wandering-europe

Day 41 -- Loooong Transit Day: Oslo-Reykjavik-Seattle -- Tuesday, July 24th

The view from our hotel room at the Park Inn at the Oslo Airport.  We can see a parking garage and the control tower at the airport.  Even with planes coming and going, we couldn't hear them -- that's how well constructed the hotel is.

Rise and shine, and time to get those boots laced up.  I am SO looking forward to wearing something other than heavy hiking boots.

The breakfast buffet was huge and varied.  

We filled up, in fact I did it twice!  Daddy was the first to wake and went down for his breakfast alone.  Then Kelsey and I went down while Aubrietta (last to get up) needed more time up in the room to get ready.  When Aubrietta came down, Kelsey went on to the playroom and I had a second breakfast with Aubrietta.  I sat there savoring my 4th cup of coffee until the staff started clearing the dining room, and then I stealthily slipped some extra grapes and pastry into a plastic bag I'd had hidden in my shoulder bag.  Those would come in handy for our long day of travel ahead.

The Park Inn turned out to be a really family friendly hotel.  Upon check in the girls were given colored pencils and coloring sheets, and one wall in the otherwise tidy and stark lobby was festooned with children's artwork taped up for all to admire.  There was a big playroom stocked with toys.  They may have been toys for preschoolers, but that didn't prevent Aubrietta and Kelsey from spending an hour there after breakfast, building an elaborate block town.

Leaving the hotel and heading to the airport.  What's that blinding light?  Sunshine in Oslo?  Impossible!

The long covered walkway connecting the hotel to the terminal.

Uh-oh.  Long line at the IcelandAir check in.   There was a bit of worry for us with our flight, because when I went to do online check-in and print our boarding passes yesterday there was already notice on the IcelandAir website that many of today's flights would be delayed, including ours.  There was the real potential for us to miss our connection in Reykjavik and be stuck there overnight, as there is only one flight to Seattle from Reykjavik per day.  The line above is due to the flight delays, as well as the self-service baggage-tag kiosks being out of order.  A double whammy.

Thankfully we were at the airport 4 hours before our flight was supposed to leave, so after standing in lines for what seemed like half that time, we were finally on the other side of security and able to sit down for a late lunch.  This cafe had to-go containers you could fill from a buffet with about 50 different items and cold salads.

The girls were happy to not be in a rush this time and be allowed to explore the Duty-Free.

With a long day and night ahead, I encouraged the girls to sweeten up the clothes they'd be in for a long time.  They had fun choosing which scent to use, and ended up doing one fragrance on one side, and a different one on the other.

Well, our plane is at the gate, that's a good sign.  Two hours late, but it's there.

Wait, what's this?  Oh no, something wrong with the engine.  A little door keeps popping open.  Where's the duct tape?  OK, I don't care about being late, missing a connection.  Call in another aircraft or cancel it, I don't want to get onto that plane now.

Aubrietta finds one of the 3-wheeled scooters that the airport staff use to zip around.  At the risk of being yelled at, she stepped on for me to take a quick photo.  She really wanted to take it for a spin, but I wouldn't let her.

After another half hour delay while the engine was being examined, it was finally decided the flight should go on, and we were allowed to board.  I snapped this photo as we boarded the plane.  So our plane is named after a volcano.  Let's hope it doesn't blow up like one. 

Although it was a short flight (under 3 hours) the girls were offered a complementary full children's meal (Adults could order off a menu of overpriced items).  They also got free headphones, colored pencils, and postcards to color.

With the children cheerful over their freebies, it was easier for me to relax, though I was still spooked about the engine and the possibility of missing our connecting flight to Seattle.  I distracted myself by watching an assortment of Icelandic short films on the inflight entertainment center.

We touched down in Iceland after our Seattle flight should have departed.  What lay ahead for us?  Would IcelandAir put us up for the night in a hotel?  Not likely, so I'd read on the travel review blogs.  During the hundreds of hours I researched online in preparation for our trip I'd read nothing but bad things about Keflavik Airport and IcelandAir's poor customer service.  

When we got to the gate we hustled off the plane and literally ran to our connecting gate, encouraged by the flight attendant on our last flight that the plane to Seattle hadn't departed yet, but we had to hurry!  There would be no time to shop for more salty black licorice gum or pick up some Icelandic currency at the airport.  I had stupidly used our remaining Icelandic Kronor to pay for lunch before our flight to Denmark last month, not even thinking about keeping a few coins as souvenirs for the kids.  Stupid me!

Less than half an hour after we landed in Iceland we were in the air again.  It was a miracle, IcelandAir really did hold the plane for us.  Believe it or not, our checked luggage made it onto the plane, too.  I'm not sure how, but it did.

Although the flight to Seattle from Iceland was half an hour longer than the flight from Seattle to Iceland (due to tailwinds), this flight felt so much longer.  Perhaps it was because we'd already been on one flight today.  The sun was with us the entire time we flew West.

Looking down at the ice near Greenland you could see interesting melt patterns.

It was pretty to look at, but sad, too.  I thought about the arctic ice melting and the polar bears starving because of it.  I kept my eye out hoping to see a polar bear, but either there weren't any, or they were really well camouflaged.

Kelsey was able to nod off, but Aubrietta stayed awake the whole 7 1/2 hours watching movies, just as I did.  She even watched the Hunger Games movie, and she's not usually into such scary films.  I continued watching Icelandic films (who knew that Iceland has a vibrant indie film industry?).

These are just some of the films I watched (follow the links and you can watch them too, some of them for free!):

The Last Farm

Family Reunion

Clean

Children

Parents

Volcano

There were some other films I saw as well but I wasn't able to find them online to share with you.

 

About 6 hours into the flight my lower back and legs protested and I got the worst case of "restless legs" I think I've ever had.  I got up a few times to walk the aisle, but it didn't really help.  Being as tall as I am and having to twist into a pretzel to fly coach is a real pain -- literally.    Coming to the end of this trip reminded me that I will never have an adventure overseas like this again.  Maybe this will be the last time I'll ever travel out of the country.  When we get home I'll be looking for a job, any spare cash will be devoted to a college fund for the girls, and we're going to be living pretty frugally.  Nonetheless, I was really looking forward to returning home.  Stretching out in my own bed was going to be a treat, too, since it would be 3am Norway time when we finally got home, and I was really tired.

It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny afternoon in Seattle when our plane touched down.  We were pleasantly surprized to find our bags waiting for us in the secure baggage area. Getting through customs at Sea-Tac was worse than any of the other airports we'd been through, though.  The grapes I'd taken from the hotel buffet in Norway?  I had a few left, and the customs agent made me go to a separate area for hazardous materials to dispose of them.  The lines were really long and we overheard a lot of people being hassled over seemingly trivial things.  Those customs agents appeared to be having a really good time torturing the weary travelers, especially those with foreign passports.  Here we were, a family of four holding American passports, with local driver licenses and ID's, and they asked us all sorts of questions about where we'd been, why we went, how come we were returning today, etc.  It just seemed a bit much.

Uncle Buck and Aunt Barbara were waiting to pick us up and deliver us home.  It was strange to ride again in my 12 year old minivan just 41 days after stepping out of it at this same airport to embark on this trip.  It seemed like another lifetime ago.

Thanks for reading along.  I enjoyed keeping this journal, knowing that many of my family and friends were traveling along with us in spirit.

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Day 40 -- Last Day in Switzerland, Flight to Oslo -- Monday, July 23rd

It was our last day in Switzerland, and our last breakfast with Antje.  She went a little wild at the bakery this morning, and there was lots to choose from.

She even got these adorable "hedgehog" rolls for the girls!

After breakfast I went out with Antje on errands.  I bought a luggage strap at Migros, then we stopped by the pharmacy and the post office nearby to pick things up for Antje's papa.  While Antje was in line at the post office I took our recycling to the collection center.  Here in Switzerland you take your glass and plastics to bins outside grocery stores or somewhere in the central shopping district.  It's more of an effort for the consumer than curbside pick up with your household trash, but the Swiss have long been concerned about the environment and most comply with the system, just as most Europeans seem to carry reusable shopping bags or baskets when they go to the store.

