"Winter Wonderland"

Grace's first school play. The children worked hard to learn a few dance routines, in addition, to various popular Christmas carols in High German, Swiss German, and English.

Christmas Day

Two words. Real candles! The candles on Ceci's tree were real. Definitely a sight. Our first Christmas in our new home was very nice. Thanks to the Mugans and Aunt Daphne for our elves who by chance found us in Heidelberg! And then returned home in Zurich. We spent Christmas morning downtown walking along Lake Zurich where Grace stopped to give a busker a couple of Swiss Francs. Ceci and Pierre then prepared a very special dinner and we opened a few gifts. The centerpiece on the table was handpicked by Ceci and Pierre that morning as they took a walk in the woods. Tomorrow morning we are flying to Barcelona for a week. Happy New Year to family and friends. This trip would could only be better if you were joining us!

Heidelberg, Germany

Two Christmas Markets down, a few more to go. We just returned from Heidelberg where Rob was invited to give a seminar at the local University. His talk was on Monday but we decided to stay a couple of days longer to see the town. We rented an apartment which in Germany is quite common and usually less expensive than a hotel plus it's so much more comfortable, when traveling with little ones, to have an equipped kitchen and separate sleeping quarters.

The town of Heidelberg is very pretty. There's an enormous castle nestled next to the Rhine and our apartment was within walking distance of just about everything we wanted to see. Heidelberg is also home to Germany's oldest university and they have a lovely Christmas market. The storefront windows were very festive. Grace and I loved Benetton's mini sweater ornaments. The girls got their first Christmas  Pyramid and we can't wait to light the candles and watch it turn the handcarved objects. We are leaving for Barcelona next week and looking forward to experiencing one our favorite destinations with the girls. All in all, our first Christmas away from home is shaping up to be one of our most memorable.

SonntagsZeitung

Rob was interviewed and quoted in the Fokus section of Zurich's Sunday Times. The article is about charity and why people give. We are all very proud of him, especially Grace!

Zoologisches Museum Zürich