Photos of Switzerland

I have been negligent by not posting more photos of Switzerland to this blog.  I keep my camera in the back of the car and often stop on the side of the road to capture something spectacular.  I am going to 'catch up' with this blog posting - Fall in Switzerland!

GruggerHof Farm in Fislisbach (village right next to ours)

Same farm different angle

Beautiful fall tree on a steep incline

The Swiss love their cows!  This is one we saw in a yard in our village.

The Limmat River which runs right down the middle of downtown Baden

Part of the Baden 'skyline'

Limmat River (the hills behind are filled with vineyards)

Every village has a fountain of some sort.  This is the one in Ennetbaden and is right outside Stella's school.

View of a mountain range from a hill top in Wettingen (town right next to Baden)

I LOVE this tree.  So pretty against all of the other foliage.  This is in a park in Downtown Baden near the Casino.  I was wandering around this park while waiting for Piper to finish her ballet lesson.

The GuggerHof Farm at Sunset

Same Day, Same Farm

Happened upon a field with horses atop Baldegg Mountain

A farm on Baldegg

View of the Alps from Baldegg

The girls during a walk through the forest in Wettingen

Piper striking a pose

Piper and Daddy racing in the forest.

A view from a hilltop looking down on Wettingen - I love this church and its steeple.  

Sunset on Wettingen

My distaste for public restrooms continues and we continue to carry a potty in the back of the car.

Never underestimate the power of beans and Goldfish!

 Today was my best day in Switzerland yet!  To say that I have had some rough days is an understatement but today was GREAT!  It started with finding distilled white vinegar and corn starch in the Asian specialty food store, then I found crazy expensive edamame at the regular grocery store!  The edamame was a special treat for the girls which they loved!   It's the little things in life that make us happy these days!

But, the grand finale, super great thing that happened today is....WE GOT OUR CAR!!!  After 97 days of waiting our blue minivan FINALLY arrived in Switzerland!  I truly cannot believe it is here!  Plus, not only did we get our van but my parents STUFFED it with great goodies from the States!  When I opened the door to the van, a can of black beans rolled out!  We got grape jelly, pam cooking spray, a TON of beans, Goldfish crackers, spices and more.

Today was a great day and I am so thankful for the lessons this move is teaching me.

Today's lesson: Never underestimate the power of beans and Goldfish!

SammiClaus - the Swiss Santa

Meet SammiClaus.  This is the Swiss version of St. Nicholas.  He is the typical 'Father Christmas' dude but who are those super scary chaps flanking them?  Oh, nevermind them - that's just the Schmutzli's!  Don't they look friendly?! 

The Swiss are quite a serious people - and Christmas time is NO exception.  These Schmutzli characters are basically SammiClaus' gang.  They go around with him and enforce his consequences for bad behavior throughout the year.  From what I can gather from folks around here, the Schmutzli's look in on children at their home and report back to SammiClaus as to whether they have been naughty or nice.  Then, the Schmutzli's go around with him and collect all the foul children, throw them in their straw cart and take them away to an unnamed place to rot or be tortured.  In fact, that is where the story gets a little fuzzy.  I am not sure exactly what happens to those horrid kids!  Regardless, the Swiss scare their children into submission! 

I prefer the American Santa and all the unbridled joy he brings to American kids, but this SammiClaus guy is intriguing as well...use the story of the Schmutzli's as you see fit to ensure a peaceful holiday season!

Thanksgiving Week Minus the Turkey

It is so hard to believe that it is already Thanksgiving!  From here it's a downhill slam into Christmas, New Year's and (for me) yet ANOTHER birthday (I'm turning 29 again).  Before you know it - it will be the end of January! 

It's weird not to have Thanksgiving protect Halloween from Christmas.  They have had Christmas decor out in the stores here since about October 15th and I first heard 'Santa Baby' on October 20th.  WEIRD! 

Anyway, this year, I am bringing Thanksgiving to Piper's class.  As the lone American family in her class, we are tasked with educating the children on our country's unique holidays.  Never mind that this particular holiday is rooted in our strong desire to risk life and limb to cross an unknown ocean to get AWAY from the Church of England.  I'm sure all those British folks won't mind that their kids come home talking about how every year, the Americans celebrate getting away from them.  Hell, the Americans would rather hang out with Native Americans and sit on a big rock eating the driest meat America has to offer!  On second thought, perhaps I should leave that part out instead focusing on the warm fuzzies Thanksgiving offers.  Regardless, we will do a craft made in China (very American) and eat pumpkin muffins (kids better freakin' like them since I spent $6.50 a can for LIbby's canned pumpkin) and talk about what we are thankful for.  All this will be done by 10:00 AM and I will be out of there and it will be just another day. 