Back to Antje's, we picked up the girls and Antje then dropped us off at the Wilderness Park on her way to take her papa to a doctor's appointment.  (Daddy stayed home and rested).  The girls wanted to return to the wilderness park, and it seemed fitting to spend both our first and our last mornings in Switzerland there.

On the map above you can see the Wildnispark.  Today we are starting out from the area in the bottom of the photo, called "Hasengarten."  The Wildnispark is on both sides of the street, with a footbridge crossing over.

Dog parking. 

Public toilet at the park.  Spotlessly Swiss!

On our last visit we were mostly in the forested part of the park, but today we hiked in the grasslands area. 

The people who live in these houses nearby have a great view of the wild creatures!

Silly heads-on display for the kids.  Kelsey is having a croissant left over from breakfast.

Guessing game.  The girls did pretty well for not understanding the language.

Hello little fox!

This fox was very curious and came right up to the fence to see us.  I wondered if maybe some park visitors had fed him, and now he expects every passing person to offer something.  He didn't get anything from us, although the peperoni I had in my bag probably tempted him terribly.

Babies!

After a lot of animal viewing, the girls wanted to return to the play area they had seen on our first visit.

This time we were not in a hurry and the girls had plenty of time to explore and play.  

A hammock.  Move over, Kelsey, I think Mommy needs to spend some time there!

It was getting warm and I wanted the girls to see a little more of the animals before we left, so I went into the restaurant and bought us popsicles to lure them away from the playground.  These were a favorite of the girls because they were about a foot long, and the "stick" was a plunger style "squirt gun" you could use after you finished your treat.

We followed a school group up into the forest in hopes of seeing some wild cats.

Success!  Aubrietta is up on the platform looking at the lynx.

It looks like a moose to us, but here it is an "Elk."

The only way back to the road where Antje would be picking us up was past the playground, so the girls spent a few more minutes there.

Crossing the foot bridge from one side of the park to the other.

Antje suggested we go to the Park im Gruene, which is a public park built by Migros, Switzerland's largest retailing company, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer.  As if I needed another reason to love Migros, it turns out they are major philanthropists, providing everything from adult education classes to cultural programs and this beautiful park.

As you can see, the park is located on major transit lines.  On the map where "GDI" is located, is the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, which is  a "thinktank" of brilliant minds aiming to make the world a better place.

The Oranger Garten is a new installation this year, featuring mostly orange flowers.  It is an interactive park with art installations detailing the company's history, as you can see in photo above, with the spiral timeline behind the girls.

It is a butterfly paradise!

I wish we had taken the time to go into the Migros grocery store you see in the photo above, but it was just too glorious to go inside.

Thank you, Gottlieb Duttweiler, for creating the non-profit foundation that built and maintains this beautiful park for all to enjoy.

Migros has a grocery store and the oranger garten on one side of the road, and this Migros restaurant on the other, beside the "green" side of the park.

There was a wonderful playground, and these canvas sling chairs were provided for anyone who wanted to sit awhile.

The girls gave the playground a thorough inspection, but it was fairly overrun with small children, so they quickly moved on.

There was a beautiful waterplay area, and the girls were disappointed that their swimsuits were already packed.

There was also a big puppet theater, with near daily shows through the summer.

The girls watched for awhile, despite the show being in Swiss-German, which they didn't understand.  The show turned out to be one of those classic "Punch and Judy" types with sight gags eliciting laughs from the crowd, and far too many instances of puppets getting bonked over the head.  Kelsey especially has no tolerance for any type of violence, even to puppets, so she was ready to leave within minutes, so we slipped away to explore more of the park.

There was a beautiful scenic overlook with a panoramic view up and down Lake Zurich.

Large plaques helped you identify landmarks and mountains in the distance.

There was a wide open green lawn, the "Im Grüene" of the park.  In the photo above you can see the restaurant, where we would be meeting Antje for a late lunch.  She was off with her papa at another doctor appointment and would arrive shortly.

I enjoyed watching this little tot run in the grass, back and forth, full of energy.

After our lunch at the Migros Restaurant with Antje, the girls had one LAST ice cream.  We thought the one at the Wildnis Park earlier in the day was the last one, but when another opportunity presented itself, we couldn't resist.

Aubrietta discovered Navina's scooter, which is much larger than the scooters we see back at home.  Antje stands beside her car, at the ready for us to load our bags for our journey home.  Antje drove Daddy and the girls to the train station down the hill where they'd take the train to the airport, while Antje and I would drive together with the luggage, and have one last conversation.

Things hadn't quite worked out as we'd planned.  The girls didn't get along well initially, poor Antje was overwhelmed with her papa's care, there was drama and strife around the end of Navina's school year and her sudden, early departure to visit her father, and we weren't the easy houseguests I'd hoped we'd be, between my husband's need to lie around and rest his knee, our need to do laundry, and Aubrietta's multiple allergies which complicated mealtimes.  Whew!  Antje is a loving, generous person and an amazing host and tour guide.  She opened her home to us, and I am so grateful.  

On the way to the airport Antje and I had a good heart-to-heart talk as she wove us through the narrow streets of Zurich during rush hour.  We arrived at the airport before Daddy and the girls, so Antje double parked the car to help me get our 4 bags into the terminal.  She wanted to wait around, but I sent her on her way because I didn't want her to get towed or get a ticket for leaving her car in the loading area.  Just as she started to pull away the girls bounded up the escalator from the train station below, and I redirected them outside to wave farewell to Antje as she passed by, waving back.

We made it through security with only Daddy getting the "free massage" from the security officer, and had about an hour to pass before our flight.  Like other airports we'd passed through in Europe, you exited security directly into Duty-Free shopping, and you had to thread yourself through the maze of people squirting perfume at you and towering displays of liquor to reach the concourse.   Daddy decided to buy a Swiss Army Knife, which he was allowed to carry onto the plane without question.  How odd that you go through security at the airport only to be allowed to buy a weapon with a sharp blade in duty free!  And it wasn't as if it was sold in some impenetrable warehouse-club blister-pack packaging that is impossible to open, either.  It was neatly tucked into a little cardboard box, so you could take it out and trim your nails while waiting for your plane.

Still smiling after nearly 6 weeks away from home.  The girls are looking forward to returning to their friends, their own beds, our kitty cats, and another month of summer before school begins again.  Kelsey plans to finish up the Little House on the Prairie series and go camping with her best friend when she gets home.  She would have liked a week of Girl Scout camp as well, but we couldn't afford that on top of our trip abroad.  Aubrietta is looking forward to sleeping in, catching up with friends, her weekly movie matinee date with Grammy, and spending one-on-one time with me while her sister is camping.  All of us are looking forward to wearing something other than poly-nylon travel clothes!

Farewell, Switzerland.  I've always loved how Switzerland has little villages interspersed with productive fields and patches of protected forest.  Despite the distance between villages, they are all connected by transit, so even if you live in a tiny village, you can hop a bus or train and be in a city in less than an hour, all without need of a car.

Approaching the Oslo airport.

There was the most beautiful sunset as we approached Oslo.

After arrival, still a bit of pink in the sky.  And true to the Oslo we knew, it was raining.

It's 10:45 at night and still light out!  Notice how snugly Kelsey's pack is against her back.  Ever since her fall in Copenhagen when the too-loose pack flew up and knocked her on the back of the head as she fell forward, she's taken my advice to keep those straps tight.  Aubrietta, on the other hand, has let hers get a little loose again.  As we've passed through airports, run for trains, and packed and repacked between locations, I've thought a lot about how this all has been good preparation for the girls to travel on their own one day.  If they want to be exchange students or join the Peace Corps they'll be ready and capable.

We walked from the airport gate to luggage claim, then directly to our hotel, the Park Inn by Radisson.  That's right, we walked to our hotel!  It was located nearby, connected to the airport by a covered walkway.

