(not necessarily in that order)
We can’t help feeling a little sad as we prepare to leave Switzerland and fly back to California.
It was really, really great to have an extra-long visit after not being here for so many years, but no matter how long we stay, it’s still hard to say good-bye.
This brief video captures our last cappuccinos, accompanied by birdsong and church bells.
And how perfect that it ends with a completely unplanned but totally serendipitous ARRIVEDERCI.
Here’s something I would never have expected to see in the parking lot of Villaggio Reka in Sureggio (or anywhere else in Lugano, for that matter).
Yep, it’s a Buick!
And yes, it has a Swiss license plate, so some Swiss person is obviously a vintage car fan. 😅
It was finally a day of truly beautiful weather, so we took some time this afternoon and went for a walk in the lovely town of Tesserete.
Below is a close-up of the group of mountains you see in the distance: Denti della Vecchia (which translates as “Teeth of the Old Woman”).
These are perhaps my favorites of the local mountains; they always draw me in whenever I see them.
Divine Mother gifted us with a stunning sunset display in Umbria last night, complete with rainbow.
This morning’s weather continued dark and rainy, which was a match for my slightly sad feelings.
And now — after a long day of driving — we’re back in Switzerland, enjoying a different though still beautiful view from our latest Airbnb. Located in Sureggio, it’s close to Ramesha’s family home in Canobbio, which will be nice for the final two weeks of our visit.
Does Mercury retrograde also affect laundry?!? All I know is I spent hours in the laundry room today and only got one load washed.
The washing machine looks deceptively normal, but pretty much everything about the process is a challenge.
The money goes into a black box that looks like something from the last century; the coins go in and it starts, but you really have no idea what’s actually going on.
For example, I came back expecting the load to be finished, but it still looked wet even though the door was open. So, I closed the door to see if it would resume. It didn’t, but I couldn’t open the door anymore. I finally pushed some buttons in frustration and…it started up again — from the beginning! Why, I have no idea.
Then, the symbols on the machine are different, but when you try to read the instructions they’re in Italian.
I spent a lot of time studying them because the second time I came back — after setting a timer to be sure and arrive before it finished — the machine had stopped, with the door closed, and nothing I did would get it to go again.
Finally, in desperation I added another two coins — and it started…at the beginning yet again. At this point I knew I couldn’t leave; I had to stay and try to catch the moment when I would be able to open the door and take out my clothes.
Actually, the instructions are in Italian if you’re lucky — sometimes they’re only in German! (The photo below isn’t very clear but it doesn’t really matter because most of us wouldn’t be able to read it anyway.)
I won’t bore you with every detail, but I did finally figure out how to get the washing machine to complete its full cycle and let me get my clothes out.
Bottom line? I truly do love the multilingual reality that is Switzerland, but it does make things more difficult when it comes to laundry.
We drove to Palo Alto; flew from San Francisco; switched planes in Munich; landed in Milan; were picked up by Ramesha’s sister and his Dad; had lunch in Canobbio (the village near Lugano where he grew up); and finally arrived at our little apartment in Aldesago around 4:00pm Switzerland time.
We slept very little on the plane, so the goal was to stay completely awake until at least 8:30pm so that we would be more likely to sleep through the night.
It’s now 9:30pm, so as soon as I finish this it’s lights out for me.
I needed to scroll through some random photos of past trips to Switzerland to remind myself why the stress of traveling is so very, very worth it.
There’s the incredible beauty, of course. But way more important are the people we haven’t seen in almost four years.
We can’t wait.
This afternoon we celebrated World Brotherhood Day here at Ananda Village.
Unfortunately, it had to be switched to online only (due to a surge of COVID and other illnesses), with only the speakers, a small singing group, and three or four other guests in attendance.
But I found it as inspiring as ever to hear about Ananda’s outreach ministries and all the wonderful work they’re doing around the world.
In fact, I’m reminded of when I lived in Switzerland (from 2004-2006) and would receive Ananda’s annual appeal in the mail. I was still relatively new, and I remember being absolutely thrilled to know I was — in my own small way — a part of such an expansive work. I even sent a donation (though I’m not sure how I managed to afford it at the time!).
Of course, Ananda’s work has exploded in so many directions since then, and Ramesha and I play a much larger role in the worldwide music outreach nowadays. But the basic feeling is exactly the same as it ever was.
This quote from Swami Kriyananda describes it perfectly: “We are part of a great tide of loving, joyful energy that wants to give and give as long as people are happy to receive it.”Â
What a blessing it is to be part of that great tide of loving, joyful energy!
Yep, we’re finally going to visit family and friends in Switzerland this spring. It will have been almost four years since the last time we were in Lugano.
We can hardly wait!
I use Momentum Dash for my new tabs. I love the photos and the quotes, and the daily message often hits home.
Sometimes — like today — the photo and message combine to really get my attention.
I wasn’t the least surprised to read, “Campagna (countryside), Italy” as this photo caption; I instantly recognized it as Italy.
And I interpreted the message as meaning to never stop dreaming about returning to my other “home” — Europe — namely Switzerland and Italy.
I miss our friends and family in both places so very, very much. But the time will come!