The Pumpkin Patch

The week before Halloween, Claire and I went with my friend and her daughter to a nearby pumpkin patch. We needed some pumpkins for carving, decorating, and eating (no canned pumpkin in Switzerland!), so a pumpkin patch was the way to go.

Up the mountain and into the fog we drove to the self-service pumpkin patch.

The pumpkins were all laid out in groups under a tent.

Each group of pumpkins had a sign next to it saying what kind of pumpkin it was and if it was to be used for cooking or for decoration.  If it was a pumpkin for cooking, the sign said what kinds of dishes that particular pumpkin would be good for.  I had no idea there were so many different varieties of pumpkins!  

Claire took her time inspecting the pumpkins.

She and her friend eventually found the perfect ones.  

No Swiss activity would be complete without a cow sighting.  

Because it was a self-service place, when it came time to pay for the pumpkins, we weighed the pumpkins ourselves, did the math, and deposited the correct amount of money into a box.  I was grateful that my friend had thought to bring change because if not, I would have had to leave a 50 franc bill for my 12 francs worth of pumpkins!    

After our fun day at the pumpkin patch, I am sure that my pumpkin pie will taste extra delicious this year, even if I will still wish for canned pumpkin!

School

Claire had her first day of (all French!) pre-school last week Friday.  The way they do it here is that the kids gradually stay longer and longer at school according to how they're doing.  So the first day, the teacher called about one hour after Gordon and I dropped her off and said that Claire had had enough.  When we dropped her off, she happily waved to us and said good-bye, but her teacher said she started crying 15 minutes later and did not stop until we came back to get her.  I was so nervous that she wouldn't ever want to go back!

On Tuesday of this week, I brought her back for her second day (she will go Tuesday and Friday mornings for 3 hours each) and again, she happily waved and said good-bye when I left.  Again, she started crying a few minutes after we left and then stopped crying about 40 minutes later, which was 10 minutes before I arrived to collect her.  I was happy that she had stopped crying this time before I got there.  

Claire's teacher said that I should bring her on Thursday, which is not a normally scheduled day for Claire, because the class is only 3 other kids and Claire might do better with a smaller group.  So I brought her again and she reluctantly said good-bye to me.  This time, the teacher said I should call in an hour and a half and see how Claire was doing and if she was doing fine, I should leave her for the full 3 hours.  I called as planned and got the good news that Claire had cried for 30 minutes, but then she calmed down and started to play and even began to smile and laugh with the teacher and the other kids.  When I arrived to pick her up, she was happy to see me, but did not want to leave the school!  It took me about 20 minutes to get her out of there.  

This morning, I took her to school again and I was a bit nervous because she would be in the bigger group of 8 kids, which might be overwhelming for her.  When I left her there this morning, it was the first time she cried as I was leaving, rather than crying after I had already left.  It broke my heart to walk away from her crying face, but I knew she would be okay.  I called the teacher about an hour later and she said that Claire had cried for less than 2 minutes and then enjoyed the rest of morning and participated in the activities.  The teacher even said that Claire said something in French today!  The teacher couldn't remember what it was, but when we left and the teacher said "Salut, Claire," Claire said "Salut, Anne" instead of saying "bye bye" like she had before.  She seems very willing to try to say French words now that she has started school, whereas before, she was very hesitant to say them.  I'm pretty sure she will be speaking more French than Gordon in a matter of months!  I am so happy today and so very proud of my big girl.

I took a bunch of pictures of Claire on the first day, outside the school, and this is the best of the pitiful bunch.  She was way too excited to pose for a decent picture.

Sunday

After what seemed like one of the longest weeks of my life, Gordon returned Saturday from a week-long trip to Indonesia.  One of the great things about Gordon being a local employee, rather than an expat, is that he does not have to travel as much as the expats do.  In the year and a half that we have been here in Switzerland, this was only the second time that he has been gone for a whole week.  He left for his trip last Saturday, exactly one week after Claire and I returned from Chicago.  The weekdays that he was gone were not terrible.  We were able to keep ourselves busy with the park and playdates and such.  The weekend, however, was rough!  It seemed that all of our friends were either out of town for the weekend or they had visitors from out of town.  Either way, they were unavailable to us, so we were on our own.  We got through it though, and by the time Sunday rolled around this week, we were ready to get out and have some fun with Gordon!  

