Switzerland!

We left last Friday night to fly to Geneva from Madrid.


Someday we'll laugh... but Jason's flight from Brussels Belgium (where he was for a meeting Friday morning) was delayed, and delayed, and delayed... he arrived at 4:20pm into Madrid and our vacation flight left at 6pm... so he RUSHED home, changed clothes and switched bags while his taxi waited (Bec and Katie were already at the airport), and then made it in time to catch up with the girls. Whew. Not a relaxing way to begin a vacation... but it all worked out...


We arrived into Geneva at about 8pm on Friday night. We were tired so just settled into the hotel and enjoyed a little Thai food for dinner It's the first time we've had Asian food in 3 months!. Our hotel was nice and we liked the city... not exactly what we expected... but it was ok.


We spent the morning Saturday dodging rain and failing at it! We ended up soaked and in a nice restaurant for lunch at noon. We dried out over the mealtime and so did Geneva. The next couple of hours exploring were GREAT and we had lots of fun. We walked along the lake and threw rocks into the water at what Katie calls the "Geneva Beach". It was a beautiful couple of hours...


We then took an outstanding train ride to Bern. The train ran along the west edge of Lake Geneva and (while it was cloudy) we could still enjoy some great views of the Alps. There's a reason people say Switzerland is beautiful... it truly is picture perfect. This was our first ride on a train and it was easy and very effective. No security or lines to deal with... just buy your ticket and find the right platform and viola... a train appears. Relaxing...


Our friends Jan and Buist met us at the train station in Bern. It may sound strange, but it was special to have friends there on the platform when we hopped off. It reminded me of the days in the airport when people could meet you at the gate. A warm feeling, for sure.


We explored Bern for a little while before heading to their home. Bern is a small-ish European city. About 150K people in it. Einstein once lived there and worked in the patent office. We enjoyed walking the main street of Bern and seeing some interesting statues and shops. It's funny because the flowers are just starting to bloom in Bern... whereas in Spain, springtime is about out of bounce. It's nice to enjoy a little spring again.


The EURO cup for 2008 (Futbol aka Soccer where 16 countries field a team and play for the pride of their countries) is on the way to Austria and Switzerland and EVERYWHERE we looked there were signs, banners and stuff to buy. It's a big deal to get this tournament and the Swiss seemed ready for the fun. You could feel the energy and excitement of this event literally everywhere we went.


The next couple days in Switzerland were GREAT. We went to Lucerne **gorgeous** on Sunday and Thun **fun castles** on Monday. Our friends were outstanding hosts and showed us the sights. Jason's favorite was Lucerne. It reminds me of what they are creating with Breckenridge in Colorado... but it's the original! The time with Jan and Buist was VERY relaxing and I recommend you read their blog for a brief synopsis. We forgot our camera cable... so we'll blog more and post up some pics when we get home to Madrid.


www.buistandjan.com/blog

One thing I can't wait to mention until later is the setting of their home. They are staying in the countryside about 25 minutes outside Bern. In Switzerland (you may have known this... I did not) they really do put bells on their cows necks. We were near a farm that had a small group of cows and you could open the windows and hear a soft clanking of cow bells in the distance. This is while looking out over BEAUTIFUL meadows with bits of forest and classic Swiss homes dotting the hillsides while the Alps are off in the distance. Quaint and beautiful. Peaceful. We loved it and hope to return to this house someday...

Well, that's all on Switzerland for now. We'll post more later. Promise!!

Off to Rome on Tuesday...

Jason