We're almost home....3 weeks to go!

at the top of the world!

Daniel's drawing of a Monet painting

Weihnachts (Christmas) in Luzern

Advent in Zurich near Stadelhofen train station

Nik & Daniel at a fabulous Abbey

Christmas decorations in Basel

It's been awhile, so here are some more recent photos...since mid-November Daniel has felt better..so we did some traveling..to Luzern for a piano festival, to Bern, overnight (it rained, but we saw an awesome light show nonetheless!) and Nik took us on a day trip to a lovely abbey and an apple farm where we got lots of fresh organic apples - yum! Last week we were in Basel for Daniel's final treatment. Of course it rained, but we did get to walk around some ~ our lovely friend Angela came to keep me company one day and we walked all around town...there were Weihnachts Markts (Christmas fairs) adorning the old town and Munster (cathedral) areas. We also walked by the river (Rhein) and ate at a local organic cafe above the river...when it was not raining! While in Luzern, we took a day trip up Pilatus peak...nearby mountain, where we were above the fog and rainy weather, in the sunshine and cold, high winds. The Alps are strewn across Switzerland and wherever we have gone in those mountains it has simply been breathtaking! Daniel has taken up drawing, while reading Vincent van Gogh's biography - which has clearly affected him in a positive way. It's amazing how he took to it. He had done some drawing in the past, usually pen and ink. Now he has gone to graphites and kohl (charcoal) and is loving it, as you can see above. We are preparing to leave Schweiz now...and it is bitter-sweet. We have met some wonderful people as well as spending time with our host friends/family - Nik, Christina, Janis and Julian, with whom we have shared our lives for the past 6 months....Janis's soccer games, Julian's concerts, sharing meals and conversation, Christina's family drama and Nik's graciousness and loving care. We will also miss Angela's friendly humor and generosity, as well as "the mysterious Ruth" who came into our lives in a strange way and has graced us with music, travel and fun visits at the "red tower" as well as at our flat. Andy & Marianne have also been so kind and generous with their warmth and good humor. We will see them again before we leave, at their home near Zurich. And, Tim is coming from Munich to visit this weekend! These are people and things we will miss terribly, although we are also looking forward to coming home to Santa Cruz and seeing again our daughters and all of our dear friends. See you there!!! ciao for now...Joya

Daniel going down to the lower-level
 viewing area

view from above the falls - from the schloss (castle) at the top

my favorite - at the mid-level of the falls - notice tour-boat coming in at the left

yes Switzerland IS the land of waters!

Back again from Schweiz, friends.
Here are the photos we took at the RheinFalls - touted to be the largest waterfalls in Europe..bit more than a half hour train trip from here. What an exciting place! We walked from one side of the falls, over the train/foot bridge to the other side and stopped at the viewing spots on different levels of the falls - close to the bottom we got slightly wet and were close to the rainbow....it was fabulous!
sending lovely autumnal thoughts....

we really enjoyed being here -  the cold notwithstanding

new friends

 "Jonco" is  a feisty character - nothing gets by his all-seeing eyes!

The Bear family - friendly and always hungry!

"Jack and Little Jack" are Jack Russell Terriers inspired by a needle felting book (same book at the koalas are in).

The new one is "Eule" - a barn owl who keeps a sharp eye out for food and other moving things ;)

Here my friends replace CDs in a display tower.

Hello everyone, back with some new friends - born in Winterthur you might say. It is October, autumn weather prevailing...not to cold, not too warm...sometimes foggy or sunny or some of each, and a bit of rain at times. Sound familiar?  Yes, I said fog! Not so different from SC, except the fog comes from a different source. Yesterday Daniel and I walked up to a restaurant on one of the many hills in the area---from which we could easily see the Alps! We are not far away from them, about 40 miles...close enough to be visible on a fairly clear day. However, no ocean in sight or smell! So I miss that terribly. The fog belongs to a different climate and geography but is here nonetheless....like this morning - hopefully it will dispel by afternoon.  Daniel goes up and down with his health - recovering from treatment #2....final one coming up o Nov. 30th. Fortunately Daniel likes to and is usually able to take walks - sometimes quite long journeys, into the forest above us is his favorite direction to go. Sometimes he (or we) goes off exploring the many varied neighborhoods of Winterthur. Though we have wanted to travel further afield, Zurich is as far as we have been  on our own since D's energy doesn't allow for longer trips as of yet. We are hoping next week that we can go on a "Glacier Express" trip. This is a train journey that crosses the Alps from St. Moritz to Zermatt - takes 3 nights/2 days (including overnights at hotels). I hope he is up to it, as it may be our only tourist-journey while we are here. We shall see. Meanwhile we occasionally see friends in Zurich (when we go to the opera there - last one was Wagner's Parsival - a 5-hour wonder!) And our friends in Hegi, our host family, continue to be gracious and loving and we are so grateful for them. Their sons, Julian (turning 15) and Janis (12) help me with Suizer-Dutsch and Hoch-Deutsch, whereas Daniel actually took language classes for a few weeks and continues to work with a woman here who is trading English/German with him. Angela is a lovely local woman who studies palmistry and who also enjoys walks in the forest while learning English w/ Daniel. So it works out great!
As we are more than halfway through our stay now, I am looking at the fact that we return to CA (and Santa Cruz and our family and friends) in a bit less than 2 1/2 months...I am looking forward to our return though still enjoying new experiences. For example, our new friend, Marianne's birthday open house is next Monday and we plan to go there unless we are on the Glacier Express ;-)
Okay friends...I hope you like the new entries - my friends keep me busy (as well as other projects I'm doing for Christmas gifts). Next time you'll get actually photos of Switzerland!
sending love and many hugs...........ciao, Joya

