Nearly as much as we love traveling, we love to have guests. It is so much fun for us to share with friends and family the place that we are now fortunate enough to call home. Therefore we were so excited to have Abe and Emma visit us in the autumn followed by his parents, Jeff and Anne over the new year.
In the spring we were guests of my old friend Abe and his wife Emma in Kosovo, which was a wonderful new experience. It was of course also an opportunity to extend an offer to reciprocate the hospitality that we enjoyed. At the end of autumn, we spent a weekend together enjoying some wine tasting across the border in Alsace as well as hiking at Wasserfallen.
Apparently we did a good job as hosts because Abe’s parents (and likewise my old friends), Jeff and Anne, decided to stop by for a visit on their way to Paris from staying with Abe and Emma. We spent an afternoon doing some light hiking around and above our little valley, which Jeff assured us was welcome relief from the snowshoe Siberian-gulag-esque schlepping up a snowy mountain in sub-zero gale-force winds that they endured with Abe in Kosovo. The next day we took off for Luzern for mountain viewing and an easy stroll around the old town.
It wasn’t quite the adventure we had with the whole family so many years ago, but it was nice to see everyone and be able (we hope) to show them a good time. Although we were grateful to have been invited to Zeia’s wedding this past summer, her presence was missed, and we hope that she and Aidan will visit us as well. Anne promised us good reviews on Yelp.
I ran into your dad a couple of days ago, strolling down the street with a smile on his face. I asked him what he was so happy about, and he replied, “I’ve been eating chocolate.” Readers of your blog should understand that the look on my face captured in your photo was not unhappiness–it was consternation, worrying that the frostbite that had overtaken my feet would work its way up to my private parts before that cable car reached an area warm enough to support human life. Thanks again for everything. I just wish there had been more yodeling.