The best part about being in a hotel that is located IN the airport is that you can take your luggage carts from the airport right into your room!  The girls each had a comfy twin roll-away, while Daddy and I shared a big King size bed (to the left of the black suitcase above, out of the photo).  Our room was on the corner, so we had windows on two sides.  It was well past midnight when we finally tucked in.  The beds were very comfortable, and I slept well knowing that we didn't have to check out until NOON!

Next: Day 41 -- Loooong Transit Day: Oslo-Reykjavik-Seattle -- Tuesday, July 24th » 

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Day 37 -- Back to Zurich with a Stop in Bern -- Friday, July 20th

We woke the girls by 7:30, showers and shampoo for all, and the girls said goodbye to the Glasgow Guides.  Because it was Scout Camp, and Scouts "Leave the World a Better Place," we had to clean our own rooms, which included stripping the beds, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, etc.  We then had to wait for a Pinkie to be available to inspect the room and check us out.  I got tired of waiting, and told the Pinkie that I would be at the bus stop.  There was no way I was going to miss a bus that runs only once an hour while he checked the floor for dust bunnies.  I knew it was clean, and so did he, but he felt bound to follow the protocol.   We caught 9:54 bus to the Kandersteg train station.

Waiting on the platform for our train from Kandersteg to Speiz, and then on to Bern.

When we arrived in Bern it was overcast and muggy but no rain, thankfully.  We put our bags in lockers at the train station, and found the TI (Tourist Information) to get a free map.  No city map unless you stood in line, which was stupid, given all the free brochures in racks for the taking (none bearing a map, however).  We wasted half an hour in line just to get a free map, which they kept below the counter.

We saw a number of tour groups gathered under one of the famous clocks.  It was almost 13:00 so we decided to stay for the hourly show.  Bells would ring, little characters rotated and waved, and music played.  It wasn't much of a show, however, because it wasn't run on the 24 hour clock.  Instead of 13 chimes, there was only 1.  Apparently the noon show is the best to catch.  We walked away unimpressed.

Before having lunch at the Migros Restaurant I wanted us to use the toilet and wash hands.  The girls got to experience an "attended" toilet for the first time.  We had to pay 1 CHF each to go through a turnstile, although children were free, so I had the girls slip under the bar for children.  They were too tall by a few cm, but they're 12 and under, so they got away with it.  A tiled hallway led both men and women to what you see above: a staffed reception desk.  The woman eyes you up and down and points to which side you should go, men to the right, ladies to the left.  I'm often mistaken for a man at first glance based on my height, and if my hair is tied back, but thankfully this time they recognized my true gender and didn't send me to the men's section.  The toilet areas are back around a corner, but while washing your hands you can see men on the other side of the desk washing their hands.

Migros Restaurant buffets never fail to impress me with their vast offerings of fresh foods.

The girls and I shared a Cantaloupe Lemonade.  We took the chocolate milk along with us for later.  Everyone had a satisfying lunch, and then we ventured back outside.

We walked straight down the main pedestrian street and crossed the bridge to the famous Bärengraben "Bear Pit," which thankfully is no longer a pit, but a much improved BärenPark, where the bears can roam in a green, forested area with a view, instead of a cement pit.
Today the pits have been transformed into a gift shop and an interpretive area filled with statues.  People can go down into the pit and look up at the view the bears had for centuries: pretty bleak.

Although bears have been kept in a pit in the city since 1513 as the city's mascot, it wasn't until 2009 (!) that the bears were freed from the concrete pits and given a much larger, more natural area.

I don't know why it took the city of Bern so long and the Tierpark Dählhölzli (which owns and oversees care of the bears) so long to make this change.  You'd think an educated, wealthy citizenry would have demanded this humane upgrade decades ago.  Perhaps the fact that it is Swiss heritage site of national significance led those in charge to be unwilling to consider change.

Information plaques tell about each bear -- age, where they were born, who they are related to, and even personality traits.

The new area for the bears allows people to view them from above, below, and alongside.  "Dens" built into the hillside give the bears dark, quiet places to retreat from view.

Food for the bears.  Look at all those fresh cherries, radicchio lettuce, and celery!  The health of the bears is much more of a concern today, thankfully.  Signs admonish people not to throw food to the bears, whereas once tossing bread to them was encouraged.

"We're Hungry.  When's Lunch?"

The river Aar flows past the bear park, as well as around the historic city center of Bern.  The channel is deep and the current really swift.  Swimming is not allowed in this section, although outside of town where the current is not as strong, inner-tubing is popular.

We wondered what it would be like to live in these houses across the river from the bear park.  How great for them to look out the window and see bears!

We decided to go to the famous Rose Garden up the hill for the panoramic view of Bern.  Daddy's knee was hurting so trekking up the steep brick walkway wasn't really an option.  We were able to take 2 city buses in a rather circuitous routing, dropping us off at the east end of the garden.  Here's the view of Bern from the Rose Garden.

Aubrietta needed to use the toilet.  The Rose Garden had automatic self-cleaning toilets, however figuring out how to use it was a challenge.  The spring-loaded black plastic seat could be pulled down, but you had to hold on and sit down quickly, or it would snap back up.

After you did your business and the seat sprang back up, you pressed buttons on the wall and the toilet bowl became your sink, where you washed your hands!  It was confusing, but it was also spotlessly clean, and odor-free.  Ah, the Swiss!

The Rose Garden had more than just roses.  In addition to a playground, there were also fun trees to climb.  

There were quiet places to sit with coffee or a picnic.

Roses are a high-maintenance flower which I'm not really into, so I didn't appreciate them as much as a true rose aficionado would.  They smelled good, they were pretty, but I wasn't on a mission to discover rare varieties or get inspiration for my own garden back home.  It was nice to see such a large, manicured public park in the city.  

The long, steep path between the Rose Garden and the Bear Pit.  We avoided going up this by taking the bus up, but figured if we took it slowly, we could walk down and not completely destroy Daddy's knee.

Free water at the base of the trail from the Rose Garden.

 We rode the bus back up the main street part of the way, then got off near the Migros to buy ice cream bars for an afternoon treat.  Most ice cream cost between 2 and 5 CHF (1 CHF = 1 USD), but Migros had these delicious little ice cream bars for only .80 CHF.  My favorite was the coffee ice cream covered in dark chocolate.  

Yeah public transit!  I love how you can find buses and trams in every toy store in Europe.  If only I had more room in my suitcase.  I did end up getting a small tram, matchbox-car size, for my little collection back home.

One thing we found really interesting in Bern was that many of the shops were underground in cellars, accessible through storm doors opened wide, and steep stone steps.  One was a candy store, which had a slide alongside the steps, to quickly deliver children into temptation.  We didn't descend, but now I wish we had.  Rain was threatening and it was getting late, so we didn't take the time, plus Daddy has little tolerance for shopping.

 

It was time to head to the train station and continue our journey back to Zurich.  We could tell we were getting close the the train station by the multitude of parked bicycles.

Reuniting with our bags and loading up at the luggage lockers.

Schedule checking.  The man beside us had the biggest bags I'd seen on a traveler thus far.  I think he was a paraglider, carrying his own gear.

Everything runs like clockwork in Switzerland, without much variation, so they can print up paper scehdules and track assignments and all would be correct 99.9% of the time.  Unfortunately for us we experienced the .1% when things go wrong, as we were boarding our train from Bern to Zurich.  The train we needed was assigned to track 9, but just as we got there the electronic reader board above the track switched our train over to track 2.  We had 90 seconds before the train left.  Back down the ramp, in the tunnel under the tracks, up the ramp for track 2.  There was our train, so we hopped on the car nearest where we'd come up the ramp.  It was 1st class, so we had to work our way through the train cars, hauling all our luggage down the narrow aisle.  We made our way through several 1st class cars, a dining car, and then 2nd class cars which were completely full.

Worst of all was that these were double decker cars with a single connection between cars at a mid-level with stairs going up and down.  Each time we went from one car to the next we had to go up and down stairs.  By this time the train was moving and it was even more difficult to drag our luggage along without being thrown into someone's lap.  Finally, finally, we found a car with a few seats for us, as well as a place to stow our bags.  We must have trudged through 10 train cars, and we were utterly exhausted.