I look forward to many more Thanksgiving celebrations with my family in the coming years.  This year will be odd (first time in 30+ years I haven't celebrated it) but that can be good too.  Puts things into perspective and, in a way, makes me even more thankful for all I do have.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

I'm BACK!

Okay, so admittedly, I have been absent.  Not only from this blog.  I have just been absent, empty, depleted - DONE!  With everything!  I went through a VERY dark phase after moving here.  Shock doesn't even begin to describe it.  I lost my footing in life and once you lose it, it's hard to get back.  But, I feel my feet hitting pavement a bit more these days.  Plus, the crying has stopped (for the most part) so I must be coming out from underneath the dark cloud that has surrounded me for the past 8 weeks.  So, that being said, I will start to share my experiences with you again on this blog.  I plan to do a robust blog posting to catch you up on what has been happening here but for now I leave you with this.  A little piece of Swiss life that you probably didn't know about.  I know I didn't!

From the blog: One Big Yodel:

There are a lot of things that are a bit strange about living in Switzerland. The Frau does not pretend to know all of them, but here are three strange Swissisms she either has some personal experience with or knows someone who did:

Quiet Time

Flushing the toilet after 10 p.m. Forget Heidi, this is the real Swiss classic. The Frau does not believe this is an official Swiss law, but rather a clause that may be in your apartment rental contract. Many apartment buildings have strict quiet hours and these may include specific things a non-Swiss person may not typically associate with loud noise. Such as: not being allowed to flush a toilet after 10pm, not being allowed to do laundry on Sunday (or during the lunch hour—some buildings actually shut off electricity to the machines at this time...), or not being allowed to do gardening on Sunday.

Also on the quiet hour front: you can’t typically recycle glass bottles on weeknights or on Sundays without being yelled at for disturbing the peace. Never mind that yelling also disturbs the peace or the all night parties that go on right outside your window during Carnival or Badenfahrt…

Trash Talk

Make sure you get a copy of your city’s garbage calendar and try to understand it (for help, read this). If you put your garbage out too early (or in the wrong bag, oh my!) you may be subject to a fine. A friend of the Frau was once called to the police station where she actually had to identify her trash. She was then charged CHF 250 because she had set it out too early the night before.

Recycling paper (see photo) is another strange Swiss ritual. You let the paper pile up for at least six weeks at your apartment and then ceremoniously tie it up with strings in neat packages no higher than about six inches before putting it outside. Don’t slack and just think it would be easier to stick all that paper in a paper box or bag and put outside. It would be easier, but this does not matter. If you don’t do it correctly, your paper will not be picked up and it will be plastered with a sticker stating your error. If you’re like The Frau, you’ll then be tempted to just throw it in your regular trash rather than wait another six weeks to redeem yourself.

Transport Pitfalls

Speeding

Driving a car is expensive in Switzerland. If you go more than 5 kilometers over a speed limit, you’ll receive a CHF 40 fine in the mail for each offence. If you travel way, way over the speed limit, you will be charged a fine that’s a percentage of your salary.

Not paying the night ticket supplement

Typically beginning at 1 am, depending on the public transport network, you must buy a CHF 5 nighttime supplement in addition to your regular train ticket. If you don’t buy this and they check tickets, you will be fined as if you didn’t have a ticket at all.

Limbo's Silver Lining

As defined by Webster:  Limbo: an unknown intermediate place or condition between two extremes

I'd say that's about right!  About a month ago, I would have told you that living in Limbo sucks....and it does.  But, there is a silver lining to it.  I have had so many thoughts (both deep and shallow) over the last few weeks that it's hard to know which is which.  But, one thing that dawned on me the other day: When you are in Limbo you are both 'here' and 'there'.  You are 'here' simply because that's where your physical being is.  However you are also 'there' because that's where you have always been and you are trying to make 'here' more like 'there'.  So, the 'here' is physical and the 'there' is mental/emotional.

As you move out of Limbo and you move into just 'here'; 'there' goes away.  But wait - I kinda liked 'there' so where is it going?  'There' had so many things I like - so why exactly am I 'here' again?  And, oh by the way, everything I know is 'there' and this 'here' is totally foreign and unknown.  Lesson learned: 'Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.'

I was so eager to get on with this move because it was planned...I LOVE plans and I HATE it when plans get screwed up.  I physically start to sweat when I am late to something - it's a problem I have...

