Category Archives: Switzerland

Searching for Snow

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Freiburg has been completely devoid of snow this winter. Actually, we went directly from fall to spring, with a short (63oF) stop at Christmas. Now, I know this falls on deaf ears as some of my readership continues to dig themselves out from under record-shattering snow accumulation and the worst bout of Seasonal Affective Disorder known to man.

Some of us grew up with this kind of weather every winter and don’t mind a reprieve from all things white, frozen, or involving the words “lake effect”. However, some of us grew up on the beach and actually think snow is beautiful, exciting…and dare I say…fun. Joe is obviously the latter and as spring inched closer he became determined to experience an idyllic European winter just one last time.

Enter Switzerland. We visited Bern, Geneva, and Lucerne, but our home-base of Gstaad is where Joe found his little piece of snow-covered heaven. It snowed every single night, and into the late mornings, making visibility just [gag] dreamy!

snow

Why is this so appealing to a beach-baby?

more snow

Despite snow tires, how many times does a Floridian have to skid out to learn that operating a motor vehicle in snow is not fun?!

Why are all the tracks going the other way?!

Why are all the tracks going the other way?!

I know…I’m being a little rough on the California-born, Hawaii-raised, Florida resident. To be fair, he did throw the chains in the trunk before we left. My days of educating him in the ways of the Chicagoans may be coming to a rapid close.

In the mountains of Gstaad.

In the mountains of Gstaad.

Don’t tell anyone, but I enjoyed the Swiss snow as well, despite protesting the idea of packing winter boots after March 21st!

That’s What Dads Are For

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Today I dropped my Dad off at the airport after a great visit. It was filled with highs and lows, both literally and figuratively. I’ll expand on the highs, keep the lows brief, and leave everything between for him to tell!

We headed to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for my Dad’s first Alpine ski adventure. First day’s highlight was a trip down the Kandahar! Now, when he watches it on TV he can tell everyone he has skied it himself!!

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The next day was even better! The weather was perfect, so we decided to head to Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze.

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It says, “Treading on the roof area forbidden. Beware! Mortal danger”. Yeah, clearly!

It says, “Treading on the roof area forbidden. Beware! Mortal danger”. Yeah, clearly!

 

It was such a great day skiing in the bowl of the Zugspitze. No clouds, no wind, shining sun, good legs. One of those days that you doze off a little on the chairlift in the warmth of the sun. God, I love those days!

Zugspitze

 

Now, here comes the low. Thankfully it waited until after our great day to strike. I don’t know if it was the Frankfurter I ate at high altitude,  riding backwards on a cog-wheel train from the highest peak in Germany, or some creepy bug deciding to take residence in my stomach, but within seconds of climbing off the train, everyone still aboard was gifted with a nice show of me disgorging my lunch.

If that wasn’t bad enough, it just got worse. After retch #10 I figured I better start keeping track, because something wasn’t right. Around #15 my Dad urged me to get a doctor because he was clocking me at a consistent 10-minute turn-around time. When I was in high school he used to time my splits in the 500m Freestyle. As an adult, I guess it is heave-intervals! In the middle of the night I woke up to pray to the porcelain gods and really thought I had been successful at not waking him. (Who was I kidding?)  I heard him say, “Well, it’s been three and a half hours since last time. That’s a record!”

The doctor called it a “stomach infection”.  After regurgitation #29 I called it “pure hell”. The following day, after finally mustering enough upchuck-control, we headed for home. When I thanked him for taking care of me and wandering into a foreign town in a foreign country late at night to pick up three prescriptions from the doctor, my Dad’s simple response was, “That’s what Dads are for.” I chocked back a few tears and hoped they wouldn’t trigger my gag reflex.

Back on the mend, we headed for the Swiss Alps. Europe’s highest peak, the Jungfrau, is located just outside Interlaken, Switzerland. We opted to skip the 175Franc (each!) price tag to take the train to Europe’s highest train station and instead enjoyed a view that included the peak.

Dad and Joe trying to figure out which peak was the Jungfrau and which was the Eiger.

Dad and Joe trying to figure out which peak was the Jungfrau and which was the Eiger.

 

It was yet another fantastic day in the mountains!

The Bernese Alps

The Bernese Alps

 

Brienzersee

Brienzersee

 

My Dad added 4 countries to his log during this visit! In his own words, “ain’t bad for an old man!” Nice work, Dad!

Kuhtrekking

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We have ridden horses through the Costa Rican mountains and mules through the Grand Canyon. So, I figured the best way to celebrate my mom’s visit, Mother’s Day, and her upcoming birthday was to ride some cows through the Swiss countryside!

Is that a baby inside?

Six Jersey/Holstein cows were all set and ready to go when we arrived at this 100% organic farm. The farm owner told us to go ahead and pick out our cows. Mom chose the closest one, Umbra, who was three weeks from delivering a calf and wider than she was high! I chose the cow standing right next to Mom’s, Colli, just because she was convenient.

 

 

First the farmer explained that we were going to lead the cows in order to get to know them before we mounted up. The only thing we really needed to know was that a 1500lb cow is going to do what she wants, no matter what we thought! As we walked down the road we had to move over every time a car wanted to pass. The looks on the driver’s faces were priceless! As they passed, I tried to give each one a variation on the same basic expression: I can’t believe I am doing this either! No translation needed there.

After about half an hour, we climbed aboard and headed into the countryside. It was a comedy of errors as everyone struggled to steer their mount and avoid fountains of manure and urine.

Ladies' Day Out

Sometime later, we walked up to a grove of trees and were told to get off the cows. We tied them to the trees, gave them some hay, and then enjoyed a lunch snack in the middle of the woods. Everything on the table was organic and made from products grown on the farm.

During our lunch, several of the cows had laid down to chew their cud. The farmer said to just hop right on! Don’t forget that this heifer is pregnant, as you watch Mom rise to glory! (click here)

After lunch we continued through the countryside for about an hour and half, stopping to let the cows take a short break in the Rhine River!

There was only a small altercation with the visiting swan.

After the day was finished, we “un-saddled” the cows and then they just walked around the farm, doing what they pleased. Thankfully, we didn’t get a chance to ride this guy.

Water Buffalos

It was definitely a unique experience, watching my mom struggle with a one-ton, pregnant, ornery cow!

Mom & Umbra