Gruyeres

Off we headed through twisty roads and scenic hillsides to Gruyeres, a medieval town known for its world-famous cheese.  On the drive it was interesting to cross a mountain pass and move from the German speaking part of Switzerland to the French. It was a night and day change. From essentially all German and no French to just the opposite. Even the tourists changed. Gone were the German license plates and appearing were the ones from France and Belgium. You get the sense that many tourists feel more comfortable in the regions where their language is spoken – which we can appreciate.

The clincher was the shower in the hotel at Gruyeres. When we first visited France in 1997 we laughed at how every hotel had a different, often very challenging, system for turning on the shower. The three primary controls – to turn on the water, to manage the temperature, and to turn on the shower head – were always there but it typically required a ton of trial and error to find them all. This is exactly what we encountered in Gruyeres. Welcome back to the French speaking part of the world and all of the idiosyncrasies that come with it!

Very cool to stay overnight in Gruyeres and finally have the long-awaited cheese fondue for dinner. We were awoken by cathedral bells in the morning at 6:30.  We always hear a chime or two in every city we have visited but not for this long.  I guess you never need a watch in these small towns.

We had another delicious breakfast with the addition of merengue cookies and a thick, slightly sweet cream which is popular in this town.  We would have liked to stay in this town to visit the museum, chocolate factory and cheese factory, but given the warm weather and rain in the forecast decided to press on to France where the kids could go swimming.

Middle Eastern Tourists

One of the observations we had in Vienna, Salzburg, and Lucerne was that there were a surprising number of tourists from the Middle East. On the train from Vienna to Salzburg, for example, we met a young Iranian woman who was traveling through Europe with her mom and uncle.

Everywhere you would look you’d see women with their heads covered and often wearing burqas. It was most striking in Interlaken as we walked to the main part of town for dinner. Roughly three-quarters of the families out at that time of the evening were Middle Eastern.

                              

At the B&B in Interlaken we spoke to a family from Dubai who mentioned that with the end of Ramadan and the Eid holiday, many people from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc. were now traveling to Europe for a vacation. I can definitely understand the appeal of the Swiss alps to families that have just endured the summer in the Middle Eastern deserts.

Berner Oberland

Another gorgeous day in the Alps!  Perfect weather in Interlaken.  We are enjoying the low humidity and it feels like home in the mountains.  People are laid back and dressed in hiking gear.  On Monday we drove from Interlaken up into the Berner Oberland to a town named Grindelwald. From there we took a gondola mid-way up a mountain to Bort and played at a neat playground that even had a creek to play in.  It was awesome to be surrounded by spectacular mountains while the kids entertained themselves.  Paige and Duane went back down on scooters and Clay and I returned on the gondola to get ice cream.  Fun to eat outside every night and watch people go by on the street.  This area is very popular for paragliding so we saw tons of people gliding down from the mountains.

Love the continental breakfast at all these places which includes:  fresh bread, yogurt, fruit, cereal, salami, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and coffee.  Food overall has been superb. Hoping to get some fondue soon.

After breakfast on Tuesday we headed toward Wengen in another valley in the Berner Oberland.  We kept circling around trying to find the road when we finally realized there is no road. You have to take the train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen.  So off we went on the train high up into Wengen at 1274 m (4180 ft). We then saw that to get to another hike we could take a gondola straight up to the top of a ridge to Mannlichen at 2230 m (7317 ft).  I was a little apprehensive but what a view!  Mountains all around with the spectacular peaks of Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger looming right above us.  Hope the pictures do it justice.  Interestingly, the predominant sound was that of cowbells as there was a herd grazing in the high mountain meadow.

We did a short hike up to a rocky promenade at 2342 m overlooking the valleys below and with views of the lakes at Interlaken in the distance. We would love to return with more time, older kids, and proper gear to do some real hiking. It is hard to imagine a more spectacular setting.

                    

We hated to leave Sunny Days B&B in Interlaken.  We had an awesome apartment – if you go, book room #9 – with pretty landscaping and views of Jungfrau and Monch. The kids enjoyed playing with Twister the cat and Serena the 8 month old daughter of the owner.

One day, four countries

How often can you do that? Definitely a first for me. We began the day in Salzburg, Austria and picked up a rental car for this week's journey through Switzerland and back to France. The route to our destination in Switzerland took us briefly out of Austria and into Bavaria in Germany. It then went back into Austria and through a whole series of long tunnels as we cut through parts of the Alps -- the longest tunnel was 6.4 miles!

Along the way we also went through a small Austrian town that was hosting a parade. We arrived just prior to the parade and in the opposite direction so got to see the streets lined with people and then the floats, pulled by tractors and made out of flowers, as they started to come into town.

Next, we cut through Liechtenstein, the very small but beautiful alpine country. Cross another country off the list!

Finally we entered Switzerland and drove through more beautiful alpine settings before arriving for the night in Lucerne.

