Making Up For Lost Time (and the trip to Munich, Germany!)

So sorry for my month long absence. I’m sure you’ve all missed my updates tremendously…hehe…I’m not even going to try to make excuses for my lack of posting. This meager post will not make up for the time lost, as it was quite a long period of time, but I hope you’ll accept it anyway!

Well two really important events occurred in what we will now refer to as The Lost Month. First, all paperwork is final (at least I think it is…) and I am set to stay here for another year. Before you know it I’ll be more European than American…hehe…I will be home around the holidays for a visit so all you people in the States can look for me then!

The second bit of news is that my mom and aunt are visiting Europe right now, their very first trip ever! Arriving a week and a half ago in Zürich, they really seem to be very much enjoying their time here. We spent a few days together here in Switzerland. We explored the city, Zürich Lake, we went up by cable car on one of the Alps (Klewenalp) and walked along the ridge, and most importantly I gave them a lesson in my everyday life here, we went grocery shopping and enjoyed a traditional Raclette meal.

Last Friday we traveled together by train to Munich, Germany. I’d never been there before so it was a good opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and explore a new city at the same time. We visited the concentration camp, Dachau, where many people lost their lives before and during WWII. We traveled 2 ½ hours south to see the castles of Mad Kind Ludwig in the Bavarian Alps. This was probably my most favorite part of the trip. Especially seeing Neuschwanstein Castle…being a total fairy tale lover, this place was just magical! Many people know it as the Disney castle because Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World is modeled after this one but it is so much more than that. The castle was never completed as King Ludwig died during construction. It is a fascinating place and one I highly recommend seeing if you ever find yourself in Bavaria! I’ve included several pics and also I’ve put the full lot of them on my photo site so check that out too!!

After Munich, Mom and Aunt Lori flew to Venice for a few days and then on to Rome, where they are currently. I will be meeting them over the weekend in Milan to make my second attempt at seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper fresco and also in hopes of seeing the Duomo without scaffolding covering the front!! My friends and I are spending the day Saturday in Lugano, Switzerland (in the Italian region) and I can’t wait to post the pictures from that! Sunday AM Megz and I will be taking the train the additional hour and a half to Milan for the day…

Ok, that’s about all I have for now. I know, I know…I told you it wouldn’t be that good a post but I promise to try and post again more regularly.

Love you all!!

LuLu

An offer I couldn’t refuse…

Hello all!! By now most people know that I have been considering the offer I’ve been given to stay another year and work with the same family here in Switzerland. Yesterday, standing in the kitchen as we made dinner, I signed my second year agreement with the family to stay on here, it is still contingent on whether I’m awarded the extension from the government though. I looked at this as an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I’ve learned so much in the past 8 months (wow has it really been that long?!?!) about the Swiss, about life and the way it changes, and most of all about myself. I am not the person who left Georgia eight months ago…I’ve grown (and I don’t mean taller…that would take a miracle)!! I’ve weighed the option against the one to come home in September but I don’t an opportunity like this will come around again. I’ve traveled so many peoples but my list is still very long on other places I want to see! And it looks like I might have a friend who will stay with me…Megz (now I’ve said it in the blog…the be all, end all of truth…and you have to Megz…hehe…)!!

Don’t get me wrong…I do miss home. I miss knowing what people are saying when they talk to me. I miss Whit and seeing her grow up…she’s gotten so big!! I miss my friends and movie dates with Nah Nah. But the life I’ve got here is really good and I can’t give that up just yet…

So yay…I’m really happy about this!! Please pray for me as I’m going to be telling my great-grandmother very soon and I don’t think it is going to be a happy conversation. I am already looking at the calendar to see when I can come home for a visit but most likely, at this point, it will be around either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Again, all this is based on the idea that I’ll get the government ok…hopefully I do…but if not I guess you’ll be seeing me in September after all…

One last thing…I know a few posts back (last night…I’ve really been behind) I let you guys know about the new opportunity for receiving the posts via email. Should you decide to do this and want email me to comment on something in the blog please don’t just hit reply to the email you receive…this will email your response to EVERYONE in the group and most replies just shouldn’t be sent to the whole group. However, you can visit the actual blog website and post a comment there or just email me personally… yay…ok, hopefully I’ve covered all my bases on this but it is new to me as well. BP assures me that it shouldn’t be this hard but…well…I am a worrier…

Love you all!!

