A recap of my Parents visit.. First stop Bern!

While my parents were here, we decided to do a lot of day trips because I was still busy with practices. One of the first things on the list was the tour of my town, Marin. I took my Mom on a hike to see the lake which was about 10 minutes from our apartment. She thought it was very beautiful and took a bunch of pictures. We ended up taking the long way home and walked for almost an hour! My Mom also really enjoyed looking at all the old houses. The houses back home look very different than the ones they have here. No one really has shutters and the roofs are different too. Some of the houses had plaques on the side so you could see how old it was and these homes are way older than the homes in Downers Grove. Next I took her to the mall, Marin Centre and showed her where I would sit and skype with her. We then spent about two hours in Megro's, checking out the different food. She was so curious to see everything because most of the food is completely different than back at home. My Dad was happy they had burritos so he could have them for lunch. Finally we headed home because I needed to get to practice.

The next day I took them around Neuchatel. I showed them the two gyms we practiced in and had a nice walk by the lake. Both of my parents were impressed with how clear the water was. The next stop was Place Pury. I showed them the Chateau or castle, the church and all the shops in between. My parents just liked walking around and experiencing a typical afternoon in Switzerland.

The following day we had more time so we decided to visit the capital of Switzerland, Bern. I've never been there before so I was eager to go explore a new place. We got directions from Bryn on how to get there by car and at first the ride was easy. Once we got closer, there were a lot of exits for Bern and we didn't know which one to take! Unfortunately I took one that was pretty far from downtown. We had no clue where we were going so my Dad told me to follow the electric bus lines because hopefully that should lead us to town.. And luckily it did! We finally arrived with only a few extra grey hairs on our head! We decided to just walk around since we were already running a little late.

Having street names this long definitely doesn't help when you're lost!

One of the churches right next to the train station

Public transportation is huge over here and really easy to use

Bern has a lot of clock towers. This one even has a tunnel where trams can go through!

Some old men playing chess in the street.

This building is the Federal Palace of Switzerland and houses Parliament.

We walked through the Federal Palace and we came upon a great view. Earlier that morning that sky had been cloudy but it was clear enough so you could see the Alps!

Aare is the main river that runs around Bern. In the summer time, a lot of people float down the river!

A really really long street, lined with shops.

My favorite clock tower we came across.

Bern was a lot of fun but it was time to head home to get ready for practice again. The next time I go hopefully I won't get lost! Another mini adventure with my parents will be posted soon!