Where Am I?????

Last week I went to the grocery store. By myself. Go Me.

Actually I was pretty proud of myself. I didn't hit anyone. I think I obeyed most traffic laws. I survived all of the roundabouts and weird road triangle thingys. Plus I went to the big Migros...in another town. It was pretty fun to spend some time by myself, also there was not just a grocery store but it was more like a mall with clothing stores, jewelry stores, and restaurants.

Today I just needed to pick up a few things, but they were specific things and I needed to go to a specific store....one that I have never been to. The good news was, I had been to this town several times and it was across from a restaurant that I had also been to before. So why did I need the GPS? I didn't.

Then I got lost. :(

So, I turned on the GPS. The GPS took me to a large shopping center with various stores. It was probably two or three stories tall so I drove up the ramp to the parking structure and hopped out. I was feeling okay, that it hadn't been too bad. I had secured a good parking space, paid for my shopping cart, and walked into the mall. (Here in CH you pay 2CHF to use the cart and then you can take it all over the mall to as many stores as you like) The COOP (grocery) that I wanted was up the escalators so I took my cart up and walked in. One problem. It looked like Home Depot. There was paint, garden supplies, storage containers, appliances....but no groceries. I walked to the back end of the store thinking I would find food eventually. I did not. UGH. I was at the wrong store!! So I went back down the stairs, put away the cart, got back in the car and consulted the GPS again. It told me that I was in the right place! So I started the car and circled the block, looking for the COOP grocery. FINALLY, I found it on the ground level on the other side of the building!

Once again, parked the car, paid for a cart, and went into the store. YAY! FOOD! I spent quite some time gathering all of the things I needed with only a few difficulties (for example, meanwhile, I had lost my list). I got into line and watched as the woman checked out my items. All of a sudden she looked up and pointed a cucumber at me and started speaking to me. Uh-Oh. What is wrong? I looked at her blankly and told her in French that I don't understand French. (my one good phrase besides please and I'm sorry) Fortunately the woman in back of me in line knew English and translated for me. I had forgotten to weigh and label my cucumber! Here, you need to choose your produce, take it to the machine, weigh it, and label it with the sticker so the checker can charge you. Oh no! I had weighed and labeled my other veggies, but forgot this one cucumber! The woman in back of me said, "Go ahead and do it now, she will wait for you. I told her, "But I don't want to hold you up." She told me it was no problem and I ran off to put my little cuc on a scale and punch in #48. I ran back with the cucumber in my hand and was surprised to find everyone waiting there patiently for me. Both women smiled generously and we moved on with the items. I paid and off I went! Both women were so kind and generous with their time. I feel like at Ralphs at home, someone would have cut off my head for taking up their time like that!

Back in the car, I turned on the GPS and punched in the address for the Wick's home. I sighed a big sigh of relief that I was FINALLY going back home. Well, not so fast! As I followed the GPS directions I came to a intersection where I knew I should turn left. The GPS told me to go straight. Hmmm. Decisions. What to do? I followed the GPS remembering how I thought I knew how to get to the store in the first place.
Bad decision. It was taking me through some farm roads that were closed. Now I was lost again! Ugh after driving around for a few more minutes, I finally found the intersection I needed and began to recognize signs marked "Cugy" and "Morrens" YAY! Thank you Swiss people for your LOVE of road signs!
3 hours later, I had the few items that I needed, a headache, and a better knowledge of how to get to COOP Crissier.

Papiliorama

Papiliorama
So we were in search of Zermatt. Our plan was to pack up the pups, jump in the car, and drive there. After all, a trip to Switzerland isn't complete without a view of the Matterhorn, right?
Then we mapped it. Turns out, it is a little far from us. Also, a cable car ride is needed to get up into the town because cars are not allowed.
So we made other plans. :)
We decided to go to the rainforest instead!
Well, not really. But we did cruise on over to a place called Papiliorama, named for the genus of the butterfly. It's a pretty cool place: combination nature center and petting zoo. It is a hands on museum for kids where they have re-created a couple of different habitats around the world for kids to experience. My kids needed a kid-type experience.
We went on a dreary, cloudy, cold Sunday so it was the perfect indoor Sunday activity especially for my kids. (They had seen enough Medieval European villages for a little while) Of course, every other family in CH had that idea too so it was a little crowded!
The first part we checked out was the cafe....it was lunch time, okay? Super expensive food, but good and warm and it hit the spot. We paid about 50 CHF for four sandwiches and some pretzels. ;)
Next we went into the nocturnal animal zone. This was pretty cool. I have never seen anything like it before. We wandered through  a very large enclosure that is completely dark and lit only with black lights. I have to admit, most exhibits were hard to see but we did get a glimpse of several key animals. One of them was an Agouti. This is particularly advantageous because believe it or not, we just studied the Agouti after reading about it in The Swiss Family Robinson! We also saw an Anaconda, Owl Monkey, Armadillo, Spectacled Owl, and a tank FULL of huge Catfish! I really enjoyed the nocturnal habitat except for two things. One: it smelled very bad. Two: There were bats flying around! I mean freely flying around my head! Ahhhh! That was a little crazy.
After the nocturnal habitat we went into the rain forest habitat. There were fewer animals in there to view, but there were lots of plant specimens to look at and trails to follow, including one that takes you over the top of the rain forest up to the canopy. We saw a few really beautiful birds including a spoonbill and a Rainbow Toucan!

