Beautiful City Sights...

Sunday afternoon we headed to Lucerne where we stayed in a hostel near the lake. We were happy to save some money on our room to help offset the high food prices. The city’s very beautiful with the mountains surrounding the lake in the city center. The Chapel Bridge dates to 1333 and is Europe’s oldest wooden bridge, but unfortunately had to be largely rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1993. The girls tried swimming, but it was too cold to last long. We enjoyed visiting a museum featuring a panorama from the late 1800's, the Lion Monument and the city walls from 1386.

Another Great Hash Weekend...

We climbed the stairs to the bottom of the falls one last time to toss two messages in a bottle (no responses so far). We walked the hangover hash, but still got plenty of exercise as we climbed up 330 steps then back down due to a bad mark. The end was next to the Munot, a 16th century fortification overlooking the city of Schaffhausen. It was fun seeing our San Diego H3 buddies Kissy Face and Webfoot. It was also fun watching Jimmy get duct taped to two big German guys at the circle.

Swiss Nash Hash...

It was unseasonably hot for Saturday’s big hash. While Ashlynn walked with new friends, Veronica stayed with me on a 10.5 mile trek thru the surrounding farms and forest; she developed quite an eye for finding yummy wild mountain blueberries. Jimmy enjoyed the freedom to front run and solve checks for much of his 13 mile trail. The trails all met up for a late lunch next to the Rhine where there was a safe place for swimming. Jimmy got a thrill out of jumping 30 feet off a bridge, however no one managed to get a photo of the big moment. That night was a medieval party. The girls were disappointed they couldn’t play bartenders, but enjoyed dancing until after midnight.

A Castle with a View...

Next we were On-On to Schaffhausen for the Swiss Nash Hash weekend. We chose this particular weekend to attend because of its location at the top of the Rhine Falls, Europe’s widest and most powerful falls. The hostel is in a castle dating back to 858. While we didn’t have a view from the room we shared with two other families, the location was fantastic with easy access to the stairs down to the falls (the first of many stairs that we climbed this vacation). After Fridays’ hash along a bank of the Rhine and dinner, there was a spectacular fireworks show over the falls to celebrate Swiss independence.

A Morning in Ruins...

...Roman ruins, that is. When Jimmy and I visited August Raurica in February, we’d wished the girls were with us. So it made sense we’d squeeze in a visit while in Western Switzerland. It was lightly raining, so we didn’t take many photos. The girls loved running through the cornfield and picking blackberries on the way to the amphitheatre. As you can see, Ashlynn especially enjoyed being a Goddess worshipped at the temple and Veronica liked demonstrating the use of the loo in the museum.

Getting Wet in Switzerland...

One tram, 3 trains and 8 hours later we pulled into Rheinfelden, Switzerland along the shore of the Rhine River on the last day of July. We chose this town to start our Swiss adventure because of the spa, Sole Uno. We were somewhat reluctant when we arrived, because we weren’t sure the warm saltwater would be very refreshing during a heat wave. Turns out we hesitated needlessly, because it felt wonderful. We all agreed that the best feature was the current that pushed you along within the middle circle of the giant outdoor pool; it was like flying while on your back. Jimmy and I swung through the adult-only section (i.e. only towels allowed), which featured Finnish saunas; only lasted a minute in the 165°F, so skipped the 200°F and the 230°F. Preferred the Turkish bath and eculyptus steam room. Enjoyed watching Jimmy squirm as he dumped the bucket of cold water on his head.

Boogie Down in DC and Jax...

When Jimmy mentioned to his boss that he was going to head to Florida in June for his cousin’s wedding, his boss suggested that he make a stop first in DC to visit a customer. Not a bad financial deal for us and it allowed him to spend two fun-filled nights with Marc, our Raleigh buddy who moved to DC last year. Somehow they managed to cram in rock climbing, going to an Afro-Latin drum circle then a jazz club, running for 8 miles along the Potomac, and eating oysters at a gay bar (I try not to over analyze that). Jimmy then spent a week in Jacksonville visiting family, some of whom he hadn’t seen in almost 8 years and spending quality time with his sister Debbie and his grandmother.