Swiss family & friends reunion March 2008

throwing snowballs

2008-04-17T17:32:00.000+08:00

taken on 22 March 2008
Bretzwil, Switzerland

little drummer girl

2008-04-17T17:28:00.002+08:00

taken on 16 March 2008
Bretzwil, Switzerland

March 30, Sunday

2008-04-17T16:38:00.004+08:00

goodbye switzerland :_(
today we depart from switzerland. gisela had a hard time keeping her composure; her eyes were teary even before we left the house to get to the airport in zurich in the morning! we didn't have much time together when we arrived at kloten. we had to rush to check in because we were running a little bit late & the queue was already very long! by the time we checked in, it was time to proceed to the gate & say our final goodbyes. it was very very hard for me to have to say goodbye, especially when i think about separating anisha & gisela & her new 'good friend' willi. needless to say gisela & i shed some tears...even willi looked kinda thoughtful & sad.

after quite a bit of mad rush getting into the plane (it was surprisingly a full flight), we had a 1 hour delay due to some technical difficulties. the plane finally took off & it was another 12+ tiring hours of flying before we landed safely in Sg on Monday morning & were greeted by the Tweevran's. it took another 2 to 3 days to get over the subsequent jet lag before we were back to 'normal'.

March 29, Saturday

2008-04-17T16:09:00.016+08:00

last day to say goodbye to the whole family
we made a last minute dash to coop gartenstadt in the afternoon to get more chocolates for Sg. went back bretzwil for lunch then hung out there all day while the family came to say their goodbyes to us. it was really sad that we couldn't see lukas, jonas & rosmarie that day because they had made a prior arrangment. anisha got her birthday presents in advance but was told to open them only on her birthday!

the most interesting thing was anisha finally allowed willi to carry her & even played with him happily around the garden. for 2 weeks before this, she would run away or say "no!" when willi asked if he could carry her or when he came too close to her! it was bittersweet to see, because we were flying back to Sg the next day! would have been perfect if we could have 1 week more but that was not possible due to daniel's limited annual leave.

also, for the first time we were there, finally we could feel spring was in the air because the sun was shining brightly & the weather was getting warmer.

anisha very happily playing with her cousin michel

gisela side profile (pic taken by thomas)

daniel with big brother thomas

anisha with uncle thomas & Omi

it's definitely springtime!

....and away!

up....

practising her shovelling technique

one of her favourite place in the house

with her Omi & Willi

cousins tim & anisha

March 28, Friday

2008-04-17T15:33:00.012+08:00

reinach: daniel's ex-colleagues from Hatebur & short visit to gruen achtzig park
today we had a little reunion with daniel's ex-colleagues from Hatebur. we first had lunch with 3 of his male colleagues, Heinz, Michael & i can't remember the name of the third one! anyway it was funny seeing little anisha seated at the table with 4 big men. there was this one lady in a wheelchair who even commented to us about our 'funny' situation! after lunch, we all headed to the hatebur office where i finally got to see D's old working place! everyone was happy to see & catch up with him again & anisha was happy running around checking out the place.

we managed a short trip to the green 80 park. anisha loved the ducks, swans, birds, water fountain...sigh, she's truly a nature girl!

later that evening, daniel left for the Laibach gig. in the meantime, willi, gisela, anisha & i went to coop to do some big grocery shopping to bring back home to Sg.

2 more days till we depart! :-O

water fountain!

getting comfy while observing

trying to get a closer look

getting up close & personal with the ducks

notice how strong the sun was shining

she loves this watery sphere

anisha & daddy at the park

March 27, Thursday

2008-04-16T18:04:00.015+08:00

visit to Dornach: lunch with Harry & Beatrice
today we meet daniel's ex-colleague Harry & his wife Beatrice. we met at a pizza place where daniel finally got his thin crust fix! they are such interesting & unassuming couple & i always learn new things when chatting with beatrice (she drives a super cool army green jeep!). after catching up & saying our goodbyes, we finally managed a trip to basel city. nothing's much changed (unlike singapore!) & we got to go to our favourite cafe & CD shop (Roxy) once again!

later that evening daniel left to return thomas' car & to say goodbye to lukas, jonas & rosmarie for the last time. it's a shame anisha & i couldn't have our last goodbyes, we were in bretzwil. daniel then went to pick up rolf & jac's volkswagen, which they had kindly lent to us for our last few days.

view of the window of one of our fav cafe in basel (sorry i forgot the name!)

anisha & mama

about as straight as her hair can get!

grey view of the river...

hanging out in town finally

at the playground during our walk after lunch

all together now

candid shot taken by anisha

happily waiting for our food in the restaurant

on our way out: baby in basket!

