Our Night in Zurich

Ali loves getting packages from the states

So most days are spent waiting for the sun to come out and warm up the frigid air a bit.  That might happen around 1 or 2 in the afternoon if the sun comes out at all.  For the past few days the sun has been out early in the morning making for some really beautiful weather.  Unfortunately it is short lived as apparently we will be getting some rain (which we haven't had since we moved here) and then much colder weather. All the locals are frantic that it hasn't snowed yet as they are itching to go skiing and sledging.  Yes sledging.

So I had a pretty great weekend last weekend.  Friday night I went to dinner with a group of ladies in Brugg.  Most of them are Holcim spouses.  These are wives who have moved here from their native country (Romania, Australia, South Africa, UK) with their husbands who have taken a job at Holcim.  We are all pretty much in the same boat - no jobs, some stay at home moms, all in a foreign land.  They are really nice, some have been here for four or more years and made other friends who were invited to dinner also.  It was really nice to get out the house and have some adult conversation.

Then on Saturday morning one of Erik's coworkers took me to the farmer's market in Aarau as well as some much need shopping at the big Migros.  You can tell how big the store is by how many 'M's' are on the side of the building.  This one had three!  I finally purchased a much needed vacuum cleaner (I know thrilling) as well as some other household items we had been needing.  The really neat thing is she took me to a couple of Christmas shops which are really florists most of the year.  They do the most beautiful Christmas decorations.  They are so tasteful and incorporate many natural items.  It was really pretty. It even put me in the mood to maybe, possibly put up some Christmas decorations which if anyone knows Erik and I very well we have never done since we've been together.  We'll see how motivated I get and if Erik can find the decorations in our packed basement cellar room.

Swarvoski Christmas Tree 

Then on Saturday night, Erik arranged for a babysitter and we went to dinner in Zurich at a fabulous Italian restaurant.  (Garrety, it reminded me a bit of our meal in Verona just a little less meat). It was so delicious.  In case I haven't made this perfectly clear - Switzerland is not known for its cuisine, unless you like fondue and I do not (unless it is chocolate).  In general for the price you pay here, the food is less than exciting at the Swiss restaurants. On the other hand there are lots of great Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, Irish fare to be had albeit still expensive.  Back to our big night out.  The Zurich train station Christmas market was in full swing and crowded.  Think Winter Park Village Art Show but the goods are more crafts etc.  I wasn't that impressed with the wares and others have told me there are much better Christmas markets in other towns and countries for that matter. But it was really great to be out with all the lights and Christmas cheer in the big city.


Then on Sunday the sun was shining and we did a nice hike up to the Schloss. We also had our mini Thanksgiving dinner complete with a roasted chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie (thanks to Dawn). Grandma and Grandpa Warm even joined us via Skype. I am pretty sure every single inch of the kitchen was utilized as well as every pot and pan.  Cooking a big meal in a small kitchen is challenging.

Our Thanksgiving

Ali being a goof ball

She knows where the toy store is

And last but not least as promised here is a link to a very poorly edited video tour of our Swiss flat.  Enjoy

http://gallery.me.com/angela.warm#100161

Pre-Switzerland Activities Part 3: Orlando and North Carolina

Last post on the pre-Switzerland activities.

Ali and Easton in the ball pit

We spent a good amount of time in Orlando visiting with all our family and friends before we left as it was sort of home base during our travels and moving events.  Alison spent quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Warm as well as her cousins Caydy and Hannah.  Grandma Warm even taught her a few new tricks.  It is also where she learned to first walk on her own in early October.  It really was great to see everyone.  I had a good time with my girlfriends at our annual beach weekend as well as had nice meals with Leslie, Nicki and Rachel.  Alison went to SeaWorld with Erik, Grandma, Auntie Liz and her cousins.  She even went to pre-school with Grandma one day.  She enjoyed playing on the slide and in the ball pit at Grandma's house with her cousins as well as Easton.

