Mt. Rigi…and how Switzerland is poisoning my mind!!!

Well folks I’m guessing by now you’ve heard it all from me…I’m liking it enough to stay another year…I am looking into going paragliding (have I not mentioned that yet?!?!)…and finally I’m a hiker…That’s right, you heard it correctly, I’ve started to hike mountains for fun (Jase and BP...aren't you two proud of me?!?!)!!

Most of you NE Georgians will appreciate what I’m about to say…as a kid I can remember my sister and I whining heaps and heaps when my Mom and Dad would announce a family trip to walk up to Anna Ruby Falls. In retrospect these trips were nothing and quite a nice day out as a family. But…I’ve never been a walker…in fact I usually say that exercise is against my religion…hehe…then I up and moved to Switzerland…and stink if it don’t enjoy the occasional walk now!! I’ve even moved on up to the occasional hike. To my recollection I cannot ever recall hiking up (and down) a mountain but I did it yesterday.

My first mountain hike and it was one of the Alps…AN ALP!! Mt. Rigi is positioned along side lake Luzern and it is called the “Queen of the Mountains”. It is part of the North-Eastern Swiss Alps and what a marvelous view from the top. The actual elevation of the mountain is almost 1800 meters (which is close to 6000 feet). I had my doubts that I’d make it to the top alive (I am such a drama queen) and at one point we found the path completely covered with snow and ice and only a rope to pull ourselves up with (see Manda and David in the pic coming back down that section) but we made it…Manda, Sara, David and I set out from Zurich about 11AM, we made the drive to Luzern and began our ascent a little after 1PM. To be completely honest, we did take the cable car up a small amount and then began the hike. We had lunch along the way and when we reached the summit we stopped for hot chocolate and cake at the mountain top restaurant. We finally made it back down to the car (walking the whole way this time…) just after 8PM…then we were off to Lily’s in Zurich for some fantastic Thai food!! It was such a nice day…

There are definitely higher mountains in Switzerland and for some reason I’ve made it my personal goal to hike Mt. Pilatus (more on that later)…but yesterday was so much fun and something I know I’ll look back on with fond memories (even though today every part of my body hurt!!!). We are already discussing which mountain to conquer next. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on what we decide!!

Hope you guys enjoy the pics...(ps...Pilatus is the one behind me in the haze...)

Ok…going to enjoy lying in bed and watching a movie…

Until next time…

LuLu

Another small step…

I wanted to share with all of you something I did on Friday of last week. At the time it seemed a very small thing to do but as I thought about it more it dawned on me what had just taken place. I signed the paperwork on Friday to ask the government of Switzerland for another year extension on my time here. I’ve just recently passed the 7 month anniversary of my coming to this country and I find more and more every day how much I love it here (tune in to the next post for more on this…). I’ve been talking about this along and along with the family and it just seems a natural thing that I will stay another year but last week made it official that I really want this to happen. After we get the answer from the authorities then I will begin the process of getting a Swiss driving license and everything that goes with being a foreigner here for more than a year. It seems such a minor thing to sign a piece of paper, and although it’s not yet my contract with the family, it is a major step towards the next year of my life!

I know this is a short post but I wanted to share and let all my friends and family know what’s happening here with me. I do miss all you people at home terribly but this is too good of an opportunity to pass up! I’m excited now to see my mom and aunt in the early parts of June and then I’ll begin to look toward coming home for a brief visit, most probably near the holiday season.

Love you all!!

LuLu

Sechseläuten

Every year in Zurich there is a traditional event called Sechseläuten which is meant to mark the beginning of spring. This year the event was held on Monday (April 16th). There is a parade with the old guilds of this region walking or riding horses or carriages in very traditional clothing. The parade goes on for a very long time because of so many participants (I think this year there were something like 3500 walkers!). The parade ends at a very open area by Lake Zurich where a huge bonfire type construction is built and an effigy of a snowman is placed on the top. The effigy is called Böögg. During the construction of the wooden Böögg, firecrackers are built into the head and tradition has it that the longer the head takes to explode the shorter the summer will be. This year it took 12 min 10 seconds for the head to burst off the top of Böögg (which I'm told is a long time...). This is all a very big thing…televised and all!!

Now this is a must see for anyone new in Zurich so of course I was there with the rest of the city and also my friends. Being the short person I am, I wasn’t actually able to see most of the excitement, but my friends took pictures so you can see what it looked like. Hope you enjoy…
After most of the excitement was over my friends and I claimed a spot by the lake to relax and enjoy some snacks and a nice bottle of wine…yes that’s me pouring the wine (good job with this pic Manda…). It was such a relaxing day and great to be a part of Zurich culture. If you’re ever in Switzerland when Sechseläuten is happening I highly suggest you attend…it’s not to be missed!!!

That’s all I have at the moment but I might be posting some good stuff on Monday after the excitement of my upcoming weekend…

Love you all…

LuLu

Regensberg Walk…

On Sunday afternoon after church Manda, Megz, and I took a little walk (I thought it was a hike but I’ve been informed that a hike is much more strenuous…yeah…tell that to my muscles yesterday and today!) to the peak of the Regensberg.

