Sunday, August 23, 2009

To the man on the bus

I know you want to get off at the stop. Quite a few of us do. And it may take me a few seconds to get off, seeing how I have a huge stroller with an infant in it.

That doesn't mean you can get up and shove me out of the way while yelling "Achtung!" at me.

I know I am not Swiss. I know I don't speak German. But I do know that this is my bus stop too and I was trying to get ready to get off to save time since I was closest to the door.

I also know that the back door was completely free and clear of people getting off the bus.

So next time, use your time to take the three extra steps to go to the back of the bus rather than pushing your way to the door behind me and my stroller. Or feel free to enjoy your seat a little while longer. I won't take too long to get off through the only stroller accessible door on the bus.

My side would appreciate not having your elbow drilled into it.

Thank you.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

5 months.

Betti is 5 months old today! And she got the best birthday present ever, her Daddy came home.

So now I can tell you the real reason for my lack of posting. Brian's been working in Malta for the past 8 weeks. Since he left for this job we've seen him three times aside from our six day trip down there. Needless to say, I've been really busy with the two monkeys. And exhausted at the end of the day!

Now he is home which is really nice. And, hopefully, this will give me more time to catch up on my posts!

But back to Betti who is 5 months old already. Where is the time going? She is rolling now (back to front), grabbing her feet, close to cutting a tooth, smiling like crazy, and grabbing and picking up things with her hands. And, if I didn't know better, I would say she is talking already. Her sounds definitely sound like "Hi" which, coincidently, was Marion's first word.

Here's a new video from this morning of her, enjoy!


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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Zurich Street Parade 2009

We had such a good time last year, we decided to check out the 2009 edition!

This year the weather wasn't that great but we had fun anyway. Marion was more interested this time around and couldn't wait to get to the party.

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First reaction- too loud!
It wasn't, she was just being dramatic. She decided to get to dancing and met some friends to dance with.
Then, the toddlers went wild.

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Betti was not amused.
On our way back to the train we ran in to a Jesus Parade. Just a wee bit out of place, probably the point.
This is probably one of my favorite events in Zurich. Definitely not your typical Zurich day!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Biel/Bienne, the only city I know with a slash in its name

Ah, finally getting around to my backlog of travel posts.

My sister Colleen and I took the girls to a little town in Switzerland, Biel/Bienne, in mid-June. God, that seems like a lifetime ago.

Biel/Bienne is located on the border of the German and French speaking regions. Hence, the city is known by both its German and French names. And the official city name includes a slash. I wonder if they jazz the slash up a bit on letterhead?

Anyway, we found super cheap tickets on SBB's supersaver website and decided to check it out.

First class tickets were cheaper than second class for our trip there so we took advantage of that as well. It was lovely in first class. Very quiet. I'm sure all of the business men sitting in the car with us were thrilled we were there with a three year old and an infant...

Anyway, our first stop on our rainy day trip to the city was Magglingen. A funicular takes you up to this town (438 meters/1,437 feet) and is located a short walk away from the Biel/Bienne train station. It sounded interesting so we checked it out.

There wasn't much at the top but we quickly concluded that some sort of training center was located there. How? By the training clock located near where the funicular dropped us off and the abundance of people in great shape. A quick google search at the end of the day confirmed it- the Swiss Federal Institute of Sports Magglingen SFISM (aka the National Sports Center) was nearby.

After seeing all of these people in great shape running and biking, we decided to get some chocolate and drinks. Naturally.

Oh and enjoy the view of course. Which we kind of did...

before the clouds rolled in.

It wasn't really all we had hoped it would be so we decided to head back into town and check out the Old Town, or Altstadt.

We were treated with a beautiful walk on our way (no rain was a bonus).

And then we treated Marion to an ice cream dessert after lunch. She promptly got a brain freeze.

It was actually pretty funny to watch her clutch the sides of her head and exclaim, "My head! It's cold!!!!!"

It is those moments that make the three year old sassiness bearable.

Finally, we walked around the Altstadt.

Three fountains were placed around the Altstadt. I loved these fountains; the facial expressions were so lifelike and emotive. They really stood out from all of the other fountains I have seen in the past year.



After our quick stroll, it started to get nasty again. We walked back towards the train station and were reminded on our way that there was definitely some French in this town!

When the rain started to get really bad, we picked a cafe and spent the rest of the afternoon eating and drinking while we people watched and waited for our train. Honestly, one of the best ways I know to spend an afternoon!

We had the kids with us so didn't bother with any museums. However, I have read that they are pretty good in this watch making town so if you end up there, check them out!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Happy Swiss National Day!

August 1, Swiss National Day. As always, I like Google's take on it:

We've been traveling and will enjoy today getting used to being home again followed by a barbeque and fireworks. And then, I will get on posting on this blog again. I've been neglecting it. Bad Meghan!

To all my friends in Switzerland, enjoy!