Alp Trecking

As we venture into our first summer as American expats living in beautiful Switzerland, we are determined to make the most of our experience abroad by exploring the ample breath taking outdoor opportunities. As of late, our favorite activities have of course been mountain biking, but we are falling in love with "Wandern" a.k.a. "hiking." Florescent green rocky hilltops, fields of multi-colored flowers and hills speckled frolicking cows adorn this beautiful country, and we find we can all explore this terrain best together as a family by hiking.

Memoir to 618 B

Studies show the fifth month of living abroad is the hardest. The romance and excitement of living in a foreign country meld slowly into a monotonous rhythm of patterns surrounding life's daily tasks, struggles and routines. What was once a dream of living in a far off land, is still alive, but now riddled with frustrations - the language barriers are hard, finding a new place to live is quite a struggle, making friends is proven to be extremely challenging, and feeling accepted as an "Auslander" is tricky. Days can pass where I easily blend into the crowd, walk the dreary cobble stone streets with my baby in tow, feeling so lucky to live this amazing opportunity, yet coincidentally feeling so sad, lonely and lost.

Is it all worth it? Really? I know it is, it has to be. Life is not lived fully unless it is changing. But when I stumbled on these photos of our home in Hailey last night I had to reconsider a bit. If anything, I will never again take for granted nice houses, wonderful yards and gardens, friends close by, large closets, washing machines and dryers, and my little pets. I miss my little cat Zoe and my old life so much it hurts, but for some reason I think there is a reason this extremely hard, but incredibly exciting path is mine. 

For now, here is a photo tribute to my old, beautiful house in Hailey. Then, perhaps, I will finally be able to let it go. Luckily, the house is just a house, but my friends and Idaho will ALWAYS be there when I return. Let me just get through this fifth month!

 

Sundays, Baby

What's the deal with Sundays in this country? I swear I could hear a pin drop five floors below us because it's so eerily quiet and empty everywhere on Sundays. I think everyone has been sucked into some vortex or has some secret portal in their homes which magically transports them to an unknown underground party that only true Swiss citizens are invited to partake in.

It also always seems to rain here on Sundays so perhaps everyone is hibernating from the weather? No lights are on in our neighbors' apartments, no one is playing outside .... I saw one person out for a jog and it turned out to be Nat :) So, hmmmm. What DO people do here on the weekends??? I know Swiss are very family oriented so perhaps everyone leaves town on the weekends to wherever their family is from. Or, they are all just shut ins? No one just hangs out at local pubs or restaurants, (mainly because going out is too much money here) and I don't know if people have dinner parties or not. It's all still a mystery to me. Again- secret underground Swiss party???

Or perhaps everyone is scared if they go out on Sundays Bern's infamous "Baby Eating Ogre" statue will curse them and come eat their babies at night.

Some Things That Make Me Happy

• Smiley Face cookies
• Church Bells 
• AWESOME water pressure in a real shower!
• Weight loss from lugging Cora and all our shit up and down the 5 flights of stairs
• The immaculate beauty of this country's architecture and nature.
• The food actually tastes the way God intended it to taste! Everything is incredibly delicious!!!
• Although hard, I am loving this adventure and being able to spend time with my baby is invaluable :)
• Having to navigate the system, either it be the transportation system, dealing with government legality information or just trying to buy a meal to feed my family, it all makes me feel alive and proud of myself for doing this with a baby each and every day.
• Old growth forests
• Open spaces
• Brots, Beer and Pretzels
• Yodeling
• Skiing 
• Cora - she makes me happy every day! Watching her tiny body walk all around reminds me of Doby the house elf from Harry Potter, and this makes me love her to bits all over again.

Stairway to Heaven

Dedicated to Nat III - Here is a documentary of the 78 steps of Sagemattestrasse 27 Purgatory.

Basement= Hell (AKA The ZUG)

Ground Level = Mail Boxes.

Level 1 = Rufus! 

Level 1.5 = Window

Level 2 = Welcome Bears/Crazy Old Lady Who Scares Cora.

Level 2.5 = Window

Level 3 = Many Shoes

Level 3.5 = Window

Level 4 = No Shoes/Serious, horrible ciggarette smokers.

Level 4.5 = Fire Hydrant. 

Level 5 = Cora = Heaven!! 

Heaven!!!

Swiss Landscapes

This amazing opportunity has allowed me to capture some stellar landscape photos the past few months. Here are a few of my favorites.

Gruyere 

Thun

Bern

Lucerne

Neuchatel

Murren