Jealeisa.: Meeting the family

After Interlaken we were headed to St. Gallen up in the north area of Switzerland to meet the Gemperle cousins!! We arrive at the station and Marcus, Marion's dad picks us up. He rolls up in a minivan and then hits the curb. I started laughing and thought to myself this is going to be great! He takes us to the house where my grandpa Ernie and grandma Anna-Marie grew up. It was really awesome to see the roots of the family. We met Martilee who is Anna-Marie's twin. She was so welcoming and adorable. She looked just like Anna-Marie! Her English was a little rough but we managed. We met Marcus' wife Susan who was also very nice. Our greetings are so different from the states where it is just a hand shake or a hug. In Europe its three pecks on the cheecks. I got used to if fast :) It was a long day so Spencer and I stayed at Martilee's house. It was really homey and cute. She was more than welcoming and we felt right at home!

Martilee's backyard..

She made us the the Swiss breakfast, bread and yogurt! They took us to Appenzall where the real Swiss culture was and where the little people are. Spencer wouldn't fit in so well. The weather was drizzling but the green hills with little farms on them were just like a postcard. We walked around the town and it was so little and cute.

Later we drove to restaurant and had coffee where we were going to meet Fabien, their daughter, and Daniel, their son. She was so nice and friendly. Her English was very good also. She just got her license so she was excited about that... so I volunteered to ride back with her to the house. That probably wasn't the wisest choice...she knocked her side mirror off with a pole she came to close to... it was pretty funny actually!

Marion came home and the next day we picked up Tanya and Nick from the airport. That night all the swiss cousins came over. The dinner was fun. St. Gallen bratwurst and Marcus' homemade beer which the boys liked a lot. The cousins were pretty shy at first because they didn't know much english. They were mostly staring at me because I was having fun laughing and joking with Fabien and Marion. They eventually warmed up :)

We also went go Kart racing and decided to use the helmet scarfs over our faces to act as robbers and scared a few people on the way the way back to the house. I was not ready to end up in a Swiss jail portraying a robber!

We took a day trip back to Appenzall to the experience the real Swiss culture in this little restaurant where they made their own cheese! We had the macaroni and cheese and it was amazing!! They little swiss ladies even yodeled to us and sang. It was really fun. The farm house also had a school attached like the old days! Then we played on the adult playground and pet goats. After lunch we went grass bobsledding. That was super fun! It was like a mini roller coaster down down green hills! That seemed a little sketchy.

Well our last day in Switzerland we went to Zurich to hang out and to watch the Spain vs. Swiss world cup soccer game or futbol. Lets just say we couldn't have been in a better spot to watch the madness. We were at a pub watching the game and the Swiss won!! Everyone went insane yelling Hup Shweiz and Shweitzer Nati!! The main streets got shut down because of the wild celebrations jumping on cars and throwing beer everywhere! It was soo much fun to be a part of it. Spencer and Nick even hopped on cars!

This is us trying to all fit in Fabbien's little car... and Martilee trying to take the picture :) good times.