The Best of Times, the Worst of Times...

A little behind on my blog but trying to stay in chronological order so going back in time to November 2012. Already seems long ago!

As November plodded along and the snow and cold weather seemed unrelenting, we anxiously awaited the arrival of some of our best buddies. First, the Campbell family was heading over from Eugene, Oregon to spend Thanksgiving with us and shortly after the DiPiazza's who were in Berlin visiting Kat's brother Nick, were stopping by for a few days. When the Campbell crew arrived we planned on spending a few days in the Alps and exploring a new place called Saas-Fee. On the morning of their arrival to Geneva, I awoke unable to move my right arm. After spending a painful day (in more ways than one) at Swiss Urgent Care I was diagnosed with Frozen Shoulder - an incredibly painful condition that most likely stemmed from an old injury I had successfully (until now) ignored for years. Combined with overuse and stress my shoulder had essentially gone on hiatus. I was initially told it would take months to years to heal which was beyond frightening for someone living in a foreign country with two young boys and expecting a baby in a few months.

At the same time, Hardy proceeds to come down with the worst case of the flu I have ever seen him get, he was completely out of commission. Unfortunately the Campbell's arrived to a very rough crew and rather than taking a few day trips before heading to the Alps as planned, Pat, Holly, Lauryn and Miles were great troopers and instead took over care of our house and kids for a few days. Thankfully they are such good friends, and understood what a dire situation we were in. Eventually Hardy headed to the pharmacy which is an invaluable resource here as the pharmacists are able to administer prescriptions of many kinds. He was able to get medicine to kick his flu and we sent them on to the Alps to start enjoying their vacation. I, in the meantime, had started my painful physical therapy (as I wasn't able to get the recommended Cortisone shot due to the pregnancy), however I still had no mobility in my arm.

The next day, Thanksgiving, we were able to leave around 2 for Saas-Fee to celebrate with the Campbell's. When we'd booked the reservation, we had no idea that the town would essentially be closed down in between the "high" seasons of summer and winter. It's an incredibly popular resort for skiing and summer sports with lots of restaurants, bars and shops but 95% of them were closed until the first of December. We spent our Thanksgiving dinner at 1 of the 2 open restaurants, a local pub, and enjoyed a cheese fueled meal, a great way to start our vacation. We had rented a beautiful 3-story house with incredible views of the mountains and for the next few days we explored Saas-Fee a pretty, pedestrian-only village known as the "Pearl of the Alps." It was located on a very high plateau surrounded by a mountain range in which all of the peaks are over 13,000 feet including the Dom, Switzerland's tallest mountain at 14,812 feet. One day Hardy and Pat took the older kids on a day trip up a Cableway to the Eispavillon, Switzerland's largest ice cave or ice grotto on the Allalin Mountain but for the most part we just hung out, caught up, let the kids play and enjoyed ourselves. A few days later as we're packing up the house we hear a crash and a scream from the middle floor. Miles had been climbing on the staircase bannister and had fallen and hurt his arm. After some confusion on what to do we finally called the rental office who contacted the local doctor. Hardy and Pat quickly took him and the doctor decided Miles needed to have x-rays taken which could only be done at the next town. After Miles had charmed everyone in the clinic, the doctor determined that he had sprained his elbow, gave him a brace and some pain pills and sent them on their way. Miles was a trooper and we all headed back to Neuchatel where he and I continued to nurse our defunct arms. The next day they left for Munich, the final leg of their trip. It wasn't until they arrived home and took Miles to the doctor for a re-check, that they realized that his poor arm was broken! Lesson being, the Swiss medical care may be world renowned, but try to test the system only in big cities....

FUN SAAS-FEE FACT: The video for one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs - Last Christmas by the fabulous Wham! was filmed in Saas-Fee. Re-live the excitement right here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI

View from our House in Saas-Fee - Latelhorn Mountain.

Lauryn & Deanzie.

Playing on the Deck.

On Cableway to Eispavillon.

Eispavillon.

Pat, Lauryn & Miles.

View from Allalin Mountain (11,482 ft).

Buddies!

Walk Through Saas-Fee.

Au Revoir Campbell Famille!

The following week Jason, Kat, Nick and Nicholas arrived from celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday in Berlin. They were only here for 2 short days and the weather was absolutely freezing! But we were able to at least take a day trip to Bern and visit downtown Neuchatel before they headed home. It was so much fun to see all of these wonderful friends!

Train to Bern.

Uncle Jason & Dean.

Sweet Boy.

Sam and Nicholas.

Downtown Neuchatel.

Kat & I - 2 Pregnant Ladies.

Dean eating Extra Large Sweet Bread.

Nicholas at our Favorite Zip-Line Play Park.

Baby Dean & his Buddy Uncle Nick.

