Secure in their man(boy)hood...

but in touch with their feminine side:

Strasbourg

Why haven't I heard more about Strasbourg before? We just spent a wkd there, and I think it ranks as one of my favorite European cities. Beautiful timbered houses, quaint streets, picturesque canals and great shopping. Plus, it was only 2 hours away by train since we took the fast TGV train in France.

2 hours of train time = 20+ animals/dinosaurs/cars/airplanes

Gutenberg Square




Ponts Couverts




"Petite France" area of Strasbourg

Strasbourg also had fantastic food - such a nice break from the endless Swiss brats! Lukas gobbled up cheese, galettes, flammkuchen - nearly anything that we put in front of him. Since we are always still concerned about his eating (or lack thereof) this was an added bonus on our trip.

Oh I hope we can squeeze another France trip in before our return to the States!


Enjoying a stroll & icecream

Run-in with the law

I got a traffic ticket last week:
Even if you can't read German, do you notice anything? Under (vehicle) typ - its lists: "Specialized". Yes, I got a ticket on my bike.

Rob & Lukas were at the zoo, so I was enjoying a rare morning cruising around Zurich on my bike, stopping in my favorite stores & cafe. Whenever I ride bikes with Rob, he always admonishes me for not obeying all of the traffic signs. Of course, I'm always careful if I have Lukas on the back, but.... if I'm alone and I come to an intersection that is clearly empty, I don't wait at the light. So, on this beautiful day I did my usual coast through the light. Halfway down the block a police car "pulls me over" and I'm promptly written a citation. I'm not sure which I'm more bummed about: having to pay CHF 60 or having to hear Rob say "I told you so!" after he reads this post.

Prague

We went to Prague a few weeks ago. Beautiful city, but LOADS of tourists. Still, we had fun walking the streets, taking a boat tour, eating lots of pork & cabbage and drinking lots of beer.


Nothing too extraordinary to tell, so I'll just let the photos describe our trip:




Lukas in front of the Old Town square



Prague castle on the hill (and our tour boat in front)

Lukas in front of the Prague Cathedral

Lukas & Rob checking out the inside of the cathedral

Old Jewish Cemetery - graves built upon graves - dating back to 1439

Police patroling the streets on their Segways in front of Powder Tower

Rob & Lukas ready to dig into a "farmer's plate": pork, ham, dumplings, sauerkraut & red cabbage - YUM!

Another weekend....another mountain...

The weather is still beautiful - maybe spring is finally here to stay. So, last weekend we picked a hiking trail in the Toggenburg area of Switzerland. The plan was to head up on a chairlift, hike for 3 hours, take a different chairlift back down and then a bus back to our original starting point. The trail we picked was called the Klangweg or Tone Trail because it has 22 "stations" along the way where you can produce music using unusual objects. The stations were quite impressive - pretty elaborate sculptures and set-ups. It was great for Lukas because when he started getting tired, we could get him to hike a little bit farther by talking about the next "instrument" that was just around the corner.



About one hundred cow, goat, sheep & donkey bells

One of Lukas' favorites since it required hitting the rings with sticks & it was loud!

Tired & riding in the backpack, but playing his own music: harmonica (and missing Grandpa's accompaniment)

Unfortunately, when we reached the chairlift to head back down, we found that it was closed for renovation. And then we recalled briefly seeing a sign at the start of the trail. Now we know what it said and why the trail was so empty! So about 30 minutes of unplanned, knee-pounding downhill until we reached the town & busstop. Still, another beautiful day in the mountains.