It has been one of those kinds of years. Nothing has been the same. From our sleepy little Swiss village, to living in a city of thirteen million people... from holidays spent laced with traditions and family, to one spent on the beach... so many changes…. but the holiday have always been very grounding for me, a time to evaluate.

Since we have been together, Johan and I have lived in four different cities, in four different countries and on three different continents. We have almost always lived “away” from our families. Life is exciting, but holidays become a big balancing act. Somewhere along the line, we stopped making everyone else happy and focused on us.

Since those long-ago days, eating turkey and drinking red wine on Long Island with my girlfriends, I have lived in four different countries and three continents. For me, the Thanksgiving Day celebration has deepened and broadened over the years… friends, family and dreams all pile in to one big fat day full of good vibes and good food. 

How a guilt trip from my youngest turned into a fun Tokyo day trip…and then I had some realisations about being a mother!

I am not sure exactly what motivated me to add camping to my bucket list…but I can tell you now, now that I have done it. The best reasons to go camping – to be cold and damp, to not sit down once in 72 hours and to come home with pains in places that I never needed to know existed – simply boils down to 3 crazy truths.

When you ask Lulu, Friso or what they love the most about their new home, and if you listen carefully, you will hear something unexpected in their words. They speak unmistakably about culture and the transformations they are experiencing. Living aboard has made them quite reflective about their own culture and who they really are.

In the spirit of taking more time for the two of us….and to see more of this amazing place we live…we put the kids on the school bus and pegged it to a wonderfully tranquil place in the world – just a short hour away from central Tokyo. 

And how 4 mamas pegged it from Tokyo on a girlfriends' day out (read - day with the girls and no kiddos!)

As any busy woman will tell you, planning a day out…just one little day away from it all…is no easy task. But, we four were determined to leave Tokyo for the day, just get out of dodge and see something new.

Over the summer holiday, I looked back at the past fifteen months, living in Japan. I took stock of where I was, what I had done, saw, experienced. And then I made a plan and a promise of what I wanted to do with the next years. I realised that the most important thing for me, personally, was to see as much of Asia as I can. Let the exploration begin!

We have had that little apartment in Klosters for almost eleven years now. We’ve spent each and every winter weekend there, Christmases, New Years Eves, Winter Breaks and every other free day in between….but when you have the chance to see your old home thru the eyes of a tourist, something unexpected happens.