In the morning, we drove up to Les Paccots, which is a ski resort in the winter and has a fabulous playground built into the side of a hill that we enjoy using in the non-snowy months.  

  

You can see one of the ski runs in the background of this photo.

Do you see the silver tube next to the stairs in the photo below?  It's a tube slide, built into the side of the hill.  It's a steep drop and the heavier one is, the faster they fly through the tube.  Gordon took Claire on his lap first and she loved it.  Shocking us all, she decided to go it alone the next time.  

Here is the result of the solo journey on the slide:

She was terrified while coming down, but started laughing and smiling and wanting to do it again as soon as it was over.  My brave girl!  

After a nap and dinner, we headed down to the lake, determined to enjoy what is probably one of the last warm Sundays of the year.  

Rather than playing at the park, Claire decided to play on the skateboard half-pipe.  After about six thousand times climbing up and sliding down, it was time to head back home.  

This week, we are supposed to have beautiful weather each day.  I intend to be outside enjoying it every day.  Winter will be here soon!

Parenting Advice

Are you in Switzerland and in need of parenting advice?  If so, you needn't worry.  There are parenting experts scattered throughout Switzerland and they're always ready to dole out the advice, whether they're asked or not.

Take today for example:  As Claire and I were making our way to her playgroup at ten this morning, there was a man sitting on a bench, enjoying his morning beer.  When he saw Claire in her stroller, he was apparently shocked that she was not wearing a hat or a scarf and he told me so in slightly slurred French.  He said that while it may be okay for me to be out without my hat and scarf (on a sunny 55 degree morning), it is not okay for her to be out like that.  He then continued to drink his beer.  Thank you, kind sir, for your words of wisdom.  Surely I will be a better parent henceforth.

The Zoo

Today, Claire and I met up with some friends at the Servion Zoo, which is about a 20 minute drive from our apartment.  The friends we met up with were some of the first friends that I made in Switzerland and I was excited to see them after having been in the United States for a month.  It blows my mind to think that I have known these women and their children for almost a year and a half already.  I don't know how I could have done this without them!

Claire had fun running with her friends and playing on the playgrounds at the zoo.  Minimal animal viewing was actually done.  I think they saw the wild boars, the lions, and the bears.  That's it.

Oh, look!  They actually stopped to look at an animal.  (And smile for a picture)

After a few fun and chilly hours at the zoo, it was time to go home.  Claire promptly fell asleep in the car on the drive home while I enjoyed the view.

The Circus

Today was a very cool and cloudy Sunday, which made it a perfect day to sit around the house in our pajamas and play.  However, after Claire's nap, she and I were both pretty antsy, so despite the brisk weather, we headed out to the lake.  Claire talked me into letting her ride the carousel, which usually does not end well.  This time, however, she happily stayed on her horse throughout the entire ride and did not insist that I hold her.  I consider that a victory for both of us!  When the carousel ride was over, we walked a bit farther down the lakeside path and happened upon the area where the circus is currently set up.  I had completely forgotten that the circus was in town and was therefore pleasantly surprised to see three elephants hanging out in the Place du Marche, where the Vevey farmers' market is usually held.  Claire was also delighted to see the elephants.  After checking them out for a couple minutes, she said "Mama, I smell like elephants," which is her way of saying that she smells elephants.  But, we'll stick with "I smell like elephants" because it's funnier her way.

Next to the elephants were the zebras and camels, hanging out together behind a makeshift enclosure.  Sometimes, it's very clear to see that we are not in the United States.  The zebras and camels were a perfect example of this in that they were behind a short, flimsy fence and people were feeding them popcorn from their hands and petting them!  No one from the circus was watching or regulating this, so Claire and I kept our distance.  Claire saw the big circus tent and asked if we could go in, but alas, we did not buy tickets, so we could not go in.  Maybe next year!