september

Andy & Marianne in Zurich

Nik hard at work

Daniel on a walk in Hegi

Life is full of surprises and we try to deal with them as they arise. Living in a different country has its own set of difficulties as well as joys. Nik and Christina continue to be great friends and supporters - thank you!
Also we are getting to know Marianne and Andy who live near Zurich. Daniel had his 2nd treatment last week and has been under the weather since...hopefully he will improve soon. He is studying German 2x/week and loving it. I am needling, knitting, cleaning and....doing laundry - a whole other story ;)
Autumn is settling in nicely with lovely sunny weather - warm for the most part still. We now the cold will come but are enjoying the sun while we can, as any good Californians would!
be well friends.......ciao for now

next up:

Here's Jo in the fabulous wildflowers which grow in fields along the trails in the Engiadina (Engadin) Valley where we stayed for 4 days - hiking and enjoying fantastic Alpine scenes, fresh air and yummy food too! We were in the Roamische region where they have still their own culture and language which is a convergence of countries which make up the location: Austria, Italy and Schweiz. The valley runs from St. Moritz to the small villages where we were (Sent and Scuol) which are situated just a few miles from where the 3 countries merge in the high mountains - it was as beautiful as you might imagine!

This is in Scuol, next to a fast running river which runs right through town...surrounded here by the ever-present flowers! All summer the entire region is filled with homes, stores, city buildings displaying brightly colored blooms in boxes and pots - everywhere! So cheerful and brilliant against the deep blue skies.

Here we are hiking back to Sent from Scuol, about an hour's walk, experiencing the wonderful landscape - occasionally seeing a goat or two and breathing the lovely, clear Alpine air!

Switzerland - land of waters! Lakes, rivers, streams and waterfalls.
Jo has been visiting for about 10 days. We all went for walks together and one day, she and I took a train to the Rheinfalls.
This is an amazing place - a convergence of waters from glacial areas flowing down hard and fast to the river Rhein, creating a huge mass of waterfall next to which there is a castle. Next to and under and around the castle flow the falls...we could hike down and be very close to the water - such a power spot! We then took a boat trip down the river and back up towards the falls - the captain got us quite near the actual falls (yes we got a bit wet!) and then the currents would swing us out and back - great fun. Don't have photos - they are in Jo's camera...will try to download them here when she returns from visiting a friend in Wales next week.

Sending lots of warmth (summer finally!),  love and hugs to you all..........ciao, Joya

sunshine

getting up the final steps to Sammlung Reinhardt

at Sammlung Reinhardt - amazing impressionist collection!

now this is what I call a lovely table arrangement - straight from the garden

being silly at museum cafe

my favorite - water lilies at the museum garden

Janis (12 years old)  made this portrait of Mimi - she looks just like this!

of course it is summer, rain or no, and gardens are fabulous everywhere


Well we had a splendid time at the Reinhardt museum yesterday, although the hike to get there was long and, true to Swiss geography, always going up and up! In this case, we walked up and over a mountain (hill..) to the museum, which overlooks the city of Winterthur - coming down close to where we will be renting an apartment soon. It was a long hike and a worthwhile climb, even though afterwards my feet were killing me. Still it was a fun day and barely rained! The museum has a fabulous collection of Cezanne, Picasso, Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir, etc.etc.