 

By the time we got to Zurich it was raining pretty hard.  By now we knew our way through the station, down 2 levels, to Gleis 2.  We also finally located the tiny hidden elevator!  We arrived back in Sihlau at 5:38 and Antje was kind enough to pick us up at the station.  She prepared a delicious barley soup, bread, cheese, veggies, and meat for dinner.

The girls watched The Sound of Music together, huddled around a mac laptop, and slept together on the floor in living room.

NEXT: Day 38 -- Rapperswil -- Saturday, July 21st »

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Day 34 -- Interlaken to Kandersteg International Scout Camp -- Tuesday, July 17th

We had the simple breakfast at the hostel then packed up, checked out, and put our luggage into the free day lockers in the basement.  Our time at the Backpacker's Hostel had come to an end, and we were sad to go, as it was a pleasant place to stay.  It was so much nicer than the Legoland Village Family Hostel we'd stayed at in Denmark.

Our next accommodation was only about an hour and half away, and we couldn't check in until 16:00, so we decided to take our time getting there.  Our stay at the Backpacker's hostel came with free entry to the town swimming pool, which we hadn't taken advantage of the last two days because of our day trips.  I wanted to walk around Interlaken, and the girls wanted to swim.  Daddy took the girls to the pool and relaxed in a lounge chair while they played in the water.  Even though we'd already checked out, the hostel was nice enough to loan us (for free) two beach towels to take to the pool.  Aubrietta was ecstatic to get a Lion King towel, and wished she could take it home!

The girls had a great time at the pool complex, which had not one, but several outdoor pools, complete with tube slides.

Meanwhile I walked through town and tried to find the tiny hotel on the pedestrian street where my brother and I stayed in 1997.  I came across a darling shop featuring items made in Switzerland.  I'm not much into souvenir shopping, but I did have to buy this beautiful wooden memory game featuring Swiss icons.  We love games in our family, and it would bring back happy memories each time we played it.

In my wanderings I also went to the large Migros grocery store, which was closed Sunday and was closed every evening when we needed it.  We were now on our way out of town and would be juggling luggage on the train, so I could only look, and not do a big shopping.  Tempting me from the coolers were about 50 different kinds of yogurts and custards.  I couldn't care less about the knicknacks and jewelry most women swoon over  -- just show me to the nearest gourmet grocery store and my wallet magically opens.

The hard-boiled eggs called to me as well, but even in the protective casing I knew they wouldn't travel well.

And cheese!  These sampler packs with 4 different types of regional Swiss cheeses in each would have been perfect -- except that I had no way to keep them cold for 3 hours, and it was getting to be a hot day outside.  If only the small convenience store in the little town we'd be staying in next had this much selection.

I did buy some things to take home.  Paper napkins are lightweight and don't take up much space in the suitcase, and they are fun to pull out in the future and remember our trip by.  The little embroidered felt hearts are table decoration, but I plan to add ribbon and hang them on our Christmas tree in December.

Here are some other things that made it home in my suitcase: Menthol eucalyptus chewing gum (great for cold season), assorted chocolate (some to give to neighbor kids, some for me), and my favorite Appenzeller Biberli: spicy gingerbread cakes with marzipan filling.

Around 11:30 am we met back at the hostel and I took the girls back to the Migros for lunch at their pay-by-weight buffet restaurant.

We absolutely love buffets.  What a great opportunity to try lots of different foods in one sitting.

The girls will eat anything, especially after the last 3 days of hostel breakfasts and microwave / picnic dinners.

The canapes looked especially inviting.  Aubrietta announced that she is expecting me to put these in her school lunches from now on.

In the end we got mushroom spatzle (potato dumplings similar to Italian Gnocchi), salad, potatoes, fresh fruit, and a big slice of ham and leek quiche.  We split one giant cantelope lemonade between the 3 of us.  At $4.50 USD for the beverage I wasn't about to get one for each of us.  The total cost of all the food was under $20.00 USD, which was great for a meal for three of us.  Daddy was resting in the garden back at the hostel (he wasn't very hungry and just had some leftovers while cleaning our things out of the hostel fridge). 

When I got back to the hostel with the girls we barely had enough time to get the luggage from the lockers and rush out to the bus stop.  We thought we'd missed it (we were 3 minutes late, and this WAS Switzerland after all), but miraculously the bus was late and rounded the corner just as we pulled the last suitcase over the curb.

At the train station.  It looks like a lot of luggage, but it contains everything we needed for 6 weeks in 5 countries, from 2 pairs of trekking poles, to down jackets, to hostel sheets, to extra shoes.  By the way, I brought only 2 pairs of shoes on the trip -- hiking boots I wear most of the time, and sport sandals (closed-toe like Keens).  I bought a new pair of heavy duty insoles to put on top of my orthodics before the trip and this morning I had to throw them away because I had worn them to shreds with all the hiking we've done on this trip.  Right now I would love a pair of cushy slip-on Merrells like I wear at home all the time.  My husband brought 4 pairs of shoes  (which I thought was too much), the girls have 3 pairs each (boots, athletics, and sandals) , and now I'm thinking I should have had 3 pairs, too.

Ready to go!

We changed trains in Spiez and headed up a valley toward the mountains.

We'll get off in Kandersteg, just before the train goes into a long tunnel through the mountains.

We happened to get on a train car for the disabled.  It had a beautiful, large bathroom, and everything was automatic -- except the toilet.  Put your hands in the sink and the water turns on, move your hands to the right and soap squirts onto them, move your hands to the left and the air dryer dries them.  Toilets, however, are push-button, which makes much more sense.   I despise the trend in the US of auto-flush toilets, which often start flushing before you even sit down, and then flush a couple more times before you are finished.  Europeans obviously trust that you are capable of flushing the toilet on your own.

When the train pulled into Kandersteg we saw a line up of cars going through some sort of toll booth.  We weren't sure what it was, but we didn't have time to wonder for long as we busied ourselves with collecting our bags and rushing to the bus, which only ran once an hour.  When we got off the bus at the camp (you can see the tiny blue bus stop sign in the right of the photo above), a loud whoosh from the train tracks above explained everything.  There was only one tunnel through the mountains, and it was for a train only, so when cars, trucks, or even tour busses (!) wanted to avoid a 3.5 hour detour around the mountains, they drove onto the "car train" and were transported through, still sitting in their vehicles.

We checked in and were given a room in the most modern building, "KanderLodge," which had rooms with 2 single beds each sharing a bath with another 2 bed room.  The lodge was designed for troop leaders, families like ours, and young troops not ready to sleep out in tents.  Our lodge is that gray building wedged between the river and the train tracks.  (The colored patches with numbers are group camping spots.)

Unfortunately our room looked out on the train tracks, and every time a train passed (which was every 10 minutes), the building seemed to vibrate.  We didn't know how we would possibly sleep, but at least we weren't in tents!

 

The beds were like the ones at the Backpacker's hostel.  Narrower than a US twin bed, but a lot longer (even long enough for me!).  In the photo above you can see how this room opens into the common bath.  Door to the left is for the shower and toilet.  To the right is a sink and mirror.  See the heated towel rack (such a great idea!) -- to the right of that is the door to the hallway.  To the left of this long and narrow room is another room just like it in mirror image.  The girls shared one room, Daddy and I the other.  Daddy claimed his bed by the window and was soon sleeping.  The girls and I went out exploring.

Many campers prepare their own meals at their campsite or in the communal kithcens, but there is a dining hall with food service that some troops treat themselves to.  I'd signed on for dinner each night, and figured we could do breakfast and lunch on our own.  We were curious to see if the camp food here was better than the horrible food at Girl Scout Camp back home.

The girls do not look pleased about tonight's dinner menu.  You wouldn't find alcohol at a scout camp in the US, that's for sure, even for cooking purposes.

Camp staff come from around the world and are called "Pinkies" because of the pink t-shirts they are required to wear.  And look, there's an espresso machine!  Coffee was included with dinner, although it wasn't great quality.  We liked how you could go down the food line and say, "a little more please," and "not much, thanks."

