Switzerland
We decided to visit Switzerland for 3 main reasons: a break from big cities, the scenery, and L’Abri. A few years ago, my friend Jeremy gave Hannah and me a book about L’Abri (French for shelter) by Edith Schaffer. Edith and her husband Francis, a theologian and pastor, began using their home in the Swiss Alps back in the 1950s as a safe place for travelers from all walks of life to ask big questions about God. Now L’Abri has locations around the world, but their home in the tiny mountain town of Huemoz was the first.
We arrived at L’Abri via 4 very timely and efficient Swiss trains and the most beautiful bus ride I’ve ever taken. The first person I met, Chris, goes to my church in Chicago! We had no idea we would be there together, nor had we formally met prior to meeting on a hillside thousands of miles from home. Small world. Many of the other 35 people were fresh out of high school or college and planned to spend the term there (through the end of the year). We would be there for 1 week, doing life together. You can learn more about L’Abri from Evelyn’s country report and Hannah’s post about her our time there.
After L’Abri, we made our way through Interlaken to Wengen, just above the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the heart of the Swiss Alps. There we met my parents, who had lovingly made the trip over to spend time with us for a few days. It is really special to see familiar faces on a trip like this, and I think our kids especially appreciated the time with their grandparents.
During the long weekend, we explored the “top of Europe”, taking a train to 11,300 feet to get up close to the 3 famous peaks in the region: the Eiger, Münch, and Jungfrau. We visited underground waterfalls at Trommelbach Falls, and Hannah and I even got a date night to celebrate our 16 years together! On our last full day, I did a 2 hour hike from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren with stunning views, and met up with Hannah and the 3 older kids to paraglide back down to the valley. It was a memorable day!
Unfortunately, during our time in Wengen, Hannah cracked a tooth during dinner. This is one of those moments you dread on a trip, far away from home and unsure of what to do. We spent the next hour Googling emergency dentists. A few were open on the weekend, but many didn’t speak English, and those who did were too booked to see us. We finally found a listing in Geneva with an evening slot the night before our flight to Greece.
It turns out this was a huge answer to prayer! The dentist was American and grew up not too far from Hannah in Connecticut. He thoroughly explained everything, pulled up a reasonable price for the work on the spot, and completed a relatively complicated procedure in the 45 minutes it took me to get a burger across the street (thank you Dr. Cornish!). This was yet another instance of God’s care and provision for us, and we were so relieved and grateful to have this taken care so we can carry on with our travels.
Next up: Greece 🇬🇷 and Turkey 🇹🇷