Easter at Lake Como

Harbor in Menaggio

Sounds fancy, right? But let's be honest from the get-go, how fancy can you really be when you're traveling with four kids, all under the age of three??

Little MG and K Bear playing play-doh

We rented a house in Menaggio with two other friend-families, the T's and G's, and yes we have four little ones between the three families, ranging from 1 month to 2.5 years. If you're traveling with a family or families, I would highly recommend renting a house; mostly because the kids typically have more space to run around, and in this house they had separate places to sleep, each family had their own bathroom, and the parents had space to hang out after the kids all went to sleep.

Getting some energy out at a playground on the Lake

We explored the area, criss-crossing Lake Como numerous times and enjoying time outside. The weather was pretty good, allowing everyone to get out of the house often, and also to enjoy plenty of food and drink of various terraces throughout the area. One of the first afternoons we found a great little place in Tremezzo, called Hotel Rusall, that had delicious food and an equally amazing view to go with it. The kids could run around in the courtyard, and being outside we didn't bother other diners too much.

K Bear and AT discussing something important

Taking in the view

During the other afternoons the kids stayed with a babysitter and the parents headed across the lake to visit Bellagio and Varenna. Both are charming villages on Lake Como, and are exactly what you picture when you think of an Italian village in the mountains. In Bellagio, we went to a great little wine bar, Cava Turacciolo, where the staff are passionate and informed about their wines, and they also serve great meat and cheese plates from around the area.

Ferry crossing Lake Como

BK and I out for the afternoon

All of the streets are like this...charming, but don't bother with the stroller

Church in Bellagio

Of course, we went for Easter, and our visit was not complete without Easter brunch together and an Easter egg hunt for all of the kids. We all felt really grown up the night before, stuffing eggs for the kids, and talking about how much random stuff our parents made happen for us! The dads did a little bit too good of a job hiding eggs for the kids, kind of forgetting that they are all under three. We made it work though, and had fun finding all the little treats.

Searching for eggs; hoping for only eggs with chocolate

The dads didn't take the hunt that far, but K Bear was pretty sure there were more eggs

Enjoying her spoils

Easter night we had a private chef come to the house to cook dinner for us. It was a great way to end the trip, minus the couple of power outages we had due to weather. He sent the menu beforehand, and we chose three appetizers, a pasta course, a meat course, and dessert. They brought a white tablecloth, all the utensils, and good wine glasses, to really set the stage. Considering that we have to pay a babysitter for the kids anytime we go out, and we typically were enjoying nice meals together, the private chef coming to the house really wasn't anymore expensive than a regular night out.

Parent time!

We all headed out the next morning, as Easter Monday is a holiday in Europe, so everyone had the day off, but the guys also had to get back to work the next day. If you're traveling around Italy and want a relaxing getaway, Lake Como is a great place to find that- lots of fun times with great friends!

Little MG and K Bear relaxing together at the house

Mimi and PopPop en Suisse

Their first night in Switzerland

I've noticed that when people come to visit us, or when we make a trip to the US I stop posting. I'm guessing this is because I have someone new to share our lives with. I would say I would try to change it, but after three years it's not very likely.

Mimi and PopPop had their second visit to Switzerland at the end of last month. Things have changed a bit since their first visit to Basel right after Baby K was born. In fact, I told them that I really didn't have much recollection of their first visit at all. I guess it was the haze I was in after having Baby K and trying to get our feet on the ground?

Not sure, but we were very excited and happy to have them over this time around. They arrived on Saturday, and previously had let us know they wanted to hit the ground running on Sunday- get out and enjoy the mountains and scenery that surrounds Montreux, which is exactly what we did!

Small waterfall on our way up...and Tobs dashing across the bridge

I think BK and I may have taken it a little too far though, and we hiked up to Glion, just above (straight up from) Montreux. We hiked for a few hours, with Baby K riding on BK for most of the way and Tobs happy to be along for the outing as well. They were a little more jet lagged from the flight than they realized and the change in altitude was something as well. Afterwards we all came back, had a filling lunch and took a nap.

