:: our weekend with erika ::

We've enjoyed a lovely weekend on the German-speaking side of Switzerland with our dear friend Erika. Like when we were in Tessin, the Italian-speaking part, we found it funny being in the same country but not being able to understand or respond to a language that is completely foreign! But we had Erika to do the translating, and we enjoyed her company, particularly as it is the last opportunity we had before we move to go to her home. 

In the days of anticipation leading up to our weekend I was also excited to see that the weather forecast was amazing. I haven't ventured into the German-speaking part very often but almost every time we have the weather hasn't been wonderful. Seeing forecasts of sunshine and mid-30's added to the anticipation! As a result Erika was able to show us some of her favourite places. 

We started off in this beautiful river spot. Despite the warm air the water was freezing! But we ventured along to see if we could find a good spot for the girls to play and to have our picnic lunch.

We passed a REGA team who had been doing some water-rescue exercises further up the gorge, then came across this intriguing hut frame which Erika wondered may have been a make-shift sauna. We stayed there a little while until the girls' rock-throwing antics became a little risky!

 

When we didn't find a good place to stop and stay a while for eating, playing and napping, Erika suggested a nearby camping ground further down the river, which proved to be a wonderful discovery. Perfect for the girls with a playground, shallow water and a swimming pool and a great place to enjoy our picnic and let them sleep afterwards.

Rivella - Swiss famous and a drink we're going to miss!

Our little cervelat men for lunch :o)

After a nap for the girls, a swim for the bigger girls and a gorge trip for Eti, we packed up our things and headed up into the hills to a farm that Erika knew served meals with a beautiful view across to the Jungfrau, Eiger and other infamous mountain peaks across the valley. It was a fun, relaxed meal experience, obviously well-known to the locals and in a lovely garden setting of a beautiful big chalet home, surrounded by a menagerie of farm animals, which the girls enjoyed seeing!

 

Yesterday we changed our plans to take a cable car to the top of a near-by mountain, instead opting to allow the girls a morning sleep in their beds, with time for us to pack and play some games...Erika being famous among our friends for providing fun and just a little bit competitive games! Afterwards we ventured into Bern, our capital city, and up another cable car to the top of a small mountain (by Swiss-standards!) where we found a great park complete with several different play areas, a ride-on train and an impressive view overlooking the city down below. It was a wonderful place for little people to explore and to enjoy our last couple of hours together before Erika had to head back down to her job at the hospital in the city. 

Goodbyes are becoming more difficult as the time to our departure for NZ looms closer. With a couple of overseas trips for Erika to come in the next two months our chances to see each other are limited. There is a tug in my heart with this move. One big part of me is really looking forward to being back "home" closer to my family, to friends and with the possibilities of making new friends and the open adventure that is ahead of us. The other part of me struggles as I see that family and friends here dread our departure, peppering Eti with questions of what we'll do and how it will be hard for his family. It's hard not to feel guilty and responsible, or want to say "But I've lived so far from mine for so many years!!" It helps to remember, as Erika reminded us before we left, that life is full of changes and adventures, goodbyes and hellos. And it's not easy but it's rich and we can trust God that He's already there preparing our way.

:: fun memories with friends ::

We enjoyed several days from last Thursday until Sunday evening with some visiting friends from Chicago! They brought the sunny weather with them (including clear views of the Alps) and took it back when they left :o) But don't worry, the forecast for the coming days is reassuring :o) So we were able to show them around our area a little and enjoy blue skies and warm summer days together.

Carol is a wonderful and avid photographer. She is known by some as 'Paparazzi Grandma'...I can see where she gets that name from (!) but I'm sure her photos are much-treasured and will continue to be in years to come. So I took a break from my camera knowing that someone very gifted was capturing all of our moments, and this time I was being captured as well! This is a photo-heavy post, but I know that many of you either know our friends or are interested in what we get up to, so here's a main course, rather than a taster, of the days we spent together (thank you, Carol, for your wonderful photos!!)...

George & Carol arrived bearing gifts in the form of very cute, brightly-coloured dresses for the girls, who of course wanted to try them on straight away :o)

One of my favourite rooms in our home. I'll miss the wonderful glow that the woodwork and light combine to give...thankfully our next home, though for a short time, is a chalet!

Amélie is still generously offering her 'bisous' and 'cuddles' :o)

Taking a wee break :o)

Our lovely summer-time village view

The view of the Alps was a wonderful gift!

One afternoon we went and picked raspberries at the farm we had previously gone to for strawberries. The girls were equipped with buckets and a steady supply of beautiful, big raspberries.

 At this point Amélie was calling out to the cows who were on the other side of the big rhubarb garden. "Cuddle?!" "Bisou?!" "Bucket?!"

From the raspberries we went down to Rolle to meet Eti after work and enjoyed a picnic dinner beside the lake. 

Daddy was spotted :o)

Our lovely home! We live in a part of it and have absolutely loved being here. It's only a matter of days before we will be moving out :o( But, new adventures await as they always have...

The cows with bells in the mountains are a true sound of the Swiss summertime!

We visited the Château de Chillon along with our dear friend Erika and new friend Sally as well. None had seen it before...one of our favourite places to visit with friends!

Just before our friends left to begin their journey back home, we visited a local farm together. It has beautiful views out across the valley towards Mt Blanc. It is also a working dairy farm during the summer months so we were able to visit the little shop, fill up a milk bottle with still-warm milk straight from the cows and buy some cheese. This is something I've been hoping to do for so long, so the visit was a highlight in different ways for all of us (the girls loved their freedom to run along the path!)

There were piglets there too! Amélie was hoping for a bisou or cuddle, but we had to remind her that not everything is bisou or cuddle-worthy :o)

Thank you, Carol & George, for the fun memories!