The translation from German to English for the word berg is mountain. However, I’ve been told that this is not, in fact, a mountain and people laugh when you call it such! It does have a very nice history though dating back to medieval times and there is a castle on the top which, sadly, we did not explore but will do so at a later date.

The beginning (and ending for that matter) of this walk is very easy to get to from Zurich so it didn’t take much time for us to be on our way to the top. It was a truly lovely day, warm but not too warm…sunny but not so much so that it was unbearable! Unfortunately the view from the top was a bit hazy, as you can see from the picture, but we will be able to go up again soon and hopefully then we will have a clear view of the unfolding picture of the Alps from the peak.

As some of you already know, my mom and aunt will be coming over in a little over a month to visit me and see some other sights in Europe. I plan to take them on this walk as well and let them see the beauty that surrounds me every day as I live in this country.

I guess that’s just about all the good info I have at the moment but we did participate in a very traditional Zurich event last night which I will write about soon and hopefully have good pictures to share as well…

I hope this post finds all of you well…

LuLu

Vienna for Easter

(*****Mrs. B...this one's for you...a little birdie says you've been asking for a new post*****)

Hello all…I know it’s been a really, REALLY long time since I’ve written anything but…I’ve been quite busy and honestly I’ve not been motivated at all to write! Here goes my best effort…

I went with a few friends to Vienna, Austria for Easter holidays and we had a blast (aside from the horrific night train experiences...mental note...never take a night train where you have sit up to sleep!). The city itself is quite charming and we were able to meet up with a few friends from Zurich which made the experience that much more nice.

We were able to visit a lot of great sites including Schoenbrunn Palace and its surrounding gardens. This place was lovely and full of history. We went through the labyrinth (garden maze) up to the Gloriette for a beautiful view of the entire estate. We walked through the woods on the way back the palace for our tour and ran across some very unusual looking animals (they appeared to be some form of squirrels…) and we were able to feed them thanks to a very nice couple we met along the way! Aside from that the tour of the palace was nice and the walks around the grounds. I can just imagine the Hapsburgs strolling around there in style as well!

By far the coolest thing to me in Vienna was the catacombs at St. Stephens Basilica! I really enjoy stuff like that and we were able to go down and see where the keep the innards of former Austrian Emperors (The Hapsburgs) and where former bishops of the church are laid to rest. We were also able to tour around the formerly public area where we saw the graves of common folk buried there and the even a mass grave where victims of the black plague were laid to rest (and by that I mean dumped into a hole)…bones and skulls and all sorts of neat (but most likely gross to everyone else) things. Because it is a burial place, and therefore very sacred, we weren’t allowed to take pictures down there so I regret to say that I can’t share this experience with everyone as I would like to. But…trust me…wall of bones and skulls and all…it was VERY cool!!!

On Sunday I was able to attend church at the International United Methodist Church of Vienna. I was sooo worried about not being able to go to church on Easter Sunday but it all worked out and I attended the service with a friend from Zurich and two of the girls that had traveled with me to Austria. After church we had a perfect afternoon strolling through the city park and eating at a very American restaurant (TJI Fridays…).

We saw other things but these were the highlights. Above all it was a very relaxing time with friends and good times in Austria! I hope you enjoy the pics I put in this blog as well and as usual I’ll be getting around to posting the rest on my photo site after I post Triberg and Budapest (I am WAY too far behind for my liking!!!).


Ok…stay tuned another blog to be posted in a few min…


LuLu

My visit to Buda and Pest…

Most people don’t realize that Budapest is actually two separate cities connected (or split up…depending on how you look at it…) by the Danube River. My trip to Hungary was a much anticipated one. My friends and I put a lot of effort and research into what we needed to see and do in Budapest and honestly I absolutely loved it!!! I could spend another 3-4 days there and still not see everything that I would want to experience.

We were a little bit on edge as we came down to the final stretch before our trip. As I’m sure a lot of people know, Hungary has had quite a tumultuous past. The Iron Curtain only came down in this country in the late 80’s. As a result of the Nazi and Soviet occupations in the past, there is a lot of history and culture to experience there. Late last year, as I was first looking to travel to this city, there were some peaceful riots in Budapest and even a few days before we left for the trip there were riots (however, this time they weren’t so peaceful and the protesters were tear-gased). Needless to say, this would make just about anyone a little bit nervous about the trip. However, when we arrived there were no riots or signs that there might be one in sight.

Well…I’m going to try to make this short but there were soooo many really great places to see and things to do in Budapest. We climbed A LOT of hills and saw quite a few castles. The area in and around Budapest is known for its thermal activity and thermal baths…we DEFINITELY participated in that…Megz, Manda, and I went in for a 2 hour soak in one of the nicest and largest pools in the city! The parliament building was gorgeous from the outside but unfortunately we just couldn’t get it together to go on the tour of the inside. On the Sunday we went by and were told that we needed to call for a reservation and by the time we called the next day they were no longer allowing anyone in. We still aren’t sure whether there was another riot while we were there or if parliament was just in session…who know?!?