March 26, Wednesday

2008-04-16T17:41:00.024+08:00

visit to Rheinfelden: Hans & Therese
today we visit daniel's father hans & his wife therese at their apartment in Rheinfelden. it's very near the german border, just minutes away! therese prepared lunch for us & anisha got to meet the little sri lankan boy they were babysitting, abishan. abishan seemed to be in love with anisha, because he tried holding & hugging her a few times, which put anisha off! he's such a smiley & friendly toddler! after lunch, we took a walk at the nearby park & anisha got to see very cute goats & try out the playground. i think she had a lot of fun at the slide, swing & rocking horse.

with her Opi Hans

2 men & a baby

before the big slide down!

on the rocking (more like sliding) horse

thrilled to bits!

she really loved seeing the goats

with hans & therese in the pic

hello goats!

anisha & abishan in the background

anisha & Omi's little snowman

our view before we sleep at night & when we wake up in the morning

our lovely family pic (unbathed & unbrushed teeth!)

very tired mama & anisha in the morning

March 25, Tuesday

2008-04-16T17:08:00.019+08:00

happy birthday, Gisela!
today was Gisela's special day & we started the morning with gratulations, hugs & kisses for her! we handed her our presents from singapore & she already guessed what it was before it was fully opened. the weight gave it away. we then had quite a posh lunch at the "bad bubendorf" restaurant where i had one of the best salad in my life! (maybe because i was also starving hehe)
i felt bad for intruding gisela & willi's special romantic lunch but she insisted she's happy when we can join them.

happy & messy girl

anisha enjoying her bread roll YUM!

mama & anisha

bubendorf restaurant: thoughtful looking birthday girl

admiring & wearing her birthday present from the tweevran's

oh beloved son! ;-)

walah! naturally occuring stone from china

the unveiling...she already guessed what it was at this point

opening our present

getting all excited

practising for Omi's birthday song?

March 24, Monday

2008-04-11T23:59:00.009+08:00

visit to roeschenz: the lechners
today we had planned to visit the Lechners since it's a easter holiday. jacqueline said she will prepare....*drumrolls*.....raclette! yes, more cheese! good thing i had no problems eating more cheese, but i think after this point, i started to have enough of the stuff (we also eat lots of cheese with bread for breakfast). an interesting thing, the temperature dropped to minus 11.8 degrees celcius in the wee hours of the morning! thanks for waiting for us, winter! michel played so well with anisha, watching over her go up & down the stairs. we notice she seem to play very well with the boys- all the rugged games like football (she once tried to imitate jonas tackling the ball!). she doesn't like it when boys come on to her too strongly at first though. she likes to be in control!

is this what it feels like to be in a snow filled glass ball?

jacqueline saying hello to the neighbour's donkeys. interesting note: they actually called out for the owner when she walked away to get something...very loud EEEEEE-AAAWWWWWWs!

another wintry photo, this time with rolf & jacqueline (and grumpy looking anisha)

feeding the lechner's guine pigs raeketli, bluemli, misty & chewy

this is willi & gisela's temperature reader. it can read the temp outside & this -11.8 temp was recorded at 7.23am. inside house temp is 17.6 degrees celcius (by noon it would usually read 20 to 21 deg)

March 23, Sunday

2008-04-11T23:08:00.029+08:00

i just got a very sweet & touching email from lukas. thanks lukas for your thoughts, we miss you too!

visit to breitenbach: thomas ruchti & family, easter sunday
this was the highly anticipated fondue date. rosmarie had agreed to make her special alcohol free fondue just for us. this is a special type of fondue because it uses a high amount of cooked pureed vegetables as the base + cheese of course. needless to say, daniel was in heaven. but of course it was also nice to catch up with the family again! ;-)

(photos in reverse order)

bad blurry pic but all of us are in it so it's precious to me!

so happy testing lukas & jonas' PSP

here is jonas, her cousin who said he'd marry her one day (hehe, cute right)

just say "kumpe!(jump!)" and she will jump non-stop!

walking in the snow

the ruchti clan

time to start walking after all that cheese! see how tall lukas is now & so cool to see anisha in this group pic :)

saying hello to their guineas

happy (& greedy!) guests

our very nice & lovely hosts rosmarie & thomas

rosmarie's masterpiece & daniel's dream come true

getting ready to eat

very cute easter present for anisha from thomas ruchti & family

learning how to blow the recorder properly

playing table soccer with uncle thomas

view from their window; it was snowing the whole day. isn't it such a magical view?

March 22, Saturday

2008-04-06T22:19:00.018+08:00

visit to stierenberg with gisela, willi, mireille & johannes
today we meet johannes & mireille again. the last time we met was when they stayed with us in Singapore during their 1 month SEA honeymoon from Dec '07 to Jan '08. they came over to willi & gisela's house, then we all drove up next door to the top of Steirenberg where we got to see & feel more snow! looks like we didn't miss winter at all!

hard to focus with snow blowing in our faces!