And then if that wasn't enough, we somehow pulled off an early birthday party for Ali.  Huge thanks to Grace, John, Liz and Robby for helping with the pre-planning and day of activities. Also great to get a surprise visit from the Tuckers who of course we immediately put to work. It ended up being a bit warm that day but it was so great to see all our friends and family.  It was also bittersweet, although we were celebrating, we knew we were also saying goodbye to our family and close friends.  Thanks to all those that came.  Here is a link to more birthday pictures.  http://gallery.me.com/angela.warm#100113

We made a frenzied trip down to Jupiter to oversee our stuff/life get packed up.  We also said goodbye (again) to a few friends in Jupiter.  We then departed for North Carolina.  On our way out we stopped to visit Nanny Carla, Lee, Nanny, Lyle and Aaron in Daytona and had a yummy meal as always.  We also saw the Slay's in Jacksonville who fed us a most yummy low country boil.  We stopped in for a quick visit to Kim and her furry clan in Georgia before finally arriving at Mom and Mike's in North Carolina.









































NORTH CAROLINA


We had a nice relaxing time in North Carolina.  As there were really no more friends and family to visit and no more moving or appointments to deal with.  Alison really enjoyed the falling leaves and cool mountain air.  She perfected her walking while we were there.  Erik and I even got away for one night for our anniversary which was great.  I am pretty sure Grammy and Grandpa would have done everything in their power to keep Alison with them.  They really had fun playing with her and Erik and I got the pleasure of sleeping in most days knowing Alison was already tended to.  Mom of course fed us well with lots of home cooked meals from her garden. We searched high and low for a pumpkin patch to take some pictures but did you know they are kind of hard to find in North Carolina.  I guess they take them all down south.  We did some last minute on-line shopping for warm clothes and items we might need.  We then flew out of Charlotte on our way to Zurich the day before Alison's 11 month birthday.  But not before we had our last meal of Chick-Fil-A.  Again it was so hard saying goodbye but we were ready to get settled in our new country and find a place to call home.

A Place to Call Home

So we finally settled into our own place.  Fair warning that this may be a long blog entry since it has been almost two weeks since we had internet and I have lots to share.  So where to begin.

So to rent a flat in Switzerland there is a pretty lengthy and thorough inspection/inventory checklist the day before you move in.  That event occurred on Thursday November 10th.  Luckily we had a representative on our side who could read and interpret the four page German inventory list.  Two hours of checking that everything worked and what condition it was in, we were handed the keys to our new flat.  I felt much better about it during our walk through, it was clean and modern and had a fair amount of storage.  We celebrated our new place by having a yummy dinner at MacArthurs the Irish pub across the street.

Ali amusing herself at old apartment

The next day Erik met the movers bright and early while Ali and I stayed out of the way and entertained ourselves at the old place.  Around 5pm Erik returned along with our very nice landlord, Hans, who helped us load up his car and delivered us back to the new apartment where things were a mess.  I wondered if it was a good idea to sleep at the new place as it wasn't really baby proofed yet but then when I crawled into my own bed I knew I never wanted to go back to the old place.  I can't tell you what a difference having a comfy bed makes. It changed my perspective on the world.

Moving in day

Needless to say the next few days (weeks really) were spent unpacking, organizing and asking ourselves why the heck did we bring this.  We really got lucky with this apartment as it has a large amount of built in storage which is rare in Swiss apartments.  Most renters have to spend thousands of dollars to buy wardrobes and storage units to put everything in (sans closets).  Ours came nicely equipped with a large storage unit in the entrance hallway as well as the interior hallway.  It is also very bright with lots of windows and natural light.  It is conveniently located close to the old part of town - think Winter Park village if it existed 100 years ago with cute shops and restaurants.  We are also within walking distance of the grocery store, train station, bus station, butcher, baker, Irish bar, toy store and the town schloss (castle).

The landlord, Hans, is this older grandfather figure who speaks a little bit of English and is extremely nice and helpful.  Today for instance he drove Alison and I to the recycling center and second hand store so we could finally unload all the extra stuff taking up unwanted room in our apartment.  It was a relief to get rid of the stuff even if I had to pay 15 francs to get rid of our large amount of hangers.  Yes who is the joker who put 300 extra hangers in our shipping container - seriously uncool.

Downtown Lenzburg

Downside of our apartment - it is right next to a church which means church bells every fifteen minutes and long tolling on the weekends to call people to service as well as at random times which we haven't figured out why yet.  It really isn't that bad with the windows closed, kind of charming if you aren't trying to nap or talk on the phone but it will be interesting to see what it is like in the summer with the windows open (no AC).  Fortunately the last chimes stop at 10pm and then start up again at 6am, which by 6am I am usually already up as our upstairs neighbors get up at 5:30am and since we are in an apartment and I am a light sleeper, well that is downside number two which again I am already starting to get use to.

