Sunday Road Trip

Well, we're off again. Dan planned another exciting day of site-seeing. I know I'm going to forget something, so Dan will probably add some details later. We had two destinations today, both in Switzerland. Gstaad and Gruyeres. We left earlier and stopped for a picnic lunch when we arrived in Gstaad. There was a great park there where the kids could play and eat. We learned from last weekend that the kids are much happier when they don't have an empty stomach!

After lunch we walked the pedestrian street of Gstaad and window shopped. Gstaad is a very "high-class" town with many designer shops. It is a travel destination of the rich and famous. We stopped at a place called "The Apple Pie" for coffee and sodas. Zoe did all the ordering for us in German. She did great! It amazes me to hear her use another language. She is becoming more confident as she uses it more. After our drinks we took a cable car up at Wispile. This was cooler than we ever imagined. Halfway up the lift there is a "mittlestation" and we got off by mistake. The man there seemed surprised that we got off and was trying to communicate with us in German. Dan told the man to speak to our daughter because she knew Deutsch. The man seemed a bit shocked. Zoe told him (again in German) that we wanted to go to the top to see the animals (there is a petting zoo, place to eat, and play area at the top). The man told Zoe that we got off too soon and we had to get back on the lift. Zoe was beaming at her success, as were her proud parents. So up we went and wow! The kids played, we hiked a bit. The best part (for me) is that there were hammocks tucked away in little groves of trees. Sam and I took some quiet time in a hammock. I think it was my favorite part of the day.

After our ride down we had some water and Dan and I shared a beer that we had brought. We loaded back in the car and headed to Gruyeres for some fondue. This is a great area. The "old town" is in a tucked away fortress with cobbled streets, a fountain in the center of town and a castle at the top of the hill. The kids didn't care for the fondue much, but chowed on the pomme frites (french fries).

Ben was getting antsy at this point and it was quite warm. Late afternoon with only car naps....not good. He did have an admirer in town. A little muslim girl about 8 years old couldn't keep her eyes off him. She came up to us once and touched his cheek. She came back again and kissed his cheek. The third time she was brave enough to ask his name. Very cute.

We had one mishap here. I was holding Ben and Zoe and I were looking at postcards outside a souvenir shop. Zoe slipped on the curb and sent the entire display of cards flying all over the street. It was a nightmare. She was embarassed and immediately denied that she did it. It was an accident, but I was like, "Oh #$%&, how am I going to fix this." I started to pick them up and then out of nowhere a teenage boy and a woman started helping me. The woman went into the shop and came out and told me not to worry about it (she told me this in French, but I could understand by her body language what she meant). Seriously, there were probably 1000 postcards on the ground!

The cool "Swiss" moment of the day was when six men came out into the street and played the alpenhorns . Dan posted a short video on our flickr album. It was a great day. We brought the meringues and double creme home to enjoy today. It is Gruyere's special dessert. I can't wait!