Our Tin Can Cruise...

On Saturday, we caught a water taxi to the harbor at Split where we boarded the Labrador for a 7-day cruise with the Katrina Line. We booked a little late, so we had below deck rooms with twin beds and no porthole. The bathroom was so tiny that you could sit on the toilet while showering. Luckily we weren’t planning on spending much time in our room. The vintage ship was built in 1967 and had lovely wooden decks for relaxing. While I’m not sure the waiter ever understood that bacon qualified as meat, the chef caught on quickly and gladly went spear fishing to catch my lunch.

Happy 45th!

My birthday was quite special this year as we left that day for the start of a two week vacation in Croatia (don’t feel bad if you don’t know where it is, we didn’t really know either). My close friend Darlene and her husband Mike joined us for the first week. We spent our first night in a charming hotel in the walled city of Trogir.
We enjoyed shopping for snorkel fins and sampling the local brandy and seafood. We ended the night with drinks on the top of one of the old palace turrets.

Valuable Lessons Learned in Switzerland...

* The family car on the train should be off limits to anyone over 10. Of course, that didn’t stop my crazy kids from going down the slide just to say they did.

* There’s obviously more demand for cooked fish than raw--all you can eat sushi costs $70 per person, which needless to say, we refused to pay.



* Swiss cows are in better shape than me as demonstrated by their ability to climb up into the mountains effortlessly.

Getting Rocked to Sleep...

After not getting any sleep on the Heidelberg to Paris overnight train in 2004, I swore I’d never spend another night on a train. Jimmy used strong logic to get me to change my mind -- last time we were in 3rd class on a dumpy train and this time we’d be in 2nd on a premier train, which made a huge difference. Granted, I still didn’t sleep straight through the night, but it was a very nice train and an interesting way to travel. And there was some drama when one of our fellow passengers managed to leave his teenager on the platform when we departed Zurich. At least we were smart enough to bring both our girls all the way home.

Another Beautiful Day in Switzerland...

I must admit my first impression of Zurich, the largest Swiss city, wasn’t good. Central Station is an absolute madhouse. While we liked our hotel and the nearby restaurants, it was in the financial district which lacks charm. It wasn’t until the next day, after visiting the Swiss National Museum, that we hopped on a water taxi and saw how pretty the historic district is with the Limmat River cutting through the center until it meets Lake Zurich. It was great walking along the water and people watching on a beautiful Sunday. The views from the giant ferris wheel were awesome.
The historic restaurant we chose for our final Swiss meal was touristy, but the food was delicious. Ashlynn especially liked the Swiss beer, I mean the apple juice.

A Stopover in Bern...

As our tour through Switzerland was coming to an end, we stopped in Bern, the Swiss capital, for an afternoon en route to Zurich. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed walking by the Aare River in search for lunch. The girls really enjoyed feeding the town’s mascot, a brown bear leading a lonely existence with a full belly in a beautiful city. We look forward to coming back to explore more some day.

Time to Head Up...

Jimmy is clearly a glutton for punishment since after dinner we went on another hike, this time to the restaurant above Murren at 6,250 feet. We got soaked after stopping for margaritas at a restaurant owned by a former Santa Cruz hippie. We took the girls back the next day for lunch and to watch the Olympics opening ceremony. The highlight for the girls was feeding the cows.

Ditching the Kids...

We found a different route back to Murren through a children’s adventure park and past some small waterfalls. We then dropped the girls at the park to play giant chess while we hiked to Winteregg. Murren is car-free and small enough to allow the kids to wander without us. As believers of free range parenting, this was the perfect city for us since it was safe to leave the kids while we got in some additional hiking. Ashlynn was also happy to play with her new buddy Zoe, an Australian living in Brussels.

Let’s Hike...

After we shared a giant tub of pasta on the terrace of the only restaurant open in the tiny village of Gimmewald, we hiked together the rest of the way down the mountain without needing any climbing gear. We passed several beautiful waterfalls on our 1,475 foot descent into the lovely valley below.

Indoor Waterfalls...

Once in the valley, we caught a bus to Trummelbach Falls, which is a series of 10 glacier falls within a mountain. I was really feeling the burn as we climbed even more stairs after taking an elevator up to the first level. It was impressive to watch up to 5,250 gallons of water per second cascading through tunnels of rock.

No Fear of Heights...