"Baby K walk" from her all the time now

Throughout the week Mimi, PopPop, Baby K and I explored a number of different sights in the area while BK worked. Although it's on our regular visitor circuit, we visited Gruyere and the Callier Chocolate factory, where we all consumed quite a bit of chocolate and cheese. If you're ever in the area, the chocolate factory is a great stop- I highly recommend. And yes, there is a tasting room at the end.

Before the tasting room...and chocolate in PopPop's hair

The next day Mimi, PopPop and I headed to Glacier 3000 while Baby K went to creche. I figured this was an activity best explored without her- although we're going back this weekend, and she's coming too. Glacier 3000 is a suspension bridge Tissot built between two peaks in a Glacier ski area 3000 meters (9800 ft) up. I've wanted to visit for a while, but for one reason or another we hadn't made it yet.

Tissot suspension bridge

It was great! It was pretty much cloudy and/or raining the entire time Mimi and PopPop were here, but once you get above the clouds the weather was amazing- cold, but amazing. You can see many of the mountain ranges and famous peaks in Switzerland from the bridge. We all really enjoyed it, and after going up to and across the bridge had lunch, then hiked around a little bit on the slopes. I liked it so much, we're going back again this weekend with friends visiting from Basel!

Mimi and PopPop on the bridge

Mimi and PopPop did have one overnight away in Leukerbad, a town known for their thermal baths not too far from Montreux. While they were gone we did some catching up and Baby K was fairly certain Mimi was "night-night" the entire time she was gone. When they returned, we explored Lausanne, visiting the cathedral and Olympic museum on a snowy Friday.

Lausanne cathedral

Saturday brought a funny/sad moment for us. BK, Baby K and I decided we would hang out at home in the morning while Mimi and PopPop got out and explored a bit. We suggested they take our car since it was (still) raining and cold, instead of navigating the bus and train system. They did, and all was good until PopPop pulled back into the garage and "rubbed the car wheel up against the stroller wheel." His words. When he backed the car out the stroller made a popping noise that needed to be investigated later.

Turns out, the stroller was done for after that. I think maybe it bent the frame and then it popped apart. It was mostly funny because I really like to give PopPop a hard time about things like this, but also sad, because I was a bit emotionally attached to the stroller. I have no idea how many miles that thing has been, but it's been a lot of places with us, and it's what we brought Baby K home in. It was kind of on it's last leg anyway, but this forced me to go ahead and give it up. Don't worry though, I've moved on and the new stroller I ordered was delivered this morning.

Sunday BK and PopPop headed to Geneva to check out the Geneva car show, which is something best experienced "without wife and child in stroller", according to BK, while Mimi, Baby K and I had an easy Sunday morning. Sunday night we took them to one of our regular places we like to eat, where Baby K discovered again that she really likes to "cheers" everyone.

"Cheers Daddy"

One other thing- Baby K also got her first haircut. I knew that Mimi wanted to be the one to cut her hair for the first time, but also knew that I couldn't wait until May to get it cut. So we cut it the Sunday they arrived. It was just a trim, as we didn't want to take any length off, but it is much more manageable now and not so mullety.

First time in Mimi's chair

Mimi and PopPop are back and recovered from their trip and we are back in the swing of things as well. We have a busy few months from now until our trip to the US in May. I'll do my best to keep you updated!

The verdict on vacation

Soaking up the sun

I'm totally rewarding myself with a blog post right now. After about three to four solid hours of working on our taxes, I'm doing something that I actually want to do and is easy for my brain to process. The funny thing is, we don't even do our own taxes, but the sheer volume of information needed to complete two international (one US, one Swiss) tax returns is crazy. Also, I told BK I was going to fire my admin because she is way behind on her filing (obviously I'm referring to myself on this one).

So, what's the verdict on vacationing? The verdict is still out, to be completely honest with you. Our trip to to the Canary Islands was good, but not our best vacation/trip/destination by any stretch of the imagination. It wasn't bad by any means, but we came back feeling kind of "meh" about the whole thing. It was okay.

