Europe 08 trip highlights - Switzerland

I'm very glad to be back home after what can only be described as a very cool, interesting, and surprising holiday in Europe. Normally when I travel I keep a hand-written journal, but since this time I was traveling with a baby, I assumed I wouldn't have time for that, and I was right. So let's see if I remember all the key things I wanted to remember about this trip. I think perhaps breaking it up into days might help me. So here goes:

Day 1 - Travel day
We got up EARLY, after no sleep at all for me. I can't sleep before a trip. I think most people suffer from this. You know the one where your brain won't let you sleep because your alarm might fail and you'll miss your flight. We got Trent up around 5am. I put him to bed the night before in the shirt he was going to travel in so that I wouldn't have to wake him. I did a stealth nappy change and put trousers on him, then put him in his car seat, but the act of picking him up woke him. He was super mellow about it, though. Just sleepily sat in his car seat and looked out the window. Then we took a bus from the parking area to the terminal. We thought he'd go back to sleep but he never did, which was kind of ideal really since we wanted him sleepy for the plane ride.
We played in the airport and let Trent walk all over the place to tire him out. Then when we boarded the plane, he politely went to sleep for most of the flight to Atlanta. In Atlanta we had a few hours before our next flight so we ate lunch at Chillis and again let Trent walk all around exploring and playing. In Atlanta, we plugged his DVD player into a wall outlet (so as to not drain the battery) and he was happy as can be.
On the long flight to Zurich, Trent had his own seat so we were able to use the CARES harness, which worked like magic to get him settled. Because he'd worn himself out at the airport, he was very accommodating and sat quietly playing or watching his DVD until he fell asleep pretty much for the remainder of the flight. Since this was an overnight flight that worked out quite well. One thing to note about the CARES harness - if the seats on the plane are vinyl (which they are on Delta), then you need to put something on the seat to stop the kid from sliding and strangling himself on the harness buckle. Some of the non-slip pads you put under rugs or in drawers works well.

Day 2 - Arrival in Zurich and dinner at Chez Dupre
We arrived in Zurich as scheduled and Benoit was there to meet us as we came out of customs. Ben so kindly traveled to Zurich on the train to meet us and accompany us back so that he could help with luggage and to ensure we get the right ticket, etc. Then, Nadia met us at the station in Fribourg with their car, and she took all our luggage to the hotel while Ben, Brian, Trent and I all walked from the station to the hotel (about 1KM). Fribourg is a very small place. We checked in and Trent took a nap while Ben and Brian returned to the train station to greet Brian's parents who were arriving from their trip to Amsterdam and Lucerne.
That evening Ben picked us all up in a car he had hired that seated all of us, including a baby seat for Trent! What a thoughtful guy! We made our way to Ben's parents' house, which was just a few KM away from the centre of Fribourg. There we met Ben's parents and Nadia's parents. Ben's mum made a fantastic dinner with several courses, made with vegetables fresh from their garden. Neither Ben nor Nadia's parents spoke any English, so when I was able, I translated and conversed with them. Nadia's dad, Jean-Paul was so great with Trent. He and Trent seemed to really like each other - they played with blocks and played peek-a-boo and Nadia's mum was so very sweet, even in a different language. Ben's parents were just so warm and friendly that the language barrier seemed so nonexistent. We had so much fun that evening, gesturing, speaking in broken French and English, and laughing when we finally did understand what the other was saying. That was one of my favourite evenings of the trip.