We found this guy wandering around...not sure what he is.

Spoonbill

The girls in the rainforest habitat. It was so humid in there that Natalie's hair began to curl. ;)

This Rainbow Toucan did a drive by right above Jeff's head!

There was one part of the rainforest habitat that I did not go into....the bat cave! Yuck! My family had a good time going in there though, and subsequently making fun of me for not partaking! Thanks anyway. Bats are NOT for me!
We left the rainforest habitat and went across the way to learn about Butterflies. It was a little hard, because it was in French but we could make most of it out. They had displays about the life cycle of the butterfly, its natural and man made enemies, and a large display of butterflies and their corresponding caterpillar bodies. We followed that display outside into the back area where there is a very large Butterfly house. Unfortunately, it was empty because it is the wrong time of year. I'm sure in the spring and warm summer weather, this place is hopping! Or buzzing, whatever the case may be!

All in all, it was a great day for the kids to kick back and have some fun. Katie really loved the nocturnal habitat. The bats flying around her head did not even bother her! Natalie, on the other hand, is like her mom and ran out screaming lol. They also have a small petting zoo outside with donkeys, peacocks, pot belly pigs, and small goats. I would recommend a visit here. Very fun!

Carnival!

Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland has four official languages: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. We are staying in the French speaking part of CH around the Lake Geneva area. Friday we traveled north to Bern, the capital of Switzerland, which also happens to be in the German speaking part of the country.
A while back I was reading about Carnival and saw that Bern, Switzerland was the number five place to celebrate. So when we found out we were going to Switzerland, of course, I wanted to make sure Bern was on our list!
Bern celebrates Carnival with a three-day party called Berner Fasnacht. It is full of bands, floats, utterly crazy costumes, food, parades, and tons and tons of confetti! Being that we have our children with us, I really love that they have a special time dedicated to kids; I wouldn't have to explain too many odd eccentricities to my kids. ;) We decided to go on this children's day. All of the bands march in a parade and costumed children are allowed in the parade as well. 
We arrived in the city a couple of hours before the parade was set to start so that we could take in a few city sights as well. The city, like many others in Switzerland was built during the Middle Ages and has an very famous clock tower, named Zytglogge, that is still in operating order. The tower used to be a prison tower and was built during the 13th century, but the clock was added later, during the 15th century, after the great fire of 1405. Miraculously, we found ourselves standing in front of the impressive monument ten minutes before noon so we were able to watch and hear the movements at the full hour! At noon, the small figurines danced around and the bell striker at the very top struck the bell. It was very exciting to watch as a small crowd gathers in anticipation of the event.

Katie took this picture of Jeff and I in front of the Bern Clock Tower

After being entertained by the clock tower, we walked down the main street in Bern to find Einstein's haus. Einstein famously lived in Bern during what he himself termed the happiest period of his life. It is here that he also penned his famous paper, Theory of Relativity. His home has been turned into a small museum.
When we found his house we found that it was closed due to water damage! I was so disappointed. Katie took an online class last year on Einstein and I thought visiting this museum would be the perfect compliment to that class. Oh well. We saw the outside! There is also a small adjoining cafe. 
By this time, it was getting close to parade time so we had a bite to eat and went in search of the parade route. Only problem: I don't know how to say "parade" in German and nobody really understood what we were talking about! There were hundreds of costumed people milling about and they all seemed to be heading in different directions! We went first to the old village, but they were setting up food carts and scaffolding so we concluded that would not be a good parade route. We consulted the map that we received from the TI agent, but that was wrong as well. We then found the main street and people were lining the street on steps, eating and talking. We grabbed a step and sat there in the sun for quite a while. We had purchased some decor for the kids to wear in celebration and Natalie took the opportunity to dance and dance and dance in the middle of the street! Nobody seemed to care and she moved out of the way every time a car wanted to pass. That kid cracks me up!!! Here are some pics of her antics:

