USA Bound

As almost everyone knows, we've received our marching orders. On August 16th we'll be heading back to the States. How do we feel about it? Torn. We absolutely love it here, and yet there is an air of excitement when we think about getting home. For example- Andrew has really enjoyed his work here in Basel, but he is also excited about getting back to his job at the Federal Reserve. I think "bittersweet" is the perfect word to describe how we feel.

I know it will be painful to leave. Aside from the wonderful friends we have made (post on that later), there are so many things that we have grown to love about Switzerland. Below are some of the things that we will miss most.

The Sounds

I love hearing the church bells ring on the hour. I love hearing accordion players all over the city- even in front of the grocery store. It is like having my own soundtrack playing while I'm out. I even love the sounds of the police sirens. They're different from the US ones (think Bourne Identity), and the novelty of hearing them still hasn't worn off for me.

The View

Switzerland is packed full of views which literally take your breath away. In the warmer months it is bursting with lush vegetation and vibrant floral colors. Topped off with castles dotting the hillsides (we can see 3 from our house) and bright blue/green rivers and lakes, you have truly magical setting.

School and Play

I love that school is never canceled and that the kids have outdoor recess in almost every weather condition. I love that my kids get to actually sing Christmas songs at school. That I can bring in homemade baked goods and that the teachers can give my kids hugs and kisses. The atmosphere is so relaxed, and as a parent, I find that I am more relaxed here. The International School has exposed my kids to so many different cultures and backgrounds and really has boosted Sam and Luke's confidence. Their school does a fabulous job on embracing other cultures, but at the same time instilling a pride in the children for their home counties. It is such a cool balance.

Traditions and Holidays

Discovering new traditions and holidays has been a lot more fun then I expected. It might be a little hard to celebrate Fasnacht while in the US, but I hope we can carry over some of the other celebrations and traditions we have discovered here. Who's up for a 3 King's Day celebration?

Location, Location, Location

I doubt that we will ever live in a location as awesome as this. We are an hour away from the Alps, 3 hours from Paris, 6 hours from Venice, the Italian Riveria, Nice, Salzburg, 7 hours from Florence, Vienna...you get the point. It goes without saying, but I am really going to miss traveling around Europe.

Simpler lifestyle

More than anything I am going to miss the simpler lifestyle here- this is something that almost all American ex-pats comment on. Andrew is only a 15 minute (2.5 mile) tram-ride away from work, which means we get to see him in both the mornings and the evenings, or even meet up for lunch. I love that I can get almost anywhere by either walking, tramming, training or busing it. Driving our car is completely optional (I'm trying not to drive this month). But if I do drive, I love that I can quickly run into the market and leave the kids in the car without worrying about getting arrested. I love that most stores are closed after 6 pm on weekdays, and after 4 pm on Saturdays (closed on Sundays of course!)- it forces me to spend more time with my family. I love that everything is so much less commercialized here. I love that the Swiss aren't flashy and never seem to flaunt their wealth. You really have to look hard to see a discrepancy in paychecks. These differences really make for a laid-back atmosphere that we have loved.

The last 2 years have been so good for our family. The idea of relocating to a new country was initially terrifying, but I can honestly say that we have loved every minute of our experience. With that said, we are becoming really excited to get back to The States. We are American and America is home. As nice as this adventure has been, the boys are excited to get back into baseball, I'm looking forward to losing the weird mix of English/German/hand language I speak in public, and heaven knows Andrew is ready to watch ESPN for a straight year. So, we have 3 months left to enjoy Europe, and 3 more months until we get home. It really is a win-win.

Birthday for the Drewster

Andrew Pre-Europe
HATES cheese and dairy
enjoys driving a car
"working out" is a foreign notion
enjoys a tall glass of tap water

Andrew Post Europe
LOVES cheese and dairy
laments when not riding the train
runs 4-5 times a week
prefers sparkling water

As you can see, Europe has drastically changed Andrew. I hardly recognize him myself. 


Today is Andrew's 33 birthday, and according to the US census he is just 2 years shy of middle age. That may be shocking news for him, but the good news (according to me) is that Andrew just keeps getting better with age. I love watching him get older. It's fun to see the little changes occur (I still can't believe he likes cheese now!), but see how the important things have remained constant. He is still so easy going and happy. He is still an awesome husband, and an awesome father. We adore this guy.

The Low Countries

Here's the deal with traveling through Europe with kids: you have lots of I-want-to-rip-my-hair-out-moments, but you also have extremely beautiful moments, like introducing your child to the work of Michelangelo. There are many times when you ask yourself, "Is this stress worth it???" But when we look back on our trips, I think the answer is yes.

We took a 5 day tour of "The Low Countries" and to reiterate my above point, our trip began like this: About 5 miles outside of our first destination (Brugge) we noticed that we had an extremely flat tire. We checked into our rooms, Andrew dropped me and the kids off, and then he went to get our tire fixed. It was a gorgeous day and I hated to waste it indoors, so I decided to brave the city with the 4 kids in tow. After a false start (where we left, but had to turn back so I could feed Clara) we ventured out again. I had Clara settled in her stroller, and then I convinced Afton to join her. I felt in complete control, but as I pushed open the door to our inn I somehow fell down the 3 front stairs pulling the stroller down with me. The best part is that mid-fall I yelled, "Daaaammmnnnniiitttt!!!!", which attracted the attention of everyone within a 2 block radius.

