Our First Sunday

I am quickly learning that it takes a long time to get places using public transportation - especially because we live in a very small town. Getting to church was no problem. Getting home was much more difficult. It took 30 minutes to get to church, and 1 1/2 hours to get home.
Mike pointed out that the building didn't say "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." Kind of odd. A kind woman translated Sacrament Meeting for us (that was the only meeting we attended). We have a dinner invitation in a couple of weeks. The sister missionaries gave us their phone number in case we need anything . . . if only we had a phone! It was a very rainy trip, but I guess I'm glad we went. I'm going to need any and all blessings that I can get this week!

The rest of the day was "take it easy" day. Mike made some yummy Gruyere mac 'n cheese, and we took naps. We aren't allowed to use the laundry room on Monday's, so I thought I would throw in a couple of loads. Well, I'm going to have to stay up late just to get the first load done!
Laundry is crazy. 130 minutes for one load?? I'm pretty sure I did the settings correctly, even though I couldn't find the words in my French or German dictionaries. I should have written down how to use the washer when our landlord showed me. It seemed so easy and logical at the time, but it definitely doesn't seem that way now.

Tomorrow Mike goes to work. Things will be interesting. I'm thinking one small outing will be a good start. I'm hoping to make it to Aldi tomorrow. I looked up their ad, and they are supposed to have hair straightening irons starting tomorrow. The one I brought won't work (even with the converter). I would feel a little more at home if I could at least do my hair the way I usually do.

Also, I'm having trouble thinking of things to prepare for meals. So far we have had spaghetti, frozen pizza and mac 'n cheese. NOT creative. I'm also not quite sure how to get groceries if I have the girls. Again, it will be interesting.

Jet Lag and Bern

My two girls will NOT sleep. Seriously, how long does it take to get over the jet lag? I thought they would sleep last night from being out all day. We ventured out to the Temple in Zollihofen, then to Bern. Nope. They were up at midnight rearing to go. I think maybe they fell back asleep by 2:00 am. Yuck. Hopefully this doesn't last long.

Katherine and Ellie waiting for the train to come

Our first stop of the day was the Bern Temple in Zollikofen. It was a beautiful day to be on the grounds of the temple. I felt so comfortable and at home as we spent time there. Temple grounds are truly holy.

Isn't she adorable??

Katherine peering out of the Sit and Stand stroller

Then we were off to Bern. There were people everywhere as we walked down the main street. I was amazed at just how many little stores there were. I saw at least 5 H&M's as we walked. It was Saturday, so the market was open at a town square. I loved looking at all the little booths. They seemed to have the classic booths with rings, sweaters, cd's, etc. I was a little sad to not see anything unusual.

The Market

I had seen these water fountains on a Rick Steves Switzerland movie. I was excited to fill my water bottle up with some wonderful Swiss water! The water here is good. I don't miss my Britta at all.

The famous Bern Clock Tower

We stood at the Clock Tower for 15 minutes so we could see the animation. There were a lot of other people also waiting. I guess 2 chimes, at 2 'oclock, doesn't give enough time for everything to move. Too bad we weren't there at noon! I'll have to show the girls what it looks like on You Tube (everything is on there right?.)

Mike on a little Swiss street

View of Bern

The Bear park, "BarenPark ", is just across the Aare river. There are 3 bears that live there. We were happy the bears were out enjoying the sunny day instead of hiding in one of their little holes in the mountainside.

Björk, Ursina & Berna

It was fun day, but I think we were all tired and ready to get back to our apartment. After experiencing the art of travel with two little girls, I'm a bit nervous to travel without Mike. He is much better with directions, and it really seems to take the two of us to get the stroller and both girls on and off of trains, and up and down stairs. I'm going to have to plan our travel with plenty of time for train connections.

Switzerland Adventure Day #1

Town Gate of Saint-Prex

(Photo courtesy of Wikipeida)

We are here in St-Prex, Switzerland! It was quite the journey, with 20+ hours of travel. The girls were fabulous. They were VERY "sensitive," as I like to describe it, by the time we got to the apartment, but overall I was impressed with how well we all did. Getting all of our luggage, stroller and children on and off trains and buses was difficult. We were graced with help from many kind people.

Being the brilliant woman I am, I didn't think to print a map of St-Prex. So, we got off at the bus stop suggested by our apartment owner, but then had no clue where to go. A man who spoke no English was able to point us back in the opposite direction we were headed. Then I stopped three boys who, with their combined knowledge of English, were able to further direct us. We found a map of the city and finally made it to our new home.

The Geneva Airport welcomed me to life in Europe when I walked past the men's restroom. The door was WIDE open. My next real welcome was my trip to the Coop to get groceries. I set out (after realizing that going as a whole family just wasn't going to happen) with Mike's empty suitcase and walked the 10 minutes or so to the store. I had to ask for change to put in my 2 CHF (swiss francs) to use the cart. No one spoke English, but I managed. I didn't know what to do with the suitcase so I left it out by the carts. Luckily it was still there when I was done shopping. I came home with the staples - shelved milk (they call the 1.5% fat "drink" and the 3.5% milk), butter, bread, jam, spaghetti, cheese (I have NO idea what it will taste like), lunch meat, frozen pizza, Nutella, etc. and of course a chocolate bar. I'm just happy I survived the grocery store. I really think I can travel Switzerland with the kids . . . although I'm nervous about entering the German regions. I don't speak one word of German. I guess I need to learn some basics before our trip to Bern tomorrow!

Our apartment is a one minute walk from Lake Geneva. It is gorgeous. We went for a family walk after dinner and saw ducks and a swan swimming on the water. I am excited to see more tomorrow! Now I just hope I can sleep . . .