It's not over till...it's over

I'm writing this from Dulles Airport, where we're getting ready to board our final flight home to Sacramento.  After nine weeks abroad, we're equally excited to return home and at the same time depressed that our once-in-a-lifetime vacation is over.

Approaching the Rashplin

Just to pay tribute to the last two days in Switzerland, I offer cheers to my fabulous and always-elegant aunt Yvonne, who hosted us for an afternoon at her mountain home called the Rashplin.  To reach the Rashplin, you either need to take a four-wheel drive car up a steep, windy road; or, more desireably, hike up a gravel and dirt path for about 15 minutes, through the woods and amidst a few cow pastures until you spot her 100+ year old chalet perched on the top of the hillside.

When we arrived, Noel, Godebo and Bereket made a beeline for the nearby woods where they built a fairly impressive lean-to using branches and ferns.  The rest of us enjoyed wine and pastries surrounded by Yvonne's voluptuous garden.  We enjoyed her stories about the various wildlife she studies and nurtures, like a hedgehog for whom she built a little house out of a wine crate, and some frogs whom she  raised in her small pond from tadpoles.

Dining al fresco

Later we dined on a typical Swiss meal created in large part with ingredients she had grown herself. On the menu were two types of fleishkaese (a type of meatloaf made with finely ground veal), potato salad, tomato salad and a green salad adorned with edible flowers from the garden -- a feast for the eyes and the palate, for sure.  I could go on by describing how the Swiss ladies in the group (Yvonne, Madeleine and my mom) later entertained us with some hearty Appenzeller yodeling, but that might embarrass someone, so I'll refrain.  Let's suffice it to say we stayed until the last embers of daylight allowed us to make our way down the mountain, satisfied in every way.

Our last day in Switzerland was spent in Roschach, a city on Lake Bodensee (also called Lake Constance), which was hosting a sand sculpture competition.  My uncle Werner and his wife Daniella joined us to watch the sculptors from all over the world completing their creations for the final judging.  Then the kids took a dip in the lake and tried their hand at sculpting their own sand castle.  We dined on pizza and lounged on the cool grass by the lake.  On the stroll back to the car, we stopped for gelati (Swiss gelato).  A very relaxing way to spend our last day.

My cousin Corinne hosted us for our last dinner, so we were able to say our last goodbyes to her, my parents and aunt Madeleine. They have all worked so hard to make our stay special. And I'm thrilled to say that Corinne, Thomas and their kids are planning to visit California next summer, so we'll be able to reciprocate their hospitality.

Now it's back to reality, with school starting in only two weeks, soccer practice already underway...well, you all know the drill.  We'll check back in a few days in record some reflections, once the fog has cleared from our minds and we've had some time to process.