mireille, johannes & daniel

waiting for our lunch in restaurant

willi, mireille & johannes in the distance

snow on branches

view on way up to the 'mountain'

morning view of bretzwil from our bedroom window

March 21, Friday

2008-04-04T11:32:00.021+08:00

it started to get colder & when we woke up in the morning, there was a thin blanket of snow outside the garden. nice way to say hello to the start of the spring season! we must have brought the snow from singapore ;-)

today was the big date with our dear friends philip, daniela & their baby amina; caroline, oliver & their toddler florian. we dropped by philip's new apartment & finally got to meet sweet baby amina. she's got 'pixie' like blue eyes, daniela's nose & philip's full lips! she was such a laid back baby & hardly made a peep & it was so nice to hold her in my arms. after that we all drove off to Aesch to caroline & oliver's house. florian & anisha took sometime to warm up at first but once they were in his playroom, it was all crash & boom & full action! so there we were us 3 pairs of adults sitting around the table having tea & cake, 2 years later, with a child each in tow, just like that! we barely managed to get a perfect group shot...one would be covered by someone's head or arm & the children would be running around like crazy & we would have to distract them with toys & such.
on our way to Arlesheim
group shot attempt 2
group shot attempt 1
the ruchtis
the jespersens
handsome florian
philip with anisha & florian in b/g
caroline & 4 month old amina sophia

March 20, Thursday

2008-04-04T11:21:00.007+08:00

we went to thomas, my brother-in-law's beautiful house in breitenbach for dinner-a selection of cheeses from the region, potatoes & jam (i didn't know they would make a good combination!) & we got to play with the soccer table & electric keyboard for a little bit. anisha & i wasn't feeling so tip-top at that point, since we both got a cold. but it was so nice to be able to meet up with the thomas ruchti family again, including new members of their family, their 3 guinea pigs! i hung out with rosmarie & for a moment we were having 'chicken & duck' conversations since she can't speak english & i can only speak basic, broken german.

thomas was very kind enough to lend us his car for 1 week & we later found out that anisha liked driving in this car very much because she would fall asleep after driving 5 minutes in it!

March 19, Wednesday

2008-04-04T11:08:00.009+08:00

in the food pic, you can see how much anisha is enjoying Omi's food-vanilla pudding & dampfnudeln (kinda like a steamed pudding). yummy yummy!

daniel got to drive again & gisela led us to frau steiner's farm & anisha loved seeing more chickens, roosters, ducks, rabbits (including a very cute baby one), huge (pregnant) cows, goats & pigs (though she didn't really like the pigs-except imitating their sounds). i saw & called a cat but couldn't get a nice photo of it.

when it comes to playing with Omi, what else can i say about it. those 2 are a perfect match! they are both of the same wild kind & have the same ideas, for eg. lying on their stomachs & purposely throwing wooden blocks under the cupboard only to retrieve it with a long stick & doing it all over again just for a laugh.

March 18, Tuesday

2008-04-01T16:59:00.016+08:00

we went walking around bretzwil in the morning for some fresh COLD air while willi & gisela worked on one of their machine in the shed next to paul's (willi's late father) old house. we were lucky enough to meet a cute & friendly cat! that morning, anisha also got to check out the chickens & rabbits at gisela's neighours house & of course Omi & willi's koi fishes in the pond. our little girl really loved exploring around Omi & willi's house. who would have thought she's such a nature girl? too bad we don't have a garden for her here in singapore.

rosmarie & lukas dropped by at noon time & anisha played ball with lukas. he is so tall now! later that day, we visited jacqueline & her kids, jessica & michel (rolf was at work). we got to see our guinea pigs misty & chewbacca again!! i cuddled chewy & he seemed to enjoy it. i still can't believe how the kids have grown in the space of 2 years :-O

that night, i had anisha for myself, as daniel went for the Autechre gig with philip & johannes. i had a hard time accepting this initially but it's the only chance for D to have his own time doing what he loves. my only wish is that the gig location aren't so far-usually about 2 hours drive each way to & fro (if it's in france or germany or zurich etc). guess i was stressed out by anisha being extra clingy to me & having difficulty sleeping at night & not having enough rest!

March 17, Monday

2008-04-01T09:02:00.010+08:00

was totally enjoying the fresh crisp clean air & cool weather-about 4 to 6 degrees celcius. a laid back day for recovery & grocery shopping at coop & migros bubendorf. daniel went crazy at the supermarket when he saw the cheeses, breads & zweifel chips that he missed so much! anisha also had her fun with the mini child trolley at migros. she was so happy to zoom it around & pushed our hands away when we attempt to help her steer it. also, her appetite slowly but surely coming back. she seem to like Omi's cooking very much! later that evening, we managed to visit konrad, patricia & baby tim, who is 4 months younger than anisha. they are both crazy for balls & cars, so it wasn't hard for them to play together. Pat is expecting her second baby in June & soon Omi Gisela will have 8 grandchildren!

our little girl doesn't like the carseat very much. but too bad for her it's compulsory in switzerland. so she would cry & yell for a while unless she'd miraculously fall asleep! it would get better eventually, especially in thomas' car.

Mar 16, Sunday

2008-04-01T05:43:00.002+08:00

Orientation: getting to know Bretzwil

after flying direct for 12+hrs we arrived at kloten, zurich, saturday at around 20+ hrs & were greeted by willi & gisela. still an hour's drive to bretzwil before we could rest for the night. the next morning started promising but turned out a very hard day for the 3 of us. anisha had a hard time getting over the time difference & had problems going to sleep due to overtiredness. kept on crying for mercy. poor poor girl! most of the family came over to visit but we were stuck in the bedroom pacifying anisha. the poor girl also developed a cold :-(