Don't be disappointed for us or anything, as obviously there are far worse problems to have in life, but I think a number of factors contributed to us feeling this way. BK ended the trip by letting me know that he is, "out on traveling with toddlers." I'm hoping what he actually means is that he is out on trying to take a relaxing vacation with toddlers.

I'm still up for taking Baby K on city and mountain trips with us, just not on ones where BK and I are trying to relax, because she's not the most relaxing travel companion. When we go to explore cities or hike and ski in the mountains, we're not really going to relax, so she doesn't impact that too much. Although she does get up at 7am every day, so there is that...

So cute, and absolutely covered in sand

Another thing that happens to us on vacation is that BK almost always gets sick. This is why he can never take time to disconnect, because when he does, it never fails that his body pretty much shuts down. Not the best way to start our island vacation. Not to mention that he then tries to deny that he's sick and ends up feeling worse and worse. I'm sure you know someone like this too. I get that he was trying to make the most of our time there, but still.

I also think that in the future, I won't suggest a destination without it being somewhere we really want to go. The Canary Islands were a good idea in theory, as we wanted somewhere that would be warm but not a long flight from Switzerland, but it just wasn't that great of a destination. The only place I could think of that it sort of reminded me of was Cancun. I've been once and don't plan to go back.

Lastly was the resort. We stayed at Roca Nivaria Gran Hotel, which was nice, but not really our thing. It has great reviews and there are tons of articles written about it, but it's almost like we expected too much from it. It ended up being more of an all-inclusive (we did not do), which is just not worth it for us. From the amount that we don't eat to the fact that BK typically wants a drink that is not included on the all-inclusive list, I would rather just do everything a la carte and stop having to answer the question about whether or not we were on full-board or half-board.

Out for a morning bike ride

So what did we do on vacation? It was actually quite relaxing. We spent time by the pool, Baby K went to the nursery for a couple of hours each morning and afternoon, walked along the beach, took naps, went to the spa, and tried various restaurants around the area for dinner each night. So not bad by any measure, but I think just a little less than we were expecting.

So the verdict on vacation is...I think BK and I will always travel with our children, we will just refrain from attempting to have a relaxing vacation with them. We'll vacation at some far-flung destination while the grandparents get to soak up some good, quality time with Baby K and her future sibling. A win for everyone involved!

Travel versus vacation

Soaking up some sun!

Is there really a difference between the two? For a long time, I didn't really think so, but in the past couple of years my view has changed. 

Since moving to Europe a few years ago, BK and I have done some serious traveling. Not so much on the vacationing side of things, but big time travel. I think both are important, but for us, I've discovered they both have their specific purposes. One of our main goals of moving abroad was to travel and explore places that we had never been. And at the time, vacationing never really crossed our minds. We both had good jobs and worked hard, but for us relaxation was exploring and being active in a new place. 

For us, when we travel, it is full steam ahead, how much can we possibly cram in while we're there to make sure we see everything we possibly can. We're not there for rest or relaxation, but instead we're there to experience all we can off that culture- the sights, the architecture, the food, to name a few- soaking up all we can during the time we have. 

But now things have changed a bit. And yes, I'm sure it's partially because of our little person, but I've heard similar things for other expats as well. It's almost like after a while we all start to get travel fatigue. And typically you'll find that most expats in Europe have been more places than native Europeans. I used to wonder why all these Europeans would say that, no they rent the same vacation home every summer and go to relax. Now I sort of get it.

So yeah, vacationing...we're working on it. We are on our first vacation in over two years. We're in the Canary Islands, and we chose them not because it's somewhere we were dying to go, but because we wanted somewhere that would have tropical weather in February and wasn't a crazy long flight from Switzerland. So the Canary Islands is was. 

We're even at a resort that we don't necessrily have to leave if we don't want to. Very not us. Of course it does also have a nursery for Baby K- good for her and good for us. And what are we doing on vacation? It's up in the air- we came with no plans set in stone, a couple of spa appointments made, and not much else on the agenda. Weird...but good.

Not to worry though, we'll be back to our usual traveling selves quickly after we get back. I'm not sure when our next true vacation will be, but I have a feeling it will be after we return to the US and it will not include Baby K. Grandparents, take note! 