Fortunately, things went much smoother after that.

Anyway. After looking up what comprises the Low Countries, I can say that we visited them all. Our tour included parts of France, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, and then Western Germany. It was beautiful country and I'm glad we were able to experience it- stress and all.

Brugge, Belgium

I was told that Brugge is an extremely romantic city, which made me nervous to bring our brood. However, since it was Easter weekend the place was packed with obnoxious tourists and we blended right in.

We took a boat tour of the canals which was my favorite part. Well that, or eating the Belgium waffles and chocolate.

We saw lots of windmills, including those at Kinderdijk. This is the largest concentration of windmills in the Netherlands.

After going to church on Easter Sunday we stopped off at Keukenhof which is the largest flower garden in the world. Tulips are my favorite, so I may or may not have screamed in excitement when I saw them all. The brightly colored fields were amazing. We were also amazed by all of the canals we saw. People literally use them as fences for their properties.

Our last two days were spent in Haarlem & Amsterdam. For me the best part of the trip was seeing the Anne Frank House. I reread Anne's diary before we visited, and I'm so glad that I did. It is extremely detailed and allows you to see what an amazing young woman she was. She was full of so much personality and life, and it breaks your heart to know the end of her story. The annex itself was much bigger than I imagined, but reading the diary gives you a sense of what it was really like living there- dealing with conflicting personalities, tensions, and anxieties. Seeing the actual diary and Anne's other notes was also very surreal. I took the boys with me, and while most of it was lost on Luke, I think Sam was really touched. I can't wait for him to learn about it in school.

I heart skype

Skyping with Aunt Becca

If I was stranded on an island, and could only bring two things with me, it would be my kindle and access to skype. Enough cannot be said about the awesomeness of both. Over the past 20 months I've read 140 books on my kindle. That is a lot of books. If I am holding the baby with one hand, then it is likely that I am holding my kindle in the other. As for skype, I adore the sound of our computer ringing when someone is web camming us!

So, rather than composing a poem in honor of my love to all things skype and kindle related, I thought I would just share some of my favorite pictures taken while skyping with the my family. The best part?? They have no idea I took these. Ha, ha, ha, ha.

As you can see my Dad thinks we are a riot to skype with. Mom doesn't seem to think that whatever was said was too funny.


This is my Dad showing the Kardashian book that was purchased by my Mom and sisters. Horrified? I am.


This is probably my favorite picture- my dad proudly displaying his roast, while my sister Ashley looks on in disgust.


Ashley hands down makes the best expressions while skyping.

And lastly, a picture that still blows my mind. This is my sister (in Utah) skyping with my Mom and Andrew (both in Switzerland). My Dad (in New Jersey) called my sister, so she put him on speaker so he could speak with my mom through skype. Do you see why I love it so much?

The Celtic Tigress

Andrew often marvels at how different Clara looks from our other kids (I think she is a mini version of my sister Becca). Because of Clara's fair coloring, Andrew frequently calls Clara his little "Irish Baby". This nickname has now evolved into the "Celtic Tigress", which comes from a name given to the Irish economy a few years back. Yes, only a true geek would know the reference...and I'll just say that it wasn't me. At any rate, "Celtic Tigress" is a much better nickname than "CJ", which Andrew also started calling Clara. I put a halt on that one once he reminded me that it was the name of Pamela Anderson's character in Baywatch.

Regardless of what she is called, this baby is as sweet as peach pie and I can't get enough. When I'm not snuggling with her, I dream about snuggling with her. I think I'm obsessed.

Lisbon

Ratings for Lisbon, Portugal

Sights: A+
Food: A+
Weather: A+
People: A+++

Aside from a scare involving Afton (post later), and the predicted hassles of traveling with FOUR kids, we had a wonderful time. Andrew speaks Portuguese and what really made this trip so wonderful were the people. Everywhere we turned someone was helping us, smiling or treating us like lifelong friends. If we stopped and asked someone for directions, they didn't just tell us where to go, they actually made sure we got there. We had at least 3 different women hold Afton on their laps while on the train/tram/buses, and someone was always cooing over Clara. At one point we were relaxing at a town square and Luke and Afton were running around kicking a balloon like it was a ball. I looked around and there were a handful of older women and men watching the kids with a smile on their faces.

We flew in and stayed for 4 full days. I'm posting a ton of pics just to show the diversity of this area. Lisbon was our homebase, but 3 of the 4 days were spent within a 45 min radius of the city. Also, somehow EVERYWHERE we went we beat the crowds- it was really remarkable.

Belém
Monastery of Jerónimos- late 1400's

Monument to the Discoveries and Maritime Museum

Belém Tower- early 1500's

Sintra

Palácio de Pena

Quinta da Regaleira mansion and gardens

Cascais
Great beaches, seafood and fun town center.





Above: We loved the roads in Portugal! They had such great designs and literally gleamed. Below: I didn't think to bring bathing suits, so the boys slowly stripped down to their undies.

Lisbon