Anyway, back to Limbo.  When we were in Limbo in the weeks prior to and following our long flight to Switzerland, I had the pleasure of physically being in one place while at the same time, emotionally still very deeply entrenched in another.  Yes, living in a hotel sucked but at least I was on the same time zone as my parents.  That, and I knew how to get from point A to point B simply because I could read the street sign!  And after we got here - my body was in Switzerland but my heart and mind were still in the States - plus - people were really interested in what was going on with us.  But, as we move farther from limbo and closer to 'real life' the more I like limbo.  In real life, I am the odd man out.  I am the 'new' kid, the one that doesn't speak the language or like the food.  I am the one who has to comfort my kids when they miss their friends and grandparents, when I miss their friends and grandparents as much, if not more, than they do.  The silver lining to limbo is that you get to be 'here' and 'there' all at the same time and simply pick the best of both...

So here's to limbo...say 'hello' to it for me the next time you are there because for today, I miss it...

RhineFalls

Rhine Falls - Schaffhausen, Switzerland

So, a HUGE reason for this move is to "go and do" as my mother says.  Well, we have wasted no time because on weekend #2 in Switzerland we "wend and did".  Our first trip was a day trip to Rhine Falls in Schaffausen, Switzerland.  We took a bus a train and a boat so we got schooled in a lot of public transportation schedules!  

We were blessed with a beautiful day and a set of new friends named Claire and Tim who are from Atlanta and were are travel agents for the day.  Claire is a teacher at Piper's School and Tim is her husband who also works here in Switzerland.  They are only a few months ahead of us having relocated here in July but are light years ahead of us when it comes to navigating all the Swiss systems!

The girls were TROOPERS as there was much walking and waiting with all the buses and trains.  They really seemed to enjoy the falls, especially the boat ride.

Getting ready for our first train ride!

Piper at the to of the falls

Top of the falls

Bottom of the falls

Random old structure (no, not Kurt - I mean the building behind him)

Crazy Swiss Experiences - part deux

So, I went to an Aldi grocery store.  They have a few of these in the states - basically it's a discount food store.  I was hoping to find some American products there and did.  Namely, Stella's beloved blueberry muffins and Piper's beloved Chips Ahoy style cookies.

Anyway, I loaded up my shopping cart with a few things and headed to the checkout line.  It was a sizable line and the Swiss move fast and don't like delays so I was moving quickly.  I put all my goodies on the belt and after she rung me up, I put my credit card in the machine.  I have done this many times over the past week or so and have never had a problem.  Well, at Aldi...there was a problem.  My heart started pounding and the check out girl is speaking to me in German and I am basically having a mini panic attack.  Since I don't speak or read German, I didn't realize that they were a cash and debit card only establishment.  Due to the language barrier there was a lot of hand gesturing going on to communicate the problem.  Once I figured it out I was so embarrassed.  I had 2 Swiss francs on me - one of which was "in" the grocery cart.

Side note: In order to use a grocery cart you must insert 1 Swiss Franc coin into a slot that unlocks it from the other carts.  You get your Franc back when you put your cart back where it goes.

The checkout girl pushed my cart out of the way with a huff and I used hand gestures to demonstrate that I will go get cash and come back (I was not going down that easily).  I got back onto the street and saw a UBS Bank a block or so down so I walked to it, put in my debit card, got out a hundred francs and went back to the Aldi.  The checkout girl looked surprised but relieved to see me as I am sure she didn't want to spend her time putting up my abandoned groceries.  So, now I can show my face again in the local Aldi - crisis averted.

Crazy Swiss Experiences

So, we've been here 10 days and just about everyday something crazy happens to me - sometimes more than once a day.  I will share one of these with you now.

Laundry: The Swiss are weird about laundry.  For starters, most Swiss don't have a washer and dryer in their home.  They usually have to use a shared laundry room in the basement of their apartment building on a certain day.  Luckily, I am not Swiss so therefore I do have my own washer and dryer and I can do wash on any day I choose.  However, the fun doesn't stop there.  There are about 20 cycles to choose from all of which are written in German.  So, I have NO CLUE which cycle to choose.  Upon choosing a cycle the duration of said cycle is revealed- 2 1/2 hours!  Seriously?!  I now choose cycles based on their duration rather than on the description.  I have no clue if the water is hot or cold, etc because of course the Swiss are on the metric system and it simply doesn't translate very easily.