Salzburg

Love this charming old town with narrow alleys and cobblestone paths.  Street performers play classical music and many people dress in traditional outfits as they head to concerts in the evening.  A fortress high up on a hill looks cool at night and provides great views of the city (because it is such a large fortress you can see many different parts of the city). You can just imagine the community in the fortress as it has rooms on the walls on the outside, a central clearing with a well on the inside, chapel, even torture chamber!  Fun to walk around and explore this ancient city.

We also went on the Sound of Music tour, bien sur.  We had already walked around some of Salzburg and saw where some of the scenes were filmed such as the Do Re Mi song (fountain, statues, etc).  Then we headed off on a cheezy bus tour to the hills.  I was so excited to see the lake setting as shown in the movie along with several other sites.  We also viewed the lake district and wandered around Mondsee, a cozy town with a stunning cathedral.  This is where Maria's wedding was filmed.  The small towns in the Alps are so quaint.  We also learned the true story about Maria and the Trapp family and how it differs in the movie.  Apparently at one point she was upset that the movie did not exactly tell the real story and they had to pay her off with nearly a million bucks.  The kids enjoyed the tour guide and all of his corny jokes.

Next we went on a fascinating and fun tour of the salt mines in Germany.  They take you on cable cars, slides, and an educational tour all 600 feet below the surface in an old mine tunnel.  We even got to taste the salty walls!  We learned it takes many years to harvest the salt.

We finished the day with apfelestrudel that comes with ice cream and sits in vanilla pudding.  It was delicious.

Auf Wiedersehen.  Tomorrow we are off to Switzerland.

(Pictures to be posted later.)

Vienna

We started our trip with a walk to the town square and seeing St Stephen's grand cathedral.  There are lots of shops that I wanted to peruse through (can't wait to get kids in school so I can go shopping) and we noted a very diverse culture here or at least tourists from many different countries.  We would have liked to see the famous Lipizzaner Stallions but they were off for the summer.  Entrepreneurs take advantage of the horse theme and there are many horse and buggy ride options for tourists. We ended up heading to a famous old bakery -- Demel -- where you inhale the wonderful smell of fresh pastries and cakes.  We had a delicious lunch and an even tastier dessert.  We were curious about "cat tongue" ice cream but no one ventured to try it that day.

Our second day in Vienna was spent touring the Schonbrunn Palace.  Paige and I decided we could live here comfortably given the 1400 rooms.  Every room is decorated with ornate gold on the walls, furniture, and fireplaces that are stoked from the back wall (imagine servants running around behind the walls of the rooms constantly to ensure a good fire).  We especially liked Maria Theresa's red canopy bed with woven gold and silver threads.  The kids enjoyed the extensive gardens which the Hapsburg elders must have needed for their 16 kids.  We ended our day with the traditional dish apfelstrudel.

Our final day in Vienna was spent seeing the crown jewels with ornate crowns, septors, swords, etc.  They even had a fancy jewelry box and a cradle.  Then after an ice cream lunch break (Clay's birthday so we could justify ice cream for lunch), we rushed to catch our train to Melk.  What a darling town!  There we hopped on a boat and floated down the Danube river viewing 9th and 11th century castle remains, picturesque steeples, and colorful villages.  Clay thought it was pretty funny to see a naked sunbather!  (On another day Paige said, "why do they like so much naked art?") Then we ended our day with cat tongues which we found out were small, rectangular pieces of chocolate.

(Pictures to be posted later.)

Adjusting

I can't tell you how many times in the last year I responded to "Wow, that's going to be awesome!" with "It's going to be hard. There are going to be lots of tears." I'm sure some of you heard that from me.

What's interesting so far is that the most difficult parts of a moderately difficult first week are two things that I hadn't even worried about -- the time zone adjustment and the weather. We are five nights in now and last night was the first somewhat normal night of sleep that I've had. I travel a ton and usually it just takes me a day or two to get roughly on schedule, nothing like this.

Erin is in a similar boat as me but a little worse off and the kids are still not even close. Both Paige and Clay will sleep for 4 hours one night, then 12 the next, the 4 the following, etc. Last night we think Paige finally fell asleep at 6AM and then we had to wake her around noon. That is not good.

And the weather definitely has not helped things. It has been in the upper 80's to upper 90's here the entire time so our apartment stays pretty hot all night. Oh how we appreciate the AC back home.

The result is we have tired and often cranky kids, days when we can't get out to do much, and patience often pushed to the brink. For the first few days I was impressed with my ability to maintain my calm. But as the days, heat, and lack of sleep have worn on, it is more and more difficult to tolerate the complaints.

I'm definitely looking forward to everybody getting better sleep and then the crisp evenings of September.

Les Parisiens

So far, so good. While Parisians have a reputation for being surly, we have not yet encountered it. We've found the locals to be friendly and helpful. A few have even gone out of their ways to help us. This isn't a surprise to me as it is consistent with what I have experienced in my handful of trips here over the last couple of years and in the some of the responses we received to our home exchange inquiries -- where complete strangers offered to help us in any way they could should we need something when we got here.

I'm sure we'll run across some real rough ones before long but I hope our efforts and improvements in speaking French will continue to pave the way to these positive interactions.

