Switzerland, Etc

It has been a whirlwind week. But, before I begin....Two things. First, my sister Hilary had her baby, Garrett, while we were away. I am still waiting on pictures! Hint Hint. But, hopefully you can check her blog on the right for updates and photos. Second, I passed boards!!!! I am elated. Now, I am qualified to take the Oral board exam in Dallas next February. We will be celebrating with a bottle of 1997 vintage champaigne, that Aaron surprised me with, here shortly! Then, we are going out to dinner at a nice restaurant that he is keeping a secret.....

Now, on to the past week. I will post pictures later because Blogger is not letting me upload pics.... Switzerland is the most amazing country. The people were so incredibly articulate, friendly, and the country amazingly clean and beautiful. It was interesting to see that depending on which area of Switzerland you were in, the language would vary between French, German, and Italian. Most people were quad lingual in that they spoke English as well. So, it was pretty easy to communicate during our stay. We enjoyed it so much that Aaron wants me to apply for Swiss citizenship based on having a high-demand career.

DAY 1...We flew into Geneva were we rented a car. Aaron was stuck driving all week because it was a manual transmission. He did a great job considering the winding switchbacks throughout the alps! We drove to the village of Col Des Mosses, where my partner has a condo. We explored the local area and were a bit concerned about the little amount of snow they had. Apparently, it was a dry year. The local ski hill across the street from the condo had quite a bit of bare spots.

The second day we drove to Interlaken which was a 2 hour drive. The city is situated on an isthmus between two lakes and was beautiful. Luckily it snowed about 4 inches that night and we went skiing on the local ski hill to "warm-up" before going to Zermatt. It was so much fun...except they did not have lifts, but tow bars. Needless to say, our thighs were extremely sore at the end of the day.

Day 4....we headed to Zermatt. It was the most incredible place Aaron and I have ever seen. You can not drive a car to Zermatt. We parked our car in Tasch and then took a train to Zermatt (only a 20 minute ride). We stayed at Hotel Bristol and were amazed at the wonderful hospitality. We arrived at 10 and by noon we were on the Gondola traveling to the summit. I stayed in the middle of the Gondola because I am afraid of heights and it was a long way down as we traversed across a valley of glaciers! Unfortunately, it was cloudy and we could not see the Matterhorn peak...Not to mention very windy on the summit. But, we were in awe of the scenery! Our legs were so sore afterwards because there was not a lot of powder...mostly ice that was difficult to ski.
Then, for the fourth night in a row, we enjoyed fondue. This time, it was at a quaint restaurant in the "basement" which was like a wine cellar. It was an extremely romantic setting, with delicious food.

Day 5...was a beautiful, clear day with no clouds in the sky. The Matterhorn was stunning to say the least. So, since we did not get the view the previous day, we took a train from Zermatt village to Gornergrat (The Gornergrat Brahn) and we were able to soak in the view of 29 peaks that were over 4000 meters in height. Absolutely beautiful!!! We decided to treat ourselves to Swiss watches. I got a Longines and he a Raymond Weil....a great souvenier of a trip to remember.

Day 6...we flew back to England. But, our trip was not over. We went to a marriage retreat through our Church in Cambridge. It was absolutely eye opening and made me realize a lot about myself as a Christian and our marriage. We met three other couples who live in our village who we are starting a Bible study with. I volunteered to host the first one this Saturday. I have felt that the past 6 months have been a struggle for Aaron and I, since for all of our marriage, I have been in school or residency and feel that now that this is over, I have gone through an identity crisis. But, we have realized how strong our faith in God is and feel more connected and committed now than ever. A great end to our romantic week in Switzerland. We have already committed a trip back to Zermatt next year. Any takers???? Now, we are gearing up for our next trip with our friends, Chris and Marissa....a 12 day Greek Isle Cruise.

Sorry so fragmented, but Aaron has made reservations at a restaurant in 20 minutes. Hope all is well.