A Saturday Hike

Saturday we took a family hike. It was to be shorter than usual as Zoë was leaving the next day to go home to Portland, and Jed was also leaving for a conference in Spain.
We all piled on the train for a "short" excursion. The first train took us to Montreux, east around the Lake, the second train took us up to the trail head.






We disembarked in front of a decommissioned train station building that had been turned into a private house complete with someone's toy train tracks and dump truck right in front. Guess who jumped right in to play? We donned our packs with water and lunch and grabbed our poles and off we went to see the postcard scenery of the nearby mountains. Our very first sight was the happy cows, tinkling their bells and sunning themselves in the meadow.

We climbed steadily through gorgeous meadows to the snow line and stopped for a lunch of cheese, bread, salami &apples. Tern found a little lake fed by the melting snow and gleefully indulged until his hands & feet were icy. Auke climbed every rock he could manage and some he couldn't.

 

As we climbed higher we reached the snow fields. At first they were firm enough to walk through. Then the going got slippery and our feet were sinking with every step. The final climb to the return train, a little cog rail train that collects climbers from the top, was grueling. I had to use every ounce of discipline to get up a slope so steep that I could neither look up nor down. My eyes were planted at the ground below my hands and I found my way by following Zoë's encouraging voice.





We all made it, Helga with Auke on her back, Jed & Tern holding hands, Zoë sprinting, Steve plodding  with poles, Anita on all fours. The train came shortly after we arrived at the top and minutes later Tern was asleep.

Airborne Over the Alps

Sion Runway

When we were here last July Steve looked up the American Bonanza Society roster and met Daniel online. Daniel is a part owner of a Bonanza, which is the type of plane that we have. All July they tried to get together. Daniel offered Steve a ride in his plane which is hangared in Sion a town with a towered  airport about 40 minutes east of Lausanne. Due to one thing and another,  it never happened. They were in touch again when we returned in March but Daniel's plane was in for servicing.

This time the adventure happened. Daniel still could not make it but he set us up with a friend of his.  Steve, Zoë & I drove to Sion and met Paolo, an ex Italian airforce flyer. We were just a tad nervous flying with a complete stranger, but his confident air, flying credentials, thorough checkout of the plane, his good looks, Italian charm and delightful accent won us over.

Zoe and the Robin

Paolo at the Controls

The plane was a four seat French made model called a Robin. It was optimized for mountain flying with a 200 horsepower engine to insure a high rate of climb. It had a glass canopy which made it perfect for sightseeing. It had a cute little Swiss flag painted on the tail. The Robin was outfiitted with instrumentls much like our plane and had a simple GPS. 













Sion Airport  is located on the valley floor of the Valais surrounded by the Alps. This includes Swiss, French and Italian  mountains. The air traffic controllers speak in English or in  whichever language the pilot speaks. The runway is long enough for the Swiss military to use it for practice runs. We saw several F16 taking off while we were getting ready. 

We flew for just under an hour and saw awesome scenery including the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, and Mt. Blanc and several glaciers. I will let the photos tell the rest of the story. It was a special experience for all of us. Steve thinks he will wait a while before attempting to fly this terrain.

Landing at Sion

Navigating the System

The anxiety and uncertainty of our visa situation finally pushed us to action. Monday morning we decided to go in person to the Office de Population, Canton of Vaud, Section Étranger. It was somewhat intimidating as our previous experience there had not been positive. Helga had written a letter for us, submitted on April 1, and we had no comfirmation that it was received or if it was added to our file. It was time to face the system.

We have been discussing alternatives in the event that we will not have an answer on our visa extension. Our days allowed under our tourist visa are dwindling quickly. None of the options are really what we want to do. We could go to Ireland, a non Shengen treaty country, for a couple of weeks. That would extend our days here to mid July and perhaps we would have an answer by then. Or we could go back to the US in early July and wait or reapply and return in the Fall. Having the perfect apartment here that we do not want to give up, and having to wait till Sept for our house in Portland to be ready threw some complications into the mix. We couldn't wait any longer.  It was time to face the system.