LuLu

Happy Labor Day (a bit early for you Americans…)

Switzerland’s Labor Day was this past Tuesday (May 1st-also May Day holiday in a lot of countries). I’m told that there are usually come rowdy people who some into Zurich and cause trouble (riots even…turning over cars and stuff like that). I’m told that they used to protest for workers rights on Labor Day but now it’s more young people looking for trouble. Well you know me…if there’s trouble I want to see it…I hardly ever want to participate but watching can be interesting! I was soooo excited about possibly seeing a riot; however, I ended up not even going into the city on that day.

On Monday night a friend of ours had a BBQ so we went and met some very nice Swiss girls. I learned that night that the next day holiday was only for the Canton of Zurich (I guess you could say it’s like the Swiss equivalent of a State). All the neighboring cantons had to work…hehe….

That evening I stayed with Megz at her new house on Lake Zurich. The house is still being renovated and personally I don’t think I’d have moved back in that quickly, but to each his own. The day was quite warm on Tuesday so we were able to put our feet in the water. I still don’t know about the idea of swimming in a lake. Although, if I’m going to do it anywhere it will be in Lake Zurich- the water is drinking quality and very clear!!

At around 11am Megz’s boss came in and said they were taking the boat to Rapperswil (at the other end of the lake) for lunch, as it’s in another canton, and invited us to come along. When I heard boat I thought ferry…no, no…they meant their boat. Before you could blink an eye (at least that’s the way it seemed) we were speeding up Lake Zurich toward our final destination. Now, it must be said that I can never remember riding in a boat like this before…I’m having a lot of first time stuff this year!!

Megz and I decided to make it an early day because we did have to work on Wednesday. I’ve included some pictures…hope you guys enjoy. I’m going to post one more thing and then I think I’m all caught up on the past due posts…Yay!!

LuLu

Appenzell Landsgemeinde

It is hard for me to even begin to describe the event which I had the pleasure of witnessing this past Sunday (the last Sunday in April). The Landsgemeinde is a gathering of active citizens, voters, in the Appenzell region of Switzerland. It occurs every year on the last Sunday of April in an area which I guess you could call the town square. They gather to vote on resolutions and also appoint people to office for the region. What makes it unusual is how they do it…show of hands…

This is such a traditional event that people come from all over just to watch. The whole thing was in German so of course I didn’t know what was going on but I did get to see several people pass out from the heat (it was noon and the sun was bright as I’ve ever seen it!).

There was a parade of sorts where all the local dignitaries are welcomed to the event, a band playing, and even people in traditional dress. The police for the region were in full dress gear and I can imagine they were burning up because they were wearing what looked like wool suits-black and hats that had the appearance of metal.

What I did notice fairly early on was the fact that a lot of the men voting were carrying things that looked like swords. I’m told they are called rapiers and that they are handed down through the family from generation to generation. I’m told that only voters with official voting cards are allowed into the voting ring; however, men carrying rapiers are allowed to bring them instead and are then welcomed into the circle.

I took the journey over to Appenzell with Manda and Megz. It was a great trip and we were able to see a lot of the countryside of Switzerland from the trains. We are planning to do more things like this around Switzerland so if anyone hears of any interesting things let me know because I’d like to look into doing more around the country I’m currently calling home.

Ok…I’m going but expect another post soon. I’ve got lots to catch up on!!

LuLu

New Feature

Hello all…I know it’s been quite some time. I am set to pump out a few posts tonight actually but I wanted to begin with something new. I’ve set up a google group for the blog. I’m in the process of setting people up so that they will receive an email when the blog is updated. This way people won’t have to continually check the page and be disappointed over and over when it’s not updated…hehe…I’m lazy I know!!

Jase helped me set up all the things to make this possible. If you want to receive these emails just send an email to yourworldasiseeit-subscribe@googlegroups.com using the email account you wish to have the updates sent to. It will ask you to confirm your subscription so do that and you’re in!!

Let me know if you have any problems and I’ll see what I can do to fix them. If you’re already receiving these email updates then you don’t have to subscribe because it’s already done for you apparently!

Yay!!

LuLu

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