BA: Swiss' Lil' Miss

She came without kids. She came without a husband. She came with very little luggage. She came WITH a wallet (but alas, even that was too much weight for her). Kathleen's very dear friend from bygone travel days, Beth Ann, came without much but a huge desire to discover Switzerland and all it had to offer. And Todd and Kathleen were ready to show it to her. Although she was jetlagged and travel weary, Beth Ann still had high energy and enthusiasm her first day and was even pumped enough to go to Todd's play. On her next day, Kathleen and BA decided to head to Pilatus to check out the Christmas market -- "the highest in Switzerland". Visibility was next to nothing, but the duo didn't care. They were able to eat frei cookies from the friendly craft owners and drink warm gluhwein to their hearts' content. The highlight, though, was watching "Death" (of the infamous St. Nicholas and Grim Reaper pair) scare a small child by offering her an orange. Good times. The next day, Todd joined BA and Kathleen on a trip down to Bellinzona and Lugano. BA must have brought the warm Mississippi weather with her as the temperatures reached record high levels for late November and there was nothing but sunshine in the sky as they headed down to the Ticino region. Bellinzona was a sleepy surprise -- a collection of three castles nestled in the valley. After a quick visit to the ramparts and a stop at a winery inside the castle, the group continued on to Lugano. There, following our hobo spirit, we wandered into a hotel with the hopes of finding a room. And "find" we did. We lucked into finding an incredible room at the Hotel Walter with a spectacular view of Lake Lugano. Sometimes it pays not to have a plan. The next day we ventured up the mountain via funicular and took a short hike to a nearby village. Most locals told us "Don't go there. Everything is closed. It's 'off' season." But we were not to be deterred. "Off is the new on," as BA said. And she was right. As we lamented the fact that we had not bought the fresh sandwiches from an Italian deli hours ago, we wandered down a dirt road towards a dilapidated building with small puffs of smoke coming out of the chimney. Outside was a sign promising the day's specials. Our hopes were up but not overly optimistic. But sure enough, as we opened the door, the smells of fresh Italian cuisine met our noses and we were escorted to a table by the fireplace. We quickly ordered three plates of homemade mushroom risotto. Unbelievable. Content, full and a little bit wobbly from the beer, we made our way to the train that would take us back to the town. We left that evening for Zurich and...collapsed! On her final day, Beth Ann and Kathleen explored the Dolder recreation area (which is right in Todd and Kathleen's backyard!) and then walked to James Joyce's grave. A fitting place for one writer to pay tribute to another. BA then checked out the Kunsthaus museum...in her words..."incredible." The rest of the afternoon, BA and Kathleen checked out the Niederdorf and shopped and reminisced about older travel days in the Czech Republic and about how many more roliks Switzerland requires than ol' Ceska. That night was a highlight for all three. Dinner at the Kronenhalle. The quintessential old school restaurant of Zurich. Despite all the time that Todd and Kathleen had already lived in Zurich, they had never been there. The place is amazing -- filled with artwork from such esteemed artists as Picasso. As luck would have it, we sat next to a painting by Chagall! Unbelievable. And the food was great too -- saddle of venison, anyone? Thanks for your visit, BA. It was a pleasure to show you around. Hope you can come again soon.