5 - 10 November 2012 - The Parentals

Well, gentle reader many of us remember leaving home for the first time and being out in the world on our own.  For some it was pure joy, others terror and for others still a combination of both.  I can't remember mine...the therapy is helping me though and I wake up screaming a lot less now.

But, in the words of Peter Alan, no matter how far you roam, or try to escape them, your parents will generally track you down, even in the mountains and amongst the cows of Switzerland.  Of course my parents also read this blog so I need to be kind! They are very modern and have well and truly progressed from the abacus.  A son could not be prouder.

You may recall from a previous entry that my parents, affectionately known as Ma and Pa, had to jump on a jet to attend a funeral in Holland just after my arrival down under.  As they had missed me so much and were desperate to meet all my new cow friends they (we) agreed that they would come to Einsiedeln after Holland.  Email received from them saying they would be staying a week - gosh, I have not spent this much time with my parents since I left home!

Monday 5 November 2012

As I am a dutiful and loving son I went up to meet them at the Zurich Aerodrome and had also organised for our friendly driver Moustafa to take us back to Einsiedeln in the big Mercedes.  My parents are not ones to travel light and love to fill their bags with large souvenirs and medicines...they are getting on a bit.  Actually they are both reasonably sprightly and young at 64.  Yes, you are all doing the maths now.....

So, happy little car trip was had.  Nothing to see as it was already dark.  We put them up at a local hotel, the same one where Kate stayed when she visited.  We have a super rate now and are looking forward to achieving Platinum Status - I think a room upgrade would involve there being more pine in the room!  We had dinner downstairs and I am a big fan of this restaurant too.  Friendly staff and lovely food.  Of course S also joined us for the festivities. 

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Had agreed to host Ma and Pa for breakfast and their request was for 9:00 am - how will I keep the buffet fresh until then?  After all the preparation including carving vegetables into the shapes of flowers they opted for cereal - geez! 

I forgot to add that to welcome them to town we arranged for it to snow - what more can this son do?  It is like he is angling for a greater inheritance but in reality Ma and Pa are doing a good job of spending it anyway!

So we then headed into town to explore the sights and sounds of Einsiedeln.  The snow meant that there was a complete lack of cows - big wusses I say.  We headed up to the Cloister and after three attempts to get all the way in we enjoyed its magnificence.  In case you were wondering it was not that we were dressed inappropriately but that there was a service underway.  They were suitably impressed with the cathedral.  After this it was a general amble through the cobble stoned streets and then back home for some lunch.

The afternoon was spent lounging about as the weather had turned a bit miserable.  Then it was time for the next meal and we found a place that did fondue in town in many varieties.  We chose four.  The only vegetables present were the grapes in the wine.

After sufficiently hardening our arteries we rolled down the hill to digest and groan!  The fondues were fantastic and a must do when in Switzerland....it is a bit cheesy (boom tish) but delicious.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

It was time to head out of the village and it was off to Lucerne on the choo choo.  Lots of oohs and ahs were had as we chuffed through scenic country side.  We then had a lovely walk through the old town and went and saw the carving of the lion in the rock (see previous post for pics).  It was then time for some lunch and I randomly picked an Italian restaurant along the river.

All was fine until we were nearly done and then an odd thing happened.  We were on a table for four so there was one space free.  The table behind me needed to be reset and the manager took on this task.  At first he placed the menus on the spare space but I got a bit grumpy when it became all the bits of the table including the dirty tablecloth - what sort of a place was this.  The only consolation was the look of horror on our waiter's face who could not have been more apologetic.  I said a couple of harsh words to the manager who frankly could not have cared!

Well we had plans further afield so off we went to catch another train to a nearby town (Stans) where we were to take a double storey cable car to the top of a mountain (Stanserhorn - http://www.stanserhorn.ch/en/travel/cabrio/).  It was way cool and only pictures can do it justice....

It was then back on the train to Einsiedeln.  Mum and Dad decided to explore the restaurant options in town and ended up at a Chinese place which was just fine.  I headed home to a very light supper.

Thursday 8 November 2012

This was a parent free day as they had decided to head off on a tour to Jungfraujoch - another mountain. 

Friday 9 November 2012

It is weird, my parents travel all over the world but when they are nearby you worry more about them and if they are finding their way, getting on the right train, not eating only bad food etc, etc.  I was relieved to see them when they arrived for breakfast on Friday.  When did the child become the parent....I must stop telling them off!

Today was a visit to a local town called Rapperswill (it is where Snoop Dog, Flo Rida and Ice T all hang out).  It was a beautiful sunny day and was a great spot to view the mountains and the lake and take in a spot of lunch.

I know it looks like they are nodding off and I should have made lunch come a bit quicker.  I thought I was more interesting, perhaps not?

Dinner was all set and it was another train ride and a walk to a place called Obst Garten in Freienbach.  allegedly the best schnitzel in Switzerland....the wine was great as was the service and the food.  Looks like some people had a good time and clearly think I am hilarious!.

Saturday 10 November 2012

Well it was time to bid Ma and Pa farewell.  We all went up to Zurich together.  I wanted to make sure that they made it to the hotel safely.  S and I were then heading to the Dolder Grand Hotel for a weekend of relaxation.  Note this had been booked some weeks before we knew of the Ma and Pa invasion so was in no way linked - honest! 

It was a bit odd leaving them at the airport (they were to take a shuttle bus to the hotel) but they promised they would be OK.  Zurich Airport is pretty safe, it is not like downtown LA or anything.  I can report that they made it safely to the hotel and then to their next destination.  Gee, they grow up so fast don't they?

This left S and I to go to the hotel.  It was a wonderful place which had a fantastic restaurant and an amazing gentleman's spa area - sooo relaxing.  The only odd thing that happened was that we had a prayer rug and compass delivered to the room. Curious!