Even though the weather is still beautiful here, its beginning to be more hazy and I'm hanging on to the memory of beautiful, clear summer nights.
September 30, 2011
September 29, 2011
first snow!
It hasn't snowed yet in Lausanne, but in the alps there is always snow on the mountain glaciers...
A few weeks ago Howie and I were excited to host Howie's cousin, Yokewai, and her friend, Pooiyin, coming from Malaysia and Singapore. They were embarking on a European adventure and they started by visiting us in Lausanne. We gave them a taste of Swiss fondue- unfortunately it was not the best fondue and none of us liked it. But we had a beautiful day to ride the train up to the Jungfraujoch where one can walk on the glacier and have gorgeous views of the alps, and the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau peaks. Yokewai had her first sight and touch of real snow- and she could not have asked for a more beautiful place for that experience. We had a great time and hope they enjoyed the rest of their journey through Europe!
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| we stumbled upon the Swiss equivalent to the MN state fair |
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| we made Yokewai try cheese curds (or something similar) |
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| cousins! |
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| master photographers at work |
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| don't look down... |
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| the beginning of the Altesch Glacier |
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| the tropical girls were not afraid of the ice! |
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| sliding around in the ice palace |
September 28, 2011
home sweet.
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| meg and alan at the j.j. hill library |
After being home for 2.5 weeks, it feels a little strange to be waiting for my flight back to Switzerland. Somehow it feels as though I never left. It was so great to be surrounded by family and friends the entire time I was back- I didn't even have a chance to see everyone. But it did make me feel a little like a celebrity to have such a warm welcome and to be constantly meeting everyone and talking about my adventures. I attended two weddings while I was back- both were so amazing and touching- also just fun to dance and eat and relax. Congrats to Annie & Julie and Meg & Alan as they begin their new lives together!
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| i enjoyed sneaking around the upper levels of the library! |
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| a blurry pic of the family looking sharp. |
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| trying to stay warm! |
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| the ladies know how to rock! |
I met three new babies- Sydney, Freida and Stella- and have been trying to convince poppy to come out and meet the world while I was around, but he/she decided to wait until after I left. I also saw Rhia who was barely 3 months old when I left, now a squirming playful little girl who is ready to run.
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| sydney loved my hair- hopefully didn't scare her too much! |
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| friends!!! |
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| Rob is getting anxious! |
I am so grateful for all of my friendships and I'm leaving the country with a mission to keep in better touch. I have missed everyone and will miss you all so much. See you again in December!
<3,
a
p.s. since i started writing this post, Erin and Rob gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Hazel Grace Augustine. Welcome to the world, Hazel! I can't wait to meet you soon :)
September 1, 2011
vals, therme.
its official, i am returning to vals! i just booked 2 nights at the therme-vals hotel because this is something that howie MUST see before leaving switzerland. and i must see again. :)
let me rewind- a few weeks ago amber and dan were visiting switzerland after spending some time in lisbon where i hung out with them for a bit. we had pretty much decided to make our time together in switzerland into a peter zumthor pilgrimage, of sorts. if you don't know what i'm talking about, you can get the idea here.
the thermal baths/spa that he designed is studied in all schools of architecture- a seriously famous building. i do admit there is a lot of hype about this building, and i was trying to prepare myself just in case it wasn't all that amazing, or perhaps spending a semester hearing about the building would have spoiled everything.
let me just say now that it didn't matter how much i'd studied this building from afar- it is really the most amazing architectural + bathing experience that i've ever had. in both separate and combined categories. even my hair felt nice after soaking in the amazing mineral water. (or maybe it had been a few days since last washed??) one can wander from room to room, pool to pool for hours, it is a true sensory experience- all 5. this is the kind of place that you literally have no idea how much time is passing and i know we could have stayed longer. hence upcoming visit #2.
i'm not going to spoil it for you (and mostly for howie). there is nothing like exploring this building for the first time- especially in the darkness of the evening. if you are a guest of the hotel you have special guests-only use of the bath in the morning from 8-11ish and again at night from 11-12:30. we decided that our first experience would be at night and so we walked around town in the afternoon and had ourselves a nice, "light" swiss dinner so that we wouldn't drown later. (there is no such thing as "light" swiss food.) in the end we survived dinner and enjoyed floating and looking at the stars. we all slept like babies in our "spirit of the sixties" naval-themed hotel rooms only to head back to bathing at 8am.
after bathing we gorged ourselves at the enormous breakfast buffet complete with a looseleaf tea bar (including many types of tea that dan may or may not have read to us several times ;-) i've had many daydreams about that breakfast...
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| images from "Stone and Water, Bells" found in my hotel room. |
let me rewind- a few weeks ago amber and dan were visiting switzerland after spending some time in lisbon where i hung out with them for a bit. we had pretty much decided to make our time together in switzerland into a peter zumthor pilgrimage, of sorts. if you don't know what i'm talking about, you can get the idea here.
the thermal baths/spa that he designed is studied in all schools of architecture- a seriously famous building. i do admit there is a lot of hype about this building, and i was trying to prepare myself just in case it wasn't all that amazing, or perhaps spending a semester hearing about the building would have spoiled everything.
 |
| hotel info packet |
let me just say now that it didn't matter how much i'd studied this building from afar- it is really the most amazing architectural + bathing experience that i've ever had. in both separate and combined categories. even my hair felt nice after soaking in the amazing mineral water. (or maybe it had been a few days since last washed??) one can wander from room to room, pool to pool for hours, it is a true sensory experience- all 5. this is the kind of place that you literally have no idea how much time is passing and i know we could have stayed longer. hence upcoming visit #2.
 |
| green roof of the spa looking towards Vals |
i'm not going to spoil it for you (and mostly for howie). there is nothing like exploring this building for the first time- especially in the darkness of the evening. if you are a guest of the hotel you have special guests-only use of the bath in the morning from 8-11ish and again at night from 11-12:30. we decided that our first experience would be at night and so we walked around town in the afternoon and had ourselves a nice, "light" swiss dinner so that we wouldn't drown later. (there is no such thing as "light" swiss food.) in the end we survived dinner and enjoyed floating and looking at the stars. we all slept like babies in our "spirit of the sixties" naval-themed hotel rooms only to head back to bathing at 8am.
 |
| outdoor portion of the spa |
after bathing we gorged ourselves at the enormous breakfast buffet complete with a looseleaf tea bar (including many types of tea that dan may or may not have read to us several times ;-) i've had many daydreams about that breakfast...
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