Week in Switzerland March 17-23, 2019

Sunday began with a bus trip to Zurich Switzerland for Stake Conference.  We had a wonderful Saturday - very busy and up early to be on the Bus.  It was so nice to not have to drive and to just sit back and enjoy.  It is always nice to see people from other areas that we have come to know and to visit with them.  President and Sister Brown, our mission president spoke at conference.  It is always a great experience to hear from them.  Pres. Brown shared some very personal stories from his childhood that have made a difference in his life today.  He shared a story of his being healed when he was 11 years old after a one year stay in the hospital after his parents had been told he would not live.  He learned to not fear death and to follow Christ.  His name is Christopher which means Follower of Christ, bearer of Christ.  He wears his name on his badge every day, his life belongs to Christ and he has dedicated his life to Christ.  He serves Christ.
Sis. Brown shared a story of a little boy who was following his mother around in everything she would do.  It started to annoy her and she turned around and asked him why he was following her.  He said he had learned in church to follow Jesus and since He was not there he was following her.  Oh, the power of influence.  We are so fortunate to have the influence of Pres. & Sis. Brown in our life.  They are wonderful people who are committed and devoted to serving Jesus Christ.
The bus ride home is always more festive that the ride early in the morning.  We eat lunch and visit and have a wonderful time.
Sunday evening we finished preparations for our week of Apartment Inspections.  We left Freiburg on Monday morning and started our inspections in Basel.  We had three apartments to visit.  The hardest part is finding the apartment and then finding parking close by.  We went into a shop and asked where to pay for the parking and they said that we needed a permit and that the police station was next door.  They were very nice and gave us a permit and said it would work for the whole city.  We had to stop by a bank and get some Swiss currency (francs - they do not use the Euro)  The Sisters had just moved into this new apartment and we had to install smoke and CO2 detectors.  It took a little longer than planned, but we made it to the other apartments almost on schedule.  We inspected 4 apartments on Monday.  Our last apartment was in Solothurn with one of our former missionaries, Elder Falkena.  We took he and his companion out to dinner after their inspection.  It was so nice to visit with them and catch up with all that he has been doing.

Bern Switzerland Temple

We arrived in Zollikofen and stayed in housing on the grounds of the Bern Switzerland Temple.  We took a walk around after a day of driving.  It is so beautiful at night.  This was the view we had out of our room window.

The Picture Tour begins.  Sorry, but there are so many to share as we toured this week.  I hope you enjoy the beautiful sights.

 We started our day attending the Temple with all of the missionaries from Switzerland.  There were 55 missionaries together.  It was wonderful to be with them and also Pres. & Sis. Brown.  So many languages were represented with most of these missionaries from European Countries.  They are a great group of young people. 

We spent the afternoon inspecting apartments.  So our main purpose is to check and make sure they are keeping the apartment clean and repairs reported or fixed.  We check to make sure they have adequate bedding, dishes, pots and pans and a working vacuum.  We have an opportunity to visit with them and get to know them a little better.  We let them know we are there to help them and to provide the best living conditions possible.  We take an inventory of items needed and also repair the things that we can or refer them to their hausmeister (landlord).  I have to teach a few of them how to use the cleaning supplies that are in their apartments and what is expected for a clean shower and toilet.  We were so grateful that 90% of them were ready and happy to see us.  It really makes a difference for all of us.  Elder Grimmett gets the job of testing the smoke alarm and the CO2 monitor - he always did like loud noises!  We inspected 3 more apartments and then finished the night at a wonderful dinner.

It is very expensive in Switzerland.  We found a Mexican Restaurant called Desperado that was wonderful.  I loved the shirts the waitresses were wearing that say, "Mex you Happy"  I asked our waitress if I could take her picture - from the back side!  It was some of the best enchiladas I have ever had.

We decided to share a dessert and ordered their !Ay Caramba! Deconstructed Cheesecake.  I was not sure what deconstructed was going to look like.  This is a Lime-Cream Cheese with Mango, pineapple, pomegranite Salsa with Cookie crunch sprinkled on top.  It was a very different presentation, but it was very good.  Seemed like less calories being Deconstructed!
We spent another night in the Temple housing and had to check out by 8:00 AM so another early start to the day and on the road again.  Two more inspections were completed on our way to Interlaken.

