I liked this newest article, particularly this quote:
"It's a day of joy for Switzerland," Peter Fueglistaler, director of Switzerland's Federal Office of Transport, said shortly before the tunnel was completed. "We are not a very emotional people but if we have the longest tunnel in the world, this also for us is very, very emotional."
Showing posts with label Swiss life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swiss life. Show all posts
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Swiss are about to have a par-tay
A tunnel party!
The Swiss are about to complete the world's longest tunnel. Why? To move cargo away from the beautiful Alps and onto trains underneath the mountains. Makes perfect sense... if you are from, have lived or have visited Switzerland. ;)
Go Switzerland!
The Swiss are about to complete the world's longest tunnel. Why? To move cargo away from the beautiful Alps and onto trains underneath the mountains. Makes perfect sense... if you are from, have lived or have visited Switzerland. ;)
Go Switzerland!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Last Dance
I had big big plans for this week for this blog. Finally, I'm back in Zurich and so I was going to spend my week catching up! Yippee, lots of posts about all our latest travels! That was the plan at least.
Then I realized, it's Marion and Betti's last week here. And, even worse, my friend Claire and her family are leaving this week too.
Ahhh, so goes the life of an expat. This is the hardest part. :(
Our friends threw us a lovely going away party yesterday. Here are some shots from the party.
Some of the best girlfriends I could ask for. I have been truly blessed here.
Marion got first crack at the cake.
Trying on crowns and striking a pose.
Tom didn't want to be left out.
Then he ditched his pink hat, put the dragon hat on, and enjoyed scaring the girls.
And, finally, big hugs.
The only way I'll get through this is to repeat my new mantra: "This isn't goodbye, this is see you later."
Then I realized, it's Marion and Betti's last week here. And, even worse, my friend Claire and her family are leaving this week too.
Ahhh, so goes the life of an expat. This is the hardest part. :(
Our friends threw us a lovely going away party yesterday. Here are some shots from the party.
Some of the best girlfriends I could ask for. I have been truly blessed here.
Marion got first crack at the cake.
Trying on crowns and striking a pose.
Tom didn't want to be left out.
Then he ditched his pink hat, put the dragon hat on, and enjoyed scaring the girls.
And, finally, big hugs.
The only way I'll get through this is to repeat my new mantra: "This isn't goodbye, this is see you later."
Friday, July 16, 2010
The permit renewal situation
Before we get to part two of our trip, I'd like to discuss Swiss working permits. We are here under a B permit and it is sponsored by Brian's company. It is good for a year and the Swiss government sends you the renewal paperwork every year in order to renew and have your new permit before your old one expires.
Hahahahaha.
It sounds good in theory but it never happens like that, at least not in our experience. This year was especially painful.
We received the paperwork, took our new passport pictures for them, and took everything we needed to our Gemeinde house to be processed. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more.
Turns out our permits ended up on someone's desk waiting for approval. Problem was, that person was out on burnout.
What is burnout you ask? Burnout is something that is diagnosed in Switzerland for people who have worked too much. A doctor will write out the diagnosis and then person gets a long vacation from work to rest up and recover.
Can you imagine something like this in the US? Nope, me neither.
Anyway, we didn't have the new permits by the time they expired on June 1. Brian didn't have them for his multiple business trips outside the country and we didn't have them when we left for our family trip on June 28. However, we did know that we had been approved when we left so at least we left with the knowledge that we should be receiving the new permits soon.
Fast forward to our arrival back into Switzerland last weekend. We hand over our passports to border control when the officer asks, "Do you live here?" and we know what is coming.
"Yes", we replied, "but we don't have our new residence permits yet."
"When did you apply for them?" he asked.
"Months ago" was our answer.
"Hpmh" grunted the officer, "That tells me that something is wrong."
"No, we know it has been approved, we just haven't received the new ones yet since we were on vacation" I replied, trying to be as polite. Meanwhile, Brian was muttering under his breath behind me, "WE didn't do anything wrong! The person was on burnout! YOU guys are the ones that took forever!"
The officer swiped our passports, confirmed that we were legal, and then we were sent on our way. Interesting to say the least- we did everything right and still got a scolding!
Turns out the timing was beyond comical. We picked up our permits at the post office the very next day and then Brian went directly to the Gemeinde to deregister.
Go figure.
Hahahahaha.
It sounds good in theory but it never happens like that, at least not in our experience. This year was especially painful.