After choosing a cycle, starting the laundry and walking away for the better part of a day you think you are done.  Alas, you go into check on the laundry to find the washing machine non-responsive with a ton of water and suds inside.  Say what?  The thing just stopped?  Better call the landlord!
Turns out they turn off the water and electricity to the laundry services every day between 11:00 and 1:00 so that people can have more water and electricity to cook.  Seriously?  Eat sandwiches people and keep that laundry going.  So, since I started my load at 10:45, it turned off at 11:00 and started back up at 1:00.  Now, it's time for the dryer...another 2 hours later the dryer is done.  This particular load took me approximately 8 hours to complete!

Piper's First Day of School!

Piper in front of her classroom!

Today was Piper's first day at Zurich International School!  All of the children in her classroom were so excited to meet her that they all met her in the hallway to welcome her to class!  She is the only American in her class so it was funny to hear all the different accents and hear the names the children had.  Piper was a little standoffish at first (I think she was overwhelmed by the attention) but quickly decided we could leave and that she would be just fine in her classroom!  I got an email from the teacher in the middle of the day telling me that Piper said she misses her old friends from Montessori but is doing well and is very sweet.

She had recess and an hour of what's called "multisports" which is where they teach them a variety of different types of sports.  She was exhausted when I picked her up.  The first thing she said was that she misses her old school but then proceeded to tell me about all the kids she met, who she ate lunch with, etc.  I am sure we will have many more times where she misses things but that's to be expected.

Kurt went to work today so in the words of Stella - "Well Mom, I guess it's just you and me!".  We successfully ran a couple of errands, explored a little of Baden on foot and picked up Piper from school on time.  In that time though, I was yelled at by an old Swiss lady on two separate occasions.  I am learning this is a normal experience in Switzerland (to be yelled at by the natives) so I have decided not to take it personally.  The first lady didn't like the way I crossed the street, the other didn't like the way I parked.  I politely smiled and kept about my business.

The view from one side of our terrace (photo by Piper)

This evening, we did what's called an "apartment handover" where the owner of an apartment gives a tenant the keys, does a walk through, etc.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Wrong!  As is typical with the Swiss, this was an intense experience.  They gave us a 5-page document that was basically a manifest of every single scratch on every surface in the apartment.  Then, we had to go through the manifest and inspect each claim to make sure they didn't miss anything.  What?  What did you say?  Oh, you think this is crazy? YEAH - ME TOO!  It took us 2.5 hours!  I knew I was in trouble when Kurt and our real estate agent picked up glasses in the bathroom to inspect them for spots.  I had to get out of there!  I took the kids to the playground, then to McDonald's (that's another story) and then back to the playground.  We finally left at 7:45.

Needless to say, I have had a Swiss kind of day and I am ready to have my life back.  I will take a huge step in that direction tomorrow (Thursday) when we get the first of our household goods delivered.  I can't wait to put all that crap away and have my own space back!

Stay tuned for an update tomorrow when we will celebrate Piper's 6th birthday!!

Photos of our Journey

So, we had a LOT of stuff - 15 checked bags worth...don't ask why - it's a long, boring story.  But, it did make for some good photo ops, including these before photos below:

 

And After - everyone and everything made it - a miracle:

After dinner last night we took a short walk down to the Limmat River which is just a block away from our temporary apartment.  Not a shabby view for a quick walk!  We also walked past Stella's new Montessori school which she will start on the 20th of September!

We made it!!

This is just a quick post to let you all know that we have arrived in Switzerland.  We flew into the Zurich airport at 6:15 AM local time (12:15 Eastern).  What is normally a roughly 9 hour flight was a roughly 8 hour flight thanks to favorable tailwinds.  The girls did really well on both flights.  They both slept on the Atlanta to Zurich leg and Kurt and I caught a few Z's here and there.  We had to rent two cars to get all of our stuff to our temporary apartment but we finally made it.  After lugging all our bags up to the apartment, we changed clothes (into shorts - it's warm here) and went to lunch.  After lunch, we took the kids to the playground across the street from our permanent apartment and they LOVED it!  After a quick stop at the grocery store (which was only half open because it is Sunday - fresh foods only on Sundays) we came back to the temporary apartment for naps.  We all slept for about 3 hours and are now back up and getting ready for dinner.  All restaurants in Switzerland are closed on Sundays so I will be cooking (this should be interesting).

A couple of funny stories already:

The girls still enjoy warm milk, so after nap they woke up asking for some.  I say 'no problem kids' only I can't find the microwave - because their isn't one!  I had to warm water on the stove with their sippy cups floating inside to warm up the milk.

