Thoughts About Switzerland

I took the kids to their favorite park today -- Kannenfeldpark. While they were playing, I worked on my sweater and thought about our trip. Here are the random things was thinking:

Things I'll Miss:

1. The beautiful scenery, especially the mountains and the gorgeous old buildings.

2. The excellent public transportation system.

3. Chocolate made with real milk.

4. Coop Hazelnut yogurt.

5. Fresh croissants every morning.

6. Opportunities to practice my German.

7. The huge selection of playgrounds and family-friendly destinations.

8. Kinder Eggs.

9. Maid service.

10. The way the air smells in the mountains.

Things I Will Not Miss:

1. The outrageously high cost of living.

2. The lack of air conditioning.

3. The dearth of ice, especially when one orders ICED tea. Seriously, who serves that without ice? The Swiss, that's who.

4. The $18 per load laundry.

5. Living in one room with 2 small children.

6. Altitude sickness.

7. Being without access to a car.

8. Lack of access to American television, or even English speaking television.

9. $50 meals at Mcdonalds.

10. Hard water.

Things That Remain Inexplicable to Me:

1. What the heck IS air freshening?

2. Why don't the Swiss use screens in their windows?

3. Why don't they serve ice in their drinks, especially "iced" drinks?

4. Why is Basel so extremely clean and well maintained, and yet tons of graffiti can be seen everywhere?

5. Why don't they have a better yarn selection here? Hell, it's the world's most popular ski destination and they have places with snow 365 days a year. Don't they need sweaters, hats and mittens?

6. Do they have a much greater water supply here than most countries? Because they always have sprinklers going, but are otherwise very earth friendly and conservationist here.

7. How do they get their children to be so quiet and well behaved in public?

8. What is in the strange green plastic bales we saw in the fields near Zermatt?

9. Why do so many people stop for a glass of beer at 10 am?

10. What was the red and black haired woman screaming at me on the tram that day?

Seriously, we did have a lot of fun here, mixed in with the bad and uncomfortable. Jack's favorite thing about Switzerland is: "Having ice cream when we get back." Lily's favorite thing about Switzerland is: "I don't know, maybe everything but walking." You can tell this trip and all of the gorgeous places we traveled have REALLY left an impression.