This trip followed on the heels of a lovely day Saturday, visiting with new friends - Andy and family - the man who roomed w/ Daniel is Basel hospital - who picked us up in Hegi, toured us up and around Kyburg Schloss (castle) and then on to their gorgeous home outside of Zurich, in Grut. They wined and dined us and we shared a wonderful evening, returning with Marianne by car to Hegi.I mention this because we have only been in a car 3x altogether since we have been here! We look forward to seeing them again when they return form vacation (to the Amalfi Coast!) in August. Thanks to them for showing us such a fantastic time, being so kind and gracious, and thanks to Nathalie (13) for being patient while we absorbed all of her parents' attention.

Today the sun shone! This is a miracle after a week of grey!!! Hopefully it bodes well for the future....

tomorrow is market morning in Winterthur...the farmer's market is only open in the morning so we have to get up and on the road early. This market has everything in the way of foods, breads, meats, cheeses, flowers & plants, whatever you need it seems....al fresh and much of it BIO label (organic). So it is worth the trip to town - bus service is so cool! We bought passes when we first arrived that cover all transit for a month - trains, buses, boats, etc. in the Zurich region...an amazing deal!

I hope all of you are enjoying a lovely summertime. We miss you and send much love!

rainy days

sometimes it is not raining!

 typical homes in this area

some of the many ducks swimming along the river nearby

Daniel by the Hegi horse barn - they drive them into Winterthur for tourist rides

Joya's famous cherry torte - yum!

Daniel waiting at the front door in the rain - I had the key

Here is the latest installment of Hegi life....we have been adventuring into town and to the market in the rain and sometimes in between storms. Our sunset walk last night was under a lovely rainbow! It seems tonight may be the same...at least it stopped raining, and the sunsets have been spectacular at times! This  unusual weather has been challenging but we do our best to keep ourselves occupied with cooking/eating/walking....could be worse ;)
Daniel is steadfast in his work and feeling well considering he has been through a lot. Killing off tumors is dirty business and he is pushing through it! I try to work and have had some real success with illustrations for the revision of our book, but it is difficult for me to get motivated. Perhaps it doesn't matter - time is different for us here.
Tomorrow we are to be picked up by our new friend, Andy, and taken for a tour of the area enroute a visit to his home/family outside of  Zurich. We are looking forward to growing a relationship and seeing new places.
Thanks to you all for your loving support....it helps so much. this life journey is quite different from vacation trips we have taken in the past - always the unknown ahead of us.
I want to dedicate this blog to my dear sister, Marie, who passed away 10 days ago. May her light continue to shine as she follows a new pathway, and may she be joined by loved ones who have gone before - to help her along her way. My memories, prayers and love follow along....ciao for now, Joya

Schweiz continued...

Such a lovely evening to share with neighbor, Francesca. Nik and Christina are great hosts - Nik cooks most of the time, and well too! The boys "do their thing" and we do ours ;) ...a little wine or coffee or tea, some conversation, sometimes an apricot tart to share....life is good!

Next on to hospital in Basel...this is Andy, Daniel's roommate. Turns out they have a lot in common as well as their disease. Both he and Daniel did quite well with their treatment and Andy took us a bit around the town, as well as accompanying us back to Zurich, where we look forward to meeting up with he and family soon! From there we went on to Winterthur and Hegi, where we stay now for 3 weeks.

Several times we have seen skies like this overhead - rain showers which clear up and come back the next day or so. Summer weather! It makes life exciting, especially when the thunder comes with it.

Meet the ever-clean Mimi...a "Kima" cat in larger size!  (for you Crystal)

This is the view from the front door of Nik & Christina's house, where we are staying. So very Swiss! The house across the way was a renovated barn I believe...very lovely. We are enjoying our privacy now while the family are away for 3 weeks - before we get our own place in town. Jo is coming in early
August, which will be wonderful.
So there's a taste of Switzerland and our life here at the moment. It is a bit hazy and unsettling since we have not established out own apartment and rhythm, but we are doing okay. Daniel has been doing amazingly well considering what he has been through. Everyone is being exceptionally friendly and kind and we are so grateful!
Hope you are having a great summer!
ciao for now.......Joya

Daniel writes...

I've gotten so many thoughtful emails from everyone, that I thought I should let you know how this is going, however premature this note may be.

I've received everything now, and if I were to get sick, I should have felt that already.  So far, I haven't felt a thing.  Nothing at all.  I did flush heavily and felt light-headed when I was about to receive the shot, but this was purely from anxiety.  After receiving the shot, the only thing I felt was hungry, which I still do feel, even after my delicious Swiss hospital lunch. 

