Switzerland got me today

On our way to a ski weekend

As I'm sure every expat can agree, some days you just want to say, "Okay [insert host country here] I surrender...you win today. You officially kicked my ass." Pardon the language, but that's how it feels. Friday was a day like this for me, and it kind of caught me off guard. Nearly two years have passed and most of the time I think I have this living abroad thing down. Not so fast. And as the trailing spouse always dealing with this stuff, you feel like your head might actually explode.

It started when I actually changed my mind about how I wanted the day to go. I initially thought I would let Baby K nap for about an hour in the morning, head to playgroup, then do some errands afterwards. Then I remembered that the vet closes from 12 to 2 (for lunch?) so I wouldn't get done with other stuff to get back there. My solution? Get Baby K to sleep in the car seat for her morning nap and get stuff done before playgroup.

Not so much, Switzerland decided. We hurried up, got everything together and headed out. Oh wait, thanks to the tons of construction going on on our street just up from our house, the electricity to the building our garage was turned off. I'm guessing they thought to tell the people who live in the building, and didn't remember to give us notice. At first I just thought the garage door opener wasn't working again, but nope, not the case this time.

Great, so now I can't get the car out of the garage. And not only can I not get the car out, but I can't get the stroller out either. That put a serious kink in things. In French, the workers tell me the electricity will be back on around 11, and by the way, why can't I just open the garage with my hands. I tell them that the remote is the only way it opens. Too bad for us, I guess.

So Baby K and I go back down to the house, get the umbrella stroller and head down to the train station. Only, before we can go down to the train station, I carry her back down to the house a few more times for things we forgot. I then head down the hill, only to realize that it's about 40 degrees and I have forgotten a blanket. I was so irritated at this point I decided I would just buy one when we got to the store. I was just hoping I could skip the lecture from an older Swiss lady about how Baby K was cold, and why didn't I have a blanket for her?

Ultimately Baby K did not get a morning nap. Not too much harm done- no breakdown at playgroup or anything. And I did get a couple of things done before going to playgroup.

Afterwards, we ran to catch the bus, which would get to the vet just before closing for lunch. Nope, not going to happen. The bus was late, getting us there around 12:02. Luckily I was able to get to the pharmacy before they closed for lunch at 12:15 to get some substitute dog medicine.

Back up to the house we went to get lunch and hopefully be on the road to go pick BK up by around 1. And again, even though it's been nearly a year with Baby K, I seem to always underestimate how long things will take not to mention that I was constantly chasing her around trying to pick up the millions of things she wanted to pull out. Baby K and I finally got on the road around 2, in time for her nap and in time for BK to get on a conference call in the car by 3.

As I type this, I realize it's not all that bad, but at the time, things like these sometimes leave me feeling like Switzerland is killing me in the moment. Ultimately just a small blip on the radar. From here, we had a great weekend with friends in Lauterbrunnen. I guess you could say Switzerland makes it up to me too (see pic above).

A seriously Swiss weekend

It really annoys me that I haven't been blogging lately, and I'm not even sure why. I blame it on my computer not working sometimes, and various other things; regardless, I'm hoping to get back to it. That said...

View from Gruyere castle

Last weekend we delved into all things Swiss- chocolate, cheese, wine and fondue. And yes, all in one day. Our good friends AH and CH came down to Montreux from Basel to visit the three of us. AH was Baby K's first visitor after she was born, and it had been quite a while since we'd seen one another.

The H's came down on Friday and we stayed in at our house for dinner that night. We had a really great time, although we stayed up a little later than expected, chatting the night away. Baby K went to bed at her usual time though, and she also woke up at her usual time, which felt a little earlier than normal the next day. But, life doesn't wait, so it was off to enjoy all things Swiss!

Callier chocolate factory

We hit the Callier chocolate factory first. It's about 45 minutes from Montreux, just an easy drive north on the highway from here. The tour wasn't what I was expecting, but I thought it was pretty good. It is an automated tour, advancing you as you finish in each room. It essentially goes through the history of chocolate, both around the world and in Switzerland. And, specifically with Callier too, of course.

Playing in the cocoa beans

The second half of the tour is rooms with cocoa beans, machinery, samples, and a tasting room. The tasting room has about nine different kinds of chocolate. I think they put the best stuff at the end tasting stations so that you have already eaten quite a few pieces and don't want as much at that point.  Of course, after the tasting room you go into the store so you can purchase what you liked the most. BK and I did our part and stocked up.

Snowy Gruyere

After Callier we headed to Gruyere to see the town and have a quick snack. Between all the chocolate and saving room for fondue that night, we didn't need anything significant. BK, Baby K, and I went to Gruyere this fall, but it looks a bit different covered in snow. The views of the Alps covered in snow are amazing from the castle at the top of Gruyere. As usual, Baby K was along for the ride. This is how she comes along these days when we're expecting snow.

She's always along for the ride

After Gruyere we stopped by our favorite wine place in Lavaux, that has all Swiss wines from this region. Baby K slept through most of it, which I loved and appreciated! All the adults needed a nap, so we headed back to Montreux after that. Baby K needed to crawl around and get some wiggles out after being cooped up all day, so BK and I took 45 minute shifts and both grabbed a quick nap.

Caux fondue restaurant

That night we went up to Caux for fondue. BK and I re-found a place some other friends had taken us a number of years ago. We had some goat cheese fondue and a more traditional one with a white wine base. The experience was a great one, and BK says that he's now back on for fondue. Before this he was a little iffy, so this is good for visitors who want to come and have a traditional Swiss experience!

Fondue together!

The weekend wrapped up and we're on to this week now...work, French classes, dog-walking, etc. Next weekend we're skiing with some other friends. Time to kick the traveling into high gear!

Life lately

I've had a few blogs rolling around in my head, but just haven't taken the time lately to write. So, I thought I would share some pictures from what we've been up to lately...of course they're heavy on Baby K, but what else would you expect?

It's been snowing quite a bit here. There was about eight inches on the terrace on Monday.

Baby K is starting to get a little more used to the snow, although it's still not her favorite.

She is pulling up on pretty much anything and everything. The second I open the fridge, she does her fast-crawl over to it to see what she can get into.

Also in the pantry...

She  and Toby are both overjoyed that they finally figured this one out:

And this has been our life the rest of this week, as we bundle up and typically don't brave taking the stroller down our hill. Baby K LOVES it when I try and wrestle her back into the carrier after we've been grocery shopping; this typically happens in the grocery cart, while curious onlookers try to figure out what in the world I'm doing to my kid.

I think that's about it for now. We're headed to Basel this weekend to visit friends. BK is chomping at the bit to have some Mexican food and margaritas at the place we used to go when we lived there; we even have a babysitter for the girls!

Bon weekend!