So, vacation is over, and we all have to go back to the regular daily grind. School, swimming lessons, piano lessons, violin lessons, ballet lessons, homework, you know, the usual stuff. Fortunately, we had a long weekend at the end of the first full week back at school. What perfect timing. We don't get to celebrate Memorial Day here in Switzerland, obviously, but we do get to celebrate the rather less well known holiday of Whit Monday. In German they call it Pfingstmontag because it is the Monday after Pfingsten, or Pentecost. Whatever they call it, it means no school or work for us! Hurray!
The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we thought about going somewhere farther away, but decided that a relaxing weekend at home was what we really wanted. Monday morning, before it got too hot, we set out for a stroll through the outskirts of our town. We decided to walk to the kids' school, but with a small twist. Normally, when we come to the fork in the road at the top of the hill, we turn right. This time, we turned left. Chris and I have both been that way a few times, either running or riding bikes, but the kids have only been partway down the path during winter. It is such a gorgeous walk!
A little stream ran next to us for quite a while, we saw two different herds of cows, including some adorable calves, a flock of sheep, and endless fields of wildflowers.
We also saw the principal of the elementary school, and his girlfriend, the head of what would be the equivalent to the IEP program in the States. They were having a little picnic in one of the meadows. The kids think it is hilarious that Herr L. and Frau W. are "in loooove". (must be said in sing-songy voice) We also passed the farm belonging to the Grandmother of Sarah's friend. She often invites the school classes to come up and "tour" the farm. At separate times our kids have gone there to pet the baby bunnies, feed the lambs, and play with the chickens. For Sarah's birthday, her friend brought fresh-picked cherries and homemade Elderberry sirop to share from her grandmother's farm. Seeing how close the farm was to both our house and the school, strengthened my resolve to start buying more groceries locally. I have it so easy, why don't I take more advantage of it?
Just before we got to the farm, Noah pointed down a little path leading into the forest and said that down there is where his school "forest house" is located. They have been working on it all year, going up regularly to stack branches for the walls, watch the worker men cut up a tree trunk for their bench, etc. He really wanted to show us right then, but we know our kids' capacity for distance walking, and told him we would have to make a separate trip just for that.
We continued on through the forest,
and eventually ended up right above the kids' school. We were in the exact spot where Samichlaus comes every year, bringing sacks of goodies for all the children. There was also a grill spot right there, where the kids come with their teachers to cook wurst on special occasion days.
Chris and I really enjoyed the running commentary the kids provided of all the things they do at different spots around the school. We knew they did these things, but never knew WHERE they did them. Now we do. :) We headed down to the kindergarten playground, passing more cows along the way, and stayed and played for quite a while.
We refilled our water bottles at the fountain, and recharged our batteries on the swings. Why using even more energy helps the kids walk farther is beyond me, but it works every time.
We finally were ready to continue on back home, so we set off down the path the kids take every day to catch the school bus. The street leading up to school is so narrow, and it's really hard for the bus to turn around once up there. So a few years ago, they changed the route, and now the bus stop is down by the fire station in the village center. I love that the kids are forced to walk a bit at least twice a day, four times if they have afternoon school. Sometimes they even have to run if they take too long to put on their shoes. :)
Next door to the school is the shooting house, where Nick goes for shooting club every week. The targets are across the cow pasture, up on the hill. Don't worry, the farmer is always informed on what days there will be target practice, so he can move the cows first. Nick explained to us all about how the targets look, and when I pointed out the large tree seemingly standing between the house and the targets, he said that they actually shoot over the tree. The shooting house is just enough higher than the tree that they don't hit it. Pretty cool.
The walk back home took us through the cool shade of the forest, which was a welcome relief from the blazing sun. We passed the town librarian, riding her bike in the forest as well. It was a great day for being out in nature. So glad we could spend it together.