A Trip of Revelations

In San Francisco, summer camp registration starts in March and the process is, to say the least, overwhelming.  This was our first summer without day care, options were limited for 4 year olds (most were geared towards kids entering first grade or older) and I had a few other things on my plate, so instead of stressing about the situation, I decided to not really work this summer and Martin and I could figure it out between vacations, a week or two of camp and re-enforcements from the grandparents.  Included in this grand plan were 3 weeks in Europe!

We just got back from our Euro-trip and it was everything I was hoping for. We split our time evenly between one week in Germany with family, one week in Switzerland with family and then one week in France with just us.  The three weeks were exactly what Martin and I needed to fully disconnect from work and relax into the routine of vacation life.  And with the kids being a little older, we were able to do more, see more and enjoy the time together a little more.

Having been so long since we last travelled internationally together (2.5 years to be exact), I had quite a few revelations about family, travel and my life.  Below are the stories from the trip and my many revelations.

Revelations 14 to 19 in Alsace Lorraine

 Revelation14: Do I really need to stay in wine country if I don’t plan on wine tasting?  

One of the reasons I couldn’t find a house that suited the Breuers or me is because I was hoping for something along the lines of Tuscany (too far of a drive for my likes), Piedmont (nothing available) or the Alsace region between France and Germany (too far for the rest of the family). If you are unfamiliar with the last one it is also a well-known wine region… For my Euro Trip, I wanted water and wine. I got the “water” with Walensee lake near Amden so I figured we could get the “wine” on the last week of the trip with just our family. Alsace also happens to be on the way back to the Frankfurt airport so I had some logic to the decision.  While adamant that I wanted a wine region for the trip, we did not go wine tasting, or even really drink wine the entire time we were there. And I was okay with that.  What we did do was still amazing, including a trip to Mulhouse to see a car museum (for Oskar), a trip to a butterfly garden (for Alva), a day in the city of Strassbourg (for me) and two days at a nearby lake which, while lacking the beautiful surroundings of Switzerland, provided a shallow, kid friendly lake for the kids to splash and swim in. 

Revelation 15: As diligent as I was about chronicling my travels and shenanigans while living in Zurich, I was very light on the actual details like where I stayed, what I ate and what I saw.  Erin and I spent a weekend in Colmar in 2008 and I have no idea what we actually did. For future reference, on this trip we stayed in a town called Achenheim, had lunch at a restaurant called Square Delicatessen in Strassbourg and the lake we loved was called Plan d’eau du Lac Achard.

Revelation 16: With a German husband who speaks some French, Italian and Spanish I have gotten lazy in my travels.  It used to be that I would learn how to say the basics in the language of where I was travelling and yet this trip I couldn’t even ask for the toilets in French.

Revelation 17: There is a big difference between junk and trash. Junk is a term I have endearingly given to antiques found at flea markets. For example, I went to the Alameda Flea Market to buy some junk. Trash is the mass produced touristy crap you can find in every city whether it is the shot glass, tea towel or key chain that every shop tries to sell you to remember your trip.  I taught this lesson to the kids during our day in the city.  Strassbourg has a very small antique market on Wednesdays, so I conveniently choose our “city day” to be on Wednesday and we headed to the market when we got into town.  I told each kid they could have EUR 5 to buy whatever they wanted and they chose well.  Alva bought a cute rose metal pendant to wear as a necklace and Oskar bought a cool old Rolls Royce toy car from the 50s. Both were such a better use of EUR 5 than the things we found for sale outside the Cathedral Notre Dame just a few blocks away.  

Revelation 18:  It took me exactly 19 days of enjoying the local foods and regional dishes to crave Mexican food. It also took me less than 6 days of straight meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner before I hit my limit and needed a vegetarian meal.  Luckily for me, we were heading home soon so I could get my fill of both and in the meantime, on Day 19 Martin bought me a bag of chips and a jar of queso to hold me over until then. 

Revelation 19: Travelling with the kids is becoming so much easier and the fun factor is definitely outweighing the work factor more and more every trip.  I can’t wait for our next big adventure!

Revelations 12 and 13 in Amden Switzerland

Revelation 12:  When it comes to planning vacations with Martin’s family, don’t take the lead, but maintain veto rights. After spending two months trying to find a house suitable for our family plus Martin’s I gave up. I couldn’t get them to commit to anything and yet they had a list of requirements. It had to be close enough to Regina’s family’s house in case she could join, large enough for all of us, and during peak travel season however the dates were still to be confirmed by his sister due to her schedule. Every option I found either didn’t work or was no longer available once the family provided their feedback/okay, so I gave up looking and finally deferred to Martin. It was his family, so his headache.

After searching for less than 1 week he complained about the limited options that met our needs.  No?! I am shocked!  Please tell me more about how hard this is! 

And then a few weeks later, he found a house in Amden Switzerland and, while it wouldn’t have been my first choice, I was officially defeated from my efforts and so we booked it. It turned out to be exactly what we needed and wanted. The house itself was perfect, with plenty of space for everyone, a fully equipped kitchen and games and toys, including a trampoline, for the kids. There was a bakery and store within walking distance that sold popsicles. It had kid friendly hikes nearby and a beautiful alpine lake for swimming and paddle boating (the latter of which Oskar had his heart set on after seeing them at Sorpersee in Germany).  With little else to do, it allowed us a full week of relaxation and a chance to slow down.

Revelation 13: I really miss Switzerland and want to move back.  So much so that Martin and I have started looking at property.  Jokingly, but not really.

Revelations 7 to 11 in Zurich

Revelation 7:  I always thought German trains were as reliable as Swiss trains.  In terms of reliability, it went Swiss / German, then French and then Italian.  But man did the German trains prove me wrong this trip.  On Sunday morning I took the train down to Zurich for a night of fun with Petra before rejoining the family in Amden Monday afternoon.  Between a train delay and a missed connection I was two hours late getting into Zurich.  Good thing Martin warned me about the trains and suggested a two hour buffer between arrival and dinner.  

Revelation 8: I will never again underappreciate or forget to pack an emergency snickers bar.  It is a life saver when needed.  And with a 2 hour train delay and limited food options on the train (there was no snack cart!) I needed it.

Revelation 9: After hearing German speakers the past 10 years, I can now appreciate just how strong and distinct the Swiss German accent is.  I can almost understand my mother in-law’s need to correct my pronunciation when I was first learning German in Switzerland. Almost.

Revelation 10: Going back to Zurich was like going back to my old college town after graduating.  It still felt the same, I still got a huge smile on my face getting off of the train at Zurich Haptbahnhof, but everything was also different.  Everyone spoke English, everyone seemed super young.  There were new hip areas in town that hadn’t been there before.  I no longer needed to withdraw CHF400 for one night one (not because it was cheaper, but because they now accept credit cards everywhere).  And there were limited chances of me running into a friend or acquaintance on the street that always made me feel like a local. It was the same, but different.

Revelation 11: I am so lucky to have lived in Zurich when I did and to have met the amazing friends I did during that time, including my friend Petra.  After last seeing each other over 5 years ago in New York, we picked right up where we had left off and it felt like no time had passed.