The Office is located in a nondescript building in a less attractive section of Lausanne. We knew that it is closed from 11:30-2pm for lunch.  We knew that we had to get by the guard at the entrance, and once we got to the third floor, we would take a ticket and wait. We expected a long wait so went early. After less than 15 minutes our number was called. There are two cubicles for seeing applicants. Each is a room where two people can stand in front and a service person stands behind a thick plexiglas window and you speak to each other through  tiny holes in the glass. This is not unlike visits in prison movies, only there are no chairs. The ambiance is like prison.

We had agreed ahead that I would speak, hopefully being more sympathetic and having a better understanding of French, and Steve's voice was hoarse as he is recovering from the plague we are passing between us.

I started, our service person smiled! and he typed our names into the computer. Yes, he said, they have received our additional documents and they are in our file. No, he said, he did not know when they would be reviewed but it could take a month or more. They are very busy. Then the breakthrough. 

We explained that our time is running out. He replied that as long as we are in the country now and we have an application in process we are allowed to stay until we have an answer even if we over stay our 3 month tourist visa. We do not have to leave. This good news was followed by his absence to speak to a colleague. He was gone a long time. 

When he returned he had a new form for us to fill out. The new document was to register us as residents of Pully. It was a four page document for each of us, including mother's maiden name, place of marriage, local address, etc. We were to fill them out and bring them to the Office of Population for the City of Pully. 

Next day we showed up at City Hall in Pully documents and passports in hand. Our clerk there had no idea what to do with us. After consulting her boss, who asked us why the people in Lausanne sent us there, they decided to take our documents anyway which they would then forward to Lausanne, and they needed to collect a registration fee of 260 CHF. Steve wanted to ask if they would refund our money if they kick us out, but I kicked him under the desk.

They also wanted a copy of our lease which we did not have with us but said could email to them. Giving them our lease agreement requires another prayer that we do not get Rebecca in trouble for she is subletting to us an not legally able to give us a lease. We explained to the Pully people that we did not know how long we could stay but we hoped to stay until October. They told us not to be concerned about our visa running out. Even if we are denied we may have as long as we need to make arrangements to leave. And when we do leave we need check out of Pully with the appropriate exit documents.

In the end, though we don't have written confirmation, it seems like things are going well. Jed thinks they would not have sent us to register as residents of Pully if they didn't expect to allow us to stay. Also, when it happens, we will not get a visa as there is no such thing as an extended visa. We will get a residence permit. They might have told us this last December when we first applied for an extended visa at the Swiss Consulate in San Francisco.

We are much more optimistic now. We have decided to take a trip to Ireland in mid June anyway. Hopefully it will be a celebration trip. Is there anyone out there who would like to join us?





Anita

Weekend in the French Alps

Chambre d'Hôte

Ascension day was Thursday. Everything was closed. Many people including Jed & Helga took Friday off to make it along weekend. We rented a car and our two vehicles caravaned the family to the French Alps. We had reserved rooms in a lovely Chambre d'Hote in a village called Villard de Touage.

Our host, Fabienne, was from Lyon. She gave up city life to join her man friend in this tiny village, buying a very old stone building and taking a year to renovate. She told me there are 10 full time families in the village and in summer there are 14. This makes TSRS and Gualala seem like a metropolis. 

She did a beautiful job with the building. Without altering the outer walls she added modern bathrooms and heating in each room while maintaining traditional French touches everywhere. 
As in all old farmhouses the walls are at least a foot thick, the better not to hear your grandsons early in the morning. The old beams were scrubbed and whitewashed. The new beams and wooden doors were also whitewashed and everything blends in for a perfect combination of modern convenience and traditional French flavor.




The beds were very comfortable. Our duvet cover was in the lovliest shade of pink which I am told is called vieux rose (old rose). A sumptious breakfast was offered each morning and  included  the lightest, flakiest croissants, homemade yougert and homemade confitures, several other breads, fresh ham, juice, fruit and homemade teas. Coffee and tea is served in a large bowl, the French tradition, which makes it easier to dunk your bread. I goofed the first day and used that bowl for cereal and yougert. I am learning to improve my French manners.  Zoe tried to get the recipe for fabienne's homemade tea but other than learning there are seven herbs and spices in it, the recipe is a secret formula. 


