A Week in Tessin

The third and final week of my vacation was spent in the Kanton of Tessin.  This is the Italian-speaking Kanton which is about three hours away from my house by train.  I would like to thank my “Host Aunt and Uncle”, Natalia and Wimi, for allowing me to share in the beauty of their Alp-house, my ``Host cousins” Lydia and Luca, for making me laugh every single day of the week, and Andreas and Daria for including me in their family vacation.  I truly had the time of my life in, yet again, one of the most awe-inspiring places I have ever seen. 

Up, up, up

After one day designated for packing and unpacking, Daria Andreas, and I headed off to Tessin to meet up with our next door neighbours (Andreas’ brother and his family).  After our three hour train ride (which seemed like only a few minutes compared to getting home from Italy) we arrived in Locarno.  The feeling was much different than Zurich, or Bern, but maybe that’s just because everyone spoke Italian.  We hopped in a crowded bus with our backpacks for an hour and a half ride up the mountains.  This “bus” ride could have better been described as an hour and a half long winding and lurching rollercoaster.  I was torn between ideas: (1) not blinking so I wouldn’t miss a second of the stunning rock cliffs that rose on my right and completely dropped to my left, or (2) closing my tightly so that I would not have to watch as the bus missed the corner and went over the terrifying cliff to my left.  The bus honked every time we rounded a corner because a) you couldn’t see what was on the other side, b) a car and the bus can’t fit around the tight corners at once, and c) an attempt to scare of the goats that may be hanging out on the road around the bend.  I so badly wanted a picture of the goats on the road, but I knew I’d just be 10x more tourist-y than I am already.  I was a little bit car sick, and while at home I would have popped a few gravol beforehand (sleep right through the motion sickness), here I was given peppermint spray for my wrists so I could sniff it.  Although I can’t say it cured me entirely, it was definitely helpful.  I am learning a lot about natural medicines in my family.  We got to a little town- can you call it that? Maybe a village…anyways, it consisted of a convenience store and a small café.  From there we walked another hour up the mountain to reach our final destination.

A Little Slice of Heaven

Not our house, but very similar!

Lydia held my hand as we came close to seeing the house.  She said to me, “our house here isn’t very nice.” I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was ecstatic when I saw the house for the first time.  Nestled on top of the hill, in a large area of tall grass, was a little stone house, with tiny windows, a large, old, wooden door, and a big stone table outside.  The view below was of the valley that leads to the lake in Locarno.  Only a few other houses are visible in the distance and all was quiet and calm.  The leaves have just started to begin to change colours, and the air was cool and fresh.  I love fall in midland-  I love fall 100x more in the Alps.  Inside the house were two floors, and a cellar with a small bathroom.  The first level was the kitchen with a wood stove, a sink, a kitchen table, and a couch.  The next floor was the bedroom where all eight of us slept.  This may sound totally unreasonable, but in fact not once in the week did I feel cramped or like I needed space.  This includes the fact that almost every morning I was woken up earlier than desired with two eyes about an inch away from mine and a little voice saying “Guten morgen Shtephanie!” There is no way I can be angry with a face as sweet as Lydia’s. I even managed to not be angry when I was used as her personal punching bag frequently throughout the night. I think sleeping six people on a 27ft boat has taught me a few things about how much personal space is actually needed. 

