Before the cruise April 21-22

It was the weekend before our cruise vacation, so the kids and I went to the gym so that Sandy could stay back and pack. The sauna at my gym is for women 3 days a week, men another 3 days a week, and mixed on saturday. Saunas in Switzerland are linen free (no clothes - only a towel). I was determined to take a sauna bath after my work out, so I did, only to find it unexpectedly populated with naked men and women - the Swiss are apparently not shy. It was a summer like Sunday so we ventured down to oue local beach front. Each town along Lake Zurich has a park along the lake - some have board walks, beach areas, playgrounds, restaurants, grassy parks for sunbathing, etc. Ours is very nice with everything except a boardwalk. We were fortunate enough to find an apartment practically on lake Zurich, so our local beach is only a few steps away. We brought along a picnic lunch, spread out in a nice shady area and enjoyed the unseasonably warm temperatures (it was snowing just a few weeks earlier so we had a week or two of spring before jumping right into summer). The kids played on the beach and even ventured into the lake despite the cold temperature (around 60F). We were surprised to see many people swimming and playing in the lake, young and old. After finishing lunch and building a few sand casles, we strolled back to the apartment for some front yard soccer and a little BBQ.