Family Visit
This post is overdue, but better late than never.
Graduation was on Friday, June 3rd. My mom, brother and sister-in-law arrived on the evening of Sunday, June 5th and would be staying in Switzerland until Saturday, June 11th. My dad was unable to join because he doesn’t like to fly…maybe I’ll end up in Mexico or Canada next and he can drive there J
As excited as I was to have family visiting, it honestly felt a bit weird initially to have them there. Back in Kansas City my life involved frequent interactions with my family, but since moving overseas I’ve only seen my family when I visited back home, or on Skype. My overseas life hadn’t really been shared in person, only through pictures and conversations. So it did take some time for me to warm up.
Rather than staying at a hotel, my family was able to stay in some rooms provided by my school. My brother and sister-in-law got a normal room, but my mom wasn’t so lucky L She had a tiny room with a bed and had to share the bathroom with the others. I wasn’t happy about that, but the school said that those were the only rooms available.
I had a pretty good itinerary lined up for everyone along with my family’s request to spend a couple of days in Zermatt. Everything would have been near perfect had the Swiss weather been consistent with what had been going on the previous few weeks. But Switzerland decided to bring in the clouds and the rain for my family’s visit. Despite this, I still think we had a pretty good time.
Day 1 I took them on a hike, which I had never been on going up…only on the way down. I choose the Tour D’ Ai, which is a beautiful hike that leaves one with amazing views of Lake Geneva, Dents Du Midi, and even the Alps on the northern part of Italy. But the hike was more strenuous and longer than I had anticipated. Everyone did awesome…and my mom was a trooper!!
Day 2 we left for Zermatt where we were hoping to see the Matterhorn. It was raining when we got there and was still cloudy when we left the next day. No Matterhorn for us except on the postcards. But it was fun to visit Zermatt.
Day 3 was spent at Zermatt…not doing much. And then driving back to Leysin with a couple site-seeing stops on the way back.
Day 4 we went to Gruyeres, a famous village known for its cheese making. There’s a well-restored castle there which we all toured, then enjoyed some of the ever popular Swiss fondue. After lunch we headed to the Caillier Chocolate Factory. The tour felt like a walk through ride at an amusement park…nevertheless, it was entertaining. At the end of the tour there was a tasting room. I ate too much there and had no desire to purchase any additional chocolate. But my family went on a shopping spree there in order to bring back chocolate for friends, family, and coworkers.
Day 5 the weather improved and we had sunshine, which was perfect because we were going to the Swiss Riviera (Montreux and Vevey). We took the cog down the mountain and then a quick train ride to Montreux. Montreux sits right on Lake Geneva. We then took a nice long walk along the lakeside to the Chateau de Chillon. This castle has a lot of history and was extremely significant back in the day. I’m not a history buff, so you’ll have to read about it. We toured the Chateau for quite a while, then took the walk back to Montreux. We spent our last dinner together at my favorite restaurant back in Leysin called the Lynx, which had been closed every other time we tried to go there earlier in the week.
Day 6 In the morning we went to their favorite breakfast spot – The Creperie. Breakfast was followed by some souvenir shopping, and then packing. They had to catch a train to Milano in the afternoon, so we all drove down to the train station together. Short goodbyes are the best way to go. I learned that after the first time I left the states to go to Korea. My parents along with one of my best friends waited in the security line with me for an hour or so. It was torture for all of us. After that time I’ve just had my parents drop me off outside the airport and go on their way. Here at the train station we said our goodbyes to one another and a train came quicker than expected, which made for a quick goodbye (thankfully).
I was so happy to have family visit and for them to get a taste of Switzerland as well as what my life is like overseas. They got to share in some of the frustrations as well as the joys of being overseas. It meant a great deal to me to have them use their vacation time and resources to come spend some time with me.
So thank you very much to my family for visiting! I hope you enjoyed your trip and felt that it was well worth the time and effort to come over. See you at Christmas!
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