Copenhagen Weekend

Ah - Is Kendra contemplating the 50% Sale signs at Armani? She already has bags on hand - doing a little damage? Run Away Kendra Run Away!!!!!!!
Brightly colored buildings along the Nyhavn canal. Yes, we are on the canal tour boat - one of the touristy things we like to do as it shows you alot of a city from a different perspective and we can rest our feet for an hour.
The Hans Christian Andersen "Little Mermaid" statue in the harbour.
Bicycles are THE mode of transportation here during the summer. And it doesn't matter the attire while riding - everything from shorts & tennis shoes to skirts & high heels. And ladies - a lot of leggings worn with skirts here. It is not a trendy thing as it is in many other countries - it helps with keeping the legs warm then the breezes blow off the North Sea. I wish I had brought a pair on this trip.
The beautiful Opera House in the harbour. Copenhagen is full of very interesting architecture - old and new. And while one might not always be a fan of the modern look, it really suits the landscape here. We really enjoyed the interesting new modern buildings (a lot of glass - beautiful) and the classic, colorful older ones.


On an interesting people note - this was our first venture into a Scandinavian country. We saw so many people there who reminded us of friends we had in Iowa (heavy Scand. decent area). And as you do tour through the countries and/or airports - you do see someone familiar looking, think of who they remind you of, consider the last name and realize that the gene pool is still at work.


School starts the 20th so we are taking our last summer trip to Vienna which we loved when we visited without children 11 yrs ago. We look forward to going back and hope we still love it! So until then......

Reliving My Childhood

Don't you wish you could set off fireworks from your roof too?
Fireworks on both sides of the Lake and all around
Fireworks set off from our neighbors terrace

The kid in all of us enjoys a great, loud fireworks display. Yesterday, August 1st, was the Swiss National Holiday - similar to our 4th of July in theory. I cannot give you the year right now without leaving my chair which I am reluctant to do, but, long ago, the various Cantons of Switzerland came to an agreement to join together in independence from the countries which they had previously been affiliated with (Germany, Austria, Italy and France) and formed their own independent and 'neutral' country. Each village still sets off a large bonfire every Aug. 1st signifying the relay of the independence message back in the day prior to telegraphs, radio, phone, TV and even their ever so efficient train system.


Last years Aug. 1st was a dude. Due to a dry July, all fireworks had been canceled - plus it rained. But this year - we saw the bonfires of at least 12 villages, there were fireworks going off all over Lake Zuerich (firecrackers had been popping all day) for over 2 hours and we had a great evening with friends we invited over for the show. And it wasn't the big city fireworks that were so spectacular as the private ones. Even our neighbors set off a series of 10 or so large, launched fireworks from their terrasse. So we were most impressed with the fact you can personally buy, real live BIG fireworks. Hmmmm, maybe next year - but it would be more fun if we could sing the Star Spangled Banner and wave OUR flag - which we didn't last night. And we will probably keep in our hearts so as not to attract any abuse from anti-American sentiments. Not that we've experienced any but there are some Swiss here who would like to keep things Swiss .....


And while we are having childlike enjoyment of the fireworks, I am reminded of my childhood. Especially in light of our recent trip back home to the States. Back when I was little and growing up in West Sacramento: we didn't have air conditioning (well, a little wall unit in the living room), a frost-free refrigerator, a garbage disposal, a dishwasher (Dad claimed he had 3 so why would he go out and buy one), ice maker, filtered water from the refrigerator but we did have screens on the windows. And no, we did not live in a trailer park but a cute little house on Poplar Ave. where I had my own room. And we had huge oak trees in front that my Dad gave me the priviledge of helping him with come time to rake up the leaves in the fall. Unfortunately, due to major allergy/asthma issues, the sisters and I did not get to jump in the giant piles of leaves which were sooooo tempting. But I digress.....

After visiting the States for a month and returning to our lovely, awesome view of the Lake, terrasse flat I realized: I have returned to my childhood!

• We do not have air conditioning (although we do have a portable unit that can be wheeled from room to room - that must vent to outside via a window? let warm air in so we can cool it off?)
• I clean out slimey things from the little sink drain and would LOVE to have a garbage disposal again (and the scrapping of food in trash lets off such pleasant aromas)
• I must defrost the freezer which now has about 2 inches of frosty fuzz in the upmost regions (I have never done this - any tips Mom?)
• I do have a small but functional dishwasher that lets the soap out most of the time
• We make ice in little tiny trays and fortunately don't need much of it as we've become accustomed to drinking things without ice (how European of us!)
• We use a Brita pitcher again even though they all insist the tapwater is fine - we just like cold water
• AND there are no screens on any windows. Nor does anyone else we know, except for one, have screens on their windows. The girls are getting good at using the fly-swatter! A skill every 6 year old should master.

