too much posting for one day!
Bear with me people, i feel like i'm behind. the posting-marathon is almost over.
Anyway, so on Saturday we went to brunch at the bakery which is owned by the twin's other grandfather (the one that isn't Hermann). All clear? Anyway, i wanted to eat and eat everything there. I tried three different rolls plus put away a whole plate eggs. The Swiss people were extremely perplexed that I was content with just oj (no milk, coffee or tea) and kept trying to get me to drink something.
Then there were more cute babies and it was almost more than i could handle. These kids are cousins of the twins (there mothers are sisters) or, put another way, they are grandchildren of Hermann and Ursula's other daughter Sylvia. Whew!
lovely curtains from Joe and Marie Teresa's house. their house is normally above the "fog line" but that morning was extra foggy
joe and grandma at the breakfast table
joe's cool car. a french design gets the world's best gas mileage after the Toyota Prius
joe and grandma at the cafe
deliciousness
"Tischabfall" = table garbage. Only in Switzerland.
Christina and her grandmother Ursula
Me and baby Nicholaus
happy cows!
After the brunch Joe took us up to the mountains to take a little walk. But we took a short detour to visit a Christmas market in Buttiholz (Joe and Marie Terese's village). The walk in the mountains was amazing. It was so picturesque but somehow very few of the pics turned out. You just had to be there. Anyway, we walked through a barnyard on the way. Besides the animals there were these kids doing dangerous things on a sled. They had one of the kids tied in a sack (he wanted to be) and they were pushing him headfirst down a hill. Both Joe and I tried to tell them it was dangerous but do you think they listened? After a trek Grandma turned back the way we came and Joe and I made a detour through the valley. It was so beautiful. Apparently it's private land but you're allowed to walk on it during wintertime. From a distance I saw a very beautiful, mist-enveloped stream going down the mountain. It all seemed very mysterious and fantastical. Dream-like. Afterwards we met up again at a cafe and had hot chocolate. We drove home, stopping for groceries on the way. I was completely exausted and not only took a nap in the car but also took a long hot bath in J and MT's newly remodeled bathroom. It was wonderful. I don't have a bathtub at my place so it was an extra special treat. Afterwards Grandma made hamburger soup without any hamburger (another long story) and we watched TV until late.
Now I must make a short detour to expand on the wonders of Swiss television. I just wish that they would tell them not to stare into the camera! There was this sweet girl dressed in a traditional costume and playing guitar. She was pretty good but she kept staring into the camera with this uncanny grin. The whole show was filmed in this old-looking restaurant and seemed to be a musical variety show. But randomnly there was someone with a big machine who was sharpening knives during the whole thing. I'm not even joking. During the breaks they kept asking him questions. Then the host was talking to the knife-sharpening guy's family and asked to hold the baby. Then as he was trying to introduce the next act the kid was freakin' out. Why Switzerland? Why? It was very good that a detective I know and her sidekick weren't there. They might have died from laughter. I almost did.
Buttisholz main plaza
The church in Buttisholz
the wonders of zoom; they were putting up the town's Christmas tree
Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market)
another stand
traditional christmas bread; yummy!
homemade wooden nativity scene
sigh..the alps
that's fog in the background, not water. they call it the "Nebelmeer" or fog-lake.
it's really not the same as being there
der Hahn: rooster
die Katze: cat
the Swiss flag
grandma and an Appenzeller dog (Appenzeller is the "canton" or Swiss state where my ancestors lived)
kitty love
awww...
kitty cuteness
this explains a lot. i mean, i have swiss ancestors and some habits die hard. notice the chickens in the background.
more of that crazy fog
grandma and joe against a background of beautifulness
die Fichte: pine, spruce or fur tree
a vacation house that was nestled among the hills; no one was home so we got to look up close
you'd think Heidi lived here or something
joe was showing me some cool rocks
this ingenious fence keeps cows in and lets people out
these Swiss people are crazy!
post-walk hotchocolate
new bathroom. chic, eh?
i've only seen this sort of thing in books and magazines!
well that was Saturday!