There is no central air in most residences in Switzerland so on a sunny 85 degree day, an apartment can get warm quick - the girls complained of being 'sweaty' and that I was 'sticky'.  Welcome to Europe girls!

Stella took herself into a bathroom stall and insisted on having some 'privacy'.  About a minute later I hear - 'But Mommy - I don't know how to flush' - the flushing is different here.  Also, she managed to temporarily lock herself in the stall  - 'I will be in here forever!'.  I had to stand on the toilet in the stall next door and talk her through unlocking the stall door.

As you can see the adventures come to you in Switzerland and we are already enjoying a bunch of firsts.  I will post again tomorrow.

Deep Thoughts – From the Southern End of the Gene Pool - 2nd Edition

Okay folks - this thing is getting really real.  I am in the final stages of departing this place - the last time to drop the kids off at school, the real last time to see people (not like all the fake last times we have had over the past few weeks), the last time to drive OUT of Chattanooga and to my parents house, the last time to turn right at a red light.

Over the past couple of days, I have found myself getting suddenly weepy...I DON'T do weepy.  People asked me how I feel - actually they say 'are you...(insert adjective here)...' - and no matter what they say, they are right every time.  Yes, 'I am...(insert adjective here)...'  I AM excited, I AM scared, I AM nervous, I AM sad, I AM desperate to crawl in a hole and escape my life if even for a moment (thank you for asking).  I AM dreading the long plane ride with my kids, I DO realize this is a great opportunity for my kids (that's why we are doing this) and YES - by all means, I know my parents will miss me, uhhh, I mean my kids (lets be honest).

But what people probably don't realize is that I DO feel guilty for ripping my children from their grandparents bosom, I AM frightened to drive in Switzerland, I DO NOT know what to buy at the grocery store, I DON'T know what the temperature will be (it's celcius and I don't do math);  I DO NOT speak the language and won't for a VERY long time; I am FRIGHTENED I won't meet people I connect with and will be lonely; I am TERRIFIED that we won't like it there and that this will be a mistake.  I am also sad about what I will miss out on here in the U.S. while I am gone. 

But here is what I KNOW:

My family is healthy (all of us) - I mean that physically and mentally and distance cannot damage the strong emotional bonds we have created over the years.

My kids will be different when we come back.

I will be different when we come back.

We will survive this.

We will see things we otherwise would NEVER have seen.

This is a great opportunity.

This will be fun.

This is a GOOD thing....because we will MAKE it good.

Our Papers are in Order!

We got our Work Permits from the Swiss government on Thursday so we drove to the Swiss Consulate in Atlanta on Friday.  They looked through all of our paperwork, and informed us that we will have our Visas by Thursday - yee ha!  So, we are planning to fly to Switzerland on 9/10.  We are spending the weekend with my parents on the lake in Kingston and will return to Chattanooga on Monday.  That's all the news that is news right now!

Deep Thoughts – From the Southern End of the Gene Pool

Over the past few weeks, I have begun to dissociate myself with my surroundings.  My reasoning for this is of course our supposed move to Switzerland (of late I am taking an I will believe it when I see it approach given our ongoing Visa woes).  I feel myself subconsciously withdrawing from my environment and from relationships - coping skills for what is to come.  I have of course, experienced this all before. 

As a child, our family moved around - not a lot like many other kids but we moved around.  As an adult, I have moved around (5 houses in 10 yrs of marriage) so I am getting good at the dissociative state that comes just before moving.  Of course, this time is different.  I will be missing the entirety of a continent. 

As a child, our moves were fairly 'local' - all southeastern US.  As an adult, they have been 'regional' (Cincinnati to Dallas and lots of places in between).  So, this whole 'international' thing is a new ballgame.  Naturally, I find myself wondering about how things will be different in Switzerland.  What I wasn't expecting was the pull that Southern life would have in my emotions around the move. 

I've always lived within a days’ drive from somewhere someone might consider the South (i.e - you can find GOOD fried okra there).  In the past week, I am noticing EVERYTHING Southern - roadside veggie stands run by at least 2 generations of a family; the local meat & 3; the mountains; dollar stores; huge trucks with nothing in the bed.

The surprising part to me is how I relate to things I don't have a direct connection with but which have been omnipresent in my life - for my whole life.  Things like a large body of water, gravel roads, old barns, pastures with cattle and combines.  I have no experience with cattle or combines!  Nobody in my family was even a farmer (that I am aware of)!  But these things somehow resonate with me and help define how I relate to my surroundings. 

