Switzerland: Luzern & Zurich

Say hello to lovely Luzern! Its main attraction is the Chapel Bridge which seems "meh" in pictures, but was so much prettier and more interesting in real life. 

It's the oldest covered wooden footbridge in the world. It was built in the 1330s and sadly was mostly torched in the 1990s due to an accidental fire (some think it was a rogue cigarette butt), but all rebuilt within a year. Many of the paintings (100 out of 147) in the ceiling trusses were ruined, and 30 were restored and remain there today.

 We walked back and forth on the bridge several times and then wandered to the other bridge down the Ruess River.

For lunch we ate at Pasta Razzi, a really good homemade pasta place. It had a hipster vibe which made it even better. They sold overpriced lemonade that tasted like lemon herb water. Cool, guys. Cool.

 After lunch we spent three hours at Park Vogeligartli. The kids played at the playground while Adam and I rested on the grass, then we alternated playing chess and frisbee.

Adam cooled the kids off by spraying them with fountain water. They were thrilled.

We splurged on our final Airbnb in Europe EVUH. Well, hopefully not evuh, but for now. It was a beauty. Twice the size of our apartment in Lux, open, airy rooms, and gorgeous views of Lake Luzern. It was heavenly to spread out a bit after being confined to a couple very cramped rooms in Beatenberg.

 Plus bullfrogs in a lily pond in the backyard that went completely berzerk every single night. Wow. It made me feel less bad about my loud kids.

 One night I sat on the balcony and watched the most incredible lightning storm. THE. BEST.

Our last day in Switzerland was spend in Zurich. 

It's not one I'd highly recommend for tourists; it's really just people going to work in the world's highest GDP city. But it did have a few darling, narrow cobbled streets we wandered around, and we enjoyed the views and park at Lindenhof Hill.

 We didn't spend too long in this city ... just hung out and ate some random stuff from the grocery store and watched these cute old men play chess in the park.

 Loving these new Bueno ice cream cones! Europe rarely experiements with new food products, so when they branch out it's always exciting.

 This was my favorite picture of the whole day. Seeing my kids skip along cobble stone streets is one of those quintessential European views that gives me a thrill. Next time we come to Europe as a family, my kids will be a lot taller, and maybe not so much into skipping.

 Don't let me forget about cutie little dudes just sitting perched in front of quaint city scapes.  I've loved exploring this amazingly beautiful continent with them.

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch, someone's crap is strewn everywhere.
Oh, wait, that's my crap. And I've taken pictures of every angle of this place cuz I'd like to think someday a giant kitchen and a really open floor plan is in my future. Plus someone to clean up all my crap.
Adam's saying goodbye to the beautiful view.

And that was the end of our European vacation extravaganza. 

Next up: THE MOVE. duhn duhn DUHNNNN.