[Idyllchat] Heartland safety and phones

[Benjamin Gilson]

You must have GSM phones, not the US standard.  My wife and I, 3  
children, 5 grandchildren--celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in  
Sachseln, using three separate houses this past July. We had diverse  
interests.  The cell phones were invaluable. We used Mobal, an  
international phone, got it on the internet for $100.  We can put it  
in the drawer and let it wait for the next trip, no monthly charges,  
although the phone charges for the idle teenage chat did add up!  I  
now have T-Mobile, which also has GSM technology.  My son bought a  
GSM phone in the Zurich airport, and that worked fine.  The "where  
are you," "I'm here," "-meet you at-"needs were met completely.

In terms of safety, Sachseln is like my midwestern childhood -- go  
anywhere, pick-up ball games, everyone watches out for the kids--but  
expects you to learn how to use the trains and buses.  The through- 
town highway traffic takes some attention. My son in law organized  
daily football (soccer) matches each evening at the local school  
yard.  Swiss, Albanian, American, Czech -- all played with no  
aggression, but remarkable skill.  There was a teenage boy who could  
do "the bicycle" I think it's called--kicking overhead and backwards-- 
and yet would purposely miss blocking a goal by a 6 year old.   My 16  
year old grand daughter, who had to be dragged to Switzerland,  
offered to stay when we were leaving Sachseln.   Back in  
Massachusetts she knocked the other kids dead with her "bicycle."  
Enjoy your Heartland trip.  This was our third trip to the Heartland/ 
Oberland area.   Ben Gilson