Our Swiss Adventure: September 2013

As summer draws to a close and the grey skies of autumn start to settle in, I'd like to step back and take a moment to relish in the glory that was Züri Summer 2013. It may have been late in the game and all too short, but this summer my friends was simply spectacular. In between traveling Europe we spent our precious sunshiny hours chilling by Lake Zürich, bathing on the banks of the Limmat River, and basking in the sun on our rooftop terrace...

Lake Zürich

Luckily this summer during the work week, Mya and I on more than one occasion were able to meet up with Kevin by the lake for lunch. Here are some of our lunchtime lake shots...

Kevin's fellow Suits taking a break from banking.

Some had time to take a dip.

Mya and I lost in the sparkling waters.

I mean come on, can you blame us?

Mya is sooo European. Her go-to lunch: bread, espresso, cigarette.

Weekends not spent traveling you could find us at the Tiefenbrunnen badi ("badi" refers to a swimming area on the lake)....

Alps in the background. Too bad the iPhone doesn't even begin to do it justice.

The water did get warm enough for me to jump in (about 77 F), but for some reason we don't have any pictures to prove it. You'll just have to trust me that I did go for a swim and the water felt fantastic.

We also spent some weekend afternoons at Saffa Insel, a tiny little island on Lake Zürich located in Wollishofen...

Saffa Island and the pedestrian bridge leading to it.

Kev and Mya lost in the dazzling waters.

Again, can you blame them?

And we ended many a summer day with a lakeside BBQ...

Mya's favorite summer pastime - scrounging for BBQ scraps.

View from our BBQ.

Limmat River

One of my favorite summertime spots is the Letten, a badi on the river. The water temperature is definitely, shall we say, more refreshing than the lake, but it is so worth it to lose your breath in the cold water as you jump in and let the current carry you away...

View of the Letten from kornhausbrücke (a bridge over the river).

The Letten is bumping.

The only thing Mya's head is good for.

Kevin in the water doing his signature double fist pump pose.

A little further down the Limmat River is a spot where people ride down on rafts. We must get one for next summer...

Rafts cruising down the river.

Rocks where we dragged Mya and forced her to enjoy the water...she still hates water, if not more now.

My favorite summer river experience was Limmatschwimmen - a swimming event where participants floated down the river on blow-up gators. Beer in hand, straddling a gator, floating on an urban river with hundreds of other people; now that is summer fun.

Rooftop Terrace

The lake and river are always awesome, but sometimes there's no place like home...

Mya begging patiently while Kevin barbecues.

Jerk chicken Züri style - on a rooftop.

Perfect Sunday - Nook, wine, sun.

View from terrace.

Rooftop at sunset.

And with that, so sets the legendary Züri Summer of 2013. With the chilly crisp air and our cozy fall coats in tow, we are looking forward to all the adventures autumn has in store for us.

This past weekend we took the train over to the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France to check out the beautiful blue-green waters of Lake Annecy. We stayed in the historical district and were just mere steps away from the lake and old town. Annecy is nicknamed the "Venice of the Alps" due to the Thiou River which runs through the city creating charming canals reminiscent of Venice. As we roamed through town admiring the gorgeous floral arrangements lining the banks of the canal with its crystal clear waters, I turned to Kevin and said, "Nah, this place can't be real". It oozes so much quaintness and charm it's hard to believe you're in an actual city and not on a movie set. But as they say talk is cheap, so here's the pictures to prove just how picturesque Annecy really is...

Old Town