I wanted to share a bunch of pictures of our Swiss Fall. These are pictures independent of our weekend trips; more just everyday life type pictures. But everyday life in Switzlerand was so different than my everyday life at home so I wanted to record some of the details.
Our friends, Elodie and Fabio let Sam borrow this push car. One morning, Sam and I decided to go on a walk and he wanted to bring the push car. It had rained a lot the night before and the ground was muddy. I thought we'd walk maybe a half mile and head home but Sam wanted to walk by the farm that is on the road above our house. The farm belongs to a school for the handicapped and they have horses, goats, and lots of tractors.
Off-roading with the push car. The wheels were caked with 2 inches of mud all the way around by the time we got home.
When we arrived at the farm, there were lots of people out and about in the area around the barn and farmhouse. I didn't feel comfortable just ducking under the fence to go see the horses and not being sure what cultural norms were, I stood on the side of the parking lot with Sam watching one man try to teach another how to drive a tractor for about 10 minutes. One of the older handicapped men came over to talk to me. I, of course, couldn't actually communicate with him since my French is so lacking. We did manage to joke around a little and I asked him (in French! I was proud) if I could go and show Sam the horses. He told me sure so we went over to see them.
Sam said later that he didn't like the horses because they, "look at me, mom." I guess the long stares made him nervous. Funny.
After we looked at the horses, we went over to ask if we could look at the three big tractors they had. A short man with the most muscular calves I've ever seen was showing another man how to start the tractors. Sam and I watched until they were done. Then, I went over and asked the man if we could look at the tractors. He excitedly agreed and then began talking furiously to me in French with lots of lively gestures. I eventually cut in (after trying to get a word in edgewise for a long time) and told him I didn't speak French (the only thing I could say in French at the time that was always understood). He said that I did speak a little and then continued to chatter on.
He talked to Sammy and I for about a half hour - non-stop. I understood that he was telling us all about how he could drive a motorcycle and he eagerly showed us his license and told us all about how fast he could go, etc. Then, he talked about the tractors and lifted up the hood to show us the engine. Sam was afraid of him but fascinated at the same time. It was obvious that he was high functioning but had some kind of mental disability and was so, so proud of his tractor driving, which he should have been. After watching him try to teach someone else how to start the tractors, it was clear how complicated it was.
After he told us all about the tractors, I finally got a chance to tell him my name (one of my practiced French phrases). He didn't understand me so I tried again...and again. Finally, I asked what his name was and then he knew what I was saying originally. It made me feel completely useless that I couldn't even tell someone my name in French! That is the most basic phrase! But, he told me his name was Stefan and gave me three big kisses on either cheek (very Swiss - the French give two kisses). I was shocked since the Swiss are usually quite distant and you only give kisses to close friends. Then, he said he had to go eat lunch and wrapped his arms around me and gave me a huge, very long hug. He was so short, that his head was right at chest level and he smooshed his face right between my breasts. I figured that I didn't mind giving a hug and some joy to this sweet handicapped man, so I hugged him right back. Then, he went skipping away to his lunch. It was such a friendly and affectionate interaction and after having so many unfriendly and unwelcoming interactions with Swiss people throughout the rest of the trip, I love that Stefan gave me "bisous" (kisses) and a big hug.
On the way home from the farm, Sam loaded up his pushcar with a collection of sticks (a favorite activity. He's a collector of all things - rocks, sticks, dirt, etc.)
There is a park that still lives on as the favorite part of Switzerland for Sam. In fact, he still invites his preschool teachers and friends to go to the "Steamroller park" with him. We went there several times a week - in the rain, in the snow, in the mud... Nothing could stop us!
There is an old steamroller that they've made a part of the park. Sam loved it so much and it was hard to get him to leave it. Finally, I figured out that if he put the steamroller to bed, he was able to say goodbye without too many tears. He would put on it's pajamas, brush it's teeth, give it a binky, read it a story, say a prayer, read it another story, talk about his day, and sing two songs (our normal and ridiculously long bedtime routine). So funny.
This was the coolest playground toy ever (also at the steamroller park)! It is a bike merry-go-round of sorts. You sit on the bikes and pedal around the track. You can get going really fast. Sam (and Don, especially. A bike merry go round!!!) loved it.
There were some woods close by and one Saturday, Sam and Don walked there and played in the creek.
I love this picture of Sam. So happy standing in the creek washing his monster boots off. Man, were we glad we bought him the rain boots before going. They were worn constantly as it was always wet and muddy.
On one of our afternoon walks, the sun was setting and it made for some fantastic alpen glow across the lake.
Sam loved these tree stumps in the backyard. We spent a lot of time jumping on and off them and playing games there.
Silly Sammy.
A little more of the beautiful alpen glow; a daily occurrence.
There was an apple orchard right out our front door and the neighbor let us use as many apples as we liked. We would often just eat them straight off the tree or cut them up and put them on our salads. One day, Sam and I made a beautiful homemade apple pie with them and took it to share with Don's colleague, Gregoire, and his girlfriend Julie. Once the neighbor and his helpers had picked all the apples, Sam loved watching the tractor stack, load, and drive the crates of apples away. We saw the very apples from our neighbor's trees for sale at our grocery store. The Swiss are committed to supporting their local farmers and eating locally. The food is so fresh and high quality; we loved it so much even though it was so expensive!