Le premier weekend / Berne

We had to put Major into a check-able Kennel in Dulles and then check him for the flight to Geneva (he was carry-on from ATL to IAD because that flight didn't allow two checked cats). Checking Minor in ATL was a breeze; Checking Major in IAD was a fiasco. After standing at the ticket counter for about 1 hour, the counter attendant finally had every i dotted, t crossed, and every form counter-signed by two associates, so Ken could carry Major (in his kennel) over to the TSA oversize baggage screening area where Ken removed Major from his kennel so the kennel could be scanned (Airline regulations prohibit removing the pet from the kennel either in the airport or in the airplane at any time; stupid lying airliars). Of course, while Major was out of his kennel, (a) a medium sized dog in a kennel nearby was howling and barking and (b) a large dog NOT in a kennel was standing nearby appearing large (this is NOT a redundant usage of the adjective large); as Major is an indoor-only cat who has only once been within smelling distance of a dog, he was not a happy kitty. Eventually, the kennel was deemed safe, Major was re-kenneled, and taken off to sit with his brother and the rest of the checked luggage. Ken then had the opportunity to pass through Dulles security, before rejoining Margaret. If the layover had been less than 3hours, he wouldn't have made it. 3hours--to check one cat.

The flight from Dulles to Geneva was uneventful, and we arrived in Geneva around 7:30 Saturday morning (GMT +1), or 1:30am in Atlanta. While Margaret waited for the luggage, Ken went in search of a kiosk at which he could exchange currency. He decided to look outside the baggage claim area, which is considered a secure area. Of course, he didn't realize this until after he had exited baggage claim and had no way of re-entering baggage claim. This left Margaret to collect 4 checked bags, 3 carry-on bags, and 2 cat carriers alone. She was able to pile up the bags on a luggage cart and push the contents through the "Nothing To Declare" door at the baggage claim exit with Ken waiting on the other side to steer it through the cordoned off path. After about a half-hour of waiting for the kitties at the oversize baggage conveyor, watching people pick up their skis and snowboard, Margaret greeted the kitties as they arrived via the nearby elevator, escorted by one of the airport staff. The Bolton family had finally arrived in Switzerland.

We picked up our rental car and made our way from Geneva to the guest house in Les Hauts Geneveys. Although Major and Minor were initially shell-shocked, they mellowed enough in the car for a mid-morning nap. When we arrived at the guest house, we found that no one was there, but we were fortunate to have the proprietor drive up a few minutes after we started looking around. The house has three stories with a studio apartment on the bottom level, public space on the middle level, and more bedrooms/bathrooms on the top level. The Southern view over the valley, towards Lake Neuchâtel and the Alps is not too shabby.

We did some grocery shopping Saturday afternoon (as all stores are closed on Sunday, and all the nearby stores would be closed Monday for Neuchâtel Independence Day) and started settling in.

Sunday, we went for a walk around Les Hauts Geneveys and drove to the Neuchâtel train station (which is apparently excluded from the "all stores close on Sunday" rule) to prepare for our trip to Bern on Monday. We also made our first home-cooked meal.

Monday, we took the train to Bern (via Neuchâtel). We have no idea why Les Hauts Geneveys is a stop on the express route between La Chaux de Fonds and Neuchâtel, as it is quite a small village, instead of just being a stop on the local route, but no complaints. We had a 4-minute "lay-over" in Neuchâtel between our trains-plenty of time with the Swiss public transit system.

We walked around the old city of Bern (Berne in French). Lots of fountains twice the age of the US of A. Some fun clock towers. Statues of bears. And, of course, the bear pits (Bärengraben), which have held the namesake of Bern since the 16th century. We saw Momma Bear and Poppa Bear, but neither of the two cubs was evident.

As the old town of Bern is surrounded by the river AAAAAArrrre, there are some great bridge views. This photo is near the foot of the Bärengraben. We ate lunch at the Altes TramDepot at the top of the bear pits. M had spatzli (French pasta) with vegetables and cheese, while K had chicken, potatoes, and creamy leeks (although we had no clue what he was actually ordering from the menu).

After lunch, we continued our stroll aboot Bern, and saw a very impressive Gothic cathedral and the Swiss federal palace, where the Swiss Federal Assembly (aka Swiss Parliament) and the Federal Council are housed.

We met our relocation consultant after sight-seeing, had a cup of tea and a nice conversation on some open questions, and then opened our secret agent Swiss bank account.
Trained home, ate some left-overs for dinner, and got ready for our first day of work.