The two coolest things we saw were the labyrinth at castle hill and St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The labyrinth is a series of tunnels made by ancient thermal activity in the hill…it is even said that prehistoric humans lived down there. The city of Budapest (Buda side) has created a tourist attraction in the tunnels and you can go through either during the day or after 6 when they turn out all the light and hand out oil lanterns (we definitely did the later and it was...AWESOME!!). There are several cool statues/sculpture along the way and even a fountain of red wine…which we stopped at for a while…and for a drink!!!

The last thing was by far the coolest for me…I talked about it the whole time (I’m sure my friends would tell you about how annoying it was…). King Stephen was the first Christian king of Hungary around the year 1000. As a result of this he was later sainted and now St. Stephen is the patron saint of Budapest (and maybe the country…I have no idea…). The cathedral in Budapest is named after him and one section of the church is called the Chapel of the Holy Right Hand…ok…so maybe you’ve guessed it by now…They have the mummified right hand of St. Stephen. Ok, this was maybe the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!!! Yes, I know the argument…how can they be sure it’s actually his hand?? Well, my answer to that is…I don’t really care…IT’S COOL!! A mummified hand…anyways…I think that coolness is lost on most people but I really liked it and found it uber interesting!!

I’ve just realized that I used a lot of (!) in this blog and also a lot of (…). So…I guess that means it’s about time for me to put away the computer tonight and go to bed. I’ve included some pics on the post and I promise I’m going to work on getting the rest on my photo site (the problem is that I want to label them before I do!!).

Ok…going for now…talk to you all soon!!

LuLu

All Things Birthday…

Hello all!!

As promised I’m updating about my Swiss birthday experience. It was a great day. I work up early and the girls helped me find my birthday table (a very special tradition in our house…). I had several presents and even some cards from home. I received a new pic of my niece which I’ve been really wanting for a while!

We dropped the girls off at school and then headed to Sihl City which is a new shopping center (much like a US mall) in Zurich. We spent some time there and then headed back home for lunch and bringing the girls home. It was a very leisurely day.

In the evening I had invited a friend over, from down the street, for a Raclette Dinner (very Swiss). In the end I was surprised to find that my friend Megz was also invited. We all had such a great time chatting over dinner, wine, and my oh so awesome tasting home-made devil’s food cake birthday cake. The girls and my host mom made the cake themselves and (as you can tell from the photo) it was perfect for me.

All in all it was such a wonderful day and it wasn’t weird at all (especially considering I’ve been so paranoid lately about how old I’m getting and how I’m older than all my friend here!!). I’m making this one short because I’ve got to write my Budapest post tonight as well. I’ve included photos in this post from my birthday and the pics of the girls birthday cakes which I promised in earlier posts. I’ll speak to you all again soon…


Much Love!!!

LuLu

The Very Best Birthday Present…IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!

Hello All!!!

I’m back from Budapest and better than ever. I will definitely have plenty to say about that later but I can’t be bothered with it right now. I’m off to bed (a little bit early for me I must admit) because I’ve been informed that the girls will wake me early in the morning…it seems that’s a birthday tradition in to family to begin the special day. I’m very excited to see how tomorrow will be…my first Swiss birthday!!

The point of this post is to tell all of you about the very best birthday present…an unexpected one that just happened to occur tonight. My sister, Jen, called me for the usual catch-up on gossip from the community and family happenings and I could hear my niece, Whit, in the car as well jabbering away. She got on the phone with me and for the first time we had a sort of conversation…she said hello and bye bye and an assortment of other things that I couldn’t really make out…and then…near the end…SHE SAID MY NAME!!! Apparently she talks some to other family members about me but I’ve never heard her say my name. I left to move to Switzerland just a bit after her first birthday and I feel like I’ve missed so much of her growing up already. She’s probably the one thing I miss most from home so to hear her and know that she knows (sort of) who I am means A LOT to me!!

Ok…I’m off to bed but I just had to share this special moment with everyone. I’ll update really soon about my Budapest trip and also I’m going to work on getting my pics online from Budapest (and also Triberg…yes I know…I’ve been lazy!!).

Have a great evening everyone!!

LuLu

Randomness…

Hello all!!

So sorry I haven’t written in a while. To be completely honest I’ve not been motivated to blog at all. Sure I’ve done a lot of things lately worth posting about, but I have been a bit out of sorts and just didn’t feel like sharing much with anyone. Truthfully I’m still not in a place where I feel like being the chatty blogger but I feel that if I didn’t force myself to start again it could be quite a while before I’m “in the mood…”

Ok…where to start…ok…the normal awkward conversation topic is of course weather. I could write heaps about this lately. The weather has been soooo weird. I mean…what’s today…the second day of spring?!?! I can say that it has snowed every day of spring this year here in Zurich. I moved to Switzerland and expected tons and TONS of snow…none really…until now. It has snowed more in the last 4 days than it has since I moved here. Hum…and the really strange thing is that I can wake up to really clear weather, an hour later it’s snowing like mad and the whole place is completely covered and then 10 min later the sun is out again melting everything away and then the process begins again. I’m told this is typical weather for this time of year…but…hum…weird!!!