Luckily the new noises have not impacted Alison's sleep patterns.  Thank goodness.  We did scare the neighbors the first few nights we moved in though as Alison was waking up several times crying/screaming. Being the great parents that we are (we've been a little preoccupied) we didn't realize for a few days that she was cutting some new teeth.  Luckily a little ibuprofen helped remedy that situation but not before one of the neighbors let me know they heard our little one. The Swiss are super nice don't get me wrong but can be a bit gruff also.

She went down all by herself several times

The apartment complex is all of six stories, with only two apartments on each side so we share an entrance with one other person. We live on what would be thought of in America as the 2nd floor but here it is the 1st floor as the ground floor is zero.  Also there are other families with young children all around us.  From them we learned where most of the playgrounds are and Ali had her first adventure on a really big slide.  She is fearless - seriously going down a 10 foot slide all by herself.  She is a hoot.

Birthday celebration

She turned the BIG '1' on the nineteenth and we celebrated by taking her to KinderCity in Zurich.  I think she enjoyed it but was a bit overstimulated by the end of the two hours and 40 francs it cost us.  I am also proud to say that I made her some awesome banana cupcakes which didn't turn out too shabby considering my lack of an electric mixer as well as some essential ingredients that they probably have at the store but I haven't figured out how to read German yet so many things are still foreign to me.

Kindercity on her birthday

We even had our first visitors last week.  Erik's Swedish cousins Malin and Sophie along with their friend Mia were doing a little Euro traveling and stopped by for a quick visit.  Ah to be young again.  They arrived at 7pm on a Thursday, after traveling all day, turned around and headed to Zurich at 10pm for some late night clubbing.  Returned to our flat at 5 or 6am and slept until noon on Friday.  Got up and walked to the Schloss, ate some dinner with us and retired early for their 6am departure to Paris the next day.  It was fun to see them and Ali really enjoyed having visitors.  Hint, hint.

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone enjoys time with their families and friends.  I know we will be thinking about all of you back home.  Thanksgiving has always been one of Erik and I's favorite holidays as it isn't about presents but more about spending time with those you love and eating some really yummy food. Since Erik has to work tomorrow and Friday, we are going to try for a mini Thanksgiving on Sunday.  I will have to break out the google translate and see if I can get a turkey at the grocery store.  Wish us luck.

Seriously?

I am trying to put together a little video of our new apartment so as soon as I find the time to do that I will let you know.

Pre-Switzerland Activities Part 2: Arizona and Colorado

ARIZONA - Phoenix, Gilbert, Sedona and many places in between

Sedona right before the storms rolled in

Storms do bring lovely rainbows

So we hopped on a plane to visit Erik's sister in Gilbert, Arizona.  We had such a good time visiting with Auntie Kristina, Uncle David, and Cousins Paul, Julia and Samantha - even Grandpa Warm was there.  We got to spend quality time with the family as well as visit some pretty awesome places.  One of our first road trips was to Sedona, which I have always wanted to visit as I heard it was beautiful.  And it was, except on this particular day it decided to rain and hail all day long.  So what we got to see was mainly from the car window- still pretty. And you know what storms bring - rainbows.

Road wash out in Sedona

We also did an awesome hike to the Tonto National Land Bridge.  It was a little tricky (technical) with three little ones and another in a back pack but we managed and we were well rewarded at the end.  Another great place was the Children's Museum of Phoenix - phenomenal - I couldn't get over how creative and awesome this place was.  Kristina and I took all the kids after we narrowly missed dropping Grandpa off at the airport.  The boys (David and Erik) went on a monster long treacherous hike that day.  I cannot say enough about the museum it was just so creative - Alison loved it.  I hope we can all go back one day.

Alison loved her cousin Paul

Almost as much as she loves rocks

We also ate a ton of good food and spent quality time with everyone.  Gilbert was a really nice area and Kristina and Dave have a beautiful home and family.  Alison really took a liking to Cousin Paul although Paul was not so sure about this new little baby in his house playing with his things.  He warmed up toward the end of the week and from what I hear kept asking for "Awi" after we were gone. Not sure when we will get to see everyone again but hopefully soon.  We miss you.

