Change is a part of life....

Thursday, July 30

Wow the time is flying by here and every day is filled with exciting events. We've been busy babysitting my niece, relaxing at the lake and spending time in the city. I have also been to a football match (soccer game) while enjoying a bratwurst famous to that region. Last week we did another two hour hike/climb and when we rode the cable car back down, hail had destroyed the back of our car windshield. Luckily, they had insurance. We've also met up with some friends for dinner and wonder if we are going to have time to meet up with everyone.

I spent a lovely day yesterday with a friend in the city. We had a picnic lunch or ate our lunch in the grass in a park in the middle of the city. We then spent the rest of the afternoon on the lake. The water was of course extremely cold but refreshing. For dinner, we grilled outside again. Raphi is actually working today and tomorrow which is great for our piggy bank:) I will tutor again for three days next week which I am looking forward to also. This is the same girl I worked with last year. I met up this morning with three girls that I worked with at my old school and it was great to catch up. A lot has changed at my old school now the owner and head retired last year.

It definitely feels odd to be back here, in my old surrondings, all the places I was so familiar with still feel like they haven't changed at all. I feel at home and comfortable yet oddly like a tourist. Coming back here, I feel my growth as a person. I feel as if I have had the freedom to become who I am in Dallas, not as I should be when I was in Zurich. I felt an amazing amount of pressure living here and people telling me how I should behave and what a women is in this culture. When I lived here I tried, as I believe you very well should, to be swiss or assimulate into the culture. This pressure taught me a great deal and challenged me on many levels. I will always be thankful for the time I spent here.

In Dallas I am who I am and I don't need to expain myself to anyone. This is truly freeing. With that being said, my heart will always be here and feel that this place is also home to me.

Matterhorn

Hiking the Matterhorn

We had an amazing weekend of hiking as we hiked half way up the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland. We woke up early in the morning and had a beautiful two hour train ride to Brig. From Brig we took a train to Zermatt and arrived in a storybook world of antique chalets, glistening waterfalls, snow covered mountains and clear blue sky. We hiked for about three and half hours both their and back....please enjoy our photos....

Wednesday, July 22

Woke up yesterday to birds chirping and the sunlight shining into our room. Could it be? A summer day in Switzerland? A summer day is a most precious commodity here and should be valued above all things. These are lazy days on the lake comprised of large amounts of gelato consumption. The evening is always promptly followed by shopping for fresh meats and a salad for grilling outside. Followed again by another trip to the gelato shop. ( Well Raphis brother's girlfriend's family owns a gelato shop nearby, convenient- yes very!) Yesterday was no exception. It was a gorgeous day of 27 degrees Celsius or 82 Fahrenheit. It was great to lounge around on an area that is frequented by young people who want to enjoy the lake. People come and layout their scarves or towels down on the grass and enjoy some fruit or ice cream from a nearby stand. Business people walk by and watch us with jealousy. Later on after dinner we went by to see Raphi's parents new apartment that they just recently purchased. It is still being built but it is absolutely stunning with a great view of the mountains. It's amazing how your money does not go as far here and if you want something nice you have to spend an insane amount of money. With the same amount you could buy a villa in highland park with everything included.

Well today is Thursday and we woke up today to low lying fog and drizzling rain. Ah, this is the Switzerland I so dearly remember:) After breakfast we headed down into the city again and had coffee with Raphi's older brother and mom. His older brother is an investment banker for a private bank here (so if you need your million stored safely in a swiss account, let us know) and his mom works for actually an american insurance company called Mercer. After that we ran some errands and paid visits to some people we knew. I stopped by a bilingual school where I knew the owner. Her daughter was once in my kindergarten class and I spoke with her about working there briefly for the summer ( a swiss salary is not something to turn away). We'll see....Raphi is headed off to a football match (soccer game) tonight and I plan on going to one on Saturday.
Pictures will follow soon....

Die Erste Dru Tage

Thursday, July 17

Our latest adventure started off on a funny note as we forgot a suitcase at our flat while we were almost at the DFW airport. No worries, we just turned around and retrieved our forgotten luggage. Brandy was very forgiving. When we arrived at DFW we were told our flight was delayed and that we may not make our connecting flight from Newark. We would have to be rerouted through Paris (which is our least favorite airport in Europe). I was up for the adventure but Raphi wasn't. His 24 hour flight to Pappa New Guinea had put him off travelling for a bit. We ended up running or I mean sprinting through Newark airport and arrived at our gate successfully. I had a side stitch to show for it and didn't smell the freshest once we found our seats on the plane.