Anyway, so on Saturday we went to brunch at the bakery which is owned by the twin's other grandfather (the one that isn't Hermann). All clear? Anyway, i wanted to eat and eat everything there. I tried three different rolls plus put away a whole plate eggs. The Swiss people were extremely perplexed that I was content with just oj (no milk, coffee or tea) and kept trying to get me to drink something.
Then there were more cute babies and it was almost more than i could handle. These kids are cousins of the twins (there mothers are sisters) or, put another way, they are grandchildren of Hermann and Ursula's other daughter Sylvia. Whew!
lovely curtains from Joe and Marie Teresa's house. their house is normally above the "fog line" but that morning was extra foggy
joe and grandma at the breakfast table
joe's cool car. a french design gets the world's best gas mileage after the Toyota Prius
joe and grandma at the cafe
deliciousness
"Tischabfall" = table garbage. Only in Switzerland.
Christina and her grandmother Ursula
Me and baby Nicholaus
happy cows!
After the brunch Joe took us up to the mountains to take a little walk. But we took a short detour to visit a Christmas market in Buttiholz (Joe and Marie Terese's village). The walk in the mountains was amazing. It was so picturesque but somehow very few of the pics turned out. You just had to be there. Anyway, we walked through a barnyard on the way. Besides the animals there were these kids doing dangerous things on a sled. They had one of the kids tied in a sack (he wanted to be) and they were pushing him headfirst down a hill. Both Joe and I tried to tell them it was dangerous but do you think they listened? After a trek Grandma turned back the way we came and Joe and I made a detour through the valley. It was so beautiful. Apparently it's private land but you're allowed to walk on it during wintertime. From a distance I saw a very beautiful, mist-enveloped stream going down the mountain. It all seemed very mysterious and fantastical. Dream-like. Afterwards we met up again at a cafe and had hot chocolate. We drove home, stopping for groceries on the way. I was completely exausted and not only took a nap in the car but also took a long hot bath in J and MT's newly remodeled bathroom. It was wonderful. I don't have a bathtub at my place so it was an extra special treat. Afterwards Grandma made hamburger soup without any hamburger (another long story) and we watched TV until late.
Now I must make a short detour to expand on the wonders of Swiss television. I just wish that they would tell them not to stare into the camera! There was this sweet girl dressed in a traditional costume and playing guitar. She was pretty good but she kept staring into the camera with this uncanny grin. The whole show was filmed in this old-looking restaurant and seemed to be a musical variety show. But randomnly there was someone with a big machine who was sharpening knives during the whole thing. I'm not even joking. During the breaks they kept asking him questions. Then the host was talking to the knife-sharpening guy's family and asked to hold the baby. Then as he was trying to introduce the next act the kid was freakin' out. Why Switzerland? Why? It was very good that a detective I know and her sidekick weren't there. They might have died from laughter. I almost did.
Buttisholz main plaza
The church in Buttisholz
the wonders of zoom; they were putting up the town's Christmas tree
Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market)
another stand
traditional christmas bread; yummy!
homemade wooden nativity scene
sigh..the alps
that's fog in the background, not water. they call it the "Nebelmeer" or fog-lake.
it's really not the same as being there
der Hahn: rooster
die Katze: cat
the Swiss flag
grandma and an Appenzeller dog (Appenzeller is the "canton" or Swiss state where my ancestors lived)
kitty love
awww...
kitty cuteness
this explains a lot. i mean, i have swiss ancestors and some habits die hard. notice the chickens in the background.
more of that crazy fog
grandma and joe against a background of beautifulness
die Fichte: pine, spruce or fur tree
a vacation house that was nestled among the hills; no one was home so we got to look up close
you'd think Heidi lived here or something
joe was showing me some cool rocks
this ingenious fence keeps cows in and lets people out
these Swiss people are crazy!
post-walk hotchocolate
new bathroom. chic, eh?
i've only seen this sort of thing in books and magazines!
well that was Saturday!