Happy Anniversary To Us!!!
Week 23 of 52
Aloha and Gruetzi!
After our Boston-Newark-Dusseldorf-Zurich flight, our Swiss family welcomed us with open arms, sunflowers, lots of love and a few bars of Swiss chocolate! Jet lag? We hardly felt it.
Our mornings start on our dear friend Sarah’s terrace (patio? deck? balcony? lanai?) with lovely views out to the hills. As you can see, she spoils us at every turn.
Pictured at the top is Sarah along with our dear “adopted” daughter Amelia and her brilliant and handsome husband Phil. We’re dining on the terrace at Landgasthof Rössli, a restaurant and inn owned by Phil’s parents that has been in his family for five generations, since 1863. The property itself has been around since 1293 (and we thought the North End of Boston was old)! We dined as their guests two years ago and — lucky us — we were invited back a second time! The ambiance of the inn reminds you of the days of Shakespeare but the food is as fresh as can be. The service, the wine, and of course the company was phenomenal. We had a very special evening and it was a wonderful way to start our European adventure.
As ever, we stayed busy during our four days here so far. We started out Thursday evening with a visit to Amelia and Phil’s chic new apartment right in the middle of Baden with a theater and gym and public transportation right outside their door allowing them to live a very urban life. The next day we saw Amelia’s office (she is the acting managing editor for a medical journal AND going to college); she has more energy than anyone we know. We couldn’t be more proud of her.
We enjoyed beautiful days of sunshine in Zurich and Baden. On Friday we strolled down a park-like walkway to one of Zurich’s many town squares and walked the cobblestone streets seeing wonderful shops, amazing buildings, churches, and lots of clock towers. On Saturday we went to the local farmer’s market in Baden that has as many flowers as fruits and vegetables. Everywhere you look, you are amazed at the craftsmanship in these centuries-old buildings and the gardens and flower boxes that adorn every property. These Swiss know how to capture your heart with beauty and we haven’t even gotten to the Alps yet!
Our other charming “adopted daughters” are Hallie and Isabel; Sarah’s twins and Amelia’s younger sisters. We met these two beautiful young ladies when they were 2 years old, and now here they are at 25! Isabel is an auditor for the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and Hallie is in college studying psychology, and they are both accomplished musicians, lacrosse players and world travelers. They are so much fun to be around; no matter what we’re doing, we find lots to laugh about. Here they are on Sarah’s terrace, after dinner and before some lightning rounds of Bananagrams!
Twenty years ago today we were married on the Big Island. Sarah, a poet and artist among her many talents, designed our wedding notices for us, so we can’t think of a better way to celebrate such a special day than with her and her beautiful family.
There are sweet surprises where you least expect them. We just returned home from an evening walk in the hills behind Sarah’s home where we were serenaded by someone playing the alphorn in a meadow.
We’ll venture out a bit more this coming week and will report back faithfully next Sunday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer in places new and old.
A hui hou and yoda-lay-hee-hoo!
Sharene and Harrison
P.S. Harrison’s cousin Beth was also married on July 10th two years after we were, so we send Happy Anniversary wishes to Beth and Bob!