Here's the tent, which will probably be gone by tomorrow morning.

It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but if you look closely, you can see the camels on the right hand side of the picture, the elephants on the left, and Lake Geneva and the French Alps in the background.

The circus coming to town made for a very interesting Sunday afternoon, even if we didn't buy tickets!

Back at it!

After a little more than 4 weeks back in the US, Claire and I returned to Switzerland last Saturday with big plans.  Fortunately for me and our fellow passengers, Claire was an angel on both flights, sleeping most of the first flight (8 hours to Denmark), and quietly playing with my iPad on the second flight (2 hours from Denmark to Switzerland).  Even though these marathon flights are becoming bizarrely commonplace for me, I am still unable to sleep on the plane, so I was exhausted upon arrival.  Claire, however, was full of energy and ecstatic about seeing her daddy after a month away, running past customs and out into the arrivals area to find him and give him more than a few loving hugs.

Jet lag got the best of me again this time, causing much stress and anxiety.  For the first four nights, Claire slept a few hours, then got up and played for a few hours before sleeping through until the morning when I had to literally drag her out of her bed at about 8:30 a.m.  On that fifth night, though, she slept all the way through the night, surprising and delighting both Gordon and me and allowing us all to get some much needed sleep.

On Tuesday, Claire and I headed to IKEA to get some things for the apartment and as we walked in, she said "Oh, we're going to Target?" to which I replied "Only in my dreams, Claire."

On Wednesday, in a fog of jet lag induced fatigue and grumpiness, I stupidly had my iPhone in my pocket while using the bathroom when the phone fell out of my pocket and into the toilet.  Despite my best efforts to revive it, the phone is now completely broken, never to be used again.  I am going to miss that phone, but really, I should count myself lucky that it worked for a year after Claire put it into the kitchen sink last year while I was washing dishes!

On Thursday, Claire and I went to visit a potential preschool for her.  In our part of Switzerland, these are called "jardin d'enfants", which translates to "kindergarten" in German or "garden of children" in English.  About 6 months ago, when we first considered sending her to preschool, Gordon and I visited 2 other places, neither of which seemed to be a good fit for Claire.  After waiting 6 months and going through the search process again, I was cautiously optimistic about this new place after communicating via email with the director while we were in the US.  Claire was excited about the visit when I told her we were going to look at a school.  As soon as we walked into the jardin d'enfants on Thursday morning, I had a good feeling about the place.  The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, the toys were plentiful, and the kids that were finishing up their mornings were happy.  After talking to the director/teacher and seeing how she interacted with Claire, I was sold.  This place seems to be a great fit for Claire and Gordon and I decided that she will start going there 2 mornings per week beginning November 2.  I have requested that the teacher speak French with Claire unless it is necessary that she speak English.  I am very curious to see how that will play out and I can not wait to hear the French words that Claire will bring home with her!

Friday night in Switzerland

On Friday afternoon, at 4:30, Gordon's boss's wife arrived at our apartment with her two teenage daughters, our baby-sitters for the evening. This was to be our first time leaving Claire with teenaged baby-sitters. I was a bit nervous, mostly about bedtime. I hoped she would go to sleep for them without difficulty. After the girls got acquainted with Claire, we moms headed out to meet our husbands at their office. We had some big plans!

After picking up the guys, we drove up into the mountains to a pig farm. That's right: our big Friday night would happen at a pig farm. Upon arrival at a very swiss house, I was introduced to several of Gordon's coworkers and also to the owner of the farm. The owner is a man who used to work closely with Gordon's group at work, but has since left the corporate world to focus on his passion: ham.

Introductions finished, we got back in the cars and drove farther up the mountain to the actual farm. This was unlike any farm I have ever seen. The pigs were kept in an enormous fenced-in area, perched on the mountainside, overlooking lake Neuchatel and the Swiss Alps.




The pigs themselves were also very unusual. They were very wooly, black pigs which I had only previously seen in the zoo in Switzerland.