4am, you are not my friend!

A slight change in scenery

I know I've said this on the blog before, but I really should be sleeping right now. Sleep when she sleeps, right? I got the message about our change in time zone; unfortunately I cannot say the same for Baby K. I'm not sure where she thinks she is, but it is definitely not in the same place I am.

For those of you who are wondering, yes, we're back in Texas for the holidays. We got back a week ago, having come in earlier than expected for the funeral of a family member. The week before, my sister and her husband came to visit us in Switzerland, so it's been a bit of a whirlwind. More on Cookie and Monkey's (Baby K's names for them) visit later.

Isn't it typical life with a toddler to think that you have things somewhat figured out, only for them to then prove that you absolutely do not?? This is Baby K and I right now. We've done the long-haul flight four times now, and also dealt with jet lag four times. I just thought I had a good handle on what would happen with jet lag this time around...cue Baby K laughing in my face.

I deal with middle-of-the-night wakings much better when I expect them to happen. With that said, I absolutely expected to not have a full night's sleep for the first four to five nights. In the past she has gotten up around 3am the first night, then 4am, then 5am, and so on until we get back to her getting up at her usual 7am. She would typically also go back to sleep after a little time quietly playing in our room. Not so much this time!

The first night she woke at 3am as expected, but then it took about two hours to get back to sleep. The next night it was 4am and I don't think she went back to sleep before getting up for the day. It has only gotten worse from there, including waking at 1am and not wanting to go back to sleep. She eventually does around 4am and will sleep until 5:30 or 6. Yikes...not good for anyone! Last night was probably the worst, mostly because she had the whole house up when she wouldn't stop crying around 3 this morning, still awake from her 1am wake up time. 

So what's the moral of the story? It's that I pretty much have no idea what's going on with jet lag or how to handle it. For the time being I've decided that Baby K is so overly tired that her little body won't get back on track, so I've tried to let her catch up on sleep and not try to adhere so much to her schedule. We'll see how it goes tonight. Hopefully she'll start to recover and begin to get on Texas time so we can start to get out and see people without feeling like we're unraveling all the time.

One thing is for sure: I have no doubt she will sleep through the night the night before BK arrives, as that's usually how it goes. Such is life. Think good thoughts for us.

Exploring London together

They're here!

We just finished up a great visit with Nani (BK's mom) and NeeNee (BK's grandmother). It was great having them here; of course BK and I love getting to see them, but we especially loved that Baby K got to spend so much one-on-one time with them. Not that we don't love when the whole family gets together, but with 11 people in our immediate family, there's usually a lot going on.

Baby K and I met Nani and NeeNee in London before returning together to show them around Switzerland. We had quite the whirlwind trip around the city, with just a day and a half to cram in as much as we could. I know, it's not much time in London, but we wanted to do what we could and still have the end of their trip in Switzerland.

Enjoying the ride on the Hop-On Hop-Off

When you fly to Europe from the US, typically you arrive in the morning. We met Nani and NeeNee in the terminal where their flight came in and went from there. Our first afternoon in London we grabbed a quick bite for lunch, then got on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. A family friend had recommended it to us, and with the weather in London quickly turning to rain when we arrived, it worked well for us. The only thing I didn't like was that we had to go to Trafalgar Square to validate our tickets, which was annoying and out of the way at the time. We didn't validate until the next day.

In front of the Tower of London

We made a stop at Piccadilly Circus, then happened upon M&M world, where we personalized some M&Ms for Kate's cousins. We then took the tube and headed over to the Tower of London area. Nani and I got a good workout, as I hadn't done my usual research on which tube stations were stroller-friendly. So, like in many trips before, the stroller was carried up and down many flights of stairs.

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London was really fun to see, although Baby K thought the high point was all the puddles to splash in after the rain. The crown jewels were the highlight for us, and after our visit there was a great view of Tower Bridge. We enjoyed walking around in the area for a while afterwards, and made our way back tour hotel for the evening. It had been a long travel day, so we called it a day and enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the hotel after Baby K went to bed.