The girls are all smiles, but the "Pork in Beer" was pretty disgusting, reminsicent of dog food.  We filled up on the potatoes (really tender German butterballs), baked eggplant & tomatoes, and fruit sorbet.  I also asked for a little bit of the vegetarian option, which was cooked vegetables.  There was also a meager salad bar containing only 4 items: iceburg lettuce, diced bell pepper, canned pineapple, and sliced tomatoes.  Daddy was late joining us for dinner, and then returned to the room to lie down.  His knee was really killing him, and the pain medication he was taking made him tired.

At 19:00 we headed to the sports field for the evening's all camp activity, "Race the World."  It was a team challenge with relay games from around the world.

It was suddenly obvious that we were the minority here -- most of the campers were teenage boys.  Teams of 10 were formed, and Aubrietta was the only girl on a team with 9 sixteen-year-old boys.

Kelsey refused to participate.  She sat down and befriended this Boy Scout Leader from the midwest USA.

First up was a relay where two teammates sidestep across the field and back while pressing a balloon between their chests, no hands allowed.  If the balloon falls, they return to the start and go again.  When Aubrietta heard this she blushed deep red and wanted to slink away, but she's a sport, so as the boys paired up, she stepped forward when one of the boys chose her as his partner.

There she goes, chest to chest with a boy she has just met.  I was so proud of her, although I know she was dying of embarrassment.

The next relays were not quite as "intimate," thankfully.  Above you can see Aubrietta the white and tan blur to the right.  I could tell she was pushing herself to impress the older boys and keep up with them.

"Pinkies" demonstrate the next relay, which is a classic game of leapfrog.

Teams listen as the rules are explained.  In the background you can see some of the tents where campers sleep.  Aubrietta is in the center of the photo above, just a few inches shorter than the guys on her team.

Toward the end, Aubrietta steps away from the team briefly to tell me that she is having the time of her life.  She is just radiant, and dare I say a bit smitten with some of her handsome teammates.  I didn't ask her, but I bet she was wishing for another go-round with that balloon pressed between her chest and that of another boy!

After the event the three of us walked around the campsites.  Each area represented a different region of the world.  There were lots of little signs and things to find.  At the reception desk I'd picked up a scavenger hunt booklet, and we looked for some of the things on the list.

The camp ends where the train tunnel begins.  The Loetschberger Tunnel was built between 1906 and 1912, so its 100th birthday was this year.

On some railway sidings extra vehicle transport cars were stored, so we got to look at them up close.  It was amazing to us that huge tour buses and shipping trucks could drive onto these (with not much overhead clearance, obviously), and hurtle through the tunnel on a train going at full speed.

We continued through the campsites, admiring the different tents, and the views they had of the mountains.

Here's an interesting tent.  Nice tall walls, but no windows.  I bet it is dark in there. 

Irish scouts sleep here.


 

The sun was setting, so we headed back to Kander Lodge.  On our way to the room we went into the building's common kitchen and living area and met a troop of 11 to 14 year old Girl Guides from Scotland.  There were 8 girls and 3 leaders, and unlike in the US where leaders are often the parents, these 3 leaders were young women in their 20's.  Aubrietta and Kelsey started chatting with the girls while the leaders and I compared notes on our respective organizations (I've been with Girl Scouts for 6 years now, in several leadership roles).

We were joined shortly by 3 Eagle Scouts -- one from Texas and 2 from Louisiana.  They were between 18 - 21 years old.  The young man from Texas was so charming, had such a sharp wit, and got all the girls laughing hysterically when he belted out  camp songs and various country music ballads in his Texas twang.  This was exactly the experience I was hoping to have by coming to this camp, a chance for the girls to meet people from around the world and share good times together.

Sometime after 23:00 I pulled the girls away from the group and told them it was time for bed.  Some of the Scottish girls were fading, too, whereas the Eagle Scouts and the young lady leaders from Scotland looked like they could go on for hours.  (I wondered if any of them would end up in bed together later... there were signs in all the bathrooms saying that condoms were available at reception!)

The girls were so tired that they were quickly asleep, trains and all.  My husband was snoring away as well, oblivious to his painful knee for awhile.  I wrote for an hour or so on my iPad, until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, then reached for my earplugs and tried to ignore several passing trains, until finally sleep overcame me.

NEXT:  Day 35 -- Part 1 -- The Girls Explore Kandersteg -- Wednesday, July 18th 

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Day 31 -- Train to Trubschachen and Interlaken -- Saturday, July 14th

We gathered our things and left Antje's around 11am, heading off for 6 nights and 7 days away.  We left one suitcase and a small pile of "dressier" clothes behind.  We took an express train to Bern, having a snack along the way.  Our goodies from the train station included boxes of iced coffee and Mango Lassi yougurt drinks, as well as the ever-present peperoni "party sticks" the girls love.

The girls wanted to be in the children's car, even though the play structures were clearly designed for kids who were about 2 feet shorter than they are.

Note the boy in this photo clutching a German pretzel.  Pretzel bakeries are at every major train station.

This was a little coloring and reading area, but all the books and materials were gone.

In Bern we spent the equivalent of $9.00 USD to store our luggage in a locker for the afternoon.  When we arrived in Bern we were undecided what to do with our afternoon.  We could explore Bern, or head to Trubschachen, a small town where my great-great-grandfather lived before emigrating to the United States in 1831.  On our way to the luggage lockers, we saw the departures board for Trubschachen, and decided to "go for it."

We took this pretty train to Trubschachen.  This line was supposed to run between Bern and Luzern, but there was some sort of construction work going on, so it ended at Trubschachen and anyone traveling on to Luzern had to transfer to a bus and get on another train further down the line.

In fact, our train was scheduled to be this special train, but it wasn't running from Bern because of the construction.

There was a lot to see from the windows, but this train provided more than just newspapers: at every seat there was magazine with a children's section filled with games and puzzles, so of course the girls were enthralled with that.

We arrived in Trubschachen to sunshine and warm temperatures.  To the left of the train you can see the Kambly cookie factory.

We decided to check it out.  It wasn't here when my great-great-grandfather lived here.  If it had been, he probably never would have left.

Although we couldn't tour the production line, there was a shop, cafe, and demonstration kitchen, as well as short films and exhibits.  Every single cookie and cracker they made was available to sample, and sold in bulk packages or gift tins (in stores they're sold only in boxes).  Personally, I tried about 30 different cookies (broken into bite-size bits, not whole cookies!).  

There was a cafe selling espresso drinks and tea to go with your cookies.

There were also childrens' cookie baking and decorating classes.  You had to sign up far in advance, though, so Kelsey wasn't able to participate, though she would have loved to.

Aubrietta wasn't able to have any of the cookie samples.  She tried a cracker shaped like a little owl, but just one nibble and she needed an allergy tablet, so that was all she had.  This trip has been hard for Aubrietta because she has made many sacrifices when it comes to food.  She's a good sport, but I know it is painful for her to miss out.

We left the Kambly factory and went to a small Volg convenience store, which was the only food store in the center of town.  The girls were thrilled to find Spitzbuben, but it had chocolate (which Aubrietta has trouble with) so we didn't buy any.

Instead we focused on getting some lunch.  This was the to-go section for summer picnics, and it always fascinates me what the offerings are.  Here you can get a slice of watermelon, cubes of cut coconut, a tub of applesauce, premade sandwiches, pasta salads with lots of mayonnaise, and fresh radishes.

Every food store, no matter how small, has an oven in constant use, browning par-baked bread throughout the day.

This is what we ended up getting for lunch.  From left to right: gingerbread marzipan cakes (for Mommy & Daddy), sparkling apple juice, sausage-cheese-pickle salad (with lots of mayonnaise), paprika chips, Greyere cheese made locally in Trubschachen, macaroni salad with tomato and peas, and party sticks peperoni.  The bulk of what you see (except the gingerbread) went into Aubrietta, since she hadn't filled up on cookies at the Kambly factory.

Daddy wasn't hungry at all, so he headed directly to the church to investigate my ancestry.  The church was closed, but the cemetery behind proved to be a goldmine of information.

This was the prettiest cemetery I'd ever seen.

