I apologize for the sudden hiatus in posting. This little family traveled to the swiss alps and things got a little hectic as the trip was approaching. We, once again, did a house swap with a swiss family. I can not recommend this way of traveling enough. We are staying in a *beautiful* 2 bedroom apartment in St.Gallen (north east of Switzerland) with a beautiful view over the old town and the alps. And our hosts even left us the key to their car! I was chuckling when we entered our temporary new home for the first time as there was a sign above the main entrance that said ‘built in 1907’. Our place in Brooklyn was built in 2007. A whopping 100 years difference. Ha!
A few first observations:
– Ella used her new Trunki for the first time and it was a big hit. She ran around with it on the airport and made quite a few heads turn.
– One thing that makes G and me laugh every time we travel to Switzerland is the fact they never (!) even open his passport upon arrival in Zurich. They would not open it. Just wouldn’t. They always wave us through. Not quite the experience one has when traveling to the USA, for sure.
– I can’t get over how amazing tap water tastes here. Both G and I go into raving mode every time we fill our glasses and start drinking. One could think we are talking about a really expensive bottle of red vino.
– Swiss public transportation is a delight; Clean, well designed, on time. (I think it would be reason enough for G to move here.)
– Switzerland is the land of indoor pools, it seems. G and I are always looking forward to our ‘swimming adventures’ especially now, with Ella getting into it. I am wondering, why swimming is not more part of american (youth) past time? And I don’t mean straight up swimming, I mean just going to pools and hang out, have fun, go on slides, play on the big inflatable toys they put out. It’s such a huge part of swiss culture. Growing up, I’d at least go to a pool once a week.
– When at a supermarket, you need to weigh your veggies and fruit yourself. (each item has a corresponding number that you need to hit when putting your selected items on the appropriate scale in the veggie/fruit department.) I forget this *every* single time and earn angry, impatient looks upon check-out. Oopsie!
– I love that they have tiny shopping carts at most swiss supermarkets. Ella’s smile, when pushing one of these around, is priceless.
– The swiss sure are organized to the core. Check out this drawer in my (crazy cool) aunt’s kitchen:
– Jet lag going *to* Europe with a little one is not the problem, it’s coming back to the US. For some reason, Ella adjusts to swiss time right away, every time we make it to Switzerland. Going back is a different story.
– Oh, and: Traveling with a toddler *can* be fun!
. Designed for family holidays, children can pack, sit-on and ride their own luggage, whilst parents can keep them in tow. It’s been a huge hit already. We had to pull Ella up and down the hallway. 
by much admired photographer 
. (I just got my copy two days ago and I am at awe. I seriously do not understand how they were able to keep the price this low. I would have been willing to pay double. This is a must-have!)