Partying With My Cousins

You may remember that the impetus for this trip to Switzerland was an invitation from my cousin Brigitta to attend a birthday party at her home.  Three of the cousins celebrated their 60th birthday this year, and that was a perfect excuse for having a family reunion.  There were around 25 guests, about half of them were cousins of mine... distant cousins, but family for whom I hold much affection.  They came from different parts of Switzerland, from Norway, from Spain, and there was that one cousin, yours truly, who traveled all the way from Ohio.

After a rainy day on Friday, today we were fortunate to have mostly sunny skies.

By early afternoon we had everything ready for the party.

After everyone had arrived, Brigitta and her partner Peter welcomed the guests, and Brigitta gave them a tour of her garden.

Brigitta's daughter, cousin Annatina (to the right), and a friend of hers had prepared a wonderful salad buffet.

To the back of the house, the carnivores among us could grill their own steak, chicken breast or "wurst" (sausage).  My opinion was, "When in Switzerland, go with the 'wurst'!"

 My cousin Vera surveys the dessert table.

After dinner, Peter played the "alphorn" for us.  The "alphorn" is an instrument unique to Switzerland, and I dare say that it might be the world's longest musical instrument.  It can be heard for several miles, and was originally used as a means of communication between one mountain village and another.

Peter allowed several of us to try to play the "alphorn".  I gave it a try, and, although I did manage to make a sound, there was nothing musical about it.

I won't bore you with a whole bunch of family pictures, but here is one that includes quite a few of us...

Back row, left to right...  cousin Walter, birthday boy cousin Hans-Peter, cousin Andres, yours truly, my other cousin Walter, and birthday girl cousin Marianne.
Front row, left to right...  cousin Ruth, birthday girl cousin Brigitta (hamming it up), Helen (wife of cousin Walter #2) and cousin Werner.

It was a wonderful party... a beautiful day which ended with a beautiful sunset.

I love Switzerland, and I love my Swiss family!