Moving on…did you know that March is the month for all great birthdays?! It’s true. Of course there’s mine but also the two little girls I live with…girl aged 6 is now 7 and girl aged 3 is now...you guessed it…4. The really strange thing is that first is one birthday then eight days later another and then eight days later mine. We are all basically a week apart. So, to correspond with this phenomenon we have had two family birthday parties in less than a week. By the by…that’s a lot of screaming kids running around!!! I should know…I was here…also it means ALOT of cakes and cupcakes to bake. Hum…I think I might throw up if I see any more chocolate…at least that’s what I said several times before I shoved a chocolate cupcake in my mouth at the kindergarten! Seriously though…the cakes for the actual parties were quite a work of art (of course that’s because I didn’t make them at all!!). I will be following up with posts of the cake pictures. They really are so beautiful.

Well, a little over a day and I’m headed to Budapest for my birthday trip. I am so excited about seeing this city. I’ve been told by a good friend that it was her favorite city in Europe and I hold that opinion quite high. We’ll see…I’ll post when I get home and let you know how it went.

Lastly but not least by far I have a request for all my readers. My mother called today and informed me that my great grandfather is in the hospital in very bad shape. Please keep my family in your thoughts as his condition is not looking very hopeful. He’s been sick for quite some time but this is never a good situation to endure as a family. Hopefully whatever the outcome we will be able to make peace with it all.

I love you all and please be patient with me as I attempt to get over this whatever that’s making me not want to post to the blog or be social.

Talk to you all again soon…

LuLu

Triberg im Schwarzwald…

This is translated to be Triberg (Germany) in the Black Forest. This is where I spent my time last weekend. A tiny village (or willage as people here pronounce it…) is in the heart of the Black Forest and home to the cuckoo clock. Here lives the world’s largest cuckoo clock (and I’m actually told the second largest as well!). I departed from Zurich on Saturday AM, with four friends, for our two hour train ride to this very clichéd German town. We didn’t expect this to be a weekend of rushing around. If anything this trip was booked more for relaxation and that is exactly what I found there.

Our hotel was very quaint and nice…small town and when we arrived we found that it was actually in a neighboring village to Triberg’s main city area. The walk into town was 45 min and unfortunately for us the buses ran very, VERY irregularly on the weekend for this area of town. I think each of us had the same thought when we first found out we were going to have to walk each time we wanted to go into the city center…arg!! However, the walks turned out to be quite nice. There were two options, walk through the forest or along the main road. We ended up doing both and both were lovely. Since there were quite a few of us we were able to have nice conversations and a lot of fun, making the time pass very quickly.



There’s not much to say about Triberg other than…lovely. Germany’s highest waterfall is there and also the aforementioned world’s largest cuckoo clock…and before anyone asks…yes, I did try the famous black forest cake (and I didn’t like it…but then again it’s made with kirsch…a type of liquor…and I don’t like that stuff at all!!). I’ve attached a few pictures (anyone else think this place looks alot like Helen, GA...storefronts, waterfalls, and all?!?!) and as usual I will be adding the others to an album on my photo site. I haven’t gotten around to this yet but…wait for it (CandyCane)…they will be there eventually!!

For now I’m working on finalizing plans on what to see in Budapest for the ol’ b-day. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I’m sure I’ll have a lot to post on in the next few weeks. Hope you guys don’t get tired of hearing from me!!

Going to bed…

LuLu

Wal-Mart, a New Friend, and a Spectacular Lunar Eclipse…

Yes…I went to Wal-Mart this weekend!!! I was so excited about this road trip. I headed out very early on Saturday AM with my host family (minus dad) and two of my good girlfriends from Down Under. All in all we were 6 women on a mission and I was the American badly outnumbered by the Aussies! Singen, where the closest store is located, is about an hour from here by car just over the German border…in truth we crossed the border then back into Switzerland briefly and then into Germany again… weird huh?!?! Wal-Mart was everything I wanted and more, except the craft department…I do miss the fabrics and stuff from back home!! We were in the store for two and a half hours of pure joy and chaos. I’m glad we went early because we missed most of the people that way. I bought a new movie (The Whole Nine Yards, which has an option for German and English and subtitles…still on my quest for learning by watching), some hair products (much cheaper there), and a new pair of pants (light material to cut off and make capris for summer…I have the feeling I might just roast alive when the warm weather starts…). All in all I didn’t go crazy but instead just picked up the stuff I needed. It might have been a different story if they’d had more of the brands and prices I’m used to at home! It’s funny to me that I was so excited to go this weekend because when I’m at home a trip to Wal-Mart is dreaded due to the crowds and lines…ick

