Still Living the Dream

We were sad to see Dad and Gretchen leave today. It was such a great week. They were eager to see Switzerland and we were eager to share it with them. We revisited some familiar places (Vevey, Fribourg, St. Moritz) and even saw some new ones (Luzern and Davos). The weather was absolutely perfect. Most importantly, though, it was nice to see and spend time with family. My Dad did a great job blogging our adventures throughout the week, so I won't rehash the details.

We woke up Saturday morning to another gorgeous day. Dad and Gretchen had a 5:30PM flight from Zurich, so we decided to take a morning train into the city and check their bags early at the airport. That gave us time to walk around Zurich for a little bit before they left. Turns out there was an annual street parade going on. We stepped off the train to the thumping beat of techo music. It was a little odd for me because I have come to know Zurich as a fairly staid center for banking and finance; it was anything but that today! We saw people in outrageous costumes, open DJs pumping sounds, and dancing -- lots of dancing -- in the streets. There were thousands of people. It was blissful pandemonium.

We walked along the Limmat River past the famous Grossmunster Church to the mouth of Lake Zurich. It was more than a little ironic that a clearly intoxicated, half naked man with a purple afro stumbled by us while I was explaining how a strict form of Protestantism was preached from the pulpit of the Grossmunster by Ulrich Zwingli during the Reformation. As Gretchen would say: "Nicht!!!" (double fist, pelvic thrust, leg kick) -- sorry, inside joke. Anyway I could see that my history lesson was going nowhere, so we joined the crowd for a little dancing (see video) before having lunch at a beautiful restaurant along the river. Dad and I ate a delicious dish of veal rosti, while Gretchen enjoyed the local perch, and Pam dined on veal ravioli in a mouth-watering cream sauce. It was exquisite.

After lunch, we swung by Credit Suisse's world headquarters in Paradeplatz for a few photo ops. Sadly, time was starting to run short. We walked back along Bahnhofstrasse to the train station, and then on to the airport.  See slide show of Dad and Gretchen's last day.

As we hugged and kissed each other goodbye, I actually started to feel a little sad that we were not going back with them. But reflecting further on all the wonderful experiences we have had -- and the adventures that still lie ahead -- I became keenly aware of one thing...we're still living the dream.