We received the paperwork, took our new passport pictures for them, and took everything we needed to our Gemeinde house to be processed. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more.
Turns out our permits ended up on someone's desk waiting for approval. Problem was, that person was out on burnout.
What is burnout you ask? Burnout is something that is diagnosed in Switzerland for people who have worked too much. A doctor will write out the diagnosis and then person gets a long vacation from work to rest up and recover.
Can you imagine something like this in the US? Nope, me neither.
Anyway, we didn't have the new permits by the time they expired on June 1. Brian didn't have them for his multiple business trips outside the country and we didn't have them when we left for our family trip on June 28. However, we did know that we had been approved when we left so at least we left with the knowledge that we should be receiving the new permits soon.
Fast forward to our arrival back into Switzerland last weekend. We hand over our passports to border control when the officer asks, "Do you live here?" and we know what is coming.
"Yes", we replied, "but we don't have our new residence permits yet."
"When did you apply for them?" he asked.
"Months ago" was our answer.
"Hpmh" grunted the officer, "That tells me that something is wrong."
"No, we know it has been approved, we just haven't received the new ones yet since we were on vacation" I replied, trying to be as polite. Meanwhile, Brian was muttering under his breath behind me, "WE didn't do anything wrong! The person was on burnout! YOU guys are the ones that took forever!"
The officer swiped our passports, confirmed that we were legal, and then we were sent on our way. Interesting to say the least- we did everything right and still got a scolding!
Turns out the timing was beyond comical. We picked up our permits at the post office the very next day and then Brian went directly to the Gemeinde to deregister.
Go figure.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Random Swiss radio strikes again!
First song I heard this morning was "Things That Make You Go Hmmm...".
That was followed up by Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.
You just never know what you're gonna get. So much better than a box of chocolates first thing in the morning!
That was followed up by Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.
You just never know what you're gonna get. So much better than a box of chocolates first thing in the morning!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Swiss even have fancy public toilets.
Check this baby out.
Clean and functional. A seat for the ladies, up high so the gentlemen don't piss all over it. Soap and fresh water on the left to wash up afterwards. A hand dryer so you don't leave with wet hands. And clean, did I mention clean?
I think I might cry during my first trip to a public toilet when back in the US this fall.
Clean and functional. A seat for the ladies, up high so the gentlemen don't piss all over it. Soap and fresh water on the left to wash up afterwards. A hand dryer so you don't leave with wet hands. And clean, did I mention clean?
I think I might cry during my first trip to a public toilet when back in the US this fall.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Bern, need I say more?
I've been telling Brian how wonderful Bern is. So on Monday we spent the day in Bern and I finally had a chance to show him this great city!
We made a mistake in telling Marion where we were going and that bears would be there. So the entire ride down she was asking about the bears. Naturally, the bears were our first stop.
And look! Two new cubs! Marion was thrilled.
Betti, not so much.
I feel like I say this entirely too much on here about my youngest. Here's the deal with her- she is slow to react to things. She processes and processes and then wham! She hits you with a megawatt smile. I'm just too impatient to wait around to catch the smile part I guess.
Anyway, the new bear park. It is very nice!
Such an upgrade from the pit.
We continued our way through Bern to the Cathedral, stopping to take in the gorgeous scene over the front door and to go inside briefly.
A friend told me that this scene is about judgement and shows the mayor of Zurich going to Hell on the right and the mayor of Bern going to Heaven on the left. Apparently the two cities had a major rivalry.
Now I have no idea if that is true or not, but I like it anyway.
We continued up the main street, Marktgasse, and stopped at Einstein's apartment where he worked on the theory of relativity. Maybe it is because I am an engineer and Brian is an accountant, but we found that place way cool and learned some interesting tidbits. For example, did you know that most scholars believe that Einstein's first wife (who he met at university, go her!) was a partner in his work on relativity?
After managing to learn a little bit about Einstein while dealing with Marion in the tiny apartment, we headed over to the Bundesplatz in front of the Bundeshaus, Switzerland's parliament, to watch the fountains.
After watching some teenagers next to us, Marion decided to take her umbrella and head out to test her luck.
The first time she came back dry. The second time she was *this close* to getting a face full of water. She ran back to Brian, turned around to watch the fountains, and said, "Daddy, I don't think this is a good idea." :)
We ended our day at the park next to the Bern Munster on the riverfront. The sun came out while Betti snoozed in her stroller, Marion and Brian played on the playground, and I watched them all.