After seeing the brochure, there was no doubt that Jimmy would want to do the Klettersteig/Via Ferrata or Iron Road from Murren to Gimmewald. Although I wouldn’t be joining him on this 1.3 mile ascent down 985 feet of mountainside, I still had to battle my fear of heights in order to allow him to take along Veronica. These photos (and those in the entries below) prove that she has no fear...in case you’re having a hard time getting perspective, this postman’s walk is over an open gorge. Of course, I try not to think about how far away Jimmy must have been from her when he was taking these photos.

Ignorance is Bliss...

Perhaps Veronica never actually realized she’d be hanging off a cliff with a 3,000 foot sheer drop, but when faced with this endeavor she didn’t hesitate at all.

Trust the Gear and Those Crafty Swiss...

Veronica had complete faith in her equipment (climbing harness, double carabiners and helmet), in the infrastructure (cables, ladders, bridges and staples) and in her daddy, who opted to save $200 by not hiring a mountain guide. I was relieved to hear that neither of them ever slipped and needed to rely on their safety gear. You can start breathing again, Grandpa; they were always clipped in, even on the easy parts.

Our Adventure Girl...

Ashlynn and I hiked down to Gimmewald the old-fashioned way, mostly on farm tracks, to meet our fearless climbers. Unfortunately, our timing didn’t work out to see them on the final 260-foot Nepal bridge crossing a huge crevice. Did manage to get this good photo of the bridge from the gondola on our journey back up to Murren. After seeing that bridge for myself, there’s no doubt that Veronica is one brave adventure girl.

Finally, the Alps...

On Wednesday it was time to journey high into the Alps. I was too lazy to research where to visit, so we continued to follow in the footsteps of Jimmy’s sister’s family when they visited Switzerland last summer. We spent 3 nights in the small car-free village of Murren; at 5,400 feet it is only reachable by train or gondola.


Veronica was challenged by Jimmy to book all our reservations for the week, and she was especially excited to introduce herself to Veronique, the innkeeper of the Eiger Guesthouse. Our room might not have had a view, but we had plenty of chances to appreciate the majesty of Europe’s highest peaks, the Jungfrau and Eiger.

Steep Journeys...

While Jimmy and Ashlynn went on Switzerland’s longest summer toboggan run of 4,000 feet (which they loved!), Veronica and I took the gondola on the 5-minute journey to the summit of the 7,000 foot Mt Pilatus. For 100’s of years it was rumored that Pontius Pilate haunted the mountain and it was forbidden to climb. While it’s no longer thought to be haunted, it is still cursed by thick fog which completely obscures the view. That didn’t stop us from thoroughly enjoying the return journey by the world’s steepest cog railway, which opened in 1889 with a gradient of 48%. It was quite dramatic as we broke out of the fog and saw the lovely lake below.

Our Little Daredevil...

We were disappointed to discover that Mt Pilatus was buried in fog, but we still made the journey to the highest mountain in Central Switzerland. A short bus ride took us to the bottom of the 30-minute cable car up to the Pilatus Seilpark (Switzerland’s largest high ropes park). After some quick training, we geared up and tackled the beginner low ropes course. Needless to say, I was the most nervous and slowest on each crossing. Veronica stuck with me on a 2nd go around, which was enough of an effort for me to then gracefully quit. As they ventured to the higher courses, I was happy to be on solid ground and play photographer. I was incredibly impressed with Ashlynn. While Veronica did a course in Holland, this was Ashlynn’s first time and she was awesome. She was nervous on this postman’s walk (with just one rope underneath and one above to hold onto) while in the middle, but check out the smile as she made it across.

Can’t Get Her to Stop Climbing...

Veronica may not have been a big climber as a baby, but now it’s hard for her to pass a tree without trying to climb it. She never showed any fear as she scrambled her way from beginner to advanced over 8 different courses for over 3 hours. Her only disappointment was when it was time to leave.

Look Ma, No Hands!

The biggest monkey in our family is definitely Jimmy. He has absolutely no fear of heights and his balance is amazing as demonstrated on several crossings that he did hands-free without slipping off. These photos help show just how foggy it was 4,650 feet up Mount Pilatus.

Crash Test Dummies...

We enjoyed a 5-minute ferry ride across Lake Lucerne to the Swiss Transport Museum, which was enormous and fascinating. We went on a mine ride to see how old tunnels were built, worked on a puzzle atop a giant aerial photo of Switzerland, and explored halls full of trains, planes, boats and ski lifts.
We didn’t have time to see the hall of cars, but Jimmy & I did have time to stupidly volunteer to experience a head-on collision in 2 Mini Coopers at 8 MPH (might not sound like a lot, but it was still very jolting).