Day 3 - Trip to Gruyere's Medieval Town
Ben and Nadia picked us up bright and early after breakfast in the big car, and we drove about 20 minutes to Gruyere, the origins of the cheese. We first went to the Gruyeres Castle, which was built in the 13th century. The castle was small, but impressive in it's construction, especially given the date it was constructed. We had fun roaming the rooms and took in the multi-media experience that educated us on the area and the castle. In the darkened room, Trent very respectfully took a nap so as to not disturb anybody. What a good boy! After the tour of the castle, we ate a fantastic lunch of Fondue at a restaurant just outside the castle. After lunch we took a tour of the cheese factory where they make the Gruyere cheese that you buy in the grocery stores today (that is if you don't settle for a bad immitation, and believe me, after tasting this, you shouldn't).
After the cheese factory, we spent some time relaxing in the Swiss Chocolate store where we bought a whole variety of chocolate and shared it between the 7 of us. This was Trent's first time to taste chocolate. At first he didn't like it, but he went back and tried it again and before long we had to cut him off! Afterwards, we all went back to Ben and Nadia's and hung out on the balcony drinking wine and chatting, while Trent played with all of Nadia's stuffed animals and tried to terrorize their rabbit, Merlin.

Day 4 - Discovering Fribourg
Today we all slept in late, which was such a treat. Though we did manage to miss breakfast. As we were making our way to the hotel where Brian's parents were staying, which was about 1km away, we bumped into them in the town centre. Then as we were standing there outside this bakery, an american guy came over to us and said "Hey, are you guys from Texas?" and I was for one second quite mortified that it could be so obvious. Then he identified himself as the Todd, the guy from Vermont, that was also attending Ben & Nadia's wedding. He was having a coffee with Pascal, one of Ben's brothers, and Pascal's 2.5 year old son Edgar. What a small town this is! We hung out for a while chatting with Pascal and Tood, then we all met up with Ben and Nadia for lunch, except for Pascal and Edgar who went to the doctor because Edgar was a little bit unwell and he was to be the ring-bearer in the wedding so they wanted to be sure he would be ok.
After lunch Ben and Nadia went to take care of some final wedding prep, Todd headed for a coffee shop, and we (the Baumans) went back to Brian's parent's hotel to give Trent some play time. We drank some wine and watched the news about hurricane Ike. After that we went walking around Fribourg to find the church where Ben and Nadia were to be married, just so we knew where to go on Saturday. On the way back, we stopped off at a little bar for a beer. That evening, we had dinner in a highly recommended fondue restaurant. We had goat cheese fondue, herb grueyre fondue, and a really cool beef dish that cooks in front of you in a pan over a flame on the table. After dinner we went back to Brian's parents' hotel room and let Trent play a while longer, then we walked back to our hotel as Trent fell peacefully to sleep on the way.

Day 5 - The wedding
The weather took a turn today from relatively cool and a bit overcast, to rather cold and drizzly. We slept late again and of course missed breakfast, so we took a stroll over to the bakery I had spotted near the Train station when we first alighted the train in Fribourg. Mmmm, freshly baked pastries. There's nothing better than that. We took them back to our hotel room and spent the morning playing with Trent.
Brian's parents came to our hotel around 2 or so and we took a cab over to the church. The wedding was beautiful. The church was so old and quaint. We could really see why they chose this place. The church was packed with so many family and friends, it seemed like the whole town was there. Ben later told us that the choir, who were up in the balcony and out of my line of sight, was comprised completely of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. Although I couldn't understand what they were singing, since it was all in French, they were amazing. The depth of the harmonies was breathtaking and despite the fact that the wedding was quite long, I found myself hoping they'd sing again. And they did. I can't recall how many songs, but definitely more than 5.
Nadia looked so beautiful in her dress, and I loved her dress. So funky and so very French. I can't do it justice to describe it, so I'll have to rely on pointing to pictures when Ben sends them to us.
After the ceremony we all left the church and went outside and the bride and groom took pictures with everybody. There was one really cool shot in particular with the whole group assembled on the little bridge over the Sarine river, with old Fribourg on the hills in the background. I can't wait to see how that one came out!
After pictures, we Ben's parents drove Brian, Trent, and me to the next phase of the wedding celebrations, which was an aperatif at the youth centre of the Church near Ben's parents' house. Here we all drank wine/beer, ate appetizers, and socialized. We mingled with many people, and Ben introduced us to his boss and wife who were from England. Trent played with the other children, chasing balloons together and laughing and I discovered that there's no language barrier when you're a child. It was so cute!
During this portion of the evening, postcards adressed to Ben and Nadia were given out, and people wrote down a gift and some advice on them. Then we tied them to a balloon and as we were all leaving, we all let them go at the same time. Whoever finds the postcard is asked to mail them back to Ben and Nadia. Those that get returned to them will owe Ben and Nadia the gift that they wrote on the card :-) what a cool idea!
Ben's parents drove us over to the restaurant that was hosting the wedding dinner. The Hotel Schiff am See in Morat. You can see France across the lake from here. It was such a nice place. The dinner was amazing. Four courses of what can only be described as gourmet cuisine. The dessert buffet was to die for! The festivities lasted well into the wee hours and Trent did an amazing job of rolling with everything we threw at him. The hotel staff were so kind and got Trent his own little plate. They didn't have to do that and we were so grateful and very impressed. Around midnight, the little guy passed out and fortunately, Ben and Nadia, being the wonderful hosts they are, had reserved a room right next to the party, where people with children could go and take care of their needs. Trent and I spent the last 2 hours in there. Trent passed out, and me just laying next to him relaxing. During our time there a couple of other mums came through to change a baby or to breastfeed. Around 2am Ben's parents took us back to our hotel, which was quite out of their way. They are so very sweet.

