Multi-Speaking Switzerland

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After soaking in the Alsace region of France, we decided that we would contact some Swiss friends we met in New Zealand to see if they would be up for hosting a pair of prancers for a few days. Sarah and her lovely family from Effingen, Switzerland (roughly halfway between Basel and Zurich in the northern part of Switzerland) took us in and welcomed us in the most wonderful way. We were instantly amazed by how versatile the Swiss people are. The country is divided into parts that speech German, French and Italian. Needless to say, Swiss people are the epitome of bi - and mostly - tri-lingual folk. Sarah’s father, Dante, comes from the Italian speaking part of Switzerland and her mother, Hilary, comes from Wales in the UK. They LIVE in the German speaking part of the country and they speak English in their household!!! Whew! That is a lot to take in, eh? So depending on who you are…this family will make you feel at home and speak your language!!! But they are all well-traveled and just such a treat to spend time with. They pampered us with great meals, a lazy dog for Tom to "try" and play with, activities during the days and real MATRESSES to sleep on…probably the biggest treat for our aching camping backs!

Our second day we went on a great hike past Zurich to the east and into a beautiful mountainous region. We took the gondola up to over 2000 meters and spent the day visiting 5 gorgeous alpine lakes and soaking in the scenery. Our last night we met up with Corinne (Sarah’s travel partner and the other girl we met in New Zealand) and the four of us had a great evening in the very laidback city of Baden.