Year-in-Review 2017: – Happy New Year 2018 – Letter to family & friends

Dear friends,

2017 started with Uschi getting the last chemotherapy infusion in Vevey on Tuesday, January 3rd. After some further tests, we got the green light to travel to Nevis and we managed to get flights in late January 2017 to St. Kitts via London Gatwick which was an easy way to travel.

Due to the late departure, we stayed just two months in our home there with lots of swimming for Uschi which was very useful for it did not stress her knee. After our return, she entered the Vevey hospital for her right knee operation which was done successfully; to this day it’s giving her no trouble at all.

On April 4th, Uschi finally got her right knee replaced at the same Vevey Providence hospital – all went very well and after a 10-day rehab stay at the Valmont Clinic in Glion she was virtually as new. At the time of writing, she is doing extremely well wih her new knee, also with swimming a lot in the pool and climbing stairs.

In May, as usual, I went on my yearly Japan trip to attend the sumo tournament and meet with my former key staff in a nice restaurant owned by the CEO of a former top client.

At the end of July, we made river cruise on the Rhine and the Mosel, from Amsterdam to Trier. There we rented a SUV with which we drove to Strasburg where we met with the former Ambassador In charge of St. Kitts & Nevis, Mrs. Line Leon-Pernet who represents Switzerland now in that City. From there, to Stuttgart, where we visited with other ex-Nevis residents, Winifred and Sonja Knepper. The Accor Hotel mear their house can be highly recommended. Then on to Deggingen to visit friends or quasi family of Uschi’s, the Ganslosers. The wellness and spa hotel nearby was excellent, too as the steps to the 2nd floor bedroom of our friends house were too steep for our old bones. Last, we hit Uschi’s home town of Kempten where we stayed several days in the Hotel Waldhorn.

On the way home from Kempten to La Tour-de-Peilz, we took the scenic route via the other large Swiss (and German/Austrian) water body, Lake Constance and from there up the Rhine valley to Sargans. Over the Oberalp Pass, and over the Furka Pass to Gletsch and from there via the Grimsel Pass down to and along the twin lakes of Brienz and Thun to the Swiss Capital City of Bern to visit the Haellers in the picturesque suburb of village of Spiegel.

October was full of sunshine and balmy weather in our beautiful Leman region, letting the grapes ripen to a full maturity. This year we could really speak of a Golden October with people still swimming in the Lake (of Geneva) till virtually the end of the month. We were favoured to eat daily outside on our large terrace overlooking the Lake Geneva.

This year, we returned to normalcy, leaving Switzerland in mid-November first to Chiang Mai for Uschi to have some needed dental work done by our Thai dentist for over 20 years now.. Then on to Japan to visit with fiends such as Martin Fluck, Pierre Weber, Taro Mori and his mother Yoshiko, Nagai-san of Fuji Denki, and Peter & Emi Kalischer. We also made a day trip to Nagoya to see Mrs. Sugiyama whose husband and longtime friend had passed away in mid-year.

On Dec. 4th, we continued to Los Angeles where we rented a Toyota Highlander SUV and traveled to Borrego Springs for an overnight stay, on to Yuma AZ, and Palm Desert. With many people having moved on or passed away, we only stayed a few days in Yuma at the casita of Charlie & Lynn Simants, and later in the villa of James and Julia Smith in Palm Desert. In Yuma we rode the superb, spacious and fully equipped motor home, it has even a fire place, satellite dish and a fridge like we have at home making ice cubes, a washer/drier. And expandable to +/- 4 m!

After that, it was on to Miami for a few purchases for our home in Nevis. On day 1, Martha Murphy drove from her home in Longboat Key F for a visit staying at the same hotel as ours. We also met Colette Liffman for dinner at her Club before she left for Basel for the Holiday Season. On Sunday we went to see our old netsuke friend Joe Kurstin and wife Elena in their spectacular Brickell Condo on the 36th floor. I am happy that we found Joe looking fine and that his memory is a good as it has ever been. Today, on the last day here, we also met Peter and Nora Hueppi for our customary Italian Lunch at Abbracci.

Tomorrow, we will be leaving for a 3-hour flight over to St. Kitts well before Christmas. For the Festive Season, we will have also hopefully received the one suitcase that we have packed before our departure from Switzerland to the Far East and which has been shipped by friends by DHL in mid-December with some Xmas goodies.

In closing, Uschi joins me in wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a most wonderful, happy, successful and healthy New Year of the Dog 2018!