Andrew+Bethany= :) the Life of the A&B Brown Family: Eastern Switzerland with Mom and Dad Brown!

How lucky are we to have been treated with a third trip with Mom and Dad Brown! This time, with our Bennett! After packing up, we set off on the road and had a gorgeous drive to Eastern Switzerland. We stopped off at a really yummy Italian restaurant for lunch, where B had the chance to get more acquainted with Grandma and Grandpa.

With Grandma and Grandpa!

We finally passed the famous St. Moritz, host of the first olympics in Switzerland. We proceeded to Samedan, where our hotel was. Talk about a spectacular! Hotel Bernina did not disappoint! So much character and very Belle Epoch. Our rooms were so beautiful. Well done Byron!

the outside of our Hotel!

church in Samedan

After checking in, we decided to take a walk through town. Something very unique in this part of Switzerland is the painted details on the architecture. It truly is stunning and adds so much character to each structure. I didn't walk very long (gluten disaster at lunch I'm afraid), so I headed back to the hotel to rest a bit.

Switzerland will always have my heart. Churches, cobblestones and window boxes:)

Throw in a biker too!

Amazing painted detail!

I was laid up in bed the rest of the day unfortunately, but Andy, Byron and Jennifer had a nice dinner:)

The next day we woke up to a beautiful day. And it was my birthday! We got ready and went down to the breakfast room, which was probably the most beautiful room in the hotel.

Yes, this is where we ate breakfast. Whoa!

The room used to be a ballroom. Gorgeous right? And the food was wonderful. Such a great buffet, and they even had a birthday pastry that they brought to our table with a candle in it:)

After a yummy breakfast, we took a funicular up the mountain to see the views. It was windy!!! But it was really beautiful. We really had to just make sure we wouldn't blow over the mountain side!

On the ride up

B checking out the views

Loving some Grandpa time

little surprised going into a tunnel;)

Views on the way up

Beautiful clouds

Lake below

Funicular track coming up

Yep, it's windy!

Lovey Doveys

Coming down

Smiles!

We decided to take Andy's parents on a scenic rail ride, a must when you visit Switzerland. The scenic trains have nice big windows to enjoy the views. The Bernini Express was the perfect way to see a lot of this part of Eastern Switzerland. It is a pretty long route, so we just did part of it.

Love this church steeple

Sitting with Grandpa on the train

Villages on the way

We are in Heidi country! Green valleys between lush mountainsides, cowbells ringing, sheep grazing, church steeples dotting the villages. So idyllic and breathtaking.

The highlight of the train ride itself was crossing the tallest aqueduct in Switzerland--68 meters high! Pretty spectacular.

approaching the aqueduct

Whoa! Riding on top!

So........once we hit our turnaround point, things got interesting. Really interesting. We got on the train heading back to Samedan and the electrical line failed. Bah. The Swiss are known for near flawless train schedules and punctuality. Not the case here! We were kind of stranded for awhile on the train, and then basically went backwards back to the village where we turned around to head back. Then we were stranded in that village for awhile......and then it started raining. The cranky side started to come alive in me! All of us actually. They ended up loading us on buses heading back to St. Moritz. Not as exciting as the train ride, but at least we were going somewhere. We got back to St. Moritz, took a short train ride to Samedan, and happily walked into our hotel. Byron spoiled us all with a delicious dinner in the Hotel restaurant. We had an interesting waiter who was quite the character, if not slightly obnoxious, but our meal was amazing! Yummy salads, steak and delicious desserts. Great birthday celebration!

They next day was sunny and clear! We enjoyed our last breakfast in the great ballroom, got packed up, and then Jennifer and I found a really neat toy shop next to the hotel where we bought some children's books and a few wooden toys for B. And of course, postcards!

The drive was stunning. The Graubunden region of Switzerland really is so memorable and breathtaking! I think Byron and Jennifer were also enjoying the views.

Samedan

On the road

Pretty cool fog

Village we drove through. Painted detail!

Some cows were on the loose! Cow herders looked a little stressed!

Love this church on the hilltop

Man we loved this region! so happy we got to see it before heading back to the states. Now, it was time to make our way back to Geneva. The drive would take up most of the day, so we made a stop in Lucerne to show them a few of the sights and to get some lunch. Below is a picture of Andy's parents in front of the Lion of Lucerne!

It was pouring rain, so we quickly walked around under our umbrellas and tried to soak up as much of the city as we could within our short time there. We also grabbed some groceries, since stores would be closed in Geneva by the time we got home.

It was a long drive, but we finally made it back to our apartment! We had taco salad for dinner, got some good rest, and woke up to a new day!

I was pretty tired after all the travel, so I actually stayed home with B while Andy took his parents out to see some of our favorite sights close to Geneva. He took them to the Ferney farmers market (a must) and a boat across Lake Geneva to Yvoire, right in neighboring France. They had a great time!

At the farmer's market! Yum!

Yvoire

taking a rest

We had one more evening together. After a yummy dinner, we all took a walk down to Geneva and just enjoyed the waterfront. It started hitting us that our opportunities for these walks were dwindling:( We had a really nice walk and the night was beautiful!