Sweet rewards after a crazy trip...and semester

Hey friends,


After some urging from a few of you, we decided to start a blog documenting our trip, even though it is only 25 days. Regardless, a couple things that happen might just be entertaining enough to share (some may even be a little too enertaining. We'll save those for coffee dates when we return ;) )


Enjoy.


LB: It's the end of our first full day in Zurich. The last three days have been...a little bit ridiculous. We started out our trip early Wednesday morning after staying up till 3 am packing. After a short flight to D.C. We killed 6 glorious hours waiting for our flight to Zurich. I'm not kidding. They were glorious hours. We stretched out on some seats for a little nap, people-watched, called people, and played Guess the Nationality. Bethany fell for the first tall dark European man she laid eyes on. He happened to have two children in tow, but no big deal.


On the plane, our seats turned out to be the only ones on the plane with faulty lights: they flashed on every 3 or 4 minutes (If you turned them off, they would turn on again 2 minutes later), all night long. It was my 5th night in a row of minimal sleep. By the time we got to Zurich the next morning, I was a  zombie. But whatever. You can sleep when you're dead.


BP: Ditto to what LB said, sans the euro-man crush, I was just intrigued really...
So I just want to throw in a) we flew over the atlantic-crazy and b) we saw the sunrise over the alps.  maybe small potatoes for miss swiss citzen here but this girl was very impressed.
Anyway after we arrived at the airport we rode a subway complete with Heidi holograms that winked at you through the window (no joke) and had cows mooing over the sound system. hilarious.   LB's uncle Fritz met us and whisked us away further up the mountain outside Zurich where he lives.  Pretty much ever since we arrived we've been incredibly pampered with all things swiss (i.e. rich chocolate, veal bratwurst/ according to LB's mom "real bratwurst", roasted chestnuts, and incredible coffee, mulled wine (warmed wine with spices and a "secret ingredient").  

Since we arrived the Kessler's have been so warm and inviting to me.  My first experience with the fam involved going to a local restaurant for a real swiss lunch with Oma and Hanni, LB's grandma and aunt.  Despite not having slept in the last 24 hours I was instantly energized by swiss coffee and oma's spunky personality.   She gave us a run down of everyone in the restaurant and spontaneously switched from dutch, to german, to english in mid sentence. (LB: Oma is from the Netherlands, so although she has lived in the Switz since she was married, she still constantly speaks Dutch to the family). One of my favorite points in the conversation was when Oma apparently told LB what her Christmas present was from Hanni (i.e. the aunt sitting across the table).  When she got called out for it, she said it wasn't a big deal, it was just dutch culture.  This, according to LB, is her habit of covering for her off color or inappropriate remarks.  awesome.   Also, even though we assured her I could not speak german or dutch, it didn't stop her from fervently speaking to me in both.  And when someone is looking at you so intently-its hard not to respond, even if you don't have a clue as to what they're saying.  Consequently I've agreed with and nodded my approval for many things i'm not even aware of.


LB: When that happened, I tried to throw in the translation really quickly under my breath in between Oma's rapid-fire sentences so Bethany could reply. Oma didn't notice, and it didn't usually register that someone was responding to her in English. That's just how she operates.


During that lunch, I also got the normal 'What are you doing after college?' questions. I was then informed that a famous church in Zurich had a bellringer (a Quasimodo-esque routine with lots of bells and intricate patterns--no small task) who retired and they can't find anyone else to do it. Apparently, my new career after college just may be church bellringing in Zurich. I never knew how far my International Studies degree could take me.


Today, after great coffee with some of the fam at Sprungli, Zurich's famous chocolate store (Bethany: / the birthplace of all good things here on this earth.  When LB says "chocolate store" I think she means "chocolate palace"), Bethany and I took off to do a little exploring. It was definitely a different experience to be showing someone beautiful things that I've become so familiar with. We walked along the river, checked out a beautiful overlook of the city, went inside some beautifully ornate 16th century churches with stained glass windows (Bethany: one of which had stained glass designed by Chagall.. WHATT??) and loads of history, and meandered through narrow, winding cobblestone alleys with little shops and a Christmas market with outdoor vendors. But one of the best parts was having wide-eyed Bethany periodically stopping, gripping my arm, and expressing her awe or amazement. It kind of makes you look at a place with fresh eyes.


BP:  So now we're back at the Kessler residence getting ready to watch Octobersky before settling in for the night.  (who knew the Kessler's would have a copy of that).  Today was already such a rich experience full of new tastes, sights, and sounds and tomorrow is looking to be just a continuation.  We'll be heading back into the Zurich for brunch with the entire family (I'm hoping to score a seat by oma) before heading out for more exploration of the city.  After that we'll be meeting up with one of LB's friends for dinner and then heading to a Christmas play..completely in german.  Which I'm not too worried about considering I've managed to enjoy myself quite alot despite not understanding 90% of what's said around me.  Plus, LB has proved to be a Great translator during the key funny moments. 


Thank you all for your interest and support during our little excursion.  We'll try to update again soon.  Tschüss!