While Natalie got her dance on, we watched people come and go and finally realized that nobody close to us was there for the children's parade! They were all working people sunning themselves, having lunch, and enjoying the gorgeous weather!
We asked several people to direct us to the parade route and finally a police officer was able to direct us. He asked us where we were from and when we told him California, he seemed very amused. 
We finally found the parade route and picked out our location. Within minutes we could hear the first notes of a band playing Proud Mary and could see the Bern Bear leading the procession!
The children's parade was awesome! After each band rolled by, costumed children (and often times their costumed parents) followed in procession behind. It was a little like Halloween in America but times ten! Many of the costumes were very elaborate and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Children were given large bags of confetti and they tossed it everywhere and at everyone! The music was amazing and for a few minutes, we even joined in the parade! (Much to the chagrin of my almost teenage daughter!)
Me: "Let's join the parade!"
Katie: "NO!!!"
Me: "Why not?"
Katie: "We don't have costumes!"
Me: "Who cares?! Let's go!"
So we went down the parade route a small ways, dancing as we went! It was so fun. Katie almost died of embarassment. hahahaha Many families had a theme going: there was the family dressed in Euros, the caveman family with dog bones in their hair, lots of Pippi Longstockings, and tons and tons of princesses. There were thousands of people in a never-ending sea of ogres, pirates, clowns, ninjas, knights, and bees (very popular). The massive amount of people passing by lasted for almost two hours!!! I had such an amazing time at this parade, I wanted to stay for the night time festivities very badly, but our pooches were at home with full bladders. So we packed it in and hit the road home. 
One interesting thing happened on the way home, we hit a lot of traffic on the autoroute. When we came up to the cause we found that it was a police checkpoint. We watched as several cars in front of us were pulled out of the line to the side as a police officer checked a list. It seemed like he was looking at license plates maybe? We got a little nervous with our language difficulties and all but thankfully we were let to go through! Whew!
All in all, we had such a great day in Bern. It is truly a fascinating city what with the Swiss National Bank, the Parliament building, the old village, the bear pits, I really can't wait to go back here someday and take in all that this amazing city has to offer! I hope you enjoy some of our pictures of the Children's Parade:

This band started the parade and they were so awesome! We later found them playing on a street corner and we stopped to dance and listen while they played YMCA

Tons and tons of confetti!

I LOVED this band!

Earlier in the day, this guy had given my kids a Canival pin on the street. They were such nice people.

This kid band ROCKED it! They had the beat and they were very impressive!

I loved this fish head guy

We captured a picture of this guy putting his hat on Natalie. Everyone was very friendly and out to have a good time.

American Food

Eating out in Switzerland is ultra expensive so we try to limit our meals to lunch out only, taking breakfast and dinner at the house. It works out well because then we are home by the time the pups need to go out. Well, yesterday was a day of rest. The kids had multiple breakdowns and attitude problems so we decided to have a day in where they could play and rest. Even Dad got a nap in and I got some laundry done. Well around dinner time we decided to go out to dinner! We hadn't done that yet, so I really didn't even know where to go but I was craving a nice solid cheeseburger.
I found a restaurant online that proclaimed to sell American food....it even sounded American, plus they had a play area for kids. So we hopped in the car and headed over to Buffalo Grille in a neighboring town, Crissier.
Oh my.
Walking in, I was heartened to see murals of the wild west, pictures of the Grand Canyon, cowboys, and covered wagons. WooHoo! I found some American food! Maybe the menu is in English too! YES!

NO.

The menu is not in English. The waitress DOES NOT speak English. At all. Not even a little.
Poor girl.
Let's just say we tipped her very well. ;)
She was so sweet, and genuinely felt badly that we could not communicate. I kept telling her that it was not her fault, but mine, not that she understood me hahaha. Anyhow, I did get a cheeseburger and it did not have fried potatoes in place of the bread like the picture I saw on the menu. It was, however, the rarest piece of meat I have ever had in my life. And after all the gesticulating I had done to get it, I was not going to bother that poor girl to send it back!
They do however, make a mean margarita. Thus the big tip lol.
Anyhow, the kids had a fun time and we got out for a night....plus I didn't have to cook. :)

An American Dinner!

