There She Goes: Switzerland, City & Alps

Hello From Lucerne!

I am writing to you from Lucerne, Switzerland this week! The past few days have been a medley of hiking and preparing delicious, nutritious food with friends. With so much travel, my body has needed more attention this week. It’s so tempting to wake up and think carpe diem! I must squeeze energy out of every moment. But that mindset and way of living is not sustainable. It’s like that quote from last week’s newsletter: “Learning to be present is crucial. Living life to the fullest is recognizing that the fullest is not always full speed.” Living to the fullest does not mean we have to drain ourselves trying to do it all. Instead this week I’ve taken time to have longer meals, practice yoga, and publish a blog post I had on the back burner “Saving For Travel and Making it Fun.” So whether you are spending this week radiating energy or harnessing calmness, I hope you do it wholeheartedly!

Songs To Stitch To, Sing To, Get You Through The Week

Come Tomorrow(Feat Brandi Carlile) Dave Matthews

Go Easy-Acoustic Matt Maeson

Bright Lights Ziggy Alberts

Set Aside Some Time This Week For Some Self-Care

Walk hills: Walking is a great way to exercise and pass time outdoors. The wonderful thing about walking versus running is you can catch up with a friend and take time to see sights! Whether you’re simply walking your neighborhood or hiking a new destination, the environment is constantly evolving and so is the way we see the world. Turn an already cardiovascular activity (walking) into one that can tone your muscles and give you lift!

Have a long breakfast: Try and carve in some time in the next week for a long breakfast either alone or with people you care about. Prepare a new breakfast recipe or perhaps go European style with breads, cheeses, and preserves. Try and make the meal last at least one hour long and just enjoy!

Remember your sunscreen: This is no joke! As the summer picks up and the sun gets stronger, even overcast days are sunscreen days. It’s so so important to protect our skin, and we can do our part to encourage friends and family to do the same. Apply, reapply, all of that! My favorite sunscreen is by Raw Elements because it’s safe, effective, and smells AMAZING. I’ll typically use the tinted one for my face and the white one for the rest of my body.

Uplifting Things Happening Around The World

Chobani is paying off an accumulated debt in a school district cafeteria in Idaho. The company has offered to cover the $85,000 debt for student breakfast and lunches, thereby freeing up the district to put more money toward improving education.

June is an opportunity to be confidently rooted and harness your inner power. Apparently the spirit animal of the month is the turtle, which represents a feeling of grounding and uniting with Earth’s energies. Take it all in and become your best turtle self 😊

The University of British Columbia discovered a way to convert blood types A, B, and AB into the universal O! The scientists found a groundbreaking way to do this by implementing gut bacteria, which had never been tested before. Check out the nitty gritty here!

Sunday Salutations

“Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness.” Allen Ginsberg

“Who you are is freaking awesome” David Roche in a trail running article called “Dream Big and Go For It”

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Maya Angelou

There She Goes

I’ve been eagerly waiting to go to Switzerland ever since my partner, James, returned there from a hiking trip last year. Though he’s been to Switzerland a handful of times, it is my first time! I expected that I would love it because of the environment of mountains, rivers, and lakes, but being here is even better than I imagined. What also makes it so special is the number of connections we have here. Both James and I were fortunate to work for a global company for many years, and we’ve stayed close to many of the friends we made while working for the organization. So, as much as this country involves sightseeing, it just as equally involves totally average days with incredibly awesome people.

Our view as we approached the top of Pilatus.

Sights That Have Made Me Say “WOW”

Mount Pilatus: Our first day in Lucerne we were fortunate to have an absolutely beautiful day, so we didn’t waste time in checking out the view from Mount Pilatus, one of Lucerne’s most famous features. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to hike, so instead we took the cog railway up and the cable cars down. The landscape was lush following the rain showers from the week, and the sky cast amazing light and shadows — captivating views never stopped!

The sheer number of of tourists in Lucerne: As we walked around Old Town, I was astonished by the waves of people (that did not look like locals) walking beside us and toward us. It turns out that Lucerne has a pretty crazy statistic for how many people visit the city each year. See my fun facts below for more on that!

Destination Fun Facts

Lucerne is home to one of the oldest wooden bridges in Europe, the Chapel Bridge (or the Kapellbrücke). It is a pedestrian bridge that runs along the River Reuss and was built in 1377.

Lucerne has more tourists per inhabitant than Venice. It’s estimated that over 9 million people visit this quaint city each year and that, when you break down the numbers, Lucerne has 116 tourists per inhabitant.

The Pilatus Railway is the steepest cog railway in the world. The railway (which is how I got to the top of the mountain) has a gradient of up to 48% as it climbs from Alpnachstad to the summit of Pilatus Kulm.

Raclette spread from this week. The Swiss typically enjoy raclette in the winter time but our friends made an exception for us!

Good Eats

Lunch with an Italian: One of our hosts is Italian and believes in the importance of fresh food and well prepared meals. On our first day at her apartment, we prepared a lovely meal of vegetable minestrone and omelette. When we set the table, we of course also had fresh cheese and a bit of spices for garnish. There is something so special about cooking with friends and taking the time to enjoy the work.

Homemade sparkling mate: After our day on Pilatus, our host in Lucerne prepared this refreshing beverage for us. He mixed two tablespoons of a mate concentrate from a local company called Lori’s, sparkling water, and fresh lemon balm from his terrace. Yum!

Raclette! Have you heard of or tried it? This is basically an alternative to the Swiss fondue experience, as they are both social and both focus on cheese. As you can see in the photo above, there is a griddle in the middle of the table where you can cook both vegetables (above) and cheese (below). Once the cheese is melted, you pour it onto your plate. Traditionally the cheese is simply paired with potatoes, charcuterie, and pickled vegetables and the cheese cooking happens over an open fire. Our host in Lucerne put together a raclette night for us and some friends. Apparently summertime is not typically the time for this sort of dinner party, so we are grateful for their participation. It was such a blast!

Heading down the cable cars at Mount Pilatus

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and listen with us today!
We hope you have an excellent week filled with lots of happy stitching.

Be well,

Brooke & Sheila