What a beautiful resting spot!  However, the dead only get to "rest" for about 30 years, then someone else gets the grave.  Bodies are buried naturally -- no embalming, fancy caskets, or concrete liners -- so after 30 years supposedly not much remains when another body is laid to rest.

Up to 80 percent of Swiss are now cremated at death, and this section of the cemetery is for those.  I'm not sure if these would be more permanent graves, or if the 30 year limit applies here as well.  

In the upper right of this photo you can see a man and woman.  We spoke with them for awhile about how the cemeteries in Switzerland work, as well as life in Trubschachen.  The woman had grown up in town, and knew some of my distant relatives.

We identified 12 graves with my old family surname on them, and the girls decided to water the flowers at those graves.

Of course through years of marriages and women giving up their father's name when they wed, there were probably many more resting souls related to us.  Also, only deaths going back 30 years were represented here.  The relatives my mother and her family visited in 1952 would no longer have headstones here, if they died before 1982.

 

Most of the headstones were intricately carved.  I couldn't believe this would stand for only 30 years.  What would be done with it when it was time for someone else to move in?

Some of the headstones seemed to hint at the deceaseds' professions.  This man must have been a carpenter.

What a lovely scene on this headstone.  I wonder if this man had been a dairy farmer.

After more than an hour at the cemetery, we headed back out to the street to explore more of the sleepy little town.  Just next door to the cemetery where we had spent so much time was a bakery with our old family name on it!  Unfortunately it had closed early because it was Saturday, and no one was there when we looked in the windows.  If only we hadn't spent so much time with the dead, we might have met a living relative!

Every house seemed to have a vegetable garden.

This was a hotel that was so beautiful we had to go in.  As soon as we got through the door a stern-faced woman pointed us to a door leading into the pub, where a few old salts were nursing beers.  We explained that we were curious about the hotel (we hadn't made arrangements for our last nights in Switzerland and staying here next Friday night could have been an option).  The woman glared at us angrily and perhaps didn't understand what we were asking.  She gave us the evil eye until we backed out the front door, which we did rather quickly.

Exploration of a town would not be complete without a visit to the local school.

The girls "inspected" the playground and fantasized about if they lived here and went to school here:  "What if great-great-great grandfather hadn't come to the US?  Maybe we'd have been born here!"

Zip lines are always popular.

Here's a small section of the school garden, along with the covered bicycle parking beyond.

While the girls played I continued walking up a footpath past homes and farms.  This chalet had solar panels in the garden.

The town was nestled in a valley surrounded by forest.

Every building was well maintained.  What kind of jobs can people in this small town (and other small towns throughout the country) possibly have that pays enough to maintain these chalets?  Imagine the work involved in painting all the trim, every shutter, and all the natural wood that needs protection from the elements.  Maybe milking cows and baking cookies provides a living wage here -- I can't explain it.

Soon it was time to leave Trubschachen, so we walked back to the train.

The girls were back to their puzzles, though I did interrupt them frequently to "look out the window!"

Even the smallest homes were overflowing with flowers!

Passing by another community garden on our way back to Bern.  

There's a man out training his grape vine as it grows along the front of the house.

At this modest tri-plex house (you can tell by the 3 mailboxes) a family is gathered in the driveway for afternoon tea, along with a rack of laundry drying in the sunshine.

A newer neighborhood surrounded by farmland.

Older homes and apartment houses overlooking fields of grain.

Back in Bern we retrieved our bags and headed for the train to Interlaken.

Ironically our train was leaving adjacent to the track we'd just come in on, but we had to walk to the luggage lockers and back before we could get on it.

Our next train gave us a different view as it traveled along the Thunersee (a large lake).

Aubrietta took this photo of me lost in the beauty of the passing towns with the lake beyond.  The girls thought it strange that Daddy and I could gaze for hours out the window, whereas we were just as appalled that they didn't, choosing instead to do puzzles or read.

Arriving in Interlaken we caught a Postbus to our hostel.  We could have walked, but with luggage it was easier to take the bus.

We stayed at Backpacker's Villa Sonnenhof, a youth hostel.  It is two buildings: the old chalet to the left, and the modern addition to the right.

This is the stairwell in the old chalet, which houses the traditional dorms and a few private rooms.

We stayed in the modern addition which has mostly 2 and 4 bed private rooms.  See that rolling rack in the hall?  They were available to take into your room for you to hang your clothes to dry after laundering.  What a great idea!  I wouldn't have to be searching for a place to string up my braided clothesline tonight!


This is our room, which has the sink you see, plus off to my left a room with toilet and a room with shower.  On the other side of the sink, facing the beds, are 4 large cabinets for luggage and clothing storage.

And this is the view from our window.  On a clear day you can also see the Jungfrau mountain higher up, but not tonight.

Down in the basement I got in line for a machine in the laundry room while Daddy took a nap and the girls went to the playground across the street.

Load of laundry in, I headed out to find dinner for our family.  Adjacent the park was an open field where paragliders landed.  Above you can see our hostel just over Aubrietta's shoulder.

This is the view the girls were running toward: a grand hotel and a paraglider touching down.

I found the only food store open after 18:00, a small convenience store.  It was literally wall-to-wall people and I stood in line for half an hour with about 50 people ahead of me, waiting to check out and pay.

I had seen the hostel kitchen on my way to the laundry room, so I knew that I didn't want to be waiting for stove space to cook anything.  Instead I opted for 3 microwave meals (refrigerated, not frozen), and potato and macaroni salads.  I also got grapes and some juice and iced tea for a real splurge.  The micro meals were actually quite tasty, and unlike the ones you'd get back in the US.  They had a short shelf life because they were made of fresh ingredients, and there weren't any chemical additives or preservatives.  One of the dishes included Käsespätzle, a pasta with Emmenthaler cheese and grilled onion, similar to Italian gnocchi but smaller.

We ate indoors, just inside that door down there, but others enjoyed eating outside.  One of the drawbacks of eating outdoors in Europe is that that is often the place where smokers go, and unless there is a good breeze, you'll be engulfed in clouds of cigarette smoke, which totally destroys the ambiance as far as I am concerned.

See the little orange kitty crossing the lawn in the photo above?  We wondered if he lived at the hostel, and if we could bring him to our room.  We were missing our 3 kitties back home.

Daddy volunteers to do the dishes in the kitchen.  The girls located the playroom which was stocked with toys, and I headed back to the laundry room to retrieve our wet clothes, which I then hung on the rolling rack to dry overnight in our room.  We were all pretty tired and went to bed before 23:00.  Surprisingly, the hostel beds were quite comfortable.

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Day 18 - Part 1 - Swedish Countryside - Back to Stockholm- Sunday, July 1st

 

Sunday dawned cooler with clouds and a later threat of rain. Initially the sun was shining, so we had the usual breakfast of breads, cold cuts, cheese, hard boiled eggs, and strong coffee on the deck. There was also cereal - corn flakes for the kids, and specially combined (by Gunnar) dry cereal mix with dried fruit, seeds, nuts, oats, and grains.

 

 

The girls played in the playhouse and explored the garden while we adults sat around and talked.

The girls have fallen in love with Gunnar and Birgita.

Felippa is an object of Kelsey and Aubrietta's affection, too. Isn't she just adorable?

A wind whipped up and daddy wanted the kite, so I retrieved it. He headed toward a field of high grass on the other side of the cows and the girls followed, and a short way behind I came with my camera.

When we reached the field Birgita was yelling something to us, but we couldn't hear her for the wind and distance. She came down to us and picked Filippa up out of the grass, informing us that there were ticks, which carried disease. For Filippa, whose face was at the top of the grass, it was especially dangerous, because the ticks could crawl into her ears, nose, mouth, or hair and be undetected.

We flew the kite for a few more minutes, then headed back to the stugan where we stripped the girls and looked for ticks. I found a tiny one (smaller than a poppy seed, and just out of nymph stage) crawling on the outside of my pants. Thankfully the girls appeared tick-free. Later that night Birgita found one biting into her thigh.