The farmer took his time describing to us the way that the pigs are raised. They are fed only locally-grown foods. They are never fed corn or soy, for fear that they will fatten too quickly and their fat will be on the periphery as opposed to in the muscle. A normal pig in Switzerland is ready to be slaughtered after only 4 months because of the amount of corn and soy that they are fed, but these pigs are not ready until they are 18 months old. Clearly, these pigs are a huge investment.

After seeing the pigs and their homes, we drove back to the house and we watched a small presentation on how the pigs become ham. This was bit strange to watch after having just seen the pigs enjoying themselves in the mud. It was also extremely impressive. The amount of pride that these farmers take in their pigs and then their ham is enormous. They have considered every detail, down to using locally produced salt to cure the ham.

After the presentation, we went down to the cellar, where the ham hangs for 18 months to 3 years, aging like a fine wine or cheese.





And finally, after seeing the hams hanging in the cellar, it was time to taste the ham. It was hard for me to get the image of those cute pigs out of my head, but I managed to do just that. The ham was delicious! The way that it was cut and served was what we think of as prosciutto. We tried it all different ways: more and less aged, more and less dried, cut very thin (chiffonade) and cut thick.





And of course, like all Swiss meals, there was an abundance of cheese and wine to be consumed. We tried more and less aged Gruyere as well as some very strong Roquefort (blue cheese), all locally produced. It turned about to be a very interesting and delicious evening with great company.

After finishing the evening with espressos, we headed back to Vevey, where our baby-sitters reported that Claire had had a lot of fun and had gone to bed without a fuss. The apartment was tidy, the dishes were washed, and they asked if they could please baby-sit Claire again some time. Of course we said yes!


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A run with a view

I've recently begun running again after not having done it since we moved to Switzerland. It was shockingly easy to get back into it and I think it has everything to do with what I look at while I run.






Running along the lake, with a view of those still-snow-covered mountains, 3 miles seems like nothing at all.

A friend and I have decided to sign up for a 10k (6 mile) race in June in Bern, another city in Switzerland. Bern is a city I have not yet visited, so this race will not only give me the opportunity to get in shape, but also to see another city in this beautiful country. I hope can keep up my training when I'm in the USA for a month!



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Two!

Last week, while we were in Germany, our sweet girl turned two!  To celebrate with her friends, we had a little party yesterday.  

The party guests and the birthday girl played with play doh,

Then they decorated cupcakes,

Then they tried some of the decorations,

And then decorated some more,

And tried some sprinkles,

And then it was time for gift opening.  Claire was a very gracious recipient of the gifts and said "WOW!" as she opened each one.  She was adorable!

Then it was time to try out one of the gifts...a game called Elefun.  The kids had fun trying to catch the butterflies that flew out of the elephant's trunk.

It was a great party and Claire had a lot of fun.  I still can't believe my baby is two!

License to Drive

After getting all of our paperwork in order, we went to the Swiss equivalent of the DMV today and we are now the proud owners of Swiss drivers' licenses.

It is exciting to finally have these drivers licenses and it is a huge relief.  Fortunately, people from the USA do not have to take a drivers' test in order to obtain a Swiss license.  We just had to get eye tests done at an optometrist, get photos taken at a photo store, get someone from at the Vevey city hall to sign off on a piece of paper verifying our entry date into Switzerland, and then we brought it all to the DMV.  After a less than 10 minute wait, we handed over all of our papers and we were handed our drivers' licenses.  The efficiency with which this happened was truly amazing.  The Illinois DMV could learn a thing or two from the Swiss!

Convenience

There are a lot of things I miss about our house in the US, but the things I miss the most are our clothes dryer and our dishwasher.  Oh, how I miss the days of throwing my clothes in the dryer and pulling them out one hour later, dry as can be.  And if I never had to hand wash another sippy cup again, I would be a happy woman.

