Berlin

As we did last summer, Nate and I took a solo trip this summer to Berlin, thanks to my mom watching Chase while we were gone. We had a wonderful time there exploring, eating, and just hanging out. We visited many museums (Alte nationalgalerie on Museum Island, DDR Museum) and other historic sites (Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Cathedral, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Reichstag). We ended up learning lots of history and spending lots of time reading up on things via Wikipedia. A fun, educational, and relaxing trip!

L: Us on a boat ride on the Spree; C: Alexanderplatz World Clock; R: Checkpoint Charlie

L: Brandenburg Gate; R: Berlin Cathedral

Views from the Berlin Cathedral including the TV tower (R)

Reichstag

Trips Around Switzerland (Part VI)

[Previous (day)trips from/around Switzerland: Part I, Part II, Part III, with Olga, Part IV, Lyon, Part V; and Activities Nearby]

After Nate's parents visited, my mom was here for a few weeks to take care of Chase, still on his daycare vacation. During that time, we had time to go on a boat ride on the lake, have drinks by the lake here in Morges, and celebrate Swiss National Day. We also spent a weekend going to Zurich together. We had been to Zurich once before as a day trip, but it was nice to have a bit more time to explore. There, we checked out the churches for the view (Grossmünster) and the Chagall stained glass windows (Fraumünster). We did quite a bit of walking to various parks and squares, and also took a boat on the river and lake, in the middle of the rain. It was quite an adventure!

Sights of Zurich from Grossmünster

Boat ride on our lake 

Drinks in Morges (L: by the lake; R: at Bloody Cat)

Trips Around Switzerland (Part V)

[Previous (day)trips from/around Switzerland: Part I, Part II, Part III, with Olga, Part IV, Lyon; and Activities Nearby]

This summer, for Chase's daycare vacation, we had the treat to have Nate's parents both here for a week. His mom had previously visited on her own (mentioned here but not well documented...whoops), and they had also visited together, but it had been a few years so it was very nice to host them here today. We rented a car for a few days and had the chance to go to Gruyères, as we had with them (and others) before, and Grindelwald. Grindelwald was a new experience for all of us, and it was awesome! I definitely recommend it! We took the cable car up to First and walked around a bit up there, enjoying the Cliff walk and the sights of the glaciers. The weather was perfect up there as it was way too hot down at elevation (Nate's parents visited us during the hottest week of the summer!). We had a drink and played a game up on the observation deck, and then took the cable car back down, stopping to play some mini-golf in Grindelwald itself. We also had the chance to explore Lausanne (Olympic Museum and the Cathedral) and Morges a bit with them!

In Gruyères, visiting the main village. We also visited the château (seen in the right picture a bit) and the chocolate place not far away. 

Up at First doing the cliff walk and posing together. The weather was perfect!

In Morges and Lausanne (C; visiting the Lausanne Cathedral and looking over Lausanne and the lake). My mom had arrived on the last day that Nate's parents were here so we were able to take some pictures all together.