Funny how after time you get used to things being a certain way and only notice the change after you've returned back to what you had. Ruth Stieff asked me this week what I liked most about our living here and what I missed most about living in the States. What I like most about living here is the personal responsibility people take for their actions/accidents (there are no trial lawyers here) and what I miss most are the conveniences we had in the States (it goes without saying that our friends and family top the "miss" list).

And speaking of Ruth Stieff, we enjoyed our visit with the whole family and they seem to be enjoying Quintin's sabbatical here in Europe. They met us at church, spent Sun. night and then headed back to Belgium Mon. A little bit of Des Moines for a day and we enjoyed getting to know all of the family better.

Have a great Day!

Revisiting Prague for Fun

As I was downloading hundreds of pic's to Shutterfly, I realized I took more fun pic's in Prague than I ever posted. I take way to many pic's, I have a problem. But, as I've said, It's my problem and I enjoy it. Here is the family entering Check-in 1 at Zurich Int'l Airport. We've spent a lot of time here - it's a lovely place. It has one of the best Customs entry/exits we've experienced:

1. France - Charles de Gaulle (Paris) - Prize for most chaotic line (think - no line) in Customs
2. USA - Chicago O'Hare - Prize for rudest treatment in Customs - I LOVE getting yelled at when coming back into my home country (and so do all the visitors)
3. USA - Chicago O'Hare - Prize for Worst re-check of baggage on re-entry - Mountains of luggage waiting for a home (which is so nice for all the foreign visitors who must then go navigate the purchase of necessities in a foreign place - I know I would relish that experience)
4. USA - JFK/New York - Prize for Impersonal but efficient
5. USA - Dallas - Prize for Friendly
6. USA - Wash DC/Dulles - Prize for most confusing place to fly in/out of due to the construction that's been going on (forever) - You never go the same way twice!
7. UK - London/Heathrow - Prize for graciousness and courtesy when sitting in tents waiting to enter airport - Terrorist plots really put a snag into travel schedules

And you have to love local airports such as Des Moines, Sacto and yes, even Fresno - they are small, easy to navigate and you can go anywhere (maybe not directly :) ).

In Prague, like much of Europe, even the main streets are pressed for space. Thus, your local towing company lifts the impounded cars vs the whole back-up and pull onto the ramp process. It was fun to watch and glad it wasn't us!
The Czech Republic is the beer consumption capital of the world. Where else would you expect to find a giant beer bottle floating down the river?The Renaissance man in the 21st Century.
At the foot of the Prague Castle Complex, was this gentleman playing a beautiful old instrument. The girls love giving change to musician/performers on the street. And there are those who are simply in need and the girls have developed a heart for them as well. It is sometimes hard in the different countries explaining why we are comfortable giving money to some and not to others. We've had gypsies approach our table and literally try to take the food we just purchased away. The understanding of need and giving is an important one. I hope Bart and I do a good job with the responsibility we've been given in teaching our children. Parenting is the hardest job I've ever had! Have a great day!

Alpen Blumen aka Alpine Flowers & Praise

A few of "die Blumen" pic's I took. And apparently I missed a bunch more by not taking the last hike down the Maennlichen peak with Mom, John and Bart back into Wengen (may I add, their knees really felt the switchbacks when they were done - 3 hrs later!). But the girls were done with the hiking and we enjoyed a FREE, YES FREE ride down down the mountain in the aerial cable. Transportation in der Schweiz is NEVER free - although it is extremely clean, efficient, economical (for here) and on time - so maybe the gentleman thought I was cute or maybe the girls were cute or we looked tired - doesn't matter, I GOT A FREE RIDE!!! This is vs a FREI ride.

Little Deutsch lesson for you: Frei in Deutsch (D) is translated 'free' in Engl. (E). BUT, they use it a little differently. I learned real quick that 'frei' means 'available' not 'free of charge/cost.' When you see 'frei' on the parking garages (including my local supermarket), it means there are available or 'free' spaces to be had - they are still going to charge you for parking there! It catches you off guard sometimes. Translations cannot always be taken literally - Like the other day - we are walking up the path to one of the Lauterbrunnen Falls and I tell the girls "We'd better get moving or Daddy's going to beat us." The Italian lady nearby whipped her head around and stared! I realized she probably had enough E to understand what I said but took the 'beat' literally. And like when I told our Swiss neighbor "Kendra is in the toilet (word for bathroom here)" - confused her 3 year old son who thought Kendra was literally in the toilet vs on.