Across our driveway was a barn with sheep. Each day an older man moves the sheep to pasture in the morning and returns them in the evening  with the help of three old dogs. The sheep have bells like cows and it is a special sound by which to be awakened. This morning I heard the bells and clamor of the sheep and jumped outof bed to get a photo. I saw the shepherd lady bottle feeding the babies.



The weather was supposed to be rainy all weekend but we hiked the first day anyway. We encountered only one brief shower and took cover under a tree while we munched on bread, cheese, and salami for lunch. One lesson I have not learned in the past 40 years is that if Jed is the hike leader it will be a substantial hike. It was at least five hours of hiking and Tern made it the entire way.  He was my inspiration to keep going. At 4 years old he is an amazing hiker. 





The partial cloud cover kept the air comfortably cool. We hiked up and down, through forests and along meadows where we saw more happy cows and heard their bells. We came to a long, narrow, suspension foot bridge spanning an enormous canyon. It is the kind of bridge that in a third world country would be made of bamboo and you would be shaking wildly from side to side. This bridge was made of aluminum and seemed anchored and tethered very sturdily to the canyon walls. It was fun to walk across and dizzying to look down to the river below.




We started on Saturday at the local farmer's market. Great strawberries, a magnificent olive vender, several cheese venders, and lots of wonderful veggies. In the afternoon Steve and I returned to our maison and the youngsters went on a Via Ferrata. This is a high mt route equipped with fixed mt aides, metal rungs and steel cables, anchored in the rocks. I am told that this was an easy, practice route. Jed, Helga and Zoe took turns with childcare and rock climbing. I was glad for the peace and quiet at home and that I did not see what they were doing. We enjoyed another of Fabienne's delicious dinners that evening.

      We took our time returning home on Sunday. We made one last stop in a French village for lunch, cold meats and warm chevre avec boules of glace for dessert.

From Escargot to Atoms

The most beautiful time of day is between 8 and 9 pm. The sun is low in the western sky looking like it is coming directly sideways from Geneva. It hits the snow capped Alps with a light so bright the mountain tops dazzle.  Awesome!

Rainbow over Lake Geneva

Sunday night was family dinner at Jed & Helga's and we saw another amazing sight. It was a late-in-the-day  double rainbow starting in the center of Lake Geneva and ending in the clouds above the mountains. It was a visual treat and a stunning ending to a very pleasant Mother's Day. 

Earlier we took a train to St. Leonard. Helga had made reservations at the upscale Cafe de la Gare several weeks ago and we were all prepared to have a gourmet splurge. It was an especially well manicured and cared for building only steps from the train station. Our group consisted of six adults, the usual four plus Zoe and Marcelle, the kids au pair, and the two kids who were hungry and tired after noon by the time we arrived and we had the hour and a half train ride.

Inside the restaurant there were white tablecloths, silver settings, and at least three crystal glasses at each place setting. I thought of the kids at a table like that. Hummm? The servers wore black dresses with heels. While I was contemplating this beautiful scene, Helga was chattering with the Madame in charge. They could not find our reservation! Helga explained that she called several weeks ago and left her phone number. She negotiated and argued but to no avail. They were booked solid, after all it was Mother's Day, and they had no record of our party in their book. Madame was firm.

Discouraged, we left. Jed insisted that we get back on the train for only one stop in the return direction and get off in the town of Sion, which we did. I did not think we would find anyplace that would accommodate a group as large as ours on this Sunday, but kept quiet on the subject. As we walked from the train to the pedestrian shopping street there were several little indoor/outdoor cafes. We stopped at the first one that looked possible.  It was a very modest place compared to the place we expected to have lunch, but they graciously set us up outdoors in plastic chairs with the Mother's Day menu. 

The pedestrian street of our Mother's Day Lunch
Helga & Auke

We were starving by this time and would have been grateful for anything, but the menu which included such things as escargots, canard aux pommes, perch from the lake, warm chocolate lava cake or tarte aux pommes with vanilla ice cream was great. The Prosecco flowed, and the kids were able to run around outdoors while we ate. I secretely think the Cafe de la Gare bumped us when they noticed we had two small children and they had more reservations than they could manage anyway. But it worked out for the best as things usually do. We were all happy and sated by meal's end. And we did not have to pay a hefty breakage fee for all the glasses ruined at the Cafe de la Gare. The final part of the day was a walk up the steep vineyards past the nunnery of the Sisters of Silence. The sun was shining and Auke fell asleep in the backpack.

