Schwarzwald

Last Thursday, Tom and I ventured into Germany and went to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald in German). It was fun. We saw waterfalls, beautiful landscapes, a mountain-side full of sheep, and the biggest cuckoo clock in the world! We also enjoyed some black forest cake (apparently the Black Forest is also known for their cherries) and listening to pipe organ music in a beautiful cathedral.This is our very Alpine looking cottage. The slated ceiling made for an interesting layout inside.This was at the longest waterfall in Germany. The whole area reminded us of North Georgia - and this of Amicalola Falls.The Worlds Largest Cuckoo Clock!! I know you're as awed as we were :)

This is the cathedral where we heard the beautiful music - the picture doesn't do it justice!
The hillside of sheep! I thought this was so neat. We stopped and listened to them "talk" for about 10 minutes. There were hundreds of them!

Château de Chillon

Sunday we visited Château Chillon near Montreux - about 40 minutes from Fribourg. It was pretty neat. It's hard to imagine people building something like that 700 years ago. It was huge even by today's standards. I liked it because (as you can see from the picture) it was built for people my size - 5'2"! I didn't have to duck through any of the many doors and passage ways. Tom however (at 6'2") had to take care not to crack his head! I felt like the whole castle had been built with me in mind.

It took about 2 hours for us to walk through the whole castle. We saw the dungeon, great rooms, bathrooms, a chapel, ramparts, towers, the crypt, the keep and much more. The castle is built right on Lake Geneva, so all the rooms on the back side have an amazing view of the lake, the Alps and France in the distance. I protested against Tom bringing the tripod (I didn't want to look like a tourist) so our picture isn't the greatest. My protest was in vain, however, as everyone there was a tourist, so there was no hiding that fact, oh well :)

French Lessons!

It looks like Tom and I will start French lessons on Monday (cross your fingers) and go twice a week for 5 weeks. We're so ready to be able to talk to people here, so we're looking forward to it. They said it should bring us to a lower intermediate level in French - we'll see.

This Thursday is Ascension Day, so Tom has that off and Friday as well. We're taking our first trek out of the country to the Black Forest in Germany. It's 2-3 hours away. Tom's excited to be crossing the Swiss border :)

Stuff, Stuff, Stuff

Our shipment from Atlanta arrived on Thursday and it went pretty quickly. It took about three hours for them to bring everything in. Now we are again living in a sea of boxes, but it is really nice to be surrounded by familiar things. It makes the apartment feel like a real home. Tom was excited to see the Kraft Mac & Cheese, while I delighted in making Duncan Hines brownies last night. Ahh, the comforts of home. Maggie seems to like having our things as well; it means more places to hide! We also have a guest room now - with a bed and everthing, so just let us know if you're planning to visit :)

Roman Ruins

This past Sunday, Tom and I ventured to Avenches. It's about 10 miles from where we live and was the capital of the area when the Romans were in control. We visited the museum there and saw all sorts of neat artifacts and sculptures. The museum was right next to a huge amphitheater where they held gladiator fights!

We also found out that our stuff is coming tomorrow! I'm looking forward to being able to settle in as well as have our apartment not echo. It's pretty empty at the moment! Hopefully that will go well - we'll keep you posted!

Some Sad News

In case you haven't heard, there won't be anymore news about Velcro on here. Tom and I came home last week and found that my sweet kitty had died. We think he found some sort of poison. It's been a hard week, but things are slowly getting better. He was a good cat and we'll always have good memories of him. Maggie is doing ok, although she misses him as well. We'll see, maybe in time we'll get her a Swiss cat to keep her company. So, not a fun post, but I guess that's life.

Another Eventful Sunday - 05.02.07

We visited another church on Sunday – this time a French-speaking one. We sat in the back while two people translated for us. We also sang some French praise songs. I did much better at picking up the gist of things at this church so that was encouraging. Maybe I really will understand all this French someday!

After church, we had a picnic lunch out to Lake Gruyeres with the Burgess Family. Kacey played in the water and the men threw BIG rocks into the Lake. We then drove rather aimlessly through the mountains and came out on Lake Geneva and yet another castle. Coming down the mountain vineyard after vineyard covered the sloped ground. It must have been good wine country! That evening we ate at a very good Italian restaurant where Tom and I again discovered the inconviences of not understanding every word you read. We ordered the menu option that promised to feed two people. It included salad, pasta, entrée and dessert for a very reasonable price. The food came, we ate, and got very full. Dave, Lu and Kacey had to help us eat everything. At this point, we’re thinking, “wow, what a great deal!” Then we get the check. Somehow there was a miscommunication and we had ordered 2 of the meal that served 2 people and were charged accordingly. Not only was our bill double what we had expected, we had eaten enough food for 4 people!!

Me and Tom at Lake Gruyeres with some ruins in the background.