:: European Vacation - Minus Clark Griswold ::

As many of you already know, my family went on an epic European vacation a few weeks back. Jason, Lucas and I flew out of Dulles, after 8.5 hours landed in Copenhagen, Denmark, had a 7 hour layover, and then flew another 1.25 hours to Frankfurt. **YAWN** We were SO tired!! But, in Frankfurt we wiped the sleep out of our eyes, picked up our rental car (a Ford. Seriously? We're in Germany and we get a FORD?? Not cool, Enterprise. Not cool.), and took off toward Stuttgart for the night. Up to that point, the only international driving we experienced was in England. SURELY this would be easier than that! Okay, truthfully, it was a lot easier, however our driver who shall remain nameless (his name rhymes with Wason) failed to study any of the number of books I purchased which had all of the road signs and rules in them. Wing it. Why not?! It took a few days to get used to the different signs and laws that they have, but in the end we learned that they are MUCH better drivers than we are. They actually obey the traffic laws and even though there are sections of the Autobahn which have no speed limit, it felt much safer than driving on 495 outside of DC. Anyway, back to the day...we got to Stuttgart. The end. No, no...not the end. We only stayed the night in Stuttgart so we didn't really get to experience that city, but I'm sure it's lovely. The next day, we packed ourselves back in our freakin' FORD and headed to Switzerland!! WOOHOO!! And...guess who we met there??? My dad, stepmom, youngest sister and brother! (We missed our other two sisters who were unable to make the trip...would've been amazing to have them there as well.) My dad and stepmom really spearheaded this whole trip and we absolutely could not have done this without them (insert applause and an endless supply of thank yous). The main point of this trip was to go to Bern, Switzerland with my dad because that is where his family originated. We stayed several nights there and it is truly remarkable. The history and architecture and fountains, and and and...SO many things!! Plus, there are streets, a church, a bridge, a hotel, and I'm sure other things we didn't see, with our family name on them! Well, how our name started out (now it is Nydegger...over there it's either Nydegg or Nydeck). I can't even begin to explain what an incredible gift it was to experience that for the first time with my dad. So lucky and blessed to have been given that opportunity. 

Because the trip was so lengthy (2 weeks and about 2,000 miles driven!), I'm going to split this up into a few blogs. As you can imagine, I have A LOT of pictures. I haven't even edited them all, but I wanted to start getting them up for the family and friends that haven't yet seen any. Today I'm going to share Switzerland. I'll continue over the next few days with the other countries we visited and the stories that go along with them. 

Our first day had us in Kandersteg, Switzerland. What an introduction to the Alps!!! Absolutely unbelievable. I fell in love right then and there. 

what the...what??? Doesn't even look real

I mean, come ON

I was church obsessed

loved this guy and his super cool bell

my sister, Liesl...you CAN'T be in the Alps and not channel The Sound of Music. After all, she was named after one of the characters!

Bern is where we spent most our time in Switzerland and I would go back in a heartbeat. It is so beautiful and CLEAN! And public transportation is so easy to use...really anywhere that we went. 

Tada! Here we are!! It's hard to see, but the green chapel in between us is the Nydeggkirche (Nydegg Church). It is the second oldest church in Bern and was originally built between 1341-1346 to replace the castle of Nydegg. Seriously...how cool is THAT?!?!


Here are more pictures of the church...just because it's AWESOME

Like I said, Bern is spectacular...

Bern is known for it's fountains...there are tons of them!!

Yep, that's really the color of the Aare River

Look! We have a hotel!! Well, sort of

I don't know why I liked this...okay, yes I do. It's the KaButt sticker ;)

 This made me laugh...looks like the Ricola guy on his cell phone

 the open air market made me wish I lived there. Lots of things made me want to live there! Except the cost. Switzerland is expensive!!

 yep...just making some shoes

these guys were a super cool addition to the market

Next was Interlaken. I'm adding a picture from my phone because you should be VERY proud of me. We went up on this crazy vertical tram to an overlook that was 4,300ft up. I HATE heights. Not a fan in the least. It took me a while, but I forced myself out there. It was so scary. Like knees locked, heart pounding scary. Like I said, you should be proud

but the views....

my dad, my son and my brother

(notice the sign...the falling rock sign...next to the bench they're sitting on...which was NOT bolted down!)

These two are a year and a half apart. They might as well be brothers, although they do get a kick out of being uncle and nephew. 

Of course I have many, MANY more pictures, but this is a good start. I hope to get some more up in the next day or so. You have been warned.