My trip to Mount Pilatus with my Parents

The day before my parents were scheduled to fly back to the United States, I decided to take them up to Mount Pilatus for some fresh mountain air. Although the weather was not completely ideal, it was still a great experience.

Geno, Dad, Mom, and I jumped in the car and drove to Mount Pilatus at 10 am and started our ascension up the mountain. Here you start with a smaller gondola and then take a bigger gondola to the top. Never in a million years did I ever think I could get my Mom up into a cable car attached only to a cable, but I did, and she loved it. The views up to the mountain were beautiful and had aerial views of mountains, lakes, and villages.

While boarding onto the second gondola, my parents lost their tickets. In order to proceed to the gondola, you need these. My Mom decided she would just jump the fence until I showed her that this would be a 100 franc fine. We then made sure to get them two new tickets. Thank God for receipts and proof of sale.

Once up to the top of Mount Pilatus, there was lots of snow and blowing snow. We proceeded though the carved out mountain path that resembles a cave where we had great views and learned a little dragon mythology. It was said that many years ago, the Swiss people would not dare to venture into the mountains because of the evil spirits and dragons they believed lurked in those parts of the region. It wasn't until the British came and wanted to venture into the mountains that the Swiss started making it accessible by trains, gondolas, and cogwheel trains. In fact, one of the steepest cogwell trains is on your ascension to Mount Pilatus.

After our tour, we decided to have lunch at the restaurant that is shaped in a circular tower that is attached to the mountain. We ate German veal bratwurst with french fries and enjoyed the panoramic views. It was a great end to a very memorable trip with my parents.

Lugano

My Mom and I backpacked our way to Lugano which is the Italian region of Switzerland for two days and one night. The day of our adventure, we left around 9 am from the bus station, caught a train to Zug, and then jumped on the CIS train to Lugano. Along the way, we saw beautiful lakes, mountains, villages, goats, chickens, and cows. The train ride was approximately two hours.

Once we got to Lugano, we got off the train and proceeded to find the funicular which would bring us down the mountain to the center of the city. This however proved to be somewhat difficult. When we found the train station information center, the attendant pointed in a general direction, but made no sense to us. I decided to ask a student who was trying to get surveys completed for Amnesty International. He spoke enough English to point us in the right direction. We found the funicular, payed 2.20 CHF for two funicular tickets and descended down the mountain.

Once down, our hotel, The Dante Swiss Hotel was right there. It was around noon, so we thought we would at least try to check in, and if we couldn't, we would just walk around. To our surprise, our room was ready. The man told us that anything in the mini bar was free of charge and that the breakfast buffet in the morning was free as well. When we went up to the room, it was quaint and beautiful. We even had real linens for our face and could choose our type of pillow from five different types.

Once we were settled, we decided to venture out and see the city. We saw several grocery markets positioned along the cobblestoned streets as well as many boutiques and shops. The real highlight was finding our way down to the lake where there were magnificent views of mountains and lakes.

Although the boat tours that we hoped to take were not running, the parks and walkways by the lake were amazing. We stumbled upon three extremely old churches which we took pictures of. It was amazing to see all of the old murals painted on to the exterior walls of the church as well as the intricate and ornate altar pieces. We got some wonderful pictures of that as well.

We then ate at many Italian restaurants that were just as amazing as the scenery. We chose to have lunch at this cute little spaghetti store and chose the spaghetti with mushrooms, sausage, and fresh greenery on top. It was great. My Mom did notice that wherever we went, we only had male servers. Interesting observation I thought, and all servers wore dress pants, vests, and bow ties.

We also ate dinner at another great restaurant called Argentino's where I had a spicy Italian dish and my Mom opted for the bratwarts, potato croquettes and spinach. We again were not disappointed.

Overall, great destination, great food, great sight-seeing, and great conversation. I had a great Mother Daughter trip.
Here are a few more pictures from our trip as well: Lugano Trip and Lugano Trip Part 2

Colmar, France

On March 5th, my Mom, Dad, Coretta and I ventured out to see Colmar France. It is roughly two hours away and thought it would be a good place to visit. We left around one o'clock and arrived in Colmar around 3:30 pm. Overall, the drive went smoothly. I drove slow enough I think to not end up with any dreaded tickets, but too slow for one passerby in particular. In fact, he came up along side me and gave me the worst evil eye I have ever seen and kept doing this for a couple minutes. I may have been intimidated if he wasn't wearing horned rimmed glasses and looked like Buddy Holly. We got a good laugh out of that.