Ok…moving on…I’ve made a new friend…we’ll call him Toadee…He lives just outside my bathroom window. Ok…must start from the beginning…I had friends over for the weekend (as you already knew) and on Saturday AM Megz came running from the bathroom, where she’d been showering, in a frenzy! It seems she had opened the window to let out some steam and a frog jumped in! That’s right folks…a big, slimy, brownish-green frog was staring at the both of us as we made our way into the bathroom to check out the situation! Somehow we scared him into going back outside…you see…I live on the bottom level of the house and because of that the window is lower than the level of the ground at the back of the house…there is a moderate sized drain/hole/not sure what you call it where my window in the bathroom opens up and apparently Toadee had jumped down there and couldn’t get out. He has been the object of our affection, the little girls and the big ones, for the last 48 hours. For the little girls to see the frog I have to stand on the sides of the tub and lift up girl age 3 and girl age 6 to see…for those few moments, staring at this slimy looking thing, I’m the hero with little girls’ arms around my neck and flashlights in hand…I love it…too bad he probably won’t last too long in the hole. He’ll either be rescued (and not by me…I’m not touching that thing!) or face his demise rather quickly down there. Anyway…one thing’s for sure…I won’t be opening that window again anytime soon, I don’t want him hopping in on me while I’m in the shower!!

One last story for the weekend. I’m sure that most of you have heard about the lunar eclipse on Saturday night. It was the first full lunar eclipse in over 3 years I’m told and was visible on all continents at some stage or another. All in all I’m told that the show lasted for over 6 hours. We were lucky enough to know about this and be able to watch it for small amount of time, just before the moon was completely covered with the earth’s shadow. It was spectacular!! The moon changed colors in front of our very eyes and the shadow almost seemed like an illusion. I truly hope some of you caught a glimpse of this with your own eyes!

A small update before I go…I am definitely going somewhere next weekend…we’ve booked our tickets to travel deep into the Black Forest in Germany for an overnight trip to Triberg (home of the world’s largest cuckoo clock!). Should be interesting! For now I’m off to watch an episode of Friends in German and then hit the sack (that’s such a weird phrase to me…)

Gute Nacht!! (Just learned in Deutsch class how to put the appropriate ending on adjectives…hence the gute…)

LuLu

Fasnacht…

So, I’m completely crazy…and you will think so as well when you hear my story. Every year there is an event in Basel, Switzerland called Fasnacht (although some people call it Carnival). I’m told that this is an event meant to scare away the spirits of winter and welcome an early spring. There are Fasnacht celebrations all over Switzerland (and maybe Germany…not sure…) but the one in Basel is famous. It starts with an event called the Morgestraich. This is basically a parade of different group at 4 AM…yes …you heard right…4AM!! So, basically to start at the beginning…we left my friend’s house on the 1AM train Monday morning to make our way to Basel for the event. We arrived just after 3 and from there made our way to the city center. You basically fight for a good place to stand on the street (which I never found one…I was crushed between tons of giant people…they were giants I tell you!!) and wait for the parade. At exactly 4AM (that’s the Swiss for ya…) they turn off all the lights in the city and the procession begins with very loud music. Each group has these float type things made of very colorful light things…no good way to describe these things. They reminded me of stained glass windows but of course they weren’t made of glass. I’ve tried to attach my best picture to let you see what it looks like. (Although, none of my pictures turned out that well). These groups also have about half the people playing drums and the other half playing flute like instruments. It’s all very interesting looking. The costumes were a bit creepy and some were depressing looking. Basically they play forever…We stayed until just after dawn and they were still going strong…that’s 4 hours!! After the initial craze most people find a café to go into (yes, they are open at that time of morning) for a hot drink and traditional flour soup or a cheese or onion quiche. I personally had the cheese quiche…

Let me give you a little insight into how the day went for me…There were three of us going (although, we ended up meeting another friend on the train to Basel) and we stayed at Sara’s the night before. Megz was smart and slept 4 hours…Sara was staying up all night and I thought I could as well but about 11PM I decided it wasn’t the best idea (did you know I’m not in college anymore?!?!) and slept for an hour. So, I was tired. It was cold…I’ve been saying for weeks now, “ where has winter gone”…well now I know that it was storing up everything it had to come out on the ONE NIGHT I want to be out at 2AM. It was freezing!! And on top of that it was raining…I was soaked completely by the time we got there but somehow, miraculously, the rain stopped after about 45 min of being in the city. So because of the exhaustion, frostbite, hypothermia, etc. we were all feeling we decided we’d call it a day about 8AM. I’m fairly positive that I’ve lost hearing in one ear from the music and the sight in both eyes from all the camera flashes against the dark of night (both from our cameras and the ones belonging to a few hundred thousand of our closest friends). We got on the train and came home and then back to Sara’s where I had a 3-4 hour snooze that made my day complete.

Needless to say I’m not exactly recommending this experience for anyone else. However, I am glad that I went. I can say that I saw it. Perhaps if I’m ever in Basel again I might go but it won’t be a special trip from here. If I’m still in Switzerland next year I might go to the event in Luzern, as I’ve heard it’s a more happy experience! Ok, I’ve attached some pics, but as previously stated none of them turned out that well! I’m working on possibly doing a trip next weekend but it’s not a definite just yet so I’ll keep you informed. For now I’m going to bed (still trying to get my body clock back to where it was before Sunday night!)…

Love you all!!

LuLu

My Newest Goal…Olympic Gold!!

