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Category Archives: Swiss Miss
Clara’s Safari Salon
Does your giraffe or cheetah need a new look for the new year? Is your wildebeest feeling a little drab compared to the other creatures on the Serengeti? If so, send them over to Clara’s Safari Salon, and they’ll come out looking like a new animal.
The First Snow of Winter
Too bad the snow didn’t hang around for Christmas.
How Long Does It Take Three Little Women to Make Popcorn Strings?
Answer: Much longer if they get the munchies.
Fortunately, it’s a small tree.
Schuepfheim Alpabzug
The Swiss Misses and I ventured with my friend, Brandi, from church to an Alpabzug in Schuepfheim (near Luzern) today. An Alpabzug is the parade of the cows coming down from the mountain pastures from feeding during the summer. The great thing about this tradition is it’s a real tradition, not just for tourists. Even the little town we live in has one. This has been on my must-see list of things I want to do before leaving Switzerland. Have a gander at some of the pictures from the parade:
Alphorns
One of the ways the cows/goat farmers would communicate with other farmers or their homes was by yodeling or with an Alphorn. The sound carries quite far, but isn’t obnoxiously loud. We got to hear both yodeling and Alphorns, but only saw the yodelers from a distance among all the market stalls (bottom right).
The Cows, Their Bells, and Traditional Swiss Dress
One of the things that surprised me when I first lived here was that the cows really do wear bells all the time. It’s not just for show or for the tourists. You can hear them clanging anytime you walk by, often even when they are a good way up the mountains. The normal bells are much smaller and a lot less fancy than the bells below, however. The ones below are “show” bells only for special occasions. The really big bells you see in some of the pictures easily run CHF 800 – 1000 (USD 1000 – 1200). Many have been passed down for generations.
All of these cows are owned and led through the town by a family from the surrounding area, usually displaying a sign at the beginning of the next set of cows. Check out the mountain boots on these girls! Now these are mountain people! While you can’t see it in most of the pictures, they pretty much all were wearing very sturdy shoes.
Even the goats and tractors get their moment in glory.
I’m not sure why this guy was carrying these bells (and ringing them), but they were pretty fancy-schmancy. Dangling earrings were the thing for many of the men-folk.
To Market
Swiss cows are primarily raised for their dairy (as opposed to beef). So how do the farmers sell all that lovely cheese and butter they make? Most towns have a market square and a community farmers market. They don’t bring the cheese and butter to the square this way any longer, but it was interesting seeing how it probably used to be done – on the back. The round slabs are cheese; the squares are butter (pretty sure it was all local, fresh cheese and butter).
And where were we during all the hullabaloo? After hearing a lot but hardly seeing anything, the sun got hot and people left our little spot. So, we managed to sit on the ground at the very front with all the kiddos on my lap. I guess when you’re only two feet high, crowds and lots of loud bells are a little frightening. Oh, and we had one photo request. As we’ve learned in the past, we are also a tourist attraction. I’m pretty sure this picture looks identical to the one the lady took, since it was right before my friend took ours.
Annika: What do cows say when they get up?
Me: I don’t know. What?
Annika: Good moo-ning!
A Stroller Built For Three
Our triple stroller has been my friend this last year. It is how we get around – and most recently – how we pick up Annika from the train station after her Waldschule (Forest School).
If you’re wondering – it is HEAVY with all three kids. I figure between the weight of the stroller and all the kids, it is at least 145 lbs. to push around. Not so bad when you’re on flat ground. But this is Switzerland. And we are “mountain people” here in these parts (as someone in my German class called us country folk). When you need to turn, think of a bus or a semi. You need some maneuver room. But I wouldn’t trade it! It means freedom from being at home every.single.day.
We walk to school, the library, the grocery store, the parks, the doctor, the train. It’s only about a 10-15 minute walk to any of these places.
We also have a double stroller I’ve started taking more now that Annika is older and can walk a bit faster (wahoo!). It is a lot easier to push just the twins around.
First Day of School
The Swiss Misses live in a town that offers an optional year of kindergarten for four-year-olds. So, in late August Annika had her first day of school.
Keeping with German (but apparently not Swiss) tradition, Annika received a Schultüte (School Cone) on the Big Day. It was made by Jenelle and filled with some small gifts. The night before, Jenelle pronounced it “the world’s cutest Schultüte.”
Annika’s schoolhouse is being renovated right now, so until October she is attending forest school three times a week. In the morning, she and her class take the train two stops into the mountains and get off at a little town. They they hike about five minutes into the forest to their “classroom.” The children sign songs, play games, observe the forest and make crafts. On some days an additional teacher works with the students who are non-native German speakers.
In the first picture above, Annika is wearing a fluorescent/reflective necklace, which the kids wear while walking to school. Swiss school children are taught to stop at a crosswalk and, if they see a car coming, hold up their hand or wave to get the car to stop. Once the drive stops the car and waves back, the children cross the street. Waving to stop the cars is Annika’s favorite thing that she’s learned at school so far.
St. Paddy’s Day in June
A little late, but these were too cute to pass on telling you about. We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a couple fun things:
Shamrock Pizzas
The Little Women went on a shamrock treasure hunt, following arrows to a special prize: Finger Puppets!
Happy Birthday: 2 at 2
Clara and Nicolyn have made it to birthday number two! They celebrated the way that most two-year-olds like to party: with funny hats and raspberry-lemon tarts.
Fashion Queens
Among the youngest fashionistas of the Vance house, the one accessory that you don’t want to be seen without is . . . underwear. This has been so ever since Annika potty-trained after Christmas. And as any fashionista knows, it’s not only the what but the how that says whether you’re in or out. So, unlike those unfashionable prudes who wear theirs underneath their clothes, Clara and Nicolyn wear theirs on top.
They can get away with this because they’re still in diapers, and because their older sister is very good about sharing this part of her wardrobe.
After further clothing research, Nicolyn also determined that animal hand puppets need not be limited to the hands — in fact, they make good slippers, too.
Daddy’s dress socks also make for a good time.
