A week in Switzerland

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We’ve just returned from a week of vacation in amazing, awesome, spectacular, beautiful, scenic Switzerland. (Was that enough adjectives to make my point?) We stayed in my parents’ apartment in Brienz, the little woodcarving village nestled by the lake of Brienz in a valley in the Berner Oberland region of the Alps.

Looking down on the Brienzersee

We had gorgeous weather except for one afternoon of rain that put a light dusting of snow on the peaks around the lake. Words truly fail to describe how beautiful the scenery is—the soaring snow-capped peaks against the brilliant blue sky, the clear aqua green of the lake, the dark-stained chalets with geraniums tumbling out of window boxes, and fat cows grazing on the steep mountain meadows.

A view from the village of Mürren

For the children this was an exciting exploration of their family roots, because this is the village where my great grandfather Peter Schneiter was born and where Schneiter cousins still live. Hannes was amazed to find the Schneiter family coat of arms carved on the side of a chalet with the other original families of Brienz.

The Schneiter family crest

Mountain village life was a great change of pace from life in the big city, and we were all grateful for the break. Now we're back in Berlin and ready for school and work to start again tomorrow.

Tschüsli!