Day trip: Liechtenstein

The Saturday before the trip we spent the afternoon down by the lake. It was surprisingly warm for early November but we managed to do some drawing and people watching throughout the afternoon followed by the wine boats at night. The wine boats were very cool. We got free tickets thanks to the ticket person and my SIL/brother. Once inside there are several different boats set up where you can go and taste several different red, white, rose, ice, and sparkling wines. It was a great evening with friends as we tried wines from around the world like Portugal, Argentina, South Africa, France, Italy, Switzerland etc. etc.

trying out some of the wines!l-r Me, Michelle, Whitney, and Shelley (photo: courtesy of Michelle)

Sunday we decided to take a day trip. One of the things I love about Switzerland is that it doesn't take long to get out of the country. One can get to about 5 different countries within a few hours.  We decided to take advantage of it and headed to the 6th smallest country in the world. Liechtenstein.  There isn't much to it. We had to take a bus to get in because there is no train that makes a stop in Liechtenstein.

Nicole, Michelle and Whitney on the bus to Liechtenstein!

Once we got there we decided to head to the post museum. Free is one of our favorite things as au pairs. We had to see what it was about!

 

 

Lots of fake statues like this....

and drawers full of mail like this

After that we headed to the only major attraction in the city in the Liechtenstein. The castle.   Because the Prince still lives there you can't go in it but merely walk around it.  There was a guard at the gates making sure we didn't try any funny business.

walking up to the castle we decided to take some of the harder paths...

The castle!

All 5 of us by the gate of the castle. L-r Zoe, Nicole, Whitney, Me and Michelle

After that we stopped at a cafe for a rest. One thing I have learned in Europe. Coffee in the afternoon is almost a necessity.No matter what we always stop at a cafe to do some people watching.  Probably one of my favorite parts of Europe is everyone's need to SIT DOWN for a cup of coffee. Not a coffee on the go or in the drive-thru but actually sitting down in a cafe to get a cup of coffee and enjoy the scenery around you.

Another Great weekend!


*All pictures (with the exception of the wine boats) courtesy of Zoe!

Weekend recap

This weekend was my first weekend in Zurich that I was officially on my own- apart from my brother and sister-in-law and not taking care of a cat! By Friday night I was exhausted from the week that I had had, full of lots of pretend-play (Mermaids and owls, anyone? no? just my kinder then...) Lots of park time and lots of cooking. I met some more family members (H's brother and 2 nephews) and played some rousing games of Candy Land with J and a little girl that lives next door.Saturday, I was invited with about 6 other au pairs, and a couple non-au pairs to go to a wine-tasting festival in Sierre, Switzerland- the french speaking part of Switzerland. With over 1200 wines- I was able to put my awesome (or lack of) wine-tasting skills (you know, swirl, smell, taste, and talk in depth about every flavor you taste) to the test. We tasted quite a few of the wines from different places all over Switzerland. Some were good and some were terrible but it was definitely a lot of fun! I found, I liked Gamay, and some of the Humagne were good. I only tried one or two Sauvignon Blanc which were also quite good.

There were about 50 tents set up around the town. 4 wineries in each tent makes for a lot of wine to taste!

L-r Kajsa, Kristina, Adam and Michelle Mid-wine tasting.

Kristina decided she was hungry

Cheers!

We saw a lot of stag parties around the wine festival as well. The groom was clearly having a great time.

We ended our wine tasting with some pizza and a short walk for some pretty good views.


Sunday was spent around Zurich. I spent some time down at the lake with a couple of other au pairs for awhile and then met up at a Beer Garden for a little while in the afternoon.Amie and Claire swimming in the lake. It was a little too cold for my taste!

Enjoying the river at Burkliplatz. l-r nicole, Kristina, Michelle, Nick and Adam.

I started my German classes today, and I realize they are going to be a little slow going at first. There are about 10 people in my class from all over the world (Brazil, Singapore, Cuba, Peru, and the Ukraine.) The class should be okay overall. The teacher also only speaks in German which will be a huge help in getting the basics down!