Once into Colmar, we found our hotel after a couple of wrong turns and proceeded to park in the underground car park. Like always, the parking garage was very small and hard to navigate. If the company hadn't given us our car, I would have opted for a small electric car that can fit in the tiniest of spaces. We then grabbed our belongings, locked the car and checked in. Most hotels in Europe have much smaller rooms than that in the United States, but much better linens. It was cozy and comfortable and in the heart of the city which I like.

Once we unpacked our things, we decided to venture out and get familiar with our surroundings. We saw many of the German style chalets and many french style sculptures and fountains. Like Strasbourg, Colmar does a great job of combining both the German and French influences since it has been claimed by both countries in the past. That night, we decided to eat at a small, but quaint cafe that served Alsacian style food. Coretta had lasagna, my Dad had a steak, and my Mom and I had the traditional German meal which consists of Rosti potatoes, ham, sausage, and cheese served like a casserole. The food was great.

The next day, we decided to venture out early and have a tour of the Unterlinden Museum which used to be the convent of the Dominican order. This was definitely one of the highlights of Colmar. They had original paintings by Picasso and several religious altar pieces, oil paintings, and tombs to learn about and discover. They also had several old slide projectors with the actual wooden slides that were projected on the wall. It also had a hand help device that explained all of the sculptures and art in English which really helped.

We then enjoyed shopping in the many beautiful boutiques, shops, bakeries, and candy stores that Colmar has to offer. For lunch, we ate at the crepeteria which I read online had some of the best crepes. We sat down in what appeared to be the basement of a chalet that was beautifully decorated in a medieval theme. The crepes were outstanding. Coretta and I had the raspberry crepe where my Mom and Dad had the ham, cheese, onion, and mushroom crepe.

On our last day in Colmar, we did even more shopping and sightseeing taking a trolley tour that explained in English many of the landmarks of the city including the Petite Venice area. This area is as if you have stepped into Venice Italy with it's homes along the river, gondola rides, art work and scenery. A must see if you are ever in Colmar.

The last night we ate at Chasseur Restaurant near the Petite Venise area. It was a very quaint little chalet with good food and wine. Since the region is known for it's Resling vintage, we had a couple glasses of it with our food. My Dad had veal, my Mom had chicken, and I had scallops and shrimp. All went well until my Mom realized the next day that she left the remainder of her euros on the table (100 to be exact) and her response was "I guess I tip France!"

Once we checked out of the hotel, we were on our way to the Koenigsbourg Castle. As we drove towards the castle, we came across the statue of liberty in the middle of the round about. Because we were driving, we couldn't get a picture of the front of it. The french sculptor who created the statue of liberty for the United States was born in Colmar and when he died, they put up a replica statue in his honor.

The closer we got to the castle, the more amazing it looked. At first all we could see was this castle on top of the black forest. The closer we got the more amazing the castle was. To look up at it was amazing. It was so massive, so beautiful, so medeival. As we walked up the castle steps, we saw many of the old water wells, wine barrels, furniture, and murals in the castle. We had lunch in the castle grounds which seemed to resemble the servant quarters.

All in all, this was a great trip we will always remember with my Mom and Dad.

Here are more pictures of Colmar France: Our trip to Colmar
and more pictures from the Koeningsbourg Castle if Interested: The Castle

Geno's Audiologist Appointment

Today at 11:00 am Geno had his audiologist appointment. We drove to Luzern and found our way to the Cantonal Hospital in Luzern by 10 am. Once parked, we walked up the hill to the hospital. I must say that I truly surprised myself with my ability to navigate myself through the hospital/deciphering German along the way.

Once checked in, we sat and waited while Geno read, played with puzzles, and colored. The first audiologist brought Geno and I into a room with speakers positioned on each side of a chair. She asked that I sit in the middle and hold him remaining very still. She was going to play certain sounds such as dogs barking, phones ringing, violins playing and see if he turns toward the sound.