Things were a little somber after this. Daddy and I felt terrible for allowing Filippa into the tall grass, not even thinking about the sinister possibility of ticks in such a pastoral paradise. There were lots of flies (because of the nearby cows and horses) and mosquitoes, but ticks completely escaped our minds. Things were also quiet because we knew we'd be leaving soon, and our minds were thinking of packing and preparing to go.

 

Kelsey went upstairs and read in her Laura Ingalls Wilder book, On the Banks of Plum Creek. Both girls are still very much into historical fiction and biographies, and visiting all these open air museums brings that time period even more alive in their minds. Aubrietta is currently reading an out of print Girls of Many Lands book about a girl who sells herself into slavery to provide money for her starving mother and siblings, and how she finds her way in a big city after living her entire life in a rural area.

I started packing, Aubrietta played with Filippa, and daddy napped with ice on his knee on the couch.

 

 

Mid-morning the girls were hungry again, so I picked wild blueberries and Birgita helped Kelsey and Filippa make pancakes. Although intended for the kids, daddy and I had to have some, too. We then had a lunch of bread, cold cuts, potato salad, and cut veggies.

 

 

We had lunch and packed the cars up just as the rain started. On the drive home we encountered a traffic back up on the outskirts of Stockholm. Luckily we had Gunnar and Birgita to guide us off the freeway, onto local roads, and across a small car ferry.

Driving onto the little car ferry. The crossing takes just over 10 minutes.

On the ferry a ticket seller comes to your car to collect the 60 KR fee. Daddy is looking at the coins in his hand, trying to decipher what they are. It has been a challenge to change to new currencies with each country, and even more difficult to know which coins are which when you don't have your glasses on!

Back at the house we unpacked from the weekend and I started the job of packing us up for tomorrow's air travel to Bergen, Norway. I don't think I showed you where we slept in Gunnar and Birgita's house. This is the room where the girls slept, each on a single bed.

This is the room in between the two upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. To the left out of view is a couch, and to the right out of view is a large screen TV. In the left you can see the stairs going down.

Here is where Daddy and I slept, with the bed unmade because we had just gotten back from the summer house, and we'd taken all our bedding with us there, so as not to create more laundry there. There on the floor with my charging iPad are the girls, sneaking in a game when they should be writing you a postcard or updating their journals. Kelsey has done a pretty good job writing down her feelings and details about the trip, but she writes so much that it takes her days to complete an entry, therefore she is quite behind. Aubrietta hates writing and pretty much refuses to keep a journal, although she does enjoy writing postcards. Daddy is keeping his own handwritten journal, which he has no problem keeping updated since he seems to wake every morning between 4 and 5 am with nothing to do.

 

We loved Gunnar and Birgita's house, and if we ever are able to build a custom house, it would be a lot like theirs. It had so many nice features, like a big eat-in kitchen, a ample entryway with benches to remove shoes, and lots of built in storage. The main floor contained everything, including the master bedroom and a big bathroom, so it was the perfect place to grow old in, as you woudn't need to climb stairs to live there. There was a real laundry room and mudroom off the garage. The heart of the home was a central fireplace that you could bake bread in on the kitchen side, and watch a roaring fire on the living room side. During the winter it would easily warm the whole house, although the house also had geothermal heating! So much about the house made sense.

 

In the late afternoon Gunnar and Birgita headed to Carl-Frederick's new home, that they were in the process of moving into. They would return Filippa, and Gunnar was going to help Carl-Frederick with some yard work. Kelsey opted to go with them to maximize her dwindling time with darling Filippa, while Aubrietta, Daddy, and I went to a nearby garden. That garden experience was so mind-blowing, that I took 100 photos, and therefore it will be a second post. Look for Day 18, Part 2 if you like gardens!

 

 

Gathering later at the house, we had dinner upstairs because there was another football (soccer) match on TV. Birgita made sausages, french fries, and cut veggies. While everyone else watched TV, I completed our packing. Getting our bags ready for the airplane is so different than just moving locations within a country. Remove all liquids, distribute our clothes evenly across multiple bags, so if one goes missing no one loses their entire wardrobe, get passports and tickets ready and accessible, lay out clothes for travel, segregate the dirty clothes from clean, etc. Adding to the puzzle are about 10 pounds of books and brouchures we've collected, as well as some food items that are safe for Aubrietta's allergies, that we have to have on hand for her.

Eventually I got us all packed, everyone was asleep except me, and another full day had come to a close.

NEXT: Day 18 - Part 2 - Swedish Gardens in Stockholm

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Trying not to Lose Things

My husband is nortorious for misplacing things.  I'm pretty absent minded myself, but I have routines at home that make it look like my memory is better than it is.  Keys always go on the hook, eyeglasses go on the shelf, chargers in the wooden bowl, etc.  If I can put things away before I put them down, and stick to my routines, all is well.  

Obviously travel throws a wrench in this process.  In an effort not to lose my stuff along with my mind, I've made little cards that go in each bag, from suitcases to ditty bags, that lists what goes inside.  We'll be staying in at least 13 different places, and moving every few days.  That means a lot of disgorging of the bags, and sweeping up everything to depart.

The girls are old enough to keep track of their own stuff.  I've been their Sherpa long enough.  Their young brains are more nimble than mine, but they are still easily distracted, so I've made lists for them, too.  They each have a double sided card, with a list of things to have for daily excursions, and a list of additional items for more grueling travel days.  They decided not to bring any electronics, other than a small ipod that we loaded with audiobooks, and an inexpensive camera.  

Then there is my bag.  Looks pretty simple here on this card.  Of course the passports, tickets, and credit cards will be in "deep storage" down in my moneybelt.  Actually, I'll be wearing two of them, because I'll be carrying all 4 passports, and a majority of the cards and tickets.  I'm not sure how effective a moneybelt is if it is so obvious it makes my midsection look like the Michelin Tire Man.  

My husband gets to carry the money. He's not so sure about the moneybelt, but last time he teased me about wearing one he got something stolen, so I hope he learned from that experience.  I got him both a moneybelt and a "disposable" wallet for carrying small change to share with the pickpockets.

I wonder which one of us will be the first to lose something or leave it behind.  I wonder what it will be.  Between the four of us, moving around as much as we will, and being on the road for nearly 6 weeks, the odds are high that not everything we take with us will join us on the flight home.

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Getting Ready to Leave Home

Last minute multi-tasking: guide book skimming before returning them to the library, reviewing the checklist of things to do before leaving, and eating the remains of the fresh foods in the refrigerator for lunch. 
The closer we get to our departure, the longer my to-do list seems to get.  I'll spare you all the many things I've been doing, but here are a few of the more interesting items on my to-do list:

Have long-haired cat shaved (so we don't come home to 5 week old hairballs on the carpet).  Clip all cat claws.

Give worm bin to neighbor to tend in our absence.

Surprise neighbors by dropping off potted plants and shrubs for them to water when they water their own gardens, if it ever stops raining and warm weather ever comes to Seattle.

Return four foster kittens (that currently sleep in our bathtub) to the Humane Society for adoption.

Show housesitter how to deal with the many non-working and temperamental household appliances.

Return everything I can remember that I've borrowed: library books, tools from neighbors, items from friends, etc.

Release (destroy,  shhhh....) the kids' pet tent caterpillars that are living in a mason jar on the kitchen counter.

Stop at the police station and drop off all the leftover narcotics from my husband's surgeries last year.  If someone breaks into the house, that's about the only thing of value, so we'll just eliminate it.  Maybe they'll take the old non-working desktop computer instead.

And then there are the more mundane, but necessary, tasks of getting the house cleaned up for a housesitter:

Replace all those burned out bulbs I've been ignoring.

Clean out the fridge, pantry, bathroom, etc.  Make some room in our cramped and cluttered house for the housesitter to hang up some of her own clothes, at least.

Make a list of everything the housesitter needs to know (and so far it's a long one) and list of contacts if there are any problems.

Finally call a plumber to deal with the leaking shower so the ceiling below doesn't collapse in our absence.