 The Beauty Begins.  Everyone told us this was the most beautiful place in the whole of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  It did not disappoint.  The Black Forest is hard to beat, but the Alps have a beauty all to themselves.  It was the first day of Spring and it was absolutely gorgeous.  We could not have asked for a better day.  We had a picnic in the city park on the main street and then we walked through the small town of Interlaken.  It is mostly a tourist town. 

 Three paragliders were in the sky and then they landed in the park in the center of town that we had our picnic lunch at.  It was fun to watch them come over the mountain and then come in for the landing. 

This is the Victoria Grand Hotel.  It was beautiful.  We have been collecting magnets from each city that we visit so we purchased one from here and then it was time to check in to our Bed and Breakfast.

 This was the view from our window.  We are staying in Wilderswil, a small village on the mountain side outside of Interlaken.  The mountains we are looking at are the Eiger, Monch and the Jungfrau.  You may be familiar with the movies that have been filmed on these mountains - The Eiger Sanction and the famous 1969 James Bond movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  The Piz Gloria, the worlds first revolving restaurant was completed during the filming of this movie and is located on the top of the Jungfraujoch.  The sun was so bright coming off of the snow on the mountains it was hard to take good pictures. 

 The Host at our BnB gave us some wonderful suggestions on what to do in the area.  He suggested a hike through the village and on a trail that was built by the Swiss Army during WWII that took you to a castle ruin.  He said, "follow your nose and you will find it."  This picture is looking out over the valley below with large dairy farms and the city beyond.  There is a mountain but the glare of the sun coming off of the snow just shows white haze.  It definitely smelled like cows, but it was beautiful.

 Castle Ruin.  There is not much left of this building, but it was a nice hike to see it and the views were wonderful. 

 Russ is climbing the scary stairs to the top of the ruin. 

 I loved the first signs of Spring.  These are the famous edelweiss plants that grow all through the Alps and this region. 

 This is the back of our BnB.  (the dark brown building)  It is about 200 years old and was the summer home to the grandmother of the current owner.  He suggested after our walk/hike a few restaurants to eat at.  He told us of a local hotel that had a specialty of Veal Cordon Bleu and that the proprietor was an 82 year old woman that made it worth the visit.  Russ did not have to be convinced to go and have Cordon Bleu.  The restaurant was amazing.  It was so much better than eating down in the city with all of the tourists.  We were all tourists, but not large groups, just individuals.  The 82 year old lady was our waitress and a pure delight.  I tried to say a few things in German to her and she asked if I was from England.  We laughed and said, No, we are from Texas!  We could see that it was going to be way too much food so we just ordered one and shared it.  I got my camera out to take a picture of it and then was so enthralled in the presentation of the food I forgot to take a picture and just started eating.  Russ had a barley soup that was the best I have ever tasted and I had tomato - my Dad's favorite.  He would have loved it - so rich and thick with a dollop of cream on top.  We were so glad we only ordered one plate.  We could barely finish it between the two of us.  There would be no dessert tonight.

We have been spoiled by our Bed and Breakfast stays in Granbury Texas.  They are famous for their breakfasts.  Patrick asked us the night before if we preferred tea or coffee.  We told him we did not drink either.  He had NEVER had someone tell him that before.  He said, "What do you drink?"  We told him juice or water and he gave us a funny look and we said, Hot chocolate.  He said, great - I can do that - you have redeemed yourselves.  He served a wonderful Swiss Hot Chocolate and toast with 4 different jams and honey.  It was very simple, but tasty.  A good start to the day, especially after the large meal the night before. 

 We drove to Lauterbrunnen and boarded the cable car to ride up to Grutschalp.  We went from 796meters to 1486 meters - straight up the mountain.  It was an adventure.  When we arrived in Grutschalp we boarded a train for the ride further up the mountain.  The train stopped in Winteregg to drop off skiers and anyone else who wanted to stop at the little village.  Then we climbed higher to Murren at 1638 meters or 5,374 feet.  I had no idea we would end up at a village that had homes and many hotels and ski lifts.  You can only get there by this train or by helicopter or hiking.  So many shops and restaurants.

