Switzerland - July 2004

Oeschinensee in Kandersteg

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of getting engaged, we decided to go to Switzerland back to the romantic location where it all happened - Kandersteg.  This is also the place where Keith spent two summers when he was 19 and 21 years old - volunteering at the International Scout Center.  We were joined by Keith's parents which made it a truly romantic vacation!  During this trip, we spent time in Kandersteg as well as around Lake Constance (a lake that lies between Switzerland and Germany).

Accommodations:

Bernerhof Apartment (Kandersteg) - We rented a two bedroom apartment which was clean, roomy (had a dining area, kitchen and living room) and functional.

Gasthaus zum Hecht (Mammern) - A cute B&B located close to the lake.  The owner was very nice and hospitable.

Activities:

Shawna and Keith flew in from the States into Zurich and met up with Keith's parents who flew in from Scotland where they were visiting with friends and family.  We arrived in the evening, rented a car and drove straight to Kandersteg where we arrived at almost midnight.

Kandersteg

The next morning (Sunday), we walked up to Oeschinensee which is a beautiful lake nestled in the mountains.  It is the location where Keith proposed to Shawna 5 years earlier (in a row boat after drinking enough wine to drum up the courage).  We ate lunch at the restaurant located on the lake, then did a bit more of a hike to another hut above the lake. Dinner at the Doldenhorn was fantastic.

Doldenhornhutte

Monday morning, we first stopped by the Scout Center to try and check email - which was brutally slow.  We then started off on a hike to the Doldenhornhutte which looks over Oeschinensee.  It was a bit wet as we started, but mostly cleared up until the end when the clouds came in.

On the Tuesday, we met up with Peter and his son Henrik.  Keith was on staff with Peter in Kandersteg in '88 and it just worked out that Peter and his son were in Kandersteg.  We took the cable car with them up to Oeschinensee, took the trail to the right, and headed up to Frundenhutte.  The hike starts slowly as it hugs the lake, but then begins a zigzag through the rocks all the way up to the top - including some pretty steep ledges that Shawna was not totally wild about.  As we were walking, the snow and sleet came in, though we were dressed for the occasion.  A hot chocolate at the hut was much welcomed.

With Peter and Henrik

Gallihorn Hike

Wednesday was "romantic hike day" - meaning we stayed away from friends and parents.  We picked the Gällihorn hike, which is often done as a dawn hike (though not for us!).  It was yet another beautiful hike, with stunning views of the valley.  We also passed a few sheep friends along the way.

On Thursday, we left Kandersteg and headed north, through Interlaken.  We wandered around there a bit before driving up to Lake Constance (aka Bodensee).  We were so close to Liechtenstein that we stopped there for dinner before arriving at the guesthouse late that night.

Friday was spent sightseeing all day: Rhine Falls, the medieval town of Shaffhausen, and then up to Stein am Rhine - a stunning town with hundreds of murals on the facades of old buildings.  Lunch was at a restaurant on the banks of the Rhine, then off to the island of Mainau which is one big botanic garden.  Dinner was on the patio of the B&B in Mammern.

Stein am Rhine

Saturday was our last day so we headed back to the lake and took the 20 minute ferry to Meersburgh on the north side of the lake.  We headed over to Freidrichshafen where we saw a museum dedicated to the Zepplin factory that was in the area - really cool.  We had an early dinner at the guesthouse, retired early, and went to bed so we could get up for a 4:15am start to head to the airport. 

Restaurants:

Hotel Doldenhorn (Kandersteg) - Keith and Shawna had celebrated their engagement here 5 years early and so we returned with Keith's parents to have a wonderful meal.

Crystal (Kandersteg) - A casual place that serves traditional Swiss food.  Keith knew the manager at the time so she treated us well.

For more photos of this trip:

Keith's 35th Bday - July 2004

 

The Gang Hiking

Shawna decided to throw Keith a surprise party for his 35th birthday.  She had invited several of the Fuqua friends to come to Colorado over July 4th weekend and she organized a number of activities for the weekend.  Shawna chose July 4th to schedule the event because Keith would likely not suspect anything (his birthday is in June) and it would allow everyone to come for a long weekend.  It was tricky keeping it a surprise from him and the cat was almost let out of the bag a couple of times but she pulled it off and totally surprised him!

From the Fuqua gang, Kim, Tom, Kara, Allen, Nancy, Hall, Mark, Alicia, Keith and Kate all made it.  Keith's friend Patrick also came.

Tom and Keith

Kim and Tom had arrived the weekend prior to the surprise weekend as they had a wedding to attend in Vail and so they decided to stay the week with us.  Keith at this point still did not know about the surprise as he thought that Kim and Tom were staying with us because they wanted to take a vacation for the week.

Alicia, Keith and Patrick

We went to Vail with them and babysat Kaley while they went to the wedding.  This was our first time baby sitting and not knowing what we were doing, we were happy that we kept her alive.  We took Kaley out to dinner - Kim had told us to order her chicken fingers with fries and to help her out with the fries so that she would actually eat some of the chicken.  Keith took this as an order to eat ALL of her fries and so at one point, Kaley looked at Keith and said "Stop".  At this point, Keith slowed down eating her fries.  When we put her to bed that evening, Shawna was not sure how much diaper rash cream to apply so to be safe, she applied a generous amount!  Being nervous, we did check a few times to make sure she was still breathing while she was asleep!  For the rest of the week, Kim and Tom based out of our house, making day trips to see the sights of the Denver area.

Nancy, Kate and Hall

On the Friday of Keith's surprise weekend, we sat down for dinner with Kim and Tom at our house when the door bell rang.  Shawna made Keith answer the door to find Kara and Ansley on the door step with their daughter Skylar.  Keith was quite confused!  They said they were in the neighborhood and decided to stop by.  While we were talking to them on the front lawn, Mark and Alicia pulled up, making Keith even more confused!  At this point, we told him the surprise.  Later that evening, the rest of the gang showed up.

Kaley, Kim, Kara, Ansley and Skylar

The Famous Carrot Cake

On Saturday, most of the gang went rock climbing while Shawna cooked and prepped for the birthday party later that evening.  She made two cakes - a chocolate cake and a carrot cake (Keith's favorite).  She mistook 'grating' the carrots for 'shredding' the carrots and once she realized it, it was too late so she took the scissors to the batter to try to cut the carrots into smaller bits.  Thankfully, the cake came out fine.  That evening, we had a party at our house and had catered it with BBQ.  Shawna had invited some of her and Keith's work friends as well.

Shawna's Work Friends

On Sunday, we went for a hike and had a great day enjoying the views.  That evening, we went to see Blues Traveler at Red Rocks.

Keith's Work Friends

On Monday, Shawna made brunch at the house which we ate on the back deck and then everyone had to head to the airport in the afternoon to return home.