Ali prefers to walk - not sure what happened to her shoes though

Ali doesn't care much for the heat

Brother and sister and Ali share a moment

The Sherman Clan

COLORADO - ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

At the very top - very cold

We then met up with our good friends and neighbors from Jupiter in Rocky Mountain National Park for a few days.  What a change of scenery and weather.  It was chilly compared to our 100 degree weather in Arizona.  It even snowed on us one day.  We did learn that Alison prefers the cold to the heat so she will be in good shape for our move to Switzerland.  We had a great time hiking and driving around the park, it was really beautiful.  Big shout out to Dawn who basically organized the entire trip as we were preoccupied dealing with the whole move to another country issue.  We stayed in a really nice cabin outside of Estes Park and shared good meals and good times together.  Alison and Derek played nicely together.  We then headed back to Orlando to say goodbye to our friends and family and get ready for Alison's early birthday party.

Notice her expression compared to the heat of Arizona

Dawn, Derek, Angela and Alison

My favorite photo of the trip

Ali and Derek play footsies before the big crash

Switzerland Week 3

She loves to read

Wow I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since we moved here.  Time flies.  Well this past week was our big adjustment week.  Erik went back to work on Tuesday and I started my new job as full time hausfrau.  It's been interesting.  Basically Tuesday and Thursday Alison and I stayed inside mostly with a quick trip to the grocery store and to a green area so Alison could run around and get some fresh air.  She is really into books lately - can sit a look through a book by herself for like five or ten minutes at time.  It is the first thing she goes to in the morning.  Not her toy box - the shelf with all her books on it.  Wonder where she got that from.  Friday was my fun day of shopping in Germany which I already blogged about and am already planning a return trip.

Fall in Switzerland

This weekend we had every intention of going to Zurich on Saturday but the weather was a bit overcast and we were just feeling a bit sluggish.  Erik and I have not gotten a good nights sleep in a while as the bed in our temporary apartment is less than comfortable.  We were both comparing soreness from sleeping on our sides on the horrible bed.  We decided to be a bit lazy on Saturday morning.  Saturday afternoon the sun came out and it turned into a gorgeous day.  We went hiking close to an area we have seen lots of people walking. It is in these beautiful forested hills just past the Schloss.  It was a really nice hike complete with chickens, cows, goats and even a cute little playground for Alison. We had a good time and when it was time for a nap Daddy hiked on and took these beautiful pictures.

Daddy and Ali ride the train

On Sunday the sun was actually shining before we got up.  This is very unusual and was a good sign for us to get motivated and head into Zurich for the day.  We did very well today train wise as we weren't late for any trains or running to catch any trains today.  In fact it was all timed pretty well as we also weren't waiting too long for any trains.  OK enough about the trains.  We went to the Zurich Zoo since the sun was shining and Alison has been really into animals lately.  It was a nice zoo, nothing extraordinary about it.  It was packed with families.  The best part was the playground.  Alison went down this slide all by herself.  She climbed the stairs to the slide by herself and pushed herself down by herself.  It is amazing to think she is not even a year old yet.  She is growing up so fast.

Trying to think what else happened last week.  We are still hoping we get to move into the new apartment next weekend.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I don't know how much longer I can take the construction noise or the bed.  Right now we are waiting on a wire transfer.  For the new apartment we are required to put down three times the rent as the security deposit and no that is not first, last and security - it is just the security deposit.  So that amount on top of the first months rent has to be wire transferred from our account in the US, as didn't bring that much cash with us (not sure we could have anyway).  So hoping the wire transfer happens sometime early next week and everything gets signed and deposited in the right place.  I am not sure if I am more excited about moving out of this place or moving into our new place but I just hope it all happens quickly.

Erik started his new job and seems to like it very well so far.  They don't think he will be traveling at all this year as this is their slow time.  Which is great for us as he is usually home by 6pm every night. And me being the hausfrau in training, I've had dinner on the table every night (except Friday when I went to Germany - we ordered a pizza).  He has met lots of interesting co-workers from literally all over the world.  He says he is suffering from a bit of an inferiority complex as there are apparently some really smart people who've done some pretty amazing things in the business world that he will be working with.  I think he is going to enjoy the challenge.

Well not sure what this coming week has in store for us (besides hopefully moving toward the end of it).  I mentioned to one of the other spouses about going to Schloss Lenzburg as I read it was very kid friendly.  So we may do that one day.  There will be numerous trips to the tiny grocery store I am sure and me yelling at the stupid tumbler (dryer).  We may have lunch with Erik one day at work since he is close for one more week.  Whatever happens I will let you know.