Brothers.

Bedtime Story with Uncle Jason.

Au Revoir DiPiazza's & Nick!!

Much Love,

Hardy, Lilli, Sam & Dean. 

Made in Switzerland

Hello Family and Friends,

I thought it would be fun to share a few fun facts as well as brands and items that you may or may not know were made in Switzerland. Of course there are a large number of chocolate and watch brands, but you'd be surprised to see what else is made, and generally made very well in this beautiful country where we currently reside.

1. Nestlé - Interestingly, the company's first product was an alternative to human breast milk, created by Henri Nestlé, although they have branched out considerably since then. Many of the items found here are not available in the US and vice versa - such as Toll House Chocolate Chips, not to be found anywhere in Switzerland! It is a huge company with products ranging from chocolate and Nerds candy to additional recognizable brands as Perrier Water and both Dreyer's and Häagen Dazs ice cream as well as far beyond.

2. Swatch (Swiss + Watch = Swatch). Most of us know this brand of stylish and affordable watches. The Swatch Group also owns Omega, Tissot, and Longines, a few other recognizable and far more expensive brands.

3. Victorinox  - best known for their famous Swiss Army Watches, in the US their subsidiary Wenger is mostly recognizable.

4. Ricola - Long my favorite cough drop, there are more flavors than you can imagine over here and even Ricola teas. (Place your orders early, we're coming home in December!)

5. Lindt - The best known chocolate outside of Switzerland and very popular over here as well although there are many competing brands. The company dates back to the 19th century and also owns the Ghiradelli chocolate company, of course well-known by San Franciscans.

6. UBS Banque - Although coming under fire for some shady business practices and with the banking laws changing faster than the people harboring their money here can keep up with, still the best known Swiss bank.

7. Luxury Watch Brands Rolex and Tag Heuer among many others. Technically, Rolex was founded in London but using Swiss technology and parts and under a different name. The company moved to Geneva in 1908.

8. Zyliss - Innovative and dependable kitchen products that launched in 1948 with the much-loved Garlic Press.

9. - Sigg - Best known now for their popular aluminum water bottles, this company began in 1908 producing household and sporting good items. The water bottles didn't hit the market until the '90's.

10. Bally Switzerland - Creating high-end luxury shoes since 1851, the pair of boots that Neil Armstrong wore to walk on the moon was comprised of rubber components created by Bally technology.

11. Chevrolet - Ok so this company "seems" as American as you can get. However, the co-founder and original automotive engineer, race-car driver Louis Chevrolet was from Switzerland. And the company was actually founded in Canada in 1911.

12. Logitech - Doing their best to improve our experiences with the digital world, Logitech hit the market in 1981 with the first computer mouse and has since broadened it's product categories substantially.

13. Kuhn Rikon - cookware products for the discerning chef. They produce beautiful and durable products.

14. International Red Cross - Founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, this branch oversees all national Red Cross movements. Now I understand why their emblem is similar to the Swiss flag!

15. And last but not least....Schmidbauer Baby #3! Due on March 25, coincidentally Sam's birthday, the latest installment to our family is going to be a girl! We are all very excited to welcome her to our family and for those of you who are worried about her nationality, although she will be born in Switzerland, she will be an All-American girl. For a country that is comprised of so many nationalities, the Swiss are reluctant to admit new members easily. Either Hardy or I would have to be a Swiss citizen for our child to be as well. Since we are not Swiss nationals, we most likely (not yet confirmed) do not have to abide by the rule of providing the hospital in advance of the birth, a name or names from an approved list provided by the Swiss government. Essentially the Swiss are ensuring that none of their citizens shall have to make their way through life with the name "Tree Stump" or any such thing. As temporary foreigners we should have the right to give our baby any name we choose. However what we have to do is prove that our chosen name is "normal" in our country. Not exactly sure how we do that, but as anything seems to go in the USA nowadays, shouldn't be too difficult! We will have to go to our local embassy to notify them of the birth and they will help with providing a birth certificate, passport and SSN. Thanks for your continued support everyone, it means so much especially as we go through this incredible process so far away from home and our support network.

20 Weeks - Thanks to G-Ma for the fun shirt and my mom for the hat!

Both Sam and Dean very much enjoyed their first Swiss Halloween. Sam was able to dress up for school where they had a Halloween party, and one of our neighbors organized an American "trick-or-treat" through all of the buildings in our complex. It was freezing and the boys were so bundled up that their costumes were slightly unrecognizable but we all had a lot of fun. They don't have many kinds of individually wrapped candy here so many of the people just handed out unwrapped candy which was kind of interesting. We already had our first snowfall, the Saturday before Halloween, canceling a different Halloween party we were supposed to attend, but thankfully the snow isn't sticking yet, giving us a little more time to get the required snow tires on our car. However as Hardy mentioned, he could tell that winter was here when he saw the orange poles put up all over town to signal to the snow plows where the road is....Not sure we are ready for this!