Well, I think I’m a bit too old to be competing in the Olympics; however, I guess I can’t deny that the talent is there when I go ice skating! Yesterday the family and I went out to the local ice skating rink for a few hours. I haven’t skated in at least 12-15 years so you can imagine that I was fairly nervous to begin with. It took me about 45 min to really warm up to it all and in no time I was not clinging to the wall anymore. I can skate successfully in one direction (counterclockwise) and I can’t stop unless I run into something or fall…but I’m proud that I could even stand up on them so that’s good. It seems in this country that a lot of people have athletic hobbies (swimming, hiking, etc.) but I really have none. As of yesterday, I’ve decided to try and find a pair of good skates and learn to ice skate well. There were little girls that were 1/4 my age yesterday doing circles around me and skating backwards, doing jumps, etc. I don’t think I’ll be that good but we’ll see. Ok, I’ve added some pictures for you enjoyment.

I am leaving tonight (or should I say tomorrow) at 2AM for Basel. My friends and I are going to Fasnacht which is basically like Carnival. There will be music, people dressed in costumes, and lots of interesting things to see. I’ll let you know how it was when I return. It should be an interesting day and I’m sure to be extremely tired by the end of it all.

Ok…I’m heading out for now…talk to you all again soon!!

LuLu

A Stroke of Genius!!

Alright, now I always knew I was smart but I’ve had an idea today that blows all my bright ideas in the past out of the water! So, I’m trying to learn German right?!?! Yeah, well it’s really slow going. However, I have become more determined in my efforts lately and I’m trying to think up new things that will excite me and stimulate my learning of this language. So I’ve decided that a good idea would be to watch TV or movies in German and if possible do it with subtitles so I can have both languages going at once and possibly retain more. But…to take this idea even further (and this is the really genius part!!) I’ve decided to buy a Friends season here on DVD (of course one that I don’t already own) as they are in Deutsch and English and I can either watch English with German subtitles or vice versa. I can’t think of anything else I might learn faster from. I can already pretty much quote any Friends episode you can think of and my philosophy has always been that anything you can think of in life there is a Friends episode that in some way addresses it. It is my absolute favorite show and so I have to give myself (as usual) a hearty pat on the back for thinking this one up. I mean honestly…have you ever heard of a better idea in your entire life?!?!

Ok…so I’m a bit full of myself at the moment but I did want to share a few other things quickly. Yesterday I went out to the shops. I was gone for about 3 hours and talked to several different people and I didn’t have to use English at all. I spoke in German the whole time!!! It was the best feeling. Now, this might sound like a really big accomplishment (and I guess for me it really is since I haven’t been able to learn any other languages ever!) but the things I know how to say are really quite elementary. However, yesterday my first stop was the post office where I had to go in and ask for the postman to give me postage for 10 letters going B post (the slower service) and I needed a receipt…and I did it…I said it all…he did look at me quite strange because it takes me a bit of time to get it all out and make sure I’m pronouncing things correctly. I’m sure he could tell that I was learning but maybe that’s good because usually when people talk to me they do it so fast I can’t make out the words; however, when he told me how much I owed he did it very slow and deliberately so I understood perfectly. Yay!! One small accomplishment for me…

One last thing…I tried something new tonight. I was over at a friend’s flat tonight with some other people and I tried salmon eggs. I guess it’s sort of like caviar but not… hum…not sure…they were really salty and I’m quite sure they were something I want to eat again but I can say I tried it. Interesting…

Ok…I’m going to bed.

Goodnight All!!!

LuLu

Amsterdam…what a trip!!

I guess for some people this title could be two fold in meaning…for me there’s only one. Amsterdam was just ok for me. Nothing spectacular and I won’t be rushing to go back anytime soon, if ever in my life. I have always been told about the drug and sex scene in this Dutch city but I can say, without a doubt, I had no idea how much it would all be! Of course, it was not a good sign when we walked into our hostel at 6:30PM to check in and everyone in the room was high except the girl behind the counter (and I’m not so sure she wasn’t as well…). The place was recommended to us by a friend of a girl who went with me and I can say without a doubt I’ve never stayed anywhere else quite so nasty. If I’d been alone I’d have left immediately…and I’ll venture to say if we could have found another place to stay we’d have moved hostels but apparently everywhere in the city was booked out. I’m sure that being sick didn’t help our situation very much either. It seems that when one person was feeling better another was not feeling well in return. It turns out that I had a 24 (more like 48) hour stomach virus of sorts and Megz and Manda their own respective troubles…ick…


I can’t completely bash Amsterdam though…this city is famous for having more museums per square meter than any other city in the world. We went to the Van Gogh Museum (to see the Van Gogh’s obviously…) and also to the Rijksmuseum to see the Rembrandts (as it was the 400 year celebration) and they were spectacular. We witnessed the chaos with all the bicycles...saw two people get run over by them...you have to be more aware of them than of cars. (As a side note and some useless trivia, I read somewhere that around 25,000 bicycles end up in the canals every year there...) We also visited the Anne Frank house and I was completely moved by the experience. As a child we were required to read the book but being there put all that into perspective for me. Probably the best thing we saw was the Heineken Experience. This is housed in the original brewery, dating back to 1867, which is no longer used for production. It was relaxing and fun. I definitely recommend it if you are planning a trip to Amsterdam. Additionally, we took a stroll through the flower market and it was absolutely beautiful and fascinating how many different kinds of tulips are sold there. I can’t even imagine how much more lovely it would be during the spring months!!

