Switzerland

In the business leading up to my trip, what I needed was some time to relax, think, pray, and just, I guess, BE.

This is exactly what I was able to do in Switzerland. I went and visited the Russell’s who I had gotten to know through house church and have been living over there for the past two years. They were extremely generous hosts and I felt part of the family as I lived and traveled with them for just over a week. Most of my time was spent in a small town just outside of Basel, right on the border between Germany and France. It was relaxing simply being part of their everyday routine, taking the kids to school, having coffee in the morning, going for walks in the afternoon, and sitting around the dinner table at night. I did do a few “touristy” things, going on a walking tour of basel, visiting a couple of museums, going to a stunning church, but stayed away from it for the most part. Here are some pics that Karlin took (sorry that they are unedited):














The weekend I was there we went to the Alps. The Russell's have a flat on one of the local mountains where we stayed and went skiing on Saturday. A quick side note: I had to be fairly apologetic as a boarder as they seem to have a bad rep. on the local mountain. People were almost disappointed when I mentioned that I didn’t ski. Anyways, there was actually new snow in April and we were able to find bits of powder most of the day! That night we celebrated the last ski weekend with some other families at a local pub. On Sunday, Charles and I watched a famous one day bike race (its name escapes me). It gave me a new appreciation for the sport as Charles is very knowledgeable and knows many of the riders.





A couple of things I noticed in my time there:

Apparently many (not all) of the Swiss people are very strict in the ways and do not like outsiders. Charles, Karlin, and the kids told me many stories about being told off for doing pretty non-consequential things. However, I never got yelled at and near the end of my stay it became a bit of a joke. I never got up the courage to run around in town, put my feet up on the bus, take my time checking out at the supermarket, or pee standing up after 10:30. I am regretting it a bit…Here is a shot of the "gang" loitering around town:



The strictness might have something to do with the fact that it is really very quiet and peaceful there. There isn’t much noise, even in town. The kids, even in kindergarten, walk to and from school by themselves. I noticed a cardboard clock in a window of a car and asked Karlin what it was for. She explained to me that when you park you set the clock to the time that you left. That way, if a ticket person comes by they know if you are beyond the limit. I really don’t see this working in Canada…
Some people that have flats in town have little plots of land just outside of it. There are one room cabins, gardens, and fire pits there where family and friends can get together outside. I don’t know how this would work in South Surrey but how great would that be!



My second night there I mentioned to Karlin that I had been watching the second season of Arrested Development on my flights (thanks sis!). Karlin said that the people that lived there before them had left the first season behind. So, every night we watched a couple of episodes while drinking a glass of wine. That show is one of the smartest comedies to come out in a while. Every character cracks me up…


Anyways, I am sitting at Heathrow with a 8 hour layover until my flight to Entebbe. My boarding pass is securely on me (so far) and I am looking out over the runway while typing….more to come…