Buckingham Palace; flag is up, Queen is in

The next day was our really big day. We started by walking to Trafalgar Square, hopped on the bus from there seeing Hyde Park, the Mayfair area, and Grosvenor Place. We rode the bus to Buckingham Palace, attempting to see the changing of the guard, but unfortunately it was us and thousands of others as well, so it was hard to catch a glimpse. The flag was flying and the Queen was in residence while we were there! Afterwards, we took a stroll through St. James Park, then also saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Parliament Buildings.

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

After a quick stop for lunch, we strolled back through St. James Park, taking our time, and giving Baby K some time to get out and stretch her legs. We walked through the park to the Chesterfield Mayfair, where we enjoyed high tea, and Baby K even had her own little set up, including a chocolate "milk shake" (chocolate milk).

Sitting with NeeNee in the park

High Tea

We decided to end our day with a visit to Kensington Gardens and Palace. The gardens are beautiful, especially during this time of year when all of the leaves are changing. We walked around the gardens, stopped by the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, then ended our time in the park with a buzz by Kensington Palace. That was pretty much the end of the day for us at that point, as we had to catch an early flight the next morning.

Baby K trying to catch a glimpse of George

Like I said, we had to cram as much in as we could, with just a little over 36 hours in the city. I've been to London four other times, for longer time frames, and even though there is a lot of stuff we didn't see, we got to see a lot of the landmarks and things that were easy to see and experience. BK and I have talked about the fact that we should go back together sometime soon.

Friday morning we caught an early flight and came back to Switzerland so that NeeNee could see where we live (Nani's been here before), and experience all things Swiss. More on that later though... Baby K and I need to head to the airport to pick up Mawmaw (my mom) this afternoon!

I would say auf wiedersehen, but...

BK and I dressed in traditional attire

If I said that, it means until we see one another again, and I don't plan to see Oktoberfest again. Once was plenty for me.

Let me start out by saying, Oktoberfest was fun, and absolutely something I am glad I got to experience while living in Europe. Having said that though, here are a few things you can keep in mind while reading about my take on our time in Munich and at Oktoberfest:

• I don't like beer. I know, I know, why go then? Like I said, for the experience.
• I'm past the point in my life when I'm interested in being around people who are so drunk they are vomiting at 2:00 in the afternoon, walking around like zombies, and barely able to hold themselves upright.
• Oktoberfest is best enjoyed without your children...as in, they should go to the grandparents' house and plan for a Monday pick up, after the weekend.

Giant pretzels for all to enjoy

Now, you may be thinking, you went to Oktoberfest in September? Yes, Oktoberfest always starts sometime around the third week of September and goes until the first week of October. In Munich people call it The Wiesn. The only reason it is called Oktoberfest (supposedly, according to our tour guide) is because American troops stationed in Munich after WWII couldn't pronounce wiesn, so they just decided to call it Oktoberfest, and the name stuck.

Our liter and half-liter (for lemonade) mugs

We traveled to Munich on a Thursday, went to Oktoberfest Friday and Saturday, then traveled back home on Sunday. I thought I would tell you about Oktoberfest specifically in this post, then come back to tell you more about Munich, where we stayed, how we got along with Baby K, and other stuff. And in case you're wondering, yes she came to Munich with us; no she did not go to Oktoberfest.

Inside Traditions-Festzelt tent

When planning this trip, we heard that the only way to go at Oktoberfest was to get tent reservations. This is because there are literally millions of people there, all who want to get inside a tent to drink some beer. Without a reservation, you're likely to be out of luck in getting into a tent, and definitely won't have a place to sit or be able to get anything to eat. We had reservations at Traditions-Festzelt on Friday and Stiftl Tent on Saturday. They were very different from one another, which was a great thing to experience.

Oktoberfest grounds- it feels like the state fair

Friday morning we headed off into Munich, suited up in our traditional lederhosen and drindls, to experience the more traditional of the two tents, Traditions-Festzelt. I was surprised when we arrived, to find that Oktoberfest is a bit like the state fair; lots of rides, carnival food, random crafty trinkets, games, and the other usual stuff. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't really that for some reason.