I’m sure you’re all wondering so I will say we did take a walk one night through the heart of the red-light district. I found this all to be quite eye opening and sad. It deeply troubles me that for whatever reason some men and women feel the need to sell themselves in that manner. Between the drugs, sex, and all around trash (both people and objects) on the streets this city was not impressive to me. Perhaps I’m not the target audience anyway so no loss for any party. (Despite all this please know that I never in any way, at any time, felt unsafe on this trip. As disgusting as I found the place safety wasn’t something that bothered me!)


All in all we had a nice time being together, just the three girls, and we just kind of goofed off and were basically lazy for almost 4 days so that was great. I’ve added some of the nicer pics for your enjoyment and as usual I’ve updated my photo site so just click the link on the left of this page and select the Amsterdam folder for all my pictures of the trip.

Gute Nacht!!

LuLu

A new addition...

I've added a new feature to my blog. For anyone who's interested in viewing them, I've added maps to my page. You can see, of course, to the right is a link that says My Maps and when you click on this it should take you to a page that lists two maps I've created. One is a map of Europe showing where I've been on the longer trips and the other is a map of Switzerland so you can see my short trips around home, where I go to school for learning German, etc...This webpage is not very appealing to the eye, in my opinion, but it's what I came up with while playing around on the computer today. I know there is alot of stuff on the page, but if you look toward the middle you'll see the list of maps and from there you can click on the one you want to view. If anyone has a suggestion on a better site to use for mapping things like this please let me know because I am willing to change to a more appealing one.

Alright, that's all I have for now. I'll blog again when I return from Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Love you all!!

LuLu

Ski holiday without skiing?!?!

Yes, that’s right…I went on ski holiday and did absolutely no skiing whatsoever!! We went to Oberiberg, Switzerland (about an hour from home by car) and the week was perfect (except for the slopes that is…) I could have skied if I’d wanted to pay the money but I guess I just couldn’t see doing it with the slope conditions such as they were. The snow seemed to be barely there and what was there was more icy and sticky than powdery and screaming to be skied upon. Oh well…there will be another time I think.



One thing that did happen on the trip is that Girl Aged 6 lost a tooth. No, this wasn’t the first one but it was the first she’s lost when I’ve been around. I guess it’s sad that I went on ski holiday and the most exciting thing I have to write about is this; but, well…it is so deal with it! My mom would have been so proud. I was fully ready to pull this tooth for her if she’d have let me. (of course that would have never happened because she just doesn’t ride that train, but whatever!). In the end she was twisting it round and round and saying…”it won’t come out, it won’t come out” and finally I said that she needed to put some pressure on it and pull on it more than twisting and it came out!! Ok, it’s the little things in life…don’t judge me!!

Well, I guess this post has turned out quite boring but really I don’t think I could do any better…in conclusion…I didn’t ski and we lost a tooth!! Yay!! I’ve added a picture to let you get an idea of where I was staying for the last few days. I’ll blog again soon.

Love you all!!

LuLu

Happy Singles Awareness Day!!

Yes, I find it hard to say happy Valentines Day when it is a completely commercialized and dumb holiday! Maybe, possibly, I’m just bitter that I don’t have anyone to spend the day with and consider “my valentine”. Valentines Day can be so special when you are with someone you love. I’ve been there and I realize that it can work that way or…it can manage to make you feel awful when everyone around you gets flowers and candies and nice dinners with that special someone. In the past I’ve been both of those people…the happy, floating on cloud 9 person or the I feel like I’ll throw something if another box of roses is delivered to the office person. This year however was quite different. It is true that I am not attached in any way to any man at this moment in time but Valentines Day came and went without much of a fuss this year. I was away from most civilized life on ski holiday with the family (just got back tonight) and it was nice to not be surrounded by all the hype…but just to be. It’s funny how the things we surround ourselves with change our feelings or perspectives on certain things that would have most likely not been the case otherwise.

Ok…well, I can’t say that I don’t have a special valentine this year…sure this person might not be my “special someone” but he did ask and though I haven’t told him I will accept him as My Valentine. So…friend formerly known as…HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! (And you better not be on a date tonight with some other girl just because I’m not in the country!!!)

Ok…signing off for now!!

LuLu

The Rhinefalls…

The day began like any other Saturday, I guess…I got up at my leisure and tried to decide what would be the events of the day. We’d talked about it a bit the evening before and the girls seemed to be leaning toward going to the Rhinefalls, the largest waterfalls in Europe. I was absolutely against it for several reasons…the most important of which was that I wanted to go shopping!! (not that I had the money to get anything but…well you know…) I was convinced that the weather wasn’t right (which basically it wasn’t), it wasn’t the best time of year (and really it wasn’t that either), and that I didn’t have the funds to go because of everything else happening this month (which I really didn’t) and most of all I just wanted to hang out with my friends and not over exert ourselves…you know…shopping and a chick flick or something like that!



