SKI

The Dents du Midi peak ahead; Jack in the foreground.

 The skiing here is scenic, I hear, compared to many places back home.

 The deep, fresh powder made for difficult turning. Jack coming up behind Carolyn.

Jack, our Happy Penguin

Michael was nowhere to be seen, as he raced off with students on the "black" runs - a total daredevil.


This was the play part of our spiritual retreat in Chesieres - village where I lived for 5 years - holed up dorm-style in a somewhat dumpy chalet (former boarding school), where we studied the Bible, worshiped, shared meals. 


Sunday morning we made it down to L'Abri the next village below, taking in chapel and lunch with desserts. The non-institutional, lived-in feel was a tonic in itself, I think. Not sure how many of our students were ready for such a stripped-down, no nonsense exegesis of scripture, but the seriousness of the place - no other reason for it to exist - was palpable.

Chinese New Year's

"Smooth Sailing"

We celebrated Chinese New Year's with all the Asian students, taking them to Boky's - a high-quality buffet restaurant in town.

Freshly made steamed & fried dumplings, peppered beef, mussels, a roast duck do-it-yourself carving station (!), chicken & beef yakitori, sushi - it really was pretty amazing fare and finished with ice-cream and tropical fruits.

Given our standard fare at the local pizzeria, we were in gastronomic bliss.

Tracie made "red packets," giving everyone in the house - everyone - 2CHF!  Michael just spent the 10 we gave on an Asterix, while Jack loves to count his savings - a natural banker with a love of numbers.

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We have Indian students from Singapore, Chinese and Japanese-Americans, Koreans, & lots of mixes, leading to an interesting discussion on what is Asia anyway. "Asia" in Europe is a grab-bag term, meaning anything East, Central and even Western Asia; the term has replaced its predecessor, "Orient," serving as counterpoint to define what it is not - ie the "West," an equally elusive term.


Europe is having problems of its own, again, with a looming economic collapse.

These bills may be relics someday soon, symbolizing a currency union of a mythic European unity. Marked by architectural designs that evoke epochs without specific historicity; no one could agree on choosing particular national icons, only stylized symbols.


Anyway, the Chinese wishes for good fortune are more desperately needed today.

 "Happiness, Success, Fortune"

Games People Play

Board games of mythical lands are alien territory to me, but M & J love them - more than movies, they say - so we occasionally go down that road.

 Besides the above Switzerland, the guys in house have done marathon sessions of Risk,

 adding to Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan, as well as

Apples to Apples

 which even Jack can play (with some help).

Catch Phrase, a fast-paced, battery-powered version of Taboo, trades on verbal wit. 

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The Musee du Jeu (Toy Museum)a boutique exhibition space in La Tour des Peilz, had a fascinating exhibit on the history of games.

Once an innovator, America's commercialized culture turned to fads and celebrity gossip for game content, importing games of strategy from Europe, where smaller toymakers still invent lithographed boards drawing from myths, history, or Euro-style regions. a la Ticket to Ride.

At some point, American game developers chose the social goals of laughing and good times over pensive strategy, drawing upon TV culture, movies, & sports - the stuff of media - for reflective material.

The irony is that despite our casual posture, we remain uncomfortable with ourselves as a national culture; our social gatherings require non-stop laughter; our restaurants bury conversation with noisy music; our dinner parties decline the face-to-face of the table for the social distance of the living room.

Anyway, we're inaugurating Friday evening "raclette/game night," introducing the double-whammy of social eating (tabletop cooking)

with games.

Mountains nearby

Experimenting with the aspect ratio of my Canon G12, getting more widescreen shots for the landscape outside,

where we headed, chasing snow up in Gryon.

The white stuff is harder to access in SoCal, so we should get up to the mountains as much as possible, even if that means buying snow tires!  Swiss requirement for all cars in winter.

Michael shoveling Mrs. S's walk.

Cheese spread for quick supper - I in charge of the toaster for the smoked salmon - M&J had maybe 6 slices a piece? The live action aspect stimulated appetite, I figure.

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And Carolyn celebrated her birthday with a fruit-layered cake by our Portuguese baker. We had a lovely day highlighted by the boys & their gifts, ending with a mushroom fondue near the cathedral.

Saas Fee

Debby & Udo (aka Grammy and Papa) along with Isaac & girlfriend, Jessica, spent one day of Christmas with us before we went to Saas Fee. 

As always, a wealth of books -1948 hardcover of Five Little Peppers & How They Grew, The Castle in the Attic, The Upstairs Room, and various WWII stories, complementing the Piet Prins' Scout series we've grown to love about the Dutch Resistance. There's a wealth of excellent children's literature we tend to overlook in our zeal to ingrain the Lewis/Tolkien canon (the latter's works never intended for children) with their Christian symbolism. Whatever happened to just plain old great books?  

