Five on Friday - the Swiss edition

Well that's us back from Switzerland. It was quite a whirlwind visit with three stops on the way. We arrived in Basel Monday last week and picked up our car, drove to my mother's in the Bernese flatlands, then went back to Basel for a visit at my brothers and his wife. We finished our tour the Suisse in countryside near Zurich, where we visited the best ever god mother. Despite the criss crossing of the country, we did do very little. At my mums we lazed around the swimming pool and Sam and I ventured out for walks in the evenings, at my brothers, we visited the zoo and ambled along the Rhine and at my god mother's, we spent the day at the big outdoor swimming pool with the waterslide and explored the woodlands. I managed to catch up with one of my oldest friends from the olden days, walking along the river Aare in Bern, enjoying the views and chatting. My favourite part of the whole holiday was to be able to eat meals outside without putting up a wind break and two extra jumpers. The children enjoyed most being able to swim outdoors and eating favourite foods every day. I knitted a lot and listened to my audiobook (American Gods by Neil Gaiman).

If I make it sound easy peasy and super relaxing, it was not. Of course there was plenty of relaxation and fun but it is never trivial to travel with four children on your own. Sibling rivalry is rife and sometimes exacerbated by third party intervention. Sleeping arrangements have to be renegotiated at each new location, taking into consideration that some of my children find it difficult to eat a meal at the same table. Coins have to be tossed for seating positions in the car and activities have to be attractive to ages ranging from 7 to 15. Teenagers have to be coaxed away from their devices into the sunlight, little red heads have to be carefully monitored for sunburn and care has to be taken to drive on the right side of the road (the latter of course completely random and easily rectified if ongoing traffic gestures madly at you).

I thought you might enjoy five collages of some of the highlights of our holiday! Enjoy.

Bern, the city I view as my home town in Switzerland, although I didn't grow up there. The photos are of the old town, which is built in a loop of the Aare river, great for swimming when it is hot. The sign in the large photo is to indicate that there is a railing and steps to get out of the river safely. I'd love to live in one of the houses on the river.

A tiny selection of flowers and fruit in my mother's garden. It is a beautiful and well designed garden, a sanctuary for small wildlife and people alike. It is a pleasure to spend time just breathing in the scent of many flowering plants. The tiny pale green fruit are olives, the bigger green ones figs. You wouldn't believe the number of bees and butterflies on the French lavender!

The main  children's attraction at my mother's, a decent sized swimming pool. The kids love to swim,  jump and splash. I am not a big fan of the water but it is very nice to be able to cool down when it gets hot. It is also nice to sit by the pool and knit. Little people stay in the water until they are shivering uncontrollably, then warm up on a towel on the hot stones. The view is of the Jura mountains in the distance, as seen from a deckchair next to the pool.

In Basel, we went for a stroll along the Rhine and visited the zoo. Storks are residents in the zoo but are wild and free to leave. It is a small and manageable zoo with lots of interesting creatures. The Rhine is a mighty river and quite fast flowing, too. The wildflowers along the riverbank are quite amazing. 

Last but not least, we spent a couple of days near Zurich, where I forgot to take the camera to the big public swimming pool but remembered to bring it along on a shady walk along a forest burn. James lost and recaptured his croc - quite a bit downriver - and stubbed his pinky toe in a separate incident. We met cousins and their children, which was really lovely. It is impossible to get a photo of my four smiling beatifically so I chose the one with the silliest faces. I .am amazed that they sat on one single bench together

The next couple of days are quite busy with getting everything ready for Sam's and Annie's scout trip to Iceland. They'll be gone for two weeks. I wonder if they realise how lucky they are? Probably not now, but maybe when they are adults, looking back at an amazing childhood with adventures and love and more. Oh to be a child of mine!

Other than that, I am still deeply depressed about the political, economic and ecologic future of this country. I don't feel like moving on and pretending this whole sorry mess has never happened (so many do) but at the same time, I feel fairly impotent and can't see how I can make a difference.

Be sure to pop in over at Amy's for more Five on Friday posts. I am looking forward to catching up with my favourite blogs over the coming days, I have rather neglected blogging because I had to soak up as much sun and warmth possible to last me for the rest of the Scottish summer.  See you all soon, one way or other xx