December 17-20

Saturday dawned clear and sunny. I was feeling a little better. We took a taxi to Our Chalet, the Girl Scout retreat high up, high in the mountains. I’ve known about this place since I was a Brownie Scout and my mom was our leader. She must have learned about Our Chalet in the 1930s when it was built. She taught us the song “Our Chalet” that her leader must have taught her. Mary spent a summer in 2016 volunteering there and arranged the Swiss part of this trip so I could see the rustic buildings on the side of an alpine valley. So this visit was emotional for me; how I wish my mom could have known that I went there.

We completed our visit to Adelboden with a visit to the woodcarver! In fact, it was a visit to the woodcarver’s daughter, a lovely generous woman who seemed delighted that we were so interested in her work. I bought a little cow as my souvenir.

Well if you have to rest and recover somewhere, how about Switzerland! After our warm and comfortable respite in Adelboden, we took a fast and furious 3 part bus/train directly to the Zürich airport. After canceling our final big event, the train ride through the Alps, we decided to go for full comfort at the Hyatt Regency within the airport. We isolated in 2 luxurious rooms, enjoying huge comfy beds and room service.

Sunday night we took a stroll through the outdoor mall, enjoying raclette made with pink cheese. I’m so glad my sense of taste is intact. I finished this decadent meal with kirsch chocolate bon bons.

Packed, feeling better but wary of a long travel day, on Monday morning we made our leisurely way to the airport. It’s enormous and extremely chick and modern. We found the board for departures and a big red CANCELLED for our flight to Reykjavik. Oh. Weather cancellation.

We got a notice that we could fly the next day, but, being Christmas and thinking of Iceland’s weather, we opted to cancel. I went to Expedia and found a flight on Air Canada to Seattle via Toronto with 2 seats left on premium economy.

So here I am. This is so nice, nicer than first class on Alaska. We have blankets, a pillow and a packet with amenities. Dinner is about to be served, and I really don’t feel like sleeping.