Enough of that - PRAISES - Thanks to those of you who have prayed for Bart's Mom, Barb. She is recovering well and feeling good aside from normal surgery healing. They will determine later whether any radiation is needed but from what we know now, prognosis is good.
And I just got an email from my Mom at the hotel in Muerren and she said they got back safely from their climb - Yeah! Makes me feel a whole lot better.
And for those of you who are willing - Pray for my sister Kris and husb. Jason as they finish out their last 2 weeks in Australia, return to the States via Deb's in HI and continue to seek out the next place they are called to serve. Kris has been sick and is recovering and they will be guiding the Outreach team from So Cal on their own (another story) so they could use some lifting up. You can check up on them via the handy link on this blogpage.

You can check Deb's too (Tafisi's) BUT there have been no new pic's of my adorable nephews and neice for AGES so I don't know that it's worth it :). Maybe when Kris gets there we'll get new pic's!!!!! I shouldn't try to guilt her this way - after all, she has 3 kiddos, 3 yrs and under, 1 full time job, 2 flexible, part-time, money making hobbies, a husband and OH YES, is completing her Bachelors this Fall (CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!) so that she can start her MBA in Jan. So I guess I'll give her a pass on posting new pic's to the blog, gracious big sister that I am.

Boot Camp!

Should you be out of shape or wish to get your children in shape? Invite my mom and her husband for a visit when they are trying to do some altitude hiking to get ready to "climb" the Alps!

We are having a very nice visit with Mom and John and may I brag about my girls just for one second - they have been on 4 hikes in one week! And on the hardest hike of all, nary a complaint (of course, they complained on the easy ones :) ). And I have lost all the weight I gained while in the States - gain was not necessarily from all the wonderful food we were treated to, but from my back being out and not able to do much. I have had a pack on my back for half of these hikes so - back is about fully recovered as well. We were treated to an "alpenhorn" serenade by the top lift operator in Amden at the start of one hike last week. It was beautiful - had not yet heard them and was very impressed with the sound and lung power required. The alpenhorns are made of wood, can break down into 2 pieces and make a beautiful, mellow sound that really carries across the hills (we weren't the only ones he serenaded that day).
On a hike out of Braunwald - beautiful!!!! Please come and we will take you there.
We went to Wengen for the weekend which is an "auto free" town above what is becoming our favorite valley - Lauterbrunnen (near Interlaken). It is our favorite valley as it accesses these "auto free" villages which give you access to wonderful hiking and wonderful views of Central Switzerlands big 3 - the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau - as well as the rest of the High Alp peaks of lesser name but no less magnificent to look at. Unfortunately, as you can see above, by time Bart joined us on Fri. night, we were in the clouds. We still did a great hike but I took a lot of wildflower pic's (coming soon) and very little in the "view" department.
The girls have fun on all the playgrounds along the way - the Swiss do know how to put together family friendly hiking trails.
If you double click here - you will get the larger pic which shows John in the lead followed by Rachel and then Kendra and Mom together. This is at the base of the Eiger! We went on the Eigergletscher trail which follows the base of the North Face of the Eiger and the girls did great! They enjoyed the views, the wildflowers, the rock statues, crossing glacier creeks and especially the ice cream Grandma promised when we got back to town. We were about 2/3 done when the thunderheads started building. We pushed them on as we didn't want to be stuck out there if things opened up (lightning not being a good thing when you are the tallest object on the side of a big hill). We made it back to town before any rain fell and they kept up their great attitudes even thru dinner - Daddy's arrival helped.

So the Olson's have returned home to Waedenswil and sent Mom & John up the Jungfrauoch Bahn (Train) so they can walk across the glacier to the Mountain Hut and get ready for their adventures. Mom is supposed to do the Monch climb and then will wait while the men do the "easy" Eiger peak (did you know there is an "easy" approach? - anything requiring crampons and ice axes does not qualify as easy to me!). She will then go to Murren and wait while they climb the Jungfrau (weather permitting). Murren is a beautiful little village where we stayed last year - hope she loves it too.

I must get busy with regular life now - cleaning, gardening, etc.... and get ready for their return on Fri. and then the arrival of Pastor Quentin and his family from Valley Church (home church in IA). They are traveling thru on his sabbatical and will stay a night or two which we are looking forward to.