After the flurry of travel and guests the last couple of months, Melissa and I have cherished these last two weekends of doing absolutely nothing!  We’ve spent the last two weeks just living the everyday Swiss life, so I thought I should share some of the recent interesting news stories that all the everyday Swiss people … Continue reading 12 June 2016 Update →

For a couple of people who love to travel, living in Europe sure has had its advantages.  One weekend we’re going north of the Alps to sip beers in Munich, Germany, then the next heading south to soak up the Mediterranean sun in Marseille, France.  While the sun, surf, and culture were good enough reasons … Continue reading Marseille →

We had so much fun visiting with Melissa’s family in Switzerland that we decided to join them again for one more adventure – a weekend in Munich, Germany.  Their long European tour had already taken them through Switzerland and down to Italy, then, on Saturday May 21st, they arrived early in the morning to the … Continue reading Another Weekend Visit with Family →

We had more visitors! Last weekend Melissa’s grandparents, Stan and Dorothy Painter, as well as two of her aunts, Jean Klose and Jodi Windschitl, swung through Switzerland as part of a big 14 day European vacation that would also take them to Rome and Munich. In their short time with us, we hurriedly tried to show … Continue reading A Long Weekend Visit with Family →

Switzerland’s wine industry is a secret well kept from the rest of the world.   Nestled amongst some of the most famous wine producing regions in the world, Switzerland has the right climate for many famous grape varieties and a history of wine making dating back to Roman times.  Despite the rich oenological tradition here, it remains … Continue reading Wine Tasting in Valais →

As part of my cousin Michelle and her husband Brian Clark’s European vacation they came up to Switzerland to visit Melissa and I for four days starting April 7th.  In their time here they saw some of the sights near Lausanne, enjoyed our wonderful company, and made a long train tour into and through the … Continue reading Switzerland with the Clarks →

On Saturday April 2nd Melissa and I took a short flight to Barcelona for a short weekend visit.  Our excuse for the trip was seeing my cousin Michelle and her husband Brian Clark, who just so happened to be on the same continent as us.  They were vacationing in Barcelona from Saturday until Thursday, then coming up … Continue reading A Weekend in Barcelona →

Friday was the Olsons last day together in Greece.  We had already seen all our planned sights in Santorini, so we treated it as a bonus day.  After breakfast Dan and Ann went off on their own to hike a 7 km trail along the cliffs of the caldera that went from Fira to Oia. … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 18th & 19th Goodbye Greece →

Santorini is the largest of five islands in a cluster created by the same volcano.  It’s crescent shape with abrupt inner side cliffs, up to 980ft tall, forms part of the volcano’s rim, with the remainder of the rim defined by two smaller islands.  The inner area of these islands, around 30 square miles, is called the … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 17th Santorini Caldera →

Our first full day on Santorini featured ancient ruins, a red sand beach, lots of wine tasting, and one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.  The busy sight seeing however, began after a relaxed morning.  We passed the time sipping coffee from our balcony as we gazed out over the Aegean sea, and Melissa … Continue reading Greek Vacation – March 16th Akrotiri to Oia →