And then the things to do before we go that will impact our trip if we forget to do them: 

Gather all documents, receipts, scanned ID's, reservations, itinerary, bank info, etc and go over them with brother-in-law, who will be our stateside savior if anything goes wrong (like the newly set up mortgage auto-payment fails to work, or we get mugged and need to replace passports and cancel credit cards).

Back up computer, give portable hard drive to neighbor in case of fire.

Clear a path in the cluttered garage to the aging hot water heater and hope it doesn't finally give out and spring a leak when we're gone.

Try to remember what I'm forgetting.

 

Last minute plumbing repairs.  There's been a lot of deferred maintanence in an effort to save money for this trip (just ask our neighbors about the eyesore that is the exterior of our house, with peeling paint and mossy roof), but we couldn't ignore this leak any longer, and I didn't have the time or the tools to do it myself.

I haven't been to a salon since 1982, but the cat just went to one for the first time.  We used to take the cat to the vet to be shaved for the summer, but this groomer we found is actually less expensive.

NEXT: Today's Plan - June 14th 

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Preparations: Medical

 

Preparing to be on the road for 6 weeks means getting all the medical things in order. In the last week we've had a flurry of appointments. Dentist visits for all to ensure there are no loose fillings or crowns about to pop off while we're away. Doctor visits to get prescriptions and official paperwork to show the TSA so they don't confiscate our meds. Endless calls to the insurance company to get preauthorizations and exceptions for larger prescriptions they don't want to cover.

For example, our insurance allows only 2 epinephrine syringes per year, but since we'll be traveling to remote areas the doctor wants us to carry 4. Depending on the severity of the allergen exposure, Epinephrine just buys time (usually in 15 minute increments) until you can get to a hospital where stronger medications are available. Back and forth with the insurance company, doctor, and pharmacy, eventually we got the cost of the 4 syringes down to $374.91, still painful, but less than if we hadn't gotten the pre-auth and a $50.00 coupon applied.

For one of my husband's prescriptions only a 30 day supply was covered by our insurance, and we'd have to pay full cost for the remaining 60 days of the 90 day prescription his doctor ordered. What a shock at the pharmacy counter to hear how many hundreds of dollars that was! Calling the insurance company, we learn that they will cover 90 days, but only if we get it from their mail-order pharmacy, which will cost an additional $17.95 mailing costs to ensure we'll receive it in the mail in time. What an annoying game it is to deal with insurance companies. Maybe we should have just tried to fill our prescriptions abroad, where they're probably a fraction of the cost.

We're also hand-carrying additional written prescriptions for all medications and eyeglasses when we travel, in case anything goes missing along the way. I for one don't want to spend the trip squinting and guessing at the views because I broke my glasses.

 

Even though we are not going anywhere tropical where we'd need to get vaccinations, I did just stand in line with a couple hundred other people to get a Pertussis shot, since there is currently an outbreak in Washington State. The girls are fully vaccinated, but I needed a booster, which of course my insurance does not cover. Getting it at a pharmacy would have cost more than $70.00, so the moment the state Governor declared an emergency and released funds to have a free shot clinic, I was ready. Although the risk was low I'd catch pertussis, I'm around a lot of children with all my volunteer work, and it would be just my luck to get it and carry it to Europe. I could never forgive myself if I was the one who passed it on to an infant too young to be vaccinated, and that baby died. That is the real danger with pertussis.

One thing I had been begging my husband to do for years was to get hearing aids. When we finally met with the audiologist she said he was nearly legally deaf. I knew his hearing loss was severe, but he was in denial over just how bad it was. He finally got fitted last week, and has been in awe of all that he can now hear -- the clicky-clack of his keyboard, the alarm clock (usually I hear it, then wake him), and most importantly the higher pitched voices of our children. The trip will be so much more amazing for him now that he'll get the full soundtrack of our journey, from birdsong to the ding-ding tones warning that the train doors are now closing. Most of all I am relieved that I will no longer be translating and interpreting for him, because I know I will be busy enough trying to understand the 5 different languages, 5 different currencies, and dozens of different transportation systems we'll be navigating.

I think we're all set now, at least in this area. Now on to the other 42 items on my to-do list...

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Gearing Up: Luggage and Bags

I think we finally have the luggage situation figured out.  Although I was hoping we could pack light enough to go carry-on with all our luggage, because we decided to fly IcelandAir we'll be on a narrow-body jet, so our carry-on allowance is a measly 13 pounds, which isn't very realistic when the empty bag itself weighs about 5 pounds.  Another reason to check a bag is that my husband is naked without his Swiss Army Knife, and we all know the days of taking those through security are long gone.  We'll need that knife during our travels for cutting all the apples, bread, cheese, and salami we'll be eating as we picnic past high Scandinavian restaurant prices.

Nonetheless, we will be taking carry-on size bags, but we'll be checking a few of them with the heavier items, like hiking boots, shoes, trekking poles, etc.  

This Costco carry-on will be one of our checked bags.  I have 3 of them and they have allowed me to travel domestically "carry-on only" for the last 5 years.  I think we'll just take one, but we may take two, one for each of the girls to pull.

One bag that we'll be carrying on for sure is a soft-sided convertible bag I've had for 20 years that is similar to the Rick Steves Back Door Bag, below.  It will have a change of clothes for everyone, medications, eyeglasses, electronics, and all that other stuff you can't easily replace or do without if your other bags go missing.

Travel Store : Classic Back Door Bag.

 

We got this $240.00 Asolo Navigator backpack for about $50.00.  My husband will carry this one.  It may or may not end up being checked, depending on how much we can compress it.

We also got the REI Tech Tour 65, the men's larger version, for about $60.00, down from $169.00.  REI has replaced last year's women's 60 and men's 65 with a unisex version for this season.  This men's version fits my 6'2" frame perfectly.  I hope to carry it on, but it may max out the length allowance.

I was conflicted about getting a new pack, as I still had the one that served me so well on my trip in 1997.  However, the new packs are engineered so much better, with more streamlined design, air-circulating padding, better buckles, and best of all, integrated covers to hide the straps and waistbelt if you need to check the bag through at the airport.

 

For my day bag I bought this cross-body Pacsafe Venture Safe 300.  I holds my iPad in a padded pocket, as well as having room for my DSLR with extra long lens, plus a jacket, and everything else I need for the day.  It even has two stretchy side pockets to hold water bottles.  Here's the U-Tube video showing all it's great features.  (The photo below makes it look bigger than it is -- I couldn't resize it properly -- in reality is it smaller than a messenger bag).

 

 

We also got a PacSafe Daysafe 100 backpack (also discontinued) on clearance, and it looks like it will serve our needs in many ways.  The fact that it has a removable "safe" that can be left behind, locked up and secured to a piece of furniture at our accommodation, means canoeing or trips to a waterpark can be taken without worrying about keeping our electronics safe and dry.  And bonus: it has 3 MASSIVELY large stretchy pockets to stuff sweaters, hats, maps, and waterbottles in. You can read more about it's features in this You-tube video.  Now if I can just convince my husband to carry it.  He's more the "fanny-pack" type, but as I recall those are a big no-no in Europe.

The girls will each have a Land's End Featherweight 300 backpack, below.  I got them on clearance 2 years ago.  Little K has been abusing hers for the past two years on a daily basis for school, and it still looks and works like new.  A's is too small for all that she has to carry for middle school, but it will be perfect for Europe.  It has a slim profile, two stretchy water bottle pockets on the side, and a great stretchy panel pocket on the back.  It's top loading, so they can dig around in there without things falling out the sides, like with a traditional U-shape zipper opening.

The girls won't use their packs everyday, but definitely for "transit days" and day trips.  They'll be in charge of packing and keeping track of their own water bottle, snacks, books, colored pencils, journal, rain jacket, sweater, hat, sunglasses, and whatever else is important to them.  My days of being a Sherpa-Mama are over!

Inside our luggage and daypacks we'll utilize ziploc plastic bags, stuff-sacs, and packing cubes.

 

Travel Store : Packing Cube Set.

 

So that is what we plan to carry all our stuff in.  4 daypack/daybags, 2 large backpacks, 1 soft-sided convertible bag, and 1 or 2 rolling carry-ons (which will be checked).

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