A few recent photos of the troops.

Next town over: La Chaux-de-Fonds - Petit Zoo and it's free! That's an ibex behind the boys.

Very regal and official Knight.

Master pumpkin carver hasn't lost his touch, or his team spirit.

Little Mister Dragon Deanzie has a front row seat at The Langer's Halloween party.

Thinking Inside the Box.

First Snow - yikes!

Bedtime stories with Daddy.

St. Martin's Day Parade. Organized through Sam's school the kids decorated lanterns and paraded through the city in honor of St. Martin of Tours, known for his charity.

Happy Winter! Much Love & Warmth,
Lilli, 3 Boys and a Baby.

It's a Family Affair

The summer of the relatives. We had a long and exciting line-up of visitors for 2 months to help keep us occupied. Small groups arrived, overlapped for a few days, shared our adventure, then, the sad part, headed home. It was such a treat to be able to experience so many different areas and aspects of Switzerland with everyone who has been here and is still planning on coming. And for those of you who can't make it, I hope this blog makes you feel just a little as if you've been here with us too!

On August 2nd, marking exactly 4 months of living in Switzerland, my eternally youthful Grandma Lil and her faithful silver-haired companion, Bob arrived for a visit. We were in the midst of our summer heat-wave and living on the 4th floor, our apartment becomes incredibly hot and stuffy. But Bob and Grandma were troopers and we had a wonderful visit. The boys loved having them here and as most visitors do, Grandma spent countless hours playing and reading about animals with Sam, while Baby Dean was enamored with Bob. He was happy to just hang out at Bob's feet while he sat in the chair and read. It really was quite cute! Hardy was gone most of the time they were here on a 2-week business trip around the world, so it was especially nice for us to have the company. One of the highlights was definitely our pilgrimage to Gruyères. (Note: The famous cheese which is imported only from this region is spelled Gruyère, however the town itself is spelled with an "s.")  The beautiful pedestrian town is set atop a hill feeling far removed from the world below. It's also the home of Gruyères castle, which of course was a huge hit with Sam (knights in general being a new interest of his), a museum, lots of shops where the many local artists sell their wares and of course many restaurants to choose from. We had a fantastic  lunch consisting of the best fondue I've had yet, which I'm determined to master, followed by light-as-air meringues topped with what is called double cream, a Gruyères speciality, I've never experienced anything like it before. It was as gluttonous as it sounds but worth every calorie, I was already excited to go back!

Beautiful day in Bern!

Grandma Loca and Sam.

Bob & his Little Buddy.

Gruyères.

View from Gruyères.

Sam & his Animals - yes his shirt is on backwards but some days you have to pick your battles.

On August 14th, Grammy Donna arrived to see 2 very happy boys and 1 very happy mama! She was here for a 2-week vacation and extended celebration in honor of her 60th birthday. Look how great she looks!  I'm so thankful to have these genes on my side. :-) A few days later Grandma Lil and Bob headed home. We had a wonderful time and we'll all miss them but I think Baby Dean will especially miss Bob! The same day Hardy finally arrived home from his trip. Beyond exhausted but happy to see us, and to have Grammy here to help while he recuperated! The following Wednesday, G-Ma Ruthi arrived to the party. We all had a fantastic time catching up and exploring our new home. Grammy, Ruthi and I were even able to sneak away to spend 1 night in Montreux, although unfortunately we were not there for the world-renowned Jazz Festival. It's a charming town set on Lake Geneva at the base of the French Alps and is often referred to as the "Swiss Riviera" due to its palm trees and magnolias. It must be inspirational as it has a long history of attracting many artists, writers and musicians and is also very close to Switzerland's most famous castle Chataeu de Chillon.  Fun Music Fact: This is where the 70's band Deep Purple wrote their classic song, "Smoke on the Water" after the Montreux Casino caught on fire while Frank Zappa was performing in 1971. The 3 of us had a fantastic time celebrating my mom's birthday with a very special Lobster dinner at the renowned Palace Hotel. The hotel has a storied past and has been home to many artists such as Freddie Mercury, who lived there for 20 years, as well as Vladimir Nabokov (author of Lolita) and Leo Tolstoy. They were all there in memory as we celebrated my mom's birthday!

Infamous Palace Hotel - Montreux.

Birthday Dinner - Amazing View.

Dinner!

Birthday Girl!

Longtime Friends.

Montreux Art.

Grammy & Dean.

Happy Sam Drinking the Yummiest Hot Chocolate Ever.

Grammy and Deanzie.

G-Ma in all her Glory!

1st class service to the hotel on a rainy day.

