Our first morning in Zurich, and we slept in a bit, imprisoned by the luxurious king-size bed in Cari’s guest room.  The kids were of course up early, playing games and jumping on the trampoline.  Sweet Cari made us a bonafide American breakfast – Aunt Jemima pancakes and crispy bacon.  LouAnn was in absolute HEAVEN.

Since Dave was working, Cari decided to show us downtown Zurich.  We validated our tram tickets, a very crucial step when enjoying Zurich’s public transportation system.  (get on a tram without validating your ticket?  FINE!  100 Francs!)  We had a beautiful ride down the mountain into town.  We walked around downtown Zurich, which is very old-world metropolitan…

Stopped for a 100-franc lunch (Ugh!) at an upscale department store cafeteria.  I, of course, finished everyone’s meal again.  The high cost of our “meh” lunch was quickly forgotten when Jack discovered “Chewbacca Chairs!”  When scooted across the floor, the cafeteria chairs sounded EXACTLY like Chewbacca.  MADE OUR DAY!  Ah, it’s the little pleasures in life….  Here, listen for yourself!…  

After lunch we walked through old-town Zurich, along quaint streets with names like, “Münstergasse”, “Blaufahnenstrasse”, and “Zwingliplatz”.  We saw the beautiful church housing Charlemagne’s crypt in a creepy basement.  (FYI, Charlemagne’s eldest son was named “Pippin the Hunchback”.  Eventually disinherited by his father in favor of a younger brother, Pippin the HB led an uprising against his dad which was quickly put down.  His father had him TONSURED – just Google it – and exiled him to the monastery of Prüm.  Kinda feel bad for him, but really, how much greatness could he have expected being named Pippin the Hunchback?)  Our stroll led us down to beautiful Lake Zurich, where we fed the seven Swiss swans a swimming.  (and after, of course, a delicious Movenpick ice cream prescribed by one Cullen Walls).  Everyone was thirsty, so we stopped at a beautiful, shady sidewalk café for drinks by the lake.   Really great to just sit and visit and people-watch.  Sitting in the shade, perfect 75 degrees, Lake Zurich and the mountains surrounding us, talking with old friends, and (at least for me) drinking a perfect, cold Weiss bier.  Heaven on earth.

Afterwards, we made our way back up the mountain via tram and a beautiful walk through a wheat field back to the Walls house.  The kids put in some more mileage on the trampoline, and I relaxed.  LouAnn and Cari rode the nearby funicular down the mountain to the grocery store to pick up dinner supplies.  In Zurich, the homes come equipped with tiny fridges & freezers, not at all like the double-door monstrosities we have in the States, so they have to get groceries almost every day, meal by meal.  In addition, the Swiss by law allow no artificial ingredients or preservatives in food that is sold there; a great way to eat, but, you’re also shopping every day.

Cari made a wonderful dinner for us all, and we sat on their patio in the perfect weather and visited and laughed until dark, with the kids jumping and jumping and jumping.  Dave boldly guaranteed a 100-franc bounty to whomever could land a front flip on the trampoline.  Motivation indeed!  And the first one was…………Jack!

We stayed up late watching the World Cup, then fell into bed.

Good morning, Switzerland!

Ummmm….

Stumbo 4 plus Cari and Cullen

Cari made a wonderful tour guide.

Ellis and Cullen discussing the historical merits of Switzerland’s neutrality.

Zurich Opera

Feeding the swans on the shore of Lake Zurich.

Wait for it….wait for it…..Seven SWISS Swans A-Swimming.  You’ll never know how hard I worked to get just seven of them in one frame.  Oh wait, I just told you.

Sipping prosecco by the lake….

Something fascinating on the phone.

Sweet Cullen

We texted this picture to Dave, who was at WORK.

The Walls live just blocks from FIFA’s worldwide headquarters!  We knocked on the door, but they’re all in Brazil right now.

If you WALK from the Tram stop to the Walls Haus instead of hopping on Bus 39, you get to cross through this beautiful wheat field.  We liked walking.

Many city-dwellers with no property will own plots of ground on the edge of town in these garden communities, where they’ll grow flowers and vegetables, and usually build a small shed or cabin.

Sweet Winston – one of their two Golden Retrievers.  He lost a leg last year to cancer, but it doesn’t slow him down!

Dinner on the patio

Jack’s winning form