XXXIX. Visit from America

   A lot has happened in the past several weeks. The major event was my mom coming to visit me during my vacation break, and with her arrival, we went travelling around Switzerland and even to Austria. We went to Geneva, Lucerne, Lugano, and to the small town from which some of our ancestors came from, Guggisberg. We also spent a day in Salzburg, Austria, taking a "Sound of Music" tour and visiting the house where Mozart was born.
   Besides travelling, my mom finally got a chance to meet my host family (and approved of them), and I introduced her to my new and different Swiss life.
   As a result from all the travelling we did, I have taken tons of pictures and have too many stories to recount in one post. In that case, I will let some pictures speak for themselves.

This is my mom and me in Lucerne.

Us on a mountain

In Geneva we visited the Palace of Nations (second largest UN headquarters in the world)

The small museum where we learned about the history of Guggisberg, where our ancestors, the "Beyeler"s came from.

This is the place where Mozart was born in Salzburg.

This lake and the yard around the back of the white palace were used often in scenes from "The Sound of Music".

We went to the southern part of Switzerland bordering Italy and visited several medieval castles.

The view of the Alps from one of the castle's towers.

A princess waiting for her knight in shining armor to rescue her from the tallest tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon.

(or, just me posing for the photo)

The southern part of Switzerland is actually known as Ticino, and it's sort of like a paradise; it has both palm trees and snow-covered mountains. Figure that one out.

   The two weeks my mom was here just flew by, and now my mom has flown back home to the US. My year in Switzerland, however, is not yet over. Still two more months!