Spring Forward

March is now upon us, and we will soon say goodbye to winter. Winter for us means skiing, sledding, ice skating, fondue and Fasnacht. My parents were here in February, and we were able to do a little bit of all of these things!

We went skiing with my parents in Crans-Montana, Switzerland for a long weekend. The town seems to sit halfway up the mountains, and was a good base for skiing. The resort is massive with mostly intermediate trails, but offering a great -- no, incredible-- view when it's clear. We didn't cover all of the "pistes", but my Dad, Bob and I made sure to go to the peak. My Mom can now say she's skied the Alps, which can sound intimidating, but there are plenty of family-friendly trails.

After returning to Basel, we were ready to kick off Fasnacht. This is our third year to participate, and Bob and I finally made it to Morgestraich at 4 am, a ridiculous hour to start anything, let alone a parade. Although Fasnacht is a great event to bring visitors to, my parents slept at home with the kids while we experienced the city in total darkness and the start of the three-day event. We figured it was important to get the full experience, as we may never again get the opportunity to do so  -- or, we may not want to set the alarm for 2:45 am again. So, we made our way to Basel with crowds, and heard the church bells ring at 4, followed by a shout of "Morgestraich, vorwärts marsch!" The lights of the city went out and we watched groups march by with lanterns, amidst the sounds of piccolos. We watched the procession, and then stopped at a restaurant for mehlsuppe (flour soup), a traditional Fasnacht dish, before heading back to bed. All before 5:30 am.

We took my parents to the parades that followed on the next two days. The weather was quite sunny and not so cold. We had to watch for the taunting Wäggis with their confetti; for some reason, my dad was an easy target for getting dumped on!  My Mom on the other hand received flowers, lotion, and candy! The kids also loved to get candy (I think we have enough to last us until next year).  Then after two days of drums, piccolos and crowds, we all welcomed quiet at home. The sounds are inescapable in the city during the 72 hours of Fasnacht.

Fasnacht is traditionally the end of winter, and welcomes spring to Basel. Although we are still getting some snow, we are looking forward to the arrival of spring very soon. Tschüss!