Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Switzerland, here we go

My first contact with anything Swiss was a television program on each week called “George.”? It was; “...The story of a single Canadian man, younger woman, a young boy and last but not least, George, their hell-raising, yet adorable Saint Bernard. They move to Switzerland to take up residence in the Swiss Alps with their nanny Frau Gerber...”?

I remember George the dog, and I remember the determined Frau Gerber, a classic large German speaking woman who ruled the house with a iron fist and a big heart.

I remember even at that age how taken I was with the beauty of the place. I watched the program partly for the story, but mostly for the scenery.

My second encounter with things Swiss was in grade three or four, our class went to the Saskatoon City Library to view a travelog on, wait for it, Switzerland. There on the big screen I saw more refined images of the country, and I was really smitten.

The beauty of the mountains, especially the Matterhorn, was a bit intoxicating to my young head. And I left the place in a bit of a daze. Such places existed on the face of the earth? It was like a whole new door opened up to me then. I promised myself that I would see such sights in person one day.

Well, my third and most recent Switzerlandism is my daughter, Johanna. She has been contracted to become an au pair in a Swiss town for a Swiss family for the next year. She leaves tomorrow.

It"s hard to believe she will see some of the sights I only saw in pictures and movies. She will spend the next year tasting new food, smelling new smells, and seeing amazing things. She will meet new people, make new friends, and create deep relationships which may last a lifetime. She will gain an education and an experience and her eyes will be opened like they haven"t been to date.

She will learn more, grow more, change more, and it will be good.

And, she will fulfill a dream I"ve carried for a lot of years.

Cool how that works.


3 comments:

  1. So here goes, eh?

    My memories of Switzerland are still pretty wonderful in spite of some crazy things happening to us there. One of the great places we stayed was up in the Alps - in Beatenberg. Part of a chain of Christian Hotels - not quite like we would expect here from a chain - very small for the most part, simple, family oriented and just plain cool - the one in Beatenberg was the one we stayed in longest - http://www.christian-hotel.com/index.php?country=ch&id=10143

    So if you ever go, you have to check it out.

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  2. Brings back memories from my too-rushed 1984 tour of Europe as a backpacking recent university graduate on a tight budget, when staying in youth hostels was a luxurious break from sleeping on train seats. Switzerland was a highlight, especially the hostel at Interlaken. Good for Johanna, this should be a good year for her. And I hope you will be able to fulfil this dream sometime ... maybe Johanna will buy a ticket for you with her big au pair salary?

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  3. Very cool. Best wishes for Johanna in Switzerland!!!

    - Lauren C

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