Post-Christmas and New Years

****Please note: We have posted a few blogs today since I am a bit behind on updating them. Be sure to go back and read the last one or two to hear all about the Helmers' adventures in Europe!***

Aggie and I took Ann and Kurt to the airport in the late morning of Dec 26th. They were flying out to Rome and were going to spend 3 days there before heading back to the US of A. Of course on the day they left, the sun was shining and the weather was amazing (since they had arrived in Munich the week before, it had done nothing but rain). This obviously stunk b/c they were leaving; on the flipside, we heard that the view of the Swiss Alps from the air were awesome!

So, while they tackled Rome, Ag and I hung out, got things in order, worked out, etc. That evening, John and Helen hosted a post-Christmas party and their Swedish neighbors came as well as our Russian friends, Vlad and Yulia and their friend. It was a great time by all! One new thing Aggie tried but I wouldn't is a Russian delicacy, Salmon caviar (aka, fish eggs). The eggs were a decent size and a very bright orange color. She said it was good ...however, I have issues with raw fish and long story short, I wouldn't kiss her till she brushed her teeth!

That week we also met up with a couple who just recently moved here from the US. They actually worked for the E&Y office in Cincinnati! It was fun chatting for a bit over a few pints of Guinness (we were at an Irish pub), and of course, we all stated our love for Skyline and Graters! Also, we confirmed how small the world is...they know a few of our friends and we know a few of theirs.

This week we also celebrated Aggie's birthday. She had a very special day...She went to lunch with Helen, came home and was surprised by me being there when she walked in the door (I had gone to the office that morning). Being the stud of a husband that I am (ah hem), I had roses and a few gifts for her which she seemed really excited about and appreciated. Our friend, Carol, stopped in for a bit, and while I went back to work, they visited with our friends, Dave and Ali. Later that evening Ag and I went to dinner at this Italian restaurant near our place, and the food was awesome. It was a wonderful day!

For New Years, we went to John and Helen's. (We go there a lot as not only are they are good friends, but they always have fun parties!) Dave and Ali came as well. Of course, it started snowing like crazy on New Years eve....right around the time we were leaving. I totally bit it on the sidewalk and my pants were covered with snow. We turned right back around and I changed. What a mess!

Finally we got to their place, had some drinks, ate an amazing dinner and enjoyed the conversation. We also put on skits (yes...skits). This was a really fun twist to the evening. Ag and I acted out events that happened in 2008 that all of us had been involved in and each team/couple had to guess the event. Dave and Ali sang a song and did a skit and Helen and John played a fun game. We then met up with their neighbors who were having a party, had dessert and went down to the lake for the big firework display.

The weather was kind of crap still and it was hard to really see anything, so we decided to move the party back up to the apartment. We finally got home around 3am, tired and exhausted.

The 1st was a day to relax and do nothing. We then headed out to Chamonix, France on the 2nd. The town of Chamonix is near the highest summit in Europe, Mont Blanc (15,774 ft). We will write about that trip next. In the meantime, have a great weekend and we will be in touch again soon!

The Helmers' take on Europe, Part II

So, if we pick up where we left off, Ann, Kurt, Aggie and I just finished visiting Munich, Dachau, and Salzburg. We have to write about St. Anton and Zurich now.

St. Anton, Austria is about a 3 hour drive or so from Salzburg. The next morning after our hearty breakfast at our hotel in Salzburg we said auf weidersehen and headed onward! The sun was actually out, and we got to see some of the mountains on the drive which was nice.

St. Anton is a small ski town nestled in the alps. It's more of an "expert" skiing experience and it's known for it's lively apres-ski scene.

We arrived in St. Anton in the late afternoon with no major issues, stopped at the grocery store, and headed to our apartment...our apartment on the mountain. We parked a little way down the driveway and then walked up to the place. The plan was to meet up with our friends, Dave and Ali, who rented the place out. We were going to have a few drinks then head into town for dinner.

The apartment was awesome and the walls must have been made of steel. The reason I say that is because there is a bar attached to the apartment called the Krazy Kanguruh. This bar is booming from about 3-8pm. It's the perfect place to stop after a day of skiing for a drink and chance to chill. The best part was we got to hang out in our place, then head over there for the nonsense....


