unpacked the car, they were in their suits and in the lukewarm water for a quick pre-bedtime dip. We couldn't believe how well they took the long drive. Elisabet asked "when will we be in France?" only 30 minutes after leaving our apartment..... and was devastated when we explained that it wouldn't be until near dinner time . After an hour more of asking, she finally gave in and sat back in her car seat, eventually falling asleep at 5pm in resignation. The drive was beautiful. It was a sunny, clear day and we saw Mt. Blanc through the clouds and the other southern Alps to our east. The autoroute followed the Rhone river valley and once we entered the region of Provence, the landscape changed to scrubby trees, red, rocky soil, and yellow villas with blue and green painted shutters. Small towns are perched at the tops of hills and vineyards alternate with pine forests.

The coastal region where we are staying was first established in the 5th century BC and has changed hands between the Greeks, Romans, French and Italians. Tourism has taken over and there are monstrous condominium complexes, resorts, villa, and hotels. It's a little overwhelming to us between the traffic and the over-built seaside, but we have a nice quiet spot to stay and enjoyed touring the old city of Antibes today. The hill town of Biot is above us and has cobblestone streets and tight alleys and is famous for it's glass blowing and ceramics. We ate dinner there last night (pasta, pizza and mussels)- The town is packed so compactly on the hill that most people have to park down below and hike up the steep path into the village.  There is a boulangerie (bakery) within walking distance and we have had pain au chocolate for breakfast each morning.  In Antibes we ate crepes at a cafe for lunch, gelato for a snack and walked along the sea wall to watch the crashing waves. The wind picked up this afternoon and produced impressive surf crashing into the beach and rocks. Every day the kids have spent several hours in the hot tub. It's not very hot, but warmer than the ocean and the pool and just big enough they can swim a little. Elisabet's eyes are red and bloodshot from opening under water and they all were wrinkled like prunes by yesterday afternoon.

Tonight for dinner we had fresh cheese and sausage from a couple markets.  The kids ate some leftover pizza but then proceeded to devour a good portion of sheep and goat cheese and some of the sausage.  We are continually amazed at what they will try and eat in Europe (and never once has anyone complained about not having some particular food only found in America).

French Riviera

A Birthday

My 35th year was welcomed in enthusiastically by the kids.  They were in charge of a chocolate cake and chili for dinner.  Hanna woke me up with a card and chocolate bar in the morning (I saved it for later).  We made pancakes and went to the art museum in the morning to see a Seurat exhibit.  A steady rain all day kept us inside with books and a movie for the afternoon.  We also celebrated on Sunday night with my parents- the photos where I am wearing a crown designed and made by Elisabet.

Trains

Since we've been traveling all year via train, tram, or bus, I thought this article was pretty interesting.  It has some good figures and information about the Swiss train system

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/

Seasoned commuters....

Iowa

Nearly every day I ride through the farm fields of Dübendorf, Uster, and other towns near the Greifensee. It has been interesting to follow the seasons from winter wheat to lettuce, chives, rapeseed, summer wheat, corn, squash, sugar beets, fennel, leeks, and other crops I couldn't identify. The past two weeks the farmers have been busy harvesting, tilling and then replanting the winter wheat.  This morning I had a spectacular view of the sunrise coming up over the Alps (which have been hidden in the fog and clouds alot lately).  I'll have to remember to take my camera next time.

And back in Iowa, this is what our own little piece of farmland looks like planted with soybeans. First crop in about 15 years so the soil is in great condition.

Photos courtesy of Marta.

Uetliberg in October

One of our first hikes in Switzerland (in winter) was the ridge line from Uetliberg to Felsenegg.  We repeated the hike on Sunday with Nona and Papa and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather and views of Zürich and the lake region.  It was much easier going without our snow pants and ski jackets, and we noticed the difference in the kids' willingness to hike.  Hanna complained bitterly on the first few hikes we took, and even was carried a few times.  Now she hikes out in front with Leif with a smile.  Elisabet still requires a bit of bribing and coaxing, particularly on the hills, but she has also made progress over the last few months.  Maybe it's those Friday hikes with their school classes.

The hike follows the top of the Albis chain of hills, a glacial moraine remaining from the formation of the Zürichsee.  Uetliberg is one of the highest points at 873 m.

The leaves are just starting to change colors here.  The weather has been sunny and beautiful nearly every day.  We often have thick fog in the morning, but it typically burns off by noon.

Jumping

Our Saturday excursion to the transportation museum included sky jumping.  Hanna could do multiple flips in succession.  It took Elisabet a little bit to get the hang of it- you have to push hard off the mat or else you end up dangling mid-air.  Leif declined and instead piloted the remote control boats.  This time we toured the boat and car exhibits.  It's such a large museum it is impossible to see it all in one visit.  Papa and Nona even tried out the scooters.  They were pretty impressed with all the trains on exhibit.

Jumping

Hasede, Germany

 

Hasede, Germany

We used up the two "joker" days allowed per school year to take the kids out of school on Thursday and Friday and fly to Hannover, Germany to visit family friends.  The Loefflers live in Hasede, a small village about 30 minutes away from Hannover.  Wencke lived with my parents and Aaron and Kate for one year during high school.  Ingo lived with them for a few months one summer while he did medical training in Springfield, and Siren visited them in Springfield the year she lived in Wichita, KS.  Kate has lived/visited with them in Germany several times, and when they heard we were in Zürich, they invited us up for a tour of North Germany.  Jochen is full of information about the area, having lived there most of his life.  His brother farms the family land just across the river from their house, and Jochen and Ingo have a family medicine practice in the village of Giesen.  We learned about the history of the area (Niedersaxon) and its relation to the rest of Europe, the different regions of spoken German, Platt Deutsch (the old dialect spoken in north Germany that has more similarities to English), and lots of stories about the neighbors, farmers, and people living nearby.  It was fun for the kids to hear the family and their papa speaking German and try out speaking a little bit themselves.  We took a walk through the sugar beet fields to Giesen to see their office and the family farm/barn/houses.  Then we went on a coach ride behind 3 horses with the neighbor farmer, Franz Ernst.  Franz took us up to the nearby forest where there is a former military training ground, now a natural area.  He also filled us in on his family history and stories about the area (all in German so sometimes papa had to translate for us).  The ride was so smooth and relaxing that Elisabet fell asleep.  We had gotten up at 4:45 in the morning the previous day for the flight, so she was still catching up on sleep.  Monika and Siren spent the weekend feeding us elaborate breakfasts with all sorts of local meat, sausage, cheeses, fresh rolls, and more.  We had homemade cheesecake, apfel kuchen, and zwetschgen kuchen (plum tart).  For dinner one night we had local venison, squash soup, red cabbage and dumplings.  We also ate out at a restaurant owned by their friends and sampled more of the typical German dishes- containing lots of potatoes and meats, or fish from the North Sea.  They got a laugh out of the kids devouring their wiener schnitzel - I don't think they realized they knew what it was and had loved in it Austria.  On Saturday we visited the Hannover zoo with Ingo, his girlfriend Katrin and their neighbor's little girl Antonia.  My parents, meanwhile, had a more detailed tour of the city of Hildesheim, a 1000 year old church, and the farmer's market.



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