I felt very gutsy taking off on my own while Brad was at work. As you'll see, I drove myself the half-hour to Luzern, took the train to Zurich and also found my way around the neighboring town of Zug. My German (and French, and, as you'll see in my next post, Italian) improved quickly! Thank God opera singers have to sing in so many languages!!! Looking forward to more practice this April.
Just hours after landing Brad had me in the French section of Switzerland buying chocolate at the Villars factory. Good husband. He knows his wife well.
Getting a bit lost in Gruyere we paused to look at cheese.
The actual town of Gruyere where we had dinner. We were the only people walking down the middle of the street.
The main choices for dinner in this area, not surprisingly, are fondue or Raclette. We went with Raclette, which is a specific type of Gruyere. It's like fondue backwards - they put this giant log of cheese (for just the two of us - this is the first example of the huge portions of food we experienced. I don't want to hear about the huge American portions anymore!) under a heater and you scrape the melted cheese onto your plate. You pair it with cornichons, pickled onions, bread and potatoes. Yum!
Couldn't believe what a dent we made in all that cheese.
It was a harrowing night getting to Adelboden where Brad's coworker had lent us her family's condo. We had to turn back after one route over the mountains sent us actually sliding down the mountain in the snow. The 2 wheel drive car just couldn't make it in the snow storm. We managed to find a safer alternate route and were relieved to make it late that night. All this just on my first day there!
I made this video just before we started ascending the mountain. This was when things were still funny and not life-threatening. Brad was sure this road was going to be a highway. He rarely makes a directional mistake and I was enjoying it.
A lovely view the next morning!
Walking around Adelboden. Brad skied the last time he was there, but no skiing this trip. No one wants me to try that.
We had a fabulous time at the Time Out Pub one night. Lots of local aprés-ski people make for great people watching. I drank a couple cups of Glühwein (mulled red wine), my new favorite.
We wound our way home on Sunday through various towns like Interlaken. There we had a great Thai meal at a funny restaurant FULL of American kids staying at the area hostels. Talk about great people watching.
Couldn't help snapping the sign on the bathroom door. Brad and I were both laughing pretty hard.
It was the day of the Super Bowl. Looking up at lunch this was on the business across the street!!! I was hoping it was a good omen, but.....
On our way out of Interlaken we pass this. Right.
On to Merengue, where they invented - you guessed it - the Meringue! The cafe in town also created the World's Largest Meringue. Had to stop for a taste. It was fabulous. This is also the town where Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Moriarty, died in the books. There's a statue and a museum in this beautiful little church.
Once back home, I made Brad an Ethiopian recipe of chicken stew - yum! Then we took a "nap" before waking up to watch pre-game and the Super Bowl, which started at 12:30 a.m. for us. Colts, I still love you. That broke my heart, but I still had a ridiculous amount of fun watching them this season. Can't wait for next year already.
Yep - that's Brad's apartment. We watched the game from our home TV on my computer using Slingbox. Amazing.
Brad, thankfully, took the Monday after the Super Bowl off so we could catch up on sleep. After a lazy day we went to an amazing concert in Luzern. The symphony there played the complete soundtrack to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King as the movie was shown above the stage. There was even a choir and soloist. It was amazing! What a fun idea!
My day in Luzern! Wandering around the chapel bridge, shopping in old town and stopping for a (huge) torte and TINY coffee. (Coffee alone was $4.20. And that is a decaf coffee, not an espresso. I'm serious - I was thirsty the entire 11 days!) Yummy though. And I couldn't believe the young couple next to me in the cafe - popped in at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday and EACH had a huge piece of cake, which they scarfed down in about 10 minutes. They really, really love their sweets over there. When I asked Brad what I could bring to his office from the States he said, "Candy." They couldn't believe the Costco bags I brought. Huge hit.
Nadine is the woman for whom Brad is filling in while she's on maternity break. She and her husband had us over for a lovely dinner in their condo in Kussnacht. They couldn't be sweeter and their baby was just adorable. What a lovely evening.
Nadine and Frank opening the gift from their friends at Roche.
Our gift to them, naturally: Christopher will be the best dressed baby Colts fan in Switzerland. And the only baby Colts fan.
My day in Zurich. It was FREEZING, and though I couldn't feel my legs I had a great time wandering around the old town, walking up to a park over-looking the city, and eating a fabulous brat at a famous stand in the heart of the city.
Best Brat stand in town. The mustard will clear out your sinuses - love it.
The old men were playing chess in the park. It had to be 10, maybe 15?, degrees. Impressive.
I was SO excited to see the Giacometti exhibit at the Kunsthaus in Zurich. The sculptures (I have pictures framed from some at the Met in New York, too) and this painting were my favorite. I went to four different museums that week. Great way to walk off the brats.
