Another blurry, overnight flight brought us to Munich. This time we upped our standards and got a BMW. You know, when in Rome…

It was a nice drive south to the Principality of Liechtenstein. We went for a walk up to the castle (Schloss Vaduz) where the royal family still lives above the town of Vaduz. Then we had a delicious meal at the Residence Hotel. The garlic soup was amazing.

Given that we passed individual homes with vineyards in their backyards, we had to try some wine. I ordered a glass of something white (Richard was driving) and it was great.

From Vaduz, we drove to Zurich. It was busy but not overwhelmingly so. Because it was a warm, spring Saturday, the river was lined with people picnicking, walking and enjoying the evening. Once checked into our hotel, we walked down to the Zurichsee Lake and watched the swans.

The next morning, our friend Dan flew in and we went on another tour of the city, this time while jogging.

After breakfast, we drove up into the mountains to Davos. We rented cross country skis and I got out of breath. After living at sea level at McMurdo, I was slow moving in the mountains.

Dinner was cheese. Just cheese. We went to a fondu restaurant and ate cheese. It was awesome.

The next day, we rented downhill skis and explored the world-famous Swiss Alps. The morning was chilly and icy. But by midday, my quads were burning in the mashed potato snow. It took a lot of work to turn in longer-than-I-was-used-to skis in the heavy wet snow.

I headed down first and took a nap in the sun-warmed car. From there we drove to Italy for dinner. Pizza!

And then on to Innsbrook for bed.

I’m not kidding when I said this was a whirlwind tour. We were interested in getting the slightest taste of absolutely everything.

We walked around Innsbrook in the morning, then drove back up to Munich.

Another afternoon jog took us to giant clocks and river surfers. Dinner was beer.

In the morning, we all packed for the long plane ride back to the U.S. and regular life.

Bye world! See you again soon!