Life with the Kids

I did a lot of hiking with the kids while I was in the Alps, almost every day we went new places, saw new things, and found new things.  The kids are really great hikers- as long as you aren’t a fan of a maintained, continuous speed.  They seem to like one of two speeds: (1) full-out running, (2) completely stopped.  We stopped to look at (and take pictures of) trees, rocks, sticks, plants, bugs, nuts, leaves, and especially mushrooms.  Luca just loves mushrooms.  Each time we’d see one, he’d stop me and we would go into my backpack for the “Mushroom Dictionary” he insisted I carry, to find out if we could eat it for dinner.  Before we left the house, I unpacked my backpack. It was filled with the strangest assortment of crumbled crackers, animal bones, mushrooms, stones, a stick, a rope, a baby-sized tee-shirt, dirty Kleenexes, and the dictionary.  When at the river, Lydia and Daria were playing the game that little girls always play.   One draws a picture with their finger on the other’s back.  The other has to guess what it is.  I got paired up with Luca, which turned out to be an awfully bad combination.  It was fairly unsuccessful because, a) he can’t draw yet really, b) we don’t speak the same language, c) he enjoys making up his own words, d) he gets frustrated when my only guesses are “house, tree, boat, and cat” (the extent of my vocabulary).  The pairing remained for the walk home, but I was more grateful for it.  While I didn’t know how to sing any of the Swiss-German songs that Daria and Lydia were, making machine gun noises and pointing sticks at imaginary targets is a pretty universal game.  On the most part, I think Lydia and Luca enjoy my company because they like the fact that they know more than I do.  They like to teach me, and I like to learn, so it’s a good combination.  Sometimes I don’t know how to explain myself in German, and so I think I leave them pretty confused.  For example: my hair had been trapped under my hat for the past few days. I was not at all keen on my mass of matted hair making an appearance.  One child tried to take my hat off but I pulled it back on to avoid embarrassment.  I thought of when my mom used to say my hair is a bird’s nest.  However, the translation accidently turned into “I have an animal living in my hair under my hat.” Sometimes it really isn’t my fault people think I’m crazy- the translations just don’t go quite the way I want them to.

I love these people so much

Learning the Moonwalk

Before going to bed one night, Natalia announced that it would be a full moon very late, and that she would be waking up at five o’clock to see it.  “Sure!” I said, thinking I’d love to see the full moon over the mountains. What I didn’t realize however, was that the ideas in our minds were very contrasting.  I, had pictured a 15 minute break from my beloved sleep to watch the moon, then hop right back into cosiness for the rest of the night.  Yes, 5 o’clock am is still night-time.  But, as I listened to the conversation more, I realized what I had agreed to.  At five o’clock the next morning, an ironically joyful alarm bell sounded through the bedroom and everyone began to put on their clothes for the day. Emerging from my warmth and happiness, I put on two pairs of pants, a tee shirt, two sweaters, and my Canada gloves.  I didn’t say a word as I went downstairs and crankily tied my hiking boots.  My mom and I have always tried to decide if I am, or am not a morning person.  I have always gotten to school for first class, willing gone to early soccer practices, and I loved the first shift of work at the marina.  Despite all of these facts, mom I have found an answer to the question: I am not a morning person.  I turned into the youngest kid in the group.  The moon was unbelievably wonderful, silver, and brighter than I have ever seen.  As we began to walk I would have just as well enjoyed seeing it through the bedroom window.  However, after about an hour and a half, we came to the top of the hill.  I was cold, and grumpy, but there was no denying the remarkable view.  The sun began to rise over Locarno with vibrant colours and the silvery moon slipped away behind the mountain peaks.  It was a combination of this view, the cheese sandwich and hot chocolate that made me finally able to grow up and realize how lucky I was to be seeing such an amazing point in the day.  The rest of the day was more than enjoyable, with tons of hiking, and relaxing in the most beautiful of rest stops.  We stopped at a little restaurant for dinner, where the owners knew everyone’s names and offered us more after our plates were licked clean.  Worth way more than a few hours of sleep ever will be. 

All worth while

And I thought I knew cold…

Another hike was with Andreas and the kids to a river an hour away.  The hike was steep downhill all the way (I didn’t want to think of coming back up) until we came to the river valley.  Instantly, the temperature dropped from the cold river, even though it was still many feet below.  We unpacked our things, and I got into my bathing suit.  I was craving a shower, and I figured nothing could be as bad as Georgian Bay in April.  I was wrong.  I had already rubbed the soap all over my body when I went in up to my knees.  My toes instantly went numb.  Without hesitating, I went all the way under to get it done and over with.  Horrible.  It actually hurt! I didn’t know cold could hurt.  I was clean, but chilled.  I was also surprised.  Georgian Bay has nothing on the mountain rivers. 

All in All

In this week I saw so many new things and had a completely awesome time.  We played games late into the night, had the best meals I have had here so far, relaxed, hiked, and laughed.  If there is one place I’d go when I return to Switzerland in the future- it’s there. 

    

Swiss-Italian border

Sorry this blog took a while to write, life’s been crazy getting back into the swing of school and trying to organize two weeks’ worth of suitcase contents strewn carelessly on my bedroom floor.  I hope that everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving- I am thinking of all of you.

Love,

Stephanie