Château d'Oex

Greetings from Switzerland.

I’ve been here almost three weeks – and time keeps flying by. Things are going well. The staff (from the US, Montreal, Ireland, and France) arrived and had a few days to prepare for the arrival of near 30 students (from 11 to 13 years old) coming from about a dozen countries.

We hit the road running on Opening Day. This is a new program, so lots for all of us to learn. Long days and short nights at the start line. But we’re finding a rhythm – balancing work and a little relaxation. Most days, I’m on from wake-up until after lights out. I teach English in the morning. And then there are activities in the afternoon and evenings (from tennis, to hikes, to theatre). Two days a week we take day trips with the students – and have gone on various hikes, to the Swiss Open, Geneva, Lausanne, water parks, castles, museums, and more. Two weeks remain – and then I’ll move my stuff to Fribourg before spending a couple weeks in Paris.

Below are some of the photo highlights.

First – the village of Château d’Oex. With different light, weather, and moods – the panorama is never the same. Notice the hot air balloon in one photo, they take off every morning around 6:30.

(this is the view from my room)

One of the first hikes we took is the mountain above/across from Château d’Oex. You can see the village in the background. And then a snapshot of some of the staff.




Another hike was in Charmey, a village not far from Château d’Oex. There were people paragliding from the top of the mountain. A beautiful day and a beautiful hike.

(sometimes we like ice cream more than the kids)

We took the students to Lausanne. After a visit of the Olympic Museum, the students took out paddle boats (I was in a motor boat), and then we walked around the city some.

(imagine chasing 30 of these around town...)

(for ELCA friends and family - not the church, but a company...)

On my day off, I went to Geneva. It was nice to be away from the kids some, with no agenda. I walked around. Shopped. Ate. Walked more. Visited a museum. Climbed the towers. A good day.

(where I had lunch - sans enfants)

(no one was around to take my picture of me as Luther at the Reformation Museum)

The other day, we took the students to see the semi-finals of the Swiss Open. My first time seeing professional tennis. We also got to meet some of the players (see in the photos below).





One of the most famous Swiss castles is the Chillon Castle. Another beautiful day with great shots of Lac Léman.




Last but not least, a couple random Joseph shots.

(i love mayo!)