We visited all the old family homes, churches and communities and enjoyed recreating pictures from my grandfather's photo album.

The sights were a real treat, but for me the highlight of the trip was the opportunity to meet my Swiss cousins.
I had met my Swiss cousins from my grandmother's (von Gunten) side of the family on a previous visit and we met up again on this trip.

In addition, I met a third cousin from my grandfather's (Diesslin) side.

Meeting my Diesslin cousins helped me fill in a lot of gaps in our family story.

I even figured out how my grandparents met in Interlaken.
We returned to America with enough memories to last a lifetime and the feeling that our Swiss roots are not that far away. Suddenly the world feels like a much smaller place.