d'Sonne go suchä

up and away

Winter in the Rheintal often brings a hefty helping of fog. Luckily, escaping to higher, sunnier ground is easy around here. So on Christmas Day, up we climbed through fairy tale perfect Appenzell villages high above the soupy cold and gray haze, revealing not only the beautiful warm sun, but an incredible view over Germany, Austria, Liechenstein and of course, Switzerland.

picture perfect view of the Austrian Alps

I'ds Berglii paradiis

It's a rare day that I am left speechless. Perhaps it is the remnants of brain squashing altitude sickness or the Glühwein that warmed me up at day's end. Or maybe its just that I know that the right words to truly describe my visit to the town of Zermatt and surrounding mountains today are simply going to be impossible to find. All superlatives seem only to serve to dimish the greatness of the experience.

Cold hard contemplation?

The alpine village of Zermatt, lies not only at the bottom of Swizerlands most iconic mountain - The Matterhorn, but is also surrounded by a cathedral of giant peaks all over 4000m (and for you Team America, that is just over 13 000 feet). Needless to say, the view at that height is quite literally breathtaking!

The highest I've ever been (kinda).

I rapidly discovered my own propensity for altitude sickness (having just come from sea level to 4000+ m, its really no surprise), but luckily managed a photo before dizzyness and nausea forced me to retreat to nick a little loving from two very cute St. Bernard dogs.

Bella and Mattie

It's hard to imagine calling a place with no sand, palms and warm water a paradise, but this place is truly just that. A place so impressionable, that's its impossible not feel like your standing at heaven's door.

Mir goehnt i'd Chäsi!

Having been practically weened on Swiss cheese, it seemed rather absurd to me that I still couldn't answer the all important question of why Emmentaler cheese has holes. So, I set out to solve the mystery, which was rather easy, considering that I am staying not only in the Emmental region, but within spitting distance of an artisanal dairy that has been churning (ha ha) out the real wheel since 1741.

A quick tour from cow to cheese hole soon revealed the secret... wait for it.... propionic acid fermentation. So there you have it, an answer that turns out to be a big scientific yawn, nothing more than a trapped fart. Nonetheless, I'm still glad I have the answer and will happily share its tale.

As with many things, the how's and why's are irrelevant when the final product is so damned good. I left the dairy, (I want to say with fresh-made, but that should never really apply to cheese!), carrying a good chunk of organic as well as "Stein Alt" (read: so old that it should be gross) Emmentaler. It's tasty and is well received amongst the traditional breads and dried meats that make up typical Swiss snacks.

Here's a picture of some cheese ripening (that sounds sooo wrong for anything but fruit). Each of these wheels are about 95 kilos.

Hol(e)y Cheese!

Wi di Ziit vergäht!

Even though she's only 125cm, my grandmother still stands tall at age 86!

Nostalgia always hits hard when I come to Switzerland. Right from the moment I step off the plane onto the bubbled black floor of the airport, past visits come bouncing back to mind with all their associated tastes, smells, sights and sounds. Nostalgia also brings along with it, thoughts of my own history, far beyond my own experiences here, to my past ancestry that lived out their lives at the foothills of the Alps.

While Switzerland is not my official place of birth, it is my place of origin, and the home of (nearly) my entire family. Having lived abroad for many years, I was struck by the thought that distance (and youthful mindedness) has kept me from learning first hand accounts about my parents' and grandparents' lives here. I'm not sure that I would have understood or ever been really grateful hearing stories from older generations, but sitting with my grandmother for the first time in 11 years, it hit me hard, how much I have missed out on. I'm blessed to now have the opportunity to spend the Christmas holidays with my Grosi. With presence of mind and genuine interest in hearing all she has to tell, I know I'll be cherishing every precious second!

Contentment...

Talchalkos

"Contentment is not satisfaction, it is the grateful, faithful, fruitful use of what we have little or much. It is to take the Cup of Providence and call upon the name of the Lord. What the cup contains is its contents. To get all there is in the Cup is the act and art of contentment. Not to because one has one-half a cup, or because one does not like its flavour or because someone else has silver to ones own glass is to lose the contents and that is the penalty if not the meaning of discontent. No one is discontented who employs and enjoys to the utmost of what they have. It is high philosophy to say we can have just what we like if we like what we have; but this much at least can be done and, this contentment, to have the most and best in life by making the most and best of what we have. "

- "20000 Sublime and Beautiful Thoughts"