Day 16
Our first night in Switzerland we had a wonderful dinner with my brother, his girlfriend and A. It was a really nice night, filled with great food, great conversations and lots of hugs. It was so nice to be with my brother and my niece again. I miss them so much when I am back in Canada. The next morning A. and I got up early and went to town. We went to a few stores, I bought her a volleyball, chocolate and some flowers. When we got home K. and my brother had just come back from a little drive and we all had lunch together. We spent the afternoon at the pool, playing in the water and having fun.
Day 17
I woke up early and went to the store to pick up some wine and flowers for my parents. Then we drove to Planchouet where my parents were staying at my aunts chalet. When we got there my mom was waiting for us and it felt so good to give her a hug. We spent a wonderful day up in the mountains with my parents and my godmother and her husband. We danced, drank lots of wine, had some great veal sausages and some raclette. What a wonderful day!
Day 18
After breakfast we drove to a lake about 1 hour away where we spent the day swimming, BBQuing, and just relaxing. My brother and K. were doing flips of a dock which was very entertaining! At night we went to an open air movie in the courtyard of the castle “Stockalperschloss”. The event is put on by the Tourism office of Brig where I used to work. I remember working those nights, setting up the chairs and selling drinks. It was just as much fun as I remembered.
Day 19
In the morning K. and I went for a walk through town, took some pictures and went to an art exhibition. I was able to show him my elementary school, my college, the restaurant my parents used to own and lots of other places that are close to my heart. It was nice to spend some time alone and share my childhood memories.
In the afternoon one of my brother’s friends came with us to the pool. I tried to teach A. how to do a flip. She almost got it in the end. We all went to my brothers after and had coffee. S. asked me to design him a tattoo, which I was very honored by. I am really looking forward to it!
Day 20
My brother, A., K. and I drove to another lake to get away from the heat. We spent the afternoon diving into the water. K. tried to swim to an island in the middle of the lake and he almost didn’t make it. 🙂
Day 21
We went for lunch at my parents place and then went swimming again. I know we pretty much went swimming every day. This time we went to the pool in my home town. Another place I used to work at. When I was 14 I got my first job working at this pool. I had to clean the pool and the surrounding areas, making sure that the water had the appropriate chlorine levels and I also worked at the pool’s restaurant. I had a lot of fun! I remember cleaning the pool early in the morning, the sun shining, the birds chirping, the rustling of the trees in the wind and the mountains all around me.
This first week in Switzerland was wonderful. It was great to see my brother and A., relax and just enjoy being at home. It really is strange how much more I feel like myself in Switzerland. I know that might seem like a strange statement, but I can feel my roots. My family has been living in this part of Switzerland for centuries and I can feel the power of the mountains all around me.
Ciao
