July 5, At the Beach

 Above is a picture of the villa.

Today, everyone went down to the beach of Lago Maggiore for a few hours. After a picnic lunch there, we shot over to Italy for some real Italian gelato...in Italy! Bah ha! Later, we went to San Abbondio, the church where Tobias and Mandy were married. Then we went to Kerstin and Nisse's house for dinner and ice cream, after which we came back to the house to pack for our journey back to Sweden.

July 4, Exploring Locarno

Today, after a delicious breakfast of bread and cheese, everyone packed into the cars and drove into Locarno. We looked at Nisse's beautiful little boat and a monastery before lunch, where we had real Italian pizza with prosciutto and real Italian gelato...in Switzerland. Lemon and nutella, because I know Megan will ask. Later, the kids (Mattis, Anders, Emma, and Oliver, who are Tobias and Mandy's kids) went swimming in Nisse and Kerstin's pool, and we had dinner at the villa.

July 3, Traveling to Gerra

Happy birthday, Megan!

 Both these pictures were taken in Italy.

Today, we had to check out of our hotel so we could begin our drive to Gerra, but not before a swim in the hotel pool. Gerra is near Locarno, in the Italian part of Switzerland, if that helps. The scenery was incredible, and we drove through a bit of Italy on the way...and also encountered Domodossola, the road from hell. It was supposedly two lanes, and so twisty it was beyond terrifying...but it was an experience! Throw some crazy Italian drivers into the mix and it made for a harrowing day. When we finally got to a little villa owned by Kerstin and Nisse, the parents of our Swedish friends, Tobias and Mandy, we had a lovely dinner of spaghetti with them.

July 2, Touring the Alps

 This is Aina. I can't believe she's only 12...and so gorgeous!

I don't have any pictures of Jakob except this one, which is a lovely picture of the back of his head... Anyway, I hope to get more pictures of Jakob and Aina, because the folks back home won't believe how much they've grown! (Btw, this was in France.)

Today, the fam took a lift into the mountains with Aina, Pella and Ola, Aina's parents, and Pontus's parents, while Petter and Jakob went downhill biking. (It wasn't mountain biking. Apparently there is a difference and the difference matters, but...they are riding on a mountain. I must be a girl, not to understand.) The scenery was incredible! At lunchtime, Petter and Jakob met up with us and we just skipped over to France for a picnic lunch by a stream. After the boys did some frolicking and we were all full, Petter and Jakob took off on their bikes and we took the lifts back to Champery. The grown-ups had another party to go to, and the boys, Jakob, Aina, and I had a movie party in one of the rooms.

July 1, Traveling to Champery

 Above is Luzern from the mountain, and below is the view from the road.

Today, after breakfast with Corinne and Joelle, we set off for the small mountain town of Champery. After a harrowing drive over hairpin turns and narrow roads (but with an amazing view), we reached the town with enough time for the boys to swim before Uncle Pontus' uncle's party. At the party, I tried reindeer, which did taste faintly like Christmas. Jakob, Aina and I hung out after the party.

June 30, Luzern and Engelberg

Today, the fam went up to the small town of Engelberg, where Aunt Bit and Uncle Pontus first met and went to school together. (That place actually does look Swiss to me.) We ate lunch and walked around a bit. After that, we came back to Luzern and went to the Glacier Garden, a museum that includes a landscape with huge holes scraped out of the ground by glaciers. The biggest hole was 9.5 m deep and 8 m wide. While we were in the area, we was the great monument to Swiss mercenaries working in the French Revolution. Tonight, we're having cheese fondue with the apartment's owner, Corinne, and her daughter, Joelle.

June 29, Traveling to Switzerland

Today, the whole family took a bus, a ferry, a train, and a plane to Switzerland. The whole experience was quite confusing for me. Zurich looked like my impression of Berlin, the journey to Luzern (Lucerne) looked like my impression of Austria, and Luzern looked like my impression of Germany. All the same, here we are in Switzerland, borrowing a friend's apartment. After we got here, we walked a bit around Lake Vierwaldstätersee, walked across an old bridge, and had a quick snack (best peppermint tea ever!!!)