Venice, Italy

AN EVENING IN VENICE

Fey, Italy

 The village church of Allie's great grandparents.

 

   
   
   The unrelenting rain didn't stop us from hiking up the mountainside to find the centuries old homes of Allie's ancestors.  We also made a visit to the nearby cemetery in Fornolosa in search of family names.


   








   A clouded view from the top of the mountain at the Sanctuary of Santa Anna.  The whole village makes this pilgrimage once a year.

Fey, Italy

FINDING FAMILY

    We were warmly welcomed by friendly faces and amazing food. We ate our way from house to house in the village, discovering new family connections along the way.

Courgne, Italy

We set to work tracking down Allie's relatives in Northern Italy.  Working off of old photos, postcards, and letters, we searched the local phonebooks for familiar names, and started knocking on doors.  Surprise...We found family!!!

In honor of Allie's great grandparents, we needed to taste all of the local dairy products.

Aosta, Italy

   We got into town late, and found a spot to camp near the river.  The morning sun greeted us with a glorious view of the valley.  We wandered the inviting streets eating pastries, and making plans for the coming days in Italy.

St. Bernard's Pass, Switzerland/Italy

   We crossed into Italy to find the scheduled bus was... not running any more.  So we hitched a ride with a friendly Italian down the mountain into the valley of Aosta.

Neuchatel, Switzerland

   We rode a cable car (or more accurately, a Funicular) up the steep hills north of town, and spent the day enjoying the scenery and hiking back down again.

Neuchatel, Switzerland

   We spent a beautiful morning going for a run in the nearby forest, getting lost in the old town, and exploring the market. A swim and picnic of fresh bread, cheese, and tomatoes was the perfect way to end the afternoon.

Neuchatel, Switzerland

Spending a rainy day with little Mila :)

Neuchatel, Switzerland

Cooling down with a swim and a sunset

The inviting neighborhood where we get to relax and visit with friends.

   We hopped another train and made our way to the storybook town of Neuchatel.

Zurich, Switzerland

Swimming in the city!

View along the Limmat River 

Infamous Swiss clock towers

An evening in the park with new friends

After a successful morning work meeting, we were ready to see more of the city (minus the packs).  It was another hot day around town, so we joined the locals and took a dip in the Lammat River.

Zurich, Switzerland

Inviting Zurich

A picnic overlooking the city.  

A well-deserved afternoon nap.

   We said goodbye to Germany today, and rode the train on into Switzerland.  We got into town early, and spent six hours wandering the streets with our packs before arriving at the friendly flat that awaited us.  We filled our backpack with tasty treats before arriving on the notoriously more expensive Swiss soil. Of course we arrived on one of the hottest days of the year, so needless to say we were pretty happy to have a shower, bed, and delicious traditional Swiss meal waiting for us after our day of urban hiking.

Freiburg, Germany

View from the new deck built by Kurt and Ben.

Tempting treats around every corner!

Charming Freiburg...Bustle around the old city gate

   We have found a good balance between getting our work done, and still having time to explore this little corner of Germany.

Black Forest, Germany

Look out for fairies, elves, and maybe dwarfs.

A walk in the woods, and then off to the lake for a Sunday swim.

Old charm...New technology!

Freiburg, Germany

The sausage speaks for itself.

Market

Day!!!

Staufen, Germany

Teeny tiny planers at work!

Quality control - check!

300 years of history in an arm span

   Research was underway for the sabbatical, as we spent time in Freiburg documenting how violins are made and learning more about sustainable agroforestry projects at the University.

Freiburg, Germany

Garden delight!

Making dinner with new friends.