Sightseeing

After months of talking about it, my mum and sister’s visit came and went in the blink of an eye.

They arrived about 9.30pm on the 26th, and left at 5pm on the 30th. Why would you come all this way for only a few days, I hear you ask? Well they’re now on a 36-day cruise from Athens to Singapore, and hopefully having a whale of a time. It was great they could fit in a few days with us beforehand – or as I like to say, do the obligatory family catch-up before the real fun began! 😉

They were here in summer 2012, and I was worried the cooler weather this time might be a downer, but the sun came out every day, and Friday was positively balmy!

Here’s a small collection of photos from their trip. I worked on the Wednesday, so Mum and Judy wandered around Wohlen bei Bern, then we went out for dinner Wednesday night; Thursday we drove to Thun and toured the castle, walked to the lake and then went to dinner and saw the light show in Bern; and Friday we walked the Lüggliweg path (the one I “discovered” in March) to Restaurant Kreuz in Wohlen bei Bern for lunch, and had a very cruisy afternoon before they jumped on the train to Zurich for their flight to Athens.

The autumnal colours were out in full force and it was nice they could visit the Stöckli again before we have to move. And they both fell in love with a very popular Swiss salad, called Nüsslisalat. Here’s a link about it in English. Do you know of this salad leaf too? It’s very yummy with chopped egg and bacon.

Saturday night we went to Evi and Paul’s for a lovely dinner, and to watch the Rugby World Cup final, where the better team, New Zealand, beat the underdogs, Australia. (Leo got quite into the RWC, and we watched many games each weekend.) I’m very happy for all Kiwis, and we will miss seeing Dan Carter on the field in the future. What a face!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

: Dinner on Wednesday night, where the restaurant owner was surly, but the food was great!

: My niece Melissa went to see a live recording of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in New York and all I got was this excellent glow in the dark t-shirt! Love it!

: Judy inside one of the turrets at Thun Castle

: The view of Thun – worth the entry fee into the castle just for this! The Lake of Thun is in the background. Interlaken is at the other end of the lake, about 30km away

: The old town of Thun

: Oh, just one more shot of that gloriousness, c’mon!

: Looking up at the castle, which is now also a hotel as well as a museum

: Mum on the Aare river, which begins from Thun and runs to Bern and beyond

: Thun (pronounced Toon) also has two lovely wooden bridges with flowerbeds, like Lucern

: I see red, and green, and yellow, and orange, and …

: Wouldn’t that be a nice spot for a cup of tea?

: Parliament House in Bern was lit up in a 30 minute display, celebrating 150 years since the Matterhorn was first climbed

: Amazing and fun

: Clever use of shapes and colours. I’ll be back next year!

: Mum and Judy couldn’t believe they dressed in the same things again. They’ve nicknamed themselves the Bobbsey Twins, as it happens more often than not