We were greeted in Zurich seven hours later, with thick fog and rain drops against the airplane window. This is a sight I am all too familiar with when flying into Zurich. I once heard groans and moans from passengers on a recent flight back from Naples, Italy. Stay positive, I told myself as I buttoned up my jean jacket and tied my scarf around my neck. This is what I was prepared for. We collected our luggage and were greeted by Raphi's older brother Sammy who whisked us up to Raphi's parents house. Sammy became a father for the first time last month and I was excited to see my new niece, Darija. She was as beautiful as her pictures and was spending the day with Raphi's mom since her mom was studying for the bar exam next month.
Raphi and I then jetted downtown or to the city ( a mere five minutes from their house) to our favorite restaurant, where we ordered our once Saturday morning ritual of an egg sandwich with a croissant and fresh squeezed orange juice. After emptying our wallet on our small aperitif we headed back home. Wow, we forget how expensive food is here.

I then succommed to the jet lag and fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon and evening....

Saturday, July 19

We woke up fairly early and Raphi, his mom and I headed off to the local supermarket. There are only two brands of supermarkets in Switzerland, Migros and Coop. But they are both on the level of Central Market in quality and price. Saturday mornings are always busy and when we arrived I could barely push the cart through the people. Everyone is of course dressed finely for an early Saturday morning. I gathered some apples and apricots together and then forgot that all the produce has numbers and you have to weigh everything yourself and put a sticker on it, if not you could hold up the line at the cashier. A definite no- no in this precise country:)
Raphi and I ran down isles grabbing all the foods we so dearly missed and craved during the year. When we got home we cooked a large hot meal and baked an apricot pie since Raphi's sisters's boyfriend was coming over too. He is also a cop and loves to eat. After a delicious lunch we lounged around and watched some Tour de France since both Raphi and Markus are avid bikers. The rest of the family decided to play a swiss card game called Yassa of which I am not a fan, so Raphi's mom and I took Darija on a little walk up to the small mountain that is behind our house. It has views of the whole city and very refreshing.

Sunday, July 20

I woke up this morning to church bells and crisp, fresh swiss bread that Raphi's mom (Rosmarie)had made the night before. Raphi went to go pick up this younger brother from the airport from his holiday in Dallas and California. We all ate breakfast together and then we headed off to our swiss church. It's a very large church in the center of the city. I saw a couple people and mustered up some more swiss german for them. A hot lunch again awaited us outside in the garden. The weather had changed again as it always does here, and now it was quite warm. Raphi and I then headed down the the lake which is the heart of the city. Whenever it is nice weather, the city is packed with people taking a walk or passigiata in Italian:) (for Vicki) The sky was an amazing blue and the lake shone and sparkled. It was literally a picture book or picture perfect day. We sat down by the water and enjoyed the day. July is the official month for summer holidays so the city wasn't as packed as it usually is. We came home to a fire in the outside grill and grilled some meat for dinner. A typical swiss BBQ consists of cervelat ( a small bratwurst), fleish kase and chicken. Always a green salad and lots of veggies. We stayed out talking till the fire was low and it was time for bed.

My First Time

...well this is the first time I have officially entered the world of blogging. I don't know why exactly since I love to talk about myself:) and I love to write. I thought I would blog about my summer in Zurich, Switzerland. I am married to an amazing man, who very conveniently is Swiss. This has afforded me a great deal of pleasures in life, one of them being the ability to live abroad in a place I am lucky to call home. This home is Zurich, Switzerland. It is nestled in the heart of Europe and serves as a melting pot for languages, cuisine and culture. Switzerland is one of the most beautiful and well run countries in the world. You can owe that mainly to their hard work ethic and old fashioned values. So if a train is meant to leave at 4:30, that's exactly when it will leave. Not a minute before or later (much to the frustration of travellers). The Swiss guard their natural resources very carefully and this shows as you take a train or drive through the country side. I have never seen mountains as steep, lakes as blue or gardens as well cared for as in Switzerland. They are quite happy to think that their country looks the same as it would have a hundred years earlier.

Ok, hopefully that gives you a good enough explanation as to where I am going. We will be flying out this Wednesday and Raphi and I are keeping our fingers crossed for good weather...which can make or break our trip:).....Adeiu, Tchuuss, Ciao