Outside of the "tent"

Traditions-Festzelt tent is located in the Oide Wiesn section of Oktoberfest, which is a more traditional area. It is a huge tent, that I'm sure can seat hundreds of people. Our reservation was from 11:30 until 4, and during that time there were many bands playing, people processing in and dressed in traditional attire, and groups dancing on various stages. There was also this group who used whips to play along to the music...interesting. It lived up to our expectation of the traditional tent for sure.

Beer station

With a table reservation, you receive tickets for food and beer. The beer at Oktoberfest is only served in liter mugs, and contrary to popular belief, is chilled and nice and cold when it comes out. I really I think I only made it 3/4 of the way through one liter the whole time. Oktoberfest is also known for the roasted chicken, which is really good, along with many other traditional dishes such as potato salad, dumplings, and spetzle. You can pretty much drink and eat yourself silly there...and many people do just that.

Inside Stiftl Tent- the band is up top

The other direction inside of the tent- much smaller

On Saturday we had reservations at Stiftl Tent. Even though we liked getting to experience the more traditional tent the day before, the Stiftl Tent was much more our speed. It is considered one of the smaller tents, and has very cozy feel. There is a live band, that mostly consists of a guy singing German and English rock songs. Apparently the most commonly played song at Oktoberfest is Country Road by John Denver. Who knew? There's also a German drinking song played in all the tents for everyone to sing along with. Fun!

Before the dancing/stomping started

Anyway, back to the tent, it was a lot of fun. It was crowded and loud and most of the people around us were really nice and enjoyed talking and having fun with everyone around them. At one point everyone was standing on the benches of the tables singing and stomping, generally just having a great time. Again, the beer is served in liter mugs along with the traditional food. I knew I would like this tent when they offered us prosecco to start in a tiny mug. Yes, please!

And they're up!

So that's about it for the actual Oktoberfest. I'll fill you in a little bit more about where we stayed (you know, bringing three toddlers along and all), stuff we saw in Munich and other recommendations we have in case you decide to make the trip.

Until then, Prost (Cheers)!

Collecting things along the way

It used to be shot glasses for BK, it's Christmas ornaments for my family, and now BK and I are working on a new collection to celebrate and remember our travels: paintings. For a while now, we've been collecting art from the destinations we visit. We've also started collecting little postcard size paintings for Baby K as well. I hope to make a book of them for her at some point.

We try to find a local artist who paints the city we're in, with some defining feature of the city in the painting. We've traveled a lot since moving to Europe, and are missing quite a few destinations, but are working on building our collection. We also typically try to just do one from each trip, not necessarily one from every destination. So for example, from our Spain and Portugal trip last spring (three destinations) we only bought one we liked in Lisbon. Here's what we have so far...

The beach we were married on in Maui

Napa Valley, by Kelly Sullivan at Sullivan Vineyards

Just off of De Grote Markt in Brussels, Belgium

Canals in Venice, Italy

Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic

Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey

Classic streetcar in Lisbon, Portugal

Landmarks throughout Barcelona, Spain

Collage of Berlin, Germany

So like I said, we have missed a few along the way, but make a point to try and find something we both like to represent the places we visit. We're very obviously missing Basel and Montreux, but are working on those and are kind of debating on what we want to do. For Montreux we're thinking about having someone paint the view from our terrace, as that's a pretty significant thing that we would like to have. We'll visit Basel numerous times in the upcoming months, so hopefully we can find something we like at some point before we leave Switzerland.

I also added these to our collection of maps and travel things around our house for our anniversary this year. They're not paintings, but something a little different. They are city maps of significant places for us with a note about why. Maui: where we tied the knot; Fort Worth: our first home together; Basel: our first move abroad; and Montreux: our second Swiss home. I know, I know, people have asked why Baby K isn't mentioned for Basel, but these are for BK and me, and she gets included in nearly everything else.

We're off to Munich next for Oktoberfest, and I'm sure we'll pick up another one to add to our collection. Who knows how many we'll eventually come home with...