Un Printemps Bien Arrosé

A "Well-Watered" Spring

It’s early June, and the statistics are in.  This past spring is officially on record as the coldest and snowiest/rainiest in Switzerland (and probably most of Europe) for the past 25 years.  Luckily we didn’t know how unusual the weather was, so we just kept making plans and trying to get out on our bikes when we could.  It didn’t slow us down too much, but we’re ready for some sun.  The verdict is still not out yet on June…but we’re hopeful for warmer weather sometime soon.

In early May we had a quick 3-day trip to Copenhagen for Doug’s work.  We hit the weather just right for a couple of days of sun and touring around the city on bikes – definitely the best way to see Copenhagen. We had an easy metro ride from the airport to downtown, and a walk over the bridge towards the famous Nyhavn 17^th century waterfront with its colorful buildings.  We stayed at Hotel Phoenix, just a half a block away from the Amailienborg Palace.

While Doug was at his meeting I took advantage of the sunny day and set out on a rented mountain bike to the Frederiksborg Palace 25 miles north of Copenhagen.  It was a lovely ride with Sweden in view across the bay the first half of the ride, and gorgeous forests and country homes the rest of the way.  The castle and grounds were stunning.

The next day we used the hotel bikes to tour the city – it was such a great way to see the sights.  The bikes had a simple locking system, so we were able to stop when we wanted, quickly lock the bikes, look around, and hop back on for the next site.  Copenhagen is a cyclist's paradise, and almost every city street had some kind of a bike lane.  Just some caution – if you’re on a bike, don’t weave in the lanes, expect to be passed so stay to the right, and if you’re on foot, don’t walk into the bike lane without looking.  Also, don’t be fooled by what the cyclists are wearing (eg. women in dresses and high heels), those city cyclists go fast!

 The Little Mermaid

 Just before changing of the guard at the 

Amailienborg Palace

Our most memorable meal was at Manfreds & Vin – a restaurant started by a former chef from Noma’s (recently rated as one of the best restaurants in the world).  The fixed price multi-course meal was served family style – with delicacies like fresh goat cheese and beets, roasted sun chokes, carpaccio of fresh radishes and peas, an incredibly refreshing lemony salad of fresh hand-picked herbs from northern Denmark, celery root with dark olive and thyme sauce, and roasted pork and roasted caramelized onions.  We tried the sampler of three Jura wines (two white and a Gamay, all with that slightly fermented spark typical of Jura wines).  All unbelievably good….

At Manfreds & Vin - in anticipation...

Our weekend also happened to coincide with the Copenhagen Beer Celebration, which brought hundreds of beer connoisseurs from all over the world to Copenhagen.  We went to  Mikkeller & Friends beer pub,  which will be opening a second pub soon in San Francisco, and had to try a beer called  Beer Geek Coffee Weasel, a big dark stout flavored by coffee beans that weasels have eaten (up to you to figure out how they get out of the weasels and into the beer)…

Mikkeller & Friends Brew Pub - coming soon to SF!

Danish pastries are not a cliché – they filled an entire breakfast board along with the traditional Nordic breakfasts fare of cold cuts, cheeses, fruits and vegetables.

 Toby and the Tulips

Just back  to Switzerland from Copenhagen,  Debbie, Toby and I caught the Morge tulips in full bloom.  This park in Morge (10 minutes from Lausanne) has thousands of tulips of all varieties and colors.

Mid-May brought our friends Marie-Odile and André from France 

back for a visit – with trips to Gruyère and a boat ride to Yvoire.

Colza fields as seen on a bike ride on the Vaud Plateau

 Bike ride paused to let the cows go by

Spring training in the cold

Later in May we were invited by a work colleague of Doug’s to a picnic on a farm in the Fribourg canton.  It was another cold day; in fact, it had just snowed at the farm that morning, so we all huddled into the 18^th century granary that her father had moved to the farm.  The small farm has an assortment of horses, two very cute donkeys, cows, and chickens.  At the end of the meal, Doug was given a tour of the schnapps cellar – and of course was encouraged to taste the different homemade varieties - Mirabelle, cherries, pear, and herb…and by the end of the tasting was "bien arrosé" himself.  Luckily, we took the train home…

Fribourg Farm

18th Century granary

Doug and his colleague Natalie

Homemade schnapps tasting

The next day was a bike ride we’d been looking forward to all year, Le Tour de Lac Léman, an organized 180 km (112 mile) ride around Lake Geneva.  We left our house at 6:30 the next morning, and started the ride at 7:00, just in time for a downpour five minutes after we started.  The first 45 miles were in pouring, freezing rain, and I swear as we turned the bend toward France that I was feeling slushy snow on my face!  But we toughed it out, and were rewarded with a sunny finish as we rounded the bend from Geneva to Lausanne.

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