Week 46: Lyon (posted by Annie)

On Tuesday, May 12, we rode the train from Zurich to Lyon. This was the first time that I had ever been to France. 

Lyon had several big cathedrals that looked like they were out of a Disney movie. Lyon is known for its food so for lunch on the first day we ate a traditional bistro. I had the three cheeses toast.  It was very yummy. 

We stopped to look at the famous Lyon mural that included all of the famous people from Lyon painted on the apartment building. The next day, when we were walking around Lyon's biggest park, it started pouring on us. This was tough because no place to get out of the rain so we got soaked.

Some other highlights included was the rock climbing gym which was fun. In the process, though, we got a few blisters. Jane and I also purchased French skin care. We heard that it is known to be very, very good.

And, of course, there was an art museum. It has lots of cool artifacts from Egypt and cool French paintings. I remember seeing Rodin and Degas' ballerinas, and many more!

Overall, France was great because of the great food and cool architecture. Next up: Spain!

Week 45: Zurich (posted by Jane)

We left Ljubljana on an overnight train and woke up in Switzerland. After dropping our of our bags at the Airbnb, the girls got a lesson on Zwingli and the Protestant reformation. We visited the church where Zwingli preached and a statue of him. 

After our day of exploring we met up with Dad's cousins, the Hofers, who are living in Switzerland. We had a great time catching up over dinner!

The next day we went to a chess tournament with the Hofers and the younger kids also shot some hoops!

We went to a cookout and got to meet the extended Swiss family. At the Hofer family cookout there was a bouncy house, water guns, and a pool! After the party Anne and Eliza got to have a sleep over.

On May 10th, we visited the Swiss National Museum and had day to relax and recharge.

The big event the next day was a fancy dinner with Uncle Paige and Aunt Zyb. Uncle Page is Hampo's brother, and they were traveling around Europe at the same time that we were passing through Zurich.

We had a amazing time catching up with family, but off to France we go.

Week 44: Lovely Ljubljana (posted by Megan)

From Zagreb, it was a quick 2.5 hour train ride through the countryside to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.  Though we've had a lot of fun saying the name incorrectly over the past few months ("Luh-Joob-Luh-Jana"), the j's are really pronounced like y's ("Lyoo-blyah-na"). We all agreed that it felt almost like a Disneyland version of a cute European city - lots of pedestrian streets, charming old buildings, bustling produce market in the square, and endless riverside cafes.

Our first few days in town were spent with family friends Eric and Beate, who made the trip down from Oslo for the weekend to meet up.  We took in the views from the castle hill, strolled through the huge Tivoli park, crossed the many bridges over the river running through town, and sat at sunny cafes for many rounds of Flip 7.

We stayed in Ljubljana for a few more days after Eric and Beate headed back to Norway - a good chance to catch up on schoolwork, play basketball, go for more long walks, and see the oldest wheel and axle in the world (discovered in the marshes outside of Ljubljana). Our last day included a marathon 6 hour stint at the amazing playground in Tivoli park (water play! sand digging! ziplines!) before catching the overnight train to Zurich.  

It's hard to believe that our nearly 3-month long meandering trip through the Balkans has wrapped up.  Next stop, Switzerland!