I have a hospital-mate, Andy, who is from Zurich, but speaks perfect English, and he's been through this treatment once before, and helps me adjust.  Most of what happens is really about obeying the rules about radiation.  For example, I'm supposed to wear slippers so that my sweat doesn't contaminate the floor through my socks!  Compare this to what happens with the same treatment in the US (in early, study form), where they just send you home, along with a helpful note about staying a few feet away from pregnant women and young children.

So, onwards, and feeling good and optimistic that this treatment will make a big difference for me.  It did for Andy...

with love,

photos

Schloss Hegi

Nik und Christina und Daniel

Julian w/ his band (sax player)

Schweiz

We are here in Schweiz (Switzerland).
It rained yesterday and afterwards we went to a lovely concert in the forest....young woman singing in English, very American-style. ink und Christina are being so gracious and kind and helpful! They have found us an apt. which we will see on Monday when we meet w/ the woman who will sublet to us. Hopefully it is as nice inside as out! We will move there in August.
Daniel's first treatment is next Wed. in Basel - about a 2-hour trip from here. It is great not having a car for the time being...walking a lot and bus service gets you anywhere.
got to go for now -breakfast!

To get back to the beginning:
We had a lovely going away party on June 26 - a wonderful gathering of many different friends who met and chatted and ate barbecue. It was a gorgeous day! Thanks to Irene and Dan for helping so much w/ cleanup afterwards!
On Saturday July 2nd, we flew off from SJC to LAX where our cousin and benefactor for the trip, Robert, picked us up, brought us to a hotel at the airport and then took us to lunch. It was lovely to see him, as always...such a sweet man and great dad to his 2 children. Also he is a generous person with a large, warm heart. It was sad not to spend more time with him, but he and wife Laurie had a previous engagement for that evening which they had planned long ago and couldn't cancel. Then we visited with KC, Daniel's long-time musician friend who lives in Laguna Beach - who visited, walked and had dinner with us.
Next morning we we're awakened shortly after 3 a.m. to get ready to be at the airport at 4:15 am. for the flight to Philadelphia, which then connected with our flight to Zurich - after a few hours layover in Phila. airport - fortunately Robert had gotten us first-class tix to Phila.which was helpful and allowed us to wait in the USAir lounge - then Business Class to Europe, which was a big deal, including seats that turn into beds, 5-course dinner, all you can drink, blankets, slipper sox, eye pillows, whatever needed to be as comfortable as possible. We did sleep - Daniel quite a lot, which was very important - he did so well altogether on the trip - it was amazing.
We landed Monday morning (July 3rd) in Zurich,where Nik picked us up and brought us here to Hegi,outside of Winterthur, which is 30 kilometers from Zurich. Hegi is a lovely "suburb" with green hills and forest around it, residential but also with some industrial areas....great walking! Each day we have taken walks around the area and take the bus into Winterthur where we will take an apartment for ourselves in August. This is a city of 100,000; very old with lots of modern construction as well. The apt we are looking at is in the older part of town, near the theater, museum, park, etc. and just a couple of minutes from downtown center for shopping, farmer's market, food market, train sta. etc.
The weather has been warm and mostly clear until yesterday's rain and continuing today - on and off, which makes the air clearer than before the rain, when it was humid. We went to a concert in the forest last night - lots of families, picnicking, enjoying the light of the long evening of this time of year. Today as I said, it is rainy somewhat but cool and refreshing. We go to a birthday party tonight in Zurich - which we visited several years ago
and look forward to seeing again. I hope this gives you a picture of what's happening here for us and I will try to keep you updated ;)
We think of our family & many dear friends in SC and send much love and good wishes for a great summer!!!
ciao.....Joya
Not many days later....
Clear skies after a somewhat wild day yesterday w/ intermittent thunder showers and then warm sunshine and later, cool, crisp air in the evening. Lovely summertime!
we traveled to visit Nik's parents yesterday, outside of Zurich. Transit system here is phenomenal people hardly need cars and we don't see too many on the road. Everyone rides bikes, walks and takes mass transit - all ages. It's wonderful and so healthy a lifestyle. People here look quite healthy actually. We have met some of our friends' friends and neighbors and look forward to learning more of the language, although most people speak English, at least somewhat. Daniel is hot on a BBC German language course he is taking via the Internet. I am listening,following my language guide and getting help from the boys with whom we are staying.
We took a long walk this morning, ending at a small cafe where we had tea and then walked back. Fnancesca, next-door neighbor just now showed me around her home, where I will take care of her cat while she is away next week. She is a lovely person - working as an administrator w. gender issues at a local university. The neighbors on the other side are also teachers - Melanie a middle-school teacher and Caspar a Hish School(?) gym teacher and Economics teacher as well. OK - enough trivia from Schweiz. auf viedersehen!