My parents live in the sticks (that's country speak for they live in the country).  Hell, you have to go to a special corner of their house to even have a cell phone conversation.  But, over the past 3 years of living in Chattanooga, we have driven to their house from ours and back again dozens of times.  You take the interstate until you don't and then it's all country back roads and county highways.  Once you get off the Interstate you are surrounded by rolling hills, old country homes, and acre upon acre of gorgeous mountainous vistas.  I am usually driving my minivan with two kids in the back who are making outrageous demands so I often miss out on the opportunity to fully absorb my surroundings.

Today, however, was a different day.  I had to make a trip to my folks' house to drop off the last of our household goods and I was ALONE - yes ladies - ALONE!  It was magical!  It was a clear, beautiful day and I could just look ahead and soak it all in.  I noticed a barn in a pasture and it made me think about how much I am going to miss the South and how much the South is part of who I am and what I love.  I noticed every barn between the Interstate and their house and it made me realize that while Switzerland will have barns - it won't be these barns.  So, I stopped and took a picture of my favorite one on this particular drive.  I don't know whose barn it is or what it means to them, but to me, right now, it means I am home.

International relocation is like pregnancy...

 It takes months for the move date to come, you prepare and nest like there is no tomorrow, the pains in your ass get bigger and more frequent and then your move date comes...and goes...with NO END IN SIGHT.  And what are we in such a rush for anyway?  Another set of issues once we land in Switzerland and sleepless nights?

Here is the story:  We were supposed to leave for Switzerland on August 27th...now we are not.  Unfortunately, our Work Visas have not come through yet so we are here until they do.  The story is that once they arrive at the Swiss Consulate in Atlanta, it will be two week from that day until they are released.  They did not arrive today, so we will be here forat least two weeks from tomorrow!

We are currently living in an extended stay type hotel which is actually pretty nice.  We re-enrolled the girls in school - the last thing we need right now is to be thrown in jail for truancy!  So, we are here biding our time until we get "the call" from Atlanta saying we can leave.  We will keep you posted on things as the evolve...in the meantime, please don't ask the pregnant lady when her baby is due...it's just cruel to remind her she hasn't had that thing yet...

We made it (to the beach)!

We made it part way through our journey!  One of our milestones of this relocation was to make it to the beach!  We have had this beach vacation planned since before we learned about our move so to be able to make it here means we are (mostly) out of the Chattanooga house and to Amy's parents house.  We will have one week of relaxation (= no tape guns) before we wrap things up in Chattanooga!  We are enjoying a week in Destin with our kids, Amy's parents as well as Kurt's niece (Celine) and nephew (Josh)!  Great family bonding time before the big move!

Timeline, etc.

As you can see by these pictures, we are officially in limbo. 

We have had a lot of people ask us about the timeline for our move so here is the plan:

8/10 - 8/12: Pack/Move
8/13 - 8/20: Beach Vacation to Destin
8/21 - 8/26: Live between Chattanooga and Kingston (Amy's parents house)
8/27: Fly to Switzerland

The fly to Switzerland date may change if our Visas don't get processed in time.

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes.  Things are starting to move fast with stuff getting packed up, etc.  We will update this blog more regularly now that things are moving along!


Amy

Pictures of our Swiss Apartment

Many of you have requested to see photos of our new place in Switzerland.  During our trip to Switzerland earlier this month we learned that it is very difficult to rent a single family simply because so few are available to rent.  So, we ended up with a top floor apartment.  The building is 4 stories and our apartment is the only one on the 4th floor.  It is nice but will definitely be an adjustment for us (and the dog)!  Here are some pictures to share:

Dining Room/pass through to kitchen

 Office

 Master Bedroom

 Family Room

 Laundry Room

 Stella's Room

 The apartment has 2.5 baths but this is the main bathroom that we will likely all share - (gonna be cozy!)

 Shower

 Bathtub

 These photos don't do the kitchen justice - it is actually pretty large and has lots of storage which is hard to find in Europe.

 Pass through to dining room

 Terrace just outside the kitchen.  The terrace (fancy word for deck) goes 3/4 of the way around the apartment so we have almost as much outdoor space as we do indoor space.

 View from main terrace

 There is a HUGE playground right across the street from the house.  It has a rock climbing wall, tree house among other amusements for the girls.  I imagine we will be spending a lot of time here.

Thanks for taking time to catch up with us.  I will post more often once we actually get on the ground in Switzerland.  Right now it's just packing!