After this test, she inserted what appeared to be some sort of a hearing aid thing attached to headphones. One headphone went on one ear and the insert in the other. Now Geno is extremely afraid of anything unfamiliar, so it took me holding him down tightly, for the woman to get the equipment on him. It seemed as if they were testing the vibrations of the eardrum because it would draw out lines like one would see on a polygraph test. When done there, she asked for us to go into the waiting room where Dr. Opperheimer would come and get us for another series of tests.

Once Doctor Opperheimer came and got us, we went into the room and had Geno sit in the chair while they put a flashlight/metal thing in his ear to check the ear canal and ear drum. After this, they hooked Geno up to another headphone hearing aid contraption that was connected to a computer which looked like they were again looking at the vibrations of the ear drum. Once this was completed, the doctor stated to me that Geno's hearing is absolutely fine and that his speech delay is developmental. I now wait until April where we will have our first speech therapy appointment.

Afterwards, I brought my parents to Zugerland where they had lunch at the Migros cafeteria and then did some shopping.

Visit to the Altstadt in Zug

On Tuesday, my parents, Geno and I had plans to spend the day up at Mount Pilatus, but the rain and Geno's stomach flu foiled these plans. Instead, we decided to have a more leisurely morning, wait for the weather to clear, and see how Geno was doing after his nap. Amazingly enough, the rain quit, and Geno seemed in better spirits or at least not vomiting, so we went into Zug. Along the way I explained different things they would see and when we arrived at the Metalli we parked and proceeded up.

Once into the shopping area, we decided to take the walk down towards the old part of Zug walking along the lake. My parents loved the olive trees and the birds who were/are tame due to humans feeding them. Geno especially liked the swans.

Once down by the lake, we stopped to take some pictures and admire the mountains and lake. My parents took some time to look at the exotic birds caged down by the lake as well. We then proceeded to walk up the cobblestoned streets of the old town. I pointed out the old clock tower which used to house prisoners, a few of the fine restaurants in the area, and my Dad admired all of the cool butcher shops and delicacies from the windows.

We then proceeded to walk further up where I pointed out the Zug Casino where people can take in a play, orchestra, or symphony. We then proceeded across the street and up the hill so that I could show them the Zug Castle. This was a fortress that was built that would protect important families at times of war. When you can view the museum inside, it has different rooms decorated by the time period, soldier uniforms, a chemist shop, and other memorabilia.

We walked around the grounds and took pictures staring down at the moat area and taking more pictures.

Once done here, we headed to the Oswald Catholic Church which is one of the oldest churches in Zug. As you walk in, the entrance is hidden by a curtain, but once in, the views are amazing. It has some of the most amazing vaulted ceilings with murals painted in and around the tabernacle. there was a wooden pulpit for the sermon as well as the old style confessionals. My Mom took some time to take some pictures and take in all of the history and architecture.

Once we left here, we proceeded back into the shopping area in Zug and then made our way home. Pretty great day for sightseeing, especially with a sick child.

A Walk through Cham

On March 1st, when my parents arrived, my Mom, Coretta, and I went on a walk through Hunenberg that extended down the countryside and into the village of Cham. Along the way we saw cows, sheep, and chickens as well as old style Swiss chalets that dotted the landscape. My Mom was amazed with how they mix the old landscape with the new. More specifically the old Swiss farmhouses (that are actually still used for farming) mixed in with residential buildings. In ways, it is as if by coming to Switzerland you step back into time.

Once into the village of Cham, we walked through the train station area, and across the train tracks. In this area, once through the trees, there are several paved paths that outline the edge of the lake with great views of ducks, swans, and mountains. Coretta and Grandma posed for a picture underneath one of the old log cabins built for children. We took time to admire the beauty and allow Coretta to play at the park.

We then ventured back up the hill to Hunenberg. Pretty good for the first day in a new country suffering from jetlag.

Julie and Beaver's Arrival in Zurich

My parents started their journey to Switzerland on February 28th at four in the morning. They boarded a plane in Fargo North Dakota headed for Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport with a two hour lay over there.

They then boarded a plane to Newark New Jersey airport where they had a four hour layover there and then proceeded to Switzerland for an eight hour plane ride.

Needless to say, the trip went well and they have had a fairly easy adjustment to the time difference.

They arrived at the Zurich airport at 8:40 am and were promptly greeted by Nick and Coretta's smiling faces. Coretta was very excited to see her grandparents and share her experiences here in Switzerland!