It has been an eventful Thanksgiving weekend. We had a few days off so we went with the ward to Bern, Switzerland to attend the temple. That's right, the temple is now 8 hours away from us. May we never again take for granted a temple that is less than 2 hours away, much less 5-10 minutes away from our home. It was a wonderful blessing to be able to go to temple even though it was a sacrifice in preparation, travel, lodging, food, etc. We packed the day before and took most of the food we would need for the duration of the vacation. It was a very pretty drive through the northern parts of Italy, through Milan and into the country and mountainside of Switzerland. It really was as we had imagined it: Green meadows (even in the winter), and small swiss villages with cow herds and sheep flocks. Of course after 8 hours in the car with 4 small children our destination was a welcome site. We arrived at the temple about 10:30 at night. We had a room reserved at the patron housing, much like a hostel. It was very functional but far from very comfortable, at least we each had our own beds. It was a small room with 3 sets of bunk beds, which of course the kids loved, but the parents did not sleep as well. We attended the temple, had to listen to headphones in english as each session we went to was in a different language. We had Thanksgiving dinner as a giant potluck with the many members of the ward that went. It was good but interesting. One of our favorite parts of the trip was riding the train in Bern, Switzerland where there was streets full of people shopping with all the building lit up and decorated for the Christmas season. My favorite part was the small stands roasting and selling chestnuts. A roasted chestnut is one of my new favorite nuts to eat, it is a hot and soft nut, which is so delicious as we walked the cold Swiss streets. Another highlight of our trip was going to a chocolate factory that was way up in the hills, off the beaten path. It was called the Cailler Chocolate Factory in the Gruyere region. We had a blast as we learned the history of chocolate and then ended it with an all you can eat sampling of different delicious chocolates and truffles. I never wanted to see another piece of chocolate for about 10 minutes until we got back in the car and drove back to our sleeping quarters. We ended our trip on saturday waking up to a snowy, white morning which was a beautiful site on the temple grounds and then one last visit into Bern to the Christmas Market. It is a neat event where different vendors come and set up their booths in the streets selling all things winter and christmas. We were glad to make the 8 hour trek back home but certainly had a wonderful trip that put us in the right spirit and excitement for the Christmas Season!
The Bern Switzerland Temple in the winter. Not much snow but it as certainly cold. We got to hear the temple president and his wife speak. It was good to know that testimonies are strong around the world.
The streets of Bern Switzerland lined with Christmas lights and decorations. We had one extra little friend with us.
The temple at night as big bro hugs little sis. It really was beautiful all lit up.
Coco beans at the chocolate factory. It was a fun process to see.
Standing in front of a giant chocolate cow. About 20 different farmers deliver their milk to the chocolate factory each week to make delicious chocolate.
We could not get enough of the taste testing room. No one was telling us we could only have one of each, we had as much as we wanted.
The Factory!
She was thrilled to be at the Christmas Market
Our favorite stand selling roasted chestnuts that were so good.
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