Well, after much whatever I finally decided to join the others. The weather was supposed to hold off but it didn’t. I have to say I was in a quite horrible mood for the first hour of our trip but I made that statement upfront (sometimes when I know it’s coming I think it’s just better to admit that it will happen before anything starts). I’m not sure what changed in me. Perhaps it was the nice conversation I had with Sara about some things weighing heavily on my mind or just the calmness of the walk along the Rhine River to our destination; but, by the time we arrived I was already very glad that I had made the decision to tag along. I can’t describe it really…just a calm that came over me…



Walking up to the falls I remember telling a friend that I was not impressed at all. I think I even made the statement “I have this in my back yard back in Georgia”. It is true that we have lots and lots of falls in GA and from a distance this one looks about as impressive as one of those…but…when you got down next to them they were absolutely phenomenal. There is a certain platform you can stand on that hangs out over the river very near the falls. If you are looking at them in the right way from that area it just seems like they could wash you away in a split second, and I’m sure it would. Ok, so they aren’t Niagara (not that I’ve actually seen them to compare) but these falls are very impressive. Well, I’m not even going to attempt to describe anymore of this to you because my words fall short. I’ve attached a few pictures to give you an idea of them. Enjoy!!

LuLu

Quickly…a few things…

Well people…I’m happy to tell you a few things that have happened today to make it a nearly perfect day for me!! (Can’t be completely perfect because it’s not over yet!)

First, we went to Germany today and for the first time I got my passport stamped when we crossed the border. We had to ask them to do it and the woman looked like she wasn’t at all happy about it but…IT’S DONE!! Yay, so just add another to my collection of stamps in the little blue book!

Secondly, and this goes well with the first point…today was the first time I went to Germany by car and didn’t manage to get carsick during the journey. Progress I think!

Third…Today I feel good…no medicine and I feel good…I have been battling what I think is a bad sinus infection for almost a week and I feel much better today. I got a good nights sleep and that definitely helped!


Lastly, THEY REMOVED THE CRANE!! I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but they have been building several houses (or flats…whichever) just down the hill so every great picture I can take has a big, yellow, stupid crane right in the middle of a gorgeous backdrop. But, not today!!! They finally took it away and so in honor of this glorious occasion I’ve attached a picture of what this morning looked like when I woke. As you can see the mountains are extremely visible today and a snow-covered beautiful sight they were!!! Click on the picture to make it larger...the small one doesn't do it justice at all!

Ok, I’m signing off and this will be, most likely, my last post for a week. I am leaving early Sunday to go on ski holiday here in Switzerland until next Friday. Then I’ll be off to Amsterdam from the 17th-20th. I’m hoping to do a post on the Friday at the end of the ski break!

I love you all!!

LuLu

Ps-I know my last post indicated that my number was working again…and it still is by the way…but if you don’t have that number just send me an email and I’ll give it to you…there is no way I’m putting it on here for the whole world to see!

Finally!!

Alright…I’m here with the much anticipated news everyone’s waiting for…my Skype number is finally working again!!! For those of you who don’t know what this means…my phone number in the States that calls my computer in Switzerland has not been working for almost a month now and I haven't received any voicemails in that long either. I’m not sure how I did it but somehow uploading the new version of Skype worked. I was able to talk to my Daddy this afternoon!! Yay!!! So, everyone…call away…I feel like I’ve been so out of touch for a while.

Miss you guys and I'm sure I’ll post with something truly interested later!

Ciao!!

LuLu

Spain was a surprise for me!

I have to say that I agreed upon Spain with some apprehension. BP studied there in college and has a profound love for this country and all its culture. She and I have discussed various trips to Europe in the past and Spain has always come up. I have to admit that I’ve tried my best to thwart any plans to vacation there. Looking back I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I think in my mind I made the idea of the country a direct threat to my love for Italy…and now that I’ve been I can say I have a great love for Spain as well, at least definitely Barcelona. Now, it can in no way replace my number one favorite place in all the world, Venice, but it has jumped above all other cities save that one. Barcelona was a wonderful experience. The colors…the culture…the art…the architecture! I loved every bit of this city. The food was excellent and the people were so friendly and inviting. I am already looking at my options on going back for more!


I don’t know what more to say about this. It would be a really long post for me to talk about each site individually. La Sagrada Familia-said to be the most visited construction site in the world this cathedral has been under constructions for over 100 years, the Gaudi creations around the city, La Rambla-the street beyond imagination…I guess the only thing I didn’t care for that much was the Picasso Museum. I’ve discovered that I’m not a big Picasso fan as it turns out…there are other artists that appeal to me but I have pretty much no appreciation for Picasso’s work. Anyway, I’ve added some of my more interesting pictures and for those of you who are interested please check out my photo site and select the Barcelona album for the rest of the pics I took.


I’ll post again soon I’m sure but this weekend is thus far stacking up to be something quite fun so I might not have much time for sitting in front of the computer. Ok, I’m off to watch the episode of Grey’s Anatomy that I missed last week…

Ciao people…

LuLu