Turning 30 in Switzerland

Well as boldly promised by Julie, we are now actively catching up on our blogs now….

Not too long after finding out that Julie was pregnant, I did the most adult thing I could imagine: I turned 30 years old.  Once upon a time Julie and I dreamed up this wild idea that we would fly to New York and invite our closest family and friends to celebrate our 30^th birthdays.  Well I guess that was the 25 year old version of what turning 30 would be like, because we ended up celebrating in the complete opposite manner: in a 12^th century stone chalet in the tiny Swiss village of Lavertezzo.

Julie has a special talent for not only finding the coolest places to visit but also the coolest places to stay.  And this time around she outdid herself with the most amazing place ever – we had the entire chalet to ourselves!  Luckily we got to share it with our good friends Jason and Melissa who made the trip from Baltimore just to be with me (and I guess to see the rest of Europe as well). 

Our trip began with the 4.5 hour drive from Munich to the tiny village of Lavertezzo in the south of Switzerland.  The Honda Jazz had just enough horsepower to get over the Alps through some incredible mountain scenery.  We were a bit surprised to see how small the “village” was where we were staying, but at least it was easy to identify our chalet amongst the church and 4 other residential buildings there.  The owners greeted us at the front door and gave us a tour of the place.  Poor Julie banged her knee on a sharp corner of the staircase and is left with a permanent memory of our trip. 

Sadly due to her morning sickness + cold combination, I didn’t have my trusty photographer to capture the interior.  But Jason later took a photo of the stone path leading up to the house – that patio and table you see is a part of our chalet. 

We spent some time settling in and unpacking the car, then made ourselves comfortable on the patio.  A few hours later, Jason and Melissa arrived in their rental car with a look of “what the hell are we doing out here” on their faces.  I don’t think many people make it out to Lavertezzo on a 2 week European tour.  I cooked up some ravioli and we had a nice dinner out on the patio. 

We woke up the next day and went out looking for some adventure (well Julie stayed back to rest).  One of the top things on our agenda was the contra dam where the Goldeneye bungee jump took place and people can still take the plunge themselves (for a hefty sum of money).  We watched as a bunch of kids insanely took the jump and shuddered each time in disbelief.  On my 20^th birthday I might have considered it, but now at 30 with a kid on the way, this was no time to be doing anything crazy. 

The main attraction in this area is of course the scenery.  In particular, there is the beautiful Verzasca river with a 17^th century Roman stone bridge called Ponte dei Salti.  When we returned from watching the James Bond imitators, we collected Julie and made our way down to the river for a swim.  Normally I would not waste any time jumping in, but this water was painfully cold (I read online the temperature ranges from 45-50 F).  So we (Jason and I) waited for the sun to warm us up before taking the plunge.  We watched as people jumped off the stone bridge into the river, and I totally would have if it weren’t for Julie asking me not too.  Maybe in my 20s… 

One of the bridge jumpers

The largest jump Noah took that weekend

The two swimmers

View from the bridge

After dinner, Jason and Melissa surprised me with a delicious black forest birthday cake.  After blowing out the candles and all enjoying a piece, three of us (again, Julie stayed behind due to her not feeling the best) took a stroll around the village and around the river.  The area really is incredibly gorgeous, and I tried to capture it through photos. 

The next day Jason and Melissa headed out early to drive up to Paris.  When I woke up, I also felt a bit under the weather.  Maybe that swim was not the best idea, because I soon realized I caught a cold (perhaps Julie’s cold – though I won’t blame her).  So Julie and I spent our last day in the chalet relaxing and reading.  Like everyone says, getting old really slows you down.  So instead of partying it up New York City, we were laying low in a Swiss village taking turns blowing our noses.

When the day of my actual birthday arrived, it was time to head back to Munich.  However Julie demanded we get at least one photo of us together by the water regardless of how we were feeling.  So we made our way back down to the river one last time for a quick photo session before starting the long drive back home. 

When we returned to Munich, I picked up my favorite Thai food for dinner.  Between

Julie’s fresh knee injury, the shockingly cold water, the memory of being sick, and the impression of our ancient chalet along a gorgeous Alpine river, I could not have asked for a more memorable and picturesque 30^th birthday.