Brady's Snowy Day - Swiss Alps

 

Sunday was our last day in Switzerland and it also happened to be my 26th birthday that day.  Those who know me well know that I particularly dislike (stating it mildly) snow.  This probably stems from the fact that I've had numerous blizzards strike on my birthday and have had to cancel more birthday parties than I can count.  Even when there isn't a blizzard, 9 times out of 10 there is snow.  Last year, I was in South Carolina, far away from snow, so of course there was a monumental tsunami in Japan.  I can't catch a break no matter where I am.  So with this great dislike of snow, it really says something that I would voluntarily spend my birthday in the snow.

Brady was born into a blizzard, but by the time we left the hospital the snow was almost all melted and he didn't encounter snow again until he was about 10 or 11 months old and at that point we were headed to South Carolina.  He's never really had any interactions with snow and probably doesn't even really comprehend what it is.  He never even wore a winter jacket until this past Christmas.

Brady's routine was greatly impacted while we were away to the point where he was napping less than 30 minutes each day and was getting up way too early.  Of course, this day he was getting a slight cold and woke up at 5AM!!!  Andy got up with him and that meant he was awake to see the sunrise.  The pictures he took were beautiful.  Above you can just see the tiniest bit of light peeking from the right side of the mountains.

A little bit more sun . . .

Beautiful shadows across the tops of the mountain peaks with the sun mostly up.

Brady playing on the floor with the Swiss Alps as a backdrop.  He's totally unaware ;)

Our little monkey eating a banana and watching a movie on the iPad.

This is the view I woke up to on my birthday.  There were some clouds so it was much easier to take pictures of the beautiful mountains.

That morning, Nadia had laid out a traditional Swiss breakfast for us.  It consisted of bread with an assortment of cold cut meats, cheese, jams, and butter.  It was really delicious and we were excited to have someone to share with us these cultural traditions.  After breakfast, we all packed up our bags and prepared to go sledding.  Due to our limited air freight space, we didn't even bother bringing any type of boots or snow pants because the need for them was very low.  Fortunately, Nadia had several pairs of boots there in different sizes that we were able to borrow for the day.

Brady is wearing several layers, including a long sleeve oneise, long sleeve shirt, and sweatshirt.  He got stuffed like that into his snowsuit and boots before we headed out.  Nadia told me that this was a light amount of layering compared to what she deals with while getting her kindergarteners ready to play outside during the winter.

Brady hanging with puppy.

We drove about five minutes from the house to the bottom of a mountain, with ski slopes at the top.  We all got lift tickets and rented a sled for Brady to ride when we got to the top.  I've skied in PA and seen the Rocky Mountains, but neither have anything on the beauty and height of the Alps.  We took only the initial ski lift and it seemed like it would go on forever.  When we reached the top there were even more ski lifts to go higher!

Riding the ski lift

A great family pic up at the top with more mountains in the background

This was Brady's first time sledding, so we weren't sure what to expect from him.  Andy took him up part of the slopes with sled in hand to try it out, while I stayed at the bottom with both the still shot camera and the video camera to catch his reaction.

Up at the top

On the way down.  You can't tell from this pic, but Brady was all smiles the whole way down.

Once he was off the sled at the bottom of the slopes, Brady would come running back to where the rest of us were standing, with a great big smile on his face.

When it was time to go up for a second run, Andy had the idea to pull Brady up on the sled.  Brady was not at all shy about laying down on the sled and holding onto the straps so he wouldn't have to walk up.

Andrew taking Brady up for a run.

On the way down with Andrew.  You can see the smile in this one.

Running back.

As I mentioned before, I'm not the greatest fan of snow, but I did get talked into riding with Brady on a half run.  I had absolutely no control and was very glad I didn't plow into anyone else or fall off.

Outside the small restaurant up by the ski lift.

Nadia, Andrew, and baby Leila.  It was Leila's first time on the ski lift and on the slopes as well.

None of us had actually ridden a ski lift down before and we were really high up, so it was a little nerve-wracking because it felt like we were going so fast.

After we made it down the mountain, we all packed into the car and headed back towards Zurich.  We were about a two hour drive away and had dinner reservations before our train back to Stuttgart.  When we got back to Nadia's apartment, we got everything else we needed packed up and put Brady down for a short nap.  We felt so bad when we had to wake him up half an hour later.  He was so crabby and fell asleep on the stroller ride to the tram stop, but as soon as we stopped walking, he woke up and started screaming.  There was very little we could do to console him.  

The restaurant we went to was one of Nadia's favorites and they usually only go to it when they have guests in town.  She recommended a dish that's famous there and of course we all ordered it.  Everything Nadia had either made or recommended that was Swiss was delicious, so we figured this dish would be as well.  It was a dish with veal strips in gravy and mushrooms (Nadia and I both got ours without mushrooms), and a side of rosti, which is a little like a flat hash brown cake.  It was amazing and we were all satisfied.  After dinner, we got on another tram headed for the hauptbahnhof (main station), and headed towards the track where our train was waiting.  

