living local

this is our swiss chalet... well, actually just the ground floor 

flat on the right side...

it's not large, but well laid out and has the most amazing view towards gstaad.  the pic below was taken at sunset last night, complete with the alpenglow....

our immediate neighbour is a farmer and on saturday afternoon, his herd of sheep were turned out into the field.  the sounds of sheep bells now fill our ears morning, noon and night!  much relief last night when we discovered that sheep do settle down eventually and so do their bells...

this weekend we did a lot of local exploring - on saturday we went up the wispile in gstaad for a hike.  it seems the swiss have playgounds at the top of many mountains and this one included a petting zoo + adventure park.  the kids loved it - the highlight was our picnic lunch perched on logs overlooking the 360 degree views of our valley. 

today we hiked up the saanen eggli trail which is literally right out our back door.  we went with an australian family who live 3 chalets away and who's son and daughter are in eli and graydon's classes.  they are a great family and came last year for one year and have extended their stay until this coming  christmas.  both tina and rob have been amazing resources for us as we muddle our way through the logistics of everyday life here in the saanenland.  we have spent quite a bit of time together and it's been wonderful to make such fast friends.  the boys sailed up the mountain, esmée found it rather challenging, but with lots of rest stops and an impromptu scavenger hunt along the way, we finally summitted the mountain with much celebration!!  

for those of you who have experienced esmée's love of sleepovers, it didn't take her long to pursue her favourite passtime on swiss soil... she had australian twins from her class for a sleepover this weekend. all went smoothly and not surprising from the girl with a dramatic flare - esmée is now speaking with an almost perfect aussie accent :)

one of the nicest things about living here has been how much we walk and how little time we spend in the car.  we walk almost everywhere and once our bikes arrive next week, we'll be able to ride into gstaad and beyond easily.  there is a convenience about life here which we don't have living in rural ontario.  the locals say they get "valley fever", that they need to get out for a breath of fresh air every now and again.  for us, the simplicity of sticking close to home is a refreshing and welcome change.  come dark and rainy november when it's too late in the fall to hike, but too early in the winter to ski, we may feel differently.  but for now, we're happy to stay put and live local.