 *o*

Natalie enjoying some Barbe a papa. (That is one of my new French words, along with pommes de terre)

Last Castle...I promise!

Gruyeres, Switzerland
Yesterday we drove to Fribourg where you can find the quaint medieval village of Gruyeres. The town is known for it's beautiful castle on a hill, but more so for their famous Gruyere cheese (which is oh so delicious!)
I did not do enough research for this day trip so we found ourselves in the middle of a valley of snow without the proper shoes! Natalie was even wearing tennis shoes! So the challenge of the day was to keep the kids out of the snow so their feet would stay dry and their complaints would stay minimal...that proved to be quite difficult. They ran for every snow bank they could find!
To get up to the castle we first walked through the adorable village. It was made even more adorable as the tinkering of a piano could be heard from one of the apartments as a piano teacher gave her lessons. ;) My kids remarked how much they miss their piano.

Toe village looking toward the castle. The temperatures were freezing this morning!

The village looking from the castle, from whence we came :)

The town fountain was frozen

 The castle itself was built in the 1200's and belonged to the Count of Gruyeres. In the 1500's Count Michel went bankrupt after much effort to recover and the castle became the property of the neighboring cantons of Fribourg and Bern. During this time it was occupied by various bailiffs who were in charge of the residence and soon theRomantic Period brought new fascination with the property. A man named Daniel Bovy purchased the castle during the 1850's and renovated it for his brother Auguste, an artist who lived in the castle with many of his friends, creating a sort of artist commune. Many of his paintings are on display in the castle. Eventually Fribourg bought the castle back and now it is maintained by a foundation and houses a few art galleries and is available for tours to the public. ;)

Century walk to the ramparts from the courtyard

Extremely large fireplace

Most of the rooms are decorated in the Romantic period for the Bovy family

A view of the garden from the balcony of the castle

A painting from Auguste Bovy

The most interesting room in the castle depicts scenes of the castle's ownership history. During the early Middle Ages, occupants of the town fought in the Crusades as well as many other battles.

The most impressive part of the castle are the views from the top.

Gruyeres is also the home to the HR Giger museum. Walking out of the castle, the elegance and delicacy of the Romantic Period is soon juxtaposed with the cold angular lines of anorexic metal women with rods shooting from their breasts as they stand erect on the sidewalks at the museum entrance. It is probably the most inappropriate place for this museum, but maybe that is just because I'm not a huge Giger fan.
We had lunch in the village at a restaurant with a magnificent view of the valley. Jeff and I wanted to try Raclette, a traditional Swiss meal. The restaurant was sweet and the views were amazing.

Ready for some Raclette!

This device is placed on the table. The top part has a heat coil that melts the cheese and the cheese part swivels around so each guest can scrape it off.

Once the cheese is melted, you scrape it off onto the food. Traditionally it is served with potatoes, pickles, and onions.

Once again, we discovered that the Swiss just use food as a vehicle in which to get cheese into their bodies! It was yummy! Jeff and I consumed about two thirds of that cheese block. Stunning.
We left the restaurant and headed over to Broc. The kids had a class scheduled at the Cailler Chocolate factory.

Nestle and Cailler are partners

The Cailler Factory

Chocolate bars...yes, we picked up a "few"

I had signed the girls up for a class. They made their own chocolate bars.

The pics are not high quality: taken from a platform, through glass, at a window, with my iphone haha

The finished product. The class was in French but the girls got the gist of it and had a lot of fun. I am proud of them for being such troopers.

When the girls were finished with their class we took a tour of the Factory. The best part....they had an tour in English!!!! YAY!!! The Cailler company has put quite an effort into their tour and it was like something you would expect to find at Disneyland with small decorated, themed rooms, automated animation, and a narrator telling the entire story of Francois Cailler and his association with other famous chocolate makers like Kohler and Nestle. We learned so much on the tour and were taken through the process of making their candy.

Cailler gets it's cacoa beans from many different countries. As of late Africa has been a bigger producer than the formerly popular South American countries.

Natalie with a quite large bag of Hazelnuts

Chocolate going into the cooling machine and getting ready to be cut into pieces, coated with chocolate and hazelnuts, then packaged.

The finished product and the consumer

Anytime!

The tasting room. Our favorite part!

All of the different chocolate brands were laid out for us to taste. "Take your time in there" they tell you. We did! But by the time we had wound around the room, we could not eat any more of the rich chocolate pieces!

After the tour we spent some time and money in the gift shop then rushed home to the boys as we were out a bit later than usual. Very busy and tiring day but quite successful!