La Boulangerie

La Boulangerie

I found my favorite bakery today.  Duane went to one this morning for sandwiches but we found another one this afternoon after toughing it out getting school supplies (no air conditioning and trying to figure out which notebook of 10 different ones).  The bakery has all kinds of configurations of bread and chocolate, macarons, bread, etc. I might be there every day until I have tried one of everything! Today macarons and crepe for Clay. Tomorrow chocolate almond pastry. Actually tomorrow we are off to Vienna...so maybe it will be Vienna chocolate while listening to Mozart.

No dollar and Aqueboulevard

I ventured out by myself yesterday morning while the kids were still asleep. I had heard that some grocery stores close on Sundays, but didn't get around to checking the hours.  Sure enough most all of the stores were closed, even on the busy boulevards in our area. I thought I was lost because all the streets looked different with bars and no window dressings.  Then, I realized I had no map and my phone was not yet working.  What was I thinking?   Luckily, I had walked enough to recognize major boulevards. Someone even stopped to ask me for directions, so I thought I must be starting to get a little French attitude.  I happened upon a market, but remembered I had no euros.  (We usually charge everything.) I inquired at the busy market but they said "no dollar" and then a guy behind me said "dollar, no, no" like what a silly American.  By then the worker was helping someone else, I was bloody hot, and thinking am I going to ask to use visa to pay for a box of raspberries? I wanted to say to the guy behind me "look wise guy, I just arrived, I get my ATM card tomorrow, my husband has the euros, etc" but couldn't quite muster up my French in 5 seconds to explain myself.  Then I thought, yes I am being ridiculous walking around a new foreign city with no map and no euros. C'est la vie.

We spent the afternoon in our cool apt playing games and then headed to the huge water park in Paris.  It is like Great Wolf Lodge with many slides, indoor and outdoor pools, wave pools, and sprays when you least expect it.  They also sound a large siren periodically to signal time for a 1 min water fight where everyone splashes as obnoxiously as they can.  We enjoyed the slide that is like the one at the fair where you slide on a gunny sack.  Fun way to spend an extremely hot and humid day.  Looking forward to "cooling off" today as weather expected to be down from 99 to 85.

Paige made a huge discovery yesterday. She realized she has a lock on her door.  Poor little brother won't get to bug her.  Ah well, he is enjoying the TV in his room.

Arrival

Day 1 August 16, 2012
4 weary souls dropped off at Paris apt. Got the low down on the apt and off to bed we went.  Later out to dinner and exploring school, kids excited to see the Eiffel Tower. Cool to be walking around on a warm night.

Day 2
Still jet lagged but we always feel better when we hit the town.  Explored different areas in the 17th.  Most of the shops around us are closed as owners are on vacation.  Can't wait until Sept to taste neighborhood bakery goods. Luckily there is a great grocery store not too far away that is kind of like a Fred Meyer.  Some quirks noted in the apt like need to flip switch down to turn on, righty tighty rule is opposite.  Toilets are in a separate closet and so it is strange to walk out and go to the shower room to wash hands.  It took me 20 min to figure out all the symbols on washer.  But washer seems to work well.  Also figured out dishwasher and stove.  Kitchen has recently been remodeled with new appliances but feels like old college apt with old pots and pans as few as there are.  Ah well, we'll have to eat out for our gourmet meals.  Kids are doing well. Paige alternates ipad with reading Harry Potter books when we are home. She has a big room with a tiny balcony (wrought iron bars like you picture for Paris), TV and uses the street light for a night light.  Clay has been sleeping a ton (the rest of us are envious) but also has a nice room with TV and lots of closet and play space.

Day 3
Clay woke up after a record 12 hours! The rest of us slept 4 hrs.  Finally made it out the door this afternoon to the Paris beach. They bring in sand to a walkway along the Seine.  They have multiple water stations, misters (kind of like a light shower), stuff for kids, and ice cream!!!  Nice to cool down and stand under a tree for awhile watching all the boats and people go by.  Found an air conditioned mall to hang out and get some bathing suits for the guys.  They have to wear speedo type suits in swimming pools. Then out for dinner at The Hippopotamus.  We thought we were going into an air-conditioned restaurant because the entryway seemed cool but later found it hotter than outside.  Waiter said it doesn't work well.  Major bummer since dinner is never fast in Paris.  Glad to get home and take a cool shower.  Big news for the day....Clay lost his front tooth.  Hoping for a restful night's sleep.

Bonne nuit.
Erin

Bon voyage

Tomorrow we embark on a new adventure as we head to Paris!  It's been a year of endless preparation (Duane working on "to do list" even during dinner tonight) and finding patience as our home exchanges fell through.  It took over 2 months to secure an apt.  We had to make sense of "capped agendas" and decide whether we wanted a dryer or a bathroom with a shower.  We are feeling many different emotions (especially since there is a fire near Cle Elum) as we leave family, friends and all our "stuff" and head to France.  Nevertheless we made it and are excited to share about our experience! 
Paris here we come!
Erin