Celebrating 26 years, Swiss-style

Last Sunday was my 26th birthday! Fortunately, I'm still in an era of life where I genuinely enjoy celebrating growing another year older (and wiser, too, theoretically). Twenty-six was the third birthday I've been able to celebrate in Europe (twenty-one and twenty-four were the other two), and this time, I made my birthday last a whole week long! :)

With beautiful late fall weather in Geneva, my birthday week started of wonderfully the Thursday before the big day, with a trip to the wine market after work for vin chaud (mulled wine, or glühwein in German); my first mug of the season! Vin chaud and Christmas time in Europe are among my favorite things ever.

After a great treat at the wine market, I went on a solo adventure to Geneva's Park des Bastions, where I enjoyed a sun and space-themed light show played out against one of the University of Geneva's oldest buildings. It was only 15 minutes long, but so fun to watch! It's amazing what you can do with lights and computers and projectors these days.

On Friday morning, I jumped on the train for a weekend in Arth-Goldau with some of the Korbel Crew. One of our classmate's parents live there and generously offered up their apartment as a home base for a weekend away. There were six of us Korbelians who were able to make it for the weekend, and we had a blast! The region is just gorgeous, and we were veritably spoiled by our classmate and her family.

Welcome to Arth-Goldau!

Those of us who arrived on Friday enjoyed an evening hike up part of the local mountain to an awesome restaurant/bar that is only accessible by foot. We were the evening's first customers, and we enjoyed good conversation, delicious French fries, tasty beer, and endless peanuts and pretzels. We hiked back down several hours later with flashlights, which was so fun!

The rest of the crew arrived on Saturday morning, and after dropping off their things, we all headed out to spend the day in Lucerne. I had been to Lucerne with my family back in 1998, so it was a real treat to be back again after 16 years, and on the day before my birthday! It was a gorgeous late fall day, complete with sunshine through fog, calm waters on the lake, and just enough cold to make the day perfectly cozy in my wool coat. Here are some pictures of this most beautiful Swiss city:

 

My friend Andrea made the day even better; she took the train down from Zurich to spend part of the day in Lucerne with me! I'm so glad that we got to meet up again. We enjoyed a nice lunch, stocked up on delicious tea at a teashop in town, and wandered through Old Town Lucerne, taking pictures, catching up, and window shopping. Andy is the best! I'm very grateful that we have become friends during my time here, and I'm excited to trade visits with her between Switzerland and the USA in the future!

With Andrea!

The gorgeous silhouette of Mount Pilatus in the fog

Beautiful Lucerne

This is one of the best porters I have ever had. The beer is from a brewery in Maryland;
I need to find that place and have this on tap sometime!

On Sunday, our classmate's parents drove us up into the hills to this beautiful alpine meadow, where we enjoyed a sunny Sunday walk, followed by hot chocolate and vin chaud at the restaurant on the hill. On the way back down to Goldau, we drove from the bright, warm, sun of the upper hills down into the foggy, grey, cold valley. The transition point between the two provided an amazing sight; a fog "lake", where you could clearly see the deliniation of the inversion. It was beyond stunning. (Click the photos for a larger view!)

The crew headed back toward Geneva late in the afternoon, after a very fun and successful weekend away. A huge thanks to our classmate and her folks for their wonderful hospitality during the weekend, and also to my Mom & Dad for the birthday present of train tickets to get there and back! What a fantastic birthday weekend. :)

The celebrations continued throughout last week as well! On Tuesday, the section of the UNECE Environment Division under which I work had a birthday brunch for the three of us employees with birthdays in November. I received a very kind card and beautiful flowers from my coworkers. I'm going to miss working at the UN!

On Wednesday, a crew of fourteen fellow interns and Korbel classmates went out to Bain des Paquis on Lake Geneva for a fondue dinner. Holy cow, that fondue is delicious; they make it with sparkling wine! I'm very glad that the crew could all join me to celebrate. 

And finally, this past Saturday, the Korbel Crew had Friendsgiving! Since we missed out on an American Thanksgiving this year (which was on Thursday, 27 November), we decided to have our own, Swiss-style. While their wasn't a turkey on the table (we had roasted chicken quarters instead), we had all the other fixings and a mighty good time! I even made pumpkin pie for dessert (thanks to my folks for sending the key ingredients). :)

Delicious Friendsgiving!

Thanks to all my family and friends, both at home and in Europe, for helping to make 26 a most memorable birthday. Here's to three more weeks in Switz, and a fantastic and exciting year ahead!!