Biel

Yesterday we went to the Town of Biel. They were having their Old Town Fest, so we decided to go with some friend's to have a look. It's a quaint little town with some new but mostly old structures.
When you first enter the Alt-Stat your greeted by this beautiful Fountain. 

Next comes a booth with the "Traditional Cow Bell" that of course is selling local cheese: which we just had to purchase...so delicious"!

 And here in Switzerland they have the Cow Bounce!

They had all the regular booths...jewelery, toys, clothes, table linens/toppers and the Gummy Booth along with chocolate covered fruit. I took two pictures just for the boy's who used to eat these thing's all the time and still do when they can find some good enough!

After three or four hours of walking around and grabbing a bite for lunch, we came back home for a "rest" before meeting-up with friend's for dinner. It was a beautiful day and we managed to dodge the rain. While we were eating dinner I got a call from #2 "Chris", he and Marissa had the grandchildren in their car and were on their way to the Jelly Belly Factory Tour; they just called to say hello!! Tomorrows post will be a story along with pictures of their adventure.

Marines

We went to the Marine House last night for a BB'Q/ Get-together. They have a beautiful house with all the bells and whistles; their are a total of Five Marines living there. Beautiful large rooms, one held a large pool table, another was set-up as a home theater and they had a wonderful Bar-room complete with all you need for entertaining. They even have a movie theater popcorn machine!! I was very impressed with the house and giving the fact that 5 men live there it was pretty clean!
Rich and I had a good evening talking with a nice couple..she is from Maine and her husband is Swiss. She moved here years ago when the factory closed in her hometown, I think she said Presque Isle.. "she was a weaver and chose to move to Switzerland where she knew she could find work, and has lived here ever since. It was an interesting story.
When we were leaving, we left through the kitchen- which is where I really fell in love! They have this HUGE kitchen complete with everything one could want and then some! The finial straw?? Was a built in stone waist high wood fire pit complete with grate to open cook bread's, pizza, stews, etc... PLUS it has an area large enough for comfortable seating for guest to visit while you cook.
Bottom Line??  I'm moving in with the Marines!!!!!!!!

Fun

Our life here in Switzerland can be a bit overwhelming at time's. "especially when one want's to do-it-all!" There are so many fun thing's comming up. Begining this weekend, with an Old Town Fair. They will have over 150 venders and 50 food and wine bars. We plan to attened tomorrow. Also tomorrow and Sunday is the Autumn Festival called Snef and Benichon which is "the" place to go to get Traditional food dishes and I'm told is the ideal place to discover the best mustard!
Next weekend on 4 September is the chocolate Festival and there will be the Grindelwald Alpine Cheese Festival on the 18th; plus many more that are not as highly published. These are often small local fest- which are even better, it's just a matter of going out for a drive in the countryside and seeing what you come across. "Have I told you that this is a fun place to explore?!" Never a dull moment- there's always something going on!!! Even when the towns are quite; the Embassy has functions. Tonight we're going to the Marine House for some kind of bash, should be fun! I'll bring the camera this weekend and take lots of pictures to post for you to see. {wish me luck} sometimes I get caught-up in the moment and forget to take the pictures...but I'll try to remember just for you.

Now I have a couple of pictures to post of Chris "on the job" Marissa went on a Ride-a-long the other night and took these action shots:

OH-O searching

 And booking...

Now I don't like to think about the danger he put's himself in everyday, you see I taught him to stay away from people like that. But here he is....going up to the very same people... crack addicts, gang bangers and people who would rather shoot you than look at you! I can understand his career choice but "I am his Mother"
To leave on a funny note, he goes through a lot of hand sanitizer on his shift's. He calls it "Ghetto Be Gone" LMAO!!!

Success

PX- Commissary, all done! We now have a variety of meat in the freezer and dried/ baking goods in the pantry. It was for sure a long but enjoyable day, we met-up with my cousin Linda and her husband Mac for lunch and we all went shopping after. Mac saved the day for us when we were checking out...a NEW thing was German coffee is now rationed and we didn't have a card so: Thank you Mac for stepping up with your ration card so we could get the coffee: {I think of you every morning while enjoying a cup!!!} "kisses and hugs" I can tell you that it was a challenge getting everything to fit in my kitchen; but it's done! I'm betting that I'll be re-arranging thing's at least twice!
We were able to talk plans for October Fest in Munich, another upcoming event we're looking forward to! More info on that, at a later date.
Last night I accidentally locked my IPhone and my pass number did not and will not work, so I was preparing to go into town this morning to have it "unlocked" when these men showed up to fix the back garden door...so here I sit, waiting........ I have no idea how long they will be!
Last night Rich filled out my Security Clearance paper work on-line and printed it off for my signature's. So- if a Government Official comes to you asking questions about me; relax, it's just for a National Security Position at the Embassy.
 

Toblerone

By the time Toblerone was first created in 1908, two generations of Toblers had already dedicated their lives to the art of chocolate making. Jean Tobler, patriarch of the Tobler dynasty, opened his “Spezialitäten Confiserie” in Bern as long ago as 1867. One of Switzerland’s best known exports, the chocolate-nougat bar Toblerone, was invented in Bern a hundred years ago. On September 4, 2010, the Toblerone chocolate festival (Toblerone Schoggifest) will take place in Orphanage Square (Waisenhausplatz). Come and taste all the different Toblerone delicacies. Highlights will include the 102-kilogram giant Toblerone, appearances by 3 bands and an exclusive free concert by Seven, a cabaret performance, and a games trail with 10 stations for our little guests. Starting at 7:00 p.m.: Concert with Seven 3:30 p.m.: Cabaret performance “Einzig. Nicht artig.” (Exceptional. Without exception) with Michael Elsener 4:30 p.m.: 102-kg giant Toblerone - Join us in savoring the world’s largest Toblerone 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. Chasperli Theater The whole day: Children’s games trail with 10 stations

A thought

While on the tread mill this morning I was thinking about our "Fisher Family Vacation". In addition to the day devoted to the "Amazing Race" I thought it would be great fun to devote one "evening" to a Talent night. How you chose to do it is up to you! You can each do something on your own or each couple, or you could do something as a group; you have a year to come up with something and work it out, I can't wait to see what you kid's come up with-- I look forward to "The Show"!!!!
Rich and I met in town last night and purchased our one year pass for the SrasB "a great investment" since we take it almost always. After that we went to the Beer House for dinner and ended up having a very nice evening. We also went to a friend's house to pick-up a very large cooler for our trip to the commissary Saturday. Time to fill the freezer... Needless to say, we have been on the go a lot since moving here. There's just so much to see and do..no time to sit around in Switzerland!

Before Pictures

Hello everyone, Chris is really on top of thing's! Here are the Before pictures of their backyard:

 As you can see, they replaced to old fence with the stone wall, added plants and grass. It's a big wow factor looking at the before and after!