The following Wednesday which was the 29th of August, my brother, Stacey and Albert arrived! We were able to continue the birthday celebration before my mom and Ruth sadly had to leave a few days later. After they left we had the pleasure of welcoming Stacey's sister Kristen and her boyfriend Brandon for a few short days before they headed off to Italy. We decided to take the crew on a train ride to one of our favorite spots - Bern, to visit the bears as well as a few of our favorite museums. 

Family Dinner.

Train Station En Route to Bern.

Boys on the Train.

Kristen & Brandon (AKA Auntie Marie & Uncle B-Dawg).

Auntie Marie & Deanzie.

After Kristen and Brandon left, we decided to explore a new area of the Alps, called Murren. It's a pedestrian-only area so we took cable cars up to the picturesque town - population 430. Murren is a mecca for skiing in the winter and hiking and base jumping in the warmer months. The monstrous Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains seem so close that they almost look like they could touch the top of the wooden chalets spread throughout the little town. We had a fantastic time exploring all that the area had to offer and Monti and Hardy even took the boys up to the Schilthorn Mountain, which is the tallest in the region at 9745 feet. After taking a series of cable cars to the top there is an incredible panoramic view of all the different mountain ranges in the area. Another draw is that this is where many scenes from the 1969 James Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service were shot. Besides our breathtaking venture in the Alps, Monti and Hardy took a tour of a local Absinthe distillery. Absinthe was originally brewed in a town southwest of Neuchatel called Val de Travers but was banned in 1910 due to it's high alcohol content, up to 75%, contributing to the nickname, "devil in a bottle." It is now being produced again, only (legally) since 2005. Not sure if either of them returned as believers though, they mostly just came home with headaches. :-) 

Murren!

View from our Chalet.

Auntie Stacey.

Majestic Mountains.

Going for a Walk in Murren.

Big Al. 

Auntie, Uncle & Dean.

Lunchtime!

Beautiful Views.

007's in Training.

On September 13th it was time for Monti, Stacey and Albert to go home after an amazing trip had by all. We didn't have too long to feel lonely though, as Hardy's parents or "Mimi and Bah" arrived a few days later on the 19th.  The big event planned for their visit was a trip up to the Alps for a Desalpe Festival. The Desalpe Festival commemorates the cows return back to the flatlands after living for about 4 months with their herdsmen in the mountain pastures. There are festivals such as these all over the country and they are a very honored tradition. The cows all wear elaborately decorated flower headdresses as well as their heavily clanging bells and are marched down the mountains and paraded through the towns by their herdsmen and sometimes the entire family that owns them. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of people gather to watch the parade and show respect to both the cows and the herdsmen. At the festival we attended in Plaffeien, over 700 animals were paraded through the area. We stayed in the nearby German-speaking town of Schwarzsee which is absolutely stunning and located on the Lac Noir or Black Lake. The concierge at the hotel warned us to leave early in the morning for the festival as the traffic gets worse as the day goes on. We left around 8:30 for what should have been about a 10-minute drive to Plaffeien. A few minutes into the drive we noticed our first herd of cows up ahead, dressed in their parade finery. We were very excited and proceeded to take lots of pictures before we tried to pass them to continue on. The herdsman gave Hardy a very stern look and we quickly moved back into our rightful place -- behind the cows. Our 10-minute ride turned into an 1 1/2 and we slowly realized that this was the traffic that the concierge had mentioned, not the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic we were used to from the Silicon Valley!  We continued on to the festival which was thoroughly enjoyed by all even though a torrential downpour started about halfway through the cow procession. There was also a big party during and after including traditional Swiss dancing, alpenhorn playing, lots of amazing cheese-heavy food and sausages and of course loads of beer and wine. It was a treat to be a part of the entire experience.  The real highlight of the trip though, was being able to celebrate Mimi and Bah's 45th wedding anniversary with them. What a special event! We were so happy to all be together on that day.


Playing with Bah.

Cows on Parade.

Video of the Parade.

3 Generations of Schmidbauer Boys.

Traditional Alpenhorn Players.

Mimi & Deanzie.

Happy Anniversary!

The End of the Parade.

Local Toboggan Ride.

Moves Like Jagger - Video.

Lac Noir.

Practicing!

Back to Gruyères for the Fondue Experience.

On October 2nd, marking six months of living in Switzerland, Mimi and Bah departed, the last of our summer visitors!  It's been such an honor and a pleasure to share our new home with so many friends and family members and we feel incredibly lucky to have had so many people visit and share this experience with us. It is a long and expensive trip (especially with kids!) and the jet lag (9 hour time difference) is brutal, which makes us especially grateful that so many of you have chosen to make this trip. A heartfelt thank you from all of us!

Much Love,
Lilli & Boys