Christmas in Switzerland and Austria
Larry went right back to work in Zurich and I filled the refrigerator. Well, after registering our presence with the City, applying for a postal account to pay bills, and attending an ETH Earth Science Christmas party. Mac arrived in Zurich on the 21st and Alison on the 22nd. We walked around Zurich people-watching the last minute Christmas shoppers, sampled gluhvein (more than sampled and tried to recreate it at home which Mac didn't think was as good as what we found at the Christmas markets), visited ZuriWest which Larry didn’t love, and enjoyed a festive and special pre-Christmas family dinner at Kronenhalle, Zurich’s most famous restaurant that has original Picasso's and other art on its walls. We went to the lakeside coffee museum that had been a lovely home but the museum was quite sparse – large exhibit featuring postcards from cafes of the early 1900’s.

Mac, Alison and I took an early train to St. Anton on Christmas Eve while Larry waited for Ludmilla Aristilde, a former/favorite Cornell student now getting her ph.d at UC Berkeley, to arrive. We walked around St. Anton and rested until the Glahns, Larry and Ludmilla arrived. The weather was wonderful – sunny in the high 30’s, clear moonlit skies. Brooks, Lisa, Alison and I tried to go to Midnight Mass at St. Jakob, but we had the wrong time for Mass. Brooks and Lisa went on to St. Anton, but I worried that we might have to walk back so opted to go home to bed. Skiing in St. Anton was better for the better skiers. Not much snow at the base and fairly steep descents to the bottom. Up where Mac, Ben, Brooks, Bill, Hansi and Larry skied the snow was quite good. Alison alternated between snowboarding with Ben’s friend, Kaia, and skiing with Hansi and Larry– doing both well. I struggled and Lisa hated the trams so she only skied one day. Ludmilla took some private lessons (145 Euros!) and improved quite a bit. I took a lesson one day and fell 5 times – the last time through grass. I regressed that day and feel that I ended up just about where I began. Lisa enjoyed a massage one day and I met Kaia and Lisa at the swimming pool complex one afternoon and went back one evening to swim outside in the dark looking at the moon and the mountains. Our hotel was comfy with homestyle cooked food – good dinners but the breakfasts weren’t what we had become adjusted to - no fruit or hot items other than soft boiled eggs. There was a good sauna in the hotel but there was no place – other than the dining area – for us to sit and talk. One evening we met for apres-ski drinks and the annual Cathles family meeting at the Hotel Post where Larry and Hansi stayed with their parents in 1965. On our train ride back to Zurich I discovered that I didn’t have my passport – still don’t know if it was lost or stolen. Fortunately the train was overfull so custom inspectors just spot-checked and missed us. Our compartment was filled with Aussie financiers in their 30’s – interesting lingo and lifestyle going all over the world.

We enjoyed a superb New Year’s Eve dinner with Larry’s host and family and watched an amazing fireworks display over the ZurichSee. There are a large number of churches in Zurich and all their Church bells rang before midnight and after the display. Walking back to our apartment we were amazed by the profusion of empty champagne, wine and beer bottles and the amount of broken glass. Alison returned to Ohio early New Year’s Day but Mac and Ludmilla stayed the week. After sleeping much of New Year’s Day, Larry went back to work and the rest of us, worked and played.