Since we have been having such great weather, last Thursday, Jana and I took the kids on a hiking trip. We went to a place called Braunwald and it's about an hour away from the house. I debated going on this hiking trip because I could have had the day to myself but I am so glad that I decided to go. Although it was a pretty tiring trip (hiking with 4 kids all 7 years old or younger is not an easy thing) the kids did a good job most of the way. We took a couple of lifts up to the top of the mountain and walked down. I can't even begin to describe the amazing views. The place was so gorgeous and everywhere we looked there were huge mountains looming all around us. We stopped for lunch on the way down...there are fire pits set just off the path in a few places. This was handy, we put our sausages on the grill like everyone else and soon were eating a great traditional Swiss meal. The kids' cousin Sherin joined us on the hike. She is Sanja's age and they are good friends. I love Sherin because she is such a good little girl. She's pretty quiet especially compared to the Berger children. Even though she doesn't speak English I really like having her around. It was good for Sanja to have her there because the twins have each other to play with but Sanja is left out sometimes...her brothers often try to antagonize her. I also have to mention the ice cream we had when we reached the bottom of the mountain. It was delicious! It consisted of a scoop of chocolate and strawberry ice cream with these long and skinny pieces of chocolate, about as long as a toothpick but thicker. And there weren't just a few pieces....there were tons of them in the bowl! So good!!
On Friday, I took the boys up the woods across from our house on a little hike. The grandparents live up the hill a ways and it's about a half hour hike through the woods to grandmother's house we go.... It's a pretty hike and not difficult at all. It would take an average adult about 15 or 20 mins to do it. We stopped along the way where a bunch of these flower/bushes were growing on the side of the path. The boys showed me how cool they were. If you lightly press on the bud, which is closed, the petals spring up and shoot out seeds at you! It's the coolest thing! It actually scared me the first time I tried it because I thought the plant was trying to eat my fingers. I have attached a video of the popping of these buds below because I think it's so neat.
When we got to the grandparents' farm, the boys played around while I went inside with "Muerti" as they call her for some coffee. Unfortunately she does not speak English very well and so it was a little bit awkward when just the two of us were having a cup o' joe. We tried to start a conversation but since neither of us speak the others' language, it did not last long. This is unfortunate because I would really like to get to know Muerti better. After coffee, I went outside to watch the boys and the grandfather make apple cider. The boys would throw the apples into the machine and watch them get ground up. Then the juice would pour out and the boys would help with replacing the bucket when it got too full. I took the picture of Nick below in the apple cart collecting more apples to make cider.
Another fun thing that I did with the kids outdoors last week was collected chestnuts. Here these are called "maronnis" and there are many roasted chestnuts sold all over the city in little stands. The kids love these, which I thought was kind of a weird thing for little kids to like. I actually had my first roasted chestnut the other day when I went to Zurich with Jana and the kids. I was a little surprised at the taste of them, I thought that they tasted like potatos. But I digress. The kids took me to an area down by the lake in their backyard to a big chestnut tree. They filled up quite a few sacks of chestnuts. You can see them in their work below. On the way up to the grandparents' the other day, the boys were collecting acorns from a big oak tree, too. They love to collect random nuts.
After my German lesson last Wednesday, it was pouring down rain. Jana was in the city as well for a work thing and offered to pick me up. I, of course, accepted since I did not want to swim my way home at 11 o'clock at night. Jana then asked me if I was tired or if I wanted to go out for a beer when I got in the car. I definitely wanted a beer, so Jana took me to the local bar in Maur. It was a Wednesday night in a small town so the bar was not quite "hoppin'". The typical people were there, older lonely men. Jana left me to talk with a few men who spoke English. They were pretty funny and had lots of questions for me. I think that a lot of people here like to speak English as practice. One of the men I was talking with had been a banker so we talked about this common interest for awhile. Another guy had been born in the States but moved to Switzerland when he was 6. He had not been back since, except for a trip to Hawaii, and that was in the '70s but he still had very good English and not much of an accent. He still holds dual citizenship for the States and CH. I was complimented on my English accent by one of the men. Apparently, since I am from the Northwest, I am very easy to understand because my English is so standard, "unlike someone from Texas or North Dakota" as I was told.
As you can see, I had a pretty fun week. I just hope that the next couple of weeks are as eventful.
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