This past weekend might have been our favorite "winter" weekend in Zurich yet.
On Thursday night, Jay and I went out to celebrate our 16 year dating anniversary. (Yes, I still make him celebrate it with me every year!) We went to a restaurant we had never been to - in a part of town we hadn't been to either. It was a fun evening - and we both had absolutely fantastic meals. Jay's German has progressed so well that he is able to get through most of the exchanges in German - and mine is slowly coming along to the point that at least I'm able to understand it - so its always fun to go out and try out our skills.
Then on Friday night, Alton, Shannon and Sophia came over to our house to cook us Swiss Fondue. It was a really enjoyable evening - we had a great time catching up after their trip back home, and Alton put together an incredible meal which we all enjoyed - a bit too much - I'm still not sure how the Swiss manage to eat all this chocolate and cheese and stay so thin!
But Saturday was the big highlight of the weekend. We met Jack's best friend, Chance, and his parents (Stacey and Ryan) in Flumserberg, a ski resort one hour outside of Zurich, for a day of Swiss sledging. I have to say that I have never seen anything like it. At the beginning of the day, I wondered aloud why the American ski resorts don't offer sledging like this - but after going down one run, I answered my own question - LIABILITY. We took a gondola up to the top of the mountain, and then rode down FAST wooden sleds on a 3 km "run" down. The run is just like a skiing catwalk - except there are some pretty steep areas. To control the sled (turn or stop), you need to drag your feet in the snow.. which works fine until you hit a bump and are flying through the air - all while trying to hold onto the child on your lap (who, oblivious to the danger, is laughing their butt off) and not panic.
We had a complete blast and the kids could not get enough of it - Jay rode down with Jack, and I rode down with Kate. For the first run, I told Kate we were just going to watch, but she was so disappointed about not being able to sled that we decided to try it on the second run. (This was also I watched mothers board the same sleds with babies in the Bjorns - and infants snuggled between their knees - wow!) After a few minutes, she proudly told everyone, "I did it! I sled all by myself" (Guess she forgot who was holding onto her for dear life) Jack and Jay had one major wipe-out, but after a few tears, Jack wanted to get right back on and thought he rode just like "Lightning McQueen" from Cars. (A picture of the "run" below)
After a few runs, we had lunch with Stacey, Ryan and Chance, and then we drove home while they stayed for a few more runs. We thought the kids would fall asleep in the car for sure - but they were too wired, and so we took turns telling stories all the way home.
We had a quiet evening in on Saturday, and on Sunday, we were blessed with an incredibly warm day in Zurich. We took advantage of it by walking to church (and Starbucks) in the morning, and then taking the kids' bikes down to the lake to visit a nearby park after naps. The sunset was so gorgeous on the Alps that even Jack and Kate commented on the "pretty pink sky." It was a perfect end to a really fun weekend.
Jay is off on a business trip this week (France and Italy), so the kids and I are back to our normal routine - but anxious for him to return in time for his 35th birthday this Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment