Walk in the rain

One of our favorite things to do in Zug is to walk. In the old town, down the Bahnhofstrasse to the station past the shops, and, of course, along the lake. My personal favorite is to hike up the hill behind Nan's until you reach a pedestrian path that parallels the lake. It's a beautiful walk with great vistas of the lake and through green gardens and a few last farms.



Today dawned gray and rainy and we decided to hunker down for dinner to have a prototypical Swiss meal, fondue! Ferdi and Suzi had a fondue pot so we were in luck. Hot cheese, crusty bread, a big green salad -- we're in! If we were truly Swiss, we would add boiled potatoes to the meal but thankfully we are not, as I've had more potatoes in the last week than I usually do in a month. We did cheat a bit and got the prepackaged cheese mix from the refrigerator section (versus compiling the cheese blend ourselves) but it's going to bubble over a flame and the label is in German, so that's got to be authentic, right?

Along about 5:45 the light was dwindling and my legs were itching for a walk, so despite the rain, I headed out on my favorite walk. Up the hill, over the fields, and down to Oberwil, then back home. There were brussel sprouts growing in the fields and sheep still on a plot of land that I understand will eventually become housing.... I hope they save some of the open, historic space.



The evening was beautiful in spite of, or, because of, the rain: the air was moist and soft, with low gravid clouds hanging over the lake, and the soft lights of Rotkreuz in the distance. The fog was creeping down the flanks of the Zugerberg (it will enclose the house by early am).

No camera taken because of the rain, so we'll have to make due with shots from last time.

Day in Luzern

Thursday promised to be the only day with any hint of sun, so Alan and I headed over to Luzern. Especially if you get an express train, it's a very quick ride -- only 20-25 minutes through beautiful Swiss countryside. In this part of Switzerland, at least, farmland is still active and you can get a glimpse of how lives have been lived for centuries.

Our destination in Luzern was the New Modern Art Museum or Neues Kuntstmuseum, which is located next to the train station. Frommer's noted that it housed special exhibits plus a permanent collection of works ranging from the 15th to the 20th centuries, in addition to special modern exhibitions. Suffice it to say, that the current special exhibitions were less than impressive -- one consisted of photo montages of subjects who had been asked to perform "magic" in front of the camera. "Magic" seemed mostly to confirm the human ego, as people posed and preened for the camera. There were a few powerful compositions but mostly not. Then, there was a video and audio installation that was just impenetrable. The best exhibit, which possibly was a gesture to the permanent collection, was some cases containing small, similar rocks in rows (one spiral). When we left the exhibits area, I inquired about the permanent collection, only to be told, this was it! Okay....All in all, not worth the admission price.

We did have a very nice lunch in the museum cafe of Indonesian rice and then an apricot tart. With the sun out, we wandered through the old town, seeing the remnants of Monday's carnival celebrations. Walking over the Spreuerbrücke (Mills Bridge), we observed some major construction occurring on the lock controlling the flow of the Reuss River. It does seem like all of Switzerland is under construction.

With blue skies overhead and clear views of the Rigi and the Pilatus peeking through the clouds, we searched for an option to go for a boat tour but, alas, there were none to be found. Most of the tours were closed for the winter.

So, after picking up a plum tart for desert at Confiserie H&M Kurmann, we took the 4:10 home to Zug. Wandered down to our favorite place on the lakeshore of the Zugersee, we settled in to watch a lovely sunset. Unlike previous evenings where we were the only couple, there were many folks enjoying the sun and the relatively warm air. Earlier in the week, the ice was treacherous down here but with the 40 degree weather, it all had melted. It's been a cold and snowy winter in Zug and everyone is ready for spring.

Home for dinner, we enjoyed Aklin pork and vegetables, while watching the Olympic ladies combined.

Flickr photos.

Flower shop at 15 Arthurstrasse

We were here to help celebrate Nan's birthday so it was only appropriate that her apartment was turned into a flower shop with contributions from her sister and brother-in-law, the Cattier boys, and her godson. Oh, and I got some very sweet long stem roses from my Valentine. :-)

We had champagne with Ferdi and Suzi to celebrate and then birthday dinner was at the Bauernhof, overlooking the city lights. Alan had lamb curry, Nan pork, and I had a delicious cheese spaetzle with salad.

Flowers on flickr.

Safely in Zug where some things are the same, and some not.

We arrived safely in Zug, courtesy of Delta and the SBB. We were an hour late, thanks to an overflowing toilet in Atlanta but at last were safely on our way. Uneventful flight -- at times the plane was moving at more than 700 mph courtesy to some amazing tailwinds. Unusually, we pursued those tailwinds on a southerly route, over Bermuda, rather than the usual northern route.

Nanny met us at the train station and we headed home in a cab. The Zugersee looked the same, as did town and Nanny's house. Until we looked in the backyard, that is. Where once were peaceful kitchen gardens and a parking lot is now a large construction site, right outside Nan's back door. Cranes swing materials back and forth, while dump trucks haul off dirt and concrete pourers are active everywhere. The site is to become a retirement community, one of four in the canton. The Swiss take very nice care of their older population, as you might imagine, and the cost of their care is born by the canton.

In other news, Alan got DSL working at Nan's! Very exciting. No longer do we have to go to the Postplatz for wireless. It's slow and has broken once, but better than nothing.

Photos available on flickr due to upload difficulties.

Islanders v Thrashers

Hockey trip finishes up with a family outing to the Thrashers v. Islanders in the Coliseum. Here are some pics:

Winter Classic 2010!!

The day dawned wintery and cold but not too cold for the 2010 Winter Classic game of the Flyers v. the Bruins. All week long the forecasters had projected warmer temperatures into the upper 30s with the potential for rain. However, it ended up perfect -- a gray, wintery day with zero wind. Trooping through the streets of Boston, we headed to Fenway along with the hoards of Flyers and Bruins fans.

After we entered, we went up and up and up, all the way to the very top, right adjacent to the big Fenway press box. We were in Private Box 6, row F, which was the very highest row. It was really luxurious seating -- we were at kind of a bar, with bar stools, overlooking the entire park. Sitting next to us were some Flyers fans, who while clearly favoring the wrong team, were actually pretty good guys. We had a good time chatting and swapping stories.

The pre-game festivities were highlighted by a flyby by a B2 bomber, who wafted over the stadium making literally no noise. It was pretty spooky.

I won't say the game was the most exciting one I've ever seen -- dominated by defensive play. The Flyers outplayed the Bruins for all but about two minutes but unfortunately, those were the two minutes in which the Bruins scored two goals to take the overtime victory. Made the crowd happy, for sure, but not our new friends.

The best part of the game was the atmosphere -- looking down at the bright rink and then out at the Boston skyline. The light was a beautiful, clear, wintery gray that then drifted slowly into early dusk. Awesome!

Last day of 2009

The last day of 2009 dawned gray with low clouds, as we looked outside our 28th floor room at the Copley Park Marriott. After a leisurely waking, we decided to head out and explore Boston before heading to Jamaica Plain to meet up with Bill for lunch. Walking off the elevator, we realized that in fact the Marriott is park of a complex of hotel, conference center, and mall, so we were able to walk some distance through what looks like a very nice mall until we reached an exterior door.

Once there -- magic -- it was snowing!! For two transplanted northerners, it was a welcome sight and Alan characterized it as his best birthday present. Grabbed a quick Starbucks and headed back to Copley Park to see how the ice sculptures were developing. There were part of First Night, an all day celebration of the year's end that featured arts events, walking tours, concerts, parades, and fireworks. Looked like a lot of fun and reason enough to come spend NYE in Boston in the future.



The ice sculptures were under active development and it was fun to watch them chisel and saw away. We both were interested to see that the chain saw was a Stihl. :-) The snow kept coming down and we walked over to the Boston Commons and joined the crowds slip-sliding on the iced over ponds. We both were glad for our hats, gloves, and scarfs as the snow really did start coming down -- I think it must have accumulated a couple of inches.



Hopped on the orange T line to head for Jamaica Plain. We really were impressed by the T system in Boston. We bought passes and didn't do anything but take the T or walk, including transport to and from the airport. Once in JP, we took a right up the hill to Bill's apartment which we found with no trouble. Inside, we met the famous dog Rocky (he has a FB fan page), my cousin's pug. Gotten at a shelter where he was described as mean and untrainable, he's nothing of the sort--a well-behaved, sweet dog who clearly adores Bill.



With the snow coming down, we got into Bill's truck to go to one of his favorite pubs for lunch. It was quite a bit of fun traversing the streets in rear wheel drive but luckily Bill had had lots of practice steering into skids with his old truck. Lunch was served fireside with chicken curry for Alan and a burger for me and lots of catching up.

Alan had chosen a birthday dinner in the Northend at Taranta, which offered an intriguing combination of Italian and Peruvian food. We got there early and walked around; everyone was at the bakeries getting little boxes of cookies. The restaurant was crowded and quite loud but we had a nice server and most of the food was good, including an amazing tuna entree enjoyed by Alan. By the time we were done with dinner, it was almost time for fireworks on the Bay, so we took the opportunity to call the Reichels and wish them a happy new year, and then followed the crowds down to the Bay for the big show. A quick trip back to the hotel via the T and we were more than ready for bed. 2010 here we come!