The vineyard hikers, Zoë, Helga, Jed, Auke

Zoe & Steve went to CERN in Geneva today. It's the European center for nuclear physics research. CERN is the largest particle hadron collider in the world where they intend to replicate the Big Bang and learn about the origins of the universe. I had been there in our earlier trip here in March so I met them after the tour. We lunched in Geneva at a great little Indian restaurant called Gandhi and ended the day with a tour of the United Nations buildings. The tour was fascinating and the docent was well informed. We saw several very impressive meeting rooms dedicated to human rights issues. We hope for progress.

Tern in Vineyard

Zoë in front of Nations Unies in Geneva

The Rules and the Happy Cows

There is one thing that is always true in Switzerland.
Everything is either compulsory or forbidden. There are a lot of rules, but it makes life simple. You either cannot do it, or you must do it. There is no gray area.

Fountain statue in center of Lausanne

The neighborhood streets are narrow, the cars are smaller than US cars, the spots where cars can park are painted white or yellow. Yellow is reserved for the residents of that street, the white lines are for visitors. It's the honor system. Everyone has a clock card in the car. The hours for public parking are posted. Usually you can park fron two to five hours. You set the cardboard clock on your dasboard with the time you arrive. When an official comes by he can see if you are over your time. I do not know what is the penalty.  Imagine this in the States.

Where Jed & Helga live the street is a two way street but is only wide enough for one car at a time. The solution here was to bring the sidewalk down to street level (no curb) and have one car pull onto the sidewalk until the first car has passed. It is sort of a city version of the pull offs for slow traffic on Hwy 1. It slows down traffic. Pedestrians beware.

Trash has a lot of rules. There are recepticles for each kind of trash on every other street. You must carefully separate glass, cans, paper, acceptable plastics, and rubbish. We have three containers for trash in our kitchen. Jed uses his kitchen deck for trash recepticles. This week we put out the paper trash in a plastic bag as we did not have a paper bag. . Someone emptied our bag and left a paper one for us. 

There are no disposals in our kitchens  as the grey water is cleaned and returned to the Lake. The Swiss are conscious of and careful with the environment. I notice trucks out cleaning the streets everyday. I see men with push carts and brooms cleaning the streets. It is very clean here and the roads are in excellent condition.

Those of you who know the Kaplans well will recall how much we like all forms of ice cream. Actually, gelato ranks number 1, but really good ice cream is a close second. Swizerland has Movenpick which might be my demise. After all, this is the land of happy cows pastured in the gorgeous high mountains all summer with only their bells to keep them company.

A sculpture of the Happy Cow near the Fountain above
in front of a shop selling farm products, mainly cheese.

Movenpick  ice cream is fabulous. It is sold in all the COOP supermarkets. There is even a Salon de Glace, dans centre ville. It is a fancy Ben & Jerry's type shop where all they serve is the creamiest ice cream you can imagine and ice cream specialties. Think rich texture and deep flavor including many exotic ones like Chocolate with Yuzo and Grand Marnier. I haven't tried these yet as I am stuck on the Swiss Chocolate with dark chocolate pieces. Like everything in Suisse, Movenpick  is expensive, but hey, life is short. 

Movenpick also owns restaurants. They also run an international hotel chain in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Only in Suisse does one go from ice cream to hotels.  
Those are really, really happy cows.
Google Movenpick and check out their flavors and resorts.

The most common shops around town after le Boulangerie/Patissierie is Salon de The, shops selling lunettes (eyeglasses), Confiserie/Chocolate shops, Cafes with outrageous prices, and Hair Salons. There are so many hair salons that one would think everyone got his/her hair cut weekly.

I have been down for a week with the nasty cold one gets from one's grandson's runny nose. Zoe arrives this Saturday and I must be well by then so send me your healing thoughts. Nothing else has worked. We have lots of fun and interesting things planned. Stand by.

Did you know that on top of my blog site there is a place to put in your email address? You will get an alert of a new posting if you do this. Since I am not writing regularly you might like to know when something new has been posted.
Adieu for now.
Anita