After 3 nights in Paris we headed by train to Blois, the city in which I spent a year in 1984-1985 as an AFS foreign exchange student. We were greeted at the train station by by "dad" Alain, who picked us up and brought us to their house. There we met two of my "sisters", Corine and Veronique. We stayed at Veronique's house, with her husband and 3 kids. We had a memorable Christmas eve dinner of oysters and raclette, with over 20 people, including a surprise visit from Papa Noel.
In Blois, our kids got their first taste of ice skating, at least that they remember. It was heart-breaking. To think we thought that we were raising hearty kids from snowy Wisconsin. Instead it became quickly apparent that our kids know little and remember even less about cold, ice, and snow...
After Blois we took the train to Paris, where we parted ways with Molli. She was headed off to Amsterdam for some much needed R&R from the Glassel-Guderyon clan, while we hopped on a train (or 2) which would take us to far eastern Switzerland, to the town of St. Gallen, where we met up with my cousin Torsten, who brought us to his home in Gais, in Appenzellerland.
We were with Torsten, Caroline, Sarah. Bastian and Jenny for the better part of a week, during which the boys had a second occasion to try out ice skating, sledding, 2 days of cross country skiiing, and warming up in the sauna. New Year's Eve was a real highlight of our visit, as this is one of two nights of the year when the hobgoblins of Appenzellerland come out to pay visits to houses and busineses, sining and ringing their bells as they go. They come in 3 varieties, which I will have to try to explain another time.
We may also add links later to some video of the performances - pretty fascinating!