Alpine Sledding Adventure

This weekend, the temperature rose in Switzerland and the sun came out in full force. This is the Swiss winter of which I've dreamed. The people all over the city seem to be energized by the warmth and sunshine and the sight of the sun shining on the snow-capped mountains is just breath-taking. To take full advantage of this gorgeous weather, on Saturday morning, Gordon headed out for a day of skiing while Claire and I joined some friends for sledding. This was sledding unlike any I've ever experienced. Upon arrival at Moleson, which is also a ski resort, we rented our sleds (or luges, as they're called here) and paid our fee to ride the Funicular up the mountain. In the funicular, there were many skiers and just a few other people with sleds. At the top of the mountain, we exited the funicular and found the top of the sled run. Here are the kids, from left to right Claire (22 mos), Colin (2.5 years), and Lola (5 years). They're at the top of the run, ready to go! We adults got on the sleds behind the kids and made our way down the mountain.








Here are Claire and me, on the sled, heading down the mountain. These sleds got going really fast on some parts of the run. There was nothing on the sled for steering, so the steering and braking was all in my feet. Fortunately, I was able to control our speed and direction the whole time, so we didn't end up running into a snow bank!
















We took several breaks along the way to enjoy the amazing scenery.












Claire ended up borrowing a scarf from our friend Shannon to shield her face from the snow spray which was caused by my feet brakes!




















This was, by far, one of the best experiences I have had in Switzerland and I hope to do it again very soon.

Sunny Day

Today, when we woke up, the sun was shining and we could see the mountains across the lake for the first time in weeks. After breakfast, we got bundled up, left the stroller at home, and we set out to explore the lakefront.

Claire found a perfect cottage on the lake. She went right in and made herself at home.

It's so nice to be able to see the mountains across the lake again, even it they are a bit foggy.

The highlight of the walk for Claire was that she got to see many dogs along the way. She even got to pet two of them. As we approached one dog, I slowly realized that it was actually a cat! It was so bizarre to see this cat, with a collar and tags, just sitting at the edge of the water, enjoying his morning.

After a lot of walking, we stopped at the park and Claire took her baby doll for a swing. All of that sunshine and fresh air really tired her out. She asked me to carry her home and then fell asleep in my arms. Maybe we won't leave the stroller at home next time...

Cabin Fever

We have a serious case of cabin fever! This picture is of Claire riding her tricycle around the apartment. We are so ready for Spring to come so we can go for rides outside.

Snow Boots

In preparation for an upcoming Alpine sledding adventure, Claire's first pair of snow boots were purchased today. I can't wait to put them to good use!

When In France...

On Saturday, we took a day trip to France.  Claire decided to act like a local while we were there.

(Don't worry, Grandparents, it was just apple juice in the glass.)

Playtime!

Since Claire and I returned from the U.S.A. after our Christmas trip, it has been exceptionally cold in our corner of Switzerland.  Because we have not been able to play outside at all, we have been getting creative inside.

One day last week, I put all different shapes and colors of uncooked noodles into a big bowl and then I set out several smaller bowls and some scooping tools.  Then I let Claire have at it.  She immediately got down to business.

Here she is digging in.

This is serious business!  I love the look of concentration on her face. 

Before we knew it, Daddy was home from work, so we went out, noodles in hand, to greet him at the elevator.

Come on in, Daddy!  We're having fun!

Fondue!

Today, we decided to head out to the town of Gruyeres, Switzerland.  About a 40 minute drive from our apartment, Gruyeres is a little town perched on a hilltop and is not accessible to cars.  We parked our car at the bottom of the hill and hiked up this charming village.  The most popular attraction in Gruyeres is the Chateau, or castle, which you can see in the background of the picture below.  Our mission today, though, was to get the fondue for which Gruyeres is famous.

Through the town we walked until we came upon the Chalet, where we had planned to eat or first Swiss fondue, something for which this country is famous.

 
We checked out the menu and ordered fondue and a plate of ham.  Here is Claire, perusing the menu.

The food arrived and it looked and smelled delicious.

Time to give it a taste!

We all loved it!

It was very cold out today (about 15 degrees Fahrenheit), so we didn't hang around Gruyeres long after our meal.  We will definitely be back, though, to explore the castle and to have some more yummy fondue.