*sigh*
I'll miss you Bern.
We made a mistake in telling Marion where we were going and that bears would be there. So the entire ride down she was asking about the bears. Naturally, the bears were our first stop.
And look! Two new cubs! Marion was thrilled.
Betti, not so much.
I feel like I say this entirely too much on here about my youngest. Here's the deal with her- she is slow to react to things. She processes and processes and then wham! She hits you with a megawatt smile. I'm just too impatient to wait around to catch the smile part I guess.
Anyway, the new bear park. It is very nice!
Such an upgrade from the pit.
We continued our way through Bern to the Cathedral, stopping to take in the gorgeous scene over the front door and to go inside briefly.
A friend told me that this scene is about judgement and shows the mayor of Zurich going to Hell on the right and the mayor of Bern going to Heaven on the left. Apparently the two cities had a major rivalry.
Now I have no idea if that is true or not, but I like it anyway.
We continued up the main street, Marktgasse, and stopped at Einstein's apartment where he worked on the theory of relativity. Maybe it is because I am an engineer and Brian is an accountant, but we found that place way cool and learned some interesting tidbits. For example, did you know that most scholars believe that Einstein's first wife (who he met at university, go her!) was a partner in his work on relativity?
After managing to learn a little bit about Einstein while dealing with Marion in the tiny apartment, we headed over to the Bundesplatz in front of the Bundeshaus, Switzerland's parliament, to watch the fountains.
After watching some teenagers next to us, Marion decided to take her umbrella and head out to test her luck.
The first time she came back dry. The second time she was *this close* to getting a face full of water. She ran back to Brian, turned around to watch the fountains, and said, "Daddy, I don't think this is a good idea." :)
We ended our day at the park next to the Bern Munster on the riverfront. The sun came out while Betti snoozed in her stroller, Marion and Brian played on the playground, and I watched them all.
*sigh*
I'll miss you Bern.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Grilling it up in the sun.
One of our favorite things to do here when it is nice is to grill out at Park Im Gruene. So when the weather was nice for TWO WHOLE DAYS in a ROW(!!!!), we decided we must get out of the house and enjoy the sun.
So, off to the park we went. Lucky us, it was bounce day at the park so it was complete and utter madness.
We got there early enough (9:50 am) to grab a picnic table and get on the grill first. Do not, I repeat, do not go to the park late on a Saturday or Sunday. Especially on bounce day. Spots will be few and far between.
But we got there early and had a wonderful time.
Marion on one of the bounce houses.
Marion and her friend Starla with happy faces (Park Im Gruene has these chairs for use for free. I told you this place rocked!)
Digging in to the spread.
Betti and Jet in their swim gear.
Marion, ready to spray anyone in her path.
Betti, not as thrilled as Marion to be in the water.
Betti hightailed it out of there.
My girls.
Lounging.
Ahhhh, it makes me sad to see that the weather forecast is for rain for the next week. No more rain, please!!!!!!!
So, off to the park we went. Lucky us, it was bounce day at the park so it was complete and utter madness.
We got there early enough (9:50 am) to grab a picnic table and get on the grill first. Do not, I repeat, do not go to the park late on a Saturday or Sunday. Especially on bounce day. Spots will be few and far between.
But we got there early and had a wonderful time.
Marion on one of the bounce houses.
Marion and her friend Starla with happy faces (Park Im Gruene has these chairs for use for free. I told you this place rocked!)
Digging in to the spread.
Betti and Jet in their swim gear.
Marion, ready to spray anyone in her path.
Betti, not as thrilled as Marion to be in the water.
Betti hightailed it out of there.
My girls.
Lounging.
Ahhhh, it makes me sad to see that the weather forecast is for rain for the next week. No more rain, please!!!!!!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wasserauen-Ebenalp and the Seealpsee: our Saturday hike.
I've heard rumors that the Swiss hiking times and classifications are exaggerated, usually against you. Despite knowing that, I've been wanting to try out hike #2 for awhile. The summary said easy, and although it said steep in some portions I figured we (read: Brian) could just carry Marion for those portions.
We totally underestimated this hike. While it is easy for adults, not so much with kids. And "steep in portions" is actually about 50% steep.
Despite that, we went with some friends, completed the hike, and had a lovely day. The weather was perfect, the kids helped each other along, and it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday.
We began our day with a cable car ride up (take your half fare card if you have one, they accept it).
