Interlaken, Switzerland and Liechtenstein

We stayed the night in a little chalet near Lucerne on the very edge of what is considered the Alps and felt very grateful and inspired by the beauty.  The next day, though, when we were driving down toward Interlaken and we spotted the first blue hazy peaks on the horizon . . . whoa!  I mean, they just stole my breath away.  So beautiful, beyond words.

Every couple switchbacks on the road there were pull-offs for people to pause and enjoy the view.  There were even benches placed around so perfectly.  We wanted to stop at every single place to admire the panorama.  The colors!  It was like that moment in the Wizard of Oz when the world goes technicolor.  I didn't do a thing to these pictures in editing and I think they look pretty remarkable.  The real thing was that much better.  The color of the water in the lake?!  I could sing an ode to it.  The best I can do right now is to say it looked like you could dip a crayon into it and have it come out dripping thick aqua wax.  Yeah . . . so my poetry is lacking.  But in any case, I cannot get over the colors of Switzerland.

We collected a picnic of cheese and chocolate (and a few local plums for health) to eat by one of the lakes.  Then we dipped our toes in.  They didn't come out turquoise stained, though I was half sure they would.  The kids had a great time splashing and naturally could have stayed all day.

Eliza was determined not to come out when called.  When Collin went in to swoop her up she turned and ran straight into the depths.  Collin pulled her out spluttering and completely soaked.  But still not ready to leave!

On to our next stop, in the teeny country of Liechtenstein.  And because I'm so mature, I snorted in laughter almost every time I saw this sign to exit the motorway.

There ended up being a couple of meltdowns in this little country, so it's memorable at least for that.  :)

Little Chalet in Switzerland

I forgot to mention that one of the very best parts of having my mom travel with us.  We had a built-in photographer everywhere we went!  No selfie sticks or self timers necessary.  :)  This is one of my favorite family shots of the whole trip, here in the Alps.  What a glorious evening to be alive.  We rushed on from the Black Forest and I was so sad to say good bye far too soon.  Then I saw the beginnings of the Alps and I felt a little better.  In a, like whoa!, jaw-dropping way.

We drove past so many artistically stacked log piles, I just wanted to stop and take portraits in front of all of them.  Didn't happen, of course.  I felt lucky when this one was across from our little chalet for the night and Davy was a mostly-cooperative kid (for approximately four seconds--enough for one capture!). 

I haven't done my research into what these pretty little purple wildflowers are called.  They enchanted Davy, though.  He spent lots of time selecting the best for a posy for me.  They closed up when the sun set in their little drinking cup vase over night, but the next morning they woke up again.

We hadn't had time to make a proper fairy tale walk in the Black Forest, so when we found this perfect wood near the little chalet we made certain to play the Hansel and Gretel game.  The bread crumbs part.  The other part, with the candy cottage or the witch and the furnace would have been a bit tricky to pull off.

Aaaannnd, another playground.  It really was an evening for the books.  Perfect in every way.

 

We heard cow and sheep bells echoing across the valley and mountains all night long.  Seriously, Switzerland is so loud, in its own pastoral way!  We felt lucky to have found this winner on Airbnb.  (Later on I guess my accommodation-finding skills faltered, but for the start of the trip we were on a great roll!)  The kids got absolutely soaking wet playing in a little water trough outside the house.  Then we looked away for two seconds and the drain got plugged by little hands and pine cones.  Daddy to the rescue!  I think figuring out how to unclog the drain was even more fun than doing it in the first place.

Black Forest, Germany

And off we go!  I'm just summoning up the energy to dive into recounting our epic adventure and I'm not sure I've got it . . .  One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.  That's all we can do.  I loved our trip and all the experiences we shared as a family (plus Nana (my mom)!) and I doubt I can do the exploring justice.  Anyway, let's start at the very beginning.  A very good place to start.

First, our flight.  We used points to get flights to Frankfurt, where we met up with my mom.  It all worked relatively smoothly, much to my relief.  The boys were so excited for our trip and seeing Nana.  Eddy was counting down the days and could hardly settle once we were finally on the go.  The kids each had a little stuffed animal travel buddy, a (lightweight, baby muslin) blanket, and a book in their own backpacks that they were responsible for.  I'm learning more and more how lightly we can/must travel.  I was pretty proud that we not only could rainbowtize our luggage (ha!) but that we packed five people--on the bus, tube, and through the airports--in two small cases and three backpacks (Collin wore Eliza in a carrier and I wore two backpacks) for twelve days.  Even then, of course we didn't use all of the stuff I brought and I'm going lighter the next time.

After a stop-off at the grocery store to stock up, we drove to our first place in the middle of the Black Forest.  I wish we'd had time to stop at all the little walking paths I spotted through the magical fairy tale woods, but at least we enjoyed the drive.  We filled the kids' brains with fairy tales stories (with some movies and our own telling) so much that by the time we were able to walk along the edge of the dark forest at dusk, Eddy was scared to go near the woods because there were witches in there.

We got a good night's sleep and woke to a lovely sunrise through the large windows of the Airbnb place we rented.  The family who listed the place had also left boxes of old fashioned German toys an the kids were wild about those.

We found a little playground on the edge of the forest near sunset.  The main thing I've learned traveling with kids is that they need normal time to unwind and local playgrounds are their favorite thing, wherever we can find one.  Bonus if it's in a beautiful place and a full moon's rising!

We loved having Nana with us.  She took the brunt of the back seat role--handing things forward and back, entertaining Eliza when she was restless (though I have to say she was so much better than I'd thought she could be!), and calming down the boys when squabbles started.  She took over the driving when Collin needed a break and I got to chat away and catch up on a deeper and broader level than I feel we do when we're able to Facetime.  She was patient and loving with all of us.  She smoothed out the rough edges of traveling.  We could trust her to do any part or any job we asked or didn't even know we needed done.  She kicked me and Collin out the door a couple times for a little date.  I wish we could always travel with such a lovely companion.

Grandma Jeralyn studied music in the Black Forest when Collin was a kid, so he'd grown up hearing stories about how wonderful the little towns were.  And the magic is real!  The little towns were so cute.  We explored a couple I don't even know the names of, then headed toward Hornberg, then church.  We arrived a bit late at church and I forgot to get a picture in front of the sign like I love to do.  But, I will always remember how I felt when the congregation stood after the closing prayer and sang, "God Be With You Til We Meet Again" (obviously in German).  The spirit moved me so much, I was choking up and unable to sing by the second "auf wiedersehen."  I think it was for a missionary farewell, but I kind of liked the idea of doing it every week.  Ala The Tabernacle Choir, you know.