Zurich

Since I spend about half of my working hours in Zurich, we thought it was a good idea to bring the family for a weekend and see this little city up close. The truth is, during the last five months, I have seen little more than the office building, two hotels and a number of very nice restaurants with very beautiful views (but that I'm usually too tired to enjoy). So, it seemed like time.

I got here on Thursday to do two days of work, and then Mike brought both kids on the plane to meet me. That's right - I said Mike brought both kids on the plane (Rowan on his lap for goodness sake). And, while I had already lugged our huge suitcase and one stroller with me, it was not an easy feat. The morning before he got on the plane, I got an email saying, "remind me that I can do this!"

But he did, and he did it with great patience. When they arrived everyone was happy and the kids proceeded to spend an hour putting on a "light show" with the many light switches in reach from the bed.

Saturday, we had a perfect day. We headed early to the Dolder Sport Complex up in the hills to ice skate. This was the first time Chloe had ever ice skated, and the rink had little double bladed skates that hooked right to her boots. We got to the edge of the ice, and I lifted her to set her on the ice...and she refused to put her feet down. I thought that might be the end of it, but instead let her sit on the edge and set her feet on the ice and she was up immediatly. It probably took us 25 minutes to get around the first time, and then, she refused to hold my hand and shimmied her little way around the second time with barely any help. They had little polar bears that had handles and I could pull, while she held on. She wasn't as into that, because frankly she just wanted to skate alone. Sometimes she would give me both hands so we could "go fast" and I'd do my best to move us quickly without falling on our heads!  Even Rowan gave it a try - we let him hold onto the polar bear and walk around on the ice in his little boots. It was such a great time - skating around for almost two hours, with beautiful trees in the background, thinking about the fact that Chloe (and Rowan for that matter!) can say the first time she (he) ice skated was in Switzerland.

From there, we walked up this huge hill (stopping first to climb up a huge rock) and found a very Swiss little restaurant called the Adlisberg. It was in the middle of cow fields, with a horse stable next door. We had a wonderful meal, a nice glass of wine and two cooperative kids. After visiting with the horses for a long time, we walked back down, caught the adorable little train back down the hill, and then roamed around little cobble streets where Chloe actually passed out in her stroller...so we headed to the main shopping area Bahnoffstrasse, and while Rowan was content and Chloe was asleep we just walked around and talked. It was lovely.

We got to the lake as Chloe woke up, played in a big square for awhile, and then roamed a bit more, before catching the tram back to the area with our hotel. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant (funny, since we were in Zurich) and then Chloe and I went swimming in the 32nd floor infinity pool of the hotel. It was beautiful, the view was amazing and we had a great time. One of the best moments of the day for me is when the spa attendant brough in a tray of cups of orange juice. You would have thought she brought Chloe a pile of chocolate she was so happy. In fact, with no prompting, she toasted me, holding up her cup with both hands and saying, "cheers mommy." I almost died with love.

Sunday, we had the great pleasure of going to our friends' house outside of Zurich for lunch. They let the kids run wild while their 7-year-old daughter took total care of them and was thrilled to do so. We had a nice meal, and then headed to the lake to feed the ducks. We walked around their little village, and then back to the house, where Rowan took a nap, Chloe watched some TV and at one point, Mike was actually able to sit out on the terrace with his friend, have a beer and look at the sun shining on the lake. Something he deserved after all the work he'd put into getting himself and the kids there!

What did this weekend teach me? A few things - first, Zurich is very pretty. It isn't a crazy tourist place, but it is all about simple beauty. Second, my kids are incredible and patient travelers. Third, my husband is a saint.

Oh, and most importantly, happy anniversary Mike! You gave me a great gift this weekend.