Easter Travel

This year, as he did waaaaay back in the halcyon days of late April, 2011 (Ducklings were seven months old = challenging schedule, easy kids... now, at 4.5 years old = easy schedule, challenging kids!) Edward travelled to Switzerland to visit my family.

And again, this time, he enjoyed wonderful food and hospitality, well deserved rest and some roving rambles over the breathtaking countryside.

Taken from the vantage point of Hohenklingen, a medieval castle in the vicinity of my father's hometown, Eschenz, which is located on the far bank of the Rhein river, as shown in this picture.  The town in the foreground is Stein am Rhein, which is located on the German side of the river.  If you look closely, you can see the semi-circle forming Stein am Rhein's original town walls, which date to the 13th century.  These sites have been occupied since prehistoric times, and the area is particularly renown for its wealth of archaeological artifacts, especially Roman, which were exceptionally well preserved in the river's silt.

Stein am Rhein's ancient, cobbled roads - now, almost exclusively pedestrian

Views of the Rhein.  

Family church in Eschenz

I'm not very well versed on the flowers of Switzerland, but no matter what they're called, these little gems are gorgeous

Our deepest gratitude to Uncle Alois, Aunt Alice, Aunt Doris, Uncle Niklaus and Irna for making Edward feel so welcome and at home.  He thoroughly enjoyed his trip, we loved his stories... and the goodies he brought home.  We hope to reciprocate your hospitality this summer and fall!

On the home front, I managed really well while Edward was gone.  I did have help from my mother and from Myriam, but I was able to survive, and only had to threaten to cancel Easter once.  It was a real trial by fire, too, because it was Easter holidays, so the kids were home four out of the six days Edward was gone.  It had moments of.... intensity.... but I can definitely see a blue-sky horizon, where the kids are a little more self-sufficient, and little easier to engage and to focus (read: not trying to kill each other with their bare hands).  And, apart from illness and teething issues, Malcolm now sleeps through the night reliably, which was a tremendously fortuitous development when left alone with a bunch of kids overnight.  We were living through colds when Edward was gone (of course!), but my fears of being up all night tending to howling, miserable (and um, incredibly melodramatic) children never materialized.

Small steps, indeed, but a huge leap for the quality of our family life.... only five years in the making!