Sylvester in Switzerland

Fireworks over Adelboden valley in Switzerland last year.

New Year's Eve is called Sylvester in the German speaking countries of Europe (as well as in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to Wikipedia) in honor of the saint and Pope Sylvester I whose feast day is December 31st.  

Europeans generally purchase fireworks to celebrate at midnight, and last year on New Year's Eve we were in Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland.

Fireworks for sale in Adelboden.

We went out to dinner at a Pizzeria Trattoria Alfredo that evening and then returned to Our Chalet for some festivities.

There was dancing:

And games:

 And food:

And Glühwein by a snow campfire.

Good times.

Movie Monday: Heidi

Like The Sound of Music, Shirley Temple’s Heidi is a scenic, classic film that all young families can watch together at home.  Talented, curly-headed Shirley Temple is adorable in her little dirndl dress, playing the Swiss orphan girl living with her grandfather in the Alps.  Never mind that the 1937 movie was filmed in Big Bear Lake, California, not the Alps, there’s culture to be gleaned from Heidi, her lederhosen-wearing grandfather, and the young goatherd, Peter.  Watch the trailer here to bring back your own childhood television memories.

If you prefer, there's a 1968 TV adaption of Heidi with Maximilian Schell.  You can watch the whole movie on Hulu here.

There's also a Walt Disney classic television drama, with a little more authentic scenery.  It was filmed in Salzburg, Austria, and the Tyrolean Alps.  This 1993 feature stars Jason Robards, Jane Seymour, and Patricia Neal.

And finally, if your family prefers more current films, there's a 1995 Heidi DVD with contemporary-paced action and stunning mountain scenery, although it was filmed in Slovenia and Wales, not the Alps.  Watch the trailer here.

The story of Heidi is timeless, no matter which film production, and a lovely introduction to alpine life for even the youngest of children.  Enjoy!

Tryst in Trieste

When my husband and I visited Trieste together more than a decade ago we didn’t have children.  In the meantime, one of my German cousins has chosen to visit this seaport city in Italy with her little ones quite often, and agrees that it has a lot to offer families with kids.

Trieste is located in the northeast of the top of Italy’s boot cuff, cradled in the curve of a gulf in the Adriatic Sea, at the foot of a hillside that becomes a mountain.

Only a stone’s throw from the border of Slovenia, Trieste has been influenced throughout history by Germanic, Latin, and Slavic cultures (read:  very good food!)  Like most towns in Italy, it’s a lovely place to stroll through its many narrow alleyways and admire its old, elaborate buildings.  In the main square of old Trieste, Piazza Unità d’Italia, you will find Palazzo del Governo, a large Neoclassical palace that houses government offices, and the imposing Palazzo del Municipio, or town hall, as well as other impressive examples of Austro-Hungarian architecture.

Glorious Piazza Unità d' Italia, the largest waterfront town square in Europe.

There are two castles in Trieste to delight young children.  Miramare Castle on the waterfront has beautiful, serene gardens with ponds, and the peaceful, isolated Castle of San Giusto has spectacular views of the city below.  Trieste also has several architectural remains and temples, including a Roman theater built between the first and second centuries AD.

Miramare Castle

For more family fun, visit the Civico Acquario Marino (an aquarium with a delightful penguin exhibit) and L’Ausonia, a spa center with a sea-water swimming pool, as well as a bar, children’s area, lots of open space and a solarium.

The beaches in Trieste are very popular with families, but personally, I like sand, and Trieste doesn’t have any.  All the beaches are rocks.  There’s also an entrance fee at most of the local beaches.  Lanterna beach near the city center has a barrier separating the area reserved for women and children from an area reserved for men.  (Doesn’t work well for families, does it?)  Stabilimento di Miramare beach is a quiet place for families, and there are hot showers and a large changing room, but no convenient parking.

A final interesting attraction in Trieste is the Grotta Gigante, a cave that has been open to the public for the last 100 years.  In 1995, it was entered in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world’s largest show cave.  One of its caverns is spacious enough to hold St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  Filled with stalactites and stalagmites, the most impressive one is almost 40 feet tall.  The cave is open for tours every day in July and August.

Trieste is a direct two hour train ride from Venice, and worth a day trip or even an overnight for you and your family.  Or, if you're spending more time in Trieste, take a drive across the border to Slovenia to see something entirely new!

Family Vacation

Exotic Lands

Beautiful Budapest, Hungary

Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic are what I like to call the more exotic European countries.  They are all fabulous destinations, each with their own character, history, customs, and scenery.  They probably offer the most unspoiled culture and the best travel bargains among European countries.  But for one reason or another – be it because they were once behind the Iron Curtain, or because they have a shaky economy or government, or because they’re less developed, less industrialized, or have a weaker infrastructure – these countries were never my first choice to travel to with young children.  In fact, I even marginally include Italy on this list, since once, in a hotel on southern Lake Garda, the water shut off while I had shampoo in my hair and didn’t come back on for 24 hours.  The management suggested I jump in the lake to rinse it out.  I’ve also seen some sleazy dealings going on among the Brindisi port ferry operators.  (Looked like extemporaneous ticket price escalation due to the crowds, to me.  But that was nothing compared to the palms we had to grease on the other side, in Corfu, to accomplish embarking on the ferry back to Brindisi.)

Brindisi to Corfu ferry

Anyway, these are not the sorts of things that make traveling with young children any easier.  Better to rely on Swiss precision and German engineering, or the remarkable capability of everyone in The Netherlands and Belgium to speak perfect English.  The Scandinavian countries too, are über-civilized and safe.  Besides, I remember that once I became a teenager I was no longer much interested in rustic mountain chalets or reading World War II memorial inscriptions . . . I wanted the white sand beaches of Santorini!  Snorkeling off the Canary Islands!  The open markets in Istanbul!  Fortunately for me my parents were happy to compromise and we managed a few of those dream destinations.  So my plan is to save these exotic lands until my son and daughter get a little older, too.  But have I mentioned that my daughter is already a teenager?  And already pining to see glorious Rome and ancient Athens.  That's my girl.

Family Vacation