Once at the top we admired the view, tried to count how many people were going to paraglide (a ton), and started on our way down to the Wildkirchli cave.
The cave wasn't far from Ebenalp. Marion LOVED the cave but was sad that her friend, the big hungry bear, wasn't there.
After the cave there has a little hut and church followed by Ascher, a small guesthouse and restaurant.
We stopped there for a short snack and then continued down towards the Seealpsee where we planned to have lunch.
This was the steep part. Doable with kids, but proceed with caution!
Towards the end of the steep portion of our hike, we came upon a turnstile. In the middle of the woods.
I got nothing. If you know why this is sitting in the middle of a hiking path, please share!
My favorite part of this portion of our hike was when Marion's fear of ants (came out of nowhere) sent her into hysterical fits that made it impossible for her to walk. We took turns to try to console her, reason with her, move her along, but this girl was so over the edge nothing really worked. Finally the ants subsided and she was back to her old self. Finding a flower patch helped.
Eventually we made our way to the Seealpsee Gasthaus, settled in with drinks, and let the kids play on the playset.
Happy kids with ice cream!
Have I mentioned how gorgeous it was? I can see why the Swiss spend all of their time outside when the weather is nice.
We left the Seealpsee and continued down to the cable station. On our way, we realized that there were a TON of paragliders above us.
Yes, those aren't birds. Those are all paragliders! Insane.
We were not 10 minutes down from where we had lunch when Marion announced that she had to go pee. Brian helped her out and I just couldn't help but to document the process.
Sometimes it sucks being a girl. And poor Brian, Betti's on his head and Marion's taking her sweet time!
Betti finally passed out on the way down.
And then Marion decided she didn't want to walk. So Brian carried her on top of our sleeping baby.
What a man :)
The cherry on top of our day were the cows we ran in to at the end of our hike.
The one on the left checked out Brian's bum.
I'm not even lying.
It was a full day and the kids were pooped once we got back to our cars. So we left pretty quickly to get them home to bed. Great, great day. I hope for more of these in our future, if only the weather would cooperate!
We totally underestimated this hike. While it is easy for adults, not so much with kids. And "steep in portions" is actually about 50% steep.
Despite that, we went with some friends, completed the hike, and had a lovely day. The weather was perfect, the kids helped each other along, and it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday.
We began our day with a cable car ride up (take your half fare card if you have one, they accept it).
Once at the top we admired the view, tried to count how many people were going to paraglide (a ton), and started on our way down to the Wildkirchli cave.
The cave wasn't far from Ebenalp. Marion LOVED the cave but was sad that her friend, the big hungry bear, wasn't there.
After the cave there has a little hut and church followed by Ascher, a small guesthouse and restaurant.
We stopped there for a short snack and then continued down towards the Seealpsee where we planned to have lunch.
This was the steep part. Doable with kids, but proceed with caution!
Towards the end of the steep portion of our hike, we came upon a turnstile. In the middle of the woods.
I got nothing. If you know why this is sitting in the middle of a hiking path, please share!
My favorite part of this portion of our hike was when Marion's fear of ants (came out of nowhere) sent her into hysterical fits that made it impossible for her to walk. We took turns to try to console her, reason with her, move her along, but this girl was so over the edge nothing really worked. Finally the ants subsided and she was back to her old self. Finding a flower patch helped.
Eventually we made our way to the Seealpsee Gasthaus, settled in with drinks, and let the kids play on the playset.
Happy kids with ice cream!
Have I mentioned how gorgeous it was? I can see why the Swiss spend all of their time outside when the weather is nice.
We left the Seealpsee and continued down to the cable station. On our way, we realized that there were a TON of paragliders above us.
Yes, those aren't birds. Those are all paragliders! Insane.
We were not 10 minutes down from where we had lunch when Marion announced that she had to go pee. Brian helped her out and I just couldn't help but to document the process.
Sometimes it sucks being a girl. And poor Brian, Betti's on his head and Marion's taking her sweet time!
Betti finally passed out on the way down.
And then Marion decided she didn't want to walk. So Brian carried her on top of our sleeping baby.
What a man :)
The cherry on top of our day were the cows we ran in to at the end of our hike.
The one on the left checked out Brian's bum.
I'm not even lying.
It was a full day and the kids were pooped once we got back to our cars. So we left pretty quickly to get them home to bed. Great, great day. I hope for more of these in our future, if only the weather would cooperate!
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