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Switzerland Family Trip: September 2007

Amy and Dad in the villiage of Villars, Switzerland Amy and Mom eat a yummy Swiss meal of pizza and an "interesting" salad. God rays shine through a stormy sky. After the storm, a beautiful rainbow. A quick roadside stop to admire the beauty around us. Dad was our designated driver through the windy roads of Switzerland. Who are those dorks? Internet wasn't easy to find, so we took advantage of a hotspot while waiting for Kat's train to arrive. We made good friends with the cows. ...and Kat makes 4. A rare photo.... we actually got Mom out on a walk. She actually appears to be enjoying the walk. Good ol' Dad with camera in hand. Victorious! Mom conquers the mountain, or was it a mole hill? Another colorful family meal. Crêpes! Kat was incredulous. Beautiful flowers everywhere! If you had any doubt, this is really Switzerland. When traveling with Mom, no day would be complete without our afternoon tea party. Beautiful countryside. Our little swiss miss came with her "Heidi" boots. ...and Burky makes five - he flew all the way to Switzerland after dating for less than two weeks to meet the parents. Jet d’Eau fountain in Geneva. Mom and Dad at Jet d’Eau Mom and Dad walk towards the fountain. This should be a Valentine's Day postcard. The fam in Geneva. I remember this flower clock looking a bit more finished when we were last here in 1992. Aw, the happy couple. Jonathan got all dressed for church (which we weren't able to find) and looked good to meet the future in-laws for the first time after a long trans-Atlantic flight. I love my sister, but I'm not so sure she feels the same way. The Andrews ladies. 'You said we were headed to a tea party. This looks like a hiking trail to me.' We loved looking at all the beautiful flowers, bright colors, and decorative doorways as we walked through the villages around Villars. Jonathan's modeling my "First class sleeper" and face mask I got for the long flight to Africa. Our view from our porch. We pulled over on the narrow windy road so Mom could steal some apples. I call this 'Stairway In Paradise.' Swiss countryside. She used to being on the other side of the camera. Another yummy lunch. We rented racquets one day and played some tennis. Next time we'll have to bring our own racquets because there are several amazing courts nestled in the mountains. Jonathan and I rode the gondola up to Les Chaux while Mom, Kat, and Dad drove. Our gondola ride. Studying the sign to plan our next day's walk. Jonathan and I walked to Anzeinde the next day. cow kisses. Jonathan and the cows made good friends. Jonathan and I stumbled upon this little dairy farm, and using his french language skills, Jonathan bought us some cheese and milk. A little boy cuts some cheese for us. Got Milk? An amazing set of public tennis courts just a short hike above our chateau. The courts we longed to play on. We got caught out in the rain and were awarded a beautiful rainbow. A full rainbow. Jonathan under the rainbow with our milk fresh from the cow. Jonathan and Amy near Alpe de Chaux The fam just before our mountaintop tea-party. Our favorite part of vacationing with my mom is our daily tea party. A very happy mother with her tea. Mom heading into our condo. We prepared some amazing homemade meals in Switzerland. So Swiss. Zermatt. We spent a day in Zermatt. The Matterhorn. We visited a cemetary in Zermatt with amazingly touching tombstones dedicated to lost climbers. Hey, it's that ArtisTree lady. Can you tell who's in his element? Thank goodness we don't look like tourists. Kat and Mom in Zermatt. Hiking in Zermatt with wonderful views of the Matterhorn. Yodel-ay-hee-ho Mom thinks she's found an easier way down. Not a bad place to take a rest stop. The von-Andrews/Burky family. 'Hey, did you guys notice there's a mountain over there?' The fam. True love. The Andrews sisters tea-partying in Zermatt. It was a bit breezy on the mountain, but we still had our afternoon tea party. 'Hey look, that little mountain on my chocolate bar looks a lot like that mountain we've been looking at all day.' Aw, how cute. The 'rents. Yay, Dad!!!! He captured every moment of the trip just like this! Dad by the river. The kids on the train back down to our car. Jonathan and I took a day to hike around the mountains right around our condo. Since we didn't have much of a map, the GPS helped us not get lost. Jonathan: 'Quick, let's get out of here, they found out we have their cheese.' Cows: 'Give us the cheese' We finally found a safe place to eat lunch where the cows couln't get to us. Beautiful! We were probably lost at this point because there wasn't much of a path to follow, but you couldn't ask for a more beautiful place to be lost. A cow tried to block our path, but after a short conversation we were able to pass. Friendly cow. Picture moment. Such a hard hike for Mom. The leader of our pack. Who needs racquets? No weiner dogs? Say CHEESE. About 5 seconds after this picture was taken, the cow put his head down and got a big shock from the electric fence. Taking a walk from the condo A beautiful Swiss salad. Another lunch in an amazingly beautiful setting. Our condos. Jonathan and Dad went on a hike together one day while the ladies tea partied. Dad meets the goats. This chair was conveniently waiting for us in the woods. King George. Almost every night Kat prepared colorful Swiss-style salads for dinner. Dinner. Our favorite crêpe place. We went daily for crêpes and internet. The view at dusk from our condo. Our last night in Villars we surprised Mom & Dad with a gourmet anniversary dinner. Mom convinced Jonathan to join her on a stealth apple-stealing mission on our way out of town. Apple thieves!
 
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