Nadia and Andrew surprised me with a truffle cake when we were getting on the train to go home.  We got some vanilla ice cream to go with it when we got home and it was sooooo good!  The top pyramid part is a straight chocolate truffle and the bottom rectangle part is chocolate cake.  We have such amazing friends and were so grateful to them for hosting us in their city!  We can't wait until they come back to Stuttgart to visit us this spring!

A Day in Zurich and a Drive into the Alps - Zurich and Swiss Alps

 

Late Friday night, Andy arrived on a train from Stuttgart, so on Saturday morning, he was excited to explore Zurich before we headed into the Swiss Alps for the night.  Andrew is the head coach for the varsity basketball team at the international school and they had a tournament during the day, so we would pick him up in the late afternoon.  That meant the three (five if you count Brady and Leila) of us went off to explore the city.

 

Our first stop was Lake Zurich.  Nadia told us that they come down almost every day or so during the summer and the area is usually packed.  There is swimming in the lake, people sunbathing in the park, and public grills for people to use.  Sounds like heaven.  It was early Saturday morning, so there weren't many people out and we could just enjoy the view.

 

A view of the city from the side of the lake

 A family shot with Zurich in the background

 Brady enjoying some sun

Probably one of the nicest things about Zurich is that it's in a small enough area that you can walk everywhere.  They have a convenient tram system, but we decided it was a beautiful mild morning and we'd rather walk.  We walked from Nadia's apartment to the lake, and then from the lake into the city.  The lake feeds two rivers, one big and one small, that flow through Zurich and create beautiful waterway views.

 I just loved how there were many little walkways throughout the city.  It felt so quaint and I loved it!

 A family pic in front of the convent

 The monastery in the background across the river

While we were on this side of the river, we doubled back to Bahnhof-Strasse, which I mentioned before is the most expensive street in the world.  On this street is a famous chocolate shop that also happens to be the oldest chocolate shop in Zurich, having been there over 125 years.  It's called Sprungli and we headed there.  On the second floor of the building is a cafe and we headed there first to get some refreshments.  I ordered a hot chocolate (where better than Switzerland) and Andy got an eis coffee.  It's said the same as ice coffee, but in German that means coffee with ice cream in it.  We both had whipped cream on our drinks and Andy immediately gave a scoop to Brady.  We're not used to the fact that Europe uses less sugar in most things than the States, and Brady spit it out so fast.  After that, he didn't even want a taste of my hot chocolate.

When we finished our drinks, we headed downstairs to the chocolate shop.  Nadia pointed out a good assortment and then told me about the specialty of this shop.  It's called a Luxemburgerli and it's a treat only made at this shop fresh every day.  It resembles a small cake sandwich and comes in many flavors, some with alcohol and some without.  I ordered an assortment and every single flavor was delicious!  They were so light and creamy.  Pictured below are some of the flavors they have and a better picture of what I'm trying to describe.

Brady was literally screaming outside the shop while I waited to pay and we knew he was extremely tired.  He had been waking up way too early because he was in a new place and often insisted on being in the bed with us.  We weren't done with what we wanted to do and see in the city, so we kept going, hoping he would fall asleep in the stroller as we walked.  He did, but only for about 20 minutes before we hit the cobblestone streets and he was jarred awake.  That was the extent of his napping that entire day.

A great shot of the monastery.  You can pay to climb up to the top of the tower and we decided to do that to see the city from above.  Nadia had warned us that it was quite a narrow climb, so we decided to leave Brady with her when we went up.

Nadia wasn't kidding about the narrow climb.  This picture is from halfway up.  That first half had a tight stone spiral staircase that was uneven and we were fortunate not to fall or take a wrong step, so we were very glad we left Brady down below.

 

The rest of the climb wasn't as narrow, but it seemed like every time we reached a new level, there were more stairs.  We definitely got in quite a workout on the way up.  Pictured above and below are some of the breathtaking views from the very top of the tower.

Brady could never make up his mind whether he wanted to ride in the stroller, walk, or be carried.  He seems pretty happy up on Andy's shoulders though.

A great group shot

We decided to walk back to Nadia's apartment instead of taking a tram and it was such a gorgeous day there were certainly no regrets.  We had lunch and packed up all of our things to head into the mountains.  We got in Nadia's car and picked up Andrew at the international school.  Then it was off to the Swiss Alps where Nadia's family owns a house near Triel, Switzerland.  Below some pictures of the drive up before the sun went down.

Just starting to see some mountains

 A little bit closer . . .

 

 

There were amazing views all the way up to the house.  It was really cool how the roads curve and twist back to get you up into the mountains.  The higher we went, the more snow that was on the ground.  Since Brady had barely napped all day, he ate dinner and went straight to bed.  The rest of us hung out talking and drinking wine, while we waited to eat dinner.  Nadia made us a traditional Swiss fondue and it was so good.