 We watched the skiers, an airplane that circled above, hang gliders, people on sleighs and hikers.  It was a clear crisp day and the snow was quickly melting.

Map of area we visited.  The picture below is the location of the James Bond Movie.  It is a restaurant and we were looking across the mountain to see it.  It sits in the dip between the two mountain ranges and is accessed by train.

You can see the top of the building on the mountain below.  We were directly across from it on the other mountain.

 You can see how the wind was blowing the snow on the high peaks that are about 13,000 ft.  We did not have wind, but at the higher elevation you can see what it was doing.

 These were the water fountain all through the village.  They say it is the best water to drink.  It is definitely ice cold.
We had a wonderful day and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation of the earth.

 We felt like we were on the top of the world. 

 This is a picture of our decent back to our starting place.  It does not really show depth, but it was very steep.  You can see how quickly you are out of Winter and into Spring.  It is still amazing how many villages dot the mountain sides.

 When we were getting off of the gondola, we all looked over and saw this beautiful waterfall coming off of the mountain.  Another marvel of nature.
We have been asked to do the apartment inspections every 12 weeks.  So we have at least 3 more trips to this area.  We will get to see it in all of the different seasons.  It is only a 3 1/2 hour drive from where we live, but it seems in a different realm.  Well, at least it is in a different country.
So we drove home and did one last apartment inspection for this trip.  These were the first Elder's to ask me what score they got on their inspection.  I told them they got 98 out of 100 and he asked what they were marked down on.  I top him one of the beds was not made and the sink needed to be cleaned a little better.  He said, next month we will get a 100 - and he meant it.  It is so nice when they want to do good and I really did not have to say anything.  Basically, a 90 or above is a clean apartment. 

Friday was a busy day just regrouping and planning for the weekend.  We had to shop for food for our Saturday trip to Singen, Sunday Dinner at Church and Monday District Council back in Singen.  We had our weekly appointment with Amira in the afternoon and it was a great way to end the week.  On our way home, the Elders called and had locked themselves out of their apartment.  So, they met us at our house and we gave them the extra set of keys.  I felt bad that I could not offer them dinner before they went to their 7:30 appointment, but we were on our way to the store to purchase all of the food we needed and I didn't have anything to offer after being gone all week.  Can't feel too bad as I was going to get food to feed them on Saturday and Monday - they are getting spoiled.

 So we ended the week going to Singen for an ausstelllung (display in the city center that is held once a month for groups that want to participate)  We did one in December and today.  It was a beautiful day and a good day to be on the square visiting with people.  The missionaries have this bike (common in Europe) that is used for the display. 

 Sister Penner and Sister Pitcher manning the display.

The Elder's and Elder Grimmett having fun figuring out who would ride the bike back to the Church. 
We found that more people talked to us on that very cold wet day in December than today when it was sunny and warm.  I think the Christmas Season had more people thinking of Christ and being willing to stop and talk. 

We left Singen and headed to Offenburg for two appointments with our Elder's.  It was a 2 hour drive and through a lot of farm land that was getting ready for Spring plantings.  We met with two men from Nigeria and then met with our new member who is the refugee from Iran.  It was a very interesting evening.  We finished at 7:30 and then took the Elder's to dinner.  It was at a gourmet burger restaurant (not many of those in Germany) and it was the first hamburger we have had at a restaurant in Germany and it seemed to be the happening place for a Saturday night.  They were very good and the Elder's enjoyed it.  We took them to the Lahr apartment for them to spend the night so they could attend church in the Lahr Branch on Sunday.  We finally arrived home at 10:00 pm. 
We have been asked to conduct a workshop at the upcoming Senior Conference in May - they have asked us to present on the topic "Making the Most of Our Time as Senior Missionaries".  So, we will begin planning for that - we certainly have many experiences to draw from and we certainly do not have many slow times and we try to make the most of the time that we have while serving here.  And so we began the week on the road and ended the week on the road.  It is so good to be home at least for Sunday.
Enjoy!
The Grimmett's