Convalescence

This is a photo of Rachel's coffee maker. The coffee sitting there is mine, and I am now going to drink it and try to upload some photos without Mike. This may be a disaster, and for sure the photos will not be as attractive, but I'm feeling adventurous...

Yesterday I was under the weather, but today I am feeling better, thank you very much. I have no photos for yesterday because I spent the day at home resting. Today I decided to stay home as well just to insure my full recovery. I had some upper respiratory problems for those of you that are interested (and you know who you are).

Anyway, the fam is out and about, and I'm sure Mike (not to be confused with the salesman in Hong Kong selling cameras to Andreas and impersonating Mike) will have fantastic photos and possibly commentary that we will all look forward to seeing at a later time. I will post some photos I've taken so far in my journey for your viewing pleasure.

These photos were taken right after my arrival in Zurich. We had about 5 hours to kill between my arrival and Mike & Eleanor's, so we did what any good Texans would do: took a train into town for shopping and lunch.




This is my suite at the Burger house. It is the penthouse suite, and it has its own bathroom, kitchenette, balcony, and toys for my visiting pleasure.

This is Jacob. As you can see, he is VERY serious about his ice cream.

This is Hannah and David on top of a mountain.



Eleanor and the kids and....

Voila! The REAL Mike!

Surf and turf...

Before I start I must say that Mike and I are a great team! I write the day's recap, and he posts to photos when he has a moment. His photos are wonderful (he IS a professional), and I'm so thankful to have him as a teammate! (Mike, please insert a photo of yourself--preferably with your camera--here.)

Taken when I was younger (and not me) ........ Mike

Our Texan feet touched three countries today! After breakfast this morning (in Bregenz, Austria of course) we headed out to Switzerland to meet up with Dee (from Cali) and her brood. We had a quick cappucino at the gas station (really), then off to Konstanz, Germany to the See (aka Sea in English) Life aquarium.


While it may seem odd to find an aquarium in Germany, it's right on the banks of Lake Constance (aka the Bodensee in Austria) which is the largest lake in Europe.









After the aquarium we drove back to Austria, stopping some little farm in Switzerland to get some fresh raspberries, blackberries, and plums. I'd love to show you a photo of this fruit, but it regretably was pretty much devoured before we could locate our cameras.

Back home we swam and visited, fully enjoying Rachel and Andy's backyard pool. Now we are fixin' to eat home cooked hamburgers. Yum!



Mike will add photos at his leisure (he's biking around Bregenz at the moment), so check back later for this post to get a lot prettier!

Ciao!

Here are some photos Mike took while on his bike ride to Lindau.

More mountains...I see a pattern

Today we woke up earlier than usual...8:30. We had breakfast, jammed into the car, and drove over to Dornbirn to head up another mountain.

















This mountain was Karren.
















We took the cable car again, and commenced with the hiking.


About half way around the mountain we stopped to have food and a ceremonious toast to Rachel's & Andy's 12th wedding anniversary.














David, in true gourmet fashion, had venison schnitzle with mushroom sauce and potato croquets. Yeah, he's 7.












What can I say....he's a Renaissance Man.











When we got back to Rachel's we swam a little, watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, had a light dinner, and off to bed to rest up for another adventure tomorrow.

Will there be another mountain?

Bregenz at last!

I haven't had one moment to post a blog because we've been busy having fun, fun, fun!

I arrived on Thursday morning, Eleanor and Mike (my aunt and uncle) arrived in the afternoon. We headed to Bregenz just in time for a glass of champagne and a delicious pasta dinner.

On Friday we all went up to Diedams Kopf, a mountain that requires a cable car to get there if you're not feeling like hiking. Hopefully Mike can help me post some photos soon.

After mountain fun we had kasespaetzle at a fabulous mountain restaurant with an amazing view.

Yesterday we went up to the top of another mountain...Santis. Again with the cable car because while Diedams Kopf is tackleable, this one is not. At least not for me. Unfortunately it was foggy when we got to the top, so we had no view.

But on a clear day you apparently can see 6 countries.














































We had dinner at Dee's house. Dee is a friend of Rachel's from California. Her husband is Swiss, and they live in Switzerland (as most Swiss people do). We ate too much and drank too much and had too much fun all around!
















































We are going to try to find the Tour de France on the television now, so I must go. More info and perhaps photos to follow...

Winter in July

I leave for Bregenz on Wednesday! I googled "weather bregenz austria" and found out that the high there today was 64 degrees. Tomorrow's forecast is 60, Wednesday's is 62. Fortunately by the time I arrive on Thursday the temperature should be 75 degrees. I'm not so good at cold...

...but it will be a refreshing break from the 100s we've had around these parts.

ps-this photo is from my last visit to Bregenz in December of 2006. It was cold then, too. I see a pattern...

9 days...22 days...365 days...

I have 9 days left to teach 4th grade. Then I have a full school year to decide if I want to teach 4th grade full time in lieu of library work.

But in between those time frames I will be traveling to Bregenz, Austria to visit the world's best family! Stay tuned for recounts of my adventures in eating, swimming, playing chess, watching kid movies, walking up mountains, and many, many other unforseen activities. Pictures, too, to follow!

Auf wiedersehn!