[Previous (day)trips from/around Switzerland: Part I, Part II, Part III, with Olga, Part IV, Lyon, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, and Part VIII; and Activities Nearby I and Activities Nearby II]
Even though we were in the middle of a pandemic, we were able to do many outdoor and socially-distant activities throughout 2020. In good 2020 fashion, I am just dumping them here in one post in psuedo-chronological order.
1.
Youth Olympics in Lausanne. In January (before COVID), the Youth Olympics arrived in Lausanne. I had reserved tickets months before for the ladies' and partner's dance events. Unfortunately, Chase got sick with the flu right before the performance so he stayed home with Nate while I joined Christine, Yordan, and Theo. Having never been to any Olympics, I was super excited about it, even if it was just the Youth ones. There were so many events all over Lausanne and we could follow along with all the events online. It was super fun!
2.
Bern Aqua. Before Nate left to go defend his thesis, we wanted to do something with Theo and his family. Therefore, we went to Bern Aqua in (duh!) Bern. It is located inside this very American mall which has a yummy Thai restaurant where we had lunch. Bern Aqua was amazing! Not only were there tons of things for the kids (water slides, salt water pool, etc.), there were really awesome saunas for the adults. We had a great time!
Relaxing in the mall.
3.
Ballenberg. After the lockdown, when it was safe to do so, we decided to venture out with Theo's family to an outdoor museum. Ballenberg is an open-air museum showing the different regions and history of Switzerland. The boys had a great time exploring and seeing each other after months of being isolated.
4.
AQUATIS. During the summer, we checked out the Lausanne Aquarium with Marko and his family. AQUATIS, opened in 2018, is the largest freshwater aquarium-vivarium in Europe. While a bit pricey (thankfully we had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon), it is very well done and the end (similar to the Desert Dome at the Henry Doorley Zoo) is very cool. The kids very much enjoyed it and it had a great time.
5.
Achrobranche (high ropes course) at Signal de Bougy. Chase was lucky enough to go to the high ropes course, which he loves, a few times this year. Once for a friend's birthday party and another time with Theo. Signal de Bougy, while a cool park, is not very public-transit-friendly so it was nice of his friends' parents to take him with them.
6.
Swiss Vapeur Parc. Chase went to Swiss Vapeur Parc with his class in 1P but I thought it would be a nice thing to do with him together. While definitely not easily accessible by public transit, we made a nice day out of it. We had a nice time riding ALL the trains and checking out the small Swiss landmarks. Overall, it seems to be steered to younger children so Chase (at 6 years old) was kind of on the edge of being too old for it.
7.
Grottes de Vallorbe. One thing that I have wanted to do for a while was to go to the Caves in Vallorbe. They were amazing! So glad we were able to go with Theo and his family and then do a hike or two in the are afterwards - one to the entrance of a different cave system nearby.
Antimasker Chase (he got much better after this).
8. Hikes, hikes, and more hikes! Thankfully, Yordan kept track in his NatureRando book because we spent the summer and fall doing many, many hikes. The boys kept up very well and we got to see much of the Swiss country-side. Unfortunately, Chase had a scare with two ticks after one hike that involved us walking through tall grass but since he had already been vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis, we weren't so worried. Along with hiking, Chase and I (along with Theo and Marko when they were around) did quite a bit of geocaching all over Vevey, Lausanne, Morges, St. Prex, and probably a few places in between that I have forgotten. Both hiking and geocaching turned out to be pretty COVID-compatible activities so it was great to be in Swtizerland where we had plenty of opportunities to go out and partake.
Hike up to Mont Tendre (near Montricher) and then dinner at the Les Croisettes with good friends from our church small group.
Sentier de la Truite from St. Prex (I think).
Hike in Pampigny.
Various adventures through the year: Lausanne, La Sarraz, Vallorbe, Pampigny.
10.
Themed, limited get-togethers. In the pandemic, we were limited to small gatherings. We have been lucky to have many of our friends get house and apartments in the last year or so with big backyards -- perfect for the kids to play!
Halloween party with games and limited trick or treating of 1 door and some candy creatively placed to be found in the backyard. Not pictured was a Thanksgiving party with similar games and fun -- all orchestrated by Marko and Sofia's mom.
Chase playing outside with Marko and Sofia in Lausanne. Not shown was a recent trip to the cantonal museum (mentioned a few years ago as activity #1 here). Sofia's birthday party on her actual birthday (Monday) during school vacation. Look at all the smiling children and then -- Chase!
