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I have started to make plans for a big trip to Europe this summer. I may have already mentioned that my Swiss cousins have invited me to visit. In August three of my cousins will be celebrating their 60th birthday, and a celebration is being planned. I have already met two of the three... Brigitta and Hans Peter. Brigitta is organizing the party, and it will be held at her home in Uster, a small city near Zurich. She has graciously invited me to stay at her house. I will probably stay there for about a week.
It will be wonderful to see my Swiss family. Many cousins will be coming to the party. Werner, the cousin with whom I first made contact through my genealogical research will be flying in from Madrid. Birthday boy, Hans Peter, will be coming from Bergen, Norway, where he currently lives. There is also Walter and his family who live in the Swiss city of Aarau, and Ruth who still lives in the ancestral town of Othmarsingen. And I am sure that I will meet other cousins that I have not met before.
Since Switzerland is a small country, many places can be reached in about an hour by train. After the celebration, from my base near Zurich, I will be able to hop on a train and take day excursions to do some sightseeing in other Swiss cities.
Obviously, I am not going to travel all the way to Europe and spend only a week. I am trying to decide where I will go after my stay in Switzerland. Hans Peter on previous meetings has said that I should visit Norway. I have e-mailed him to see if he will be returning to Bergen after the party. If so, I might fly there, spend a few days visiting him and his family, and then do some sightseeing on my own in other parts of that country.
Of course, August is the month when Europeans take their vacations, so Hans Peter might have other plans. If a trip to Norway doesn't pan out, I am thinking about other countries in Europe that I have not visited. It is just a short hop from Switzerland to Germany and Austria. I would love to go to Munich and Salzburg. Although most Europeans speak English (most of my cousins are fluent), between now and August I should teach myself a few phrases in German or Norwegian.
Hi, Bill, how exciting this planning must be. Swiss, Norway... I'm sure you'll have a great vacation. Have you ever been to Sweden or Denmark? I have not, but I sure would like to visit one day. Regards!
ReplyDeleteHola, Tino.
DeleteYes, I always enjoy the planning of a trip. I have not been to any of the Scandinavian countries, and I would like to visit any of them. However, Norway is the one I most want to visit. The scenery there is supposed to be breathtaking.
Thanks for stopping by.
Saludos,
Bill
Sounds like a nice trip! Zurich is my favorite of Switzerland's bigger cities. Do you like hiking? Lots of that around Zermatt and Interlaken.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, Norway and Denmark or Norway and Sweden can be their own trip. But yes, Germany and Austria aren't far!
Thanks for your comment, Scott.
DeleteI'm not really a hiker, although I do like to walk a lot when I am traveling. The last time I went to Switzerland, my cousin and I spent a couple days in a little town called Weisstannen near the Austrian border. We took a four hour hike up into the mountains. The scenery was glorious, and there were no other tourists on the trail. If you go to my posts on Switzerland, you can see some photos.
I am still waiting to hear back from my cousin that lives in Norway, so my plans after Switzerland are still up in the air. In any event, I am sure that it will be a wonderful trip!