On that theme, I am reminded that something like 40-50% of the great preacher, Charles Spurgeon's books - when taking inventory of his library - had no theological theme.

Udo trying out MUJI's knit gloves that can be used on touchscreen devices!

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Lausanne got 2 days accumulation of snow (about the limit) before we drove 2 hours to Saas Fee, a family ski resort surrounded by 13 peaks and a glacier with year-long winter sports; Zermatt (Matterhorn) the glitzy next door neighbor.

 

 Everyone signed-up for lessons.

Michael ended up learning to parallel, placing 2nd in the slalom competition in his age bracket.

Jack graduated from saucer to skis, going up to the top of the blue runs. Carolyn found her stride in the intermediate range, and went all the way up to the glacier, where the highest revolving restaurant in CH sits.

 
At night. 

I have been suffering a rotator cuff/frozen shoulder problem, so was in apres-ski mode all day long, but for a long walk downhill one glorious morning.

 

The slate tiled chalets are characteristic of the region closer to Italy. On Wed night, the ski instructors put on a fireworks show, skiing down the peak by torchlight. 

 

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We returned to Lausanne to open a few gifts; the standout being Jack's cuboro - an absolutely ingenious Swiss marble run.

Comprised of identically sized cubes but with different patterns, tunnel levels, and angles, making endless configurations. BRINGING BACK WITH US. The precision (marble won't pick-up speed unless all blocks are tightly fitted), the tunnel burrowing, & creativity reflect the Swiss traits of overcoming geographic obstacles. Jack took to it, immediately coming up with surprising variations.

Michael, our farmer boy, scored with this indoor gardening set, complete with recipes, and various potato-themed science experiments.

Advent/Epiphany clean-up!

January 6 ends the 12 days of Christmas & begins the long season of Epiphany, as the magi returned to their lands to spread the news of the newborn King. 

Spanish Christians celebrate with a feast & presents, in a far bigger way than Christmas.  Bakeries here pay carbohydrate lip-service by baking a variety of cakes with golden crowns.  January 1st - the 8th day of Christmas - marks the New Year and the circumcision of the infant King. 

Between St Nicholas Day on Dec 6, the 12 days of Christmas including Christmas Eve & Day, & Epiphany - everything gets so spread out, relativizing Christmas in a good way, it seems.

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Anyway, we took the boys to enjoy a morning in Lausanne, hitting Academe Ecole de Coiffure (hair salon school), for the cheapest cuts in town. The quality is high - careful oversight - complete with shampoo and a touch of class: they hang up your coat, greeting with a friendly handshake!

While out, we came across this Provence-style creche scene

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Here's the house near us all decked out for advent:

 
Pretty spectacular, especially at night. 

Christmas stuff

Michael and Jack were in Christmas "spectacles" (shows) for Ecole Montriond, each class holding separate evening events the last week before Christmas.

Jack's class recited poetry, sang folk tunes, and performed a skit about Pere Noel (Father Christmas). 

Jack was the wind,

while Michael's class held to the semester theme of "The Night," focusing on bats & phases of the moon, performing in black costumes by candlelight (made filming impossible, btw).

Michael recited lines in French & German (introduced this year), playing "Clair de la Lune" on piano. The spectacle was ambitious; the class featured individual & group poetry, songs, choreography, & instrumental pieces, followed with Christmas cookies baked at school (Jack's teacher served us wine!). Marking the winter solstice, the class had an in-classroom sleepover and teachers prepared breakfast the next morning. 

We are amazed at the level of commitment & coordination (3 part-time teachers per class), the secular nature apparent - no mention of Mary, Joseph, or Jesus. The religious symbols - angels, carols, mangers - are present in decor and Bible lessons; innocuous, in contrast with the charged atmosphere in culture war America. The issues have been largely settled in Europe: the religious symbols are retained formally since the content is gutted; tribal nationalism and the State is where the action is.  

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I'm impressed at the serious art study here; checkout these paintings mimicking the style of Spanish artist, Miro

even the signature

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Went to Colmar, France (2.5 hrs) for their famed Christmas Market,


much more elaborate than Montreux's.

Colmar actually ran several markets at different sites, one devoted to children; ie more sweets & toys, like this Pinocchio marionette stand.

Charming amusement rides, 

such as this horsey ride complete with a rather strong, galloping motion

  
and snow-blowing machine

I was charmed by these porcelain creche figures from Provence, which are usually set in an expansive garden scene.

Colmar is the best preserved of the Alsace region towns, characterized by timber exteriors

  

 and canals like Venice.

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Like Beaune, there is beautiful artwork in cathedrals, although we didn't explore,

 

but enjoyed the architectural details as we walked past.

Both towns are 2.5 hrs away; Colmar more ornately beautiful with shops & restaurants tucked everywhere. Beaune, a sparse foodie town - given the Burgundy setting; what I imagine Napa to be like.