Zermatt

Looking back at my first Zermatt trip I have to say it was quite the experience.  I wasn't skiing yet, so that was not a factor, but by the time we left I was hooked on Zermatt.  Let me tell you why it is so awesome.

1. The Matterhorn.  It is giant and iconic and just awesome to see.

2. The food.  Fondues, Rosti, lamb chops and steak cooked 20 feet from the table over a wood fired stove.  YUM!

3. The town.  No cars and stores and chalets all looking like they were out of a fairy tale, Oh la la. 

4. The mountains.  Take a short ride up the cog railway and your now at what seems to be the top of the world.  Who wouldn't want to hang out here?

5. Lunch on a mountain.  Having not grown up a winter sport person I had no idea how great it would be to have lunch on a mountain top.  It is pretty great.

6. Apres ski.  Even if you didn't ski, it is fun to hang out outside with every bundled up looking like snow bunnies and drinking a few glasses of vin chaud.

Are you getting the picture yet? 

Friday we arrived in the late afternoon.  We met up with Dorothy and Bob who came early that day to ski.  We weren't staying in the same hotel but they were close enough and after dropping off our bags we met them for drinks in their room.  Since we had some snacks earlier we pretty much skipped dinner and headed to a bar.  We grabbed a table that had a digital tap, and the amount we were drinking showed up on an electronic board.  It was quite novel which we loved, but it also made us drink far too much.  

On Saturday I woke up to this view from our room: 

We managed to rally by 9 and went out to finally see the Matterhorn in daylight.

our hotel

I can't express how much cooler the Matterhorn is to see in person.  It doesn't feel real sometimes, that you are walking around and this giant mountain peak is right there.  Anyway, our plan for the day was to take the cog railway to the Gornergrat with Jeff, Lindsey and their baby Oliver.  At the top we had lunch, and took a bunch of photos with a view of the Matterhorn.  Since the Gornergrat is also a hotel there were a few shops to check out before heading back down. 

Gornergrat!

Jeff, Lindsey and Oli

I especially liked this poster

on the way back down

Gornergrat on the right

On Sunday we packed our things and stored them at the train station lockers.  Then we headed up to Sunnega via the cog rail again.  From there we hiked about 20 min down the mountain to a restaurant called Chez Vrony.  I had been hearing about the burger there for about a year, so I was excited to finally try it.  

Our destination: Chez Vrony

Soon enough it was time to go.  The lifts close around 4:30pm and we made it down just in time.  This was my first lift experience which was kinda cool.  

So there you go.  Matterhorn, snow, Zermatt.  Lucky for me it wasn't my last trip to this wonderful place.

Stay tuned.

En Route to Zermatt

A few weeks before Christmas Jim and I spent the weekend in Zermatt.  This was my first trip and as we drove out to the Valais I snapped a few photos of the scenery.  

One thing I love about Zermatt is that it is car free.  So the furthest you can drive is about 5km outside to a town called Täsch.  There you park at the train station and take the train into Zermatt.  There ride in takes about 15 min, but is really beautiful.  Especially with all the snow!

One Year

I completely missed my First Anniversary of living in Geneva.  I thought about it yesterday and when I looked back today it was on April 13, 2011.  

Oh well.  

This year on April 13th (which was Friday the 13th!) I went grocery shopping in France, went to the mall in Geneva to pick up some other things, cleaned a little bit at home, and made Jim dinner.  Pretty normal for a Friday. 

Time seems like it has been flying by, and its crazy to think, that I won't even have a second anniversary.  We'll move back to the US way before April 13, 2013.  But we have had a lot of fun the past year.  Even though I had to take a few trips back to the US, I am really comfortable living here.  I get around not speaking French fluently, I've tried to learn to ski, I drive to other countries frequently and have finally gotten over the Swiss sticker shock.  I also made some great friends including the wonderful kids I get to see everyday.  So far Switzerland has been good to me.

I don't really have a picture for the Anniversary, but I did buy some tulips on Friday, so here they are.  

And I also remembered didn't start this blog the day I moved, but a few days later.  Perhaps I can catch up on all my posts before that anniversary (but probably not!)

Basket of Greatness

Krista and Ian are the parents of the kids I watch and they both work for Proctor and Gamble.  They moved here from Cincinnati and plan to stay for 3 years.  Every year P&G hands out gift baskets at Christmas, and since they get two they usually give one away.  This year I was the lucky winner!  

Inside a reusable picnic basket were lots of yummy treats and two bottles of wine!  The basket also has plastic glasses, plates, silverware and wine opener for future picnicking. 

Annecy Christmas Market

As soon as December hits many of the cities in Europe set up their Christmas markets.  Some are small and have a few vendors selling trinkets, vin chaud (hot wine) and churros.  Other are larger with a place to see Santa, more shopping stalls and lots of food.  

I had a whole mission to go to four or five Christmas markets, but as it became later and later in the month, we hardly had the time.  We were able to spend a few hours one Saturday in Annecy.  The small French town is located about 30 min South-West of Geneva and has a lake of its own as well as a decent shopping district.  We invited Bob and Dorothy along for the Christmas market fun, and even though the weather was cold and cloudy, we had a great time.

marshmallows of every flavor