4 Orange Suitcases

Rheinfalls

water- das Wasser Miriam is on fall break (last week and this). Due to the travel restrictions, we are doing a staycation. As part of that, we are continuing our visits with our castle buddies. Today, we headed to the Rheinfalls. To be honest, the falls were the main part

Uetliberg

local - lokal Today was a beautiful day. Most likely one of the last warm days of the season. Stephan and I did not waste the day. We took our backpacks, water bottles and headed out. We decided to stay local and headed to the Uetliberg. (It also seems as

Schloss Wildegg

cold - kalt On a cold, windy and rainy Saturday, Miriam and I met up with our castle buddies, Birgit and Banyan and headed to the Habsburg Castle [https://www.museumaargau.ch/schloss-habsburg/]. We got there a few minutes before they opened. We were very excited to see the castle

Yom Kippur Thoughts

Excuse me - Entschuldigung Sorry - Tut mir leid I was looking at German words to describe the high holidays. As Yom Kippur is only days away, I find myself thinking a lot about loss. My loss, other's loss, my home country's loss and the world&

St. Beatus Caves

cave - die Höhle While in Interlaken, we headed to St. Beatus Caves [https://www.beatushoehlen.swiss/en/]. Situated on the mountains edge and overlooking Thunsee - it was a beautiful site. The views outside the cave were even worth the trip. And the caves were a perfect escape on

Interlaken

three - drei Three-day weekend for Miriam this past weekend. Monday was a holiday just for Zürich. For most it was a 1/2 day but M had the full day off. The holiday is called Knabenschiessen. The translation is basically, "Boys Shooting". This is one of the

Kyburg Castle

Castle - der Schloss On Saturday, Miriam and I met our friends at the connecting train station and we headed on an outdoor adventure. The weather was lovely. We took a train and then a bus to the castle. It is situated in a sweet little town.  The castle is

It is 2pm

The clock - Die Uhr I know I already posted for this week. Yesterday's post about Bellizona was just to not forgot the little town we visited when we went to Lugano. But today was feeling odd to me and I looked at the clock and it made

Bellizona

Wall - Die Mauer On our way home from Lugano, we stopped in Bellizona for a quick coffee and stroll through this quiet town. It was a lovely town, that deserves a much longer visit. The town has three different medieval castles. We only saw one from a distance. What

Daily Life in Zürich

Parliament - Der Geminderat Daily Life in Zürich is a class that is offered to women that moved to Züri. The course is given in many languages. Every Wednesday morning from this week until the middle of December I am attending. The concept is to help newcomers understand Züri and

Mont Bre

Die Seilbahn - Cable Car - Funiculare (Italian) While visiting Lugano, we took one of the Funiculare. Many of the mountain towns have these cable cars in areas where the town is built on the steep side of a mountain. Zürich has them, as does Lugano. So we took one

No Photos Today

to fly - fliegen I figured I would mark this day even though there will be no photos! Klara and Stephan are off!  They left early this morning to settle into the apartment, or perhaps to make sure they got to Vienna in time for a good dinner on the

Lugano

Language - Die Sprache Language is an important part of identity. I think that Switzerland is a perfect example.  With just over 8.5 million inhabitants and a little over 41,000 square meters, Switzerland has four official languages:  French, German, Italian and Romansh. I think that says something -

18

18 - achtzehn Monday, Klara became an official adult. When I stop to think about, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. That tiny (ok maybe not that tiny - she was the longest baby in the nursery) baby changed our world 18 years ago. We still

Stolpersteine

Stumbling Stones -  Die Stolpersteine Vienna: An example of the StolpersteinePrior to moving to Switzerland, we were aware of the Stolpersteine.  Whenever we traveled to Austria to visit family, we saw the stones. When we traveled to other countries, we saw the stones. As a family, we always try to

Hallstatt

Die Zille - boat (More to the exact definition below) Hallstatt is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It is not a typical stop when we are near Stephan's folks, but we went today.  It is an UNSECO site. The salt is

Miriam is 15

15 - Fünfteen Miriam turned 15 a few day ago. Looking back on the past year - it is a lot to take in. One year ago we were sitting in our new city, not knowing anyone.  I know Miriam was feeling very alone, but trying to stay positive. Away

Vienna - List of Suggestions

to suggest - vorschlagen As written in the last Salzburg post, these are the suggestions that we often send in an email. Vienna is a special city for us. When Stephan graduated from high school he went off to Vienna. A few years later, he spent a year in NY

Salzburg Suggestions

to visit - besuchen Very often when folks are traveling to Salzburg or Vienna - they ask us if we have a suggestion. We have an email that we save and update over time for each city. However, I thought, I would write one for each on the blog so

Greifensee

Lake - Der See We have been enjoying the lake views around the area. Last week we went to Greifensee. It is a lovely lake - much larger than the one we went to on Father's Day. (Türlersee [https://www.4orangesuitcases.com/fathers-day/]). We started in the small

Frogs

Frog - Der Frosch Our morning walks are talked a lot about these days. After all, it is one of the things we look forward to everyday.  And it is one of the few things we do without stress or concerns. We walk early enough that there are few people

Wear the Yellow Shirt

yellow - gelb As a parent of a graduate, you know it is not about you. At the same time - there was this rush of urgency in me that wanted to make sure I shared everything with Klara before she headed off to Vienna.  (I now know what my

Father's Day

Father - Der Vater Today is Father's Day in the US. In Switzerland it was two weeks ago. So two weeks ago we walked around Winterthur and had dinner out. Today - was a hike around Türlersee. Stroll, really...  Next week is a hike. Only about 30 minutes

Graduation 2020

Graduation - Der Abschluss Today is the day Klara was suppose to graduate from Chapel Hill High School in a big ceremony.  400 classmates and their families would be sitting in the Dean Dome at UNC - Chapel Hill.  For those not from Chapel Hill, the Dean Dome is huge

Daily Walk

Everyday - Jeden Tag Rain, wind or cold has not stopped Stephan and myself from getting up every morning and walking. This is one of the good things that has come out of the pandemic for us. We always enjoy our weekend walking dates, but now we get up very