I don’t think it was a Memorial Day equivalent but there was some random European-wide holiday here on Monday. Chizzy parlayed that with a personal vacation day on Friday and we set out for a long weekend in Lisbon, Portugal. It was the first time either of us has been to Portugal and now we are very close to having visited all Western European countries (at least for a few hours).
On our most recent visit back to the U.S. we found out some very interesting information about my ancenstry. My fabulous Aunt Barbara gave us a letter from the Bern archives which stated that my great, great, great grandmother (Anna Barbara Stalder) was baptized in a little town called Lutzelfluh here in Switzerland. Her mother was from a nearby town called Ruegsau and she was very Swiss indeed, maiden name is Sterchi.
Anna Barbara left Switzerland with her husband and daughter Wilhelmina to the U.S. when she was in her twenties. She died in childbirth on the boat but then Wilhelmina went on to marry a man in Nebraska. The story goes on from there until you get to me...Chizzy. Fascinating and I'm so thankful to have received that information so that Bryan and I could go on a little excursion and pretend that we were The Stalder's. It was a gorgeous day and we had nothing else to do so we hopped on the train in search of distant relatives or any clue that there are other's like Chizzy out there.
Continue reading "Is Chizzy a Swiss name?"...May 1st is like xmas for Bryan. To be in the thick of it all when the riots begin is like a dream come true. At one point today I asked him if he wanted to be a photo journalist because he was just so excited to get in the middle of any mishap in order to get a good shot. Don't worry mama K, lucky for me and you we got a late start and missed the "workers" parade so no pictures this year of red flags and calls for solidarity. And thankfully no riots. The only evidence of May Day was the Globus and ATMs all boarded up. It's funny how the business next door is pretty happenin'.
Nice photos, nice post. My favorite photo is exasperated Chizzy.
J, May 31, 2007 08:46 PM:Way to suffer through and still get the pictures in the end. The birdcage picture is brilliant. I like it a lot! You guys have been quiet for a while over there - good to see you're still having adventures.
Tobin, May 31, 2007 10:40 PM:Nice work on the Lisbon post. We did like Lisbon but there really was nothing to differentiate it from the rest of Western Europe. Porto was a little different. The Port houses really made the city worth a trip.
Tobin etc..., May 31, 2007 10:44 PM:Nice work on working in the WoW reference! I have done that a few times on my blog with varied results.
Lorraine, June 23, 2007 08:16 PM:Hi Bryan and Cheryl,
I haven't been on your post for so long, however, your mom told me you went to Lisbon. That has always been one #1 destination for some reason! Never have been there, but hope to go. I was looking at your Venice pictures as Ron & I are going to Rome for four days and Venice for three in August. Ron doesn't get very long on vacations, otherwise I would add more days! I was actually hoping we would make it to Switzerland before you two left! Oh, well! Anyway, I always enjoy your pictures and your narrative. I don't even know how to put pictures up like you guys do. Mine are always in a folder! Pretty lame tech person! Take care.
Lorraine & Ron