Christmas Time Part 2

As I was saying about Christmas. Liz and I spent all of Christmas day on a train heading to Michigan. We arrived in Ann Arbor around 6 pm and my parents picked us up from the train station. We hadn't seen my parents in 4 months and I think they were pretty happy to see us. Shoot, we were really happy to see them. Living in Switzerland is hard sometimes because we are away from the ones we love for so long. That's what makes Christmas time so special.

Since we arrived so late on Christmas day and because of my sisters other family commitments, we were going to celebrate the Grimm Christmas on December 26th. Christmas night was really nice though too. We played Christmas music on the family stereo while my dad made a feast for us. I love American food.

On the afternoon of December 26th, all of the Grimm kids and my Grandma Kay came over to my parents house to celebrate Christmas. It was very nice and I can honestly say it was one of the best Christmases I can remember. It was also great to see my niece and my nephew. They are getting so big and are getting to the age where I can talk to them. They wanted to open the presents as soon as they saw them. I remember when I was like that as a kid. Those were the good old days.

The celebration continued until 2 am. Actually it continued later than that but that is when Liz and I went to bed. I showed my family that I am the dominant beer pong player and then decided to head to bed. My brothers in law and father stayed up later to talk and be merry. The jet lag was killing me though and Liz and I needed to hit the hay.

The rest of break was so much fun as well. I wish I could have seen some more people when I was home but the time just flew by. I really did enjoy the people I saw though. Especially my former high school coaches. It is always a good time when I am around them and I think our relationship has been past the player coach. It feels more like family to me so it is only natural that I see them when I come home.

During the rest of my break I shopped for cheap American clothes and ate all of the American food I could. Liz, my parents and I enjoyed a great night watching the Marquette vs West Virginia game at BW3's. I have been in Switzerland so long I forgot how cheap it is to eat at an American restaurant. The meal we ate there would have cost around $250-300 in Switzerland. It is just crazy.

We managed to eat at Outback, Taco Bell, Qdoba, McDonalds (breakfast only), Friday's, Rosie O'Gradys, BW3's, Chilis, Champps, and Jets while we were in the states. I might have missed a restaurant or 2 in there but that is what I remember. Now I'm back to eating Swiss food and the only American food I can hope for is the Hooters in Zurich.

We ended our break as a family eating at Rosie O'Gradys in Ferndale. All of my family made it out there for a New Years Eve dinner. It was so nice to see the whole family one last time before Liz and I headed back across the water. When we got back home we sat down on the coach and I think everyone was sleeping at around 11:30. We woke up though just in time to see the ball drop. My mom popped some champagne and then we went to bed.

Liz and I flew back on New Years Day on Lufthansa airlines. I was expecting long lines and a lot of security at Metro Airport. I was very wrong. Something on me set the metal detector off 4 times. I was not pulled to the side. I was not patted down. I got nothing. I just got a pass through. Good to see everything is working there.

We arrived in Milan, Italy (after one of the worst landings I have ever been a part of, apparently you can land with the wings tipping) and took the 45 minute drive up to Lugano on January 2nd. It was a wonderful Christmas break and one I will never forget. I can't wait to get back home in the summer so I can see all of the same people.