Around Here

 Lucerne

 Interlaken

Zurich

+Joe and I just got back from the most lovely winter trip to Switzerland.  We spent time in Lucerne, Grindelwald, Interlaken & Zurich all of which were stunning.  I've been editing a few photos and still can't get over how beautiful that country is - those Alps are something else.  There's something about being surrounded by towering mountains that really humbles a person.

+I'm so far behind on blogging - I have hardly touched on our trip to Istanbul let alone Brussels, Bruges & now Switzerland.  I don't even know where to start.

+We are in full on Christmas mode in our household.  This weekend we bought a real tree (my first one!!) and have decorated the apartment up perfectly.  This is one perk to staying put for the holidays.  We haven't decorated since we left Canada and while there are obvious downsides to missing Christmas with our families, I'm really happy to pull out the spirit and embrace celebrating here.  The warm glow coming from the tree, star and candles is magical and for once, I'm not entirely depressed that the sunset comes at 3 pm.

+Between consuming all of the heavy (but delicious) Swiss-German food and the mountain of Swiss chocolates we brought back with us, I'm feeling like I've put on a substantial winter layer on these bones.  It's not entirely needed in Stavanger being that it's 8 degrees Celsius and rainy most days but that doesn't stop me from grabbing another chocolate as I pass the box.

+Speaking of holiday cheer - have you seen this Westjet video?  Westjet is one of Canada's 2 main airlines and are known for their friendly staff and out of the box thinking.  They've been known to pull stunts like this before (see last year's here) but I think they went above and beyond this year.