And nonsense it was! So, we got settled in and had a few drinks and discussed our adventures thus far with Ali and Dave. Then, we headed over to the bar. Okay, waitresses in swimsuits, dudes in speedos, people dancing on the tables, etc. It was bizzare and nuts!

We had a few pitchers of beers, took in the scene and then opted to head to dinner. Well, as I said, our apartment was on the mountain...so, the only way to get down to the town was to take a cab...or slide down on our butts! We went for the 2nd idea and immediately changed into our ski pants.

I think we all felt like we were 7 years old again! It was quite an entertaining time just running, falling down, and sliding. After about 5-10 minutes of this crazy fun, we finally reached the bottom/town. We walked a bit and found a nice little restaurant, ate drank and were merry. After dinner, we all jumped into a cab that dropped us off at our place.

Once we got to the door, everyone started to reach for their keys to the apartment (Kurt, Dave and myself all had a copy). Well, I reached into my coat pocket where I "thought" I had put my keys...but no keys were to be found! Long story short, I had lost the apartment key as well as my home keys (my home keychain had the car, our apartment in Zurich, our mailbox, and my work keys...kind of important keys) on the mountain! That instantly changed the mood of the evening. Aggie, Kurt and I walked out to check out the mountain and unfortunately, the snow plow trucks were out, turning and moving the snow around, flattening out the slope for the next day.

Obviously, there was no way we could compete with those dudes, the trucks are the size of tanks that just hammer up and down the mountain. So, we went to bed, and I prayed for a miracle. Our plan was to walk down the mountain in the morning to see if we could find them....oh, I didn't sleep well that night!

So, Kurt, Aggie and I headed out early that morning in the search for the keys. The air was brisk and the cold, and the morning was quite beautiful as the sun rose over the mountains. Unfortunately, I couldn't really enjoy it. I was so worried about finding the keys! So, as we spread out and scoured the land, we were approaching the bottom and still no keys. Then, something caught my eye and I took my boot and started digging in the snow....It was the flippin' apartment key to the Krazy Kanguruh! We couldn't believe it!

The other set of keys (the car, our apartment, mailbox and work) were long gone. We checked out lost and found and nothing had been turned in. So, the plan was that Aggie was going to train it back to Zurich (2.5 hr ride which isn't bad), head to the grocery store and organize things for our arrival in Zurich the next day, then train it back to St. Anton (all in one day!). I was going to take Ann and Kurt skiing...since Aggie doesn't really ski this was her excuse to Ann to not be able to go. (See, something positive did come out of all of this!) All in all, this totally sucked, but at least we didn't lose the keys in Munich or Salzburg...we had planned to stay in St. Anton for two nights/three days, so this was fine. (As fine as it could be right?)

Aggie left and then Dave, Ali, Kurt and I skied. Ann slept in. We all met up at the apartment for lunch which was nice. Then, Kurt and Ann had a "date" afternoon and skied together (Ann slightly struggled) and had dinner.


The rest of us hung out and skied a bit more, then we met up with Ag at the train station that evening and went to dinner.

The four of us walked into a few restaurants and the first one we went into, the servers all had lingerie on. Dave just burst our laughing; it was great! Needless to say, we left and headed to this Italian joint which was classy and dee-lish!

We all slept well that evening and headed out the next day for Zurich. Upon arriving we got things settled and then walked the town. We went to the major sites in the city, walked along the cobble stone sidewalks and took in the lively, seasonal atmosphere.

That evening we crashed on the couch and watched a movie. For Christmas Eve dinner we had raclette, a traditional Swiss meal. Ann and Kurt were huge fans of raclette, and we all drank, ate and rolled back over to the couch!

The next day we all slept, worked out a bit and went to church. That afternoon we talked with family and chatted about all the fun times we were having. The rest of the day consisted mostly of watching movies. Dave and Ali came up for an appetizer evening, with the main dish being fondue. It was a fantastic way to spend the holidays!

The next morning Kurt and Ann packed up and got things organized for their departure. They were headed to Rome, Italy for a few days before flying back to the US. In summary, they had a wonderful time in Rome and were extremely impressed with the city.

Hum.....what else?? Oh, we have a few other holidays that we celebrated recently: New Years, Aggie's birthday and big Ferd's birthday (we ate some cheese on his behalf). We also went to Chamonix, France the first week in January which was amazing. We will write more about those fun times soon.....