Outings with Jesse

I can hardly beleive it has been two days since I last updated!

We have been on the move almost non stop since Sat. morning. Wolfram, Jesse's boss this side of the world, and his wife Sandra picked us up at 9 am on Sat. We went first to a nearby castle, Kyborg. It is unclear how old the place is but it was first mentioned in documents in 1025 AD. It is a fantistic castle that has been built on and changed throught the centuries. All day long I could not help but think that most of the places we visited were old long before the U.S. was founded, let alone Columbus sailing out!! We arrived at the castle about an hour before it was set to open, but it seems Wolfram charmed the people in the office to let us in early, seeing as we came all the way from America.

The next stop for us was the Rheinfall. The falls are amazing, the largest in Europe even. We did take many pictures, and at the moment I'm a little miffed that I can't get them uploaded so everyone can see. From the Rhinfalls we took lunch along the river at a small town that I found quite pretty with a covered bridge and narrow cobblestone streets. Sandra was telling us that the town was not a popular place to visit, and had very few visitors really. We were looking across the river to Germany as we walked along the river. We had to stop at 3 or 4 restaurnts to find a good place, but managed to have a fantastic lunch of freshwater fish with rice and vegtables. Apparently here as I found in Spain it is unusual to take coffee with a meal other than breakfast or dessert. We each had a different dessert, mine was just fresh Strawberries with pepper, whipped cream and Vanilla frozen yogurt. I wanted it because I had never had pepper with my strawberries and here it is the way everyone prepares them. It enhances the sweetness and overall flavor of the barries. Something to take home I guess.

We then visited a town called Scheffhausen. Picturesque old Swiss town along the Rhein. It was full of tourists and we didn't stay long. We jumped back in the car and drove around the country side some more and took in wonderful views of Lake Constance. Jesse and Torston are planning on going for a dip in the lake sometime this week if the weather is good. We tried to visit another museum in the childhood home of Nepoleon III, the son to Nepoleon's step-daughter. It sits on a hill above Lake Constance, and even though the Museum was closed we enjoyed a walk in the gardens and views. We ended our day at the home of Wolfram and Sandra, and met two of their daughters. They prepared a traditional swiss fondue, let me tell you, I never had fondue that good! We spent the day and evening compairing and contrasting and I asked alot of questions! Like there is an annual fee to keep a dog, so most people don't, and that is why I don't see many. The young men in top hats and tuxes are graduating from school. Oh and lots and lots more, I think I'm more greatful for having someone answer some questions for my curious mind, than I am for being driven around to the different sites.

Sunday brought with it steady heavy rains, so a walking tour of Winterthur did not sound so appealing. Jesse wanted to stay in and play some Catan and watch T.V. on the computer. We kinda got at each other a bit about finding something to do, but fianlly decided to take the train into Zurich, we figured that at the very least we would be inside the train, then the station, and if we needed to we could see Zurich from bus! We researched what kind of tickets we would need, and had very little difficulty navagating the transit system. We purchased all day passes and they are good for the trains, buses, trollies, and ferrys/boats. It's great! It was nice to get a little experience on the train so we can be more confident traveling farther out in the weeks ahead. It was raining in Zurich, but mostly sprinkling and that only off and on, so we braved a 2 hour walking tour of the old town. The views were great, the information was better, and being able to return to Winterthur in time for dinner the best.
At the end of the day I had to appologise to Jesse for getting my feathers in a ruffle about going out on Sunday. He really thought that it would be miserable out and didn't want to be grumpy all day. I told him that I just wanted him to feel like he was having as much oppurtunity to enjoy our visit and see the sites as I was. In the end I said I was sorry, and he was thankful that we left the room. He knows that if he were here on his own he would not be getting out and seeing nearly as much. And as for me, I would rather see these things with him, than on my own.