Throw Mama on a Train

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My parents made their inaugural visit to Schweiz via Venice, Italy. After spending three "wonderful" days down in sunny Venice, they boarded their first of what would be many trains on their ten day European trip. I boarded one in Zürich the same morning to meet them down in Lugano at the train station. They arrived minus my dad’s luggage (more on that later). After we checked in to our hotel and cleaned up, we headed out for lunch. As you may recall from some of our earlier posts, Lugano is in the Italian section of Switzerland called Ticino, so I knew lunch would be good. And it was -- a nice brick oven-fired pizza. Then it was time for a boat ride. With the sun out and only a few puffs of clouds, we toured around the stunning Lake Lugano.

The next morning we woke up, enjoyed an awesome spread of food, and loaded on to a bus for a three-hour journey that would take us through the northern part of Italy by lake Como and to our destination in Tirano. There we climbed aboard the Bernina Express for a six-hour journey high into the Alps, next to glaciers and back down. (This train is not as famous as the Glacier Express, but I think it's the better voyage. If you ever have to the chance to choose, choose this one. Of course the Glacier Express is nothing to sneeze at, both are among the top 10 train rides in the world.) After a quick change in Chur, we slithered our way to Zürich.

The next few days were spent in rainy Zürich, but we didn't let the weather dampen our spirits too much. It was pretty grey there for a while. But we managed to work our way around the hot spots our beloved city has to offer. With my dad being sans luggage and an airline per diem to spend on new clothes, we hit the stores for what can only be described as “ultimate power shopping.” My mom and Kathleen scoured the racks and shelves for jeans, shirts, sweaters, and other basic clothing while I ran back and forth bringing the items from them to my dad, who, like a runway model during fashion week, tried on everything. At one point, we basically took over the men’s department at COOP CITY on Bahnhofstrasse. What a scene.

Speaking of scenes, my parents got to attend my first rehearsal of “Communicating Doors” that night. They got to see it really raw. It was great to have them there. I appreciate their support.

After a couple soaked days in Zürich, we took a side trip to Luzern, via a spectacular boat ride from Flüelen, a small village at the opposite side of the lake. I sent Kathleen's parent on this adventure last time they were here, and they loved it too. The boat ride from Flüelen has been compared to the fjords of Norway. We had amazing weather. How was it? Well, that stretch is enough to leave you speechless, believe in God or think you've died and gone to heaven. After a lovely lunch on board we landed in Luzern. Everyone’s favorite. After a trolley tour to get our bearings we walked over to the famous lion sculpture carved into a giant rock face. If this sculpture doesn't stir something in your soul, you need help, or more likely—you're beyond help. :-)

The next day Kathleen joined us for an adventure to Wengen -- a little village perched on a cliff overlooking the Lauterbrunnen valley. Wengen is considered by many to be the most beautiful spot on earth and the weather we had was some of the best we've had. It more than made up for the rain earlier in the week. God was smiling upon us that day, ear to ear. And we paid him homage by taking a train to the "Top of Europe." It’s a one of a kind train experience that takes you through the top of the mountain up to its peak. From there, you step out into a winter wonderland like no other. A place were you gaze out upon one of the biggest glaciers on earth, The Aletsch Glacier. And yes, it's melting too. (Can we please stop killing our planet.) It was the best up there that day. Enough said.

Then it was time to head back to Zürich, but I still had one more trick up my sleeve. Tickets to the "Young at Heart Chorus" at the Zürich Theatre Spectakle. The Zürich Theatre Spectakle is an annual event that last two weeks, where all kinds of acts come from all over the world to perform. Most acts are really unique. The event is set up on the lake constructed in such a way that the area looks like a circus with six stages, one on the water and five in big tents/building. There are food stands with cuisine from all over the world and all kinds of sidewalk performances going on all around you. It is super cool, a really great atmosphere. You feel as if you ran away and joined the circus. Simply brilliant. As for us, we were in for a real treat. Because we had tickets for the "Young at Heart Chorus's—The Road to Nowhere." It blew us away. The group is comprised of about thirty singers age 65 - 92. And they sang songs from contemporary artist, like the Rolling Stones, U2, The Beatles, Radiohead and more. One especially poignant moment was when Rosie, a 92 year singer got up and sang the Rolling Stones "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday." We can't recommend seeing this show highly enough. Go if you get the chance. Find out more about them here. www.youngatheartchorus.com

After the show we took a boat back across the lake and caught a tram up to our flat. The next morning it was time to say goodbye as my parents headed on to Prague for a couple more days. One night they ended up eating a few tables over from Madonna! Now, that’s a good celebrity sighting.

All and all a great visit with my parents. Thank you for coming and hopefully we'll see you here again.