From Across the Driveway to Across the Atlantic

A good neighbor will do many things ... lend tools, forgive your lazy parking that blocks their garage, even watch your kids for a few minutes in a pinch. We are blessed to have great neighbors. During our sabbatical Kim and Chris have gone above and beyond the neighborly call of duty, and have served as as makeshift rental housing supervisors, extending occasional advice to our renters (Wendy, Mary, Chad and Addie, who are excellent stewards of our house) after the multiple natural disasters that seem to be battering Columbus and the house in our absence.

We were blessed to be able reciprocate in a small way by offering lodging and tour services to Kim and Chris during their visit to Europe a couple of weeks ago. After landing in Amsterdam and spending some time in Belgium and Paris, they arrived in Zurich Monday night via the TGV -- a really fast and cool train that Isaac and Elliot have been pining to ride (see picture). After staying up and chatting for a while we all turned in and had a good sleep. The next day was a Tuesday, so we sent the boys off to school while Chris, Kim and I took a walk over to a great nearby restaurant with a great view of the city for breakfast (Elena was busy finishing up a grant application). In the afternoon we went downtown and walked through the heart of the city, taking in the famous Chagall stained glass windows in the Fraumunster church (see picture). Later in the afternoon, we met up with the boys and Elena and went to a cafe known for it hot cocoa and then visited a cool shop that sells strangely enticing liquors (see picture). We came back and Kim pulled out her knitting, much to Elliot's fascination (Kim--we haven't told you this yet, but Elliot has been knitting ever since with some chop sticks and rubberbands -- I really need to learn the finger knitting that they do at Briar Rose (his pre-school in Ohio) so that I can do that with him -- this is Elena speaking for the moment, not Brian).

The next day we decided to really embrace our proximity to the Alps and go skiing. We took the boys out of school for the day and took the bus, then train, then gondola to Flumserberg, a ski area where we took our week-long vacation in February. Funny thing happened between reading the morning ski forecast and the time we arrived -- instead of light snow, it was pouring rain when we arrived at the ski slopes. After a leisurely lunch near the rain-soaked slopes, we decided to start our decent and went back to the gondola, which goes down an amazing steep decent in order to get us back to the train. As we boarded the gondola, the operator says - congratulations, you're the last one who gets to ride today because the winds are starting to pick up, making it too dangerous for anyone else. Our ride down was characterized by some strong winds and a lot of swaying, which freaked Kim and me our a little - luckily, I was holding the camera and got Kim on film (see picture) rather than the other way around. At the half-way point down the hill, where the cable car switches tracks and tacks off at a different angle, they did not let us continue and booted us out of the cable car. Some guy who worked for the cable car company drove us in his van the rest of the way down the hill to the train station.

We got back safely, and that night our neighbor Edna watched the boys while we snuck out to a local bar to have some adult conversation.

The final day of their trip, Thursday, we picked up Elliot from his school and then met up with Isaac at his school for some championship Tischtennis (table tennis, NOT ping pong) between he and Chris, who turns out to be quite the accomplished player. We then took off to one of our favorite local hikes -- Utliberg.
We took the train up to the ridge that overlooks the city and lake of Zurich. The first stop after departing the train is one of the boys' favorite playgrounds, which includes a really cool slide (see picture). We then walked out along the ridge and got some great shots (see picture) before walking back to the pinnacle of the ridge (see group photo). We then sat down to a wonderful dinner at a great, elegant restaurant with incredible views (see picture).

We then took them back to the main train station and bid farewell as they boarded their sleeper train north. Before you know it, we'll be back across the driveway.