A Weekend at Home

We stayed local this weekend, along with many of our Swiss neighbors. In fact, most of the Swiss we know aren't in a big rush to go on weekend trips, or even day trips. Why would they when not too far from home is a bike ride near apple and pear orchards or a hike through vineyards?

As much as I mourn my former urban and semi-urban lifestyles (four years in Manhattan and a year in Mission Hills, San Diego), I have begun to appreciate the quiet country life. Even the simplest instance of running into my Swiss neighbor four days in a row, not in our building but out and about, brings a smile to my face.

Friday, after Isaiah got home from work, we went for a bike ride along the canal that runs parallel to the Rhine. There's a bike path near our building that follows the canal through fields of cow manure and modern style residences. The evening air was the perfect temperature for a T-shirt ride, a cause for celebration since we couldn't be sure whether or not it would be our last ride of the season ohne jacket. We briefly crossed paths with our neighbor who was walking her dog and exchanged a customary "Grüezi."

Saturday morning was surprisingly sunny, so after a muesli and yogurt breakfast we went for a morning ride. The bike trails were pretty deserted, as I'm sure everyone was hitting up the shopping centers before they closed. This time we rode near the hillside vineyards just along the outskirts of Au and Berneck. Our neighbor, again, was walking her dog. We acknowledged one another with a casual "Grüezi" and big smiles. After some shopping across the border in Dornbirn, Austria, we came home and went for an afternoon ride from Au to St. Margrethen.

Sunday was pancakes and pouring rain and lazing about, but by the afternoon the sky cleared and the sun shone, so we went hiking through the aforementioned vineyards. This time the Wanderweg trails were fully occupied by singles, couples, and entire families walking-off Sunday brunch. Who did we run into? You guessed it. We longed to be able to say more than "Grüezi."




This morning I was back at the vineyards on my bike. Another gorgeous T-shirt weather day. I could get used to this! Of course, I ran into my neighbor again. This time I stopped.

She spoke, "Blah blah blah."

I nodded. I didn't have the heart to ask her to repeat herself langsam because most likely I wouldn't understand her the second time around either. I couldn't let her down - she seems to think I can speak German.

I couldn't really say "Grüezi" at that point because we were past greetings as she had launched right into chit chat. So I began, "Das Wetter ist..."

She finished my sentence, "Wunderschön."

I repeated. "Ja. Wunderschön."

I wanted to say something like, "I want to take advantage of the weather while it's nice, so that's why you've seen me on my bike nearly every day."

Instead I opted for, "Das Wetter ist sehr schön, aber wenn das Wetter ist nicht so schön, ich bin [miming sad face]."

She responded, "Blah blah Velo-touren jeden Tag, blah."

Yup, she definitely noticed that I had been riding my bike almost jeden Tag for the past several days...