Family Bike Ride

Here in Switzerland everything is closed on Sundays. Because of this, we decided to go for bike ride and explore the area by our house. We ended up on a bike trail through the woods and farmland where Coretta saw roosters, sheep, and a cow. We then road through pear and apple orchards. We then continued to bike until we reached Cham a neighboring village. We sat by Lake Zug, took in the beauty around us and biked back. In all, I think we biked about five miles.

I finally have some plants...

After saying a sad goodbye to my plants in Saint Paul, Minnesota, I have finally purchased a few of the many I will have here in Switzerland. First of all, Nick bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers while running errands the other day. He always has been the thoughtful romantic!

Then I bought some herb plants for cooking at Migros (a must in my opinion for any kitchen).

Then my next priority was to make sure that Duva, my favorite planter Marilyn purchased for me in New Mexico, had been replanted. Here are some photos!!

Recycling and Appliances in in Switzerland

Recycling in Switzerland is a very big thing. There is very little that cannot be recycled. They recycle tin, bottles, plastic, glass, paper, metal etc. Then you need to bring it down to the mall called Zugerland and put the recycables in yourself. The things that cannot be recycled, go into special trash bags that you pay for. Here is a picture of the bags.

Another interesting note is that you need a manual for all appliances here because they are written in German. Our swiss guide was nice enough to print all of the manuals in English that include the range, the oven, the dishwasher, the washing machine, dryer, and espresso machine.

Mount Rigi

We decided to take a day trip to Mount Rigi yesterday and it was quite the adventure. In order to get there, we took a bus to Cham, a train to Zug, train to Arth, and then a train up to Mount Rigi. While at the train station in Zug, Nick was standing in line to get our tickets, and his camel pack leaked all over the floor and left a big puddle. I guess Geno bit off the end. Nick ran to the restroom (WC) to dump it out. Quite embarrassing for him, but funny to us!!

The sights from the train were fantastic. Great views of the trees, the lake, and the animals. We saw goats, sheep, and cows. Coretta found this to be quite amazing. Once up to the mountain we climbed up and Nick and Coretta climbed up the observation tower for a better look. We then descended the mountain and saw more views of the city.

We took time to take pictures as tourists to a new country, posing our head in the cut outs. We also saw these men playing these authentic swiss horns. It was a beautiful sound. Coretta bought five postcards and decided that she would start collecting postcards from all of our adventures, writing information on the back, and then putting them into her scrapbook.

We then stopped at the train station to see how we would get back. The woman told us that we would need to walk thirty minutes down the mountain. We then started off and saw much of the mountainous countryside. We also saw a jazz band playing 20's music.

Once to the bottom, we asked for directions again and found out we now needed to climb the same mountain path to get to the town of Staffel to take the train down. We have never climbed anything so steep. No wonder everyone up here at walking sticks!! Pushing Geno's stroller proved to be even harder. I believe that was the best exercise we had yet.

While waiting for the train, Coretta played in the playground and Nick and I had some German beer. While drinking our beer, two musicians came by playing the accordian and the clarinet. Coretta was pretty impressed with the musicians and seems to now have a fascination with the accordian.

Once there, we took the train down. When the woman came to check our tickets, she had to open the door outside and jump to the next train. Coretta couldn't believe that she did that. We also had musicians on this train that played for us as well. There was another accordian musician and a group of yodelers. I never though yodeling was all that pretty before. It wasn't yodelaheehoo type stuff, but resembled an opera sound. Very pretty.

We then took another train, and yet another train, and then a bus to finally get home. We were all very tired, but had a great time.

The Swiss Marble

Today I headed to Zugerland to buy some groceries since Friday is a holiday and the stores may or may not be closed. Looking at the amount of people shopping, it must be. This is the place to shop for groceries though. The selection is much more varied and carries clothes, home stuff, etc. like Super Target. Geno, Coretta, and I first parked and then went and put one franc into the grocery cart and off we went.

Overall I bought the right things. I was so excited to finally find more apple juice that when I got home, I took a big swig of it to find out it was apple flavored vinegar!! Gross! I need to learn more German fast. There is something about learning the language for pure survival--like what you are eating. If you are what you eat, you should know what it is. Every time you spend twenty francs at the store you get two unique looking marbles. Coretta has been loving this and has quite the collection now.

Geno the explorer

Geno has really loved it here and looks at every day as a new adventure. He has already staked out his favorite part of the house which is the stairs leading up to the patio. He has already tested us and his limits, falling a couple of times, and now tends to sit on the second step munching his apple and drinking his milk.

He also has a new found love for plungers and will carry this and his sippy cup around the house with him. Oh and did I mention shoes. Any shoe. He loves to stack them and unstack them. Strange, but true.

His other favorite place to be is to sit right inside of the cupboard and play with the pots and pans. I remember looking for him the day he discovered that he could put his whole body in there. He looked at me with the most devilish grin knowing full well that I wouldn't approve. Nothing is sacred in this house.

He has also mastered opening the doors, so his sister's room has become the target. He loves anything of his sisters and will go to great lengths to find access.

With opening doors, he has also learned how to get out of his crib. Not sure how, but the last time he did it, he fell on his face pretty hard. He didn't cry though. He came out with a look of accomplishment on his face. I don't think that I have ever met a kid so tough!

Family Bike Ride

Today we finally received our air shipment which means more importantly that our computer and bikes came. Charlie is reported to be coming to us on Monday and we miss him very much. Our sea shipment should be here no later than August 27th. Nick and I spent the day hooking things up and putting things away, and then we decided to take off for a bike ride with the kids. We stumbled upon this quaint little park right in the middle of the woods. Coretta and Nick immediately went for the seesaw, and Geno hightailed it to the slide. While Geno mastered the art of crawling up the slide and sliding down it, Coretta, Nick, and I took turns zipping through the sky on this swing that is hooked to a cable. It was really fun. While playing at the park, we also saw this really gross animal that resembled a bit of dog poop, but when we turned it over we realized it was living! We think it was a slug or something. Very gross!! Here are some pictures!!