Checked in at the extremely efficient KLM counter. We were very thankful for John's previous trips which afforded us status high enough for free bags. It only took about 20 minutes to sort out the Delta/KLM recognition of that status. Crazy start, but glad to see the bags headed to Switzerland on the mini conveyor belts.
First stop....the ATM for colorful Swiss Francs.
It was truly a planes, trains and automobiles kind of journey. Next mode of transport....The Matterhorn Gotthard Express. Four hours later and one train change, we arrived in Zermatt.
There are no regular automobiles allowed here, only horse drawn carriages and electric taxis.
This cool tunnel is the entrance from where our electric car let us out to walk to the lobby through the small mountain.
Our spacious accommodation was a two bedroom apartment with kitchen and dining area.
The boys slept on cool Murphy beds that dropped out of the wall.
Not very much snow when we arrived, but that is about to change!!
Our little snack bar...thankful we packed all of this since the grocery stores closed at 5pm.
We went to sleep and woke up to beautiful snow everywhere! Thank you Lord!
Our first glimpse of the Matterhorn. Not sure if I've ever seen anything more majestic. God is amazing......
Riding on the 40 person gondola to the top of the resort. Quite cosy...
People mover up to lunch.
Very posh chairlifts with screens that pulled down to keep us warm.
Uno apres ski!!!
Happy Easter! We had a great morning reading the Easter story from the Bible before breakfast, then we had a little egg hunt with plastic eggs filled with Euro coins.....and the boys opened make shift Easter baskets.
Back to the slopes for another beautiful day of skiing. Caleb wore the GoPro today so we have some really funny video and narration. Our favorite quote from the videos....."Can you see the Matterhorn Cassie Girl?" Caleb said this while videoing our mountain. If I can figure our how to get the GoPro videos on here, I'll post later.
From the top, the clouds looked like a sea of white.
Breathtaking
Ski bunny...
Ok, now for a little potty humor. Who in the world put this in a ski resort? I can imagine perhaps using this without trouble while wearing a skirt or even pants or shorts. But, decked out in ski boots, snow pants, ski coat, and the works......well, let's just say it was slightly more challenging. Gotta love Italy! This was from when we skied over the top of the mountain from Switzerland into Italy just on the other side. Pretty awesome experience to change countries while skiing, even if the potty situation is challenging on that side of the mountain.
At the end of the day, we left sunny Italy by taking a lift to the top of the mountain, skied over about 100 yards, and were in total whiteness. We couldn't even see 5 feet in front of us. So we made a single file line and eased our way down the mountain some until we joined up with more and more people doing the same. We finally reached a gondola and took that to the bottom of the mountain. You can see how poor the visibility was from the view out the gondola chair.
The long ski day was concluded with Raclette. Ra what you say? Well, this is a fun tradition in Europe. We borrowed a Raclette warmer from the front desk, bought yummy Raclette cheese, and we melted cheese and dipped apples, break and pretzels in it. This is sort of like fondue but with personalized little pans that melt the cheese inside a burner. Quite fun and tasty!
Another great view of the Matterhorn from the Italy side.
Her majesty on the day we left for Geneva.
View from the train as we headed down the mountain leaving Zermatt
A great way to spend 2 hours on the train..
Lake Geneva
Exiting the train station in Geneva.....
Gorgeous hotel that John found in downtown Geneva, just a 5 minute walk from the lake.
Cozy, contemporary adjoining rooms
Gorgeous breakfast room
Off to walk by the lake after the long day of travel
Big brother carrying tired little brother for a bit
Everyone had a drink in hand while sitting in this square enjoying the sunshine. John likes to point out that very rarely are people eating in settings like this. They just enjoy a coffee, tea, wine or beer but no food. So unlike us! :) We always enjoy a snack any time of day.....
Very cool door
Exploring the city... Rue de L'Hotel de Ville. A main street in Geneva Old City.
St. Pierre Cathedral
Crepes!
We loved taking the water ferry across the lake to and from our hotel.
One of the European United Nations offices is in Geneva.
The Broken Chair monument - To remember the victims of land mines. The chair stand on three legs with the fourth being splintered half way up.
This park was in the heart of Geneva and quite impressive
The Reformation Wall - This monument honors many of the main individuals and events of the protestant reformation. Located on the grounds of the University of Geneva which was founded by John Calvin, it is quite impressive.
Always time for chess....
Caleb helping homeless in the heart of the city.
This is the world famous flower clock......on transplant day.....not everyone gets to see it when the flowers are being changed out. We were a bit disappointed.....but, no worries, it was fun anyway.
Here is how it usually looks.....
Last day before heading to the airport.
Oh, but Caleb had to have a ride on this cool old fashioned carousel first....
And, the boys climbed in this exciting jungle of ropes overlooking the lake.....
Then, we sprinted for the last ferry boat to take us to the other side.......tons of fun!
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