Day 6 - Dinner with Ben and Nadia
Today, for the most part, we did our own thing and Brian's parents left for Ireland. We did a little sight seeing around town, took Trent to the park where he played and chased dogs. Then we bought a baguette and some cheese and ate lunch in our hotel room while playing with Trent. Trent did something remarkable today. As Brian and I were lying down hoping to take a nap, and we'd spread out a blanket on the floor for Trent to play on... and after a while of playing, he got up, picked up his blankie, laid back down with the blanket over him and went to sleep!!! I know this doesn't sound like a big deal to you... but to us it was completely priceless. So we all took a nap.
That evening we made our way over to Ben and Nadia's house, consulting a map and relying on Brian's memory... we eventually found it. We sat around, chatted, and ate Pizza. Trent did a little more terrorizing of the rabbit. After dinner we took a leisurely stroll back to our hotel and Trent passed out on the way.

Day 7 - Departing Switzerland and going to Espania!
This is the day I've been looking forward to most of all. Visions of my parents greeting us in the hotel lobby as we arrived danced in my head all night long. So much so, that I wasn't able to get much sleep. Lucky for us, though, because I had thought our flight left at 2:30, but at 6:30am I had a bad feeling, so I got up and checked our itinerary. Sure enough, we were to depart at 12:30! ACK!!! We had arranged to meet Ben at 9am and go to the train station to get the 10:08 to Zurich. Change of plan! "Brian, you need to get up! I've made a mistake and the flight leaves 2 hours earlier than I thought!" Lucky for us that we had 2.5 hours before our designated meeting time with Ben and plenty of time to catch the 8:04 to Zurich. We called Ben, then called a taxi.
Ben and Nadia met us at the train station and helped us buy our tickets. Then we were off. A quick goodbye to our fantastic hosts.

Summary of Switzerland
We really enjoyed our stay. Fribourg and the surrounding area is gorgeous. We wished we had more time to go to Zurmatt or some place in the Alps, but the things we did get to see were beautiful and I can totally see why people live here. The people in Switzerland are so friendly. We loved our hotel. The De La Rose, part of the Best Western chain, but you wouldn't think so. It was nothing like an American hotel - very European, and in an old historic building. We felt completely safe walking around in Fribourg. Even at night. There was a park by the hotel that Bri's parents stayed in (and a strip club next door) and that was the only area of town we found to be a bit dodgy, but even that wasn't so bad that you wouldn't walk through it at night. Transplant that park and the people who frequent it to any city in the US, though, and wild horses wouldn't drag me through it, day or night. There's a reason why nobody's at war with the Swiss :-)